Oekaki Weekly Challenge - thoughts please?

[Tess]

This announcement is mainly for those of you who like to use the oekaki boards

For about 35 weeks now, we've been posting a weekly oekaki challenge to inspire you guys to draw something different, get out of your comfort zone a little, or just to give you some ideas when you're in a creative block.

We put these all in one board regardless of skill level or art style, since they all have a unifying theme and it is really cool to see how different artists tackle the same challenge. This week we're taking a break so there isn't a very good example to show you, but you can take a look through the previous challenge art

Each week that we post a challenge the board gets an average of about 60 - 100 images posted, so about 10 per day. That's not very many compared to some of the other oekaki boards. Now that we're over halfway through the first year of challenges, I'm just taking another look at how it all works and seeing if we might want to re-think it a bit to see if we'd get more participation if it was improved somehow. It's also getting difficult to create completely different themes each week, without the themes getting too stupid/random or oddly specific (like draw your fursona as an aardvark - not a real theme ). So we might want to re-use old themes or give people more time so that it's more inviting to participate. But maybe it's just not a very popular idea in general

So please vote in the poll or copy and fill out the following questionnaire for us (even if you don't use the weekly challenge board)

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: (if your answer is no, please skip question 2 and 3)
2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?:
3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?:
4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?:
5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? (some examples were to draw your fursona as another species, or to design a character inspired by the current season)
6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it:

[Desmond]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: Yes. xD
2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?: Yes - I think I've submitted two or three times? I had to work around laptop/tablet troubles. <3
3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?: Two weeks might be better. Or a month. :B Sometimes, I just can't get to work on a challenge that I want to, and I won't have a good moment for a while. So whichever works~ That also means fewer challenges to come up with. xD
4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?: Yesyesyes. I so wanted to participate in some that I had to miss for laptop issues! x3
5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? (some examples were to draw your fursona as another species, or to design a character inspired by the current season) A lot of them, I had fun with at least thinking up something for. The one involving making something related to lyrics, especially, was fun for me! I got to draw something I know I'm not good at - a castle. xD
6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it: N/A

[teethpaste]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: (if your answer is no, please skip question 2 and 3) yes, I have
2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?: well I have but I think about 3-5 times maybe
3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?: yeah I think one week is more than enough
4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?: I think they should but maybe with a little bit of a change
5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? (some examples were to draw your fursona as another species, or to design a character inspired by the current season) I like them but there are some I don't like but that's me, personally

[MotherMother]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: Yes, but not in the weekly challenges, I think.
2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?: No, but I've always thought about it and never gotten around to doing it. I think it would be a great idea to show the challenges on the top of the forums, because many people get 'art blocks' and forget about the challenges. The challenges are great for ideas.
3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?: I think it's the perfect amount of time. If it were any longer, oekakis would just sit as 'wips' forever. (I'm guilty of this)
4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?: I'm going to say no, because then I think it isn't really fair to the people who tried hard to squeeze in their drawing on time. However, I know the staff are very busy all the time, tso if it's easier for you guys, go ahead c:
5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? (some examples were to draw your fursona as another species, or to design a character inspired by the current season) They were pretty cool, I like how they were unique and very different each time, not like 'draw yourself as a dog' and then next week 'draw yourself as a cat'. I like how they are different from each other, it keeps us on our toes.
6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it: Honestly, the only reason is because I just forget it exists. But it's really cool, so I think I'm going to start doing the challenges more often. Maybe try advertising them a little? From what I see, they're lots of fun, but not enough people get involved.

[clover.]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: Yep. (:
2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?: Yes. Only like two times though because I keep forgetting about it. cx
3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?: I think one week is definitely enough time, in my opinion. ^^
4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?: Sure. c: And even for users who didn't miss it. I'm sure some people would enjoy doing it again.
5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? I really like them. ^^ They really give you inspiration when you want to draw, but you just don't know what to draw. x3
6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it: -

[Tess]

For those who have participated in almost every challenge so far: If we do re-use old themes, I'm hoping it'll be a fun exercise in "see how much you've improved" as you can compare it with your first version also for themes like the "inspired by your favorite song", you might have something different to draw the second time around anyways

[kivr & fireflii]

Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?
Yes

Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?
No, but I have frequently wanted to. When I have the time, I check, but for the times I've checked, there have not been challenges posted.

Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?
I think it's okay with how much time is given at the moment, but I think it would be better with more time. Maybe two weeks? I think any more might be a little too long. The challenge is fun, but see it more as a challenge to creatively fit the theme rather than a challenge to get a full, complete image.

Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?
Yes!

What do you think about the themes we've used so far?
I think they're definitely helpful for people who need direction, but that also allow many options for members who want to be more creative with their challenge.

If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it:
:x There's never a theme posted when I have the time and motivation to draw something for the challenge.

-fireflii

[Xireh]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?: Yes! q u q

2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?: I have done the challenge/s five times.

3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?: I think one week is enough time, but if the boards perhaps got more traffic, I think that raising the time limit would be a good idea.

4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?: Yes! q u q

5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far?: Personally I've liked them, but sometimes I have trouble drawing some inspiration for a full picture for them. I think some themes that allow people to think more creatively would be fantastic.

6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it: -

[Darth Daddy]

1. Yes
2. No but i usually enjoy viewing the entries
3. Enough time for a drawing yes. But it could be stressing to have to study for an exqm but that wont take a Week...
4. No because it will be Kind of a re do and well... No thanks but some oft them were cool and could be used again.
5. Most of them are okay but to me some of the pics look very similar. Maybe Art theft vor some persona having the same idea.
6./

[crazy cranky critter]

1. Have you ever posted art in any of the oekaki boards before?:
Yes, a reasonable amount.

2. Have you ever posted art in the oekaki weekly challenge board before? If so, how many times have you joined the challenge?:
Nope.

3. Do you think that the oekaki challenge time limit (1 week) is enough time? If you think it's too short, how long do you think each challenge should last?:
It depends on the circumstance of the individual. If you were wanting to do a hard-out master piece but were a busy student or something it might be a bit hard, but generally I think a week is enough time to produce a nice piece of art.

4. Do you think the old themes should be used again sometimes for people who missed them?:
I think some themes that were really popular or would show very clearly how much you'd changed over time if you did it again. I think a "sum up the year" sort of thing at the end of each year would be awesome.

5. What do you think about the themes we've used so far? (some examples were to draw your fursona as another species, or to design a character inspired by the current season)
I think they are nice simple themes which aren't really restrictive but give you a simple, clear idea of what to draw. I also think they seem like ideas the target audience of CS would be interested in drawing.

6. If you're someone who uses the oekaki but doesn't use the weekly challenge board - tell us why you don't use it:
Whilst the themes aren't too restrictive I feel as though some themes are a little bit much like a question or instructions for my liking. It's kind of hard to explain, but the 100 theme challenges that I take part in are more like broad statements such as lost, desire, opposite day, not again etc.... I guess they are more like a thought than telling you what to draw, and I personally prefer that.

also it would be super cool if there was a suggest theme button omg