Art Wishes
2022-02-08 16:25![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
razielimSo I'm making a slow, laborious sweep of all the wishlist entries submitted to FSC, and I've got a bit of a suggestion. It's just my suggestion, it might not be universally applicable, and other artists might feel differently. (If you're an artist with a different experience, I'd like to know! Maybe I can learn from your approach!)
But here's the crux of the suggestion - most people who would like art of their fics aren't making it very easy. There's a lot of people, a lot of fandoms, sometimes hundreds of fics per account. I see some people narrow down to a ship they would like art for above all others - that's already a huge help! One step further would be even help-ier.
My theory is that wishes formatted something like this would have more staying power -
It not only reduces the choices and provides a foothold, it also immediately gives a breakdown of the ships and fandoms most important to you so others know what else they might expect.
Otherwise, the experience is decision paralysis. Looks like this author has 10 whole pages of fics to choose from. Hmmm, well... no. Too many choices. If I read every summary for while one I "like" best, that would take me the rest of the day. Let's close this tab. Okay, found someone else who has somewhat similar fandoms as me. Hmmmmm.... many fics... close. And I definitely close tabs faster and faster the longer I do this.
I suppose I'm sort of assuming that most people aren't naming any specific fics to hedge their bets - just in case artists aren't into those particular things, maybe they'll like something from the full catalogue! Specificity might seem scary, but it's actually a great way to flag down someone who LOVES that specific thing and would crawl through broken glass both ways to fill art for it. So this format would do both - have specificity for your favorites AND be a catchall. The other thing is that people might make wishlists for their flist and just link to it on snowflake incidentally, so that's a separate case. I'm talking about actually wishing for random serendipity art from someone new.
I thought I'd type this up since so many people put art on their wishlist, often with comments about it never working. I don't know how many artists there are on DW, or how many wishlists can even feasibly be touched upon, but maybe this format would grease the wheels somewhat?
But here's the crux of the suggestion - most people who would like art of their fics aren't making it very easy. There's a lot of people, a lot of fandoms, sometimes hundreds of fics per account. I see some people narrow down to a ship they would like art for above all others - that's already a huge help! One step further would be even help-ier.
My theory is that wishes formatted something like this would have more staying power -
"Art of my fics! Any fic, but preferably (Title/Link) (Ship), (Title/Link) (Ship), or (Title/Link) (Ship), or else maybe something (Ship or Fandom category)."
It not only reduces the choices and provides a foothold, it also immediately gives a breakdown of the ships and fandoms most important to you so others know what else they might expect.
Otherwise, the experience is decision paralysis. Looks like this author has 10 whole pages of fics to choose from. Hmmm, well... no. Too many choices. If I read every summary for while one I "like" best, that would take me the rest of the day. Let's close this tab. Okay, found someone else who has somewhat similar fandoms as me. Hmmmmm.... many fics... close. And I definitely close tabs faster and faster the longer I do this.
I suppose I'm sort of assuming that most people aren't naming any specific fics to hedge their bets - just in case artists aren't into those particular things, maybe they'll like something from the full catalogue! Specificity might seem scary, but it's actually a great way to flag down someone who LOVES that specific thing and would crawl through broken glass both ways to fill art for it. So this format would do both - have specificity for your favorites AND be a catchall. The other thing is that people might make wishlists for their flist and just link to it on snowflake incidentally, so that's a separate case. I'm talking about actually wishing for random serendipity art from someone new.
I thought I'd type this up since so many people put art on their wishlist, often with comments about it never working. I don't know how many artists there are on DW, or how many wishlists can even feasibly be touched upon, but maybe this format would grease the wheels somewhat?
no subject
Date: 2022-02-08 23:39 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-09 01:53 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-09 02:54 (UTC)I totally get what you're saying, though I feel like it's an anxiety that can safely be put to rest. It's demanding if someone were to roll up to a friend and say "Hey, can you illustrate this one particular scene?" I've never had that happen to me, but boy there would be so much to unpack there. "Why THAT scene? Visually, there's better scenes / I couldn't do it justice. I don't have the time / I'm not interested in this pairing/premise as much as they think I am / I'm working on paid work right now?? / I didn't even signal I was available. I'm not an art machine!" Whereas someone reading wishlists has made time (or will make time) to do art! And they're looking for something to snag their attention, like "Ooh! Yes! I'm the perfect person for this specific job!", same as people going through wishlists looking for fics to comment on or fic prompts to fill :)
Even with big bangs, I ask my writers to tell me which scenes they'd like to see illustrated. I might disagree later, and propose alternatives since it is a collaboration, but it's a good starting point so that I know what matters most to them, and pick out other scenes that Do what they want to See. It's a mild form of creative constraint!
So as far as making annual wishlists goes, it's not burdensome and I think totally fair game to just say "Wheeee these are my best and favorite, and I think they totally warrant some dope art if anyone's interested!"
I do wonder, though, if it's easier emotionally to not say something like that about your favorites, than say it and never get art. Which.... totally understandable. Though logically, we all know it's probably just bad luck/small fandom/incompatible interests.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-09 03:09 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-11 02:51 (UTC)I do wonder, though, if it's easier emotionally to not say something like that about your favorites, than say it and never get art.
Oh, surely! There is a point at which throwing the same thing at the wall and never seeing it stick becomes utterly defeating.