I have yet a reason to pull the trigger(Other than to support a client I use). However if you're trying to run a goldfarm then there's really no alternative. But looking at it logistically; Could you make ~10M in a month by botting? Than yes, VIP is clearly worth it, and essentially pays for itself.
You can almost sense how much Jagex does not give a fuck about botters if they're consistently buying memberships....
Free2Play bots on the other hand...
Honestly whenever I don't know what to do in terms of graphics, I like to try to recreate signatures or layouts I find interesting. It hones your ability to pick up subtleties and forces you to learn different techniques.
It is expensive but if you're doing it for a firecape it's pretty worth it. But that is only true if you can accumulate that kind of money relatively fast to offset your losses.