woO! ...not only did you finally make a news post, but you mentioned me in it! yay!! lol :D

I like the idea of an art request thread, but I think the whole '$$' thing is going to scare people away. Is compensation in the form of coauthor and/or possible sponsorship money considered acceptable 'payment'? What if it's art for a website or other non-game project... is that kind of stuff allowed?

I was considering making some "Art Class - 101" threads. Each would cover a technique/style by giving basic 'how to' instructions, and then people could post their results. Like:

Shading 101 -
start with basic shapes (the traditional sphere, cylinder, cone, cube), then move on to more complex shapes... using single and/or multiple light sources, etc.

Perspective 101 -
#-point perspective of basic shapes, then buildings, scenery, people, etc.

Foreshortening, Anatomy, Movement, Color.... etc., etc.!!

It could be helpful to people just starting out ...or maybe it's a dumb idea and people will be insulted by how basic it is... you just never know around here! lol! Regardless, I'm not a good teacher, so... if anyone else thinks it's worth trying and wants to give it a go, that would be cool! :D

IMO, the art forum needs more 'activities' and projects that people can sink their teeth into. Right now it's more or less a 'here's my random doodle' dumping ground. The threads where there's a theme or objective (and people can actually participate) seem to be the most successful. We need more of those! (...again, that's just my opinion!)

I'll go away now! lol :D

i think the "make a Topic" button should be put in a thread rather than on top of the main page of the forum. the thread should include a link to the rules too, so that new users would actually read them before making a thread and taking up useless space. that should help lighten the server a bit and cut down on flames.

Brtist alock.

i have no comment other than swearing you till you love me, fa990t

what about a multi image option, allowing the user put more than one pic in a post?

namaste! I love yoga. :3

it would be kinda cool to have an art portal in some way shape or form, I dunno how it would work, but it would be good to see where you fit in with other newgrounds users.

It was a good idea but it washed up. It's not been used and we still see "NEED ARTIST FOR FLASH $$" alot. I still like the inthusiasm. :)

I just hope we have another official art contest soon once the Sketchbook tour is done.

Other than that I'm kinda stumped as to what would improve the place. I'll try to think about it and get back to you.

This new thread sounds really helpful. Thank you!

Suggestions for the art forum? Get rid of the fucking pokemon fusion thread.

Well I haven't forgotten about this. I've been visiting the forum pretty regularly to try and figure out what could make it better.

Renaenae definitely has a great idea with that tutorial thread, and that we definitely need more activities in the art forum.

But activities should come more from the base of the forum, shouldn't need the mods to do everything for us. So I'll try my best to come up with some cool "everyone join" threads as soon as I finish my practice in the 15 minute thread.

Overall though, the forum sucks simply because we don't have enough artist's who put enough effort into their work. I'd love another art contest, as that seems to bring in quite a number of good artists to some of the other threads. But their hasn't been a contest in a while, so I'm assuming there's a good reason for it too.

Hmm, perhaps allowing users selected by mods to post larger pics than 599x700? That might be an incentive for some of the effortless people to step it up and really try.

Maybe a way to rate threads?

People seem to love stuff like experience, levels, and post count, why not allow some users to be nominated to have a star or something next to their icon to show that they are an art forum regular maybe?

Sigh... it's really quite a conundrum. If you want more ideas you should make a nice big post on the art forum though. Or did I miss the train on that one already?

About the Art Tutorial thread idea, it's good, but it's been done before by a bloke called Dile and it didn't really take off; not getting the credit it deserved. :/

Totally agree with the community idea thing, but that responsibilty lies on the shoulders of the uninspired regs who seek it.

Maybe a thread rating system like fetus suggested would promote people making threads enjoyed or used by the majority, and dissuade others using it as a dump. This system could be used on the other forums too, for interesting threads.

If you are looking to drag more (and therefore drawing a better pool of) artists (and therefore more original and fun activities) into the forum, you should then look at Newgrounds' following. It's a Flash cartoon site. People come here to view cartoons others have made. Camp North is more art based because that was it's aim and setup. Newgrounds front page is toons and games. Camp North's front page is the Art Vault.

So why not have users, or mods pick their top 20 favorite pieces from the every month and make it a flash? Hell, some joker ripped the portraits from the "ill drawl you" thread, slapped them together and made a no effort collab with no permission from the artists....and that submission got a really good score in the portal.

Imagine if someone who put effort into a collab of that sort had submitted it and had a link into the forum? Take it one step further, what if Tom slapped that S.O.B. on front page for a day or two once a month?

On the other hand, maybe Camp North should just fill in the niche of Newgrounds' Art Forum, it is seemingly like that already, although I don't feel that artists interact as much there as here. I like the site, but Newgrounds is my home page. I love this place.

That's my two cents in improving The Art Forum...

...that, and you mods cracking down with the banhammer and delete button. Although I understand it would be a pain in the ass and too time-consuming. Shee-yit, I wouldn't want that job, and I'm a freakin' asshole/dick. That Art Request Thread is a mess already and it's only on page two.

P.S. ReNaeNae, I didn't make my request in there right, I linked it to my userpage instead of the actual blog! I'm sorry! I should have triple checked! :(

i dare you make like into a math problem

hell yeh you made a news post