Post by Santa Melty on Dec 7, 2008 1:57:05 GMT -5
There are no prizes.
...
Anyone still there? No? Eh, fine by me, I’ll just talk to myself for a while. I’m good at that. High levels of tl;dr incoming.
Now, it’s been a while since we’ve had any art-related events around here, so in the spirit of the season, I thought I’d try putting together a little diversion for all the artists out there who happen to be in a giving mood. Though with a slight twist to it, which I will get to shortly.
For those unfamiliar with Secret Santa, the idea is that everyone involved is randomly assigned the name of someone else that is involved, and presents that person with a gift. The gift being, in this case, a piece of art.
I’d say there are three major goals we hope to achieve with this. First of all, I think it would be nice if, in some small way, we could promote a greater sense of generosity in those who participate. I don’t believe that one should necessarily have to expect something in return in order to do something nice for another person. Generosity, by its own virtue, should not be contingent on expectations of payment, recognition, or any other form of compensation. Thusly, we present everyone interested with this opportunity to give some other member here a pleasant surprise, with no promise of something you might want (or anything at all, for that matter) in return. With all the materialism in the world today, it’s nice to think we can still see that sort of thing now and then. This is for fun, not prizes or acknowledgment.
Second, we want to give everyone a shot at a greater creative breadth. And herein lies the aforementioned twist: We would like everyone who participates to create their gift using something they have not tried before. Be it a different coloring technique than what you’re accustomed to, or a new drawing style, or a different medium altogether, we want everyone to try something new. Digital or traditional, pixel art or photography... even visual poetry, if you’re feeling like it. Anything visual will fly here. Or perhaps you suck at drawing altogether? Or are worried that you’ll not be good enough at whatever new method you plan on trying out? In that case, we encourage you to go for it anyway.
In my experience, one of the fastest ways to learn is by messing up, particularly when it comes to art. If you want to improve, you can’t always be afraid to mess up. And, therefore, for those lacking in confidence, we sincerely encourage you to suck. Suck hard. Fail. Bomb. Screw up royally. And then, look back and laugh when it’s all over. Remember, we’ll all be in the same boat as you, trying something we’ve never done before, so don’t feel alone in this, and don’t be afraid to look like a roaring imbecile. There’s nothing to lose here, and not much at all to gain, so throw yourself at the opportunity. Be bold. Then learn from it.
And, thirdly among our goals, we hope to generate some interesting new Legends art for the community. The creation of new DASH artwork to flaunt to the rest of the internet is never a bad thing, if you ask me.
In short, love and learn. And then, participant or otherwise, we can all get together and pat each other on the back for a job well done.
Finally, here’s a nice little kicker to go out on. Our wise and benevolent leader Fab had a similar idea for something like this, and is dishing out some additional motivation for everyone. A couple of years ago, we had an event where all art submitted was circulated on the front page of the main site. Now, he’s setting up so that we can do it again using all submissions from this event, so long as they meet certain specifications. Think of it as a gift from Fab, if you like.
Now, for the specifics. The rules shall be as follows. All rules are subject to change, either if problems arise or if there are concerns from participants. Everything’s pretty flexible, so if you have any thoughts on the matter of how everything is organized, or you have something special you’d like to do, feel free to say something.
1) All people wishing to participate must post here and say so. PMing me will work as well, I guess. As long as we know you want in. Deadline for this will be midnight on Dec. 13. We’ll go by the MMLS forum clock, just so we all have a common frame of reference.
2) Anyone with an account at the MMLS forums can participate. This is mostly just so that everything will be easier to organize. I’m not expecting there’ll be much interest from outside of the forums, but if there are people from places like MLU or the DA club that want to try, there’s no penalty for creating an account just to opt in.
3) Along with your intention to join, please give a description of the kind of image you would like drawn. The description should be very short, between 1-5 words, I’m thinking. Or no words at all, if you want to be totally surprised. The reason for the brevity is so that the person drawing the image has as much room for artistic liberty as possible. Let them interpret the request as they will; you’re simply giving them some direction. Besides, it’s not as much fun if you know exactly what’s coming, I figure.
4) After the end of the entry period, we will randomly assign everyone someone else’s name, and give them the description they submitted. You’ll then have until midnight on the 22nd to finish your piece. The relatively short deadline should ensure that there isn’t much procrastination, and will give Fab some time to organize the pieces so they can be circulating by Christmas.
5) Ideal dimensions for images to be displayed on the main site are 700x400 pixels, with nothing too vital in the 50 pixels on either side and 25 pixels on the top/bottom. This will allow for best viewing in both the v.3 and v.4 layout. The actual drawing/image you make can be any size you like really, though we’d ask that you crop a second version of the image in a workable size if you want it posted on the main site.
6) The image you do must be made using some kind of technique, style, medium, et cetera that you are unfamiliar with or have not used before. I explained this bit earlier, so I’ll spare everyone any additional ranting here.
7) Regarding the content of the images, I’m trying to keep things pretty loose. Firstly, the images do not have to be seasonally themed; anything will go, from basic character studies to crossovers to fan characters to pin-ups. I figure they’ll all qualify as seasonally themed just on the virtue of them being made in the spirit of giving. As far as language, nudity, gore, and so forth, just about anything rated lower than X will do. Anything borderline by the forum rules can still be posted, though it’ll be done in the form of a link and with a content advisory or something. Also keep in mind that regardless of what I write, Fab still has final say about what he does or doesn’t want going up if content is too highly questionable, so please don’t get offended if something doesn’t end up getting onto main site or something. It’s his site, and we can respect that. Along the same line, Dashe and the other mods also have say in this stuff if they feel strongly about something. It’s rather subjective, so if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to voice them.
If, on the other hand, you yourself don’t want the gift you’re being given to have any mature content in it, you can specify so within the sign-up period, and we’ll ask that the person given your request respect that wish.
8) If you do choose to make a request involving characters outside of the series (such as with fan characters, crossovers, et cetera), please provide images/descriptions as necessary.
9) All images should be circulating on the front page by Christmas Eve, and will be posted up all at once on the forums at midnight on the 24th. That way, everyone can see the gift art all at once on Christmas, all traditional like. Please do not post any completed images prior to then; PM them to me and I’ll compile them so they can all go up in one massive post. Though after that, they’re yours to do what you want with, eh?
10) If it should happen that a person who joins suddenly states that they can no longer participate for whatever reason, be it that something has come up or they won’t have access to a computer or they just don’t bloody well feel like it, then please respect that. If you don’t like the image you get, or get none at all, it’s no tremendous deal. Please, let’s not have anyone getting angry over this. Remember, love. Love and peace and all that good stuff. No one is under any obligation to participate. If you do, please don’t be spreading any bad vibes, that's all.
11) This isn’t so much a rule as a suggestion, but it would be nice if everyone could get together and have a pleasant little commenting and critiquing session for all the submissions after this is over. Nothing big, just maybe a couple of sentences about what you liked or didn’t like in each one. After all, one of the things we hope to accomplish with this is to encourage people to improve, and multiple brains can often pick out more of the failures (as well as successes) in a given image than just one can.
And that, I believe, should about wrap up this post. Now, I’m not expecting a lot of participants (I believe the last time someone tried pulling something like this around here, we got all of three or four submissions), but the more the merrier, hmm? And if we get enough, maybe it’ll open the way for some annual events like this or something. Just try not to take this TOO seriously, s’all I ask. Love, all right?
And yes, I’ll be saying that word a lot. It’s the holidays. I’m allowed to be as cheesy as a dandy well feel like, thank you very much.
Again, questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcomed, and all rules are subject to change. For the most part, I'm the one managing this right now, so direct any PMs to me as needed. And please pardon any spelling and grammatical errors; my eyes are too tired and this post is too long. o.o
Signups start now. GOGOGO!!!
...
Anyone still there? No? Eh, fine by me, I’ll just talk to myself for a while. I’m good at that. High levels of tl;dr incoming.
Now, it’s been a while since we’ve had any art-related events around here, so in the spirit of the season, I thought I’d try putting together a little diversion for all the artists out there who happen to be in a giving mood. Though with a slight twist to it, which I will get to shortly.
For those unfamiliar with Secret Santa, the idea is that everyone involved is randomly assigned the name of someone else that is involved, and presents that person with a gift. The gift being, in this case, a piece of art.
I’d say there are three major goals we hope to achieve with this. First of all, I think it would be nice if, in some small way, we could promote a greater sense of generosity in those who participate. I don’t believe that one should necessarily have to expect something in return in order to do something nice for another person. Generosity, by its own virtue, should not be contingent on expectations of payment, recognition, or any other form of compensation. Thusly, we present everyone interested with this opportunity to give some other member here a pleasant surprise, with no promise of something you might want (or anything at all, for that matter) in return. With all the materialism in the world today, it’s nice to think we can still see that sort of thing now and then. This is for fun, not prizes or acknowledgment.
Second, we want to give everyone a shot at a greater creative breadth. And herein lies the aforementioned twist: We would like everyone who participates to create their gift using something they have not tried before. Be it a different coloring technique than what you’re accustomed to, or a new drawing style, or a different medium altogether, we want everyone to try something new. Digital or traditional, pixel art or photography... even visual poetry, if you’re feeling like it. Anything visual will fly here. Or perhaps you suck at drawing altogether? Or are worried that you’ll not be good enough at whatever new method you plan on trying out? In that case, we encourage you to go for it anyway.
In my experience, one of the fastest ways to learn is by messing up, particularly when it comes to art. If you want to improve, you can’t always be afraid to mess up. And, therefore, for those lacking in confidence, we sincerely encourage you to suck. Suck hard. Fail. Bomb. Screw up royally. And then, look back and laugh when it’s all over. Remember, we’ll all be in the same boat as you, trying something we’ve never done before, so don’t feel alone in this, and don’t be afraid to look like a roaring imbecile. There’s nothing to lose here, and not much at all to gain, so throw yourself at the opportunity. Be bold. Then learn from it.
And, thirdly among our goals, we hope to generate some interesting new Legends art for the community. The creation of new DASH artwork to flaunt to the rest of the internet is never a bad thing, if you ask me.
In short, love and learn. And then, participant or otherwise, we can all get together and pat each other on the back for a job well done.
Finally, here’s a nice little kicker to go out on. Our wise and benevolent leader Fab had a similar idea for something like this, and is dishing out some additional motivation for everyone. A couple of years ago, we had an event where all art submitted was circulated on the front page of the main site. Now, he’s setting up so that we can do it again using all submissions from this event, so long as they meet certain specifications. Think of it as a gift from Fab, if you like.
Now, for the specifics. The rules shall be as follows. All rules are subject to change, either if problems arise or if there are concerns from participants. Everything’s pretty flexible, so if you have any thoughts on the matter of how everything is organized, or you have something special you’d like to do, feel free to say something.
1) All people wishing to participate must post here and say so. PMing me will work as well, I guess. As long as we know you want in. Deadline for this will be midnight on Dec. 13. We’ll go by the MMLS forum clock, just so we all have a common frame of reference.
2) Anyone with an account at the MMLS forums can participate. This is mostly just so that everything will be easier to organize. I’m not expecting there’ll be much interest from outside of the forums, but if there are people from places like MLU or the DA club that want to try, there’s no penalty for creating an account just to opt in.
3) Along with your intention to join, please give a description of the kind of image you would like drawn. The description should be very short, between 1-5 words, I’m thinking. Or no words at all, if you want to be totally surprised. The reason for the brevity is so that the person drawing the image has as much room for artistic liberty as possible. Let them interpret the request as they will; you’re simply giving them some direction. Besides, it’s not as much fun if you know exactly what’s coming, I figure.
4) After the end of the entry period, we will randomly assign everyone someone else’s name, and give them the description they submitted. You’ll then have until midnight on the 22nd to finish your piece. The relatively short deadline should ensure that there isn’t much procrastination, and will give Fab some time to organize the pieces so they can be circulating by Christmas.
5) Ideal dimensions for images to be displayed on the main site are 700x400 pixels, with nothing too vital in the 50 pixels on either side and 25 pixels on the top/bottom. This will allow for best viewing in both the v.3 and v.4 layout. The actual drawing/image you make can be any size you like really, though we’d ask that you crop a second version of the image in a workable size if you want it posted on the main site.
6) The image you do must be made using some kind of technique, style, medium, et cetera that you are unfamiliar with or have not used before. I explained this bit earlier, so I’ll spare everyone any additional ranting here.
7) Regarding the content of the images, I’m trying to keep things pretty loose. Firstly, the images do not have to be seasonally themed; anything will go, from basic character studies to crossovers to fan characters to pin-ups. I figure they’ll all qualify as seasonally themed just on the virtue of them being made in the spirit of giving. As far as language, nudity, gore, and so forth, just about anything rated lower than X will do. Anything borderline by the forum rules can still be posted, though it’ll be done in the form of a link and with a content advisory or something. Also keep in mind that regardless of what I write, Fab still has final say about what he does or doesn’t want going up if content is too highly questionable, so please don’t get offended if something doesn’t end up getting onto main site or something. It’s his site, and we can respect that. Along the same line, Dashe and the other mods also have say in this stuff if they feel strongly about something. It’s rather subjective, so if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to voice them.
If, on the other hand, you yourself don’t want the gift you’re being given to have any mature content in it, you can specify so within the sign-up period, and we’ll ask that the person given your request respect that wish.
8) If you do choose to make a request involving characters outside of the series (such as with fan characters, crossovers, et cetera), please provide images/descriptions as necessary.
9) All images should be circulating on the front page by Christmas Eve, and will be posted up all at once on the forums at midnight on the 24th. That way, everyone can see the gift art all at once on Christmas, all traditional like. Please do not post any completed images prior to then; PM them to me and I’ll compile them so they can all go up in one massive post. Though after that, they’re yours to do what you want with, eh?
10) If it should happen that a person who joins suddenly states that they can no longer participate for whatever reason, be it that something has come up or they won’t have access to a computer or they just don’t bloody well feel like it, then please respect that. If you don’t like the image you get, or get none at all, it’s no tremendous deal. Please, let’s not have anyone getting angry over this. Remember, love. Love and peace and all that good stuff. No one is under any obligation to participate. If you do, please don’t be spreading any bad vibes, that's all.
11) This isn’t so much a rule as a suggestion, but it would be nice if everyone could get together and have a pleasant little commenting and critiquing session for all the submissions after this is over. Nothing big, just maybe a couple of sentences about what you liked or didn’t like in each one. After all, one of the things we hope to accomplish with this is to encourage people to improve, and multiple brains can often pick out more of the failures (as well as successes) in a given image than just one can.
And that, I believe, should about wrap up this post. Now, I’m not expecting a lot of participants (I believe the last time someone tried pulling something like this around here, we got all of three or four submissions), but the more the merrier, hmm? And if we get enough, maybe it’ll open the way for some annual events like this or something. Just try not to take this TOO seriously, s’all I ask. Love, all right?
And yes, I’ll be saying that word a lot. It’s the holidays. I’m allowed to be as cheesy as a dandy well feel like, thank you very much.
Again, questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcomed, and all rules are subject to change. For the most part, I'm the one managing this right now, so direct any PMs to me as needed. And please pardon any spelling and grammatical errors; my eyes are too tired and this post is too long. o.o
Signups start now. GOGOGO!!!
