by jpeeler » Wed Jul 15, 2026 11:16 am
One more add and then I'll call it good, since I think we just got a nudge to get back to the original topic: regardless of whether it's a human being sitting down for umpteen-bazillion hours with a CAD program or using AI to develop the design, it still requires the proprietor of whatever operation to invest the time into creating whatever it is that's been requested. Unless money has changed hands up front, the designer/proprietor doesn't know if all that effort will result in a sale. Even if it's only one sale, that's not going to be enough to compensate for all the hours that went into development, hours that the designer will never get back.
I can't speak for Steve at Model Monkey, but I know that any given one of my days will involve my day job (even if I'm not physically there, it's always something), tending to things that need doing here, running whatever errands may be required, not to mention the ordinary human stuff we all have to do. Then there's the unexpected things that pop up that also demand our attention. All of this leaves less time for the things I want to do, and when I do have those moments, I want time for what I want to do. Otherwise, it's just more work. I haven't done 3D design, but I've done huge decal art projects for screen printing, and I found it worthwhile only because I did subjects I was personally interested in. If labors of love like those were enough to leave me exhausted, I'd hate to imagine having to design something that was outside my realm, as some folks sometimes suggested.
I've dabbled in the cottage industry enough to know that it got old in a hurry, and to realize I don't have the patience to put up with some customers or with the people who suggest what I should do next. My hat is off to people like Steve who have the patience and good humor to endure what goes with putting your wares out in the world, and I respect the daylights out of the boundaries that he's established around what he does.
Jodie Peeler
One more add and then I'll call it good, since I think we just got a nudge to get back to the original topic: regardless of whether it's a human being sitting down for umpteen-bazillion hours with a CAD program or using AI to develop the design, it still requires the proprietor of whatever operation to invest the time into creating whatever it is that's been requested. Unless money has changed hands up front, the designer/proprietor doesn't know if all that effort will result in a sale. Even if it's only one sale, that's not going to be enough to compensate for all the hours that went into development, hours that the designer will never get back.
I can't speak for Steve at Model Monkey, but I know that any given one of my days will involve my day job (even if I'm not physically there, it's always something), tending to things that need doing here, running whatever errands may be required, not to mention the ordinary human stuff we all have to do. Then there's the unexpected things that pop up that also demand our attention. All of this leaves less time for the things I want to do, and when I do have those moments, I want time for what [i]I[/i] want to do. Otherwise, it's just more work. I haven't done 3D design, but I've done huge decal art projects for screen printing, and I found it worthwhile only because I did subjects I was personally interested in. If labors of love like those were enough to leave me exhausted, I'd hate to imagine having to design something that was outside my realm, as some folks sometimes suggested.
I've dabbled in the cottage industry enough to know that it got old in a hurry, and to realize I don't have the patience to put up with some customers or with the people who suggest what I should do next. My hat is off to people like Steve who have the patience and good humor to endure what goes with putting your wares out in the world, and I respect the daylights out of the boundaries that he's established around what he does.
Jodie Peeler