Request a pumpkin pattern or critique the current collection.
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By monstermash
#93527
WOW #3 I was hoping to relax this year pre party and only do nice simple carves but with stunners like these there's no chance of that happening. Nice one.
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By SuperSonic
#93544
Never heard of the movie from when the last pattern related to this one was released. Still haven't watched it. :P
By Ajax
#93545
Oh yes you should release the complimentary pattern to this in the main gallery. One of my favs.
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By keifferone
#93548
Ajax wrote:Oh yes you should release the complimentary pattern to this in the main gallery. One of my favs.
Thank you! I thought there was a VIP from a few years ago thet went with this but I don't have it saved. I hop I have the hard copy still.
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By Raven
#93564
SuperSonic wrote:Never heard of the movie from when the last pattern related to this one was released. Still haven't watched it. :P
You must rectify this situation SOON!
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By Euri
#93694
I think #3 is fantastic! The companion to this is one of my most FAVORITE ZP patterns ever. I love that one. Sonic, go watch the movie!!
I printed out the T-Rex and it also looked normal. Maybe you are running low on ink?
Sloaner, thanks for suggesting that. As it turned out, I was trying to print them out in Firefox and as soon as I tried to print them out in Explorer there were no problems. :thumbsup:
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#93712
I've told this story before, but here's little history about the VIP pattern page for those who are new around here:

I never sat down and said, "You know what, I'm going to charge an extra $10 for 10 more patterns." It evolved like this - originally there were multiple price levels ($20, $15, $10, $5, $2) and each one gave you the same exact full access to all the patterns. The reason for the different amounts was to give the payer a choice. "Give whatever you think is fair" was the only instruction.

I was so appreciative of those who voluntarily gave $20, I offered to send each of these people a small gift in the mail. After a few years, it became too much work to stuff so many envelopes with keychains and wristbands. So at that point I said to myself "Well, it's patterns they really want, so I why don't I make a set of 10 bonus patterns to be the free gift."

And that's how the VIP Pattern section still works today. You can think of it like this... the $10 plan and $20 plan are the same thing. You only give $20 if you feel that it's worth it (and want to support my effort and help charity). You're not necessarily paying for access to 10 more patterns. That just happens to be my "free" gift to you.

Of course, this way of looking at it isn't really stated anywhere, and probably not how new people to the site would look at it. Sometimes I think I'm outright dumb for setting it up the way I do. :lol:

The purpose and execution of the VIP patterns has been evolving over the years, and there's often debate about how to best handle it. Because they were originally a "surprise gift" it was fun to keep them secret (for a while) a tradition that continues. But of course, many people don't want to pay extra for something they can't see, and I totally understand that.

I suspect I'll change how the VIPs work eventually. But for this year at least, we're kind of keeping them semi-secret (with plenty of overt hinting) until the last week of Halloween. Then it's open season to share your carved photos, or even talk openly about them. I'll probably show them all on the site by that point too.

So in a nutshell, those who sign up for Monster Harvest membership before the last week of October get an early peek at the VIPs. And for anyone else who isn't sure if it's worth it, you can wait until the last week of October to upgrade your plan, if you like what you see then.
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#93717
Commenting on some of your comments...
Raven wrote:Right now there are still a few up from last year giving you a "last chance" to print them, although I can't say for sure if everyone sees that or just those that signed up for them last year as well. They are slowly disappearing one by one though.
That's right. And everyone who is current a Monster Harvest member can see these "last chance" VIP patterns from last year. Since I'm adding the new VIP patterns gradually, I wouldn't want to upset people who expect 10 patterns and only see 2 or 3 so far. So right now there are 4 new ones, but 6 old ones. Always 10. Eventually 10 NEW ones.

In a way, signing up for Monster Harvest early in the season is a great deal if you didn't have VIP access the previous year, because you would get access to last years and eventually this years too. Of course, this is kind of hard to explain, so it's not something I actively advertise.
lonogod wrote:The charity side of it is great, but I already donate $1500 a year to both the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Those are charities that are near and dear to me and my family.
That's awesome, lonogod. It's important to donate to charities that are well researched and close to your heart. That's often how I narrow down the yearly charity choices here at ZP. And I don't believe in guilting anyone with a "but it's for charity" argument. Because I know everyone has their own personal way to contribute. I get phone calls asking for donations, I get stopped on the street by fundraisers, and every store cashier touch screen makes me say "no" to a charity pitch. It's not that I don't care, but you just can't donate to everything, all the time. If someone gives me grief, I can say, "Hey, I give a portion of my website profits to charity every year. I'm trying my best to do my part."
Skellington0327 wrote:#2 is from a favorite as well. I don't think anyone in my neighborhood will know where it's from but I'm excited to carve it.
SuperSonic wrote:#2 seems more out in left field than the first. Although I know it all too well. My brother is a fan of that sort of thing.
Remove the name from VIP #2 and it's a pretty generic Halloween image. I don't expect anyone to see the carving and recognize the character by name. In truth, I designed the image first, and picked the name afterwards, just because I thought it was clever. And SuperSonic - of course your brother is a fan of that sort of thing, we all should be. I carry one of them with me all day, every day. :lol:
Euri wrote:On another note, So far the patterns I've printed have been slightly strange. The inside pieces that are supposed to be removed completely and are colored in on the pattern aren't printing out colored in, and the small icon on the bottom that shows what the pattern will look like when printed out are missing. Is this a printer problem (like maybe I need to upgrade flash) or is it something else?
So sorry you're experiencing this. Contact me directly if you want me to help walk you through possible solutions. Or... if you can wait a little longer, we are working on an upgrade to the printing system, so that may solve your problem. I'll have more details shortly.
Ajax wrote:The VIP are usually a little more obscure or off the beaten track and sometimes just a complimentary pattern to an existing pattern in the main gallery but well worth it.
Yep, Ajax knows how it goes. Since the VIP patterns are mostly retired to the vault after their year, it's a good chance to try some more obscure ideas. Or trendy characters that I feel might become dated in the main collection.
Ajax wrote:Oh yes you should release the complimentary pattern to #3 in the main gallery. One of my favs.
That's a solid thought. That one was tricky though. It was a two-page pattern that required you to piece it together like a little puzzle. Well, I didn't think it was hard, but some people found it a little puzzling. Plus two-pagers might be problematic with an upgraded printing system we're working on. So this character you speak of... well, I may try to approach him with a new design eventually. But making him fit on one page will truly be... hell.
ghostface wrote:And VIP #3 is carved. :)
Saw your photo, love it! A pattern that really deserves to be brought outside and photographed on location. :thumbsup:
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By ghostface
#93721
Quick question... What did we do to deserve these amazing patterns this year?? VIP #4 is another definite must carve for me. Really would love to make it out to this event at some point in time, but I am very familiar with this character, and can't wait to carve him!
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#93724
ghostface - Well, I'm glad you think the patterns are amazing. I always try to give the best I can.

That's cool that you actually know the character. I wasn't sure if anyone would. This one was a special request for the fx artist that leads the makeup team there.
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By Euri
#93727
It's true that it seems your outdoing yourself this year! Not that we mind, we're just very appreciative! :thumbsup: I'm not familiar with the source for #4 but it looks amazing! The name for #2 gave it about 100 extra awesome points.

I had read that you were adjusting several things on the site, and since I found a way to print them, I won't bother you about that. However I have picked up 3 more carving demos for a total of 5, one of which will be on tv, so I may drop you a line with a question about those. :D

Thanks for all your hard work, Ryan!
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