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[Tiana]

Competitions are a different matter. There is absolutely no point in doing them unless you are doing it for yourself and having a bit of fun. You might win or you might not. It's not much different from people who participate in marathons or things of that nature. I think that the online nature of competitions still showcases your work if you are good enough and participate over time. Not only the winner will gain exposure, they just happen to gain the most exposure. Finalists all gain as do second and third place etc.

I can think of some reasons to do a competition.

-As an excuse to hone your skill.
-To add a new piece to your portfolio.
-To give yourself a time challenge and improve your speed of production.
-To create new assets for your future map commissions.
-To create a piece you can sell or give away as a print or asset for an RPG.
-For the thrill of the race/because you love competing with other people.
-Because you'll probably be taken more seriously on this site if you have one of the badges.
-To test your mettle in battle.
-You're feeling creatively pooped and can't think of a good idea but you feel like drawing something anyway.

As for exposure being valuable, sure it is! Proper marketing's a big deal.

[Diamond]

How do you sell down the road? I mean I usually put them online freely , you sell prints?

The two times I've done so, it's been people who wanted to use them (semi)commercially. One guy loved the map so much he wanted to write a setting handbook and try to sell it thru RPGDriveThru or something. He paid me a lump sum up front as well as agreeing to pay me a yearly stipend based on annual profits if any were forthcoming. I retained copyright on the map. I never heard from him again, and the initial sum was one I was happy with, so all is good.

The other guy was part of some convention scene in Spain and wanted to make prints of a map to sell commercially. I charged him a somewhat heftier fee, and since it was a map I had no intention of ever doing anything at all with, it's his free and clear. If he makes a fortune off it, more power to him.

At the end of the day, I'm not a professional artist; I do this for fun. So your mileage may vary on what you'd allow or not.