This goes out mainly to sculptors/caster-moulders. I'm looking around to see if there are any similar sculpting collectives akin to what I see Trollforged was aiming for (I think Ed, over ther, is focused on casting at the moment, and the collective idea is on a low flame).
Basically a profit sharing system as opposed to up-front payments to the artist to acquire new minis (aside from initial mould-making cost).
I think a major downside, creatively, in requiring payment up front as opposed to 'royalties' down the line, is that it creates a major bottle neck in getting things done. You get a few full-scheduled artists working for a few producers who wait to accumulate enough cash to commission new figures. And on the side, we see a lot of small operations that follow the same model but lose the momentum, possibly because of this system, to fill out their shops.
What I would propose Is, instead of a commission system to decide on figures which are expected to sell, use a submission system to filter models by quality, and then allow artists to follow their own creative inclinations, while paying the cost of their initial mould-making materials and time. I think it would allow sculptors to work more freely, communicate on projects, and I think the community would really benefit from a possible golden age of product availability…. well, idealistically!
I can imagine the production side looking down the line imagining all the casting work, while the artist is lounging around, and wondering why they should pay out a royalty. Well, the success is shared, but so is failure and wasted time on the artist's side; basically the days we would spend working to bang out sculpts that bring no royalties down the line is money lost, that is a risk the producer isn't saddled with, and it is also a motivator to artists to work at their best.
Basically, to succeed down the line, you need something built in the present. This is a way to get something done now, so that a future is possible.
If I can get some people behind this, if nothing like this is happening, then I would be willing to build the page. It's been stirring in my head so I bought the domain ArmiesofAnything.com. That's what I was thinking would be a cool name for the collective, Armies of Anything. I'm not proposing myself as any kind of leader for such a thing (I imagine it being more or less 'democratic'. Basically I just want to sculpt, paint and just create cool stuff.
Get in touch with me here, or at z0rg0burger@gmail.com. OR, take this idea, run with it, and let me know so I can shower you with sculpts.
Dave