24 replies to this topic

[nosympathy]

So it seems as if the graphics forum has seen a pretty serious population decline since I left (though I'm sure both are entirely unconnected ).

New artists are thin on the ground, critique has gone the way of the dodo, and friendly competition has all but disappeared. Back in my day (yes, I'm old, get over it), there was no shortage of arguments, text slappers, fine artists, tutorials, competitions and, most importantly, friends.

So! I suggest we embark on an epic crusade of reinvigoration in order to breath new life into this ailing community, WarQueen and AttorraRu's GGT is an excellent example of how to reward hard work and establish a bit of friendly competition (as an aside, how the hell did you guys raise 1200fsp??).

I have several suggestions on how we can do this. First of all, I want to bring back the sig of the week competitions that DavidJames used to run. This was a great bit of friendly rivalry and a good source of income for artists (though it will always play second fiddle to the epic GGT..) On top of this, an avatar of the week as well for those that aren't too savvy with sigs.

Secondly, we've got to try and encourage some new artists to join the fold. I think we can do this by inviting artists that only advertise in-game to come join the forum.

Also people should try and post more CnC threads, in order to improve your own skills and identify weaknesses. On top of this, post any useful tutorials you find, or better yet, make your own!

Also, we need to get on to the cows and get them to clean up the pinned threads, some of them are useless!

Lastly, get yourself a nemesis. A graphic rival always keeps your skills and your biting wit in top form

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas or disagrees with me or anything, please post a reply!

Edited by nosympathy, 18 December 2013 - 19:34.

[nosympathy]

Also, this tread isn't worded very well but I've been drinking so shut up!

[AttorraRu]

I had been running a GoTW before the GGt but didn't want to run it while the GGT was running. CQ is the host of GGT, i just posted the last thread up due to problems CQ was having, that is her baby!. I'm all for trying to get artists back into the forums, and some have come back. i think we need a way of encouraging newer artists to come in and show their art off, without encouraging the text slappers.

[nosympathy]

I had been running a GoTW before the GGt but didn't want to run it while the GGT was running. CQ is the host of GGT, i just posted the last thread up due to problems CQ was having, that is her baby!. I'm all for trying to get artists back into the forums, and some have come back. i think we need a way of encouraging newer artists to come in and show their art off, without encouraging the text slappers.

Oh really? That's great! I never noticed the gotw when I was cycling through the threads there, but that's great news, I take it that covers both sigs and avatars then?

[GFXGUYHALO]

Well I agree NoS what the Graphics Community has been reduced to is TEXT SLAPPERS and I see the point in buying a TEXT SLAP when you get it off google yourself and put text on it!

[nosympathy]

Well I agree NoS what the Graphics Community has been reduced to is TEXT SLAPPERS and I see the point in buying a TEXT SLAP when you get it off google yourself and put text on it!

Well that's not quite what I'm saying, there are some good arists around here. And that's why in suggesting more CnC threads and more tutorials/workshops, so text slappers can learn

[Haloartist]

I use to love hopping on the forum everyday a few years ago, but once all the bigger names that kept me motivated to get better (when my work was shotty at best) retired. This area of the forum died along with it. (Talking about DarkArchon, Akg, Milo, Oko, LichBlader, TT, Grimmhawk, FourBrezio, DJ, MyCurse..... and I'm leaving out SOO MANY NAMES) But I mean your time when the forum was seriously bumping may have been before even some of them. 

 

I attempted at reviving this forum not to long ago, but my efforts failed rather miserably. But hell, I'd be more than happy to do my part at trying to return the pride of the graphics section back to what it once was. 

 

One thing I've noticed as well that no one seems to hold avatar or signature contests anymore which always made for good friendly competition. We need to try to not only gather more artists into the forum, but also make the general community more aware of this area of the forum. 

Edited by Haloartist, 18 December 2013 - 22:45.

[nosympathy]

I use to love hopping on the forum everyday a few years ago, but once all the bigger names that kept me motivated to get better (when my work was shotty at best) retired. This area of the forum died along with it. (Talking about DarkArchon, Akg, Milo, Oko, LichBlader, TT, Grimmhawk, FourBrezio, DJ, MyCurse..... and I'm leaving out SOO MANY NAMES) But I mean your time when the forum was seriously bumping may have been before even some of them.

I attempted at reviving this forum not to long ago, but my efforts failed rather miserably. But hell, I'd be more than happy to do my part at trying to return the pride of the graphics section back to what it once was.

Oh man I remember all those names! And I was just starting out here when treeline and DavidJames were still mods an jimmyjoe hadn't thrown in the towel yet haha

Do you have any suggestions then for how to get the forum going again?

[zeder]

Well when I started out I was nothing more than a "text slapper" ......... it took a long time to get out from under that label.

I have tried to please a multitude of "buyers" but failed....... right now I have 3-5 ladies & 1 gent who like my work......and I'm happy with that.

[nosympathy]

Well when I started out I was nothing more than a "text slapper" ......... it took a long time to get out from under that label.
I have tried to please a multitude of "buyers" but failed....... right now I have 3-5 ladies & 1 gent who like my work......and I'm happy with that.

I think everyone started as a text slapper really, but were not here to shame anyone, just to find ways to get people back in.

Also, as long as the text slappers are willing to learn and improve, then they are more than welcome here.

Please if anyone has any ideas, do share them with us!

Edited by nosympathy, 18 December 2013 - 23:17.

[AttorraRu]

It's going to be a hard slog to do it, but I'm up for the challenge, i do not consider myself a artist yet. I just dabble, but i am learning, and made a few pieces for the GGT auction that sold quite well. Yes the GoTW is both sig and Avi's though i usually do a week with one, and then a week with another, depending on which themes I come up with.

 

I think a part of the problem is that many don't realise that there is a separate graphics section on the forums, though i do try to tell people in the global chat, or via the shout box and Fsbox when voting takes place on things. We need to find a way of getting artists involved from the other HCS games as well, though i can see how difficult this can be when everyone is used to buying and selling for FSP, mainly cause most of the artists are from Fallensword. I have suggested before asking HCS about a way of doing a cross game currency, but I'm not sure how easily this would be achieved.

[Crzy]

Think someone could convince Hoof to make a copy of the GFX Forum and put it under the Fallensword categories? Right now if you login to the game first and click Forums on the Hunted Cow Bar, it takes you straight to FS Forums. So that might be why people aren't checking the forum, they don't know you have to click back on the Forums tab right under the Art Cow on the header.

 

It could be a simple forum that redirects everyone to this forum when it's clicked on. That way we don't separate the GFX community from other games. I know some Eldevin peeps have strolled and even bought stuff from people here.

[WarQueen]

We raised the 1200 fsp for the GGT by having a Graphics Auction where every piece was a donation from various artists. We sold over 100 avatars and signatures.

 

And I'm cqinmi on FS, WarQueen is just my forum moniker.

 

 

I use to hold avatar contests but stopped after the last couple had a kind of blah turn out. Normally I end up buying a couple dozen pieces but the last couple, I think I added 3-4 to my collection. And those mostly because the contest was over and I'm not the type to cancel something.

Edited by WarQueen, 20 December 2013 - 15:51.

[Haloartist]

We need to start revitalizing and reinvigorating this forum by first getting a slew of artists from in game, to shift over into the forums here. Constant FS Box/Shoutbox messages are a must, word of mouth is where it all begins. And then any artist that decides to check in needs to feel welcome, maybe even get someone commissioned to be the official 'Welcomer' of anyone knew that finds their way here. 

 

Now I understand that it is "easier" to file in the SotW and AotW into just one thing with a switch off every other week, but having both of them run at the same time (even now during the GGT) can be nothing but beneficial. Obviously we can't have whoever is running the GGT, assist with who will be running the S/AotW too as they already have enough to deal with. So some of us are gonna have to step up, myself included if we truly intend to revive the graphics section.

 

The point behind having them all run simultaneously is simple, artists from in game aren't going to want to "join in" on a forum that looks dead where there's not much to do; this forum needs to appear to be active for people to want to stick to it.

Edited by Haloartist, 20 December 2013 - 17:18.

[nosympathy]

Think someone could convince Hoof to make a copy of the GFX Forum and put it under the Fallensword categories? Right now if you login to the game first and click Forums on the Hunted Cow Bar, it takes you straight to FS Forums. So that might be why people aren't checking the forum, they don't know you have to click back on the Forums tab right under the Art Cow on the header.

 

It could be a simple forum that redirects everyone to this forum when it's clicked on. That way we don't separate the GFX community from other games. I know some Eldevin peeps have strolled and even bought stuff from people here.

 

That's an excellent point. This section is pretty much exclusively for FS anyway, so It should realistically be in the FS section. Any idea how we'd go about suggesting this to the cows?

 

 

We raised the 1200 fsp for the GGT by having a Graphics Auction where every piece was a donation from various artists. We sold over 100 avatars and signatures.

 

And I'm cqinmi on FS, WarQueen is just my forum moniker.

 

I use to hold avatar contests but stopped after the last couple had a kind of blah turn out. Normally I end up buying a couple dozen pieces but the last couple, I think I added 3-4 to my collection. And those mostly because the contest was over and I'm not the type to cancel something.

 

The lack of contests is another thing I've noticed, too. Getting new artists in would definitely solve that problem.

 

We need to start revitalizing and reinvigorating this forum by first getting a slew of artists from in game, to shift over into the forums here. Constant FS Box/Shoutbox messages are a must, word of mouth is where it all begins. And then any artist that decides to check in needs to feel welcome, maybe even get someone commissioned to be the official 'Welcomer' of anyone knew that finds their way here. 

 

Now I understand that it is "easier" to file in the SotW and AotW into just one thing with a switch off every other week, but having both of them run at the same time (even now during the GGT) can be nothing but beneficial. Obviously we can't have whoever is running the GGT, assist with who will be running the S/AotW too as they already have enough to deal with. So some of us are gonna have to step up, myself included if we truly intend to revive the graphics section.

 

The point behind having them all run simultaneously is simple, artists from in game aren't going to want to "join in" on a forum that looks dead where there's not much to do; this forum needs to appear to be active for people to want to stick to it.

 

Definitely agree with this here. We need a co-ordinatedcampaign of sorts in-game to entice more people to come in here, and I think having an AOTW and SOTW running side by side, and offering good prizes for them, would be an excellent way to convince people to join in.

[Godblade75]

I was one of the few people who was active throughout multiple lapses in population in this forum and I've pretty much quit graphics and focused on studying.

 

That being said, I would consider rejoining if we could muster up enough people to make this forum active again. Sadly, I don't see that happening -- we all return at some point, but never at the same time. It's sort of sad to see the shell of what this subforum used to be. I have to say, returning and looking at the GGT entries was disappointing to say the least. I mean, there were maybe as many as five good entries in the whole damn thing.

 

I don't think the way to bring back the GFX forum is by digging ingame. Maybe trying to get in touch with those who used to be active. I know for sure some would come back if this place were as alive as it once was -- I'm still in touch with Assasin240, Darkraiser, and souljahpug through League of Legends, and countless others through Deviantart. (Cassafrass, DarkDyablo, darkjkr, Wesleysdf, etc.) I'm sure some others are just lurking around anyways, I know BB and LV (treefrog) are just hanging around.

 

There's also some people who probably won't ever come back like Sahardy, grunty07, Sustortias, Ca1bas, and snuglebug.

 

We also need buyers, or just people who were interested in the GFX forum -- people like neil and Spaz used to be.

 

And lastly, w3 n33d m04r tr0llz0rz - bring back theggold pls. I jest, I jest -- but it's still something to consider, the forums were more fun when we all joined up to bash trolls.

 

My point is, something different, something big has to be done. We don't want just a trickle of artists returning only for them to leave -- I know I wouldn't be interested in staying if the community is as it is now, with ten or so active people. 

 

As a side note -- we need an email list or a calendar people can download for upcoming events.

I probably would have participated in the latest GGT had I known it was coming up, but I just returned by the time the final round was coming to a close.

 

last thought -- i'm pretty sure fourbrezio didn't want to leave -- just got banned on all his accounts so that he had no means of returning. Spazpecker anybody?

[TreeFrog]

Oh boy, school has made me miss a lot. I'm going to read through this and respond intelligently when I'm not about to fall asleep and drunk.

[zeder]

One of the things I remember on the OLD forums was someone starting with an Avi or Sig background and the next person would change something on it & so one....... going 6 or 7 rounds/artists changes before it was finally done. I participated in 2 of them & had fun........ we could do something like that again.

 

Also you should compile a list of the main idea's so we can get volunteers to run them.

[WarQueen]

One of the things I remember on the OLD forums was someone starting with an Avi or Sig background and the next person would change something on it & so one....... going 6 or 7 rounds/artists changes before it was finally done. I participated in 2 of them & had fun........ we could do something like that again.

 

Also you should compile a list of the main idea's so we can get volunteers to run them.

 

Smorgasbord!! +1
I miss those too.

[zeder]

Smorgasbord!! +1
I miss those too.

Thank You CQ I couldn't remember the name