The Artists of PencilJack Shining Moments

[WTFdood]

WHy did this thread die

[Chris Major]

I know, right?

[Pencilero]

Eh, site participation has petered out. Upgrade bugs delaying posts aren't conducive to fostering audience participation in an online world where instant gratification can be found within seconds.

Old cliques have moved on to other venues as well, or are now working in the industry, so they don't need to hawk their wares around these parts.

Anyhow, speaking of the old days - I gifted E.J. Su's fantastic Mechaforce to a friend who was recently lamenting his inability to draw robots. I bought a copy for myself on release, and I'm pleased to be able to share it with others years later.

I love E.J.'s robots, and really wish he could have gotten another Transformers run in; but I'm happy with what I've got.

[Popninja]

Eh, site participation has petered out. Upgrade bugs delaying posts aren't conducive to fostering audience participation in an online world where instant gratification can be found within seconds.

Old cliques have moved on to other venues as well, or are now working in the industry, so they don't need to hawk their wares around these parts.

Anyhow, speaking of the old days - I gifted E.J. Su's fantastic Mechaforce to a friend who was recently lamenting his inability to draw robots. I bought a copy for myself on release, and I'm pleased to be able to share it with others years later.

I love E.J.'s robots, and really wish he could have gotten another Transformers run in; but I'm happy with what I've got.

EJ Su was one of many artists who inspired me back in the heyday of this site. Loved his stuff so much.

But, as I've told you before, the issue with the decline of this message forum in particular is not indicative of the times. To the contrary, as I've said, I belong to Prince and movie forums that have continued to thrive to this day. I would have thought, at the very least, that the Break Room would still be THE place here, but even that went kaput. Something drove people away in droves.

It is hard to believe that at one time this place was literally teeming with some of the greatest artistic talent on the planet. I'm glad I get to say that I was there...

[Guru_George]

I would have thought, at the very least, that the Break Room would still be THE place here, but even that went kaput. Something drove people away in droves.

It is hard to believe that at one time this place was literally teeming with some of the greatest artistic talent on the planet. I'm glad I get to say that I was there...

The sands of time. I was 23 when I found this place, I'll be 39 in a few weeks. Like an old church I drop by once in a blue moon, you see a hand full of old faces you will always remember, but everything else has changed.

Time moves at different speeds for different people. Time moves fast for me and I still remember LOTR and a time when Marvel comic book movies were just getting to be a big thing. I guest that why I'm still around here.

[Pencilero]

But, as I've told you before, the issue with the decline of this message forum in particular is not indicative of the times. To the contrary, as I've said, I belong to Prince and movie forums that have continued to thrive to this day. I would have thought, at the very least, that the Break Room would still be THE place here, but even that went kaput. Something drove people away in droves.

It is hard to believe that at one time this place was literally teeming with some of the greatest artistic talent on the planet. I'm glad I get to say that I was there...

Anecdotal evidence doesn't prove much there Pop.

Are your Prince and Movie forums heavily image based? Which boards are they? I'd like to take a look.

Do the users have difficulty understanding how to post images online?

Posting images online has always had a minor learning curve. The discouraging part is that over the past 20 years, people haven't learned, and new technologies have come along with intermediary tools to mask the posting of images. Twitter and Instagram are the host and the platform. You don't need an image host with many, many new online outlets. Unlike other Penciljack members who are no longer posting here, I don't earn my income from illustration - I earn it from working with your average computer user, and I have stacks of evidence proving people are pretty damned terrible at using technology.

What's worse?

These are computer users deeply entrenched in the local high arts community. People who write books on the arts, in foreign languages, who speak multiple languages, who have access to the money and time to empower themselves... and they're stymied in 2018 when I ask them, "What web browser are you using?"

It will probably give me an aneurysm in time. People aren't learning these things, because graphical user interfaces have eliminated the need to know how your file system works. Knowing what file types are. Where your files are located. There are numerous contributing factors, and if I weren't on a cycle of antibiotics right now, I'd go crack a beer; because just recalling how regrettably dumb these people are puts me in the need for a cool one.

Do not construe this as me implying Penciljack needs to become an image hosting platform as well, because that would become a financial burden for Terry.

Penciljack also had a fundamental problem in that image posting rules, once the users figured out how to do so, had a restriction on the number of images a user could post in a new topic or reply. I don't recall exactly, I think it was capped at three image? Somebody who remembers chime in here. That was an asinine restriction at the time and I believe it's long dead. Good.

I took a break from Penciljack years ago, because there was a douchey culture about the place. There was a very clearly defined clique of popular posters, and the usual gang of moderators who instead of being impartial, catered to the in crowd, and were encouraged by the nut-riding plebes who thought being yes-men was encouraging a good forum culture and discussion. The site should have been more Mark Chiarello in it's thinking and culture, and less Roger Cruz.

Sorry if that cuts too close, but that's the feeling I got from the site; and well - most of those people are long gone, and here we are.

I also maintain that a lot of those kids who were trying to break in and find work have long since done so, maybe had families, and their priorities have changed. Hanging out on the old forum isn't a priority. Sean Galloway is busy being Sean Galloway. Tony Moore is the guy who helped launch Walking Dead. Reilly Brown is busy being talented and still not copying his heroes outright as so many Penciljack Classic members did.

There is also the possibility that I've witnessed with other geek subculture forums, that the rules here have driven some users off. I agree with the no religion, no politics rule; but many, many forums I used to frequent didn't have these rules, and as a result were ruined by those topics. New forums sprung up to replace the old. The Balkanization of communities began as people decided they would rather not work to get along, and further isolate into like minded communities.

I wouldn't really know how the Conceptart dot org, CGsociety and Artstation communities are going these days, because I never dove into those waters. Primarily due to lack of access to the tools to create digital works (Wacom tablet, Adobe software).

[Guru_George]

I took a break from Penciljack years ago, because there was a douchey culture about the place. There was a very clearly defined clique of popular posters, and the usual gang of moderators who instead of being impartial, catered to the in crowd, and were encouraged by the nut-riding plebes who thought being yes-men was encouraging a good forum culture and discussion. The site should have been more Mark Chiarello in it's thinking and culture, and less Roger Cruz.

Sorry if that cuts too close, but that's the feeling I got from the site; and well - most of those people are long gone, and here we are.

I also maintain that a lot of those kids who were trying to break in and find work have long since done so, maybe had families, and their priorities have changed. Hanging out on the old forum isn't a priority. Sean Galloway is busy being Sean Galloway. Tony Moore is the guy who helped launch Walking Dead. Reilly Brown is busy being talented and still not copying his heroes outright as so many Penciljack Classic members did.

There is also the possibility that I've witnessed with other geek subculture forums, that the rules here have driven some users off. I agree with the no religion, no politics rule; but many, many forums I used to frequent didn't have these rules, and as a result were ruined by those topics. New forums sprung up to replace the old. The Balkanization of communities began as people decided they would rather not work to get along, and further isolate into like minded communities.

I wouldn't really know how the Conceptart dot org, CGsociety and Artstation communities are going these days, because I never dove into those waters. Primarily due to lack of access to the tools to create digital works (Wacom tablet, Adobe software).

Your right... The elitist artists, the drama queens, the chest beaters looking to battle, and that one troll that gets banned every year, there all gone.

Forums them self's have been eaten up by social media. 2014 was a changing point for me when I knew twitter had became the back bone of internet communications.

“Smart Phones” are the driving force, having an App that run like a website is a must and most old forums don't have that.

“Smart Phones” have killed the old internet. I knew surfing the net on your phone in the blackberry days was the future, boy was that an understatement.

[sevans73]

Personally think conceptart.org is a dying site. Too much advertising their courses etc and not enough interaction.

[Pencilero]

Personally think conceptart.org is a dying site. Too much advertising their courses etc and not enough interaction.

ConceptArt.org became a product over time.

Can't blame them. Look at how many industry heavy hitters that site has produced.

Even Penciljack had a brief love affair and people here trying to be Marko Djurdjevic. However, this being a comic focused site, that didn't last long and that skill set is more applicable in more lucrative fields than comics. Which is why you don't see many of those ConceptArt folks slumming it in the funnies.

Twitter is absolute trash for long form (you can't have a meaningful or clear conversation in 140 character chunks) or coherent conversation. I'd even say the platform is less for conversation, and more for grandstanding and interruption. Unlike a message board, where you need to think, maybe proofread (I seem to be the only fool that tries given time), and attempt to be articulate.

Unless you're one of those tencharacters cretins, which is another cultural thing around here which ought to be discouraged.

Instagram is good for posting / sharing your work, but again - not an optimal platform for long form discussion.

Social Media only seems good for wrecking careers at this point.

[sevans73]

Twitter..... why the **** is it so popular? It's like a commercial on the internet. Here is a tiny snippet of 'selected' information. And you can't discuss it. Please forward it to everyone.
Forums are the best place for creative people, BUT people need to participate.

If your a pro or a beginner, you both have eyes and can make crits etc. People who join sites like this, but don't listen to crits are shooting themselves in the foot. You don't have to agree with everything said, but if the same areas come up over and over again....learn from it.

Instagram, twitter....no helpful feedback to be gained.

[Pencilero]

Here's an interview with One of the Good Ones™.

Sean "Cheeks" Galloway if anybody here is old enough to remember when Cheeks brightened this place up.

Wow, that was pretty informative.

Shocked to hear Sean cite the books I shall not name as an influence while working at Borders and building skills. No, not the Andy Smith book - the one by the huckster who has no comic books or manga to his name, but cashed in on the fad in the early 2000's.

It shows the importance of networking, which can also be tied directly back into other successful members of the PJ of old, and locally with successful art troupes I know of.

Also might explain why he didn't post here all that often. As an old tech nerd, it's fascinating to see the inaccurate recollections of the world wide web, internet connectivity, and general internet stuff in the early 2000's.

Been online since 1991, which I would admit is late for true hardcore tech dorks, and watched this mess evolve. However that speaks to my old coot complaint about how easy things are these days. Back in the early internet and computing days, you needed a degree of technical know how, had to learn to use various systems adequately, and explore. Now it's point, click, and people are baffled by this?

Sonny, let me throw you in front of a command line, an old bulletin board system, or some other non GUI interface. Crimminy, I'm old and cranky.

[Pencilero]

I went to the post office box today, and there waiting for me was the omnibus of Jeremy Dale's Skyward.

Jeremy has been gone four years now, but holding this volume in my hand is a reminder that he's no longer with us.

Skyward was such a fun series, and for my dollar a spiritual successor to Mike Wieringo / Todd Dezago's Tellos.

I was so happy for Jeremy when he showed me the ash-can / self printed copy of the first issue at Heroes Con.

Everybody should check out Skyward if you haven't already. Jeremy was a rare talent around these parts, and I wish he were still here to keep the adventure going.

Thanks for the comics Jeremy, rest in peace sir.