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And to those tutorial producers: please consider Blender rather than ZBrush (that's only a personal plea, of course).
I saw this thread and for a long time, I couldn't figure out what it was about. It looked like a suggestion box for inexpensive or free software.
And then I saw talk on people's wallets and personal budgets and tax brackets and..and...
And when I stepped back, I think I saw a bigger picture.
If you're asking about making tutorials - if you are asking about MAKING TUTORIALS, then I think the most obvious factor is what are customers willing to pay...
Hold on....
to LEARN how to use a product into comparison to what they PAID for the PRODUCT.
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I don't know if I would use my own experience as an example, because I can since I have been on each side of the fence.
- watching free ones.
- buying tutorials and using them
- making tutorials
- making tutorials and selling them
I can tell you what I thought each step of the way.
So I wonder...
Would someone pay $40 bucks on a tutorial for a FREE program?
Is $40 bucks a lot for a tutorial for a program that costs $1,000?
The $1,000+ dollar program(s) has a few decent free tutorials - most of the experts, the actual power users are selling their tutorials. I don't really know too many professionals, like that have credits, that are giving away their knowledge on YouTube for free. Maybe there's more than I have come across. Usually some other larger entity has to offer them a perk in trade or feature.
But the FREE (and low cost) program(s) have TONS of free tutorials. Tons. Google doesn't lie.
That's competition and tutorials have an additional challenge of "How dare you charge for something that someone else *might* be saying somewhere else for free?!"
Daz is, as some have noted, in a special place. It's free, at its core, but to extract its true power, you need to invest in the program and its content.
So, opening day, yeah $45 bucks for a tutorial on posing might sound like a lot. But on day 237, when you want to unlock your pose library, create one or simply go beyond your own learning(s) , that's not a lot to invest in yourself.
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So, not to beat that horse anymore, but you mention Blender and all the responses are about saving money.
That's not inspiring to someone who plans on selling tutorials.
So really, the better responses should have been those that link to free ones on YouTube and such.
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I have no idea how long (winded) this thread is going to look when I post it, but I'll end with a video card statement.
I see Daz users often speaking about using old video cards and laptops and renders taking 10+ hours.
Overnight stuff.
The investment in your rig and video card is about time. TIME.
If you have the time or little need for *many* renders, then yes, that's the way to think.
If you need to create many renders or have little time to devote to Daz (in life or on the machine) then who can put a price on the value of your rig or video card?
A huge money outlay for a highend video card might seem crazy, but it depends on your needs.
$1,000 bucks for a 15 minute decrease in render time might seem a bit much, unless you do TONS of renders, then it's a great deal.
I think that applies to tutorials as well and I don't know if there's such a huge need for commercial-level-tutorials for the small-cost apps.
I think the free stuff should really get (most) of the job done.
I think I'm rambling now. Time to post this comment.
Wow.
When it came to tutorials, all I was asking was for the authors to consider that their potential audience might not own the expensive software they seem to assume we do. If that puts them off making tutorials, it is a shame for both teacher and student.
As for your advice on seeking out free tutorials on Youtube, I think that's a given. Especially for Blender.
asking was for the authors to consider that their potential audience might not own the expensive software they seem to assume we do.
No, sir. Not put off. I don't think anyone that has enough skills or experience in Zbrush is unaware of Blender's massive user base.
OR how popular their tutorials are- you can see the view counts.
puts them off making tutorials, it is a shame for...
THIS THREAD would put them off. You need to express how there's a huge base of customers willing to PAY for blender tutorials.
I don't see that. What I do see is further cost saving advice.
But I think I explained that already.
It ain't that you *couldn't use* a good tutorial is that you'd be willing to pay for one.
Pay for them/.
Pay to find out if they are good.
And if they are average to fair, you don't return it, hop on the forum and blast them for not super-exceeding the FREE content already out there.
free tutorials on Youtube, I think that's a given. Especially for Blender.
Mitigate the risk, as it were.
No idea what you are talking about. Seems to me like you're looking for Monty Python's "right room for an argument".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDB5gbtaEQ
Don't break your own thread with jokes. We can stay on target, here.
This is your first statement:
producers of those tutorials to assume that their target audience has access to the same tools that they have.
This is your assumption about their reasoning for making tutorials centered on high end or expensive software. I gave you another angle or idea to consider.
-- That's it's not based on what you use, but what kind of content you'd be willing to pay for.
Which is illustrated in your second paragraph:
Otherwise, I use low cost or free applications. I have Blender 2.8 installed. I have Hexagon which was also free. I have Affinity Photo which, for me, is a good and cheap alternative to Photoshop but I only paid for that because I never got along with Gimp. When I see something in the DAZ store that I might find useful, I wishlist it until it comes up in a big-discount sale (they always do - eventually).
Which suggests ...what?
Nothing that ANYONE with an interest in Commercial products wants to hear.
I don't see what's hard to follow about that.
By the way, I love you avatar.
You are making no sense to me at all. I'm not asking for tutorials on ZBrush or Blender. I'm saying that when they make tutorials about anything to do with DAZ Studio content they might consider that, when they include sections on how to modify or morph things, many of the users here just don't have ZBrush but anyone can download Blender for free. So it would make more sense to me if they made exactly the same tutorial but took account of the fact that everyone has access to Blender (or Hexagon). They aren't targeting ZBrush users, they are targeting DAZ Studio users. Professionals might well have ZBrush but, being professionals, they probably don't need the tutorial.
Anyhow, this has gone off the rails now so I'm not arguing with you any more.
So you're suggesting that Tutorial makers.......
Daz + Blender or FREE programs are not making (enough) tutorials for commercial release, but......
Daz + ZBrush are the ones making many of the commercial releases....
And you want the Tutorial makers who use Daz + Blender to start making commercial tutorials OR..
the ones who use Daz + Zbrush - to add Blender (and such) to their workflows to account for the number of free and blender + Daz users.
Did I get you right?
But Maybe it's me misreading the The Commons Forum and thinking that's where we discuss things and maybe this belongs in product suggestions where you ask for more Daz + Blender tutorials.
Most of the tutorial creators here are really selling examples of their workflow, and they've found that Zbrush and (my pet peeve) Photo Shop work best for them a long time ago. To ask that they use blender, paintshop pro, or the gimp is asking them to take time away from their paying job to learn a free or low-cost alternative, integrate it into their process, and then create a tutorial. This is somewhere between 'not very likely' and 'never going to happen'.
None of the above and you know it. Enough now, troll.
Most of the tutorial creators here are really selling examples of their workflow, and they've found that Zbrush and (my pet peeve) Photo Shop work best for them a long time ago.
Yeah well, I ended up buying into the Adobe subscription plan because so many (other) products support their MOST RECENT release(s).
I still use CS5 and also other free plugs, but that's a thing.
I think that's why we consider all these other programs alternatives.
I also noted how many products seem to mention being a custom Zbrush sculpt and not a simple morph dial set.
So I would guess that's a thing for the content creators too.
I'm going to say they are pointed at vendors and not the general population. There are 1000s of vendors and people can make a living out of targeting them, just my thoughts on it. Plus merchant resources !
@marble have you looked at Arki's tutorials? She uses Hexagon.
Certainly Blender is a very robust program too, people do awesome stuff with it and I must say the Zbrush interface is no more intuitive.
Having Zbrush doesn't help, I have owned it for over 5 years and not done a lot with it, I model mostly in Carrara myself, not well but I can toss stuff together if needed for my own renders, I am more of a kitbasher and tweaker though.
To be honest, I wish I hadn't mentioned Zbrush or any of it now. I'm not demanding tutorials tailored for my needs. I thought it might make sense to help those who don't have some of these pro software packages to get similar results with what they do have access to. If it doesn't suit commercial aims, fine. There are other ways to get there as you suggest.
Given that Blender has been used in the production of movies with budgets in the hundreds of millions, I think it's fair to say that it has passed the mark to be considered professional software.
It's a powerful package, particularly as the open source development means that people are pulling it in a lot of different directions and bolting on a considerable range of tools. More than that, a lot of people have got into the world of 3D modelling through Blender (because unlike paid programs, you can take as long as you want to learn it before you have to start making it profitable, so even a rank amateur has the potential to master it) and a lot of them are very happy to stick with what they know, so it's now got a considerable portion of the expertise in the industry.
Although some people might take the attitude that it's the poor-man's choice, that's far from the only reason people use it.
This thread is being locked as it has, regretably, turned into an argument. As a reminder, please keep your posts civil and, if you feel another person has crossed the line, please flag the post rather than taking up cudgels