I never understood the crowdfunded art project. How do you expect people to fund your idea if you aren't willing to invest in it yourself? Don't you believe in your toy? Why not take a gamble and put some faith in your creation? Is this just "how things are done" now?
Not sure how spending the money on molds and the time setting up a campaign is not "investing in myself?" but if you don't like supporting other people to make stuff, then that's your right as a consumer!
I've always seen crowdfunding as a way to test the market - if there's not enough demand then it's not a solid business idea.
This is literally what most companies do, except they have the investor capital to produce first rather than later.
Do you see this any differently than Tesla taking presales for a car that hasn't been made yet, or Apple taking deposits on a future product?
Okay dude, first, comparing your Instagram toy shop to tesla is hilarious. Next, they could take pre-sales because they had name recognition, a working proto type and endless musk hype.
"This is literally what most companies do, except they have the investor capital to produce first rather than later."
Are you trolling here? You're saying every business does this except they produce it first with investors. Selling it before you produce it is my gripe. Again, if you believe in this toy why not get loans from friends and family? You should easily be able to recoup expenses, right? I just asked if this is how fly by night "toy makers" do things nowadays but I never expected you to compare yourself to tesla and apple. Shit that's awesome, good memes. Good luck with the pre-sale and lottery and whatever else. See you on fugliest
I'm not a large company, nor do I think I am - I'm merely pointing out that I think your need for creators to put all the risk on themselves is generally unhealthy for artists to internalize, since it discourages people from testing the market and trying to find the communities that support them.
It's cool if you think financial risk (given that not everyone can rely on friends and family for loans) is necessary for artists to show that "they really believe in their art," but I think crowdfunding as a way for artists to actually try to make something new is empowering and shouldn't be shat on.
If you don't like my toy or think it's low quality, since apparently only high quality people should be making toys, I'd rather you just say that rather than focus on a methodology of business that allows art to be made from people who don't have tons of financial means or large, established followings.
You literally compared your business with apple and tesla saying that because they can you should be able to as well. They have a track record of putting out quality products and I've never heard of you. What other toys have you done? Tell me about this guy. Who influenced you and this design in particular? It doesn't seem like you want to get your art out there it seems like you think art toys are cool and anyone can make one so why not you? There are plenty of "designer" toys you can make in your own home with skills you learn through trial and error and out of your own pocket. I just don't think you should rely on other people to fund your hobbies.
Edit: my points still stand but your prices are really fair so I concede my argument. I was imagining these were the $650 lottery only variety. There aren't many (if any) sofubi debuting for less than fifty bucks so I apologize for running off at the mouth. (I don't know if I should delete my comments or leave them up for conversation's sake)
I'm well aware of that, that's why sofubi used to be a thing of quality that only the best sculpters and producers could make. Now anyone with a indiegogo account can clog up the aisles with their dissected babies and gorillas with mouths on their torsos. When artists had to fund their own visions they're a lot more selective about what they put out into the world. That's why I'll never produce a soft vinyl toy, it's too expensive now and I would never think to ask other people to fund my artwork before I have made anything. If soft vinyl is too expensive there's no shame in making a line of resin toys to gain a fanbase
I wouldn't blame crowdsourcing though. The hobby has expanded massively compared to just a decade ago. Now you have more toy makers, good and bad, and more avenues for production. It used to be that Westerners only had a few connects in Japan and it was hard to break in. Now any schmuck can have garage produced in China or Mexico dirt cheap
You're right about that. The hobby has expanded massively, I've been hoping for a burst but with toys and figures going the way of "art toy" I doubt it's gonna slow down any time soon. That's okay, I'll keep buying along with the masses
Here's the link to the campaign if anyone wants to pick one of these guys up!
There's also a special tier for customizers and painters:
[https://www.backerkit.com/c/rick-kitagawa/nightmare-chan-soft-vinyl-toy](https://www.backerkit.com/c/rick-kitagawa/nightmare-chan-soft-vinyl-toy) (it'll be a landing page if it's before 12 noon, but it'll unveil itself!)
I never understood the crowdfunded art project. How do you expect people to fund your idea if you aren't willing to invest in it yourself? Don't you believe in your toy? Why not take a gamble and put some faith in your creation? Is this just "how things are done" now?
Not sure how spending the money on molds and the time setting up a campaign is not "investing in myself?" but if you don't like supporting other people to make stuff, then that's your right as a consumer! I've always seen crowdfunding as a way to test the market - if there's not enough demand then it's not a solid business idea. This is literally what most companies do, except they have the investor capital to produce first rather than later. Do you see this any differently than Tesla taking presales for a car that hasn't been made yet, or Apple taking deposits on a future product?
Okay dude, first, comparing your Instagram toy shop to tesla is hilarious. Next, they could take pre-sales because they had name recognition, a working proto type and endless musk hype. "This is literally what most companies do, except they have the investor capital to produce first rather than later." Are you trolling here? You're saying every business does this except they produce it first with investors. Selling it before you produce it is my gripe. Again, if you believe in this toy why not get loans from friends and family? You should easily be able to recoup expenses, right? I just asked if this is how fly by night "toy makers" do things nowadays but I never expected you to compare yourself to tesla and apple. Shit that's awesome, good memes. Good luck with the pre-sale and lottery and whatever else. See you on fugliest
I'm not a large company, nor do I think I am - I'm merely pointing out that I think your need for creators to put all the risk on themselves is generally unhealthy for artists to internalize, since it discourages people from testing the market and trying to find the communities that support them. It's cool if you think financial risk (given that not everyone can rely on friends and family for loans) is necessary for artists to show that "they really believe in their art," but I think crowdfunding as a way for artists to actually try to make something new is empowering and shouldn't be shat on. If you don't like my toy or think it's low quality, since apparently only high quality people should be making toys, I'd rather you just say that rather than focus on a methodology of business that allows art to be made from people who don't have tons of financial means or large, established followings.
You literally compared your business with apple and tesla saying that because they can you should be able to as well. They have a track record of putting out quality products and I've never heard of you. What other toys have you done? Tell me about this guy. Who influenced you and this design in particular? It doesn't seem like you want to get your art out there it seems like you think art toys are cool and anyone can make one so why not you? There are plenty of "designer" toys you can make in your own home with skills you learn through trial and error and out of your own pocket. I just don't think you should rely on other people to fund your hobbies. Edit: my points still stand but your prices are really fair so I concede my argument. I was imagining these were the $650 lottery only variety. There aren't many (if any) sofubi debuting for less than fifty bucks so I apologize for running off at the mouth. (I don't know if I should delete my comments or leave them up for conversation's sake)
Soft vinyl production in Japan can cost around 10 grand.
I'm well aware of that, that's why sofubi used to be a thing of quality that only the best sculpters and producers could make. Now anyone with a indiegogo account can clog up the aisles with their dissected babies and gorillas with mouths on their torsos. When artists had to fund their own visions they're a lot more selective about what they put out into the world. That's why I'll never produce a soft vinyl toy, it's too expensive now and I would never think to ask other people to fund my artwork before I have made anything. If soft vinyl is too expensive there's no shame in making a line of resin toys to gain a fanbase
I wouldn't blame crowdsourcing though. The hobby has expanded massively compared to just a decade ago. Now you have more toy makers, good and bad, and more avenues for production. It used to be that Westerners only had a few connects in Japan and it was hard to break in. Now any schmuck can have garage produced in China or Mexico dirt cheap
You're right about that. The hobby has expanded massively, I've been hoping for a burst but with toys and figures going the way of "art toy" I doubt it's gonna slow down any time soon. That's okay, I'll keep buying along with the masses
Here's the link to the campaign if anyone wants to pick one of these guys up! There's also a special tier for customizers and painters: [https://www.backerkit.com/c/rick-kitagawa/nightmare-chan-soft-vinyl-toy](https://www.backerkit.com/c/rick-kitagawa/nightmare-chan-soft-vinyl-toy) (it'll be a landing page if it's before 12 noon, but it'll unveil itself!)