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Becoming A PA Questions

StarkdogStarkdog Posts: 170
in The Commons

For years, I have been toying with the idea of becoming a PA.  Although I am nowhere near as skilled as Stonemason, Jesaii, Fugazi, and other PA's, I'd eventually like to share and contribute poses, props, etc.  I don't plan on making being a PA a full time job, but more of helping to offset the past 16 years of DAZ purchases... actually, more like a really cool side-gig.  My questions to early as well as more established PA's are as follows:

1. Are you an independent (Sole Proprietor) or LP/LLC?

2. At what level did you make the decision to move to a LP/LLC?

3. How did/do you separate business purchases (computers, software licenses, etc.) when jumping from hobby to PA?

4. Any other "gotcha's" or lessons learned that you would be willing to share?

 

Thanks, -David

Comments

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604

    https://www.daz3d.com/community/community-publishing

  • Silent WinterSilent Winter Posts: 3,766

    ^As well as the info there, I'll try to answer your questions from a personal perspective:
    1) independent

    2) didn't

    3) I'm probably the wrong person to ask as I've been a PA less than a year and been out of full-time work so my earnings aren't enough to bother with tax-deductibles. Generally, I'd say "Keep records" but it depends what your country's tax office likes

    4) Not really a 'gotcha' but a couple of things to note:

    • Don't give up - be prepared to take criticism, learn from it, make your products better and try again.
    • Also, get beta-testers to help you check your products work before submitting them - makes you look better and saves time overall. (In the initial submission to Daz, you only need attention-grabbing promos - but it's best to have the product ready to go).
    • Which brings us to promos - get help/constructive-criticism with those too as they're the initial selling point.
    • Practice by doing a couple of freebies first and getting feedback from people.

    Good luck :)

     

  • QuixotryQuixotry Posts: 917
    edited September 2020

    1. Independent

    2. Still functioning as a sole-proprietorship

    3. I keep track of purchases made specifically for PA work, including things from the store here that were bought for work (merchant resources or scripts) or for store promos, and report them as a business expense at taxes time.

    4. When you submit your first product idea to Daz, try your best to give them excellent promo images. That'll really help sell your work to them, and I seem to remember that it's the first thing they look at when you're making that inital offer. Also, don't be afraid to ask them questions if you're feeling confused about any part of the process. They're very helpful if they know you need advice.

    Good luck! :)

    Post edited by Quixotry on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,225

    SickleYield has a couple of informative posts on her DeviantArt Page.  Post has an origination date in 2013 and an update date listed in 2019.

    Rather than my risking posting a link to DeviantArt that could be deleted, do a search for

    SickleYield Deviantart Making a Living as a Daz3D Artist

  • SickleYieldSickleYield Posts: 7,644

    1) SP, filing quarterly - just sent my September payment last week, in fact.

    2)Still SP.  The only reason I think I would switch is if I took on a permanent partner or started my own brokerage with a staff.

    3) Every purchase I make is for promo images, so they're all deductible as business costs.  If I buy something from Renderotica, or some other purchase that's absolutely not suitable, then I would note that separately, but that's quite rare.  Both of my computers are business computers.  My gaming purchases are not deducted, obviously, but I don't own any hardware that isn't for Daz Studio.  For one thing, the hardware needed for rendering is much more powerful than is needed for gaming.

    4) https://www.deviantart.com/sickleyield/journal/Making-A-Living-at-DAZ3D-407828896

  • StarkdogStarkdog Posts: 170

    Wow, thanks for the fast replies and insights!  I had forgotten about SY's DA post.  Looking at it again, I realize I had read it before but had forgotten the details.

    Diomede and SickleYield, thank you for your mention and link to your post/article.  I have re-bookmarked it and printed it for reference.

    On another note, at what point should an artist register/trademark their artist/studio name?

    I'm not sure if DAZ, Rendo, and other stores require the artist to register their "callsign" to help protect artist IP and prevent copycat artists.

     

    Thanks, -David

     

  • SickleYieldSickleYield Posts: 7,644

    Daz does not require it.  I haven't done it.  A lot of us never do, I think?  

    Career Daz Studio artists are a rare breed.  Only the top 30 or so are making more than 30k a year, from my informal discussions with other PAs who fit that description.  Most people are making pocket money.  Succeeding requires not only skill, but also a clear understanding of market factors and how to choose your projects (and in a lot of cases, a savings account or part-time IRL job to support you while you build a catalog).

    All that to say, those of us who are big enough that our names are known enough to realistically consider a copyright/trademark are extremely few in number, if they exist at all.  Copycats have so far been zero issue even for the biggest names, as far as I know (I haven't asked Stonemason lately lol).  Piracy is incredibly widespread, but Daz isn't going to bother trying to prosecute those sites and honestly neither are we.  It's too much work for no real result.

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