Thanks for posting Doug. I appreciate the topic.
I wanted to do something to help Ernie. But if I knew how hard it was going to be, I probably wouldn't have started (like I didn't start the "firebird/phoenix-to-space" animation).
After the first month trying to convert the 2D sketches to 3D, I didn't want to give up and not produce something. I had time invested and didn't want to waste it. So I had to generate something, rather than nothing. I just wish I could have done it faster.
Then again, if it were easy, it would have been done already. I've lost track of hours spent. But for example, I spent several days just trying to get the wings connected to the fuselage properly. I'm sure someone who does Blender for a living could do it faster, but simply put, they didn't.
In most cases people don't want to work on other people's projects (especially for free). If they're going to build a ship, they'd rather build their own instead of someone else's. They would much prefer (& enjoy) 100% ownership of their ideas/design instead of working on someone else's vision.
I don't mind working on the ship in my spare time. Especially since the heavy lifting of creating it is done. But if it were a paying gig, I'm sure I could do even more.
Having said that, I am hesitant about sharing the .blend files without getting something for the work/value/time I put into creating the model from a 2D sketch. I'm sure people could build on my work, and likely create something better than I ever could. But I would feel cheated knowing it was based on my (uncompensated) work. It may be a long shot to do all the work up front, but I'm hoping it will eventually generate some crypto. Perhaps a "Release the Ship" campaign is necessary so others can build on what I've done?
The hard part about digital assets, be it 3D modeling, programming, or graphic design, is that the creativity and execution is nearly 100% labor. Which people think should be free. I've heard many times "my kid could have done this", or "this should take you 5 minutes". But in reality, I spend hours squeezing my brain trying to figure out the best way to write code or model something. Nothing is ever "easy", and as Ernie says, "there's no just button".
If "building the ship" is an exercise in open source design. I'm hopeful that knowledgeable people would contribute (we'll see how many people offer their services). But if something is really going to be built, even if it's Christmas ornaments & drone toys, I think it needs to be funded (via kickstarter or the Funding Center) and people need to be compensated for contributing.
Sorry this was so long. Hope I made a point somewhere. : ) Thanks for reading.
