The goal of an art study is to offer a shared space to develop art abilities together. Study time is visited by amateurs, pros, and everything in between; so let’s offer flexibility but also a focused goal. A host should keep an attitude of openness, encouragement, and flexibility. We don’t need to police exactly how someone does an art study, but we do need to build confidence and experience so everyone can reach their goals--even if the goal is just trying. Don’t be afraid to offer a piece of constructive criticism, though it’s better after confirming what one’s goal is.

How can I do a good job discussing art?

Are you familiar with the Principles and Elements of Design?

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These basic terms will help you appreciate and articulate the traits of a reference or the study itself. You don’t need to use these words, but definitely familiarize yourself with them. You probably already get these things intuitively, but articulating it into language and art is different.

Are you familiar enough with everyone’s tools to offer suggestions?

Are you able to share your screen to more easily show a concept? If not, you can always check out other people’s screenshares to comment on how they’re doing.

What do I need for a successful study time?

A recent art study example from the server

There should be a theme/topic for the study, along with several reference images in the #art-study-time channel. These references should feel related but should also differ in complexity. It can be something you’re already adept at, or something you need to practice more. No matter what, you should be able to confidently and succinctly express the topic’s value and why you think it makes for a good study subject.

• Whatever the study, make it as simple as possible.
• If you can think of common issues to avoid in the study topic, add it to the description.
• Declare if a time limit is important, or if taking your time is more important. There are merits to both! The event formally lasts about an hour, but oftentimes people like staying longer.
• Do certain materials not work for the study? Does the medium matter? How about the size? Are we all studying b/w or does it really need to be colour?
• Learning can be uncomfy sometimes. It’s actually good if a host feels and shares discomfort with a study subject, so long as they do their best along with everyone else. This keeps a host from elevating their own experience above others.

Any instruction should be typed, for our HoH/ d/Deaf members. ****We are currently looking for subtitle plugins on Discord to offer accessibility to voice calls. Until then, members should type any important messages into the voice call channel’s text, and any important study details directly into the channel.

• A good host should offer a comfortable study space, but allow everyone to study at their own pace. They should make sure everyone who wants to share gets to. Pay attention to and encourage participants who have a harder time including themselves in a call. It’s okay if off-topic discussion happens, but try to help steer discussion topics towards something that includes everyone. The study topic at hand is always a safe place to return to.

After the study is done

• Encourage participants to post their work directly to the art study time channel (not the voice channel chat), along with any notes they’d want people to see.