There has been some discussion here about a community where artists can share their work. This community seems like an obvious place for that, but it is currently mostly people sharing art that they appreciate.

I was thinking of possibly doing weekly threads where people could share their art without having it show up in the main feed, but I would also like to open up a discussion on it.

Since I had totally forgotten that I was a moderator of this community since it’s never generated any reports, I also went ahead and set the banner and thumbnail to something random. (Last art image on my phone and the first post ever in this comm). I will pick replacements from this thread that get the most upbears.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      That’s the plan, the thread idea was just for people who want to share stuff that they don’t want to put in a post or want feedback on.

      I’m not gonna police it either way, just wanted to make sure people coming here knew that it was okay to post their stuff since most posts right now are not OC.

  • alexandra_kollontai [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    Maybe a separate comm named like “oc” for creativity and all kinds of original works? I think it’s important to counter the current information economy of market-based “content”, “consumers”, and “slop” with good old creativity too.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      Still think it’s best to keep it all in one place. Most comms are pretty minimally utilized. Plus I think art is art.

      Just hit it with a [OC] tag if you want to make it clear it’s yours and are seeking feedback. If I do end up setting the [WIP] mega, that would be a place to share progress without blowing up the main feed with posts. Also just kinda like the dynamic of the megas in general for faster paced communication.

  • FishLake@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    But I’m not sure how to feel about making a thread solely dedicated to community member pieces. I wouldn’t want community members to feel like their artwork isn’t “good enough” for the main feed. Does that make sense?

    And at the same time, I understand some people might not wish their artwork to reach the main feed. Maybe something like a weekly WIP thread might be good.

      • FishLake@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 days ago

        Yeah don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of more engagement in this comm. Anything to get me off my ass and post some my own stuff. I personally like seeing community members’ work mixed with professional pieces. I like that vibe.

        I think the problem is formalizing community member submissions into a weekly or mega thread would actually take away from the community. However, dedicating threads to WIP seems like a good idea. The parenting comm has a weekly thread about just sharing what’s going on with community members’ families. It’s nice reading updates each week and seeing familiar/new users.

        • JustSo [she/her, any]@hexbear.net
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          2 days ago

          Right. Emphasis should be on making a low pressure place to post stuff without splitting off a separate community. Perhaps with a suggested indicator for posts where an artist wants crit and feedback, I’ve seen that work well elsewhere.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      I wouldn’t want community members to feel like their artwork isn’t “good enough” for the main feed. Does that make sense?

      This was just suggested because the OP expressed concerns about it. Specifically since a lot of the art posted here is like actual famous masterwork art (though I think if this experiment works out and people start sharing more that will change).

      Would also just be nice to have a spot to show off WIP stuff and have discussions etc without having to keep track of a dozen posts. Especially if you’re planning on coming back to something later.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      Very much agree with that idea too, if we were to do a thread, I’d probably make it a monthly and give it a general WIP vibe and maybe a prompt/theme or something.

  • Infamousblt [any]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    I think community member art should be encouraged but I also am not really a poster in this community so take my opinion with very little weight. I just think it would be cool to see

  • Hermes [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    I’m neither an artist, nor a real member of this community, but I would have opsec concerns about encouraging sharing personal work here. Hexbear has rules against sharing selfies (AFAIK) because they could be linked back to individual people, and sharing art here that is also posted on other social media makes de-anonymization easier. If people were to post their own creations, there should be some guidelines or info about opsec and keeping it separate from your IRL persona.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      Fair, I can update the sidebar with info on EXIF scrubbing and not including like a signature or something. People share pictures of their pets and art in other comms pretty frequently. This would basically just be a continuation of that but in this specific comm

        • JustSo [she/her, any]@hexbear.net
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          2 days ago

          these concerns are really important and its good to point out here.

          its a topic that is probably overdue for another discussion site wide sooner than later. or some good effort posts re: how to conceptualise the risk hexbear might pose to you the poster and best practices for certain types of posting.

    • FishLake@lemmygrad.ml
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      2 days ago

      Absolutely. At the very least there should be information in the sidebar about opsec and scrubbing exit data from images.

  • Vostok_ [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    A mega solely for sharing incomplete original work and art-based discussion would be nice. This comm could be a space for people to have regular discussion, get feedback and encourage people to pick up a pencil/stylus and keep improving.

    I suggest the structure of a biweekly pinned thread, give it the theme of a particular piece of art or a particular artist, with a bias towards artists and works from socialist countries, but including modern artists such as manga/comic artists to avoid impressions of elitism or gatekeeping. In the body of the post there should be a conversation starter, such as “What do you think about the depiction of nudity?”, “How strong are your perspective skills?”, “What particular artist inspired you recently?”, etc. After that a random prompt for people to try sketching/doodling/painting.

    Lastly a reminder for people to not post images that they shared with their real name.

    The most important aspect would be to keep the thread as casual and welcoming as possible, while it would be mainly targeted towards artists who want to share their work it should welcome non-artists that want to share their thoughts about art and feedback towards those who share their sketches. One thing I noticed is that people treat this site as a super secret communist hideout and that mentality must be overcome for such a thread to work.

    The one obstacle to solve would be the range of subjects allowed to be depicted. Nsfw art depicting nudity should be allowed but the question is to what point, furry art is tricky as well, this hypothetical thread could include it as well with content warnings but there is already a comm for that. Lastly there should be some sort of mechanism to encourage people to actually post their completed works standalone, I recommend a biweekly change of the comm’s icon and banner art where only original works posted standalone are considered.

    • Vostok_ [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      2 days ago

      To flex give myself some authority on this subject, I am an artist who has posted their own work here before several times and I am looking for a casual space for mutual feedback and regular discussion as I have described.

  • JustSo [she/her, any]@hexbear.net
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    3 days ago

    I was thinking of possibly doing weekly threads where people could share their art without having it show up in the main feed, but I would also like to open up a discussion on it.

    I like this, it seems like an elegant solution.

    I’d suggest it might be easier to not replace them weekly but just let the “WIP and misc OC thread” (or whatever you call it) age until it approaches a reply limit.

    Like the news mega, but not a 3000 reply limit necessarily, since that would probably take years to reach.

    That way you wouldn’t have to make new threads on a weekly basis regardless of activity. Less regular work that way, among other possible intangible benefits.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      2 days ago

      I’m down for this, I’m also in agreement with the other folks here that the pinned thread should be more for feedback and casual sharing for people who aren’t ready to show something on the main feed. Or just a general place to ask for feedback etc.

      Would keep it clean and when someone’s ready to share a final work, they can put it in its own post

      Also would you want to be given control over these threads? I’d say a monthly rotation is probably good. Could even be fun to hit the post body with an artist or an idea like how the other megas work.

      If you want that but don’t want to manage it, I can find time to set one up every month too.

      • FishLake@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 days ago

        when someone’s ready to share a final work, they can put it in its own post

        That’s a great idea.

      • JustSo [she/her, any]@hexbear.net
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        2 days ago

        I like your ideas.

        Also would you want to be given control over these threads? I’d say a monthly rotation is probably good. Could even be fun to hit the post body with an artist or an idea like how the other megas work.

        If you want that but don’t want to manage it, I can find time to set one up every month too.

        I don’t particularly desire any control or responsibility for anything.

        If you do have the time and capacity to handle it then I suggest you setting it up and if it garners enough attention and use to warrant it (or you just get sick of it) adding another mod then?

        (I am technically able and therefore willing to help out now if you need a hand, but I’m sure there’d be more enthusiastic and/or specifically art-nerdy volunteers if you put out a call.)