Graphics Section

[XSafire]

Plainly put, the graphics section is dead.

The thing that pains me the most, is that there's only 2 somewhat active sub-forums in the graphics section, GFX Showcase and GFX Sales & Giveaways. To me, this is a huge letdown. In the GFX Showcase section, we have two different groups of people, extremly skilled and not skilled whatsoever. Long gone is the section where we had 10 or so skilled artists constantly helping beginners.

Another painful thing, is the SOTW (signature of the week). I used to look forward to the SOTW, and I have made in my opinion some of my best work during these competitions. It honestly helps by giving you a topic, and inspires you to make the best possible signature that you can produce. I would love to see the SOTW be active with minimum eight submissions a week.

Here's an excerpt from a previous thread I posted, I want to reiterate what was never solved.

In the GFX Sales and Giveaways forum, it is hard to get your voice heard among the noise.

The market is full of people who just picked up photoshop, copy an image, distort is somewhat, add some text and then are all the sudden putting up their own sig shop, this makes it extremely difficult for users who know what they're doing with photoshop to get their voice heard with all the flooding.

Unlike the other markets here at Sythe, graphics require a certain amount of skill to perform. Where as anyone can sell pins, not everyone can make a piece of art.

What I am suggesting is that users who are recognized as being significantly skilled in photoshop have their own sub-forum, where not just anyone can post...

I would like to see something done about that, as the GFX Sales & Giveaways section is a joke. Almost all the offers don't go through, and no one responds to requests. There are half-a-dozen threads with only one post on the main page of said section, just saying "Need signature please".

I would like something to be done about these problems, as Sythe is what got me started on graphics. All the great sigs inspired me to start learning photoshop some years ago, and now I have a scholarship for graphic design.

 

[OldFinn]

As an experienced graphic designer, have you any recommendations for developments and initiatives? The feedback is useful, but, given the vocational nature of the section, it requires specialist attention and proposals. I am extremely disappointed to hear that the Signature of the Week competition is not being maintained and moreso that the section has been allowed to decay further, despite the instation of two Graphics Moderators.

 

[Verts]

At the end of the day, if people are getting what they want from the graphics section, it's a success. Whether you deem the work to be of an acceptable or professional standard or not, people are still getting what they want. Some people only go there wanting a 'distorted image with some text' and what not.

 

[Hahanerd]

I do agree. The GFX section is completely dead and the only person I see posting in that section is Lukef555. He's trying so hard to get that section active, but I don't see the moderators trying anything to improve it. This is just based on what I've seen and KIABIN and Draucia haven't done anything new to that section.

 

[Draucia]

I agree with you somewhat. But I do all I can to help. I go in the gfx sales and givesways, and delete posts that are vouching for gfx. Close any old threads, and all that. But see if you just tell people "you suck at gfx, you can't sell" that's just rude. But I do agree these new people sell their gfx for about 5 bucks and its just not worth it. As fort he SOTW, I pmed kiabin and he told me he was looking for a nice stock. I'm not blaming it over on him, but I guess its my fault too for not starting. I'm going to start the SOTW soon, if not today.

 

[Sindrefyrn]

What someone can find good can someone else find as useless crap. I don't think that "skilled" GFXers should have their own sub forum.
You people call some art "overpriced", but if someone buys it, it's definitely not.

 

[FireZ]

Maybe also SOTW should go to SOTBW.

Signature of the bi weekly. Give a few more people time and see if you can get it rolling once again.


I'd do art but I am pretty bad at.

 

[Alteranz]

What grinds my gears the most (and I hardly ever visit the section anymore now that I'm a moderator) is the fact that users are spending 10 minutes on a signature, making a thread asking for feedback, barely taking into account the GOOD feedback from the more competent GFX members- they then make another signature the next day, spend 5 minutes on it, and make another thread.
When I post a thread asking for feedback, I always take every bit of it in to account and work from there - members that actually put time and effort in to their pieces and create threads asking for CnC on it are drowned out by all these 5 minute bodge-jobs.
There's not really any way to avoid this, but personally this is one of the reasons I don't frequent there any more.... I get 5 posts on my thread and then it dies.

No offense to the GFX moderators, as they're doing a nice job... but they really need to encourage more activity and more members to become active in the section. The SOTW should never have stopped, as that was always great - And the last few times that is WAS held, It would be opened, the deadline set.. and then forgotten about. Very poorly maintained....

 

[Lukef555]

I've honestly been planning on making this thread for months. The only problem with sparking activity is how do we do it? We cant force people to learn graphics, another thing is so much flaming goes on in there, and absolutely NOBODY reads the stickies. I'd love to have a bustling GFX section but until we find a way to get people to go there, its not gonna happen.

 

[Soleus]

We cant force people to learn graphics

Basically this. I've never been a good artist(I've tried many times, and still do) but I honestly can appreciate what good artist do. I enjoy looking and purchasing art, rather it be paintings or GFX made in photoshop or whatever, and seeing it dead is sad indeed, but you have to remember, this website is based on cheating, RuneScape, and World of Warcraft. There's really no way to get the GFX section going, especially since we can't make a sticky telling beginners how to get photoshop(even though it's easy as hell), and for beginners(as Alteranz said) to actually absorb the information posted on their CnC thread and make a good signature or whatever.

tl;dr - I can't think of anything to do about it, as I don't believe there's much we can do.