Mod Post: Sign Ups Closing May 31st
Signups Closing
This is just a reminder that the June sign up thread will be closing tomorrow, May 31st, some time after 9:30PM -7GMT! That is around 11:30PM eastern standard time, and 8:30PM pacific standard time. If you want to participate during the month of June, or otherwise tackle the Slam on Hard Mode, please do not wait until the last second! If you miss the sign up, you will have to wait until late in June to sign up for July!
In other news, we have managed to gather a whopping 121 participants for the month of June! Wow. Thanks to everyone who has been spreading the word... I'm fairly certain that this is a record!
That said, if anyone is interested in helping out by becoming a mod, below is the general break-down of modly activities. Please toss me a comment or a message, as myself and the other mods will be very grateful to have the extra help!
Modly Activities for June
Once sign-ups are closed, the participants are divided up into equal groups and one mod is assigned to each group. During the month, the mod is responsible for letting their group know who they are, and generally just keeping an eye out for their gang if questions need answering or if problems arise.
At the end of the month, all participants will be asked to put together their monthly portfolio post (an example of which will be forthcoming!) mods are then responsible for going through the post and awarding achievements based on what's in the portfolio.
Because there are some achievements that crop up throughout the month, mods are encouraged to keep an eye out for certain things. (If their participants post once a day for a week, for example, or leave a really wonderful comment/critique -- There are also a few achievements that require you to fill a bar: "leave 25 comments" for example.) Whether the mod asks for their group-members to keep an eye on their own comments and to toss them a pile of links every so often, or whether they keep track of all of this by themselves is up to the mod!
Though it's not a requirement, if a mod wants to, they can also set challenges for their group, and award their own achievements for the month. I'd definitely recommend getting a feel for the group (some might not want the extra pressure; some may be geared more towards one type of challenge over another!) but it's definitely a possibility!
And that's about it, by and large. Things should go a little more easily this year, as we're holding most of the achievement-getting in one frantic week right around the end of June. If you're interested, keep in mind that the responsibility would only be until the end of June (probably a little into the beginning of July for the last-minute posters); if you'd only like to mod for the month of June, and then drop it for July, just let me know a bit in advance so that I can reshuffle groups for July accordingly.
What to do on June 1st
When June 1st rolls around, get started with a sketch for your concept! You don't have to post on the first day, but this is a good time to introduce yourself, your concept, and your art. Give us a description of what you're working on. If you have any examples of previous, related work, link to them so that we can see more! Remember to tag each post you make to the community with your username. This will help the mods to find it later if they need to go back, and allow interested participants to see more of what you've been doing.
Everyone generally leaves comments on everyone else's first posts during the first week. Stop by a few of the other participants (especially those in your group!) and say hello! If a participant is asking for crit, drop them some constructive criticism, encouragement, etc. Getting to know others in your group -- and encouraging one another -- is a great way to get through the Slam once the energy starts to dip. Though it may not be implemented this month, I'm also planning on holding a poll for each group to determine a 'best of the group' (separate from a mod!) wherein if one member of your group was really awesome and supportive for the past month, they should be acknowledged for it!
After that, you can either post new art once a day, or save it up and post it once a week -- or even wait for the end of the month to go straight to the portfolio post.
Just a warning: if you have artslam added to your friends list, it is almost literally going to explode with posts over the next week. If you would like to keep your friends list tidy, you may either wish to create a friends filter for yourself, or de-watch the community -- though remaining a member of it -- and only visit it through the community's page directly. If you need help with either, toss me a note and I can explain the process. Otherwise, sit back and let the art wash over you and inspire you. It's pretty fantastic!
Thanks for bearing with me through this huge post. Best of luck for the coming month!
~dracothrope