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.

[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)

[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.

[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.

[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.

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

[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

[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"

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!)

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

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

[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.

[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. :)

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I like your "notify" suggestion. A notification to the artist that someone has asked to be notified would be good too, to let a person know they should finish a particular piece!

[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.

Re: Sketchfest stuff

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

It is fun to see different "takes" on the prompts! It's one of the reasons I really like the feature that lets you display thumbnails on the prompts page.

[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.

[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.

[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]

>.> 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....

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

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

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't be too complex to add that as an option- thanks for the prices!

[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'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, I like that a lot! As Deirdre says below, too, it will help an artist know what to finish.

[kelkyag]

You, sir, should totally draw something next sketchfest. :)