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Liger Watch. Cushypen Talk
9 years ago
Well Cushypen just recently made an FA page for itself and I couldn't help but want to talk about it. But if you think I'm going to be singing it's praises the answer is no. I'm also going to try not to bash it either but I wanted to put out there how I feel and was wondering how others felt about it.
I remember back a few years ago now when MifMaf started Cushypen being a bit angry. Here she was creating a paywall that would seperate us from some of the best artist in the community and they were going for it. I was a bit pissed. But taking a step back though I can understand why. They're good artist and what artist wouldn't want to make a living on their craft and have a stable steady amount of income which is what the subscription fees would give them.
Looking at things now I find I'm still somewhat torn. I understand the artist wanting to make money. But at the same time I'm still sad to not see much of their work anymore. We were given promises that this wouldn't be an end to their public work but it at least FEELs like it's slacked off a good deal. Though not for all of them. There are a number who have kept up a good presence for their public art as well and I can't help but thank them for continuing to share that wish us and continue to inspire others. Though I've also heard that some have struggled with keeping up churning out art for Cushypen and that it's been a bit draining on them.
Lastly I do wonder just a bit if Cushypen creating a page on FA might be a sign that subscriptions have dropped off a bit. I'm not saying they are but it's certainly tempting to think that might be a reason.
Also I think they may have a problem with how they try and market their site. Or at least in what they show as a sample of their site. I can't help but notice that despite their claiming to produce art with a broad spectrum of themes and taste that quite a lot of the art they show is female dominated. Or at least it seems that way to me. This might not be representative of Cushypen's body of work but if it's the image they put forth than it might steer away those that aren't interested in a lot of female art.
Here's Cushypen's page if you'd like to go take a look at it for yourself.
cushypen
So what do you gusy think of Cushypen? Anybody a subscriber? Either way share your thoughts I'd love to hear them.
I remember back a few years ago now when MifMaf started Cushypen being a bit angry. Here she was creating a paywall that would seperate us from some of the best artist in the community and they were going for it. I was a bit pissed. But taking a step back though I can understand why. They're good artist and what artist wouldn't want to make a living on their craft and have a stable steady amount of income which is what the subscription fees would give them.
Looking at things now I find I'm still somewhat torn. I understand the artist wanting to make money. But at the same time I'm still sad to not see much of their work anymore. We were given promises that this wouldn't be an end to their public work but it at least FEELs like it's slacked off a good deal. Though not for all of them. There are a number who have kept up a good presence for their public art as well and I can't help but thank them for continuing to share that wish us and continue to inspire others. Though I've also heard that some have struggled with keeping up churning out art for Cushypen and that it's been a bit draining on them.
Lastly I do wonder just a bit if Cushypen creating a page on FA might be a sign that subscriptions have dropped off a bit. I'm not saying they are but it's certainly tempting to think that might be a reason.
Also I think they may have a problem with how they try and market their site. Or at least in what they show as a sample of their site. I can't help but notice that despite their claiming to produce art with a broad spectrum of themes and taste that quite a lot of the art they show is female dominated. Or at least it seems that way to me. This might not be representative of Cushypen's body of work but if it's the image they put forth than it might steer away those that aren't interested in a lot of female art.
Here's Cushypen's page if you'd like to go take a look at it for yourself.
cushypen So what do you gusy think of Cushypen? Anybody a subscriber? Either way share your thoughts I'd love to hear them.
But another thing to me is when you set up a paywall you essentially say your art is good enough to deserve simply being paid to be seen, and there's a lot of artists out there who are incredibly good that are making money without that kind of mindset. Do I like Cushypen? No, but I don't hate them, I'll probably never become a subscriber to it though.
I mean, I like baby fur art just as much as the next guy, but there's no way in hell I'd pay that much for what would basically amount to fap material.
I follow a number of fantastic artists right here on F/A that could put these guys to shame (yes, that's a bold statement, but I stand by it. Go check out the artists I follow, if ya wanna find out). I personally believe that when a group thinks that they can capitalize on art (or any other commodity for that matter) it raises the question as to whether or not they actually support the artist(s) in question.
These guys are an unnecessary middle-man with the potential to bring an already limited market into disrepute.
If I were an artist worth my salt, I would not register with a "third party" at all. In fact, I would handle the business side of things myself. Again, when I decide to commission an artist, I would cut the middle-man & go directly to the artist*.
Now, granted that I haven't heard of these guys before (Also, as a side note I used to be fairly active within the New Zealand AB/DL community too) & as you've pointed out that they seem to be losing subscribers; that just raises more red flags & more questions about how they deal with commissioners/customers, how they support the artists that they have on their books (if they support their artists period), how much markup are they adding to the artist's initial price, how are they obtaining the art... the list goes on.
All in all, from what you've pointed out about these guys, I think there is some dodgy goings on here to say the least & I would keep as far away from these guys as much as I possibly could.
*When I plan to purchase an item online, I research the retailers & compare prices (9/10 different retailers add their own markup prices of varying degrees). Failing that, I find out what distributors they buy from, again compare prices. If THAT doesn't work, I will go directly to the manufacturer. A perfect example of this would be when I buy electronic components.