Drawing Day Blog - worldwide drawing event

Drawing Day 2008 - a success and an inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:49:00 +0000

2008 was the first year of our Drawing Day initiative and considering we had only 5 weeks from the launch of our website until the actual event - the results were very inspiring. Google returns over 180,000 results from the phrase "drawing day 08" - most of these from bloggers supporting the event. From the response and constant emails we received, we know that Drawing Day is something the art world really needs and loves. 1 million drawings in a day was a huge goal and we were far from being close, but there is no way we're going to stop striving for this magic number in the years ahead. Like any event in it's first year, we can only improve and it makes us more determined.

View a gallery of results from our 2008 Drawing Day event

The countdown to 2009 begins. The good news is, next year we'll be off to a flying start and rather than having 5 weeks to prepare for the event - we have 12 months! Whatever you do, don't forget about Drawing Day - we will reach our goal and we still need your support. We will be updating our website with many new features getting prepared for the next event and we have plenty of awesome ideas (some suggestions sent to us from you). We always welcome more suggestions so keep sending them to us!

Drawing Day rocked (and keeps on rock'n)

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:10:00 +0000

For some parts of the world Drawing Day (June 7) has ended, however it's not too late to contribute. Many of our Drawing Day supporting communities are hosting weekend long events to celebrate Drawing Day. So keep on drawing at any of our participating communities.

So how are we tracking so far? It's always going to be difficult to measure any exact number of drawings, but for our first year it has been nothing less than an amazing success. Drawings will no doubt keep dribbling in to the communities over the coming week while people scan their drawings or add finishing touches to their digital artwork.

If you want to sample some of the drawings created so far, then check out the Drawing Day galleries at these communities...

Drawings at: DeviantArt, RateMyDrawings, YouTube, Red Bubble, Flickr, Facebook, Amateur Illustrator, creativestem, how-to-draw-cartoons-online, Paper Demon, BrooklynArtProject, SecondLife

It's 2008 Drawing Day - Drop everything and Draw!

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:16:00 +0000

WOooah! It's Drawing Day - Start Drawing!
Depending on your location around the world, Drawing Day has already started!
If you've just learned about our event, it's simple... All you have to do is submit drawings at any of the art communities listed on our website on June 7. Some communities are running weekend long events so don't worry if you miss this day! Also be sure to join our Facebook Group, Flickr Group, and YouTube channel.

Please spread the word about this event to all your friends! If you haven't picked up a pencil in a while, then today is the day.

We're encouraging everyone to Download this Drawing Day image here, and upload it to every art gallery you have on DeviantArt, AmateurIllustrator, Flickr, etc. and upload the image as a photo to your Facebook, MySpace, or any social networking website.

Lets make everyone see this image on Drawing Day!

Thank you to all the supporting art communities and for all the artists out there participating. Keep checking this blog throughout the weekend as we'll be updating our progress and adding links to various online galleries as they grow.

Drawing Day - Days away, get ready to draw!

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:30:00 +0000

OK, this is where we get on our knees and beg you to spread the world about Drawing Day more than ever ;) Email all your friends and let them know you'll be drawing and tell them to keep an eye out for your drawings online.

As much as drawing on the day is what it's all about, please share links to your drawings with all your friends. Spreading the word is just as important on Drawing Day. The larger art communities will all take notice if they start to see a huge influx of drawings tagged with the words "drawing day" in their titles and descriptions so be sure to do that. Join our groups on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc. - it really does make a difference!

We also would like to really encourage some of you to record video captures of you drawing in illustrator, photoshop, MS Paint, etc. and we will feature these videos on our YouTube channel. If you have a webcam, you can even record yourself drawing on paper.

Excited yet? We are!

Can a few artists create a worldwide drawing event?

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:15:00 +0000

So a few of us came up with the idea of Drawing Day. With one week to go we're pretty excited - I mean how can you just make up an event and expect the whole world to participate?

It's a good question but the answer is pretty simple really. Because we can ;)

It's a really exciting time on the web where social networking has such an amazing power. There are average Joe's (and Jill's) making YouTube videos about scratching their nose with their left index finger capturing the attention of millions of viewers.

The great thing about Drawing Day is that it's an art event, and you won't find more passionate people than artists. We have some awesome art communities getting involved in Drawing Day but what's really interesting when we look at the traffic statistics of the Drawing Day website is that collectively we get more people visiting our website from single passionate artists than any other way. We receive emails every day from single artists saying "We love this event and totally support it and will write a blog". Sure, this blog might only send us 10 visitors, but when there are hundreds of you artists doing this is really adds up!

So, there may only be a few individuals behind this initiative, but with all the artists around the world getting excited that's one big voice. Remember, we're doing this out of love and have no funding, have never asked for donations and are simply relying on the artists voice and the power of the web.

So here's what we need to really make a statement...
DIGG this story, show the world that a few passionate artists can be backed by a world of passionate artists and come up with a world-wide event that injects the web with more drawings and art than you can poke a mouse at.
&lt;br>

Rules and Limitations for Drawing Day (There are none)

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:49:00 +0000

We've received a few emails recently from artists asking things like "How many drawings can I create" and "What types of things can I draw".

Quite simply the answers are: Draw as many as you can in a day, and draw anything you like. We have no strict rules or policies for Drawing Day. We're really just here to help bring everyone together on one day to encourage you all to draw. It is totally up to you where you want to draw, what subject matter, what medium you use, how many you create, where you post your drawings, etc.

You're the artist, you make the decisions, we're just here to let everyone know about the event.

Drawing Day Launches -- Artists Embrace Web 2.0 (Press Release)

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:05:00 +0000

To help promote our event, we're happy to announce the Drawing Day 2008 official press release. To view the press release please visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/drawingday/2008/prweb939464.htm

A special thanks to Dave Conrey (http://blog.daveconrey.com/) for his rock solid pr skills to help craft our press release and express the Drawing Day mission and goals to the world.

Side Note: Thank you bloggers - keep blogging
I just want to thank everyone who has been blogging about Drawing Day. It amazes me how many bloggers feel the importance of talk about our event. You may not all reach a large audience but collectively there are hundreds of referrers to our website each day from artists like you with a voice. If you own a blog and haven't mentioned Drawing Day yet, get to it!

Which online art communities are you a member of?

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:11:00 +0000

There are so many online art communities out there. Help us reach out to these communities. Please add a comment to this blog post listing the communities you are a member of and we'll be sure to try and reach out and make sure these communities are involved in Drawing Day. Or if you have contacts at these communities, let them know about our website and get them to contact us.

I Love Drawing Day. How can I help?

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Sun, 11 May 2008 05:07:00 +0000

"I Love Drawing Day. How can I help?"
This is by far the most common question we get emailed. You love our cause, you think it's a great initiative and you want to spread the word.

Here's some small things you can do that will make a BIG difference...

IF YOU RUN AN ART RELATED WEBSITE:
- It's very easy to become a supporter and get listed on the Support Drawing Day page of our website.
- We're not asking for money, only for you to spread the word. Depending on how big your audience is and how many ways you can communicate to your audience will determine which level you will be listed under (Gold, Silver or regular).
- All you need to do is place Drawing Day banners or buttons on your website (see the spread the word section of our site). If you also send out a newsletter, host a Drawing Day online event, or blog about our event will also increase your chances of being listed on the homepage.
- The beauty and power of Drawing Day is that if you communicate to your audience that you support the event and will be encouraging people to draw via your online art community, then your regular members should all come and visit your website on this day and participate by uploading art. There really is nothing to lose by supporting the event.

IF YOU RUN A BLOG OR VLOG:
- Blog about our event. Let people know how much you believe in our project and point them to our website and let them know that you will be participating.
- Visit the spread the word section of our site to get the banners, buttons or Drawing Day logo to place on your blog.
- If you're a youTube fan - subscribe to our YouTube channel. What would really be awesome is if you can create a video talking about the event or video yourself drawing and add the Drawing Day intro clip to the start of your video.

IF YOU'RE AN ARTIST AND JUST WANT TO HELP:
- Blog about our event. Let people know how much you believe in our project and point them to our website and let them know that you will be participating.
- Tell all your friends via email, messenger or in person.
- Visit the spread the word section of our site to get the banners, buttons or Drawing Day logo to place on any of your art profiles online at DeviantArt, MySpace, Facebook, etc.

Thanks for the praise everyone

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Just a quick thank you to everyone that has taken the time to contact us just to say "Hey this is an awesome idea, I'm really excited". Well, that makes us excited too! This is an open community project so don't be afraid to contact us via our online form - especially if you work on an art community website that wants to participate in spreading the word.

Speaking of spreading the word - make sure you do visit all the websites of our supporting communities. You might find a great art community - many artists belong to multiple online art communities. Like they say... "Don't put all your pencils on one canvas" (or was that eggs in baskets? either way - join them all!).

Drawing Day 2008 is ready for the world

noreply@blogger.com (DrawingDay) — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:54:00 +0000

Drawing Day is here and we couldn't be more excited. Since this is our first year and there is so much excitement around our event, it only made sense that we create a blog to keep everyone updated with our build-up to the event.

As you all know, this is the first year of this initiative. We're very much feeling the waters but we sure have jumped in the deep end. It's been a very aggressive project, from concept to launch in less than a month. It's one of those ideas that jumps into your head and you're so excited that you just can't stand any hesitation.

The response so far has been amazing. We are just beginning to spread the word ourselves and all the supporting communities have been nothing but welcoming. It's obvious that lovers of art are passionate about anything that encourages creation. It's almost like we've all been sitting around waiting for an event like this.

So first steps. Help us! Artists have always shrived to be heard so now is your chance. We have the voice, we have the subject, now if every artist tells a hand full of their friends and fellow artists about this event you will be surprised how far word can spread.

Visit our "spread the word" page.
Read through the "Participate" section of our site and get prepared by joining all our social groups, rate our YouTube video, etc.
Blog about our event
Embed buttons and banners into your website or online profiles

We're very open to ideas and suggestions on how to help promote our event, so feel free to let us know your ideas.

Let's get drawing!