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Make a living as a creator on Daz3d?

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  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214

    What are the policies when you want to make new textures for a PA's or Daz Original product to sell in the store ? Say a product that you want to add more material zones to and give it a variety of new looks, I would assume you would need to get the original creator's permission the would you also share any profits made with said creator?

  • RawArtRawArt Posts: 6,063
    Kharma said:

    What are the policies when you want to make new textures for a PA's or Daz Original product to sell in the store ? Say a product that you want to add more material zones to and give it a variety of new looks, I would assume you would need to get the original creator's permission the would you also share any profits made with said creator?

    that would be an agreement you work out individually with the product creator

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 8,047
    edited July 2018

    There is a quote I have always appreciated that honed in on the gist of indepedent contractor.

    " An entrepreneur will happily work 80 hours a week,  rather than work 40 hours a week for someone else. "

     

    with one proviso...  the money makes it worth it.

     

     

    Post edited by FirstBastion on
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,838
    Fisty said:

    Yeah, I don't think it's really feasable to use just UV mapper classic for everything, I did manage to use just it and Hex for all my early products.  Blender of course has much better mapping tools, so does Silo IIRC.  Hex's UV mapping is.. just.. ugh.  But when it's what you have you force it to work, even if it means moving point by point, which I did... and then I bought a wrist brace.  And then I fanally gave up and bought UV Layout.

    ...unfortunately 200$ is a bit rich for a utility that does only one task.

    What is your opinion of Ultimate Unwrap 3D?  That is more in my budget.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,838
    Havos said:
    nonesuch00 said:
    FirstBastion said:
    nonesuch00 said:

    The sale price was about $20 so $1100 divided by $20 = 55 copies of the product sold. Maybe more, if there was some discount that kicked in after loading one's cart and adding the other sales items that might trigger those extra discounts.

     The math on that would be $20 sale price,  daz always get 50%  so the amount the PA gets would be $10 per transaction  so 110 unit based on the math.  But there is rarely a transaction that does not  have a coupon or an additional discount,  so maybe the number of unit sold is a little higher (120-130).  Still market is miniscule.  always has been.  

    Oh, thanks, I neglected the extra 50% cut DAZ takes. That makes the DAZ sales for female & female items I guess better but not anything most people would want to do as a full time job although if one is talented and can produce a quality product $2200+ a month before taxes is not bad compared to many jobs. Seeing that $1100 a month after DAZ cut & taxes though seems to tell me that those few that do regularly do this work monthly or in greater quantity make more than $1100 a month after taxes to be able to stay in the job and do HW & SW upgrades or it is a second job from their full time job at another business.

    By the way, $1100 a month after DAZ commission, and taxes, for those that indicated they wanted to model 3D, works out to $6.43/hour, $254 a week (with 2 weeks unpaid vacation like other minimum wage employees get), $1100 a month, or $13,200 a year. Not a disaster but not the EA Games hit game or Platinum Music Recording income some people seem to think is the case. Minimum wage is currently $7.25 in most circumstances in the USA but in the state of Georgia the legal minimum wage can be as low as $5.15. That minimum wage does exclude waitresses and waiters which get paid much less in some bizarre twist of miserly reasoning. Not having to drive to work can save one much money and a car loan debt plus the worry of a car always breaking down at such low pay, not having to constantly fund a means of private transportation and private transportation insurance that keeps breaking down that every other worker is forced to fund in the US that doesn't live in NYC or similar areas.

    Your $6.43 calculation assumes PAs are only working a standard 40 hours a week, but given from what many have said above, most work a lot more hours per week than that, pushing that 6.43/hour figure much lower.

    ...that's below the Federal minimum wage and would definitely not do here In Portland OR where rents alone are obscene..

  • The Blurst of TimesThe Blurst of Times Posts: 2,410

    I like working 40 hours a week for the Man.

    My passion is to be paid cash money, and I love cashin dem checks on time every time.

    I wish I had the talent to do what PAs do, but I don't want to invest the time and the effort to do that.

    I'm more than happy to buy stuff.

    Make things I like so I want to buy them. I'm not saving anyone's life or paying anyone's mortgage with my stupid transaction... I just buy what I like.

    Zilvergrafix said:

    it is better do nudes on dA and working on commisions, minimal is 100 USD per 3D image, believe me, it works devil

    Oooh. I like the cut of your jib.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,714
    Havos said:
    nonesuch00 said:
    FirstBastion said:
    nonesuch00 said:

    The sale price was about $20 so $1100 divided by $20 = 55 copies of the product sold. Maybe more, if there was some discount that kicked in after loading one's cart and adding the other sales items that might trigger those extra discounts.

     The math on that would be $20 sale price,  daz always get 50%  so the amount the PA gets would be $10 per transaction  so 110 unit based on the math.  But there is rarely a transaction that does not  have a coupon or an additional discount,  so maybe the number of unit sold is a little higher (120-130).  Still market is miniscule.  always has been.  

    Oh, thanks, I neglected the extra 50% cut DAZ takes. That makes the DAZ sales for female & female items I guess better but not anything most people would want to do as a full time job although if one is talented and can produce a quality product $2200+ a month before taxes is not bad compared to many jobs. Seeing that $1100 a month after DAZ cut & taxes though seems to tell me that those few that do regularly do this work monthly or in greater quantity make more than $1100 a month after taxes to be able to stay in the job and do HW & SW upgrades or it is a second job from their full time job at another business.

    By the way, $1100 a month after DAZ commission, and taxes, for those that indicated they wanted to model 3D, works out to $6.43/hour, $254 a week (with 2 weeks unpaid vacation like other minimum wage employees get), $1100 a month, or $13,200 a year. Not a disaster but not the EA Games hit game or Platinum Music Recording income some people seem to think is the case. Minimum wage is currently $7.25 in most circumstances in the USA but in the state of Georgia the legal minimum wage can be as low as $5.15. That minimum wage does exclude waitresses and waiters which get paid much less in some bizarre twist of miserly reasoning. Not having to drive to work can save one much money and a car loan debt plus the worry of a car always breaking down at such low pay, not having to constantly fund a means of private transportation and private transportation insurance that keeps breaking down that every other worker is forced to fund in the US that doesn't live in NYC or similar areas.

    Your $6.43 calculation assumes PAs are only working a standard 40 hours a week, but given from what many have said above, most work a lot more hours per week than that, pushing that 6.43/hour figure much lower.

    So?  And plenty work less than 40 productive hours a week just like plenty of hourly and salaried employees often work less than 40 productive hours a week. ...but then, plenty of people drive to work and eat lunch and get themselves ready for work, buy suitable clothing and such things for the office and aren't paid an extra allowance for those those extra necessities. 

  • FistyFisty Posts: 3,416
    kyoto kid said:
    What is your opinion of Ultimate Unwrap 3D?  That is more in my budget.

    I've never used it so I have no opinion, sorry.

    What are the policies when you want to make new textures for a PA's or Daz Original product to sell in the store ?

    You don't need permission to make a texture set for something.  That being said, Daz will rarely accept them unless they're released at the same time as the main product and they sell much less, like 1/2...  so knowing a person that makes models and working with them on something before it goes to QA is the only feasable option for the Daz store.. Rendo doesn't care, they'll release just about anything that isn't complete rubbish, but again you'll get like 1/2 the sales there if you're lucky.  So if the base item sells 200 copies at Daz you'll be lucky to sell 50 copies of a texture set for it on Rendo, and they don't have sales as often but still take 50%.. so you do the math if it's worth your time.

  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    Fisty said:
    kyoto kid said:
     

    What are the policies when you want to make new textures for a PA's or Daz Original product to sell in the store ?

    You don't need permission to make a texture set for something.  That being said, Daz will rarely accept them unless they're released at the same time as the main product and they sell much less, like 1/2...  so knowing a person that makes models and working with them on something before it goes to QA is the only feasable option for the Daz store.. Rendo doesn't care, they'll release just about anything that isn't complete rubbish, but again you'll get like 1/2 the sales there if you're lucky.  So if the base item sells 200 copies at Daz you'll be lucky to sell 50 copies of a texture set for it on Rendo, and they don't have sales as often but still take 50%.. so you do the math if it's worth your time.

    Thanks for that information, so it would be more feasible create an item and include several textures for it at a higher price than to release a product with only one texture and an add on texture pak separately each at lower prices because the texture addon set probably won't sell as well?

  • FistyFisty Posts: 3,416
    edited July 2018

    Likely, but since I haven't tested both approaches I couldn't say for sure, and like Rawn said, the market shifts a lot over time so one year it might be better one way and another year it might be the opposite.  I know Out of Touch releases a lot of things with extra texture sets so he'd be a better person to ask.

    Post edited by Fisty on
  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    Fisty said:

    Likely, but since I haven't tested both approaches I couldn't say for sure, and like Rawn said, the market shifts a lot over time so one year it might be better one way and another year it might be the opposite.  I know Out of Touch releases a lot of things with extra texture sets so he'd be a better person to ask.

    Thanks Fisty and @RawArt and  to all the PA's who have posted to shed some light on this subject. I have only pursued this subject as personal interest and enjoyment not as a career at all and I commend all of you who do this full or part time!

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 14,704

    If your looking to do some texture sets for clothing then I'd get to know some clothing creators and practice your skill so you can show them what it looks like. You don't have to know the PA but is always good cause you could pass ideas back and forth.

  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    frank0314 said:

    If your looking to do some texture sets for clothing then I'd get to know some clothing creators and practice your skill so you can show them what it looks like. You don't have to know the PA but is always good cause you could pass ideas back and forth.

    Thanks for the input frank0314, great idea!  I will definitely practice alot more so I will have something quality to show if and when the time comes

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,970
    Kharma said:
    frank0314 said:

    If your looking to do some texture sets for clothing then I'd get to know some clothing creators and practice your skill so you can show them what it looks like. You don't have to know the PA but is always good cause you could pass ideas back and forth.

    Thanks for the input frank0314, great idea!  I will definitely practice alot more so I will have something quality to show if and when the time comes

    I think a lot of content creators started off by doing "freebies" - uploaded usually to Rendo or ShareCG. It's a great way to get feedback on what you're doing and you get a better idea of the types of things customers are looking for. They'll also often let you know if you packaged something up wrong - so it gives you practice on how the files for Daz are supposed to be created and saved for product distribution. 

  • outrider42outrider42 Posts: 3,679

    I'm surprised no one has brought up the cost of living, because that can vary wildly. Unlike most jobs that pay on a scale based on the local cost of living, selling this content online pays the same no matter where you live. So the buying power of that $1100 mentioned earlier will also vary. In some places, $1100 can be doable for a single person, tight, but doable. Or outside the US, it can be very good. But in other places $1100 wont even cover the rent, and is nowhere close to being a livable wage. So location is vital to just how doable this may be for certain people.

    But income is only part of a job. The lack of benefits would be a huge negative. Affordable healthcare is pretty important, and buying your own insurance is not cheap. Everyone at some point needs health care.

    There are other factors involved though, some of which have been touched on. Working at home means no need to gas a car. Some people commute an hour to work, so this is time not factored into the work week. You may work 40 hours at a job, but it might take 5 to 10 hours just to commute to that job. How much does it cost to run the car on those commutes? Some people may spend $50 or more just on gas, and that of course comes out of the paycheck. Eating at work may cost more than eating at home.

    And while some people have complained about family asking them to do errands while working from home, at least they have the option to do so at all. Most people don't. There is no time table, so you can take a break and come back later. And there is something quite different about working from inside the home that is simply not the same thing as working for a place outside it. Being your own boss grants a freedom that few jobs present. You can keep your kids at home while you work, which is something very few people can ever do. That becomes another cost savings, too, as you do not need to pay a baby sitter when there is no school. If you do end up working more than 40 hours a week, that's still done from the comfort of your own home, and by its very nature is nowhere near being stuck inside an office, or standing on your feet, or whatever most other jobs entail.

    Going back to that $1100 from one hypothetical item, that is just for that one item. Sure Daz does sales all the time, but most of the time you see add on sales that include a PA's full library as well. So while the new item may be an extra 30% off, there is the possibility to get additional sales off older items at 40%-50% off. Old items that probably would not be selling much at this point otherwise. So having a good back catalog of content pays off. Obviously this is tougher for new PA's with less content, but older PA's can make some income off their old stuff from these sales.

    So are there are plenty of perks, but as has been said, you do have to work for them. You can't just hit a few buttons and call it a day. You need a plan, you need some tools, and you need the know how to use them.

  • ironmanmike1313ironmanmike1313 Posts: 6

    If anyone wants any advice on making it as a PA just PM me and i will even chat with you on skype about it. Im Michael half of I13. I dont mind sharing.

  • DzFireDzFire Posts: 1,473
    12 hours a day 21 days a month. 100 sales a month is normal for the first two weeks, after that, sales drop.
  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787

    @ kyoto kid, in the formerly male content creation thread two UV mapping programs have been mentioned:

    Roadkill UV Tool - http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page6.htm

    Ultimate Unwrap 3D - https://www.unwrap3d.com/u3d/index.aspx

    The first is free and the second is $59. I have not tested either yet, so I have no idea how good they are. Apparantly the stand alone version of Roadkill is included in the Maya download version.

  • LyonessLyoness Posts: 1,632
    DzFire said:
    12 hours a day 21 days a month. 100 sales a month is normal for the first two weeks, after that, sales drop.

    completely accurate

  • mr clammr clam Posts: 707
    Lyoness said:
    DzFire said:
    12 hours a day 21 days a month. 100 sales a month is normal for the first two weeks, after that, sales drop.

    completely accurate

    Do you mean 100 sales total during the first two weeks? 100 sales a week for two weeks? Something else? The wording is unclear.

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 3,755

    One bit of news that became national news was the new low income level to apply for low income housing is now $117,000 in certain counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. Around where I work, many of the apartment rentals are in the $8000 a month range for new rentals. However, most people do pay a lot less due to rent control...

  • Payat ParinPayat Parin Posts: 1,168
    nemesis10 said:

    One bit of news that became national news was the new low income level to apply for low income housing is now $117,000 in certain counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. Around where I work, many of the apartment rentals are in the $8000 a month range for new rentals. However, most people do pay a lot less due to rent control...

    It's absolutely expensive living here in San Francisco (monthly rent, utility bills, healthcare, car insurance, groceries, dining out, etc) unless there is rent control and frugality or cheapness. It is not a good place for retirees. Though, it's an awesome place for a short vacation. 

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,010

    glad I live in 'Straya yes

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,838
    edited July 2018

    ...double post.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • macleanmaclean Posts: 2,438

    Another thing that no one has mentioned is the exchange rate. That's a major factor for PAs living outside the US. DAZ pay in dollars, so the exchange rate is crucial. A few years back when the dollar/euro went above 1/1.50, my earnings plummeted. USD is stronger now, so it's not so bad, but it's just one more factor that PAs have to take into account. It can vary wildly, so you can never really project what your income might be until you actually get it in the bank.

    And please, don't get me started on bank charges! (Don't bother suggesting Paypal. They just rip you off on the exchange rate instead.)

  • RawArtRawArt Posts: 6,063
    mr clam said:
    Lyoness said:
    DzFire said:
    12 hours a day 21 days a month. 100 sales a month is normal for the first two weeks, after that, sales drop.

    completely accurate

    Do you mean 100 sales total during the first two weeks? 100 sales a week for two weeks? Something else? The wording is unclear.

    100 sales total is a good ballpark average for any new release....after that the sales drop drastically

  • MattymanxMattymanx Posts: 6,996
    Zylox said:

    @ kyoto kid, in the formerly male content creation thread two UV mapping programs have been mentioned:

    Roadkill UV Tool - http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page6.htm

    Ultimate Unwrap 3D - https://www.unwrap3d.com/u3d/index.aspx

    The first is free and the second is $59. I have not tested either yet, so I have no idea how good they are. Apparantly the stand alone version of Roadkill is included in the Maya download version.

     

    As a Silo user, I personaly think it is better to learn to UV map inside your modeler then to depend on another program to do it for you as it will only add time and steps JUST to do the mapping.  I realize the external UV mapping programs have their strengths, but it is best if you can reduce the number of programs needed to do your job without reducing the quality or quantity of what you make.

     

    Mac makes a good point on exchange rate.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,838
    edited July 2018

    ...true, but Hexagon's UV mapping is somewhat lacking, which is why others who use it turn to 3rd party mapping utilities.   Again hopefully this will be one of the features that will see an upgrade but until then need something that works and doesn't cost an arm and a leg as I am primarily looking to model for personal projects, not sell content so I have to keep the overhead down.

    Ultimate Unwrap 3D is on the list, just would like to get some feedback on it.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • FistyFisty Posts: 3,416
    Lyoness said:
    DzFire said:
    12 hours a day 21 days a month. 100 sales a month is normal for the first two weeks, after that, sales drop.

    completely accurate

    Yup.

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 14,704

    I use UVLayout because I can do it 3 times quicker than in app.

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