Question to pros from a freshman

[Kevin Camp]

the main problem with templates is when you have a client paying for something that they want to be theirs…. for the most part, templates that you find on the web can be downloaded an used by anyone. so if you use one for a client, there’s nothing preventing someone else from using it for another client. so if your client sees that, they may not be too happy if they thought they were paying for something that was just for them.

and that client could be your boss, or it could be prospective boss if you had those on your demo reel.

however, if what you are working on doesn’t need to be unique or exclusive to that product, then using templates can save you a lot of time.

Kevin Camp
Art Director
KCPQ, KZJO & KRCW

[Mike Poliskey]

Thank you Kevin for your reply; it looks like this is a choice of being unique or more quick.
I asked this question also as I read some review of whiteboard animation tools recently, and wondered if it is not just a quicker way to use them, versus make it self even when being expert? I understand that with those tools there are limitations in creativity, but still..

By this occasion I would ask if there is any market where exclusive-use templates can be bought?

[Tero Ahlfors]

[Mike Poliskey] “By this occasion I would ask if there is any market where exclusive-use templates can be bought?”

“Exclusive template” pretty much means you pay someone to make you something from scratch and also pay extra for the project files.

[Mike Poliskey]

I expected this actually;)

The thought was, maybe there is any option “not sold yet, buy exclusive” in some websites, just to compare prices for similar templates, when purchased exclusively or not.

[Matt Davis]

Any site that sells templates will not sell “exclusive” templates to one buyer, the whole point is to be able to sell to a lot of people. You’d have to pay one person to make you something and then give it (and the rights to use it) to you. Which means you’ll pay a lot more. It’ll make it hard to get that money back from your client too (especially if they know you essentially just played middle man with another designer).

What you can (and should) do if you want to go the template route is open up the hood, so to speak, and play around with the settings and assets.

This can make your project somewhat unique at least and can help you to gain a greater understanding of how to create your own projects. Replace pieces of it with your own photos or graphics, change parameters, add additional effects etc.

If you haven’t already, run through some online tutorials (video co-pilot was one I leaned on when I started out – and I still do). And when you’ve finished a few of them, play around with what you’ve made so that you gain an understanding of how it works and what else you might do with it.

Templates are a good way to get a project off to a quick start, but if you want to make this a profession you need to be able to bring more to the table than that. Imagine if the client wants a small change to the template (can that move from left to right instead of right to left?): will you know how to change it?

But don’t get discouraged, it takes some time. Have fun and keep at it.

[Richard Garabedain]

templates are a good learning experience..you should buy a few and dissect them like frogs… learn how they tick

[Mike Poliskey]

Thank you for all statements, appreciate your opinions. I will keep on learning, probably many questions will be asked yet in a future!