Well even though alot of people do great work some that I know of (No Names) do that alot only post to show off and yes they do great work and a cool people but c'mon if you only post to show off your stuff then sell it on E-Bay how much of a REAL fan are you? It's like your "pimping" yourself for attention.
You may have not known but JAF made Ratchet & Ironhide. plowking posted them for him in the galleries.
QFT. I'm not in it to show off, I'm in it to demonstrate and teach and hope that I can encourage others. I hate it when people go "Wow, I could never do that!" or "That's better than I could ever do!" ... because that's never true! All it takes is the right materials, proper instructions, and a little dedication to something you love. I always try to post what I used, how I did it, and offer help for anyone who wants to replicate or surpass my efforts. It always makes me glad to see others encouraging fellow craftsmen.
That's a pretty silly notion, in regard to most of these though. Recipes? Clearly these were made from models, some scratch-built etc, and obviously so much trial and error by the people who created them, how could you possibly create a tutorial for some of this stuff? It's literally an art, it ain't baking cupcakes kiddo. Further, there are so many tutorials out there, and guys willing to share info, that you can take all of that and incorporate it into your own creations, instead of wanting to ape the work of someone else. And as was mentioned before by Ptitvite, a few of these original threads are scattered etc, who knows there may have been tutorials after all, yeah? Let's show a little class here, cmon.
Very true!!....JAF made those guys.....I'm not to that level of Bashing/Customizing yet... As fas as recipes....I'm sure that none of the Bashers here would have a problem telling what they did to achieve the desired look they wanted.... A lot of these pieces are older, and a lot of the pics have vanished....I know for myself, if I were ever curious about how something was done, I just shoot the artist a pm asking....my success rate has been 100%...not once has any customizer here told me..."its a secret.....I cant tell yah"
What?? You really believe that ALL people that make customs,kitbashes etc. are 100% TRUE fans to whatever line they like? My point was to the people that ONLY post when they have something to show (No matter how cool it is) then send it on E-Bay...Personally most people that do make kitbashes do it for themselves or for others that love it too. The customizer's that make kitbashes just to get interest & re-sell them are just in it for the $$$
I'd like to make money with my customs but the problem is that I don't have the patience to build 2 (as I want one for myself) nor the money as some figures are hard to find and expensive. Also, I kinda have some attachment to my customs making it hard to sell. And lastly, my customs are not all repaints, some of them are scratchbuilt so I think they are worth more (to me) than what they would go for on ebay. As for example, I envy Jin Saotome who proved that kitbashing is art and that the only way you can get a custom without making it yourself is to pay alot of money for it. It's good for every kitbasher who had trouble getting a decent amount of money for their work.
Soundblaster, have you ever seen these pages at TFMASTER.COM? http://www.tfmaster.com/projects_follow_along.php
I'm not even sure what that has to do with anything I said? The thread was about some cool customs, not about the state of the artform, or collectors etc, that was just a real petty aside. Enjoy the work, that's what the thread was about. It wasn't a calling out "real fans" or coming across as if everyone owes you an explanation on how they do their stuff. And like Plowking said, if you ask I'm betting 99% of the time the customizer will be more than helpful. Personally, anytime I've ever asked someone about their work, they were more than cordial and even seemed humbled that anyone cared enough to ask, and were always awesome about it. Again sir, I'm saying it's about having some class. I'm not gonna sidetrack this thread anymore though, just MY
PK didn't make those, Jaf did PK just uploaded the images man. The folder name specifies this, and when you click any picture it says so also
i finally decided to join. i was lurking for a long time. i wanted to share ideas as well. this place is first and foremost a community. ie. people are different from each other. if you start posting its because people want to share their work. if that person does not show you how its done, its also fun to look at mod and figure it out yourself by opening the toy up. that's fun as well. keep in mind that any online forum is first and foremost a community. ---- i just can't wait for supersquad7's stunticons. *rubs hands* happy holidays everyone.
Well, this thread is just full of fun things to interact with . . . That's great . . . I'll go ahead and get things back on track with my post here I really don't want to touch the first part of that post with a 10 ft pole, so I won't It seems as if I was about to be hasty posting a response because the galleries are still active at Transtopia (too bad my admin status isn't though . . . yet . . . While I know that the intention of this thread was not to rabbit-trail off here, since it has I think it's worth pointing out that I agree with you to a certain extent. I'm certainly down with an artist getting paid in proportion to the worth of his work (and even if it's out of proportion, people are free to spend their money on what they want). However, anyone would be fool not to take notice of what's been pointed out here (using our TF-fan sites as nothing but a place for solicitation). If one wants to join a fan site to be part of a fanbase, that's cool; if one is "interacting" for mere exploitation of said fanbase (whether the fanbase is cool with it or not) is just not a good thing. Sure, a good "graphic designer" can look at trends and create a product based on a demand of what's going to sell (that's part of the essence of graphic design as a business). Figure out what what's going to be hot in 6 months and have some customs ready to go and just keep jumping from fandom to fandom to sell your artwork. That being said, if one is to do this "professionally", one had be professional in ALL areas of that profession (i.e., not just making custom artwork). I'd think things as proper grammar and being an expert in a given fandom is just a given. The things that the most of us know (such as character-specific things and what past artists have done) should be a given./rant Overall, anything that serves to elevate customs and kitbashes to the proper status of "good art" is healthy for any customs community That being said, motivation and methods must match. Well, while I mostly agree with all of that (especially sharing, teaching, and encouragement ), I would recommend a bit of caution of absolutes with "ANYone can make a good custom". There are some persons in the world that, despite their best efforts, can't make artwork that is of the level that some of talented folks here do. What we do is a skilled craft (which is why it's worth it's money). In terms of praise/criticism, apt praise is always good. I think persons should be mindful of how they praise (e.g., I don't think telling someone they're a "god" because they can make a custom is a good thing). On the flip side of the coin, you're absolutely right with saying that people shouldn't post just to get their egos stroked. Constructive criticism is supported and encourage here (the key word of "constructive" being crucial). I've seen just as many artists slammed for their work as I've seen artist praised. No matter how big of a turd a person thinks someone's custom is, what is often forgotten is that person spent time, thought, and care in that piece. Those things need to be taken into consideration as well as how to help the artist improve (which hits on encouragement and teaching that you mentioned ). Opinions are like pie holes; everyone's got one. Good criticism will help a person grow THIS is what is really cool about the TF customs community (especially here). It's a good place to be to learn and grow while making some cool friends. Ironic how I say that in response to this member Yeah, what he said When supersquads7 makes Stunticons, let me know We're glad you decided to come out of lurking mode and join in on more fun! If any of you are lurking out there, follow this guy's footsteps
I dont care to tell anyone how I made any custom I have done. Most of them are repaints , so no real secrets there, but I'd love to see different AND I am sure better spins on anything I made. Its not like I have been doing them that long anyway.
Sorry, I did'nt want to badmouth another tf site but I was fed up of waiting and then to realize that the metroplex and devastator he mentioned as "masterpieces" were never actually finished or even started. As for the other works, I had already seen them when I was hanging out at transtopia. And yes, Tfmaster.com may no longer have it's forums but the galleries are still online.
well for my part sharing my technics is problematic.... many changes come and go during a project, and i dont have time to write down everything.... i would lose too much production time wich is a bad thing for me ... but i,m always there for specific questions and i always show the progress of my pieces almost daily.... so if you watch carefully you,ll see what you need to know if you decide to build one.... (except metroplex.. he,s always changing and changing and changing i have problems keeping up with him myself lol) so chill, watch the work, and make constructive criticisms when necessary..... but if you dont like what you see and you feel like bitching about; DONT this will only result in conflict and possibly the writhdrawl of a good artist from the scene... this has happen to me a couple of times (but i can bite back as well and i take opinions for what they are) but some dont and are now gone because of thoses who cant appreicate the work for what it is.... also for my part i rarely give comments because as i said i have allot of work to do ... projects, production, work, wife and kids... so i cant be everywhere at once but i do give comments and praises whenever i can..... there are allot of great projects i,m following like ptivite,s devestator (very impressive) and many more.... i will leave comments when i can or when the project is finished.... now i got to go back to work lol metroplex,powerglide and sky lynx are waiting
Couldn't have put it better myself. Especially when you mentioned Kids, Wife. There just isn't enough time all of the time. If asked I would gladly help a fellow Tfan. In a PM or a post (if I can ever get a chance to see it.)
