probably not noah

I would, but the media spot would only be one word: Jardy.

I'm a pickle.

Yeah, the sample size for a lot of these is far too small to take at face value. However, I don't have the time or motivation to run a giant sample size right now, and I think these stats do a decent job of representing trends in grading. Stats on graders shouldn't be pulled too much from this.

I think that the "get a 6 and lock" should be looked at. I see the merits, but I don't know if it's worth faster grades. Especially in the GFX community, grades are one of the only places where you can be ensured feedback, and the insta-lock stops some of that. Also, perhaps more relevant, it's really easy for someone to skim over some things or not realize errors in a media spot or sig, especially because graders usually bulk grade. I know that when you get to the end of a massive bulk grade, your mind is usually on autopilot and you can miss a lot of things.

Study: The VHL's Grading Problem The VHL has a grading problem. There is a massive discrepancy between graphics grades and writing grades. This has brought on tension in the community. Many graphics makers feel that the criteria for a six is far too high, and they are unfairly losing marks. As a red team mission, I created a quick study of the grading trends since the start of my discovery. The data can be found here, and my findings follow. Graphics Grading: Fifty-two graphics have been collected on 27 sigs since the start of February. Of these grades, only three sigs have been awarded a full six. Each of these sixes was awarded to a different member by a different grader. Below are the three sigs that have received full marks since the beginning of the month: The vast majority of grades fall between 5.5 and 5.75, with the average reaching 5.48. This means that on average, a graphic posted in the last 2 weeks did not reach a final grade of six. Below is a plot of the frequency of grade occurrence. There was no distinct pattern in the grades, but instead a large imbalance in grade distribution. Fifty-two grades is a relatively small sample size, but it still illustrates what many of the graphics community seem to be upset about. There is an incredibly high number of 5.75s given out, and a much smaller rate of full sixes. This was especially true in the grading of 8Ovechkin8. He gave out 18 grades in this time period, eight of which were 5.75. Five of Sherriflobo’s grades were also 5.75. Below is a plot of each grader’s own grade distribution. Media Spots I planned to plot the information of media spot grading as well, and compare data points and charts. However, when I collected all of the data from the media spots, I learnt that every single media grade given so far this month has been a six. The number of point tasks graded is consistent with graphics, as 24 media spots have been graded, yet not a single one has been less than a perfect six. This also means that the grading sample size is cut in half because a six doesn’t warrant another grade. Conclusions In my research, I came to several conclusions. First, and most obviously, there needs to be consistency in grades between media spots and graphics. It’s not possible that every media spot is perfect, or almost every sig is flawed enough to deduct. However, the grades are completely different entities. This creates inconsistency in the league and may sway people away from doing point tasks they are more comfortable with in favour of seeking easier grades. Secondly, I think that a solid understanding of grade distribution needs to be established. Right now, nobody is quite sure what to expect from grades, or how frequently sixes should be awarded. I think that the VHL’s grading team needs to adopt a frequency that they want, and to find some sort of grading curve. This will help people better understand their grades and create a more consistent grading system. I also believe that many graphics grades are being awarded arbitrarily, particularly those rated 5.75. Often the 5.75 grades have no feedback as to why they gave that grade, and it seems as if the grade is granted simply so that they are not giving out a full six. The high occurrence of 5.75 against any other grade backs this up, as do some of the rubrics marking 5.75 sigs. This is problematic, and I think is the source of many of the frustrations with grading. I think that graphics graders need to put a lot more justification behind their grading in order to create the best system. I think that a similar thing needs to be said about media spot grading. Sixes are being too often, and it seems that graders are not always taking time to truly consider the content of the story. It seems as though if a story is nicely presented and has decent grammar, it will get a six. Much like the graphics grading, this system also needs to be looked at again. These conclusions are by no means ultimate, they are just my thoughts. Feel free to take the data I’ve collected and do what you want with them.

I think when it comes to graphics grading, it's important to remember that we aren't a graphics community. If this league was expressly run on graphics, then harsh grades would be more necessary. However, it's not. Graphics have become a major aspect of it, but a lot of people have also gained a lot of experience. I'm sure I could pull up sigs of mine and others that were getting 6s four years ago that couldn't pull a 4.5 now. No offence to the writers or GFX people in the league, but both the writing and the GFX are primarily amateur. Not everybody can make GFX like Boubs or Kora, not everyone can write like Cowboy. The difference is that the grades of writing are easier to quantify. It's easy to tell bad grammar, bad graphics is very subjective. As a result, graders end up marking sigs against the best sigs on the site instead of the user's own sigs, or the mean. It's a tough system because you can't easily say which sigs are better, or even which took the most effort. I've had sigs come together in 20 minutes and be 6 worthy, and I've worked on sigs for hours over several days and got a 5 on them. Grading graphics is a difficult job. I think that the graphics graders probably do need to reel back their grading a little bit. On the other hand, I think that people also need to give the graders a break from time to time. Speaking as someone who has been a grader, it's difficult to quantify what really is worth a 6. I'm going to launch an investigation into grading. I'll see what I come up with.

May the best man win.

Red Team showdown. This is gonna be intense.

Alex. Goddamn. Bilodeau.

Jesus, 11-0... If I had known that I would have voted Fresco. I love both of them, but I gotta support my fellow mod squad

We meet again.

We have an Olympic hockey thread, but I think we should talk about the rest of the Olympics too. I'm insanely pysched for tomorrow morning's Women's moguls. Really hoping Justine or Chloe Dufour-Lapointe can upset Kearney for the gold.

Not original, 07 is Runescape 2.0, but the best Runescape nonetheless

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnIvCxRlhQE Video for the lazy. Completely agree, it's awesome. Also Peter Gabriel's My Body is a Cage is phenomenal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTZQ2IB_x7c

Also, if it makes the logo pop too much you could still set it on soft light and erase the part over the logo with a soft brush

Oh jeebus, gotta take on Higgy. This is not gonna go well

I definitely think that this is your best. A little overcontrasted, and I'd try a bit more lighting, but I really like this

FUCK SQUINTY

Damn son. Had to vote for Ball. That guy's a pimp.

This will be a sig in a little bit. Now it's a sig.

I don't think you're being rude, and I'm sorry if I'm seeming rude too, I'm just enjoying this discussion. The thing with saying someone else could have done that with minimalist art is that somebody didn't. Now, this sig clearly isn't a success as it hasn't been received well, but I'm interested in continuing the theoretical discussion. When it comes to something like minimalism, it isn't always technique, a lot of the time it's innovation. When you get into great visual artwork and things like "Voice of Fire," people say "Oh I could have come up with that," but the fact of the matter is that they didn't come up with it. Great art doesn't need to be difficult to create, it needs to be difficult to think about. I look at graphic design the same way that I look at art, wherein it's the aesthetic of something that is the ultimate goal. Sometimes to make something look great you need to put all kinds of layers and affects and the likes, but sometimes you don't. When you look at a lot of my sigs that have been very popular, any noob could do them. Just as any noob could, in theory, create "Voice of Fire" or Jackson Pollock's "Number Five." Technique used to create visual art often results in good visual art, but it isn't the only indicator. When it comes to technical ability, I am nowhere near most of the graphics makers on this site. I use fairly basic techniques to create all of my sigs, but I create sigs that are different as a result, and that's why people want them. I've had a few instances where my 'style' of sigs become very popular and people want them, like my 'fucking' sigs, my latest round of typography sigs, my Hall of Fame sigs, even team sigs that I make every year. The reasoning behind this isn't because of my amazing technique, anybody can do typography in strings of swear words. People want them because they're different. They play with conventions and do different things. I would say in all of my catalogue of sigs, I could count on one finger the ones that use any techniques that could be considered advanced.

I'm just sick of all sigs looking the same. My goal here was to make a sig that had merit without huge amounts of effects. I can tell you that a lot of effort went into the composition of this sig. Evidently it didn't pay off, but there was still plenty effort. People way too often think that effort is equal to layers. Many of my best sigs have 6 layers when you take the sig and render away. Case in point: The most effort in the sig shouldn't come from layers, it should come from thought being put into the sig. Either way this apparently doesn't have the output that it's planned to, but my point is that effort is not equal to layers and effects, a point that I think the VHL's graphics community forgets about.