Lately you see more and more (kids) posting on the wrong boards. Perhaps it is an idea to get the rules for drawing on which board on the front page. Or maybe there should come more mods.

Yeah that is a good idea.

some people are always careless about reading and rules, so id vote for mods.

We have rules..nobody pays any attention.. ,they hardly did when six or seven mods were around either I dont think it will make any difference either way..

I am inclined to agree with ya Dave..

Holy crap I got an idea. I dont know how the whole mod thing works, but what if there were new mods, like at least at intermediate level, also someone who comes on the site on a regular basis.

What if the boards were locked to certain people, like newcomers, so they can't spam. Ex: Newcomers can only draw on the beginners board. Then, if they improve, which is where mods come in, the mods can unlock the next board for them. A newcomer would have to request a mod to look at their work to see if they had improved enough to move on to the next board. If they did, the mod would unlock it for them. If not, then they would tell them they need to improve.

People who are on intermediate level could draw on both beginners and intermediate, advanced could draw from advanced and below, and so on. That way, people would aim to improve their work instead of spamming the wrong boards, and the intermediate and above wouldn't be limited to just one board. And, if they are content at their skill level, they could just stay that way.

As for the contest and collab board, I guess it could be open for intermediate and up. I'm sure there are flaws in this idea, but it may work, I dunno.

It probably would work..

It's so crazy it just might work..LOL...I think it sounds llike a good idea..the only problem would be getting it put into motion..

That's not a good Idea...there's to many things to take into consideration ..so many of us draw in different categories: Realism,surrealism,abstract and so on. who's to say one abstract drawing is better than the other? I've seen art that to me looks like a 5yr old did it and a lot of people have thought it was great. ...beside the only people on here I would trust to do that job would be Kloxboy and davincipoppalag. not to mention if the mod skills were of a professional level. ( speaking of Kloxboy ) the standards would be raised and we would all be put on the beginners board :)

This is true also...ahh...what to do..what to do...

It would be interesting to see what would happen if there were no rules whatsoever.

The boards would be even more spammed by 5 minute doodles. There are some people that self regulate themselves.

LOL. how hard it is to click past a drawing you dont like. stop bitching.

Ah, well, oh well. It was just a thought. I mean you guys all have a point, but whatever. I guess all we can do is stop bitching like staci said, lol.

I think it's more the fact that the better draws end up getting less 'air time' because the doodles tend to push them down further into the abyssmal archives. I think it's really great to have different boards to go to for what I'd like to look at, without the 5 min draws getting in the way. I don't have all day to click past them. Bubblicious, having an opinion doesn't mean they're bitching. It's the American way. Speak on, sistah.

Indeed, this isn't bitching, this is me having an idea and Bubbli even expanding it. Some people say they didnt see the rules on where to post, after it was too late.

First off, whether it's the current mods or new ones, it comes down to actually enforcing the rules, not who does it. Let's examine the 2draw rules:

1) If you don't like it, or you can't imagine anyone liking it, please don't submit it!

I think I understand what this rule was intended to mean but even then, I disagree with it. Why do people have to make sure they like their drawings before they post them? I post work I don't like all the time, what's wrong with that? And how does one imagine what "anyone" likes? Everyone likes different things, especially when it comes to visual art. Presumably, one could post a drawing that is in no way offensive and was skillfully rendered but no one likes it.

2) A 5 minute sketch, a 10 minute drawing, all of these could be oh-so-much better if twice the effort and time was put into them. This doesn't mean you can't post 5 or 10 minute sketches, but they have to be good 5 or 10 minute sketches, and they should be mixed with pictures you put more time into. Although there is something to be learned from quick sketches in traditional art, we strongly discourage submitting these sketches.

True, quality drawings can be done in 10 minutes or less. Some drawings have to be done quickly as per the technique used to create them, otherwise the intended effect may be lost. This seems more like a guideline than a rule, I guess you could say it's a "flexible rule". Overall, I think it makes sense.

3) Do not post short one word comments to boost your points or for any other reason. A multi-sentence comment and critique is many times more useful than 30 comments that say nothing, such as "cool," "awesome," and "wow." The ability to critique and comment well is an important skill in the art field, and people won't improve with "cool" or "wow." Try to post insightful comments! It's the only way some people can improve.

Again, this seems more like a guideline or suggestion, than a rule. Sometimes a short or one word comment can speak volumes. I think strictly enforcing this "rule" might be a little overkill but I could see how it might motivate people to be less lazy when leaving comments.

4)In any place you can post text on 2draw.net, you must avoid abusing the site with excessive formatting (niftyToo markup abuse), all-caps, long "words" and ellipses, or long urls. Anything unnecessary that disturbs the normal peace of the site should be considered abuse. Abusing niftyToo markup in general means posting the majority of your message in a tag such as italics or color. The purpose for formatting is to allow you to express yourself better, when your entire message is pink on black, it just annoys people (and moderators) by making it difficult to read. Just because you think it looks good, keep in mind that others may be using a different theme.

This rule makes sense for the most part. People who choose to type in pink text are just asking for trouble. Straining your eyes is fun!

Intermediate Rules: Spend ((AT LEAST)) 30 minutes (If not an hour) on your pictures if you are planning to post it on here and don't just sit there for 30 minutes and then doodle something out, please also put effort into your pictures. Because anything not intermediate quality on here will be BALEETED \(*D*)/ thanks much dearies~ -Mai

In regards to the time minimum for this board, it's not really enforced but again, good drawings can be done quickly. Other than the time minimum, notice there is no real definition or outline of what "intermediate art" is exactly, as it applies to 2draw.

The Collaborations Board: The Collaborations Board is for Intermediate level work. Please post non-intermediate level collabs on another board. Remember, you can post a collab on any board. Please also find a partner to draw with on this board before posting a new drawing here, as it will cut down on the amount of drawings here that have never been finished and most likely never will be.

That seems pretty straight forward but again, it's more of a suggestion or request than a rule.

Advanced Board: Nada.

As for the rest of the boards, they don't really have any rules.

As for the points system, it doesn't seem to be in use anymore.

So there you have it, those are the rules. There's not much for the mods to enforce, it's all pretty vague. Mods are pretty much left to enforce the rules as they see fit.

most of those rules are over 4 years old, so it may make sense to revise them? :-)

art is subjective, so it's hard to have objective rules.

Well, then, can we at least put in a snack bar?

Perhaps I've overlooked something but is there a way to browse all the boards without having to choose only one at a time?

I always click here : http://2draw.net/latest/?display=comments

Marcello: Exactly, I agree.

Other drawing sites use rating and voting systems to determine the quality of each drawing, putting the definition of what "good" art is in the hands of a small community, that's lame. It makes people tailor their drawings towards popular themes and styles instead of something even mildly original. Some sites limit how much "ink" you're allowed to use, which isn't horrible but is still limiting. And then there's these sites that have "zero tolerance" type rules, like they're running some kind of institution. And of course, many of these drawing sites have mods and admins that abuse their power and are overly respected, which intimidates the members, making for a very formal, stagnate environment, which is not how an "art community" should be described.

2draw is one of the few drawings sites I've been on that has fairly liberal rules and restrictions. I don't want 2draw to change.

so..no snack bar? ..shit

I like 2draw how it is, but it was just an idea that I thought I'd share. I wish we had a snack bar, that would be freaking sweet. Internet cookies! Numm :)

Wet bar too?? I will take a mochatini please, num num :)

Yes.. a wet bar for Helena. Now who knows how to mix that? lol

1 1/2 oz Skyy® vanilla vodka
1 oz Starbucks® coffee liqueur
1 oz dark creme de cacao
yummmm, this only makes one :)

LOL ok..

Yeah, drawing web sites are lame. Only lam-O-matic's do that shit. Dumb asses anyway. They should be flogged in public and then everyone gets to take turns kicking them in the ass while they have their pants down.

Axil..your'e so weird..

It's a gift. "Oh wow! Thank you! It's so cool!"

You're so completely welcome I can't even express how much...

No, it wen't more like "Well if you don't like the damn thing then just say so!" ...next...

I think it should be that way..if you dont' like it say so and next year just give me money and I'll go buy what the hell I want..

We do a cool thing now where no one give anyone anything.

I do a cool thing that I only give to my children and that's it...

That's how it should be. Damn the merchants I say! Damn them all!

Curse you all to hell...evil merchants....!!

Black Magic woman, and everybody else, I think there are a lot of very good artists here. However this is the thing that bothers me; most of them seem to be painting in the same style. Very smooth, tight, Neo realism, or practically commercial professionalism. You know, like professional commercial artists, who do it for a living, and do slick commercials and advertisements. The fact that there is so much Neo realism, and that if you do not paint in that category, you're considered abysmal does bother me. For one thing, that lets out several types of what's known as "fine Art painting". I'm not saying that anyone should be sloppy or amateur-ish, or careless. I'm saying that if someone painted in a style that was uniquely their own, or tended to favor something like Fauvist, or a Monet, or any of the French painters of that era, apparently here, you would be considered unprofessional. So, I'm really puzzled. I noticed that on websites like "Oekaki Central" everyone is supposed to do their art very realistically, Neo realism, like a photograph. I consider art to be a very subjective thing, because everybody has their own favorite styles and manners. For example, I notice that a lot of very young artists, usually Asian, like to do a lot of cartoon and animal characters, and they can be very good. So, what I want to know is, does that left them out of being considered a "professional, good artist" here? There's nothing wrong with being realistic. It's great, especially in portraits.however, even in portraits there are uniquely different styles of painting. I don't understand how you can set up objective judges, here, to say that one style of painting is superior to another, and can win the contest over others.I don't mean that it's impossible to judge who is a good artist, and who isn't, but how do you judge which painting styles are better than the others? Is this website saying that only the slick, neo-realistic, commercial style of painting is the only good one? I really just wanted to ask the question, cause I'm very curious.

My favorite is the "painterly" style. I like a painting that looks like a painting.

I like that style too jpjp...my thing is I have strived to adopt a style that's different form most....Although realism is pretty..I prefer not to do it myself....their just no room for reality in my art...althoug I think that the p[eople who do realism are very talented and I really appreciate what they do and a person who can do realism but also be open enough to adopt other styles and be so diverse is really cool...there are several people here like that...but as far as people who think realism is the only way and that if you don't do realism then your art sucks.."art nazis" I call em'..well they can kiss it where the sun don't shine....So to straight out answer your question..from my point of view....it does not have to realism to be good art.....:) draw what makes you happy...oh..and there was something else...I drink iced tea out old pickle jars that i washed and saved...

backmagicwoman..."draw what makes you happy" YIPPEE! Good idea!

Honesty Dorothy, I don't see that much photorealisme here. The issues most of us here when it comes to commenting on not so good drawings is when newbies come, spam a board with 10 minute drawings and then say "OMG, this is the bést I have ever done, It didn't take me the time it says I did". Usually that is a certain manga / anime style. All other styles, like for instance BMW's style is very unique and welcomed.

In conclusion, I don't get your point.

Thanks enjoy..i really appreciate you saying so..:)

Not that I have a say in what is welcome or not, but your style surely is unique and in my eyes great.

It just bothered me that someone said that the styles of people drawing here looked a lot like what everybody else does.

Yeah I can't really see it. Every one has a different style here and are so friggen talented it makes me jealous. :) Dave, DMV, Klox, Axil, CHalkDust, BMW, QT, Miss_Dj...uh, elly.. And a lot of people that I cant list because it would take forever just to write them out, and the list would be REALLY long, are talented and have their own style, even if it does seem a little similar sometimes.

Actually, I've never seen two people with the same online style.

I've seen quite a few people with no style whatsoever. ;)

Alter.Native, I for one are one of the style-free drawers. Actually, don't think there is anything wrong with that.

My comment was twofold :)

And of course there's nothing wrong with being style-free, or experimenting with different styles.

I wish I had a style, I feel like everytime I do something it is different. I really appreciate people who have developed a distinct style, or signiture in thier drawings that is totally unique to them. For example, Clox has a tencencey to use warm clours in his abstracts and his realism's have a tendency to have olive greens with some reds. Axil's have a painterly style, often using very muted colours, like beizes and muted blues, and often has some wonderful light streaming in from somewhere. Roytje and jpjp are the consumant painterly artists. Flubbles is a pure photographic perfectionist, to the point of insanity!! Suntan loves whimsical black and whites with focal points of the primary and or bright colours in unique places. DMV has a very crisp quality to his work, which shouts design and composition out loud, using shapes to define his images. Cyclops uses broad lines to outline his images and they usually have a skeleton or two floating about. Elly almost always creates something beautiful with shine somewhere in the image. Of course BMW has her puzzle like shapes that are intensly shaded throughout her draws creating larger images when viewed in whole. If I haven't mentioned anyone, it is more because a strong sense of style does not come to mind when I think of your work. That is NOT a bad thing, it is actually, in my opinion, more like me. Kinda, the grass is always greener on the other side.....etc.etc.etc. What a boring world it would be if we were all alike. I'll probly think of more uniqueness once I click Submit, so I may come back to this from time to time and edit it. Anyone else feel free to critique someone I have missed, or if you have notice a "style" in my draws, leave a coment about maybe what I don't see myself.

Stop that...you are a wonderful artist..and you are right ...it would be a boring world if we were all the same....I think it's wonderful that we all have our own thing to add to the mix....I love your work and I think a lot of other people here love it as well...

I agree with BMW! And I love your artwork, its all interesting. :)

What I love about 2draw is that there are so many unique people here ..and all with their own special way of doing things that I never get bored because I am never looking at the same thing from everybody...I used to draw a lot at this other place and someitmes I will still go back there from time to time because it's where I did my first oekaki...but now it's all anime..and I just don't fit there anymore...but it's fun to spring one of my drawings on them every once in a while.....:)

Thanks you two, but I did not mean that my art is bad, just not any specific style that is true to me in all of my pics. You are all too cute and kind!!