Poll: Should I continue doing shaded pictures?

I'd much rather wait a while for something that is quality or for longer time than get something that stressed you out to complete quickly. To that end, I think people do understand when you have to take longer between uploads, especially when you get those larger requests like you said. Either way, thank you for all you do!

CloverSpade878

Ooh, I do like this idea, Lazei.

Barrubo

Oh I think that picture wasn't popular relative to other pictures around that time though that was when I checked a year ago which was why I didn't colour it.

Lazei

No problem, I can clarify. So on this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/magical-skunk-on-84398367 There was an exchange between you and Carter where you said the commission would eventually get colored back in June 2023. A few weeks later you announced the new system we're on now and I assume the colored version got dropped/forgotten about. Also, yeah I can understand the shaded stuff not feeling worth it. I personally love them but I don't know how others feel about it. I think it would be a bummer if you never did shaded stuff ever again but again that's just how I feel about it.

SpeeDMon

Yeah maybe I'll do a poll at the end of the month for shaded pictures just to make things clearer. Time is always the biggest problem nowadays since it takes time to do anything and I'm always worried about people being impatient. I like to think that they are more understanding especially since I'm doing larger pictures but it's always a concern.

Lazei

I think that if you were to continue with shading pictures, it would be worth looking into some kind of feedback mechanism so that it could be clearer what people would be interested in getting shaded. Personally, I have loved the shading but I do agree that it has had both greater and lesser reception depending on the picture. If you stick with how things are currently, then perhaps something like a monthly poll where you can have us vote on shadings for you to do could be one way you'd get feedback, or a ranking event where we could rank past shadings to find out what generally is a hit? My primary concern is just allowing you to have interaction and feedback so you see what works and what may not be, as well as not being overwhelmed/feeling like the effort is not gonna have a payoff. Though, the other way of returning to colored sketches and stuff is also enticing, because it means you get to have more freedom with what you want to put out, as well as the fact that color does indeed heighten certain pictures. That route is also very engaging to me. Overall, I am down for whatever direction you wanna take, be it continuing as you have with shading or returning to colored sketches. Both have their benefits in the end. Thank you for letting us know how you felt, just as our thoughts are important to you, your thoughts are important to us!

CloverSpade878

Yeah I understand. It depends on the picture but black and white does provide a good amount of contrast in some, though colour also adds more depth in others.

Lazei

Glad someone appreciates the PSD files! It isn't much of a time sink so I have no problem keeping it but hopefully someone finds it useful. Not entirely sure which exchange you're referring to. Maybe you can elaborate? Well I kind of already have a system in place for pictures to be shaded, which is the like system, though I don't know how much people are engaging with that nowadays since it does seem like there was a slight dip after I started colouring sketches beforehand. If I'm gonna be doing shaded pictures once a year I feel like I might as well not do them. I'm just trying to figure out if people want them or not.

Lazei

Yeah I can understand the lack of personally chosen requests. Doing 4 polls a month (with 2 being bigger pictures) can take up alot of time which was why I was reluctant to do them. Of course I also think that unpopular polls also allowed me to do some ideas that I probably wouldn't have thought about (or felt that people wouldn't like) like that Tinkerbell idea. I guess that's part of the reason why I was thinking about ditching the shading system so I can spend more time on sketches and in turn get more time to do my own requests. As to the first suggestion of adding a third poll I'm kind of reluctant to do another one for the reasons above. I also think you overstate the effect that big franchises have on popular polls. I've been putting up Pokemon options for several popular polls but other options won out. Just because a franchise is big doesn't mean people will pick the idea, at least that is what I've found. As for the losers bracket I kind of have been doing it with some of the options in current polls. I reused the Mario idea from the last big popular poll for instance. Maybe you're asking about a poll exclusively for losing ideas? I've thought about that but I don't know if people would prefer the time spent on a new poll with newer ideas. As for the last suggestion I guess I am trying to address it like I said above. Unfortunately the biggest issue is time for me. There is only so much time for me to work on stuff and it's hard for me to find the right thing to work on. I guess self-doubt is another issue too. It feels like no matter what I choose there is someone who is gonna be pissed at me. I guess that's why I feel reluctant to do some smaller pictures since I'm worried about disappointing people, but maybe I should try doing that more. Of course trying to divide my attention on multiple projects is also a hassle as well. I often like to just focus on one picture and work on it until it's done. It doesn't help that I am kind of a slow starter when it comes to drawing and rarely don't get into a good flow until I'm half-way done.

Lazei

Well I've been thinking of changing the likes system so that the most liked pictures get a small update of sorts a couple of months later. There are some pictures that I considered adding extra stuff on like Bayonetta and Palutena to the WFT piece or Kobayashi on the toilet in that Dragon Maid picture. Or just edits which I haven't been able to get to as much (though it seems like one person only seems to ask for them anyways). Of course the obvious problem is that it just makes the workload even harder for the pictures I currently do. It makes things way more complicated but that is something I've been considering.

Lazei

I understand though it's kind of hard to tell whether a shaded version of a pic works without finishing it first which can take time especially if it's a 4 page comic. My own impression just seems to be that people generally don't care about them at all even if the results are essentially the same as the previous system.

Lazei

I still do onomatopoeia occasionally but it's just annoying to find the space for it. You spend hours doing a picture and then you just write some text over half of the image almost undermining it which can be annoying. I suppose the PSD files can allow for more variations of pictures if people want them.

Lazei

It's nice to see old pics get shaded but id gladly give that up for more original pics

hhhhh62

Personally as far as new stuff goes, I'm a real big fan of the .psd releases. Generally speaking, I like the new changes and the colored variants of sketches. Although, I noticed that some of the works that were released near a system switch does have a tendency to get dropped. For instance, on one of the works I commissioned there was this exchange: ( I’m not sure if commissions work like other sketch requests by I hope this gets coloured eventually. 12mo Yeah they do. Though I'll probably lop this month's pics with next month's since I have like 12 sketches for May done already.) I was super looking forward to that getting colored so it's a bit of a bummer that it hasn't. Honestly, I would prefer shaded works to come back in some form as those were my personal favorites. If the time factor is an issue, maybe spacing them out more? Like adding a shaded option to commissions every quarterly or annually or something and then limit it max to 1 so you don't get overwhelmed. Alternatively, you could maybe make a suggestion box where people can suggest works to be shaded. If there isn't a high amount of interest, there probably won't be too many responses so it should be short to read. Also alternatively, maybe you could do a kind of sketch to shaded commission where instead of giving you new ideas for commissions, people just commission old works to be shaded up? Just some thoughts, otherwise I like what you're doing so far!

SpeeDMon

Anonyman

I personally prefer a colour sketch to B&W. Even though I can appreciate that would take more time. If I can see the colours, it adds to the joy. But thats not to say I dislike the shades. Its just one preference over another. Thats just me though. I do love cell shading in your coloured works though. Those are divine!

Riccardo Catalano

I also agree. Comics are cool and all, however, I would love to see the panel drawings and onomatopoeia again.

Kevin Lamont Williamson

I'm weird, so my opinion shouldn't matter that much but ... my fav are the uncolored ones, where the gas is the only color on screen. I don't mean just sketches, I mean with shades but no colors lol

Ylytyem

Your cell shaded works do look better, however the time investment of shading all those panels might not be worth it, and could be better spent on either refining the pose, or adding another. Even though the cell shaded works do look better, It doesnt make me like them that much more than the flat colored ones.

Arèjay

Agreed! A mixture of comics and one panel paintings with fart onomatopoeia and all sounds great. Might be better when it comes to managing workloads for Lazei too. Maybe for the paintings, Lazei could specifically pick what he draws for those instead of random choice.

Chack

I'd say try to work out a way to decide which pieces to shade and which not. Because some of the pictures look so much better when you release a shaded version, though others...unfortunately end up seeming like it weren't worth the trouble. So they can end up seeming pretty hit or miss at times. As for all the changes, I support them. I'd say it shows your passion as you're looking more closely into things you've set up, noticing flaws and actually wanting to change them for the better! Alot more passionate than just leaving them because they work!

Chack

i prefer the uncoloured sketches myself, i feel the black and white shading helps elevate the fart clouds more as they're in colour

Kara

From a more general sense, I believe that most people don't care much for shading as much as just getting a new piece. I believe the current coloured sketches are more than enough. While the shading pieces are mostly seen as filler.

Oofing Oofer1212

I had this thought for a long time. In my opinion I've always preferred the coloured sketches and I think they add a lot more flare to an uncoloured one if that makes sense. Despite the shaded ones looking nicer they just add flare much less and doesn't really make it more interesting so I pay them no attention. I would just much prefer a new work than adding a little more flare to an already much older work which doesn't happen a lot anyway. I've thought about messaging about this but thought my opinion would be minor or go unnoticed so I thought against it. So I'm glad this vote is here.

O_Mejo

The sound of farting and I miss the old days a lot I still like the paintings that I applied for commission in the past the most

Girle