That is a very unfair point, art is a paid jobs and teacher here are working pro in industry with family and bills as well. The time they spend learning skills to get here is worth something, they can't just give it away like a fart. Same for the time actually creating the course, it's not like friends exchanging cooking recipe, we speak about industries with competition and pricing someone "life experience". If it wasn't for these paid content, there would be no content at all and everyone would stick to their lonelyness trying to figure out how do this or that. Or you would actually pay x10 for art school or direct mentorship, because again, knowledges have value. Also, these pro might be your competitor one day, they take a risk to share their "savoir faire", which is what make money. Nobody want to suicide a living, so it's normal they exchange it for something. "We" cannot ask them to give up stuff like it's worth nothing while we crave to get it, sometime to make ourself a living, that's close to robery.

I'm a little afraid to reply given your name. I'm going to assume it's just a cosmic coincidence and not that we're natural enemies;) I think it would be great if everything had the mix of free to premium that Stan's original courses have, but even if they don't, I'm incredibly happy with what is available. One could spend a lifetime mastering the the free material. I'm an art director and working illustrator, and I STILL don't feel like I've completely mastered them. I feel like I will spend the rest of my life trying. The paid courses, while not free, are far more affordable than going to art school. As an example, a year at SCAD costs $37,575. That kind of price tag is prohibitive for most people. Good for you if you can swing it, but those of us who can't have to find another way. I believe Proko is that way. The pieces are falling into place to make Proko not only the most affordable online art education, but also the best. I don't think that's hyperbole. Proko is assembling the best art teachers in the world, recording their lectures, and editing them to a fine polish. As these courses accumulate, and as the community learns and levels up, there is no telling how far each of us can take our art. The big thing that Proko has unveiled, and what I think it was desperately needing, is this community. We needed a place where we could easily compare notes and learn from each other, and now we have it. Also, the forum itself is free, and it certainly didn't need to be. That's my glass is half full take, except it feels like it's 90% full. I wish it existed when I was 15, but short of that, I'm glad it's here now.

I also feel a little worried about this! I was recently really excited about a new course, only to realize that the entire course was locked behind premium besides the first video which was basically an ad for the course followed by a random lesson from it. I understand Proko and all of the artists collaborating here to make this happen have to make their income, but I feel like there will still be plenty of that even with a greater percentage of free content. Personally, what is so incredibly exciting about Proko to me is that I can access high-quality, in-depth art education even though I can't afford to pay for it right now. I know that this content will take me to a point where I will be able to make a steady income myself, and I speak genuinely when I say that at that point, I will ABSOLUTELY be returning to all my favorite courses to complete them with premium content. I think that will be true of many here, and having more free content will draw more users overall which would also benefit the social side of Proko. I think people would be able to sense quickly if the site was "herding" (as killgannon called) users towards purchases and be discouraged from participating and investing in the first place.