My Assessment of the Art Section and My Propositions

[[MPGH]Doc]

inb4tl;dr

Note: The following assessment will address three key areas. Structure will reflect user-friendliness, ease of access. Activity reflects the amount of vested interest from members of MPGH, and shows the effectiveness of forum structure and public awareness, and I will also be commenting about the community itself within this category. Creativity pertains only towards Art itself and does not necessarily reflect upon MPGH nor forum structure, but rather the level of interest and various forms of media members are more and more interested in.

Past <2010

Structure
Simple structure designed to meet simple needs of the average user seeking to learn to make signatures or request one.

My Opinion: This structure is effective. It is able to provide an environment specifically tailored to the members needs and encourages activity due to ease of access and its simpleness.

Graphics Section

• SOTW
• Signature Tutorials
• Signature Requests
• Signature/Avatar Testing & Showoff
• Challenges
• Resources (as of '09)

Total number of Forums + Sub-forums =7 (including the Graphic Section General Forum)

Activity
Relatively High. Despite Graphic Design not being an integral part of MPGH it still maintained high activity, rivalling that of General, Combat Arms, and Crossfire and more active than other sections such as Warrock (despite Warrock having VIP). This shows vested interest from members of MPGH in signature making, and a good community that was active and inviting. There was high activity from the team and many newcomers such as myself and others.

Creativity
Low. The graphics sections tends to only focus upon simple forum signatures. High activity also shows a focus upon quantity rather than quality (this statement is not a reflection upon skill level but rather the atmosphere and use of the section). Majority of members do not enter the field of Graphic Design or even Signature making beyond MPGH. Knowledge of various styles of sigmaking is limited, and there is very little exploration into other forms of media, such as Advanced Video Editing or 3D Animations. Towards the end of '09 myself and a select few others begin venturing into other forum which specialise in signatures as an Art Forms, and there is more creative awareness yet it remains primitive.


Present 2010

Structure
Remains much the same as previous years until Mid-Late '10. A new forum structure is implemented designed to attract more users and add variety to the Section. Graphics Section becomes a sub-forum under the umbrella forum of the Art Section.

My Opinion: Gives members access to specific section tailored to their needs including the majority of all different varieties of media. However I think the amount of sub-forums is rather daunting and be difficult for beginners to get a hold of. Plus the use of this many sub-forums discourages community, as members begin to cave within their own sub-forum.

Art Section

• Art/GFX Members
• 3D Modeling & Animation
• Art Of The Week
• Drawings and Paintings
• Graphics

• Signature Request
• Photoshop Tutorials
• Signature/Avatar Testing & Showoff
• Resources

• Literature & Rap
• Music & Sound
• Challenges
• Help

Total number of Forums+Sub-forums=13 (including the Graphics Section General Forum)

Activity
Rather average during the early stages. Activity remains seasonal with schools and holidays. Midway through '10 saw a rise in activity due to summer holidays in North America and other countries. However the general amount of activity has slumped. I think this was due to a combination of the new structure being counter-intuitive, and the absence of former popular members. Whilst a few remain their activity is derived from pure social commentary with some CnC here and there. In my opinion a lack of new threads leads to a lack of activity and I believe we have lost a majority of sigmakers this year.

Creativity
Average-High. Member awareness of other websites specialising in signatures sky rockets. More and more people become familiar with popular websites such as PR, FFX, VFX, and DV. With this brings in new styles of sigmaking and also more people are now venturing into large art. Also with new sub-forums, more people are showing off in other areas such as 3D Modelling, Drawings and Literature (mainly Rap). Liz's Section also adds to activity with her vast collection Also the registration of popular sigmakers help to develop a community with higher standards.

My Proposed Future 2011

Structure
Extremely Streamlined Structure. Enhanced user-friendliness and intuitive. Allows different areas to be explored whilst encouraging communal activity and cross-media collaborations. Rather than Art which in itself segregates many users who are daunted by this (thinking that the section is for Artists Only) I propose the section be renamed to Graphic Design. This is largely due to the majority of works shown in the section are derived from a computer. Not only this but traditional forms of art such as paintings and music are being integrated within Graphic Design. Also within a Gaming orientated community the Term Graphic Design will be more familiar and may attract more users. Also rather than giving SOTW it's own section we just add it to the general forum, as it only requires a maximum of two threads at a time.

Graphic Design

• Design/Literature Showoff & Critique
• Competitions*
• Tutorials & Resources
• Help
• Requests

*Optional, depending on the interest the other sections have in my proposals.

Total amount of Forums+Sub-Forums=5 (including the Graphic Design General Forum)

As you can see it is incredibly simplified. At first glance it would seem that although simplified sorting through various threads to find which ones are signatures, drawings music and so on. But I propose we implement tags in the thread titles much like in the CA Section (Release, Info, Discussion, etc). These are the tags I propose we use.

• Signature
• Large Art
• Music
• Literature
• 3D/Anim.

Drawings and Paintings will come under Large Art. The rest are rather self-explanatory.

I also believe these tags can be implemented in the other sub-forums so members can easily find tutorials, resources and help pertaining to a particular topic.

Activity
I think the implementation of this structure should see an improvement in activity. The structure exposes members to other forms of media they would not usually be interested in and can promote experimentation and can provide a better community atmosphere. I also propose that other section can hold competitions within this forum. Wether these be posted in the General Forum as a sticky or perhaps in a separate sub-forum for competitions (if this were to happen then SOTW can be incorporated into this). I believe with a rise in popularity for Machinima, frag movies (montages), community commentaries, giving the Gaming community exposure to the Design Section and have them participate in competitions would greatly benefit MPGH. For those who saw my "A New Era" thread there is what I meant by "an emphasis on Gaming".

Creativity
Extremely High. For obvious reasons. Exposure, competitions, more activity.


So these are my thoughts. Of course I can go far more in-depth however in the interest of simplicity I won't. So post your thoughts on my proposals, bring some of your ideas to the table, and together we may create a better future

[David]

Dang so many words. didnt read all of it but skimmed it, got a fairly good idea. hope this works.

[Ryan]

I just read that whole damn thing.
And I see no issues.
Essentially, nothing negative could come from it (mainly because of the idea itself, but also because of where we are now...).
However, the only way it will pull through is if the people with knowledge are given charge, i.e. the GFX team, as it used to be.
That, and if we have an admin ready to assist in the remodeling.
I also think we should redo the team a bit.
Add people more than remove people, of course.
But that should be done at a waypoint during the estimated actvity
increase.
We never know who might end up here that could be a valuable asset.

If there was anything more, I would toss it out, but you've covered nearly everything.

[[MPGH]Doc]

I just read that whole damn thing.
And I see no issues.
Essentially, nothing negative could come from it (mainly because of the idea itself, but also because of where we are now...).
However, the only way it will pull through is if the people with knowledge are given charge, i.e. the GFX team, as it used to be.
That, and if we have an admin ready to assist in the remodeling.
I also think we should redo the team a bit.
Add people more than remove people, of course.
But that should be done at a waypoint during the estimated actvity
increase.
We never know who might end up here that could be a valuable asset.

If there was anything more, I would toss it out, but you've covered nearly everything.

Yeah with the team, I think the current should remain, and add more people to it. I'm also thinking about coming back as mod, if this gets the green light. However I think there should more initiative from other sections to get involved in this. When I go to other hacking forums (lurker not a poster) I see overcomplicated forums, and lack of community involvement, and I'm afraid of MPGH going down the same path.

[[MPGH]Ethereal]

Doc+ Ry if you mah nigs get active, I will return. WITH A TABLET

[name13]

Aren't you supposed to be dead already and then come back in a little while
Anyway I think these propositions if put into action would definitely benefit the section especially if the gfx team got put back the way it was but also incorporate other people from the other sections into the team since what you propose is to unite everything

[[MPGH]Doc]

I said be dead for roughly a month, maybe less maybe more. I'm pretty sure its been over a month now. And this plan is for next year. Preferably sometime after January 20th as I'm housesitting for 3 weeks before hand, and probs won't have much internet.

[KABLE]

Graphic Design

• Design/Literature Showoff & Critique
• Competitions*
• Tutorials & Resources
• Help
• Requests

*Optional, depending on the interest the other sections have in my proposals.

Total amount of Forums+Sub-Forums=5 (including the Graphic Design General Forum)

As you can see it is incredibly simplified. At first glance it would seem that although simplified sorting through various threads to find which ones are signatures, drawings music and so on. But I propose we implement tags in the thread titles much like in the CA Section (Release, Info, Discussion, etc). These are the tags I propose we use.

• Signature
• Large Art
• Music
• Literature
• 3D/Anim.

Drawings and Paintings will come under Large Art. The rest are rather self-explanatory.

I also believe these tags can be implemented in the other sub-forums so members can easily find tutorials, resources and help pertaining to a particular topic.
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So what you're proposing is that we have a Graphic Design section but use have a Music and a Literature tag available? You might as well make a sub-section. I'm almost 100% sure that lit and music aren't categorized as "graphic design" subjects. Correct me if I misunderstood what you said.

[[MPGH]Doc]

So what you're proposing is that we have a Graphic Design section but use have a Music and a Literature tag available? You might as well make a sub-section. I'm almost 100% sure that lit and music aren't categorized as "graphic design" subjects. Correct me if I misunderstood what you said.

Music is part of Graphic Design as a large part of Graphic Design is made up of audio/visual component. I just whacked lit in there coz it barely deserves its own sub-forum, and rap is music.

[Scrcrw]

my only concern would be a certain team leader *cough*ryguy*cough* doesnt do shit
shayne for gfx mod
otherwise good, and imma stay running sotw for the while too
i mlike the tags idea, its wat they do on fringe

[Nismo]

I think that Drawing + Paintings should not include graffiti and/or computer or Photoshop art.. but rather actual Paint and pencil kind of work..?

[KABLE]

Music is part of Graphic Design as a large part of Graphic Design is made up of audio/visual component. I just whacked lit in there coz it barely deserves its own sub-forum, and rap is music.

It's a mere inspiration.

Source: Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

graphic design 
–noun
the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, esp. to produce a specific effect.

I think that Drawing + Paintings should not include graffiti and/or computer or Photoshop art.. but rather actual Paint and pencil kind of work..?

Graffiti is made via spray PAINT.

[[MPGH]arunforce]

WOAH CALM DOWN CZAR

and also ask liz.

[Zen]

i agree, the leagues should be brought back (if they arent still around, i havent seen em) and it shouldnt just be sig of the week, it should be an overall art comp picked from the winners of each section i guess.

[Brecht Algoet]

couldnt figure out what you mean with my poor english...