Changes around here...for the better

[Jason Manley]

Over the coming months, CA is going to be going through some major changes. MAJOR changes for the better...all thanks to the members here who have been supporting the site with the new streaming classes and the downloads sales. You all are the reason my hours at this computer are making progress, so thank you.

The first will be apparent soon when the Conceptart.org domain becomes TheArtDepartment.Org as we move to become much more than a concept art site and begin to do justice to our budding fine art, photography, sculpture, 3d, and animation communities. Even the sketchbooks group is getting the goodies they need.

It will be some months yet, and I need to keep getting the downloads and streaming classes completed, but we have a ton of new features to add...some will be apparent in the next month...all will be apparent within the next four. Production on the new tech is under way. The new site skin and features are coming out nicely.

But for now, I just wanted to point out the new domain which you will see beginning to go into effect soon. The conceptart.org domain will still be used, but more focused on the concept art side of things, and the other talented groups will be getting their due too.

Thanks for the support everyone. It is going to be a very good xmas this year. Very good. Not just for ca...but for you all too as the features that are free are getting a big bump and we have a host of professional services in the works too.

Happy Saturday!


Jason

[Stark]

Good to hear Jason. I'm sure many people have been patiently waiting for news on what the good stuff is that is coming to The Community. I've bought a couple of downloads and have been dying to make it to one of the workshops, but the many people who buy all of the downloads and attend the classes are the true heroes of the community. Even those who live in the Critique and sketchbook portion of the site have displayed immense concern and love for their fellow artists growth.

Thank you once again for the news and can't wait to see the changes come into effect. By the way, can the next WS be in Tokyo? I don't think you've attacked this place just yet. :P Just saying...

Stark

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

Oooooooooh... SNAP.

You are making over a hundred thousand people sit on edge here Jason, If I go any farther, I might as well forfeit the chair.

I already got a few of the videos and enjoy the caliper work that you and your crew put into them. If I could get a few more bucks headed my way I'll see if I can't get a few more.

-Shawn

[Raoul Duke]

I'm glad to hear that :yayca: is officially expanding beyond the realm of concept art. Congratulations this site is even bigger than you intended. I saw this coming years ago. Unfortunately CA will go back to meaning my home state :( I can't wait to see what you've been cookin.

[VulgarDragon]

So CA will now be called TAD or AD now?

[Jason Manley]

CA is but just a part of things...the heart currently...

[Rist]

*Feels cheeky*

So when do we see a list of new features? *nudge* nudge* ;)

[Demo]

Not that im not extremely happy for conceptart.org and really greatful for everything its done but anyone else feel a little broken hearted to see the name change i mean i fully relize that its for the better and includes alot more future artist then what the title Conceptart might first present its self as but still hopefully we keep that good sense of community and friendship..but anyways all those new features are really itching me right where i scratch :)

O WAIt a sec...dose that mean that the artist at the top of the page change...like will see more newer people up their is it still reserved for like MB/ and the best of CA/and what ever it is up their.. because htas one of the features that really drew mi in was that one extra blank spot that said i could be their someday..

[Carl Dobsky]

I, for one, am excited to hear about the changes that are coming down the line. In some way, I feel like CA is growing up. It has reached out to so many people and so many have given back to it that it is really inevitable that it would grow through some changes. I'm sure many of us will look back on the "good old days" with fondness and nostalgia. So in some ways it might be a little sad. But that's what it was like when I left home to go to school and move on with a career. I will always cherish those days that have passed by. But the changes that have come have been some of the most exciting parts of my life. Maybe it'll be like that here and I'm sure the things that are to come are going to be amazing.

[alesoun]

So, Conceptart.org is getting bigger-hearted. Is that possible?

Looking forward to see what happens.

[Ryuartyi]

The Art Department, huh? I love the sound of a more open CA and I've always wanted a site like this to learn about animation. The name will take a while to get used to, but it will seem normal in a while.

I'm looking forward to see what's coming in the coming months. Looks like I'll be learn a lot of things on my winter break back home.

[Elwell]

Hey Jason, how does Irene feel about you swiping her name? ;)

[Bill]

Hey Jason, how does Irene feel about you swiping her name? ;)

I saw it as "homage". :)

[Jasonwclark]

This is great news :)

Quick question: when the main domain name changes, will the internal conceptart.org links still function properly? Or I guess I should say, will they be permanently redirected to their artdepartment.org equivalents, or just for a temporary period of time? For example, say I posted a url to someones sketchbook using the CA.org address, after the domain change would I have to manualy update the url, or is that just taken care of automatically?

I know at another site I used to frequent, when they changed their domain name, they didn't stay on top of the redirects, and after a couple months all the internal links went 404 error, which pretty much tanked their forum archives. I'm sure someone's probably already on that for CA, but just thought I'd ask.

Thanks for all the hard work you guys have been doing.

746914

[Dile_]

with a tad of patience...anything is possible.

ideas for a slogan

[Victor B]

Love it, can't wait to see.

[Texahol]

when I heard the new name, I immediately thought of Irene Gallo :/

http://igallo.blogspot.com/

[HugeHarHar]

Glad to hear that other kinds of art is going to get some attention!

[Brendan N]

meant to post here yesterday already - couldn't quite put into words what I thought at the time.

This is good news Jason, and this is exciting news. One of the reasons for my recent hiatus has been the limited spectrum of creative endeavors that CA caters to. I mostly find commercial, entertainment driven art on here, some classic fine art and the occasional contemporary illustration. There's also very little in the way of styles - it's almost always some degree of naturalism or realism and too little abstraction and experimentation.

This new move will not only bring even more people here, but also help broaden the horizons of CA.org itself.

The important thing is this: what differentiates CA from any other site I've been to is the feeling of potential you get when look around here. No other site gives one this sense of being able to achieve all the fantastic feats it displays in its gallery. The community setup - the spectrum ranging from wet-eared newbie to muscle-flexing pro - is something that also aides this.

If there's one thing this expansion must maintain, it's that feeling you get. But then you already know that Jason. Good luck, I'm looking forward to all that about to happen here.

[Jazz]

Awesome news, Jason!! I agree with what Brendan said, too! The site and members totally make me feel like I have potential and can improve. :D It'll be cool seeing the changes, seeing the site really "branch out". I'm already really intrigued by many of the forum sections, so...man!! How cool!

[GriNGo]

Good news, can't wait for the changes.. specially the new forum skin.

[Dusty]

This is a great thing.
I love and respect concept art...but for me personally, it's not really my greatest interest and speaking only for myself...that just isn't the kind of art that I do. It's nice to see other industries officially brought into the fold instead of this loose "Well, we welcome all kinds of art...but we are still mostly about concept art" kind of thing we got going on now.

Can't wait to see where it goes...

-D

[Sepulverture]

This is really cool news Jason. I like the idea of compartmentalizing the site a bit the way you described up above. In some ways I think the site has become too big, and it's hard to get much personalized attention like we got a few years ago when the user base was still comparatively small, hopefully creating a new domain name while still using the old name and assigning specific purposes to each will help divide the traffic up enough that everyone can get on with each other on a more personal level again in each others threads.

I'm just wondering though. If a user logs onto theartdepartment.org's domain and posts a piece of concept art, would it be moved to the conceptart.org domain with a note posted in the original thread redirecting to the other domain, or did I kind of misunderstand what you meant with your explanation of how the domains will be used?

[Jason Manley]

The databases are highly organized and personalized. I look forward to showing the stuff as it is readied. Production estimate is 90 days and another 30 for the beta testing.

See you come xmas! ...or before. Will be good though...the layouts are cool too so I think everyone will be happy with what we are doing.


j

[Brendan N]

This is a great thing.
I love and respect concept art...but for me personally, it's not really my greatest interest and speaking only for myself...that just isn't the kind of art that I do. It's nice to see other industries officially brought into the fold instead of this loose "Well, we welcome all kinds of art...but we are still mostly about concept art" kind of thing we got going on now.

Can't wait to see where it goes...

-D

You are definitely not speaking only for yourself.

Though now i'm interested to see what you are into >>

[Rist]

I hate promises without evidence because I get too hyped up and impatient :D !!!

[GriNGo]

yeah, some screenies will sooth our worries :D

[DavePalumbo]

when I heard the new name, I immediately thought of Irene Gallo

same here :shrug:

[Qitsune]

same here :shrug:
But then again, there is also an agency with that name. If a domain like that is still free, it will be taken sooner or later, I'd rather CA has it than some lame squatters. You can't stop people using a domain if you don't own it or a trademark for it's name.

[Medelo]

I love the sound of this but like Demo I'm so used to conceptart.org as a name. :X I guess a name change _would_ reflect better on what this site is about to become, though.

I also really, really do hope urls will redirect or remain the same because I have a whole closet full of links to useful CA threads.

[Smarty]

I like the new name and the idea of a more open community to other aesthetics and fields. A lot of Illustrators i know get put off by the whole concept art thing.

[Rist]

This place frowns too much upon paintings that haven't got perfect anatomy (not every things about trying to recreate what already exists flawlessly), flawed design (granted it is a concept art forum atm, but like i say, i hope these changes change this mindset), striking colours (many master pieces in the past are laughed at here because the colours are too bold, I hope this changes so that those artists with a desire to use bold colours can express themselves). I hope to see a much more open mindedness from this place with the new changes.

[Sekino]

I really can't wait to see it (and the sections for non-concept illustrators) :D

I'm a bit confused, though: Is TAD going to be some sort of sister-site to CA or is it going to be a new section within CA (with the two domains pointing to the same site)?

Although it's fantastic that the site will welcome other types of artists more openly, I hope we're not going to be radically separated from our concept artist friends. The community here is great.

[GriNGo]

Yeah, I agree with Sekino says about being not too separated from the real/original concept art crowd.

[Jasonwclark]

TADOW!

I just realized what a nice ring that has, as an umbrella acronym for the various weekly challenges. :)

Would be cool to get a 'CA' tagline somewhere on the main page as well, just because those initials are so potent. If not conceptart perhaps then perhaps something like "Calling Artists" or "Community Arts" or another CA with general appeal.

[Jason Manley]

The CA community will stay together. I have fully considered that. Thanks for mentioning though.


Also, I spoke with Irene Gallo today (the domain was not chosen to step on her toes), and not only are we AOK, she will have a nice news area for which she can post great content any time she chooses.


Just an update...progress is ongoing.



jason

[Mr.Delicious]

Its gonna be cool to see the new updates!

Glad Irene is cool with it too, I assumed you dudes were gonna do something together considering you're all interconnected via workshops and whatnot.

Only thing I was concerned about was losing the sorta niche of having the forum be conceptart.org. More like how Bobby Chiu says about portraying yourself as a specialty store rather than a one stop shop. Like when clients look at places for new talent they know when they come here its gonna be generally full of video game concept artists. All they gotta do is click finally finished and whatnot to browse endless portfolios. Not that I'm saying it'll be more difficult to navigate but just that they know this place attracts high level guys so they know what to expect.

On the other hand its nice to offer it to everyone and make it more accessible. But at the same time I feel like if it were more open like that we'd have a lot less dedication from members and attract a more casual group. I know when I used to browse this site the talent blew me away. I wanted so bad to improve and be able to show my face haha. Posting here was like a step up. So that drive really pushed me to try to improve. I'm not sure if that happens with everyone but I know a lot of people are afraid to post and try to improve so they can do so. For development as an artist I think that pressure is key rather than a comfortable setting. More like how deviant art has so many members in all mediums that everybody feels great posting and compliment eachother on everything and anything... Only because theres no real big professional level to meet looming infront of you.

But yea, I'm not trying to imply that all that will be taken away. Just what I was reading seemed like it was more to bring in more casual artists rather than a specialized group in a highly competitive field.

Anyways, just my thoughts, I may have taken it the wrong way. Hope it all comes out cool though :)!

[Crass]

Its gonna be cool to see the new updates!

Glad Irene is cool with it too, I assumed you dudes were gonna do something together considering you're all interconnected via workshops and whatnot.

Only thing I was concerned about was losing the sorta niche of having the forum be conceptart.org. More like how Bobby Chiu says about portraying yourself as a specialty store rather than a one stop shop. Like when clients look at places for new talent they know when they come here its gonna be generally full of video game concept artists. All they gotta do is click finally finished and whatnot to browse endless portfolios. Not that I'm saying it'll be more difficult to navigate but just that they know this place attracts high level guys so they know what to expect.

This is an interesting point, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this as well Jason. The fact that this community really is at the pinnacle of this particular business is one of it's greatest strengths I think, are you sacrificing some of that in favor of branching out? I'm not saying that's wrong, it's just a good thing to think about.

[Brendan N]

Dudes, CA is already well-established enough in the concept art industry - even the studio I work at, which is into commercial/advertising animation business, is very aware of CA and what you can expect find on here.. Since it'll retain the concept art section, it'll need to be a continental screwup for the branching out to hurt CA.org. I actually see the branching out helping to strengthen concept art as much as the other genres.

Overall I think Jason and them have chosen just the right time to branch out - waiting for CA to be strong enough but not too long to seize the opportunity; I'm excited about this branching out >>

[Sekino]

I don't see why the overall quality would go down by broadening the genres. DA doesn't feature more low-quality art because they allow more media, it's because they don't focus on art education (and I mean knowledge and personal advancement, not college paperwork).

As long as the site remains well-organized, the concept pros and game companies won't have a problem finding the art they want. I don't think any progressive, creative pro looking for new ideas or art for a new game would mind having a broader pool of styles to pick from.

Besides, the site is branching out regardless. There are plenty of artists already on CA who have fantastic sketchbooks filled with comic art, children's/editorial illustrations, some stuff I can't even categorize... It's awesome of Jason to consider helping them get a place at CA's main table.

[Sepulverture]

Regarding this business with the new domain name, and possible confusion (because after reading a previous post I realized that I'd also probably be going to ca.org a lot more than theartdepartment.org, even if I had intended to post on TAD) I have a suggestion that might be helpful to a lot of people.

When you type in the address for either domain it simply takes you to a clean, uncluttered introductory page that has links/clickable banner links to each site, and a brief description of what each sites focus is. That way when people type in a domain name there will be zero possibility of going to ca.org by mistake because you're just so damn used to it. Of course this is really a small problem that just takes a little effort on the part of the user to remember a new domain name, but I think it would look good, and be helpful for new members to get their bearings and for old members to go where they want to.

Something like this:

TheArtDepartment.org
Blah blah blah brief introduction to TAD.org and what kind of art is expected to be posted here and what kind of info is available in one or two lines

ConceptArt.org
Blah Blah Blah, a brief introduction just like above blah blah

[Black Spot]

This place frowns too much upon paintings that haven't got perfect anatomy (not every things about trying to recreate what already exists flawlessly), flawed design (granted it is a concept art forum atm, but like i say, i hope these changes change this mindset), striking colours (many master pieces in the past are laughed at here because the colours are too bold, I hope this changes so that those artists with a desire to use bold colours can express themselves). I hope to see a much more open mindedness from this place with the new changes.

This. I find some naïve art very appealing, almost powerful, and yet it doesn’t always fit in here. I’m not a concept artist and yet I love it here because it’s lively and there are things I want/need to learn that are here. It’s a logical progression to reach more artists in more genres and that can only be good.

[Trefle]

I'm so happy about this, thanks for your hard works!

The same as DDream, I'd be glad if the ConceptArt.org were still on, because I pity my bookmarks if that changes... but that's me.

I can't wait to see what's coming~