I have created this poll so that moderators and teachers may try to understand exactly what individuals who come to this site want to gain from their visits here.

We cannot provide something that will please everyone, but we can try to provide the right mix of challenge, instruction and guidance to ensure that you go away from Drawspace with more experience, techniques and information than when you arrived.

This poll will stay up until October 15th to allow the full range of input.

i have learned so much here at drawspace..which is what i wanted to do..

i like the thought of interesting threads to participate in or not..i was thinking a variety of threads might encourage more people to come out of the shadows and share their work and their skills with the rest of us..im fairly new, only 6 or 7 months . it seems there has been many things tried in the forums before i even arrived that didnt work out so well.

i thought perhaps if maybe single members started a thread they were interested in they might find others that are interested in the same..and from that meet some new friends and learn some new tips from each other, with perhaps a skilled person dropping in from time to time to guide.

for instance, the wrinkle thread i started.it is an area i desperately need help in and have gotten plenty since i posted it..but i was disappointed that out of 147000 members no one else besides one or two was really interested in trying to learn to draw wrinkles correctly..the help was there in this instance from lots of ppl, but the interest of members really wasnt.. perhaps i am the only one in 146,000 that needs help in that area..

i like the threads with different mediums as i cant figure out what i want to work with and am always trying them all.

as for the critique part..i like the separate thread for that area if ppl are seriously wanting their work critiqued.



but then again..this is drawspace not artspace..perhaps we can cut back on most of this and make it simply drawing..which is what the site is for

Thanks Jeanette

I want to learn as much as possible and get as much help i can.
I want to thank drawspace for what I have learned already.

Thank you drawspace and Brenda for making this community possible. But the poll makes me feel i am a customer not an apprentice artist.I mostly want to talk about art freely, exchange views, discuss masters (if possible), and learn new things, explore art media.
For instance, this challenge created by ncgirl on wildlife is absolutely excellent. It starts from a photo of a wild bear and takes me to my calligraphy set which I have for many years unexplored, only to discover that I can learn or get info on Chinese brush painting.
As Picasso said about the art of the 20th c. that it needed to create enthusiasm the same is my opinion about an art site, that should create enthusiasm.If Drawspace could take me from light and shade and hatching lesons to watercolor and charcoal means is an excellent learning tool.
I also wanted to choose more than one area of interest and is not possible. I chose portraiture because this is why I started drawing in the first place, to learn to draw people.
I am also interested in still life, floral, creativity, animals.That was not possible to check. Do I expect lessons on that ? Yes and no. The stimulation is enough and that is what I expect from the site. Stimulation of new horizons I didn't know that existed in art making and more references, books, links, artists, events. The pulse of art life.Thank you for your attention.

Dear Jeanette,
Thank you for your interest in providing what we want. I am a member of other art sites, but Drawspace is by far the one I spend the most time at. I know that lessons are available here if I feel I need them, and dedicated threads for c&c. I do appreciate very much when you drop in and explain a technique, or offer advice to anyone who is struggling with something. Like some of the other respondents, I, too, would like to learn various skills, not only portraiture, but still life, landscapes, animals, well, heck, I may as well say all of the choices.
I have found the challenges very useful in stretching my artistic muscles so to speak. Sometimes I don't get done in time to post them, others I don't feel are worthy of posting.
I have found the site very helpful to me. If asked what I would add, perhaps instructional video, posted here or on youtube, on various aspects of the skills involved in drawing.
Thank you for all that you do, and to Brenda for providing a place for us to meet and talk to like minded people.
Trish

I am a Moderator at this site and I must agree with Kaly and Trish ...I want to learn as much as I can ...one thing I do not like is seeing a challenge go from one subject to another ...I think it is important to stick to the subject and and offer as much help as you can ....for instance I would never hold a challenge in a area I know little about because I feel I would not be your water to help you grow.

Jeanette I think this poll will be very helpful

I agree, keeping with one subject and one medium at a time is better when learning something new.

welcome back venus .. has been a long time hun .. hope all is well

I was just wondering the other day where Venus and her colored pencils had gotten off to. Good to see you back hope you got your CP sharpen.

Thanks for the poll Jeanette!
Drawspace has dramatically increased my knowledge about drawing and painting. This is due to the work of instructors and moderators, and also to the contribution of creative members who introduce new subjects.
Checking the trends may be very helpful !
Thank you
Sarah

I also missed your wonderful drawings. Also I regularly checked your weblog, but no news since july!!

Cees

Awww thanks for the wonderful welcome backs!! It's nice being missed. I have just had so much to do this summer and not much time to do it. Then there were a couple of deaths, and some major cancer scares, so time had to go in other directions. now things have slowed down, no major art shows to enter and everything can go back to normal...LOL. I can once again participate with my friends.

Nice to see you Venus.

Thanks for the poll Jeanette!
I really want to learn all at the same time but that is probably why I read more then doing. I really can`t decide were to start.
Maybe if we had a theme of the month, which took u step by step with that particular medium, and a challenge of the end of that month. Then we could post both the practice and the challenge on the theme side for comments and guidens on how to improve.
I have not explored everything here on drawspace yet. I really love this site.
Have a nice day to you all:)
Lone

Jeanette
this is by far the best drawing website i have ever come across and i am here at least every day, looking and participating in some of the challenges or catching up with the lessons. I concentrated more on the lessons to start with but plucked up the courage to enter the Snoopy 101 challenges and haven't looked back since. I find Drawspace a great source of information, inspiration, and the step by step lessons are incredible and i have learned so much during my time here. I would love to eventually draw portrait and sketch my family members, this is my ultimate goal so my contribution to this thread would be for more portrait lessons, althought the ones already posted are very good, you can never have enough.
Thank you to everyone at Drawspace, moderators, administartors, members and friends for quite a wonderful experience. Keep up the great work guys.
Martin

Thanks for the poll Jeanette.

Like others here, I too wish to learn lots of things. I think, along with the weekly challenges if we had a monthly one that too would be good. it could be either a difficult picture or portrait, where those who are interested may attempt it, or as lone-a suggested some particular medium which may be decided by the members and then during the month we may attempt the picture in that medium and get guidance on how to improve.

Hallo Islander NL

I would like to see more work with colored pencil. I think it is also drawing and painting. I think I have all books here about colored pencils. Beginning with the books from Bet Borgeson to the newest book from Lee Hammond. I love to look at the pictures. I did some pictures by myself (so my avatar) but I would like to do more. In Germany most people think colored pencils are for children only. Really art is done with acryl, oil, pastel and watercolor or printing things. So I am sitting here alone with my preference.

Ulrike

THe poll is a great idea. This site is amazing in so many ways, the challeges, encouragment from teachers and fellow artists and the fact that you all try your best to deliver what is asked for or wanted. I have learned a lot so far and even found interest in some mediums other than just drawing for drawings sake. Keep up the awesome work and thanks so much to all of you who make Draw Space possible!

I'm mostly interested in the interaction aspect of people with this common interest of art. I'm actually rather surprised to read that the board has nearly 150,000 members. For that many people, the forums get fewer threads and replies than I'd have thought.

I'd like to see more topics, more replies, and more interaction. This would be my best case scenario.

I'm not sure how it could be done however. Another forum I participate in, is so interactive you can hold real time conversations in the threads. There is a feature that lets you watch new posts as they are posted, and at peak times, one could not actually read them all and keep up. Somehow the group has fostered an environment where users feel encouraged to post, speak their mind, ask questions, etc. It's an intangible thing, hard to describe.

[Hey this is my #100 post !, I'm one behind ValleyLily78 above] :-)

Jazzmanian

I do not believe 150,000 active members - many have signed up for a very short period
logged out of curiosity, and perhaps only had no real interest in drawing, or are learning more easily introduced
I do not know the reasons
I`m absolutely agree with You : see more topics, more replies, and more interaction

I love this site! I think I would like to see a variety, if a specific forum topic can be created for each type of medium. Also I am interested in more than one of the areas to work in. Portrait is what I checked but I would be interested in still life, creativity, abstract, etc. Really great site, hope to be a member for a long time. I also like it that you gave the tutorials for free without paying for them. That is one reason that I paid to be a member that you were gracious enough to give away the lessons.

Thanks

I love Drawspace. I have been kept busy taking Cindy's Widers Paint and Draw lessons for most of the past year, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to participate in the main body of the site. I agree that the site could be more interactive, but I think that a lot of members monitor subjects that are of interest to them, but for whatever reason choose not to post. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. I suspect that we have a lot of budding artists, and as a budding artist I too hung back and chose to watch and learn before putting myself "out there" .
I like the challenges even though I haven't had time to participate, I usually find time to take a look every week. Although all are great and the reference photos are always awesome, I particularly liked the challenge Jeannette hosted a couple of weeks ago because she offered tips for improvement along with praise.
I hope to be a member of Drawspace for many years and want to thank all of you for the mentoring that you do. It is greatly appreciated!

I agree Jeanette runs a good thread We are glad you came forward ... at the moment I am dealing with the tech. side of drawspace so i am not in the forums near as much as I was but none the less I am here ...just working on other things .
We do hope you are a member for a very long tiome and would love to see you in the forums .. i think you will find that everyone here is very friendly and willing to help if they can .. and if they cant they are very good at getting the person best for the joib .