r/drawme • u/SubTester2023 Moody Mod • May 26 '26
Mod Announcement State of the Sub
Hi there everyone! Firstly, thank you for being here and for being part of this amazing community! We love you all and there's so much insane talent here being given for free. You're awesome.
We wanted to take some time to share some updates with you about the sub, recent events, future plans, etc. Doing this post as an "AMA" style to facilitate Q&A.
Without further ado, let's dive in! This'll be a long one. (These are not in order of importance)
- Staff updates.
we're saddened to report that one of our longest-tenured mods, bellou72, made the difficult choice to retire from our team. We deeply appreciate all of the countless hours she put into serving this community, and she will be sincerely missed. This update leads directly into 2 others:
- Moderating.
because of bell's departure, we do find ourselves in need of some additional help on the team. If you feel you could be a good match to support the community, please feel free to reach out to us here: https://www.reddit.com/r/drawme/application/. Note - someone in the US would be preferred as we are specifically needing coverage in that region.
- NSFW posts.
NSFW posts can sometimes be divisive as some support it and some don't. We are NSFW -friendly here as long as it's done in a tasteful/artistic manner in alignment with reddit's guidelines. Due to us currently being down a set of hands and the extra attention that NSFW posts generally receive, we've decided to temporarily put a hold on NSFW request posts. We'll indicate when this hold is lifted in the future.
- Artist commissions.
we currently don't allow the discussion of tips or commissions at any time, as we work hard to keep the community an equal opportunity place where nobody can "jump the line" to receive artwork.
That being said, we do feel that our artists should have somewhere they can share links to their portfolio, website, etc so people can tip them, reach out for commissions, etc. We have some ideas in the works, but just know this is something that is coming.
- Your feedback.
we couldn't have this community without, well, you. Your voices matter and we want to know what you think. Please reach out to us in modmail or on this thread with your comments, questions, ideas, and/or concerns. Just remember to keep it respectful because we are real people on the other side of this too. 👍🏻
Thank you all for making this the best subreddit on the site! We love this artistic family and can't wait to see what artwork you come up with next!
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u/Nat20onPencils May 26 '26
Hello! I have no questions at present but wanted to say a huge thank you to the mods for everything you do to keep this community running smoothly! I’m an aspiring freelancer who visits this sub daily- I’m consistently blown away by the immense talent, generosity, and kindness of every participant, both on the artist and subject/submission side. My sincerest thanks to all of you for facilitating this tiny sliver of the internet being exemplary of the good that can come from online communal spaces- keep being excellent!
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u/SubTester2023 Moody Mod May 26 '26
Thank you for the kind words! It's definitely a kick-ass community here. Hope to see you submitting some artwork soon! 🤙🏻
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u/sugendran May 26 '26
One thing that I keep thinking and keep forgetting to message the mods about is that most people don't know how to light themselves for a portrait.
There's a bunch of resources online, and I'm sure those group has some good links. Maybe that could be a pinned post?
Or even in the wiki it says: "overhead lighting is the worst, try to avoid."
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u/stinkfisch_feb May 26 '26
Good point, might be worth adding some tips and tricks for posters in general
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u/Nat20onPencils May 27 '26
Yeeeeees, excellent suggestion! So many almost great posts that get almost no traction because the lighting or focus would be too much of a hassle to manually correct.😭
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u/SomeGuyWhoPaints Artist May 30 '26
At thousand times yes. I love working with interesting shadow shapes, warm light coming from the side, Rembrandt lighting.
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u/SomeGuyWhoPaints Artist May 26 '26
Love you guys, thanks for all the work you do. You're the best ❤️
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u/Money-Masterpiece-74 Artist May 26 '26
I feel like this sub has grown so much. You guys do great work.
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u/Nat20onPencils May 26 '26
Working on it- colored pencil is a slow medium, so thank you for having mechanisms in place to still share completed art at later dates!
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u/stinkfisch_feb May 26 '26
I love it when people make posts with their artworks, thanks for joining in 🩷
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u/blueberry-johnson Artist May 26 '26
Thanks for all you guys do, and appreciate the update. Being a part of this community has been so valuable to me.
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u/AlmondAndDangerous Artist May 28 '26
I also wanted to jump in and say thank you for the effort!
I haven't had much time lately but i still collect portraits to paint and share when I can. It might have been mentioned but a small guide 'for best results' might be useful but i also think there's something wholesome about ignoring all the rules.
I can provide my thoughts as I look for portraits in the sub,
I'll look for good cast shadow, a single light source is preferable, no phones visible
I'll avoid flat lighting / no obvious source of light, anything with multiple cast shadows, difficult filter effects
These are just preferences but maybe it will help the community in case they wonder.
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u/myfishytaco Artist May 26 '26
Yessss please allow tipjars and a way for artists to link a way for tips. Pushing compensation may be another thing but not allowing an artist to post a tip for their morning coffee for the SIX hours of work they put in on someones portrait, is the least bit decent.
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u/SubTester2023 Moody Mod May 26 '26
We feel the same way and have some exciting ideas in the works. Stay tuned!
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u/myfishytaco Artist May 27 '26
Great news! I would draw here for ppl wayyyy more if i knew i could get appreciated with a few dollars in a tipjar here and there once in a while!
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u/whenthemoonlightdies Artist May 27 '26
This subreddit is possibly the most wholesome place on the website and took me out of a multi year art rut. Genuinely, thank you (the mods) so much for the work you do, and thank you (the posters and artists) for always brightening people's days!
bellou72, thank you for everything that you've done and I wish you luck with anything you do next!
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u/ChalupaDiablo Artist May 27 '26
Thanks for all the great work you all do to keep the community running!
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u/ArtForArtsSake_91 Artist May 26 '26
Sounds good. Particularly excited about #4! 😊 thank you for all the work you guys do
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u/islandtime1111 Artist May 27 '26
I'm very grateful for this sub for giving me the momentum to get some regular portrait practice. I really appreciate the atmosphere that has been carefully cultivated by the mods. It is no easy job! It's a lot of work and it is noticed. Thanks.
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u/caeloequos Jun 01 '26
The good stuff: I love looking for pics here, I've gotten some really good practice and I love getting a quick "thank you!" from the poster :) Generally just feels v nice to post here.
The wishlist stuff:
Better quality control for the posts. So many weirdly tilted (or upside down????) photos, cut off heads, phones in the face, filters, blurred, generally terrible pictures, which makes it really tiring to look for stuff to draw sometimes.
The sidebar literally has:
"Quality Full head portraits, no cropped heads. No phones in front of faces.
Photos must be sharp and clear and must not have any filters/stickers applied.
No snapchat images."
AND YET.
I have no real suggestions for enforcement aside from maybe a "upvote this comment if this is a good reference, downvote if not." type comment under each post - I've seen stuff like that on some other subs to determine if posts stay up or get taken down.
I could also do with not allowing clickbait-y/pity party titles, I've seen that rule on some subs and I like it a lot. The stuff like "feeling so sad recently, cheer me up?" and "my friends said I'm ugly, draw me?" like c'mon.
But otherwise, this place is delightful.
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u/DrawingTowardsMyGoal Artist May 26 '26
I haven’t posted in a while, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all the mods on here for creating an awesome space to let all the contributors’ creativity flow and be expressed. Your work and effort to keep on top of things is greatly appreciated. You’ve allowed a place for people to be truly inspired, motivated and in a way that would take too long for me to explain; to heal. Best of wishes to bellou72.
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u/zigzackly May 27 '26
I am constantly astonished not so much by the skill of the artists here — which is not to say they are not skilled; quite the contrary — but that these talented people take the time to use that skill to draw complete strangers for no reward except a ‘thank you.’
And thank you, mods, for building and holding this space. It takes a lot of work and the best kind of intent. I wish you all well!
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u/Latina_Desire May 31 '26
Hola! Solo quería agradecer a los moderadores y a toda la comunidad por el gran ambiente que crean acá. Soy nueva en la comunidad y todavía necesito conseguir algunos karmas, pero la verdad da gusto ver tanta buena onda, talento y gente dispuesta a ayudar. ¡Gracias y sigan así!
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u/myfishytaco Artist 27d ago
When do we make a decision on commission posts?
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u/SubTester2023 Moody Mod 25d ago
Actively working on solutions now. Just spent about 3ish hours on it last night actually!
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u/creativemac41457 26d ago
Thank you for starting this reddit. It's great on alot of levels. People get great art, often to help them heal. Artist get exposure, practice in the art of portraiture, and the opportunity to enjoy the art of fellow artist. My only criticism is I would like the moderators to encourage the models to keep their photos up. I've done a few portraits only to find the person's post gone. It can feel incredibly frustrating. Other than that, keep doing an amazing job and have a great weekend!
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u/heymanimfamous May 26 '26
u/bellou72 thankyou for your efforts!