Popular home for CG artwork, CGHub.com, has been closed.
(Edit: A new announcement suggests that there may be hope for a new site to replace CGHub. More info added to the bottom.)
In a sudden and unexpected move today, the administrators of the site announced that it is no more. Here is a statement from their official Facebook page:
No more CGHUB.
Sad day. Project CGHUB is officially closed.
The reason behind this extremely tough decision is personal and will remain private. It’s absolutely not connected with business or any kind of technical difficulties. On behalf of development team I would like to apologize to CGHUB users and fans for abrupt project closure and delay with its announcement.
If you have any kind of questions please send them to cghub@shakuro.com . Can’t promise replies to everyone though.
CGHUB wasn’t ideal, but we loved it SO MUCH! :*(
Team Shakuro
So far, this is the most they have said, and unfortunately, it basically amounts to nothing. There had been no warnings about the potential for the site shutting down now, and many people whose livelihoods actually rely on the CGHub network are left out in the cold. People with yearly subscriptions are finding themselves practically robbed of any value, and the many artists with work uploaded to the site have suddenly seen their portfolios disappear.
Whether you were an artist that took part in it or someone who enjoyed the many computer generated works shared on it, this closure is rather sad. Though, I would venture to say it is even condemnable. "Personal" reasons are no explanation for stealing people's subscription money and unexpectedly leaving thousands of people without their businesses and portfolios. I currently cannot fathom what might be the reasoning behind this decision, and as much as a I try, I fail to see how anyone in their right mind might close a website like this with no warning or explanation.
CGHub has been important to many artists within gaming, and it has helped provide more opportunities for entry level work in a difficult industry. While the potential closure of CGHub could make sense in the long run, giving no warning, opportunity, or reimbursement to the many people invested in the site is an insult to these artists which have helped add greater beauty and intrigue to our games' characters and worlds.
In my opinion, the administrators of CGHub should explain themselves, setup reimbursement arrangements with paid subscribers, give all artists an opportunity to prepare themselves and their fans before a full closure, and at least consider the possibilities of others continuing the important network they have helped build. This amazing site ending like this would simply be a tragedy for all who enjoy computer generated and gaming art.
Edit 1:According to those who ran the site, the actual people behind the decision are their parent company Full Spectrum Digital, LLC. [a company I can find no concrete information about] This comes at a time when the site was reportedly at its most popular point ever. The parent company has provided no official statement regarding the reasoning behind the site's abrupt closure besides, "Guys, it's over."
Edit 2:
Potentially good news, everyone!
Shakuro, the original developer(not owner) of CGHub has been consulting over the last week with artists on creating a followup to the original CGHub.com. They plan on having a new structure without one sole owner, allowing them to prevent what happened with the original CGHub, and they hope to use a new Kickstarter to fund building a better site with artists' input to compete with the other homes for CG out there.
Here is their full official statement this morning:
Log in to comment