I am thinking of making gifts of your artwork to friends and relatives(especially those far from you) and a nice thing would be a calendar with your pastels, watercolors, portraits of artists, still life. You don't have to send the artwork but just a picture of it, so you may have many calendars even for sale. I would love to buy for instance an artist calendar with those colorful Guatemalan pots from Judyvan or Adolfo's aquarelles.There are more artists on this website that i don't mention here whose work is outstanding and can make wonderful artist calendars. What do you think of my idea?
Wait to see more ideas here.

I like this idea. Was you thinking of having the gifts made professionally or by the members? And if so, do you have ideas about how to make these gifts?


BRB

Bobby, I usually make my own calendars with photos from my travels, print them in my computer, eventually go to Kinko's to have them bound and send them to my friends and family. The same can be done with artwork. You print the photo of your art, or just have them on CD and print them in calendar format in a shop and sell them. Of course, the price of a calendar cannot be very high, so what you would charge for an individual portrait is much more than what you can charge for 12 portraits in calendar format; but for those who make a gift one or twice a year, usually New Year's time and birthday it's a wonderful gift to invest money into and make for your loved one.in this the case the artist will only profit from the number of calendars sold as opposed to an individual artwork.But we can try that here and see how it works. To do it at home can very expensive for the artist because the inks and photo paper are not cheap. Also there is a possibility to bind it yourself with some tools from Office depot for instance. I repeat the artist can only hope for dissiminating his art rather than making a profit.It works fine though for family and friends as you make just a few calendars.

Here it is an older desk calendar for my sister in Romania.
I also do calendars with flowers from my garden for my mother's kitchen.

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Another possibility is to have on your website a paypal feature for people to order their format and size of calendar from you.You can either do it and ship to them or they can download and print the pages of your calendar directly from your site on a subscription basis or pay per calendar. This last option has a disadvantage though because they can print more than one calendar from your site.So I would say ordering from you is better.

An advantage to have this calendar sale is that you might have artwork that you sold but you can still have the copyright and can make prints and sell it in a calendar format together with other artwork. So people don't have the original but they can order a calendar from you with the artwork of their choice.

i think this is a wonderful idea..

Elana, you are doing a pretty good job at explaining things and I really like the idea. So, I think you need to clarify what it is you would want other artist to do and some kind of agreement of use of their work type deal. Does that make sense?

Venus, I was never a business woman, so i do everything for fun ans also out of friendship. That's why I created several postcards sites with my own pictures which are free to send online and also i make free gifts for friends and family. But this idea can be taking to another level and somebody with marketing skills can figure out a way to do among us or just have a personal website or link where you have exposure for your work. This site is educational and probably is better to stay so, but I repeat, if Judyvan decides to sell a calendar with her beautiful CP artwork I am ready to buy one from her. It can also be made by oder of greeting cards or birthday and other ocasion cards.
Look here. Ideas I have and some pictures which are now free on my websites. What I intend to do in the future is to make artwork of the pictures have. Is just a newborn project. It crossed my mind this morning thinking of making a meaninful gift to a dear friend.

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Elena, like I said we can do it as a sign up and have everyone submit their favorite photo of their choice, for everyone who signs up for it (and there must be at least 12 for a calender idea) they give everyone else in the group permission to use the photos however they wish. If we can give them away for gifts thats great, if we can sell them then its a bonus with benefits. There just has to be the understanding if there are signups that we can do whatever we wish with the photos and use on our websites or bogs or whatever. I doubt though if we were to all try selling them we are gonna go out and make tons of money tomorrow, LOL. But, it is a great idea to try at least. I say we should start a sign up thread.

Venus, I am not sure I can follow you. I am not practical, but a dreamer and a teacher by profession, but I think that I would like to visit the gallery of a drawspace artist pick my favorite artwork and order either a calendar or prints(is too early for a calendar though) and then have it shipped to our address by the artist himself. The price and the address will be a private matter between the two in PM or other email.What a thread can do is to list the chosen artist and choice pics of each buyer so we can have a notion of what is going on. There is also work which has been sold and the prints will mean copies of original art.So I don't have a clue about prices, I don't know if you add shipping and handling or tax fees. There is also the international aspect of the business, I mean if you mail it to France or Australia.There are also other aspects like the kind of paper appropiate for art other that glossy photo paper or framing, etc.We could have generic prices on drawspace to encourage young artists or customized prices for professional artists. This is to be decided. Also the size of the prints, calendars, cards.So we need to agree on these aspects.Let's wait to hear more opinions.

Ohh, well, I think we were both off on each others idea..lol. I was thinking with just the calender idea it would be fun to start a thread where we used the pictures provided and just start one calender, within the group of artist and do what we may with the pictures. We could decide within the thread of either everyone picking a picture they all like or the artist favorite which is normally their best work. Then we all have permission to do with as we wish with the pictures provided. Then everyone within the group that signed up all agree that they can give as gifts or make money off if they choose to invest in it.

THat's called team project and i guess is another possible idea but not what I have in mind. I will try again. Look, I see many young artists on this website who need encouragement and also some digital art that cannot be sold as paintings(artrage) but through prints or calendars, cards can be reproduced. For instance I like Malina's drawings very much. I can of course print them on my computer and do what i want with them. But is fair play to order a calendar from Malina with the artwork that i like most. Or fans of BRB have a calendar with artists portraits ordered from him.THis is what I meant. It came to me as an idea to make watercolors or CP artwork for a gift for my friend. I'm not an artist but I think she will be pleased with my gift.From here you can take this idea to any length.It's just a matter of how skilled you are and how much practical side you have.Also many of us here are professional artists and for them selling their work is very important. A calendar, cards or prints is just another way of marketing their art.

I think you are both on a different thought lol

I am not clear on what it is you would like to do Elena and I know you have tried to explain with no luck of getting anyplace ...bottom line it please .

What is it you are wanting to do ?
What is it you need from the artist here ?
is there going to be a profit made for you or the artist ?

thats a nice start

maybe we can clear this up and better understand what your looking for .

What i suggest is for the enhancement of one's own art. You can do it privately on your website or here on one to one basis.For instance if i like an artist's arwork from drawspace I like to to have the possibilty of buying art from him in the format mentioned even if he/she is not a professional or from a professional who is more likely to sell. There is no profit for me as long as i think that my drawings are not worth for a calendar or artwork yet. But I mentioned artwork like Judyvan's CP for instance that many other people like and admire and they might be interested in having cards or prints or calenders from her. I this case the idea is useful to the artists and not to me. The webspace we have here allows us to view that art we might wish to purchase. So drawspace is great exposure for artists of all levels and we can even do this selling/buying operation among us. For instance when holidays come I would rather buy a calendar with watercolors from here than from the shop. Many are doing art for their own pleasure but not to be surprised when someone from here or elsewhere loves so much your work that is ready to buy some of it. I repeat I saw beautiful things and the artists are young, beginners, new to art and to business and they need encouragment.WE are not going to open a market for drawspace art here. But we can chose to contact a member and order some of his/her art. It's so simple my idea. I just don't understand what's wrong with my explaining it.
Some people make gifts of drawings already. Why not a calendar for a friend or for sale. It is an idea nothing more.

If i'm understanding your idea correctly I would feel flattered if anyone wanted to pick twelve of my drawings for a calendar. I would even be glad to send files that are larger than the 200 kb limit here on drawspace. I think if someone wants to print them as photos they will need a higher resolution file.

I printed one of my portraits of Rihanna on photo paper and it looks very nice.

If I'm understanding you correctly some one may want a celebrity calendar, and pick the twelve favorites.

Another idea that may be close to what venus is talking about may be a Drawspace Calendar. Someone interested could pick out one or more of different artists on Drawspace get their permission to use their artwork and then keep the calendar for them selves or give them as gifts.

This late in the year it would be a good project for Christmas or later in the fall for next year.

Bobby.

Well I think the idea is for profit with others artwork ...sure if your making a calendar for private use .. but what about taking all 12 of your famous drawings and making a calendar and selling them .. you see nothing more then a thank you and they profit ....I dont know

Yes, Bobby you understand me correctly. Only theat there are two different ideas and is better not to mix them. Mine is an artist's artwork order from one of the members of drawspace in PM on one to one basis business talk. Venus has a team project idea which is another thread probably and another story as well.Christmas calendars are great gifts but is better if you order it from the artist rather than sending files. I guess is more honest for the artist work. Because by sending a file you can have the surprise that your work is multiplied and reproduced for unlimited times.

I'm not sure you understand me KIm. What I say is not to steal the pictures with Bobby's portraits from the website but rather ORDER a calendar from him. I pay for the calendar instead of stealing his work by taking it from the website for free. Other than signature right now there is no protection for one's work in this site or other art sites.

so your saying ask the person... lets use bobby ( sorry bobby to have access to 12 images he has drawn ...you then make him a calendar ...for free ...or is he paying ? and why would you order it at no cost or profit ?

KIm what I'm saying is that I order a calendar from Bobby, let's say a celebrity calendar or a color pencil calendar from Judyvan.He/ She makes the calendar for me and sells it to me,to you, to whom wants her work. Then she ships it to you in your state. Rather than stealing the pictures from the web. Right now all members have acces to albums and can do what ever they want without anybody to know about it. My example was that using my photos from travels and my garden I do calendars for family and friends and you can do the same instread of buying from stores. With artist artwork is a nice gift for family and friends.At Christmas time specialized stores have a huge demand of calendars.I don't do anything professional so far. My calendars are hand made. But if one orders from Bobby he has to sell you a professional made one in a specialized shop.You can decide with the buyer on the format and size of the picture, of course. The idea with calendars from more members is not mine.Ask Venus because i don't know if is very fair for the artist to use his work on your blog, etc.My idea was to make one with my work for family and I said why not suggest to other members this. As a beginner I don't expect any orders from anybody and i wouldn't do calendars for others because there are businesses who specialize in this. Is it clear enough now?

Crystal clear ...thank you for the explanation and clearing it up ... this is simply a idea you are sharing with others that they too can do wow that was easy lol seems through all the confusion it was right here in front of us .

I never said anything about websites or blogs? I was suggesting 12 artist work out a formula and give away or profit from the idea, between the 12, they can design the calender however they want, and if they didn't know how well them I am sure between them they could work together and help out. It was just another idea I threw up in the air. I don't know where you are coming from with the fairness issue, but I suggest if you like an artist work and want a calender of their work, or whatever you want to do with it, then PM them, all this thread is doing is causing confussion and if I want to do my idea I will post or not post or ask privately if I choose.

Venus, I didn't mean to insult you in any way and your tone sounds as if you are offended by my remark. There are two ideas. I don't get yours very well and I think that a team project for fun or for profit was not an intention of mine. There are some other art ideas out there which can be for the sake of art only. One I was thinking yesterday on PM with Kay is to make a drawing card and send it out to a member who has to finish it. Then publish the joint project as team work in a separate thread. in this way you have either one style if they both know how to copy or two different styles. Anyway I didn't mean to flood you with this info but this is anoher idea of art that we are going to experiment together.Actually i was waiting to see the result first then open a thread. But if this second thread that I created is also considered a bad idea as that with the copyright infrigement (FIne arts in the news)the other day the administrators can simply delete the posts altogether.

Elena, as i read your ideas i got another idea. It's different from yours oh. And if anyone is interested we can start another thread.

My idea is to have weekly volunteers like in the weekly challenge. These volunteers would pick a theme or themes, and not post photos.

Like one theme i chose in one thread was "Lost love". I drew a dagger in a realistic heart.

Anyone who wanted to participate could do their version of one of the themes.

Bob.

Bobby that sounds more like art to me. Because from copying you don't become an artist,you know and the young fellows who participate always can develop their imagination. IT's definitely a great idea.

new idea for a weekly challenge.
To post from a weekly photo only half of it like in the example below and ask the participants to draw the full picture.
[attachmentid=10193]

This will leave space to imagination, innovation, style, diversity.You become creative and think a bit your drawing instead of simply copying it. At the end of the challenge the original full photo is shown in the thread together with the artwork of participants.
[attachmentid=10194]

(In this photo i have my own decoration of a flower out of prickly pear, tomatillo and basil.)

wow..i like both of these ideas very much..everyone has so much creativity..it is inspiring..

I agree with both ideas, Your's ElenaM and Boby's, those will surely challenge our creativity.

how about an art book trade..you know instructional books? would that be a good idea?

also i was thinking maybe a draw your pet thread..



if not a draw your pet thread..then how about draw a wild animal thread?
am i getting off base here? if so just tell me to pipe down..lol..i am merely trying to participate

I love both ideas.Even if you don't have a pet, one lovely picture of a little animal can be found online and drawn in any medium if one likes to participate.In this way we can develop skills in drawing fur, feathers, etc.I think it's great and all we need is the willingness from administrators to open a trading book thread, a pet drawing thread, etc.

Here is another idea for a contest on drawspace.
The theme of the contest is celebrity drawing and all portraitists should give it a try. The artist chooses a celebrity and draws him/her without putting the name of the actor/person depicted. The viewer has to guess it by the accuracy of the portrait if we go by realistic standards.We have a deadline.On that date, everybody submits the drawings.We can have two options. Either the portrait carries no name of the artist and in this case they should be submitted to a moderator who uploads them in a thread. The winners are decided by popular vote.
Or we keep the name of the author and everybody submits his art in a post and the moderator can have them placed in a gallery where they are judged again by the public.
We need to decide on the criteria for prizes(kudos) qualificatives given to a work.
In case the artists are disclosed the voters shouls take into account the experience of the artist and we should have some mentions for encouraging young talents in portraiture or people who started a few months ago let's say (as opposed to Bobby BRB who draws people for a lifetime). We can decide on that.
I really look forward to see a feedback from Bobby or Ernest on this idea of mine. Anybody else is welcome to post his/her opinion on this too.

sounds like fun

Elena I have mixed feelings about any type of contests. On the one hand I feel there is profit to the challenge to the contestants. I mean if we do a drawing hoping to win then we will strive to do our best work. In this respect the contests are good motivators.

However, as you bring out I've been drawing portraits for over 50 years. I think I was 12 or 13 when I did my first recognizable portraits. So, what if someone who is only 13 who enters the contest with me even though they are more talented and more skilled than i was at that age, they will most likely get discouraged in stead of encouraged if our works are classed in the same catagory. (Or I could get very discouraged and embarrassed, he he he.) So, if there could be a way of doing what you suggested and having different catagories for different artists and rewarding artists according to age, development, or something that will be fair to the contestants I would agree with it. I just don't know any fair way to do this.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Bobby

My suggestion is not to have contests, but (as we already do) have challenges instead.

Now, regarding prizes. I'm also a moderator at http://saloon.javaranch.com , an IT forum. Over there, what we have are book promotions. We get book authors to come talk about their books for a week; at the end of the week, we give out four free copies of the author's book to randomly-chosen participants in the discussion. Publishers gladly donate the books -- it's good publicity!

In theory, we could do something like that here -- the participation-based prizes, I mean. Participants draw and post a picture of the subject of the week, and on friday, four drawings are randomly selected and the artists get prizes. It drives people to participate without judging anybody. We advertise the promotions to our mailing list, and it does get people involved in the site.

Downsides: it's a fair bit of work to solicit prizes and organize the prize-sending-out process (for JavaRanch, the publishers themselves do the mailing; e just have to tell them where to send the books, which is a chore in itself.) There are also greedy folks who participate only to win books -- perhaps a person like that on Drawspace would submit a stick figure, or a Photoshop-filtered photo. And then there are people who constantly accuse us of favoritism: "Moderators shouldn't win prizes!" or "Elena won TWO WEEKS IN A ROW!!!!" and such.

We think it's worth the trouble, on balance, but it's a nontrivial undertaking, to be sure.

Thank you Bobby and Ernest for your feedback. Bobby it's a good idea to have contests on categories of age, experience, etc. Ernest I didn't necessarily think of real prizes but nominal ones like first place for the best drawing, second, etc.
Like in the Montessori education prizes should be avoided because the motivation is to be excellent not to get a a material reward.The winner should be established by popular vote.
For instance a drawing contest in graphite, every work is reviewed by the public and based on that vote we can calculate who won the most votes, i.e whose work was the best, second best, etc.It will stimulate us and make us look at this more seriously with more care for detail and excellency than the regular challenges in which everything goes. In this way people like me who do it casually can create a portofolio based on serious work.
Or we can open a thread on excellency in which every artist submits what works he considers best for a portfolio review by peers.Anything that can stimulate for extra care and effort for bettering your skills.I will tell you that in a challenge there are many works that are only started and never finished. A contest or portofolio review would be based on finished and polished work.This will push people to work harder and be more conscious of their work.

May I step in here with a word or two please?

I see ideas flowing and that's great. All aspects have merit, but there is some cause for confusion about the intent and potential business challenges as well.

Elena, if I understand your concept, the idea is sound, but I don't believe that Drawspace is the vehicle to do this.

There are companies online that do just what you suggest for artists - produce prints of their original art as the request of the buyer - ImageKind is one of those. CafePress is another. To avoid confusion, I would strongly suggest that if an individual wants to sell their work that they place it in the hands of a third party - ie a print company such as the online one, or have prints available on a website or blog that is independent of Drawspace. This way they are responsible only for their own designs and get full acknowledgement of their work.

The idea of a calendar has been tossed around previously, but the only way that it would work would be if it were free, downloadable and art pieces donated with full consent of the artists for those pieces. Once you get into charging costs for a calendar, you get into problems. Who will coordinate it, who will print it, who will mail it, who will manage the money, who will administer sales, etc etc. Even without charging, you get into issues of coordination, copyright permission, creation, input, hosting, etc. etc.

The idea is great and I don't want to quash it, but I do want to warn about potential pitfalls. Before any decisions are made or any people contacted regarding this concept, discuss it privately first with moderators if you are using Drawspace for any enterprise efforts.

Jeanette, The calendar and art ideas are old and abandoned. It's something that can be done individually like me making you a gift for Christmas from my art and can be duplicate if somebody wants to buy a calendar but the cost problem is always a headache it's true. It remains an individual choice. Anyway I am always preparing those gifts for family and friends anyway. I thought is good to suggest you do the same with your art.But For drawspace is just a DEAD IDEA.

We talk now about having or not contests for our improving and stimulation not material rewards.

Just a quick comment on the 'competition' idea. I think as this is a learning site, that a competition would be intimidating for most individuals who are beginners and you may find the same people drawing over and over again. While I agree that contests, based on age - ie 8 -12; 13- 18, then adult categories, can be a motivator, they can also have the opposite effect unless handled carefully.

The challenges that we hold are not contests. They are designed to provide stimulation to artists to draw, learn and grow. The images are not critiqued unless requested to do so.

With contests comes the decision making process. Who would be chosen as a committee to decide who a winner(s) is and what would be the criteria for a winning piece? Winning by popular vote is not an accurate method of accessing excellence. It can be rigged in so many ways and the final result becomes a matter of popularity and how many friends you can garner together to vote, as opposed to an analysis of growth, creativity, composition, technique etc.

OK, another dead idea.Thanks for your time.

I think it would be nice to have a sort of competition, nothing serious, and no material prizes of course, But I do think this could encorage us to draw the best we can. Of course some people migth feel intimidated, but if there are no real prizes I don't see what could be the problem. In my modest opiniun I think it would push people to participate, it would work for me!!