I gave in. We now have an official Discord server.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/76ecr0/i_gave_in_we_now_have_an_official_discord_server/
2017-10-14 19:56
Uncomfortable
So it took less than 10 days for me to cave. A few days ago I joined Jaspii's unofficial drawabox discord. I saw that it was running far better than I expected, and he eased me into the idea of making it official. So here we are!
If you're unaware of what Discord is, it's a free chat service. It's accessible both in-browser as well as through dedicated apps for Windows, OSX, iOS and Android.
If you're interested in meeting other people from the community, or seeking more immediate feedback on your work from other folks struggling through the same exercises and lessons, then you're more than welcome to join.
Turkopauto
2017-10-14 21:14
I too love the using of Discord(TM): the free chat tool with funny and witty loading screens, I had joined Jaspii's unofficial drawabox discord (made available by the lovely developers at www.discord.com) and have not had a single complaint so far!
Join it though it's nice.
Shen_an_igator
2017-10-14 22:07
So, the small boxes finally beat the big box into submission. CAN'T BEAT THE BOXES.
Uncomfortable
2017-10-14 23:04
): i am weak.
Shen_an_igator
2017-10-15 00:05
You should gather companions and convince someone to create a discord! Apparently works well ;)
LoBoPia
2017-10-14 23:02
Oh yeah.
Uncomfortable
2017-10-14 23:04
With the lack of cues on how to interpret that statement, I'm going to imagine that what you said is more like the kool-aid man crashing through a brick wall. OH YEAH.
bonersfrombackmuscle
2017-10-15 06:54
I am going to flood it with sketches of cute girls doing cute things
xiroir
2017-10-15 09:27
It says its invalid now... :( did you set the link to expire?! You can make a link never expire. Good for public discords
Uncomfortable
2017-10-15 13:08
It should be set to never expire. I checked the invite's status and it says it's still active.. Are you sure it's expired?
2ge232bh4
2017-10-15 20:32
hi uncomfortable. if i recall correctly, we've, on 2 occasions in the past, had people start up discord servers. i don't know if this is one of those, or a new one, but i was never interested in joining them because i didn't see the point. the artfundamentals community is good because what you need here is people to patiently look at your work, then write you a critique (the longer the better) so that you may improve. it doesn't fit a system designed for immediate replies, it fits reddit. to clarify, i'm not against the idea, especially if you're in favor of it, but i was wondering what exactly are the benefits of it.
Uncomfortable
2017-10-15 21:30
This discord is actually the one started by /u/Jaspii, from a little under two weeks ago. As you well know, I wasn't terribly supportive of the idea, but I did end up going in there to see how it was going, and how it was being run, and I liked what I saw.
I agree with you that reddit is very good at a specific manner of receiving very helpful feedback for your work. The discord isn't at all meant for full homework submissions (the moderators and I discussed this initially), as it's not a very good platform for long, detailed critiques. It's also not where I'd ever consider doing my own patreon critiques - not to mention the fact that I'd go crazy trying to keep track of all the submissions.
What discord has been good for however is a lot of the little questions. We get a bunch of them here - is it okay if I use my shoulder, should I hold my hand over the desk without touching, can I use pencil, etc. There's also a lot of little questions that pertain to individual lessons. Am I doing this right, is it okay if I do this instead, is this against the spirit of the exercise, and so on.
Now I honestly don't like seeing those tiny questions posed here - they clutter up the subreddit and take attention away from the people who've submitted hours and hours worth of work, hoping for some useful critique in return. But seeing them in the discord just makes sense. They're able to have a more immediate conversation, receive clarification if questions aren't entirely clear, and generally make great use of the platform. At the end of the day, the answer may be to just push on through and try even though something is hard. But there's also often much more that can be offered as an answer.
But it's not just that. The discord isn't just a place to ask questions, but it's also there to give a sense of community. This is the part that I didn't expect to see, but in retrospect I was silly not to think of it. These lessons are hard, and it's important to know you're not the only one going through particular troubles, and that you're not going through them alone. Even for the people who primarily stock to the general channel, where people talk about all kinds of things, both box-related and not, there is a strong sense of community which is in my opinion, highly motivating.
In a way, it's one of the reasons I prefer taking classes in person to taking them online. Obviously a discord isn't the same, but it is much closer than the sort of isolation we get when interacting only through reddit.
Every platform serves its own purpose, and so I'm really pleased with how the discord has turned out so far. And with well over a hundred users online throughout the day, I think most other people are as well.
2ge232bh4
2017-10-15 21:47
i would argue that the people who post those little questions on the subreddit do so because they're not paying close attention to the subreddit itself, after all, most of the questions we get are right there on the faq, which is on the front page. i doubt said people would even notice the tiny 'oh, and we also have a discord' message you put up, but seeing how there's hundreds of people there already maybe i don't know what i'm talking about.
you do bring up a very good point about community, though. sad as it is (and i may be exaggerating here, i've only been hanging around for a month or two) most people who decide to use drawabox as a starting point give up halfway through, or at the very least don't post anymore. i imagine that's why most of the replies on posts are 'good job' rather than actual constructive criticism (we do have some very knowledgeable regulars though, and you're really good about not leaving any question unanswered.) my point being, maybe discord is exactly what we need, as it might encourage the more knowledgeable bunch to lend a hand to people, as the questions asked there are less time consuming than full blown critiques.
all in all, i don't really have anything against this idea in particular, i'm happy to see that so many people are into it, too, i just figured i'd say something since it seems like you're really spreading yourself really thin. best of luck.
Uncomfortable
2017-10-14 21:49
The way you phrased that post makes it feel like I offered you money to do so :P
But I'm glad you're liking the discord server!