Are art forums nearing extinction

[Amit Dutta]

Yeah, nothing is ever cut and dry or set in stone and I guess fear of change can only hold us back. It's coming, it's here, it's everywhere. Get used to it, or die fearing. :)
There is actually very little we are in control of, and in fact there is no evidence to suggest we even have free will, and everything that we do is already decided by our genetic makeup, and environment together, regardless of the impressions that we choose everything we do.

Mind f*ck right there. Once again, glad to be childless for ever. :)

[Zearthus]

I think another thing I feel that's missing, is the connection. Reason I joined forums, is to somewhat connect with other peoples, of course the more I found peoples are also becoming less active on forums. And lets not begin with social media, since you guys pretty much summed up what social media is nowadays.

For me, especially the environment I live in, there is no artist to talk to, so my only source of actually connecting with other peoples is online, but the more I find myself not been able to connect with anybody, due of:
A) No seriousness involved
B) Lack of patience
C) Just kinda want to "learn" art

So it's kind of rare to actually form up art buddies. But I guess that's what schoolism is striving for right?

Also another thing I noticed in any forums I visit, I see a lot of sketchbook threads been left in the dust. So I ask myself, as much as we want to learn a craft which is done by experimenting, failing etc. , as humans we still crave for communication and someone that says "they do care".

That's my opinion of course, not sure how you guys see this whole thing. But I seriously think, creating a learning environment online, that's striving for something, can somewhat enhance the learning experience of learning alone.

PS: Not even sure if what I said is related to the problem at hand, but that's the thought that came to mind.

[KurtJeremy]

Ok to answer the question of the OP
its a simple no. as long as theres hopeful aspiring artists out there , struggling to find a sense of real community theres always gonna be a community of art forums.

this is somewhat of a reply to renes post:   i kinda agree at him at some point with the forums vs social media thing, as i myself has been exposed into forums , and have been a part of various ones (gaming forums as such) because of this i have found  the usefulness of forums in building a sense of community. so as to what rene is saying, some people dont find forums as fast as it is on social media.

now , this is just my opinion but feel free to disagree.
the reason why social media fails at having that real community feeling is that its too crowded ; chaotic. so in contrast this is why i love forums , we get to know each other better and you could really feel everyones contributing for the better.

There is actually very little we are in control of, and in fact there is no evidence to suggest we even have free will, and everything that we do is already decided by our genetic makeup, and environment together, regardless of the impressions that we choose everything we do.

yep couldnt agree more with this, this has been going through my head quite awhile now, its like you dont have control over your own mind? its making me mad! XD

as for the ways of improving back n forth discussion , im interested of adding a rep bar on the right top side (apart from the one on the daggers on the left side)  i think its a good reward system , and itll give a more visual representation rather than having the reputation as a number.
im not a coder so i dunno if im asking for too much :D again , its only a suggestion

[yangdaniel027]

I know for me, it was sort of a disappointment to find that CA and CD weren't very active after I joined. Many of the artists I followed had so many great things to say about these sites and to find that things had gotten so quiet, was like I had missed out on something.

I think that Amit is somewhere on the right track when he talked about peoples selfish motivations. Even for me, I joined for my own benefit as well. Who can really say if I'll still be here when I reach "professional" level? Of course it's true that once you begin to get work, you'll have less time to roam on these kind of forums, but it still remains true that once these sites no longer provide any sort of gain, people have no reason to stay.

It could also be that people's interest in concept art/illustration is on the decline. With so many sites like ArtStation out there now, maybe there's just an oversaturation. I mean I know even a few years ago it seemed like every artist I knew wanted to be a concept artist. Now though, it seems like a lot of those people have been weeded out leaving only those who are truly serious about it.

I'm only 21, and so I guess I'm part the social media era, but I'm just not convinced that people are choosing social media sites like Facebook over forums. I'm sure that it's part of issue, but I don't think it's the major factor. Maybe it is more accessible, but I can't see somebody posting their sketchbooks on Facebook and receiving the same kind of critiques that you get here.

[appleseed00]

I think one issue can be that if your main purpose is just sharing art then why use a forum. ever since the classical times the forum was a place to share and exchange ideas, but art creations in the entertainment industry are rarely a conversation.

Its a case of post and then move on.

Does a forum even need to exist for this?

Now for exchanging ideas, like learning tips etc i can see why a forum would be useful for that due to the length of replies etc, but much like the trend, places like artstation or facebook or drawcrowd provide a faster way to share art with the world and get it seen by employers. It also makes it easier for employers to find your work rather than having to click through multiple threads etc.

I still think there is a vital place for forums, but its role has changed. Its now a place for deep reflection and connecting with the art archetype.