Mentor Idea

[Maniah]

So.. I just had a random idea that may or may not be good. My ideas are pretty hit or miss.

I find myself often coming up with lots of little questions to ask about customizing, that I just don't feel like making a new thread for. I feel like it may be spam, in some way. That's how my brain works.

I thought to myself, "Man. I wish I had a mentor I could ask."

My friend who customizes way less than me, often comes to me with her questions. I'm able to answer them due to the difference of experience, and if I don't know, I check here for her. I give her honest feedback and suggest ways to improve things.

I'd love someone like that to go to, and I would love it if this was something that we organized and did for the Customs forum here.

I would propose that people could volunteer to be mentors, and they could set a limit of how many people they would be willing to mentor at one time. As their students (Im not sure what the correct word would be) progress, they will ask less and less questions as they learn, in theory. Which means that the mentor could then tell the organizer that they would be willing to add a few new people to their list.

Someone who was in need of a mentor could request one, and if someone is open for new students, then they would be assigned to a Mentor and have someone they could go to directly to ask questions without being shy about asking too many questions in public, or being to shy to approach someone in a PM.

Of course, we have different levels of skill here, so assigning a mentor with a skill level below the student wouldn't help, but that mentor would still be great for someone who is completely brand new to the hobby.

This could all be maintained on a stickied thread, and would really just need someone willing to organize volunteers, and assign mentors and students.

So.. That's my hare brained idea

[Colorscapesart]

While it is an interesting idea, the customs forum is here for that very reason.  We have stickied tutorials and 24/7 people online that can usually get you a fast answer.  Trying to rank people by skill in order to pair them *could* cause misunderstandings and confusion.  Any Mod and most members are available for questions too   We are all a big happy family. 

[prowlsgirl]

I love that idea. ^_^

[Maniah]

The idea is that people who are willing to help, and people who need help, have an easier time connecting.

Sorry if it's a bad idea. I didn't mean to "rank" people. Just  give an example of how anyone can be helpful no matter how skilled they are.

[keikokukien]

This is such a good idea! I hope there is a way to work this...because there are so many questions and even with all the information, there are weird outcomes, ect....It would help to have someone specifically to talk to. :x I'm always so nervous sending pms.

[NoDivision]

I have to gree with CSA on this one. We have a huge forum full of very active members and you're more likely to get a quick answer if you ask the whole forum, plus you can get lots of different opinions from people with different experiences.

[jupiternwndrlnd]

I know personally I have several people who come to me in this capacity, and I am always willing to lend my opinion or knowledge. while this is a sweet idea, and could be beneficial to some, I don't see it being something we can do here. There is too much room for hurt feelings.
But that is why we have a customs forum, to help one another out, and share our creations.

[Alexia]

Its a great idea, however I have found that if you have a question any one of the customizers are willing to answer. I have had questions about a specific skill and have pmed someone who has excelled at that skill and they were more than happy to give me tips and a helping hand.  I am always open to helping others as well, we all start somewhere and know how it was starting out.

[TwistedRainbow]

i would be willing to organize it but if we cant do it here we would have to do it through another site. i can make one though so its no biggy.

[Diamond]

While a good idea it can be really hard to rank artist, you need to evolve and grow as an artist.  I think finding artist you like and if you have a question that is specific to there work asking.  Just always remember when you then try it to credit the artist that helped you.

Plus I know you can always post questions, we have no rules here on the Arena on how many post you can make, LOL one look at my post count shall tell you that.  If you feel you are making many, what some folks do is bookmark or save there thread and then post new questions to bump it up and edit the title to the new question asked.

[ViciousJupiter]

I find most everyone to be my mentor at some point, even those below my "skill level" because we all bring something different to the table.  That is the great thing about having this community here, we are all more than willing to help each other and always welcome questions. 

My suggestion would be that if you prefer one specific person to talk to, find some one you look up to and best suits what your questions and style reflect.  PM them and ask if they would be willing to help you out privately.  I'm sure you will always get a positive response.

On a small side not, thank to everyone who has been so helpful here on the forums.  I try to answer questions that I actually know something about, but that isn't very often lol.  Thanks to all for such an awesome helpful community!

[RevRuby]

i think getting many opinions and ideas is a better help than just one person. many of us live in different areas and dont have available what others might have, for sealing, beading, etc. when we give a variety of answers someone can decide which works best for them. also i'm not sure how searchable the old thread are but most of the time someone else has already asked your question, and already gotten a variety of answers. this is in no way to discourage you from asking, but if you're desperate for a right away answer i suggest searching the threads. also there has in the past been drama because one person's "inspired by" was another person's "imitation" so one on one mentoring is ok, but again variety is the spice of life.

in other news i'm always open to pm's asking questions and i adore helping new customizers grow.

[mana-maiden]

You know, the best knowledge I had as a beginner was to just simply "do". That's the best way to learn, and evolve as an artist. If there's something you're absolutely stuck on, you can research it a bit; such as methods and materials to use.

People may find their work most rewarding if they just enjoy what they do, not worry about what others are doing, and to evolve with their own methods and visions for what they're most comfortable with.

That's why I never have clothing patterns, is because I myself have never used them. I started off gluing fabric to ponies with glue, and sculpting parts of outfits to find out what worked best for me. And ultimately, I think that's what happens with most people; is some sculpt and sew on to ponies and figure out what they're most comfortable with.

Anyways, just some food for thought. I think people starting out stress too much, and should just sit back and enjoy themselves and what they do.

[Sarahlacewing]

I think one thing that makes it hard is we don't have easy access to our old forums (or at least I don't I have a redirecting problem).  So instead of searching for an answer often questions get asked over and over again.  I think mentoring would lessen this.

However, it's nice in a way to ask the community at large because you can get several methods of doing things.  With a mentor it would be valuable to know how they do things but in the end it may not work for your budding style.  If we have a thread going about rehairing for example and everyone can compare notes it would be easier to find something that would work for a particular project. A person might see one post out of 30 and think "wow that's just what I need." Whereas they may not have found the method if they felt bound to one mentor.

[deeleelambbaa]

I LOVE this idea!!! Brilliant
I can testify that this is an extremely effective way to learn to hear from one person specifically for all the different customizing questions that pop up- this is how I learned! I wouldn't know anything about customizing if it wasn't for TwistedRainbow.
And most of all, I understand what you mean about the hesitation to post a thread or pm someone random about the "menial questions", like "is this a good paint to use?" or "how many extra needles should I order with my rehairing tool?" or "is this a good idea for a custom?"
There's a connection that's made when you talk that much with someone, a connection stronger than one you forge simply be posting in the same forum as someone, or being trade partners. Aren't we all about making friends here, creating bonds founded upon the commonality of artistic pursuit.
As for the issue with ranking in order to pair someone up, we don't have to rank each other, we could always let the one being mentored choose for themselves from a list- they can do their own background check here on the arena and choose a mentor themselves.