Non-SW Fan Art board - Yes or No?

The title pretty much says it all. We already have a Non-SW fanfic board, and while it's not as populated as the main SW fanfic section, it definitely has a place on these boards and its own community of people who post there regularly.

So, if fanfic can have it, why not fan art as well? I'm sure there are a lot of talented artists around these boards who do art outside the SW fandom and would like to share it with other JCers.

 

As someone that peruses Fan Art every now and then I can say I've seen a lot of non-SW stuff posted. The problem is as above, traffic. At 50 posts per page the forum front page goes back to May 2nd right now. Even then the threads at the top aren't giant hives of activity and so there isn't enough proof of a sustainable culture to warrant a further forum.

I know this has come up before, and I don't personally find any issues with the artists that come along posting all their different work (as long as there is some SW stuff in there).

 

Ah. Thanks for the clarification of the situation in Fan Art - I used to post there regularly, but that was years ago.

And I understand that low traffic counts against creating a new board.

But what if someone (me, for instance) would like to share their artwork with people, but don't have any SW related stuff? I know this is a SW site, but we all know that it's not the same as it was during the years when the Prequels were coming out. In many areas it has moved away from SW (as marked with the creation of the Non-SW fanfic board and other boards as well).

So I'll ask this: would it be possible to change Fan Art policy to allow people posting only non-SW fan art? They could mark it clearly "Non-SW" in the thread title, if necessary...

 

I think it would be wiser to make it just a general art section. It would increase traffic. Plus there's loads to talk about with official Star Wars art and whatnot, concept art, etc. which usually ends up being scattered through other forums. I dunno, I know I'd be into a wider range of content for that forum, but that's just me. I dunno the demand.

 

Oh, I like that idea, SLG!

 

I wouldn't have a problem with the idea of either allowing non-SW fan art (without any SW to start the thread) or making it a more general art forum. That said, however, I've never really frequented that forum, so I'd rather see comments from those who do than rely on my own opinion here.

 

Personally, I don't think there is a need to divide the FanArt boards into SW and non-SW. I feel that it can still exist within the individual artist's own threads.

An General Art thread might go beyond that of user-created artworks and contain material such as concept artworks from films/games, art discussions, art techniques, etc. Though that could also be done within their own individual threads inside the Fan Art boards. Example would be how the Videogames section has discussion threads assigned the major current generation consoles and linked in the menu at top.

 

Yes, I think a more general Art forum, where people could not only post their fan art (both SW and non-SW), but also have discussions about artwork and different techniques, would make the forum more attractive to users and create more traffic.

 

I mean...personally, I feel like there's not much need to split up SW from non-SW. As previously mentioned, a lot of the artists, myself included, continuously update our personal threads with our work. If there's Star Wars art inside, what's the harm? Obviously, we're here to discuss Star Wars fanart, but mixing it up a little would make things pretty fresh. I don't see the non-SW art getting too out of control, as there are plenty of other outlets for Non-SW art, such as DeviantArt, and frankly, different message boards pertaining to the subject matter. However, it's a great way to bring attention to the rest of one's gallery and who knows? Plenty of the subject matter may be additional eye candy of interest to people who may not check the non-SW art forum, if one should exist. I'm inclined to think people will find the experience more beneficial than annoying.

Just like every board, it'll need moderation here or there, but I don't see the need to split the two. As long as people are posting Star Wars-related art in addition, there's no harm, right? Starting a thread to show off Pokemon art, or something, and then not updating it at all with any SW work...that's a different story. There are other outlets for that, that don't have to be TFN!

 

But the JC has grown to become a rather special community, and many people around here aren't as crazy about Star Wars as when the boards were at their height during the Prequels release... Yet they remain posting here because there are other things keeping them here - it's more about the community than Star Wars, IMHO (though by no means I'm suggesting that SW has no place here! That would be ridiculous). I mean, what if I'm no longer interested in SW? Should I automatically stop posting here and go elsewhere? No, I'm staying because throughout the years I made friends here and want to stay in touch with the JC community.

Expanding to non-SW fandoms didn't do fanfic any harm...

 

No complaints from me on that standpoint! I just don't particularly feel like it's necessary -- but if it's going to keep the community together, then of course, by all means! =)

 

If there's a demand for non-SW Fan Art, I don't see a problem with expanding as we did with non-SW Fan Fiction. I wouldn't have a problem making it a General Fan Art forum, as SLG suggested. If the traffic in the SW Fan Art forum isn't busy at all, it wouldn't make much sense to have two forums.

 

Sounds great to me!

 

I think it sounds awesome. So if I'm reading it right (I need more coffee atm), there would be fan art challenges for non-sw things? Because if so I am so in. SO IN.