Not being an regularly active customizer as oh say 99% of the ppl in the Radicons or Sector 70 for that matter   I tend to see some of the what I like to call (Imo mind you) "The Experts" not knocking anyone here I mean it as praise!. Which their work amazes me at times and I tend to think I don't even have painting skills like that... or some of the modding skills that are done to a lot of kitbashes. (Waiting for Sups to show up and  ) But none of that makes me feel defeated, instead I take my time to finish projects it's not a race to me... I'll get them done eventually.... But I look at bashing as a pass time, not a means to an end, I do it to make characters or paint improvements that Hasbro seems to not want to do or wants to make us wait years for.

But now taking pics for galleries.... hoooooo boy you gotta wait there  

 

well i used to comment to get comments(this kinda works btw) then i realized i was commenting on stuff that did not even appeal to me not that there was anything wrong with the execution of the custom i just did not REALLY care about it. so when i realized that i felt like a hack / poser. also if you comment like that you don't get honest feedback back just other ppl returning the favor.

allot of what you speak of seems to me to be a presentation and popularity game. the more customs you build the more you are well known. presentation is also part of this. i have been working on this aspect for the past year, because it is PRESENTATION POPULARITY and then CONCEPT that sell your work in that order. now when i say sell your work i mean weather you sell it physically on ebay or metaphorically here.

all that appear to be pro are not pro. they are just good at promoting themselves in many cases.

oh and i wish it was the work alone that made a name sadly it is not it is mainly how many pieces you put out and how you promote it that build a name. i have seen good "names" put out lousy stuff and it still went high. also the consumer hardly understands what is well done and what is not well done. that is why there used to be millions of velvet elvis potraits. anyways

 

I need a catchier name  

 

^^^^This^^^^

If you have to complaint about not getting enough attention then your not here for the right reason. Seems like lots want attention so they can jump on some sort of proverbial money train(which is kinda nonexistent).

I think a good step to honestly getting better/more feedback is taking better pictures and working on presentation. I cant count how many customs I see titles of and go in only to be disappointed by blurry or super small pictures. Cameras are getting cheaper and if it means you have to pass on a leader figure or two to have enough money to get one with decent features then do it. Also backgrounds kill me, your laptop is not a good backdrop, I am sorry. BUT! A .99 cent piece of white poster board is!

And i have to say presentation really is key again, I have seen lots of customs up close and you can tell who has the skill in person instantly. Photos can lie very easily and enhance otherwise mediocre work, and the same thing holds true for the opposite way, I have seen poorly taken photos of customs and then seeing them up close is like a totally different custom and look amazing. Bottom line.... presentation.

Its not that hard and I know I am always more than willing to let out a few picture taking secrets to those who actually ask and want/need as all my photos are manipulated besides auto contrast and cropping them.


As for the, "The "normal" (not so superawseome skilled) Customizers getting sunk in the mass of awesomeness!" All i can say is step your game up and try harder? What else is there to do? Try your best and keep getting better is all you can do.

Another thing that people have to realize is that some of use do this professionally and that means we have superior equipment/tools/paints/cameras/etc.... this is clearly an advantage I can see and does make a gap of quality vs. some, but thems the ropes kids. No real way to solve that.

 

To mirror most of what people have already said:
I like to try and comment on everyones work that looks good to me. This isnt just "big name" artists either. Many times i find certain "big name brands" look utterly horrendous, yet just below it theres another one which looks a million times better by someone who ive never heard of. Recent ROTF customs are a good example and these "nobodies" will go very far if they keep it up.
But yeah none of us should be here for fame and if you dont get many comments then who cares? Do you really bash just for comments and attention? If you do then thats a shame.
Everyone has to start somewhere, even the big names like Sabby, encline tony and Jin where nobodies once upon a time. It took them years of hard work and quality ideas to get them to the level they are at today where anything they post gets tons of attention. If you work just as hard and make stuff thats just as good you'll get that sort of attention too id imagine one day, but it isnt gonna happen overnight and youve gotta make sure your work stands up and is presented well.

 

LMAO me to   i feel stuck with what i have though

 

Ditto..cant we ask the mods to change them for us?

 

How does Rosewhip sound like? Or Heelcrusher??? LOLZ!!! Joking!!!! But seriously, I need a new name  

 

Ok. I know. Sabrina's getting lame.

 

I'm partly wondering whether this whole issue is merely "Artists who make money vs. Artists who don't make money" instead of even seeing two distinct groups. Perception is [a form of] reality often times, though, even if that perception is skewed or downright "wrong". The reality is that there aren't two groups of people posting in Radicons. Are skill levels different? Of course! One of the many great things about Radicons is that it's not just for the "elite" like other boards have been in the past. I'd encourage someone to just look at our 1000+ gallery of customs for my point to be proven. We've never regarded one person's work more than another person's for gallery consideration; all we ask is that one follows the Gallery Submission Guidelines to make the Radicons Staff's job easier.

I really think this is very well-said, Stu. I also firmly believe that you are one of the direct products of what Radicons can do for someone. There are others here that can back up my statement there.

If someone's goal is to be "king of the hill of Transformers customs", they seriously need a reality check. Aside from the utter ridiculous nature of that goal for other reasons, there will always be someone come along and do something better. What one needs to think about is not engaging in such a ridiculous venture but . . . .

I'd also add to this to say if one feels that their threads aren't getting enough posts, how much does the said author post in other's threads? I think it silly for someone to come to Radicons (or any other board for that matter) and post a thread, leave it for people to toss their praises, and only respond to their own threads. I read somewhere "treat others like you want to be treated" not how one is treated. The risk in living life this way is that often times you'll never see a return on that. However, such is not the real motivation for that to begin with, but I digress . . . .

The thing about Radicons also is that while the community still remains very close-knit, it's a very large, close-knit community. Quite frankly, I'd simply echo Stu's own statement to say that people have particular interests and may post based on those and nothing more. For instance, I'm still mostly into Alternators/Binal Tech customs, and someone may not post in my thread simply because they don't like the line at all. Everyone has their own biases. This is one reason I've always valued the posts from someone who doesn't like the line I'm working from because their post tends to be more objective towards my actual work done  

Also, the Radicons Staff often make sure the threads are healthy. If we see a thread that isn't as active as another, we venture into the thread to discern why this is the case or not. If threads are running smoothly, they may not need my actual input.

Also, what is the nature of the actual thread? Many artists have proven that presentation can make or break a project. It is for this very reason that we have the gallery guidelines that we do. We want poeple to present their work in the best light possible. While a custom may rock the roof right off of a person's home, the rest of the world can't see it with 4 photos that are blurry and have a lot of distracting things in the background. It's a 3-D object: take me around the piece in alt mode and take me around the piece in robot mode 360 degrees. Pose the bot! Take good photos . . . . like I said, those things can make or break a custom. If someone doesn't value their work enough to present it, don't beg a person to value it enough to post about it.

If there is one thing in this world I love doing it's   JD here!   However, I can't say too much because even though I fulfilled JD's prophecy of finishing my Alt Nightbeat before he did, neither of us have a gallery to show for it   That being said, I do actually post everyday   *rimshot*

You can change your user name, but you need to discuss that with a board administrator. TFW2005.com recently passed a permission for TFW2005.com donors that a name change is a perk based on a donation  

 

well my ebay customs name is actually an idea from where i work, as my job is boring i have a lot of time to daydream and think!

my name on here is a mix of my first and last name, i was actually called nellie when my mom was pregnant with me as i used to kick quite heavy like a heard of elephants so it stuck! and maybe as my name is nathan ellis you can see the link?

but as for the thread i know F_R bashes as an income and some others obviously do but myself i work long hours and do repaints just for an outlet and a hobby. but i do not believe in a 2 class society as many of the more experienced people on here have helped me and given me positive comments on the few figures ive posted here its not as though they have been snobbish towards anyone!

 

I have to admit: I think it's a little discouraging to have your work overlooked. Some artists do get more feedback than others. It also has to do with the type of work that you do.

Right now, I think the most popular customs in Radicons involve ROTF, followed by G1 combiners. Non-TF customs, Revoltechs, and Gobots are less popular. The usual responses in those threads are "I'm not a huge fan of _____ but...". So yea, it also comes down to what you're making.

I would like to see more C&C in my threads to be honest, as I comment on a lot of the other work here. But I'm not looking for people to pat me on the back each time I post a custom. I want criticisms and suggestions as to how I can improve my work.

 

Ok, here's a relative newbie's 2cents... I've only got a few bashes under my belt. I've posted them all on Radicons, as this site is what got me into customs. None of them have had more than 2 pages of responses. Does it bother me, nope. I'm not here for praise, well, not totally. Would I eventually like to be recognised within the community as someone who does quality work, sure, but that takes time and practice. The real reason I'm here is to get better and learn something from others who are better than me. As for comments, everyone I've gotten has been, at the very least, helpful and encouraging. I don't always comment on everything on here because sometimes I don't have anything helpful to say and after 3+ pages, does anyone really need another "hey that's cool" comment? I also don't comment on some things because I'm stuck using my PS3 as a web browser, and if you don't already know what a pain in the you-know-what it is to type on this little keypad, lemme tell ya, it is.

 

Sorry for the double post (PS3 only lets you type so much at once for some dumb reason...I shoulda bought a laptop) But I also wanted to add that just because you might not get alot of comments on you work, you shouldn't get discouraged. As for the "upper class" of customisers; everyone I'd put into that category have been nothing but helpful from what I've seen. Not just to me either. That's what made me stay here and not even look at the other sites(why go to Burger king when you got a steak on your grill, right) All I can really say to other new customisers is keep at it. I don't think I'm all that good, so my work doesn't warrent 5 pages of comments. I know it, I'm cool with it. It's not gonna stop me from trying to get better, or posting my stuff. I live in an area where apparently no one else does customs, so this is the only way for me to learn new things and to hear what others think I need improvement on, even if it's only a handful of people who comment.

 

i don't care if i'm shunned. if i like what i do, then i already feel contented. all the cheers are just icing on the proverbial cake.

 

Both of you guys do some great work, and are both on my radar.  , if that means anything.  

That's the kind of attitude I have, nice to know tat you guys agree.

 

all things considered, i'm just doing my version of someone else's ideas, mostly as a nod to their originality so i don't mind the overlooking. come to think of it the most original bashes i did were Soundwave and Grimlock.  

 

I'll toss my two pennies in here!

I certainly don't think of myself as one of the "premier" Radicon customizers on the boards, but I feel I'm treated very fairly with regard to "exposure" or critique, from all Radicons regardless of their personal skill level or "status" on the "food chain" (please excuse the poor word choices, they don't convey my meaning as well as they could).

If anything I may be somewhat to blame for letting any of my threads drop down the list, as I don't respond directly to every comment, rather I let a few build and answer them all in one post.

I think I give comments and critiques fairly and to every Radicon posting I come across. I am often the first to comment on "non-premier" (again, excuse the verbiage) members and geuinely have an interest in all posts.

If you feel overlooked, it may even be something as simple as thread title or thumbnail picture.

If you say"minor/repaint ROTF Prime repaint" you are gonna be competing with more threads than if you were to put "Battle Damaged LED-infused king sized Prime-O-Rama!!"

 

AX23- Thanks. Coming from you, that means alot... although I think you may have me confused with someone with talent, lol.