Wassy

Won't have to wait much longer

That's a QFT if ever I did see one >=D

I wasn't going to say anything else in the thread because my points were all "countered" with paragraphs starting with "Not to be <insert insult here>, BUT" (which of course means you're being exactly that) for me to really consider it a debate anymore, but you so completely and totally missed my point with that example that I have to step in and clarify before I'm credit with a buying local art movement that I find insane. It had nothing to do with LITERALLY BUYING LOCAL. The point was I could take the time to do some research, listen to the advice of people in the field, spend the same money, get a BETTER product, and make sure my consumer dollars worked to benefit a community/industry I like to buy from. There happens to be a lot of farms in driving distance that have what I want, but I also have gotten beef from a farm Vermont in the past because I liked their operations.

You hinged on this localvore thing and started splitting hairs over it and totally lost the point that it was an example where, as a consumer, the bottom line isn't your only best interest. If you want to keep getting commissions, it would also be in your best interest to spend your money and/or time in ways that will ensure you'll be able to KEEP getting commissions, ideally having even a larger choice of even better ones. I can't believe you even need to debate that.

Good God, an artist worth commissioning is an artist worth commissioning no matter where they/you are. I'm saying that money spent on contests or tantalizing inexperienced artists into doing commissions when they really shouldn't be is a poor use of funds towards the community, and there are much better ways of encouraging learning artists.

I'm guessing your stance on this issue is pretty clear with the number of times you use this counterpoint. I would think if you plan to continue purchasing from the art community, that you'd be interested in practices that would make said community better, thereby increasing your ability to get good commissions. But I suppose that's altruistic crazy talk and no consumer does such wild things as look at what their money is being used for. All that time I spent researching local farms to buy food from must have been a dream, as its really only my job as a purchaser to get the most for my money. Even stranger... I found out how I could spend the same amount of money but use it towards supporting farmers with livestock-raising practices that not only are far more humane... but will get ME a tastier and healthier product. Definitely hallucinating there. Why am I not at Wal-Mart this very second?!

Once so many entries started coming in, that's all I could see, as well. I know TA didn't start the contest only so he could get an entire gallery's worth of art for the price of one piece... but this obviously would be attractive to others. I don't think that sort of thing is beneficial to artists or collectors.

As far as encouraging budding artists, I think saying that a contest for cash helps is WAY off the mark. Where's the learning experience? Is every entrant going to get back a detailed analysis of their strengths and weaknesses? Or worse... are they going to instead try to start doing commissions when they really shouldn't to get the cash instead?

I kind of see this as falling into a concurrent problem of seeing throwing money at people as an encouragement, when its not. Doing commissions is not what's going to help a young artist improve. I love doing my commissions and art for other people in general. I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of making clients happy. But when did I VASTLY improve? Not during times when I did a lot of commissions... it was when I was IN CLASS. Did I go to school because I had gotten commission work? Absolutely not. I went because I went half blind (strange as that sounds) and then realized that art is all that gives me peace. And this is the way for most artists, as I've heard the same things from nearly all my professors and other classmates. People who were honor students in things like chemistry and psychology. But art chose them, and that's where they went. When its not about the money, THAT'S when you get to learn. Encouraging people to grab at funds before they're able is bad for everyone.

So sure, contests can certainly help budding artists... if they're for a challenge and not for the cash. Then maybe they can try new things and get feedback.

Juggertha specifically said "What if the City of Heroes game was created in the Soviet Union?" Not too many other ways I can take that

I don't really know if I can qualify this as a retcon. This isn't truly a retcon to the CoH cannon, as it doesn't have anything to do with the story, but where the game was made.

Bindweed had asked me about something similar. He wanted to know if the "What If...?" covers would be what a retcon is, and I said it depended. If the "What If...?" pertained to the storyline, then yes. If it was some of the ones where it was "What If Stan Lee Created Catwoman?", then no.