Should I share works in progress on social media?

Hi everyone,

I opened a shop up in November, and I just got to a place where I'm starting to extend my marketing efforts beyond friends. I have a new twitter account and a facebook page, and I'm thinking it would be nice to share images of computer renders of things I'm working on. The thing is, I'm afraid of people stealing my ideas before I have a chance to finish and launch them. What are your opinions on the matter?

Thank you!
~Sarah

Looking at your shop, it would be hard to duplicate most of your pieces exactly, but it is stuff that others could create similar works to. The larger your brand, the more people will try to mimic you. Personally, I'd share your work. Show people what you do, what you make. Then if someone copies it, more people will know that you did it first.

It's typically not a problem. You mostly run into problems with people infringing on your intellectual property when you have a design or designs that sell very well. Then you'll tend to run into problems. A common problem that comes up in this regard is arbitrage, where they will use your images and sell your products as their own. Like this, which I have recently hired a lawyer to help me have them take it down. Aside from that I tend to not worry about it because I have come to learn over the years that there are not many people in the world that straight up copy or make obvious derivatives of your work. In this day and age of online it's just too easy to be discovered as a IP thief and so I think that's why it's not seen much.

Your designs are original and lovely, but I think you should probably start by just showing the pieces you've already successfully printed. Explain your inspiration, find your market, etc., and then, once you're a little more established and you have an identity and a brand, it shouldn't be a risk to show WIPs on social media. I've only recently started showing prototypes and renders because I had the same concerns as you do. And as Youknowwho4eva and UniverseBecoming have already mentioned, it's more likely people will straight up steal your photos and market your prints as theirs than actually go through the hard work of trying to 3D-model something you've already done.

I like to share renders and other images (sketches etc) before they are printed. The question really is: if they get the model out 4 weeks before you, will it significantly affect your sales?

I don't believe that my products have that big a following that my sales would be impacted if anyone decided to copy it before I started making it available, but perhaps others do.

The advantage is that it helps to build and maintain the audience as it creates interest in your brand beyond just 'here is a product for sale' posts. I like to take my followers through the process with me and maybe people are more interested in the product if they have seen a render before and got a bit excited about it.

Thank you everyone for your feedback! I'm finding that with the long wait to actually get prints, it's helpful to post renders in the meantime. I'm finding MasAsU to be correct about building an audience, even if it's slow-going. If you'd like to see what I've been sharing, click on the Facebook or Twitter icons below.

While I may not have been in the "game" as long as the others here have, I've been sharing photos/renders of my work before I even upload it. My designs may not be as elegant or aesthetically pleasing as yours, but the people I try to cater to, scale modellers, find it interesting. At that's what I hope. I'm on a few forums and Facebook groups and in many of them I've posted threads asking what others would like to see. In there I've been posting progress pictures as well as final renders of the product. I'm sure that some of the other people who work with 3D printing have gotten ideas from those threads but it doesn't bother me so much. There's still plenty out there to design.

Thieves gonna steal. You have to live your life anyway.

Wow...Bathsheba! I feel honored to have you respond to my post. ^_^

I saw a video of a talk you gave at EG. That's part of what sparked my concerns. You're right, though we do have to live our lives. I'm also finding it fun to share the excitement of newly born ideas and the suspense of waiting for the firsts print to come.

While I have the chance, I want to thank you for your inspiration. You've been one of my favorite living artists for a long time, second only to George Hart. I wouldn't be starting on this journey right now if it wasn't for the two of you.

Let me know if ever anything cool is happening over around Somerville. I live in Western, MA, and I sometimes travel east to see friends and family north of Boston.

~Sarah

P.S. I just submitted a piece to Bridges! Wish me luck!

> While I have the chance, I want to thank you for your inspiration. You've been one of my favorite living artists for a long time, second only to
> George Hart. I wouldn't be starting on this journey right now if it wasn't for the two of you.

Thank you. George is a mighty force for geometry -- and we can't neglect to mention his daughter Vi.

> Let me know if ever anything cool is happening over around Somerville. I live in Western, MA, and I sometimes travel east to see friends and
> family north of Boston.

Cool things are always happening at Somerville, I hear all about them from my friends' Facebooks.

> P.S. I just submitted a piece to Bridges! Wish me luck!

I'm sure you'll get in. It's a fun event, I went to some back in the day.