Palico Dragon-Rider Released... As Free Model (Patreon)

Hey friends,

From the earlier days of Bulkamancer I decided I would never lie to our audience or paint things different from what they really were, even for the sake of saving our face. So, instead of boasting about how we generously decided to release one of our awesome models for free, let me tell you exactly how that happened.

When I first revealed this project, I mentioned how it was one of those cases where we approached a guest artist and offered them to sculpt whatever they wanted. Elijah Lee suggested Palico on a dragon. Even though it's quite different from our usual lineup, I decided to experiment, so I immediately approved the project and let the artist work on his vision without interfering. Then a series of crunches began and I didn't have time to worry about anything beyond the immediate releases, so I only saw the first WIP exactly one month later. I don't think either of us completely realized the sheer scale of work during our initial negotiations, but at this point there was no backing down, so I believed we could pull it off.

Once we revealed the project to everyone, the overall reaction was a bit lukewarm, or at least it felt like one. A number of issues have been brought up, not the least of which being the dragon itself, who didn't really match any designs from the Monster Hunter series. I think at this point we already lost the interest of many MH fans, but it was just the beginning. Technical execution could use some refinement, especially considering the scale of the project, so I asked Totenn to give the artist a hand by sharing his own experience. But in the end, I am sad to admit that the amount of work exceeded the payment received by the artist, and I could not, in all good conscience, ask them to continue despite there still being room for improvement. So when the artist came to me to hand over the project, we asked him to fix the most pressing issues, then chose to pay our dues and take it in the unfinished state.

Afterwards, I had to ask Totenn to work the project in his spare time and, as soon as Lena returned from her vacation, she took it over and spent another week making improvements. I am not going to lie, at that point I was seriously considering to just cut our losses, cancel the model altogether and apologize to everyone, because it didn't look nowhere near the release quality despite all the extra efforts put into it. It's not much of a surprize either, since our artists are much more confident with humanoid models, not creatures. And at that point I simply had to make a choice: either we continue to spend time and resources in our attempts to salvage the model that, apparently, very few people were interested in by then, or abandon it before it affected our other releases beyond repair. It felt an utter waste to cancel the project completely, so we did the best we could, given the limitations, and decided to release it publicly as a free model. I cannot claim it's up to our standards, but this is the best we can do, all things considered.

The model does not come pre-supported. As you know, I am very particular about our support quality, so I'd rather don't release any supports at all than do a half-assed job I wouldn't want to print myself. And considering the size of the model, I would have to spend at least two days on it - the amount of time I simply cannot spare on a free model when there are 5 other projects waiting for my attention.

Before I wrap up, I would like to point out that under no circumstantes I blame the artist for how it all turned out. It was a difficult project; overestimating the amount of work and one's abilities is a very common tale when it comes to art. From start to finish, the blame lies with the lack of proper project management on my part, with many mistakes I made that could have otherwise saved the project at different points. It is a learning experience for me and I will, hopefully, do better next time.

The model will be available for free on Cults3D, MyMiniFactory, and Gumroad. For the sake of convenience, current subscribers can also download it from the pinned post.

Scale: 1/10

Dimensions: 300 x 254 x 225 mm

Pieces: 26. Uncut version is also included.

Cheers!
Des