Our SVS Virtual Studio 🍎 SEPTEMBER 2019

Amanda Jean

Oh hey, anyone who is reading, how come no one has a "sketchbook" or process thread anymore? I notice hardly no one posts their work in a consistent place, but it seems to be topical. Is this a done thing on this forum now? Just curious.

ArtofAleksey

@Amanda-Jean that sounds fun you should totes do it

TessaW

@Amanda-Jean I personally think that this forum is not a good match for sketchbooks, just because of the way it's formatted. I used to have a sketchbook at another forum that spanned years and it worked because it was broken down into pages, and loading it was more manageable. Here the threads start to get unwieldy the longer it gets, and sometimes the pictures won't load right away when you're scrolling through the really long threads that have lots of images. I think it might work better if the sketchbook was broken down by year or something, and you make a new sketchbook thread each year. If you are looking for feedback on a new piece, then it might get lost in a sketchbook where people would have to sift through a long history of images and comments.

This thread seems to be a good compromise because it's broken up by month, and it doesn't get too unwieldy due to it's no-critique nature.

burvantill

@TessaW said in Our SVS Virtual Studio SEPTEMBER 2019:

Here the threads start to get unwieldy the longer it gets, and sometimes the pictures won't load right away when you're scrolling through the really long threads

I agree. This is the exact reason I started this monthly virtual studio as opposed to the year long one.

Amanda Jean

Thanks for answering. That's fair enough but if image loading is an issue, you can adjust the forum settings to paginate through your profile menu.

I suppose it's not common knowledge, as most people probably leave it at default infinite scrolling.

Just musing as to whether I should keep the sketchbook or post elsewhere. I don't want to double up and clutter the place even more.

TessaW

@Amanda-Jean That's awesome you can paginate through settings. It never occurred to me that you could do that, and I think it definitely helps with the viewing experience. Unfortunately if it's not the default, it's not the way that most users will experience the forums. I don't know if I'm right, but that's my hunch for why sketchbooks aren't really a thing here. It could be due to other factors though. When I first joined, I also thought of making a sketchbook, but quickly decided not to just because of the default format. And on the flip side, viewing the few sketchbooks that were on here felt disorganized, and so I wasn't motivated to view the sketchbook threads. However, now that I've switched to pagination, that might change.

As for keeping your sketchbook here, I think it depends on what you want to get out of it. If you want more interaction- maybe making a campaign to promote sketchbook use and to promote the changing of default settings to pagination might pay off? If you can get enough regulars to start a sketchbook, and put their sketchbook links in their signatures, you might be able to change the sketchbook culture here a bit.

braden H

Amanda Jean

@TessaW valid points. I'm not looking to change things around. I appreciate you taking time to help me understand how it works on here. It's been a long time since I was actively participating in a forum :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_cold_sweat: