Mentor Idea

[Kimmers4Ever]

I honestly say "Post away!" Everyone here can be a mentor that way. I totally do that. If I have a question I take pictures of what I'm doing (IF I can) and I plaster them on a post and yell "HELP!"

Don't be afraid to post when you have a question.  What you might do is make a WIP thread of a pony you are working on, especially if you think you will need advise at various stages. That's what I did for my first custom and I asked questions by the ton. In fact, every time I had an issue or needed advice. Even if I only need a confidence boost on what I'm doing.

[JoshsPonyPrincess]

I am always open to help if I can You can always PM or FB me for quicker responses

[Tiella]

As other customizers have said I am always open to helping others, people are free to PM me here, on facebook or DeviantArt.

[butterflybuttons]

I love threads with questions, that way anyone can know the answer. Just like in school, if you ask a question, it's more likely then not someone else was thinking it.

[naylastar]

We can always post questions here but I would definitely volunteer to mentor new customisers. Sometimes if you think a question is silly, you won't ask it openly in case your embarrassed. I don't really get that way anymore but I know the feeling.  I would have benefited a lot from being able to ask someone privately for help.

[TwistedRainbow]

i think its a wonderful idea. i realize through reading this that the majority of people who say yes to it are newer then the people who say no. interesting lol. that says to me that the newbies would like the 1 on 1 help. i think ita a great idea. i will totally organize it if people are willing. but i would have to check with mods first.

[NoDivision]

Well I think the newer people are saying yes because, like other have said, they feel like maybe they are being a pain if they post too many questions or think it's a silly question to post.

The older people are here saying that no question is too silly to ask, and we are welcoming people to post and aks as many questions as they want! So I think this thread is really confirming that we are ALL open to answer questions and help people and give advice.

And I think the community as a whole is way more powerful in giving answers than one single person could ever be. Even if your mentor was the most amazing person ever, they are just one person. They might not have expreince in a particular thing you're asking about, or they might not be able to answer a PM as quickly as someone else could post an asnwer.

[steffers29madds]

I personally love it when people post threads with questions because I always read them and glean new info that way as well, even if I didn't have that question at the time. I love how willing members are to share their expertise and tips/tricks.

[deeleelambbaa]

Well I think the newer people are saying yes because, like other have said, they feel like maybe they are being a pain if they post too many questions or think it's a silly question to post.

The older people are here saying that no question is too silly to ask, and we are welcoming people to post and aks as many questions as they want! So I think this thread is really confirming that we are ALL open to answer questions and help people and give advice.

And I think the community as a whole is way more powerful in giving answers than one single person could ever be. Even if your mentor was the most amazing person ever, they are just one person. They might not have expreince in a particular thing you're asking about, or they might not be able to answer a PM as quickly as someone else could post an asnwer.

But the point that I believe what has also been emphasized is that people will always feel uncomfortable asking certain questions in a brand new thread. Not all newbies are going to read this thread specifically, so they won't know that we're open to everyone and anyone asking all kinds of questions.
And although the mentor might not know everything or suggest to the newbie the best method according to the rest of the arena's opinion, it still allows the newbie to live and learn from potential mistakes (and have those wonderful "make-it-work" moments that characterizes what we do half the time ;P ).
For most in between people-- not newbies, but not veterans--, they will still be posting question threads, so there won't be a sudden loss of question threads to learn from as well. There just won't be the threads that ask the same thing, or minor things.
I really think that it's worth giving a trial run, perhaps make a sticky at the top of the thread for people willing to mentor, inviting all newbies to check it out and pick one. If it doesn't seem to be a flourishing idea, we can take down the sticky. There couldn't be any harm in it, really.

[Maniah]

I've found that sme of my question threads get buried VERY fast in all the other threads, and they get no answers.. Or I ask questions in other threads, then lose them because they get buried also.. Or just no one responds.. Or I ask, and someone is unwilling to share info on how to do something. Either they dont feel like explaining, or they want to protect their unique thing. This has only happened once.. But still.. It's daunting.

TwistedRainbow, if you were allowed to organize something like this, it seems like you would have a lot of people willing to help out as mentors. I'd be willing to both help out, as well as want a mentor lol

[NoDivision]

Well, if that's something that you want to run off site that's up to you. But It looks like several customs mods have already chimed in saying they don't think it's a possibility here.

I think things work really well the way they are. There is tons of information, people ask questions all the time, people shar knowledge all the time. There is no rule that says people can't ask questions or PM anyone they wish to ask questions. There certainly isn't any shortage of knowledge. And I think any new member who takes a little time to look around will find all our super useful tutorials and also see how open people are to answering questions - I don't think there needs to be a special system in place for people to do that, it's just part of the customs board! When I was new I certainly never felt like I couldn't ask questions - I asked tons! And I've gotten and given lots of advice. If people aren't answering, ask again! bump your thread, PM someone!

[creampuf]

Neat idea but I think we are all enriched when a question is asked and there are so many ideas and stories to share.

One on one discussion is nice if you are shy or don't want to publicly post a WIP or something. I get random emails all the time of people asking for advice or critiques. I love those!

That being said....

I'm always available for PMs and answering questions. I welcome anyone to ask me for any advice they need and if it's something I'm not too familiar with or think it's a great forum question I'm going to tell someone to post it.

[pop-girl]

I think NoDivision and creampuf have hit the nail on the head. We have an entire customs forum for mentoring and the custom mods are always available to answer any specific questions via PM... it's why we're here.

[mana-maiden]

Or I ask, and someone is unwilling to share info on how to do something. Either they dont feel like explaining, or they want to protect their unique thing. This has only happened once.. But still.. It's daunting.

I've done that before, but I'm going to just post a disclaimer:


The methods I produce myself, I share. Some of my more exclusive methods that I don't share, are not my methods. I was mentored in private (through PM) and because I do not see the source constantly sharing their methods publicly, I do them the respect by not doing the same.


Granted I'm mostly referring to my "hair gel" method, you can look up dollyhair.com for hair gel methods. They may not be exactly what I do, but they may even be better.


Dollyhair is stickified on the boards here, under tutorials and whatnots.




Also, another reason for me to not share some things, is because people tend to get all passive and judgmental. It hurts my feelings and makes me cry. 


So I know what to share, and what not to share. 

[NoDivision]

Or I ask, and someone is unwilling to share info on how to do something. Either they dont feel like explaining, or they want to protect their unique thing. This has only happened once.. But still.. It's daunting.

I'd also add to the above - if an artist has something they do that is pretty unique, they are not obligated to tell you how to do it. There's nothing wrong with wanting to keep a few of your own little trade secrets. I don't have anything like that myself, but I can understand why there are some things that some artists might not divulge. But general tips and techniques that lots of people do, you'll generally always be able to find someone to help you