rxantos> It's funny you use the "inventor" analogy because it actually works exactly the same. An inventor creates a machine and then every person (or hospital) who wants to use it has to pay and yes, the inventor received money when his invention is sold. And there isn't one unique machine, so when an inventor sells his machine, he can still use the one he has if he wants to. It's the same with pictures : one guy creates a picture and if someone wants to use it (for an article, a book cover, a poster etc), he has to pay to appropriate amount. If people keep on using the picture over and over for the rest of the artist's life then he receives money his entire life, but it's rarely the case.

The part about what you think is art or not is irrelevant, and so is the discussion about inspiration, in my opinion.

Renegade> Well, it's true for rather simple projects. If your project is simple, you'll do better with a simple tool (ie a mobile app). I can doodle on my ipad and make some nice stuff, but for serious work i'll switch to Photoshop, Manga Studio etc.