I had a colonist with decent art skills (7 with a double-flame) and decided to build a sculpture workshop for her.
(This wasn't easy since you need wood and I embarked on the ice shelf - not a single tree! I first had to mine a space, build fertilizer pumps, a sun lamp, two heaters, a new windmill in -70�C weather to power the whole thing... All to build a single workshop. I <3 the ice shelf!)
So, she grabs 75 stone blocks and goes to work. The result is an awful sculpture which was worth less than the blocks I had used to create it! Stone blocks are worth roughly $2 and when the sculptures' value is sometimes significantly below the cost of the base material it's pretty disappointing. That awful statue actually has a negative beauty (-13) and a base worth of $80. Assuming the trader gives you roughly half of the base price that's a loss of $35 and a lot of time.
By now my artist is level 11, almost 12 and she's still producing shoddy or poor pieces of art that are not turning a profit. One statue was normal (+$25) and one good (+$50).
Now let's compare this to my craftress. Cloth sells for ~$1. Every Parka sells for ~$220 and takes 120 units of cloth to make. That's $100 profit for every parka you make. The time needed to make a parka is 367 compared to 1000 for a sculpture. And a parka keeps you warm. With -80�C outside you can't leave the base totake a piss haul a survival meal without a parka or you'll lose some extremities.
I haven't looked into smithing yet but I'll probably try that next. Got some wood and metal I don't need atm. But I don't think art is the way to go unless you have idle colonists and too much money. There will be no silver sculptures any time soon in my base, that's for sure!
PS: In unrelated news: Please make the ice shelf a regular embark, Tynan. It is soooo much fun! And colder areas, - 150�C FTW!
(This wasn't easy since you need wood and I embarked on the ice shelf - not a single tree! I first had to mine a space, build fertilizer pumps, a sun lamp, two heaters, a new windmill in -70�C weather to power the whole thing... All to build a single workshop. I <3 the ice shelf!)
So, she grabs 75 stone blocks and goes to work. The result is an awful sculpture which was worth less than the blocks I had used to create it! Stone blocks are worth roughly $2 and when the sculptures' value is sometimes significantly below the cost of the base material it's pretty disappointing. That awful statue actually has a negative beauty (-13) and a base worth of $80. Assuming the trader gives you roughly half of the base price that's a loss of $35 and a lot of time.
By now my artist is level 11, almost 12 and she's still producing shoddy or poor pieces of art that are not turning a profit. One statue was normal (+$25) and one good (+$50).
Now let's compare this to my craftress. Cloth sells for ~$1. Every Parka sells for ~$220 and takes 120 units of cloth to make. That's $100 profit for every parka you make. The time needed to make a parka is 367 compared to 1000 for a sculpture. And a parka keeps you warm. With -80�C outside you can't leave the base to
I haven't looked into smithing yet but I'll probably try that next. Got some wood and metal I don't need atm. But I don't think art is the way to go unless you have idle colonists and too much money. There will be no silver sculptures any time soon in my base, that's for sure!
PS: In unrelated news: Please make the ice shelf a regular embark, Tynan. It is soooo much fun! And colder areas, - 150�C FTW!