As there has been positive response, let's get the party started!

Speedart created in 60 minutes (or less, but not more!) during this week is welcome in this conversation. You can do as many as you like, out of any media. In homage to the folks over in ~music, I'm going to use music as my theme this week - but you do you and have fun!

A couple of thoughts:
~ Out of courtesy to your fellow posters, please consider social appropriateness, pornography legislation, and giving a heads up in the post if there is gore and/or nudity.
~ One of the best gifts you can give to someone who has the joy or courage to post their work is appreciation of their efforts. :)

GO! ARTIFY!

I would like to have everyone weigh in on constructive critique style for ~creative. :)

Most of the critiques given so far in ~creative have been very light and amiable. People are feeling their way into what is acceptable, and don't wish to offend. Today we've had an extremely high level critique by Trin (awesome feedback, btw!) And I'm caught between cheering and covering my eyes.

Cheering because having this level of critique in ~creative is worth gold. To have members of the community capable and willing to devote this much care is incredible. It takes a LOT of time and energy to give this sort of feedback. Some people search and pay money for feedback like this, and still can't find someone good enough to give it.

Covering my eyes because many people don't understand or want such thoroughness, and I'm imagining all the new writers/crafters/artists running for the hills and never posting again.

I am extremely reluctant to fling a "critique scale request" out there. That often seems to polarize posts. Also...if someone reads your work, views your art, enjoys your craft enough to give you the compliment of a deep critique...wouldn't you want it?

Let's hear what people want! I personally want all levels of submitters comfortable in ~creative. But I also want it to be a place that encourages growth instead of just ego stroking. :)

I have been writing for quite some time, but always look for new ideas, new perspectives, new genres, new ways of promoting or improving or sharing my work. I'm not a professional and still have lots to learn. I am open to all kinds of writing and levels of expertise, and want to open a space where there is genuine and helpful sharing, rather than snarky and dismissive barbs.

I don't think this should be a place where someone writes a quick and sloppy sub-first draft and then eagerly begs for only positive comments. Writing is hard work. It is a craft and takes serious study and time. It can also be lonely and discouraging.

I envision a virtual coffee shop where we have all gathered with our latest work, wondering what our next step is, how a good editor can be found, how to write a query letter, is self-publishing a good choice, how did you get an agent...those sorts of discussions.

How is a new group formed?

Strings and frets here. I’ve been playing guitar for the last 23 years and will play mandolin, banjo, or uke if there are enough guitar players in the room. Just bought my first bass a few months ago and it has been lots of fun and of course an easy transition from guitar. I’ve been in a handful of bands playing rock/hard rock, bluegrass, Celtic music, and even a jam band in my younger years.

I’ve been recording myself and others since ‘99 (Cool Edit Pro v1.5) and I enjoy the creative processes of composing, recording, mixing, etc. I’ve placed music in short films and in commercial applications, and have been working on orchestration with dreams of doing larger scale film scores.

I started playing because I wanted to learn “Needle and the Damage Done,” and a number of other Neil Young songs. He’s to blame for all this.

What do you play and do with your musician’s karate chops?

I really want to learn how to draw a map (a proper one, from a real location, not a fantasy one).
Where should I look? Couldn't find a lot of proper tutorial on the internet.
The location I want to map is underground (no cellular network or GPS down there) and quite big (300km-ish).
There's already some maps of the place but they omit some of the tunnels (to protect them).

Hey guys, I hope this is the right place for this idea. So, given the more structured community and higher required levels of contribution, I thought writing a collective story could work out. I've done this before on other forums and it's always a blast.
So, the way it works is, I'll start the story off, and then whoever sees it first will continue with anywhere from just one more sentence to multiple paragraphs. Just reply to the directly previous segment. To avoid homogenization, try not to contribute multiple times without letting other people go perhaps twice in between. With all that in mind, let's get started!

Rufus smacked his forehead as he went to sit down at his computer- he'd forgotten about his date.

I love drawing and painting. But sometimes I am attacked by inertia or my self confidence deserts me. Or sometimes I want to scribble without worrying about the end result. Thus, SPEEDPAINT.

You grab whatever materials are around and race to get as much done as possible. I use a one hour time limit. You can copy a reference or make it up from your head. Technique is helpful but not required. This is a digital speed paint from a photo. I think I did it in mspaint. This is construction paper and crayola crayon.

If we occasionally had a thread for a speed art challenge, would anyone be interested? Not to compete against each other, but compete against yourself and show support for others willing to try.