Say John just check the numbers!
You ask a simple question - but it is not going to be a simple answer. No Way!
I see it like this...
1. How many new computers are being sold on the market today?
2. Who is buying them?
3. Do people really care about Skinning their computer?
and not but least...
4. How much if any is a good price to make people think about buying something now that the economy is going bad. {meaning how bad is it and is it so bad that you can not afford to buy a lunch or a cup of coffee you could go without one or 2 days to get that skin you like so much???}
On any given day I spend close to $20 on lunch and coffee. Thus if I see something I like I usually just skip having a day away from the office and doing such things to buy what I want as such. That and with the price of fuel down now from what it was. I usually have a bit more to spend in a way of speaking. But that is me and my life style for the moment. A lot depends on people keeping their employment and a good income to pay for things. Some have lost that and that makes it harder for everyone else it seems. People find it better to hold off on spending and keeping as much in the bank as possible. {If they can?} Plus - if you are in what frame of life too! Married , single, or married with young children and such.
If you have had hard times up there in the northern states due to layoffs or the economy. Then come to Texas - hit the larger cities first for good jobs. This state is one of the few that is doing fairly well compared to others. Even here in a middle small town of Amarillo - there are still good jobs and we do have a lot of people coming in from out of state looking for a new life here. Things a bad as they are in most every other place. But it is not as bad as you think if you look closely here.
As for skinning to make a living? NO! it is a good hobbie and a good idea to try. But to make it at doing such you will need to have closer contact with media markets as a professional and/or graphics degree for design as such to really get into the big bucks as would be needed to be as such to make a good living at skinning.
Just my thoughts as to the subject. Best idea is to find a good steady job and do skinning as a side job for whatever and whenever you have the time to do so. Without the stress of having to meet deadlines for income to be presented for your only way of making it in this world today.
Art has had it's ups and downs for all the same reasons. When people have more money to spend they will do just that - "spend it!". But when times get hard and there is less money... people and lets say artist do not sell as much for the simple reason - there is not enough people spending money on art as there was before. But as is the economy - when it changes so will how people spend the money and what they spend it on as such the case is.
Go back and look at history and what has in the past happened to a lot of great artist. You know where I'm going with this and I feel you will figure it out for yourself soon.
I feel Stardock and WC will make it for sometime before there is something bad enough to put a real hard crunch on what these peolpe do. With that in mind ... it will be something much worse than it is now before that does happen. Not saying it will not happen either. Things could go down hill really fast and a lot of people would finally say it is not a recession but a depression we are about to fall into then for a certain fact. Few want to see it this way or for that matter think this way either. Anything at this point is possible and we can only hope things get better and keep working for a better tomorrow.
Thus it is and so be it today and we hope tomorrow is better!
