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ellenmillionI built (okay, paid to have built!) Fantastic Portfolios because I really, really wanted a site like it. It's a place to get honest, thorough critique, from a panel of judges who are professional about the process, who don't know who you are (within reason), in a setting where critique is pretty much the sole purpose. It can be really hard to critique others in a public forum where you know each other, and you know that what you're saying is colored by who you both are. I've seen friendships lost over honest critiques, and sometimes it's hard to say 'this part needs work' to a friend.
More, I want goals. A benchmark to strive for, that will feel rewarding, and be honored, and to know it's not just arbitrary nor based on a single person, nor easy.
Fantastic Portfolios really offers that. The site is a wonder, and it's got some seriously awesome features that aren't really used.
Some of them, I'm glad aren't used: we have had, since we launched in 2007, ZERO complaints on comments and critiques. Zero. I went in and tested the system a few times to make sure it was working, and no one has ever complained about a critique.
They have cried, don't get me wrong. Our brand of tough love is not for the weak of spirit and unwilling to learn. I have seen and received wails of hurt and witnessed despondency and vows to never do art again. Some of them walked away, deleted their portfolios and never came back. But that's not the majority of the response - whether they fail or not (and to be fair, most do fail. See above about not being easy!), and what's more encouraging yet, those people who do react this way come back more than not. A few months down the road - even as much as a year - they go back to that advice and say, hey, there's some validity there, and they tackle the problems that were pointed out and improve. There is nothing as delightful as watching the fourth submission of a portfolio pass, and recognize that it deserves it.
We're hard, but we're fair, and I've made a big point with the critics that they find something nice to say, and point out strengths. We're here to help and inspire, not tear down, and the critics I've selected and trained are top notch at what they do, gifted not only at knowing what's wrong, but also how to say it kindly and how to give pats when appropriate. I cannot praise them highly enough in this aspect.
So, yes. I love this project, and feel like it's working well enough at what it's doing. What it's not doing... is much. We've got the ability to take and make tours at the site, which is a groovy feature... but no one will make them! I think the last one was made in 2008, and we've had nearly 300 pieces of gorgeous artwork added since then! Pictures languish without comments. It takes a month or three to get a piece through the queue. Maybe three people have subscribed as a paying member since our initial drive.
Again, I'm willing to accept my role in not pushing this as much as I should. I sometimes expect to set up projects and let them just drive themselves. Sometimes that works (Sketch Fest), but mostly, that leads to fizzle, and I should be grateful this project has remained as strong as it has: work still gets critiqued, and WELL, and people are still submitting (and sometimes re-submitting and re-submitting) their portfolios. Image quality remains high, but the goals seem attainable.
There's a lot of potential here... and I also feel like there's a better way to set up the financial end of it, but I'm not sure what that is. Right now, I'm several hundred out from paying for what I've laid out on the site, which doesn't particularly bother me. I would really, REALLY like to see critics get paid for their work, and think they truly deserve that. Perhaps a donation option - some folks might like to thank the critics after they've received their critiques (and had time to nurse their wounds and then come back... :P) I'm not sure what the answer is here, but I have a few vague ideas. I have some pie-in-the-sky ideas of being able to tie this all in with EMG credits and let people tip $1 at a time (or maybe even less!) for helpful critiques in a way that doesn't feed Paypal a lions share of the money. I also know that I need to improve the system for getting and keeping new critics, because burnout can be a problem. Being able to tangibly reward said critics would probably help.
I'm not entirely sure what to do with this monster yet, but it's not in line for immediate axing. It takes little of my time to maintain at status quo; a few nags usually get the critics to work, and I have help on the coding end of things here. I like being one of the critic team, usually, and have no objections to the nearly insignificant amounts of time the management currently takes. While I'd like to see it rise to the next level, I haven't decided if it's worth the time it would take to get it there. I am content to let it live for now, and consider it for more attention in the future.
I would also, honestly, be content to see someone else take up the reins of this project. Maybe what it needs is someone else with fresh vision to drive it further? I dunno - that's something I haven't really offered as an option with some of these projects, but I'm not completely adverse to the idea...
More, I want goals. A benchmark to strive for, that will feel rewarding, and be honored, and to know it's not just arbitrary nor based on a single person, nor easy.
Fantastic Portfolios really offers that. The site is a wonder, and it's got some seriously awesome features that aren't really used.
Some of them, I'm glad aren't used: we have had, since we launched in 2007, ZERO complaints on comments and critiques. Zero. I went in and tested the system a few times to make sure it was working, and no one has ever complained about a critique.
They have cried, don't get me wrong. Our brand of tough love is not for the weak of spirit and unwilling to learn. I have seen and received wails of hurt and witnessed despondency and vows to never do art again. Some of them walked away, deleted their portfolios and never came back. But that's not the majority of the response - whether they fail or not (and to be fair, most do fail. See above about not being easy!), and what's more encouraging yet, those people who do react this way come back more than not. A few months down the road - even as much as a year - they go back to that advice and say, hey, there's some validity there, and they tackle the problems that were pointed out and improve. There is nothing as delightful as watching the fourth submission of a portfolio pass, and recognize that it deserves it.
We're hard, but we're fair, and I've made a big point with the critics that they find something nice to say, and point out strengths. We're here to help and inspire, not tear down, and the critics I've selected and trained are top notch at what they do, gifted not only at knowing what's wrong, but also how to say it kindly and how to give pats when appropriate. I cannot praise them highly enough in this aspect.
So, yes. I love this project, and feel like it's working well enough at what it's doing. What it's not doing... is much. We've got the ability to take and make tours at the site, which is a groovy feature... but no one will make them! I think the last one was made in 2008, and we've had nearly 300 pieces of gorgeous artwork added since then! Pictures languish without comments. It takes a month or three to get a piece through the queue. Maybe three people have subscribed as a paying member since our initial drive.
Again, I'm willing to accept my role in not pushing this as much as I should. I sometimes expect to set up projects and let them just drive themselves. Sometimes that works (Sketch Fest), but mostly, that leads to fizzle, and I should be grateful this project has remained as strong as it has: work still gets critiqued, and WELL, and people are still submitting (and sometimes re-submitting and re-submitting) their portfolios. Image quality remains high, but the goals seem attainable.
There's a lot of potential here... and I also feel like there's a better way to set up the financial end of it, but I'm not sure what that is. Right now, I'm several hundred out from paying for what I've laid out on the site, which doesn't particularly bother me. I would really, REALLY like to see critics get paid for their work, and think they truly deserve that. Perhaps a donation option - some folks might like to thank the critics after they've received their critiques (and had time to nurse their wounds and then come back... :P) I'm not sure what the answer is here, but I have a few vague ideas. I have some pie-in-the-sky ideas of being able to tie this all in with EMG credits and let people tip $1 at a time (or maybe even less!) for helpful critiques in a way that doesn't feed Paypal a lions share of the money. I also know that I need to improve the system for getting and keeping new critics, because burnout can be a problem. Being able to tangibly reward said critics would probably help.
I'm not entirely sure what to do with this monster yet, but it's not in line for immediate axing. It takes little of my time to maintain at status quo; a few nags usually get the critics to work, and I have help on the coding end of things here. I like being one of the critic team, usually, and have no objections to the nearly insignificant amounts of time the management currently takes. While I'd like to see it rise to the next level, I haven't decided if it's worth the time it would take to get it there. I am content to let it live for now, and consider it for more attention in the future.
I would also, honestly, be content to see someone else take up the reins of this project. Maybe what it needs is someone else with fresh vision to drive it further? I dunno - that's something I haven't really offered as an option with some of these projects, but I'm not completely adverse to the idea...
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no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 03:54 am (UTC)I loved the critiquing (sp) and stuff, I just tend to forget when six months is up and I can submit again (maybe a reminder e-mail, if you felt like poking at it?)! And there is the fact that I haven't reeeeaaallly been doing that much in art the past two years. I mean, sure, I'll do sketches, but nothing that approaches the top notch quality of FP.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 10:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 10:02 am (UTC)I like the elite aspect of it. All of the artwork that is on the site is amaaazing. The set up, though, is more rewarding for the artist, than the browser/buyer, which has obvious effects on the money-making aspect of the site. The artist gets a free critique from a real artist, and gets to be added to an exclusive gallery with truly amazing artists, unlike something like DA which is hit-or-miss (mostly miss, unless you're visiting the shop).
Was the site intended to make money? And how? I haven't seen any aspect of the site that engages the browser/shopper...Maybe there could be a way for the artist to add links to a Zazzle shop or you could integrate the site into some of your other ones. For instance, if an artist has a page in one of your coloring books, that could be a link on the Artist's profile. Same for Portrait Adoption/Sketch Fest/EMG-Zine/Torn World. Many of your artists cross the boundaries of the EMG world/scene, but Fantasy Portfolio is sort of cut off from everything else. This isn't necessarily a bad thing -- there is an air of privacy and leisure to FP that lends a gravitas to the elite gallery air. But to to encourage more interaction, there has to be more for the visitor to do than -look- at artwork and maybe leave a comment.
Since there is a kind of private vibe to FP, maybe you could expound on that and encourage interaction between artists and viewers of the site. The ability to create polls, suggestion boxes, etc. Maybe a contest with a monthly featured piece in which visitors can create a 1000-word short story about the piece with more of those EMG credits you mentioned rolling around as prizes. The winning story (or stories) could be posted forever with the artwork. The entries would be judged by the artist, and maybe a small panel of other artists from the site. Or artists could hold their own contests, and that would encourage artist/fan interaction.
I really like the idea of paying critics with EMG credits and/or whatnot.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-27 05:35 am (UTC)Thank you so much for your questions and thoughts! Being in charge of the site now, I'll be as honest and as helpful as I can. Fantastic Portfolios started with all altruistic (and not so much financial) ambitions--we had both free memberships and paid memberships and were tied with the EMG stationery shop at one point, and we expected to go on that as far as finances. Now that EMG's shop has closed, we still do portfolio critiques (and well! but too slowly) but FP has sorta lost that shopper's draw--and now that you've raised this point (and provided some great suggestions) I'm going to see what we can develop in that direction. It's not so much a lack of tech know-how but time (from almost everyone involved with the site, including the mods), and throwing money (or the promise of money) at it--who knows?--may actually be the thing to try to speed things up now! The best and quickest suggestion being the one about rewarding critics with EMG credits... I've moved it to the top of my to-do list.
Thank you so much again; and for your portfolio on the site, I'll be seeing if I can't get the critique process sped up a little.