Sketch Fest Poll

[ellenmillion]

Disclaimer: This is a poll for information purposes only - What actually happens depends on ease of implementation and lots of other sticky factors. I just would really like to know what you guys most want. :)



[Poll #1726764]



Questions about 'partial donation' follow from this discussion.

Comments

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

I assume that donating artwork is for Serious Artists, not goofs who bought too many crayons because they like things that are sorted by color.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Anyone can offer their art as a donation; I suspect the serious artists are more likely to have their work bought.

I love bright colors too! I always loved those huge crayon boxes. I'm glad to see more people sketching in color these days.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

>.> If we use that criteria for 'serious artists' my collection of Pencils says I don't qualify as one. :P

I buy WAY too many art supplies because they are pretty and organized....

[duck113.livejournal.com]

you need a 3rd choice on deliver confirmation- I'd be happy to do it if the buyer paid for it! (I'm already donating the sales price & paying for mailing)

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

I agree, and what about insurance for purchases over $20?

Insurance is:
$0.01 to $50 : $1.75
$50.01 to $100 : $2.25

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, hmm! That's a good option, too...

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I would really like you to add an alphabetical sort (alphabetical by prompt), and/or a search function for prompts. Sometimes I remember a prompt that I didn't claim, and it can take a long time to find it again.

I really like having so many prompts, though I'm going to ponder this before actually voting. The question about how to choose art for the landing page is especially worth thinking about.

I'm tempted to go for "finished art", however, if you do that, people should be able to designate a piece of art "finished" when they first upload it. My Stickleg, for instance, was finished in just under an hour, and it would be silly to have to upload it twice to designate it finished.

How often do people come back just to look at finished art? If that's a steady stream of traffic, I think a ticky box to designate a sketch finished would be a good thing in any case.

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

I agree with the tick box for a sketch to be designated finished, though would it still show up on the wall as well? My stuff is generally finished in the first half of SF, and then towards the end, they are all sketchy.

What would be nice is a watching option "Notify me if/when a finished artwork is loaded for this sketch"

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I've got a few ideas for prompt sorting I'd like to explore. You can always use ctrl-f to find text on a page, too... I think that works on any browser.

I don't think as many people see the finished work, there are definitely fewer comments on them. A finished designation might be useful!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, and one existing option for 'tagging' prompts is to comment on them without claiming them - they will show up on your artist page, then, and you can easily find them again.

[selinafenech.livejournal.com]

I had a think about the sketches for the front page, and think that just random is best. Gives the widest exposure, and means there's always something new up on the front page (compared to more recent comments, which leads people to look at those sketches and comment on them first, perpetuating their placement (not always, but a bit)).
There are lots of prompts, which can be a bit overwhelming BUT it also means there's lots of choice which is good. A pet peeve that really can't be fixed with programming- people who post the same prompts every month (or at least repeat them a few times). Most probably wouldn't notice, but when you've been sketch festing a while it gets repetitive.

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

I am curious how many times certain prompt words come up, like witch, fairy, or moon. :)

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I suspect that coding is the wrong solution to repeated prompts.

A better solution might be to simply ask people to refrain from repeating prompts until at least one month has passed, unless they're hoping to buy something drawn from that prompt.

I think most people would honor such a request, and it would serve to reduce the number of duplicate prompts while still allowing people who are definitely interested in buying to request exactly what they want to spend money on.

Sketchfest stuff

[edward cammarota (from livejournal.com)]

The Alaska time equates to 4:00pm to 4:00pm Eastern time for me. I repeat some prompts if no one picked them up from the last fest or if I liked the sketch from an artist but only one claimed it.....I like to see the different "takes" on the prompts. @Selina, I am sorry it has bothered you, I will try not to repeat in the future. It looks like so many artist have fun with this and the last thing I want to do aggrivate someone.

For Ellen- Is there a link to get to the buying page from the prompt page ? Last fest I found I had to buy another print to get back to the checkout page after I hit continue shopping and went back only to find what I wanted had been grabbed already.

Thanks for listening,
Ed Cammarota

Re: Sketchfest stuff

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

Sometimes there are prompts that I would really like to do, but don't have enough time to do, wish there was a "save for next sketchfest" button. (or I could just go faster? hahaha!)

[redokapi.livejournal.com]

I like random for showing art on the front page, although what is randomized could vary. Might be neat to have a random "Available for purchase", a random "finished" and a few random from the last fest.

I'm kinda torn on it being longer, or staying the same length. Definitely not shorter. I think 36 hours might be about right, with 48 hours as a max. The 24 hours is ok, but I don't think making it a little longer would hurt anything. There have been times where I haven't gotten nearly as much done as I wanted, just because that particular 24 hours filled up.

I'll admit that I do find the wall of prompts a bit overwhelming (especially towards the end), but I also like having a variety to choose from. I don't really mind some "repeats", (I sometimes don't get to all the ones that seem interesting anyways) but I like to see some new ones too. I'm not really sure I'd actually want to change anything from how prompts are currently done, I guess I'd have to see what the changes might be.

I go back and forth with donating work. The cost to me (shipping/etc) is part of why I haven't thus far, but I'm not sure if kickback would entirely tip the balance for me. It would certainly be a motivating factor. I would have to think on it more.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

"What is randomized" could also be weighted -- we could have the finished and still-for-sale pieces weighted to show up more often than the others, for instance. Or the different spots could be randomized. For instance, Ellen could randomize the top to be a finished piece, to enhance the appeal of the landing page. Randomize the second to be a "for sale" piece, to help people find art to buy, and then randomize the rest from all sketches.

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

My last comment for now is that a link to jump down to the prompt area from the top would be awesome.

I wish folks would post more than one prompt, because I actively check to see if everyone got a prompt done, but there are times when the one prompt posted doesn't really work with me. I tell my folks they have to post at least two, they were making lists of prompts for this last time. :)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I will definitely do the prompt form jump (or put it at the top) for the next fest.

I agree! I sometimes go looking for someone with no claims/sketches yet, but their one prompt may not really click with me.

[mooresart.livejournal.com]

I think the partial donation is a great idea! My last piece I finished up, I have up on my site for sale, and 15% of the sale will be donated to sketchfest. I would definitely sell it here, if the option was provided. And as it's listed for more that $20, I would expect to be paying insurance for it, as well as delivery confirmation, especially as much work as I poured into it, I would want to know the artwork arrived safely. I normally insure artwork that is worth over $50.

It would also be nice to be able to show finished versions of sketchfests prompts from last summer, and be able to offer them up for sale and/or be able to donate certain percentage of the sale to sketchfest. For instance, I completed one from August or September and was unable to show finished version, so I just provided a link.

Or even offer prints from the finished sketches, and be able to donate certain percentage of the sale to sketchfest would be a neat option too.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

That is such a gorgeous piece! Seeing the description and your note about donating 15% is actually what helped get this idea rolling.

Everything from June forward you should be able to post finished work for, but I would also like to get the May and earlier work up at the site, too. (For the June + work, log in and you should be able to click 'claim this piece' to make is something you can edit and post finished work to!)

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Oh--I have a new comment--when I'm looking at just one sketch, it's hard to tell if it's a "bold" border or a "normal" border.

What about bold black borders if they're for sale, and narrow grey borders if they're not? (I was first thinking about color, but for color sketches, the wrong color could detract, though a wood-frame look might work.)

(dang typos)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Changing the color would be easy enough - I shall look into that!

[nixjim13.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to donate sketchfest art to a zazzle account. A large majority of pieces I do are digital so there is no 'piece' to send unless I do prints which is a pain at the moment.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I keep toying with the idea of offering prints, too. I may do a limited time fundraiser one month, to see how that works out and see if it's something I want to do on a long-term basis.

[kelkyag]

What would go in a zazzle store? How would that interact with artists who have zazzle stores or similar of their own already?

I would love to have the meta-directory that you at one point described as where you might go with the fantasy art shop after you stopped selling things other than prints -- links to all of the artists' websites and stores in some searchable form. It sounded like keeping it up to date was difficult to impossible, though.

I've a mixed answer on the number of prompts -- there aren't too many, but it's sad when someone puts up several prompts and none of them lead to a sketch, and it's hard to keep track of that.

Would "which sketchfest is this sketch from" (or "which sketchfest is this prompt from") be a useful or interesting bit of data to have on artist, prompt, and/or sketch pages?

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

The artist would be able to put it in the Sketch Fest store and their own - any royalties sold through the Sketch Fest store would fund Sketch Fest.

I loved the idea of the meta-directory, and was very disappointed it turned into such a hassle. I have shelved it for now, but it may come back in the future, you never know! Maybe I'll figure out an easier way to do it.

I LOVE the idea of adding 'which sketch fest' to art and prompt pages, and it would be relatively easy. *Adds to list*

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

I would probably donate original sketches (the non-digital ones), but having to cover the cost of shipping and insurance from Australia makes it unviable. The zazzle option is a good one, and could also include the digital art.

I adore sketchfest. I love seeing the different takes on prompts, and I love that it excercises my brain and art skills.

Thankyou, Ellen!

ps: I received the ACEO cards you sent a couple of weeks ago, but was flat chat with a deadline (and equally stressed!) so hadn't got around to thanking you for those. Mayhap I'll do the next sketchfest on them? ;)

Also, a random idea, but maybe we should schedule a sketchfest to coincide with Drawing Day 2011 June 4th? http://www.drawingday.org/

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

*nods* I don't blame you! Shipping overseas can be prohibitive, and I wince when I see it going either way.

Drawing day! How fun! I shall see if we can sync up with that for June.

I can't wait to see what you do with your cards! :)

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

wyld_dandelyon has some very good thoughts up there.

I, too, would like to see some options to sort prompts, starting with alphabetical.

Donating only part of the sales price would be nice, too. Sketching comes easier to me in big (well, A4/letter size) formats, but sending those outside of Europe costs €6...

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Alphabetical would be easy enough, and I like the idea of filtering, too - let people filter out those that have claims/sketches to catch prompts that haven't got sketches, or those that don't have any, if they particularly like seeing other interpretations of the same idea and only want to work on those.

I think partial donations might be a good way to go.

[thrivis.livejournal.com]

I'd actually really like it if sketchfest was longer - The time it's at I very rarely get to participate. It's not impossible for me to make time, but it sure would be easier if it went into Saturday evening!

I don't donate my sketches because they're usually digital... don't really have anything physical I can ship them, lol. I think it would be cool if the other artists did get kickback from their work - or at least enough to cover shipping and heading down to the PO.

I didn't vote on the Zazzle store option because I didn't really understand it, but now that I read about it a bit in the comments I like it. It would be cool to donate a work for use in a Zazzle shop, sketchfest or otherwise... Go EMG-Zine!

[rhiamon.livejournal.com]

Ellen, I'm furthering a comment I left you on the poll on the noon to noon Alaska time question. For me, that one kind of goes with the previous question of how long Sketch Fest should be. The noon to noon Alaska time is 4p to 4p my time, and with Friday evening activities and Saturday jobs, I don't get to spend as much time with Sketch Fest as I'd like. However, I don't know if changing the time would maybe make it worse for others in other time zones. Perhaps if it were lengthened just a bit - maybe from 8am Friday to noon Saturday? I don't know that a full 48 hours would be required, but if enough folks like that idea, I'd enjoy it!

[kelkyag]

One more loopy and possibly difficult idea: being able to indicate that a sketch was inspired by multiple prompts.