I have been running this unofficial CDO event for something like a year now and think it’s time for an evaluation.
So I would like to know what people think of it. Things like the original format, the new format, numbers of participants, competition elements, quality, what’s good/what’s bad, shall we keep it or kill it etc.
Generally what I would like to hear about are:
Shall we continue in 2012?
Shall we change the format?
Shall we change the rules? Especially how themes are picked?
Shall we have winner’s (and then also loser’s)
anything else that springs to mind!
Let me hear from both the people that have been taking part on a regular basis, the one-and-only’s, the might be’s, the lurkers, the absolutely not’s - well basically all of you.
Your feedback are needed - or else I’ll kill the project by the end of the year.
1. Imo you/we should definetly continue in 2012! :cheers
2. I have no idea how to change the format - to be honest I don’t understand the question!
Do you mean the monthly turn, the number of pics, the kind of voting - or what else?! In my opinion there is no need for any change!
3. I like the rules and especially the way of determing the new themes!
4. We don’t have winners? I always thought there are winners!
Perhaps at the end of a year a winner of the year could be proclaimed and the winner can mention it in his Signature with a special designed icon!
For me the Brush Slave is a possibility to paint much more regularly and to see many cool entries! It’s also a good input for getting new ideas and inspirations!
All in all I don’t want to miss your brain child - the Brush Slave!
I like how Brush Slave works, and think it should be carried on! When I get to handle the digital camera again I’ll try to take decent pictures. Then I can participate (and update the project log).
im a really lazy painter,it keeps me motivated to paint up some of the stuff on my desk
personally i think it works pretty good with that monthly theme and the points(and the chance of bonus points)
i also like,that its a really open minded contest.Want to say:its not that rule focused,more like “thats the theme,now do what you want” and i really love that athmosphere
i like zankos idea about the brush slave icon.thats something the points could be used for at the end of the year.the one with the most points collected over the year gets an icon.for the next year all points are reseted and everyone starts at zero points again
By format I mean monthly poll of themes, monthly painting period, challenge point reward system, bonus point system, annual reward and probably more :)
clam
Like always mentioned: "In my opinion there is no need to change anything!" :D
Dont think we should change anything TBH, I like the aspect of not having a winner. I myself am not that great of a painter, or sculpter, so GH always is a shot in the dark for me (never got a vote till date ya know ;)) and I really like being able to enter without this competetive feel going on. Being in IS winning.
Also, I think the point system works really well, it’s rewarding and being active results in more points. About the “who did best bonus”, I think it is nice, since that’s more about execution of the theme, rather than the paintjob IMO (and for those liking a lil competition it’s fun as well).
The idea about a banner is quite good I think. Maybe for overall #1-3 there could be a little banner with their name+rank, the year and their score?
Oh and ofcourse one for the person with the most bonus points (I imagine a bright little banner with loads of wrapped presents in it for this award ;P)
And Clam, I’d like to make use of this opportunity to thank you for your hard work, really awesome of you to keep on managing this in your free time and all that!
feedback are needed - or else I'll kill the project by the end of the year.
clam
We'll I've really enjoyed all the new challenges I took part in so I'll give some feedback.
Shall we continue in 2012? -Yes please, I work best with deadlines and this Brush Slave gives me a good reason to paint something every month. also I love looking at beautiful painted miniatures and all the Brush Slave topics always produce those.
Shall we change the format? -Dont know, I didnt really get the first format so I never entered. I Like the new format. The bonus points are OK. and I like the idea of a bit of competition as in "who did best" but I also like the idea of just getting one point per month entered, so you can see who the real veterans are. so thats a bit conflicting. (having 2 different ratings is a bit off so I dont know what to change)
Shall we change the rules? Especially how themes are picked? Not a huge fan of democracy, probably really the wrong thing to say in the "free world" But I tend not to agree with most people (I'm not going into Greece and referendum but I like it when some people (Or just you Clam) have a Veto of some kind).
Shall we have winner's (and then also loser's) Well ofcourse, just for the honor, joining in is more important and blah blah blah... but its nice to know who did "best"
anything else that springs to mind! -Well a place to easily check all entries/winners of B. Slaves past would be nice but not necessarily. But In general, please just dont quit and I'll be happy to join in.
Oh and Clam; I do appreciate the effort that you make every time (:
Most definately. I have really enjoyed painting for “Brush Slave”, more than I have enjoyed painting for “Golden Hat” (sorry Golden Hat). Golden Hat can be a very stresfull event, but Brush Slave is very casual and relaxing.
Shall we change the format?
No. I am really liking this format. THe bonus points are a very nice touch. They just make you paint that little bit extra/more which is really good.
Shall we change the rules? Especially how themes are picked?
I think that we can do away with voting for the themes. I think that someone should just pick them (or we can all vote for them all in one go), and have them ready for the rest of the year. What I am saying is we should have 12 topics (one for each month) pre-selected at the start of the year, and have them publically published.
Shall we have winner’s (and then also loser’s)
No. I am really enjoying seeing EVERYONE’s painting efforts in the various themes, no matter the level of their painting skills. I don’t think we will gain anything by having “winners”.
anything else that springs to mind!
The only thing that I would like to see, is to have 24 Brush Slaves a year instead of 12. I would love to see HEAPS of painting minis, and it would certainly help me paint more of lead mountain. I am not really expecting this to happen, but I thought I would mention it.
Of course, I just got onboard, and even though it might not be 12 on 12, I will be joining in whenever the theme fits my Lead Mountain (which it probably will 90% of the time ;P)
Shall we change the format?
Im not really in process of judging this, having not yet participated in it<br><br><u><i><strong>Shall we change the rules? Especially how themes are picked?</strong></i></u><br><br>I would do it slightly different. In the beginning of the year, I would releasea list with themes for the comming year, more or less relative to that period of the year. THEN I would have a second option added each month considering thetrendthat is then going on, for example past month could have beenShips, with the release of Dreadfleet in mind, and have a vote off between those two to decide the eventual winning theme. <br><br><u><i><strong>Shall we have winner's (and then also loser's)</strong></i></u><br><br>Nah, I like the way this seems to work (as said, no experience in it so far), and kind of like the think of it as a mini Tale of Four Gamers. The winner is you, the loser Lead Mountain. Or You, if it gets you to start the umpteenth new project instead of finishing a bit of a running one :hat off<br><br><u><i><strong>anything else that springs to mind!</strong></i></u><br><br>Oh Meggan, yes YE... ow, you meant for the Brush Slave. Errrm eeerm, no, not really at the moment.<br>Or perhaps, do we get those slavesthingies with the BS? If not, maybe you can see if something can be arranged with the Powers That Be, as it might give a sort ofrewardfor people, giving a sence ofworth it` or motivate others to enter as well.
I’d like it to continue as is and see no real reason to change. The winners are anyone who gets something entered and thats all I want to try and do. Don’t need a reward or slaves, its just something that I want to be a part of.
Thanks for your inputs guys. Most appreciated. But don’t really come as a surprise that the people, who currently are entering, likes it (likes most of it) - and would like to keep it
My “issues” are:
1. Seems to be the same like 15 people that enters. This is a miniature forum and rather sure that more people is actually here for the painting miniatures aspect. So it would be nice knowing whats keeping others from entering. Got som hints in the old thread about having a painting challenge at CDO. But would like to here the opinion from current active members, too. So all from “I hate you, and won’t take part in anything you comes up with” til “Love it, but dont have time for it”.
2: Changing the format actually didn’t change much. We had 5 to 10 people entering - and now we are about 9+ each time. Thought points and a prize would make more people entering, but it actually didn’t.
3: Find it hard keep comming up with new themes - and the suggestion thread is almost “dead”. Was slightly easier for me letting the winner dicide next months theme. So most intersting read, guys. Would like to ‘explore’ some of your ideas!
4: This year, I’ll sponsor a price to the most active BS participant, but will probably not keep on doing that!
5: Is a monthly basis to much? Do people need more time. Some of us cant live without painting a miniature/a week - but we are all busy and some might need more time!
6 And last, the delicate questio: “Lack of official support”? Would it make any difference if this was runned by official staffs, rather than by me (common members)? With honourable mentions in WoH (if it’s ever back), medal reward systems etc (you know, more like GH (whatever that is! :P)
This is a tough topic Clam…I certainly would like the Challenge to continue but I understand your frustration with relatively small turn out and the difficulty in coming up with themes. I do like the idea of having the themes set ahead of time…maybe 6 months worth at a shot. I like the bonus point voting as it brings back a small bit of the competitive aspect of the former iteration of the BS without making others feel like “losers”. I do think that some official support couldn’t hurt…even if its just in the form of “Medal” for each years (1/2 years?) points leader.
Last of all…thanks for all your hard work on this event. As the guy “running” the one on Bugman’s I feel your pain and frustration.
Monthly Brush Slave challenges seem most appropriate. Perhaps a medal would be the right way to go. I’m sure more people will catch on if BS keeps on running. It’s a good idea, perfect to keep people motivated and most importantly to dig out and finish, models that add variety to their hobby. It’s a good online community activity. Lack of time and a reliable camera has kept me from it, but both of these hinders are fortunately sinking away.
i can understand your frustration about the “lack” of entries,but have no real idea about how to change that.i´ll think about it. i dont think a monthly basis is to much,sometimes a little bit hard to finish in time but that shouldnt be a reason to keep people away from entering the contest
didnt know theres a theme suggestion thread,can you post a link?i´ll think about some themes,promissed.will do what i can to keep this contest alive
Just to make it clear, I’m not frustrated or angry or anything. Just want to know if adjustments would make it more like a community event/more popular - rather then just an elite club (like it tend to be right now). Want it to be open for all - and a place where all feels welcome. Have no ambition having a 100 participants, here - but we could use a few more talking part.
And another thing. A official medal system like GH is out of the question. Xander, Willmark and others have already made that clear. Not being an official event rules out using the medal system. Could be a signature banner, but that won’t show in member profile and are so easily copied (not that I can see who would benefit from that, really). And can’t be "rewarded"but something you’ll have to do by yourself.
As someone who never takes part but occasionally votes I’m just gonna say I’ve never seen it as “elite”. I just can’t ever find the time to participate. Same issue I have with GH usually. I also don’t have a big collection of random models so some of the subjects hasn’t really been down my alley. But I don’t think you should change things on that account. It would make it less interesting I think.
@ Clam: to get the answers you need, I think a poll should be setup where NON participants of the Brush Slave event can give quick feedback.
Here is an example (this is NOT a real poll).
Rules: This poll is for people who have NEVER entered in a Brush Slave:
Complete this sentence:
I have not entered a Brush Slave event because…
1. I don’t like painting minis.
2. I do like painting minis, but I don’t like showing them to others.
3. I can not take nice photos.
4. I am unable to upload them onto the internet.
5. I don’t have time for it.
6. I am just happy being a lurker.
7. I don’t have the minis that are required.
8. It is simply too hard.
Maybe this way we can identify some problems, and see if we can fix them. For example; if the problem is taking photos, maybe we can write some tutorials and get people more confident with camera’s/phones and lighting.
Based on previous polls here, I’m afraid I won’t get what I might be looking for. On a good day I’ll have 20 maybe 30 people voting. Half of these would probably be active BS-painters, so will probably end up with less than 20 answers
But nothing wrong with your idea, of course - but people that don’t involve themselves in BS - probably won’t participate in polls about it either.
And all I’m looking for is actually if there is something obvious that I’ve missed out that holds people back from entering.
It ain’t that much of a deal. The thread here is meant as an evaluation, so people should feel free posting comments - also for those that don’t take part.
95% of the comments (till now) comes from current active BS painters. So, it just looks like that the other 2500+ members don’t really care that much. Will take that into account wheater I’ll invest the time and money to run it again next year.
...people that don't involve themselves in BS - probably won't participate in polls about it either.
clam
I not sure. I think that is a lot easier to vote than to enter a painting event.
And all I'm looking for is actually if there is something obvious that I've missed out that holds people back from entering.
clam
I don't think it has been anything obvious that was missed or not done, I think it is just the nature of beast. I think that people love to log on to Forums, have a read around, maybe post some ideas and then log off again. I don't think everyone wants to go away and paint something, so they can bring it back to their Forum.
So, it just looks like that the other 2500+ members don't really care that much. Will take that into account wheater I'll invest the time and money to run it again next year.
clam
If it would make your life easier maybe the rest of us regular BS painters can assist in running the event. I for one would be happy to help out. But if you are over it, and it is not what you wanted it to be then I can understand that too.
