Does anyone use DAZ to make money? (not including selling on DAZ store)
SasquatchIsCool
Posts: 251
in The Commons
Hey all. DAZ seems like a great tool for folks to accomplish various things. Does anyone ever use DAZ in their work? Have you used DAZ to make money? And if so, how?
Interested in seeing what you do with DAZ.
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I've done a few commissions for followers on DeviantArt and Instagram. I could probably get more work if I weren't utterly allergic to self-promotion.
I've made some commissions as well book cover and character design, there are more successfull ones than me out there (I probably have the same trouble as Gordig
You can make images and sell on Fanbox or Booth (japanese websites, they pay in JPY by paypal). Money is transfered automatically once a month. I make about 700 to 900 $ per month for each of them.
You "just" need to produce a few images a month (takes time) and of course provide good/excellent/oringal/quality content to always attract new supporters and retain existing ones. Some of them have been supporting me every month for more than a year even though I always refused commissions (takes way too much time, not worth it).
The more new content you post, the more you gradually make per month (if whatever you create does interest people of course). Works so well that it slowly became my first source of income.
A few $$$ here and there with commissions. I've contemplated starting a Patreon as many have requested more in-depth details on my processes. I've also contemplated opening myself up to paid promo commissions. I know some sell their artwork as book covers.
Would I dream of being able to make enough to replace my comfortable corporate income doing just artwork? Nope.
I was making about 600 or so a month with Patreon doing a choose-your-own-adventure type of comic. I let it run for about a year before pulling the plug. Actually, I found the upkeep of the "community" I ended up creating quite stressful, and was happy to go back to it only being a hobby when I closed it down about a year ago or so. My intention now is to just offer individual picture stories on Gumroad, and then offer lots of free stuff through DA. I think that's a better balance for my own personality.
I already had about 4K watchers on DA when I started the Patreon, though, so it made advertising the Patreon and all pretty simple and straightforward. IF you want to go down this path, I'd reccommend setting up an account somewhere and building up your group of people who enjoy your work. They will serve you well if you then decide to pull the trigger and offer a paid product. Happy customers are the best advertisement you could ask for!
Here and there I've made a few commissions for book covers and images to represent a story on a web page for instance. I've never come close to paying for my Abobe Subscription which is $672 per year outside of selling as a PA.
I use Daz Studio to make money disappear.
I use Daz as part of my process as a book cover designer on Fiverr. It comes in handy when the client wants something very specific in terms of a face or clothing or background, but we can't find anything on the stock image sites. It's not my main tool most of the time, but it does come in handy.
I use my DAZ renders, often combined with stock photos, to make book covers.
I was hired to do some illustrations for a self-published book (I actually used Bryce and Carrara, rather than DAZ Studio). The author liked the work so much that one of the images even ended up on the cover.
I've been approached about making some erotic art for hire using Studio, but I politely turned that down. I am not particularly prudish, and don't have a problem with anyone using Studio to illustrate their fantasies. Something about this particular approach, however, made me think that any money I made on the deal would be swallowed up by the cost of going to therapy afterwards. Sometimes you're just happier not knowing what's going on inside people's heads.
I've made some money with subs and commissions on DeviantArt, but not enough to make the car payment.
Closest I ever got to 'earning' anything was by winning contests, which pretty much meant the returns were still negative numbers, but fun. :-)
I've been doing this for 23 years and for as long as DAZ and Studio have existed, and like Sevrin, all I do is make money disappear. ;)
Hansolocambo: Wow, I've never heard of those sites and you're certainly making a lot for making renders. Do you sell the renders outright or do users just pay to be able to see them? (edit, ah, I didn't know Fanbox was part of Pixv. It's like dA's new Subscriptions. Interesting.)
This is really interesting, thanks OP for starting the thread, and to all that answered so far!
Has anyone ever sold 3d images as stock images at Shutterstock, Getty or the likes? I thought recently that might be a good idea. Like, nothing artsy, but plain stock images of whatever is currently in demand over there. Or do they only accept real photographs? But then again, why would they?
You can sell renders on Shutterstock/Depositphotos, unsure about Getty, but given the sheer cost of Getty, I'm unsure if you'll have any/much luck. I once had an argument with Shutterstock over one of my renders - apparently it wasn't a render, it was real. After a lot of back and forths, they conceded and admitted that sure, it's a render... but it's not realistic or high quality enough to pass quality checks. Not worth the headache, imo!
I thought Getty was "news" or "publicity release" photos.
As good graphic designer that had a sizebable DAZ 3D library and knows how to use DS and PS though I'm sure could make a large library of images for Shutterstock for commissions. How much the best selling artists make at Shutterstock is completely unknown to me.
I use DAZ as a environmently and health (because I'm not using money for pogie bait) friendly way to have an inexpensive hobby although in sum total I've spent a lot for someone of my means. I do day dream about actually getting serious about making DAZ products or games every once in a blue moon but nothing serious. Some people like to dangle a carrot in front of themselves that they can never get to just for the enjoyment of the antipation. I like doing that. Day dreaming is completely underrated. It's how I got all though those boring school classes. I've never once considered trying to sell or commision renders or photos although once in the 90s a photograph developer shop's owner bought two photos from me I took so he could display them in his store as advertising. It's hard to mess up with modern cameras if you take enough photos some are going to be good.
I have seen renders of a number of the characters I made and put in the daz store being sold on stock photo sites.
While there is nothing wrong with doing that, it seems kinda off putting when it is done with no artistry ...load load a character, slap on a pose and render from different angles.
You should definitely be submitting your work to stock image sites as well, I doubt a little extra passive income without actually doing any extra work would hurt. Your image are always gorgeous, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of your work-in-progress test renders before your products are complete didn't also make the cut, ensuring that they're different from anyone buying and rendering the finished product.
Free money...
-- Walt Sterdan
I've never heard of that before. That sounds soooo cool. How did you get around the language barrier? And how did you get it rolling?
No problem. This theme has always interested me and never thought to ask till now. :)
I don't know if stock art would really be much in the way of income...........though I would love to find a way to do something with my "for fun art" I put in the galleries.
You never know, I can see people using your art for book covers, posters, or calendars; you may want try some of that yourself on something like CafePress. You might even consider (as some of the people above) Patreon or one of the Japanese sites mentioned.
Small, passive income might buy you a few extra coffee or burgers a month, until something takes off...
-- Walt Sterdan
This is why I don't do commissions. I've been asked a few times, and sometimes consider opening commissions up. However, I know with the limited time I have during the day, it'll take away from the art I normally work on. I only post new work once a week (and on some rare occassions, twice a week), so a commision will eat up that time.
I know a few folks sell their art on merchandise through sites like Spring (previously Teespring) or through Etsy using an on demand printing service to produce the merchandise. I've been exploring all the online store options for a while.
Also a note about selling stock photos: While this can be profitable, you won't see much profit until your catalog builds up (at least, that's what I learned from an experienced artist). And even then, it's not a guarantee you'll make much profit. And depending on the site, they also have strict requirements for each submission. They will require release forms for some stock images (3D interiors, HDRI location-based backgrounds, etc). I've had numerous submissions rejected, even clipart. One image was rejected because the HDRI background required a release form, even though DoF blurred the heck out of it.
I just browsed through the Getty 3D image gallery, and, OMG, if someone actually paid what they are asking for those renders... Does anyone actually buy that stuff? Who do you have to know to get your work up there?
My goal by end of 2023 is to copy an old comic book via DAZ Studio to a bunch of renders collated into a digital comic book as near as possible (I think). Only as fun 'fan' endeavor, not as a money making product (IP & all that).
I'd love to see it once it's done, if you'll be sharing. I love your work.
-- Walt Sterdan
I've had a subscription for one of the collections that Getty currently owns (Dynamic Graphics->LiquidLibrary->Thinkstock->Getty Images) and have kept it up through the last 20+ years, since it's grandfathered. I occasionally download a stock photo, but my usual hunt is for clip art. Not exactly what is being discussed here. But, yeah, I'm willing to keep the subscription active.