sigh

[egypturnash]

Okay, okay, okay, we get the idea, folks. (also hit the 'previous day' link a few times, for those of you who don't regularly look at Yerf's recents)

Watching this bandwagon roll across Yerf made me think about that archive's reputation. Oh, it's so professional and prestigious - nah, not really. It's a mixed group of amateurs and pros, putting together an online furry-themed APA. Every now and then a fad hits, people start riffing on it.

This particular art-meme went at warp speed because, well, it's pretty restrictive and easy to throw together - draw a silhouette, put it on a ground, that's about it. So it went at a much more ludicrous speed than most, which require actual work.. (Although the second iteration of the iPod campaign, which the meme seemed to have started with, is a bit more complex - the design ethic is almost silhouette, but with a few details in the figure carefully brought out with lighting, in colors that match the lurid BG. But things get simplified in repetition.)

I want to mock it, but, hell, it's probably burnt through everyone who's likely to do it. It'll be gone by the weekend. It even hit the front page of the archive. *shrug* I'm not even going to bother working a parody of the intercapitalization thing into this entry.

Comments

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

If there was no meme, and people submitted pictures like this, do you think they'd get through the screening?

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

The only screening on Yerf is to get on; once you're a member you can post whatever you damn well please, as often as you like, as long as it's not egregiously off-topic in ways that piss off the admins. It's not like Elfwood or Epilogue where every image is reviewed by someone before it goes up.

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

So it's not really a high-quality archive, is it? Yerf's dirty little secret!

[nigel.livejournal.com]

That was supposed to be a secret..?

I didn't tell anyone. I swear.

[nerfcoyote.livejournal.com]

I think they take stuff down if people complain or if someone obviously goes outside their boundaries. I forget the specifics, but they're meant to contain anime characters or sonic the hedgehog or porn or something.

I had an idea for an iPod spoof but...it's dirty. and everybody knows I'm all innocent. Message me sometime. I would've drawn it up by now but 1) I'm lazy and 2) I'm trying to finish this costume for this weekend, and it's absorbing most of my non-working, non-eating, non-sleeping time.

[pseudomanitou.livejournal.com]

Good idea. Let's make Yerf a stagnant art archive holding up to only a tiny few ideals on what furry art is. Or... wasn't that done before?

[nerfcoyote.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I don't run the place. I was kinda grandfathered in way back from the "Squeaky-Clean" days. Or was it rat.org? Oh, I don't remember. I wouldn't call myself an authority on Current Affairs on yerf.com. I think it used to be self-policing, but when a deluge of bad sonic and anime-copy art started coming in, they put a few rules in.

Gryllus probably knows muuuuch better than I do.

[auryanne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, hopefully. If I wanted to read about Yerf, I'd go to Yerf, yeesh.

[mercurypale.livejournal.com]

the purple on the 'themed' front page aborted my baby.

scroll wheel, GO! I CHOOSE YOU!

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

What? Yerf claims to be professional and prestigious? How come no one told me? ;_;

Is it lamer to follow furry art trends, or to let furry art trends be an annoyance in your life? ;-)

[auryanne.livejournal.com]

Um, yes. What rock have you been living under?

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

Just the rock of running Yerf, I guess. Man, I'm so out of the loop!

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

While Yerf itself never makes any such claim, some of the reviews I've seen are written along the lines that it's assumed applicants and those wanting critique want more than to just draw as a hobby. There is definitely an undercurrent of "professionalism" at Yerf both behind and in front of the scenes. It's just not official.

-T'

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

That's a fair observation, and something I've noticed too. It might come from some of the reviewers being professional artists themselves, and thinking the way an art director might. I don't think that a professional vibe is a bad thing, as long as Yerf continues to encourage amateur artists as well. While there are some professionals on the archive itself, the majority of people who join Yerf just love to draw for themselves. What improvements would you suggest?

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if PM was referring to me when he suggested someone might be thought of as conservative, however... I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea at all to promote professional ideals (ideals being that someone would want their art of whatever style and subject to be thought salable in the professional graphic design or arts world outside the fandom). However, there's mixed messages when folks "in charge" promote said ideals, yet the site takes the official stance that professionalism (in the above parenthesis) isn't their game. Since perceived quality is part of the review process as well as the critique process on the forums, there's definitely room for confusion here.

The only improvements I can think of, that might help emphasize the idea that the site is indeed not bent on "pros only," is to work that more into the review and acceptance process, or at least to de-emphasize the feeling that one should be aiming in style, subject matter, etc. to appeal to anything more than the group itself.

And let me just add that I find you to be the most engaging, thoughtful and pleasant person on boards and in LJ comments. You always give me the feeling that you're open to discussion even if there's initial disagreement.

-T'

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

Thank ya, sir! *tips hat* I appreciate that you're always reasonable, even when we disagree. :-)

I think the forums have gone a long way towards making people of all skill levels feel comfortable. In particular, the Trading Post brings beginning and accomplished artists together in a supportive way, even though it's a competition of sorts. It may not be immediately obvious to people who haven't spent too much time in the forums that Yerf has become a pretty friendly place.

Our reputation from the old days precedes us, I think. :D

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Gryllus, I really try to be, though 'try' is the operative word.

I actually wander through the forums quite a bit, mostly sticking to the critique and applications areas. I have gone through the trading post a few times and indeed find it to be very accepting of all. There's a strong sense of community there, both support-wise and contribution-wise. In that place especially, it's hard to tell who are actual members of Yerf and who are not, and the feeling seems to be that it doesn't matter, which is cool.

You're a sweetie, there's no two ways about it. :"D

-T'

[pseudomanitou.livejournal.com]

Be careful not to confuse professionalism with conservatism...

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

Well, that's not totally fair now is it? For those that don't particularly care for the trend, we could ignore it somewhat, but when it changes the main page, that, for my tastes, goes too far.

It brings up a lot of issues to me, not least of which is "perhaps I'm in the wrong place."

-T'

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

Changing the front page was something Dingo did for fun. It will change back soon. Trends don't crop up very often, and they can be inspiring and fun when they do. The nice thing about fads is that if you don't like them, they'll go away soon enough.

And in the end, does it really change anyone's life for the worse? On the contrary, it's brought some people out of the woodwork who haven't posted in years, and it's inspired people who've never experimented with shadow and action to do so. Perhaps they'll try more experimental art as a result, and the uploads will be less boring.

This, too, shall pass. :-)

[fourprint.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. O.o

*slaps them all around* Dude! Snap out of it!

[pseudomanitou.livejournal.com]

Why should they? Can you give a good reason?

[fourprint.livejournal.com]

I don't seriously think they should, of course. But, well... it was a little like walking into a familiar place to find everyone there suddenly dressed identically and talking in the same catchphrases. Something's eaten their brains! I thinks to myself, and takes action accordingly.

No hostility intended, only bewilderment. :>

[queenofstripes.livejournal.com]

Quimper loves you, Miss Shiny.

[uhusted.livejournal.com]

I just thought it was fun. *shrugs* I am allowed a moment of levity, now and again.

[uhusted.livejournal.com]

... and as far as I see it, Yerf is just another webpage archive. There are lots of them. All the standards and check and balances and drama up the wazoo omg she stole my piktur and now I can't get in hoodihah is fandom small ponding, and I don't pay any attention. I just post my pictures three or so times a year and get ignored per the usual. ^_^

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

I wish you'd post more often; your stuff is so cool! (and different from the norm).

[uhusted.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I generally don't have the time for it though. *poking as requested about the information change*

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

I'm going home tomorrow, so It Shall Be Done. :D

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

Funny, we both have similar issues with this, though you're a lot braver than I when it comes to speaking about them. :"D

Personally, I think this trend has been very informative on many levels, though not enjoyable for me in the least. The change of the front page was really the "last straw." I was also sorry to see that some really nice pieces were nearly washed away beneath the deluge of iPod stuff on the recents page.

Gah.

-T'

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that last was the thing that annoyed me. If I'd happened to be working on something cool, complex, and powerful, and realized I was posting it in the middle of that, I would've been pretty pissed. I probably would've just held off on putting such a piece on Yerf just so I could keep it from being lost in the deluge.

The front page change didn't bug me; I could even make a case for that as being a subtle way to say "enough already!".

[eselgeist.livejournal.com]

if you think it's bad, to begin with, mocking it just keeps it going, just in a parodied format.
that's like a mosquito biting a leech sucking a cow.. er, apple, in this case.

post up something novel instead and let them do their thing ^_^
did you see the hellboy trailer yet? fish guy looks awesome..

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

*nod* You'll notice I've resisted the urge to mock it thus far!

(I haven't seen the Hellboy trailer yet, just the odd stills. Abe Sapien is just a really kick-ass design to start with!)

[immortalpain.livejournal.com]

I'm really not sure why everyone was shitting themselves over it and raging - I honestly believe it only ballooned like it did because it was a bandwagon that was easy enough for -anyone- to do without to much trouble and thus you had a lot of people poking out of the bushes that hadn't been seen in years up until then. Anyhow, why waste time bitching about it when it appears to be dying/nearly dead right now anyhow. It was neat while it lasted and hopefully Apple won't declare FOUL and rain doom upon our heads.

[martes.livejournal.com]

Although I feel the IPod thing is the proverbial dead horse that's been beaten until it's pulverized, it doesn't bother me enough to post about it on the Yerf boards. What actually bugs me a lot more is the endless ass-kissing and fawning, ie: "This is a pic of (blank artist's character) because she is SOOOOO GOOD and like I'll never be that good, but she totally rocks, and I'm not worthy enough to even look at her art!!" Blaugh. Or better yet the fake delf-depreciation: "This pic suxs but I'm goning to post it anyway, but I know it's so horrible I'm going to run and hide now."

Well, at least most of the truely wretched and/or creepy artists have stopped posting (for the most part).

[tabriscoonz.livejournal.com]

party pooper...

Yes, it's all stupid. Yes it's spread like locusts even beyond the realm of Yerf, but at least it gave all the bored people out in internet land something to do for 15 minutes. For like 10 minutes I was actually inspired by the furry community to draw something, as lame as the final image was.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

I think part of my reaction is similar to Fourprint's, above. It spread so damn fast that it went from whimsey to Attack of the Body Snatchers.

Hell, I thought of knocking one out, but I couldn't think of an appropriately snarky take on it, and as I tried to, I realized that it'd just be adding to it instead. So I made an ambiguous, semi-cranky LJ entry about it instead. *grin*

Chris Sawyer came up with the best one:

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

iSore
but to my knowledge he never DREW it

I own a Spice Girls CD.

[tabriscoonz.livejournal.com]

You know the most amusing thing about this is all the artists who think that their oh so genius mock drawing will have any effect on ending the trend. This all reaks of highschool. "I hate Korn cause they are trendy so I'm going to write 'Korn Sucks' on my binder for all those Korn fans" or better yet, all the drunken assholes at Fenway park wearing "Yankees Suck" T-shirts cause the Red Sox blow and they need to feel good about themselves by making others feel bad.

iPO'd which just came out on recents is the dumbest one yet. "I came out of the wood works to tell you your all sheep." Makes me want to make 12 more.

I had to do this

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

It was just so obvious after seeing this post!

Well... And perlandria made me do it.

[kensan-oni.livejournal.com]

You know, I actually don't think this is a bad thing, although I do think that the flame art against the I* is kinda cute... however, this is a really good exercise for a lot of the low end artists out there, because it IS simple. It is simple, which gives the archive and the artists a chance to do some good work and give themselves something to be proud of in their folder. If you even take of the I* think, it would be kick butt.

Now, that being said, it probably is overdone, and Yerf should really honor the movement by making a I* gallery so that people can just come in and look at them, so they can have normal traffic flow again.

Count on a thosand people spoofing off one guy's work, though... Where is the origional iPod ad, anyway?