He is such a great read! He despises his last book though which is hilarious. I think he thinks it's got no point, but neither did Franz Kafka and Metamorphosis still gives a meaning in some way. Glad he still published it anyway! ahaha

P.S. I have worked Barnes and Noble Sales/College Division and handled many publishers coming in and out. Publishers mean absolutely nothing but capital. They decide based on who is running the company. What they put out will reflect their company's inner philosophy and motives. As artists, we rule publishers from the ground up. The difference is getting past the egos of representatives that want to display your work. In this, we have come full circle to Fine Arts Academia of several hundred years ago and it is quite disgusting in nature. To see guests and customers compare authors like they were in competition is a ruse of a ruse and all stand to lose that game. You're an artist. You make the book, the words, the pictures, the world, the name. Publishers will need to catch up to YOU if you start playing this game with the conviction of knowing what it is that you want to say. It has been stressful globally. Perhaps it is hard to know what is worth saying anymore. Don't let that stop you. Just open the door. A bay of books by James Patterson sits next to one copy of The Shining Prince Genji on the bookshelves. One book versus one-hundred. Who is the better author? The one selling now or the one that lasts through hundreds of years? Time is the only true Judge. All opinions otherwise become like a dog, R.Mutt, dissolved into mudd. xP <3

Same! And also there is no messaging system but you would definitely love this given your YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ThwuT3_AG6w (might be good to listen to in the background while you paint) <3 I have been watching your videos and am curious how amazing you would do with human faces in abstraction! (Or any topic whether representational or not). I am sorry you were hit by a car last year. Don't be too hard on missing goals, sometimes we set gigantic ones. Do not stop, but rather keep your heart light! Too much self reflection may just take its toll. <3

It's what made conceptart.org thrive in its hey-day. That is my perspective. Though it really comes down to user saturation. It creates general traffic, lessens your # ubiquity abroad on other sites and the results of any official challenge have the added weight of being published in some fashion I suppose. Anything can be a challenge and so perhaps it would lead to over-saturation but as you have stated, you retain the HEADER. That most likely alleviates MOST issues. The question is though, what defines a study? What isn't worth studying? What should not be publicly studied? I have NO answers for that. I think it comes down to your direct intentions for the site. I have an odd understanding currently if this is a shopping place, a library omnicron (Star Wars reference), and/or a forum. If it is all of these things at once, then you would be best to let the forum structure breathe as it oscillates the whole of marketing. However, I already follow challenges abroad such as Ahmed Aldoori's 100 heads through his individual YT channel. Centralizing them is my preference, though the "staff picks" of art-station really smacks of insularity and diminishes most interaction over time. Can this really be helped in art? I'm never attempting an accusatory tone in that statement, but whether insulation is conducive or destructive remains in the need of the project. In this case, the students' needs. If this is a school (I suppose even of thought), then a student body perhaps needs an art club outside the lecture halls and individual study or study groups based on friendship. I don't see competitive nonsense here. That is good! I don't know best, but I would, personally, hate to see your hard work morph into some oddity of "students trying too hard to fit in or feel like cool kids" as it has clearly shown itself to develop naturally in the gestation of places like YouTube. But what of the indie market? Are they doomed to formulate discord servers of 300-8000 members forever sub-dividing the geometric playing field until you couldn't find a community doing challenges that stood out in the ubiquity of dark-screened gamer-focused overlay? (How Philip K. Dick I have shifted in tone here. Forgive my sardonic humor. I am Seneca-like. A stoic. Not a cynic!) ahahaha I'd say the alternative of having pinned messages on the Header is quite my preferred reality to the joke above! ahahah But that is only my perspective! The choice is yours! It is quite streamlined and fun to post here though; far better than the plethora of methods of interaction via instagram, discord's file limit, Twitter's odd croppings etcetera. You've done supremely well in your designs here. The orange and white is like eating those mallow pumpkins on Halloween only it doesn't rot my teeth! It is soothing like Halloween Autumn. I would very readily join in and draw side by side in community challenges here, MORE than anywhere else because of your foundational footing and personality that vibrates in the structure. A long take, but a well rounded one. Cheers @Stan Prokopenko and staff!

Much in agreement. Music is almost like hypnosis! I have to tinker how I use it in my daily workflow constantly. You've got a great system it seems! <3 Also 99% Invisible, represent! ahahah They are great!