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WEJA: artsnflarts
KILANI: pausedemotions 
       
JOURNALENTRY: The B/C Foodchain
MOODRING: uh-huh
ENTERTAINMENT: Mistborn (Book)
It's not hard to figure out how things work in the B/C world, if you haven't figured it out, artists are at the top. That's right, whether they're linearters, templaters, or plain old custom character artists they reign supreme. They control everything about B/C's economy, and it's a hard truth a lot of greenhorns in the B/C community have come to grips with - but with good reason. If you're going to roleplay or have something in your signature you don't want it to look horrible (for lack of a better term). You want it brand-spankin'-fab. Combined with the right cert, basic story, and following, an artist can make a fortune off of B/C, moreso sometimes than if they just had art auctions.
Something that comes with this domination of the sector, is the people who crave your pets, which is really just your art. They want the privilege of something more than avatar art, when they get a pet, it's access into the cult and a status enhancer. Yes, there are classes in Gaian culture, and yes there is a Gaian culture. The following floods that thread, giving it new blood and life with every post, which is awesome - but of course there is a downside. Shops with equally good (if not better) concepts suffer for it, everyone's attention is on the more popular, and therefor people dismiss anything else they're apart of. They neglect it, until some shops are forced to close down or repeatedly rehome. I've had to do that, but to be honest I kept that shop going mostly out of obligation - I hated it. I wanted to quit it a long time ago but with the fevered cries of NO from the few loyals it had, I was like, fine. I closed it eventually, and felt a sigh of relief come over me.
I know so many shops with great art and concepts that ended up forfeiting their existence and submitting to the popularity of the Greaters. A large problem is people who have a ton of gold. Don't get me wrong, we all love the money, but they buy the pet for basically what we call "sig candy". It's another trophy for their cabinet, and nothing else. I've witnessed people purposely neglect the pet and then trap it so it could not be rehomed, or throw up such a stink that shopowners just say WELL ******** IT. No one considers the work that goes into some of the littler shops, how they have to struggle to get people interested in their concepts, to stay simply afloat. Guest auctions can go badly even if the guest is an incredible artist, and mostly because there just isn't enough interest. I can't figure this out sometimes, because I've seen incredible artists and shops go down the tubes - and in the end it's simply because current owners didn't care or future owners decided they'd rather stretch for the 50m pet that has a mediocre storyline and art.
I've born witness to so many shops that died because the main artist got bored and just decided to say ********. I've had to experience it - twice. I don't hold it against them, it's saddening, sure, but it's how some people are. There are few people I trust in B/C, and they are the people that have hung by me, who didn't sell out, and never forgot where their original interest was held. Two artists who cannot be better friends than they are now are Outrun the Halfling and pach_work. Interestingly, they're both in animation school, but I don't think that's the reason they're so cool about everything. They have their priorities, but they don't forget what they started or what they want to be apart of. They understand taking creative breaks, getting air, and returning refreshed. I admire Outrun the most - probably because I'm just so convinced she's the most awesome person ever. Biased, a little bit, perhaps.
Currently, I could not be happier. I'm not an incredible artist, but I am so pleased with the work I put into my shop it let me release the past hurt and misunderstandings I've been through. I have a good steady following, that I have to thank the previous shop for. Although they are few, they mean a great deal to me. This is the key to being happy in B/C, through the bitterness and jealousy, the lack of gold return for whatever work you're doing. Take pride and happiness from what you do accomplish, take it slowly, and never let your goals revolve around gold gain. Let it revolve around developing a better artistic style, or getting to a certain part of the storyline, create new areas or hold contests for your community members - no, your friends.
If on the other hand, you want popularity and gold beyond imagining, either find yourself an artist (or be a freaking fantastic one), or some insanely done lineart/templates that are so good a four year old could colour them to sell extravagantly. Making a profit in B/C comes down to that (aesthetics), which may lead to your happiness, but funnily enough mine doesn't. Sometimes it's just enough being happy with what you've got.
 Uennie · Thu Apr 23, 2009 @ 12:54am · 0 Comments |
