Crowdfunded Creativity

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

2013-05-18T08:20:23Z

Welcome to the eighteenth Crowdfunding Creative Jam! This session will run Saturday, May 18-Sunday, May 19. The theme is "magic." (Visit the Creative Jam over on Dreamwidth.)

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

Everyone is eligible to post prompts, which may be words or phrases, titles, images, etc. Prompters may request a specific creator, but everyone else may still use that prompt if they wish. Prompts may specify a particular character/world/etc. but creators may use the prompt for something else anyway and post the results. Prompters are still encouraged to post mostly prompts that anyone could use anywhere, as this maximizes the chance of having creators make something based on your prompt. Please title your comment "Prompt" or "Prompts" when providing inspiration so these are easy to find.

Prompt responses may also be treated as prompts and used for further inspiration. For example, a prompt may lead to a sketch which leads to a story, and so on. This kind of cascading inspiration is one of the most fun things about a collective jam session.

Everyone is eligible to use prompts, and everyone who wants to use a given prompt may do so, for maximum flexibility of creator choice in inspiration. You do not have to post a "Claim" reply when you decide to use a prompt, but this does help indicate what is going on so that other prompters can spread out their choice of prompts if they wish.

Creators are encouraged, but not required, to post at least one item free. Likewise, sharing a private copy of material with the prompter is encouraged but not required. Creative material resulting from prompts should be indicated in a reply to the prompt, with a link to the full content elsewhere on the creator's site (if desired); a brief excerpt and/or description of the material may be included in the reply (if desired). It helps to title your comment "Prompt Filled" or something like that so these are easy to identify. There is no time limit on responding to prompts. However, creators are encouraged to post replies sooner rather than later, as the attention of prompters will be highest during and shortly after the session.

Some items created from prompts may become available for sponsorship. Some creators may offer perks for donations, linkbacks, or other activity relating to this project. Check creator comments and links for their respective offerings.

Prompters, creators, and bystanders are expected to behave in a responsible and civil manner. If the moderators have to drag someone out of the sandbox for improper behavior, we will not be amused. Please respect other people's territory and intellectual property rights, and only play with someone else's characters/setting/etc. if you have permission. (Fanfic/fanart freebies are okay.) If you want to invite folks to play with something of yours, title the comment something like "Open Playground" so it's easy to spot. This can be a good way to attract new people to a shared world or open-source project, or just have some good non-canon fun.

Boost the signal! The more people who participate, the more fun this will be. Hopefully we'll see activity from a lot of folks who regularly mention their projects in this community, but new people are always welcome. You can link to this session post or to individual items created from prompts, whatever you think is awesome enough to recommend to your friends.

Muse Fusion for May, now open!

2013-05-17T23:28:12Z

http://torn-world.livejournal.com/151363.html

Join us with prompts and ideas, or general questions about the Torn World project. We'll answer with stories, poetry and artwork!

crowdfunding @ 2013-05-17T07:59:00

2013-05-17T12:59:55Z

Live Journal was down for me for a day and a half. I about pulled out my hair.

Anyway, I've got art to share, and new Memoirs stuff!

First, I'll share the update on "Nebula." I did some work on the face and figure, so took a detail shot of it. The image links to the landing page of the project, where you can see a larger version, an image progression, and a place to contribute to the project.

This is Galatea, a part of Evelyn's past in my ongoing Web Fiction project Memoirs of a Tourist. You can click these thumbnails for the full sized DeviantArt versions.

This is Trick, another character in Memoirs.

Evelyn and Trick.

That's it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Poetry Fishbowl Report for May 7, 2013

2013-05-17T03:12:21Z

This month's theme was "homonyms, puns, and wordplay." I worked from 1 PM to midnight, so about 9 hours allowing for lunch and supper breaks. There were a few prompts early on, a trickle later, but far less than usual. I only wrote 13 poems.

Participation was so low, I actually didn't write enough to activate all the perks, although people could've covered those with general donations. Remember, it takes prompts to make the fishbowl work. I got some extra activity by doubling up on people who sent multiples, but there's a limit to how well that works.

I've had fishbowls tank before; it happens once or twice a year. I suspect it was due to the theme. It was popular in the poll but then people didn't prompt much; they may have found the topic hard to work with. I kind of expected it to be a challenge for me but was willing to give it a try. Sometimes those kinds of themes have turned out really well. But after this, I'm likely to be more selective about what goes into a poll or what I accept from the voting results, and weed out themes that I think might be harder to work with.

Most of the poems were free verse. Some used single prompts while others stacked a bunch together. I finished out the Rainbowfic Sunlight list. Length ran shorter this time: a lot of medium, some short and long, only three epics.

Activity was low. There were 41 comments on LiveJournal and none on Dreamwidth. A total of 11 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters or donors.

Read some poetry!
The following poems from the February 2013 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Balance and Tangle"
"Command Line Errors"
"The Geometry of Language"
"Greetings and Solicitations"
"Irony of Eight" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
"Ohm's Lawyers"
"Portmanteaparty"
"Spathic Personalities"
"Tantalizing"
"That Is the Question"
"Whole Loops"
"Won True Way" (An Army of One)

"The Voyage to Vaucouleurs" (11/6/12, The Arc of Joan)
"Scotch Hobby" (12/4/12, The Steamsmith)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available. The linkback poem "The Voyage to Vaucouleurs" (The Arc of Joan) currently has 12 of 16 verses posted. You can reveal more by linking to the unsold poetry post, or to your favorite poems from this fishbowl.

All currently sponsored poems have been posted. Per the $200 goal, "Scotch Hobby" is the free epic. The other perks did not activate this month. We do have a carryover from previous activity, however. There will be a half-price sale running May 20-26. I'm doing something a little different this time, offering the unsold stuff from the Rainbowfic Vellum list, which consists of 9 poems and 1 short story, spanning several different series.

Donors this month include: laffingkat, rix_scaedu, janetmiles, technoshaman, and zianuray. The donor perk-post is "Wordplay."

The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.

CFC Current Projects

2013-05-14T19:12:30Z

For those of you practicing cyberfunded creativity, what are your current projects? How can interested people get involved?

New Crowdfunding Projects: "The Tale of Perdita"

2013-05-13T17:55:31Z

Animation Scoop will be posting a new feature, "Crowd-Funday Sunday" by Jerry Beck, to highlight animated crowdfunding projects. "The Tale of Perdita" is the first. Cool.

Earthrise: First Book of a Space Opera Trilogy

2013-05-13T17:49:01Z

If you missed my crowdfunded serialization of Earthrise, my space opera adventure novel, you can catch it now on Kickstarter! We're funding to pay for the cover art and the print editions, and prizes include e-books, physical books and postcards. Check it out here!

Character Designer & Photographer

2013-05-11T14:01:58Z

Drammen Area, Norway | Computer Games

Current:: Character Designer & Photographer at Freelance
Past:: Junior Consultant at Talent Fishers, HR Consulting Researcher at Kyosay Global LLC, Studio Assistant at m97 Gallery, Business Support at Motion G...
Education:: Idefagskolen, Capital University of Economics and Business

Amyla's Latest Projects

2013-05-10T22:13:08Z

Hello, all!

So, since it's been awhile since I've posted any updates here, I thought I'd come share a few of the things I've been working on.

1. "Nebula." This is a crowdfunded digital painting, and seems to be coming along nicely. The landing page is HERE, where you can contribute to the project and see updates as they are made. US-based contributors will get complimentary prints!

2. Memoirs of a Tourist. "The story of one ancient and young, a far-traveler who walks in eternity, the realm of pure potential, the realm of infinity." This started out as an OC I created for role playing on Tumblr, but she took on a life of her own, so I decided to give her a place to tell her story. I've got a few entries up, little blurbs and drabbles and thoughts of the character, but I'm going to start the actual story tonight. I've plotted out the first full storyline already and am literally itching to get into writing mode. There will also be sketches, drawings, and paintings pertaining to the storyline, and the project is open to contributions to help support it. Here, have an excerpt from some of the existing writing:

Dreams, too many dreams that sear themselves across my consciousness, choking me, smothering me. I gag at the stench of burning flesh as smoke blinds me. A layered, maddened scream tears through my hearing, shattering into laughter that sounds like broken glass scraped over stone, and I turn my head, feeling a sticky wetness against my cheek, trying to see the source of that chilling scream, though my stomach coils in horror at the thought. All I can think of is Run. Run. Run. But I can’t— they won’t allow it, these youthful and ancient men with insanity in their eyes that stand around my prone form. I just want to wake up. I am drawn from my burned and broken body like a last breath. I see a stoppered bottle from blurred vision-- how can I see with no eyes? It is an ornate thing, this bottle, gilded, filigreed and encrusted with amethyst, something that might hold perfume. It is so much larger within. This will house you temporarily until an appropriate body is found, they say. You will forget, they say. But you will remember one day, and when you do, we will be waiting. There is a liminal echo of command, of threat to their words.

3. I am once again holding Discounted Character Portrait Days! I'm open for $10, greyscale, head-and-shoulder digitally drawn portraits until next Friday, 5/17. Check out the landing page for this project to request a portrait commission.

And, that's about it for now! I hope everyone is having a fine week.

--Amyla

One Card Draw

2013-05-10T19:27:14Z

I am holding my monthly one card draw to celebrate the May new moon from 1000-1600 PDT on 10 May 2013 ONLY.

Come on over and request a card.

Tips are not required, but definitely appreciated. Anyone who tips will be entered into a special drawing for a free 6-card reading with a personal spread of mine.

And feel free to pimp this far and wide...

Poetry Fishbowl Open

2013-05-07T18:09:00Z

My poetry fishbowl is open with a theme of "homonyms, puns, and wordplay." Come give me prompts or watch the fun!

Hunt Press: Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves - The Audiobook

2013-05-07T03:20:21Z

Hey folks!

So, it's been crazypants over here, because I'm in the middle of moving house (Moving Day is in five days), but wanted to let you know about this absolutely amazing freaking thing that dropped in our laps over at Hunt Press.

Back in December, Maggie Schein, the author of Lost Cantos, was made the kind of offer that most authors dream of, and she brought it to me and the Press, hoping we could bring it to life. Not one, not two, but *four* award-winning artists (three of them Grammy winners) are interested in helping get her book narrated and professionally produced as an audiobook. One of those artists is Grammy award-winner, singer/songwriter, and author, Janis Ian (author of: Society’s Child: My Autobiography, which just won her a second Grammy out of nine nominations, songwriter of: “At Seventeen,” “Jesse,” and “When Angels Cry,” you know, that Janis Ian). Already a beloved and strong promoter of Maggie’s book, she is our first choice for narrator and has said she would be honored to bring Maggie’s words to auditory life. The same production team that produced Janis' audiobook, Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir of Skyboat Media (combined they are a powerhouse of authorial, production, and brilliant narrative talent with such credits as the audiobook version of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, along with 3,350 other audiobooks, you know, that Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir), would also like to participate.

And as if that wasn’t fabulous enough, Pat Conroy (author of: The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides, you know, that Pat Conroy) has already agreed to narrate the foreword that he wrote for the book.

To say that I walked around in a daze when Maggie told me all of this, is an understatement of the first water.

But there’s a catch.

To do an audiobook of this caliber, with this sort of talent and the production staff that is involved requires a budget that is far beyond the grasp of pretty much any small press, let alone us.

But you know what I’m going to say now, don’t you? There’s this thing called crowdfunding and the glory and wonder that is all of you.

Please check it out: http://igg.me/at/lost-cantos/x/12262

It's a giant budget for a small press like us of $20,000. But I know with your help, we can bring an amazing audiobook into the world and make small press history.

Sea Monster Month at Torn World, a personal Sea Monster Card project, and Sketch Fest!

2013-05-06T16:00:05Z

Over at Torn World, May is Sea Monster Month! Stay tuned this whole month for updates about our monstrous ocean denizens. Articles, fiction, poetry, artwork and more... it's a month sure to delight the nautical naturalist.

I am launching a personal project in conjunction with this event - Sea Monster Art Cards! I am committed to completing 20 cards, and supporters may bump that up higher. Collect prints, or originals, or commission your own monster card! Win prizes! http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1373367.html

And last, but not least, this weekend is Sketch Fest #37! It starts Friday at noon (Alaska time) and runs 48 hours to Sunday at noon. Join us with prompts and sketch to your muse's contentment in any media. You may sell your Sketch Fest sketches, or originals you finish later, through the site. http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/

Advertising for my character designer pal!

2013-05-05T19:04:05Z

Hey everyone! A friend of mine is having their rent raised--and they're living on the edge already. They're a character designer and are putting their skills up for sale, and as their resident loudmouth friend, I'm here to advertise for them! They do cool stuff with lighting and color, and their prices are reasonable, ranging from roughly $20 on up; check them out!

Battle Bacon! We need your Likes and Advice!

2013-05-03T21:07:04Z

Hello Crowd Funding Fans!

My husband has recently decided to take a leap of faith and get his card game, Battle Bacon, developed and on the market. We just added a Facebook and we hope to get some kind of funding site up very soon.

We are trying to get all the likes we can over at https://www.facebook.com/BattleBaconGames. So if you feel compelled, please take a moment and show some love. If you enjoy geeky strategy game with kooky characters, expansion packs, and that is family friendly...you will like this! Trust me, I've played and it is really fun!

Also, I wanted some advice...We are strongly considering Kickstarter to begin funding, but I am also wondering if you guys would recommend a site like indigogo or the like over Kickstarter and what your general experiences were.

MUCH APPRECIATED <3.

Help Needed

2013-05-03T09:39:20Z

This isn't something I ever thought I'd have to do, but I find myself in a position where I need to desperately ask the crowdfunding community for help. Due to some medical issues it's looking more and more like James is going to have to take some time off work. As he's only been with his current job for just over a year he'll only get a weeks worth of their sick pay and Statutory Sick Pay isn't even going to cover our rent. So what I need is some money desperately in order to help cover the rent, buy groceries, and get James fuel so he can go back to work when he's feeling better.

At the moment we don't know what's wrong. It could be something simple to fix, but he's still going to need to take time off. He's had this problem for just over a month now, and the first attempt at sorting the problem with antibiotics didn't work, but that hasn't stopped him from going to work. Unfortunately it does seem like his stubborness may have affected him, because it seems like the pain he's suffering from is getting worse. It's possible, depending on what is actually wrong, that he might need surgery and if he does it seems like, due to where it will be, that he's going to be off work for a while if it does come to that.

If you have some money you can stick in my tip jar at kajoneswriting.co.uk it really would help a lot. My aim is to cover half the rent, which is £180, and be able to buy food for a month, which is around £70, for at least the next couple of months, so I'll update my income tracker to show what I need. At the moment anything will help, even if it's just signal boosting my plea for help.

Every donator will, of course, receive their perk and I have site perks that will equal more published words at my site. There are all sorts of things you can get, from character adoptions to the newly created story bundles, as I love experimenting with crowdfunding, so check it out and it's always possible to send me an email (k_a_jones at live.co.uk) if you need more information.

May Crowdfunding Projects

2013-05-01T19:17:36Z

What are your crowdfunding projects for this month?

The Crowdfunding Creative Jam will run Saturday, May 18-Sunday, May 19 with a theme of "magic."

CFC Service Call: What do you need?

2013-05-01T18:48:45Z

This community has a lot of talented members. If there's a service you need -- content submitted, fiction illustrated, writing edited, websites designed, etc. -- here's a chance to speak up. Maybe someone else in the community will have that skill. What do you need?

Cyberfunded Creativity News?

2013-04-30T18:15:21Z

What news have you heard recently about cyberfunded creativity? Articles, links, practitioners, etc. are all welcome.

crowdfunding @ 2013-04-30T22:11:00

2013-04-30T14:05:40Z

Patrick,
What other innovations would you like to see developed within the crowdfunding sector? You have spoken about Kickstarter working with civic organisations, but isn't "crowd" funding about harnessing lots of smaller bodies to make a bigger difference?
Crowdcube are making a massive difference in the investment world for smaller companies trying to raise finance through equity crowdfunding, spacehive are concentrating on community projects. Is there a space for collaborative sharing combined with crowdfunding? Recently Banktothefuture released a statement promising to combine all the elements of peer to peer lending, funding, debt finance and equity investment. How can you see it all tying together?

CROWDFUNDED DIGITAL PAINTING: "NEBULA"

2013-04-29T16:27:25Z

Okay, after some input from here and on my own blog, I've decided to work on this project:

The concept of this one is that she will be formed of a nebula, more solid on top, fading to color and blazing stars beneath.

This is going to be a crowdfunded digital painting, in which everyone contributes a small amount towards a whole. Like a collective commission. Over here is the "landing page" for the piece; it will show updates as they're made.

If you contribute $3 or more to the piece, you will receive a full-sized, high-res download and a photo print from Zazzle when it's complete-- print sizes will vary according to the amount contributed. It will be completed regardless of funding, but I'll only post a small, watermarked image publicly unless it's fully funded. If it's fully funded, I'll post the full sized, high resolution version online that will be free to download. Prints will be for sale either way.

The funding goal for this painting is $200 by May 20. You can use the Paypal button on the bottom of the landing page to contribute. If you contribute and want a print, be sure to send me your address in a private message (I will never share your personal information).

crowdfunding @ 2013-04-27T11:05:00

2013-04-27T16:05:09Z

Hi, all! I haven't returned really to specific crowdfunding projects yet, but I've been busy painting away. This is my latest-- "Ocean Lord." I started working on him sometime last year, I think it was, finished the background and then shelved it for a bit because the figure wasn't quite working for me. He grabbed my attention again a few days ago, though, and so I jumped in, reworked the figure, and completed it yesterday. I have prints of this for sale.

So, while I'm here, and focusing on digital paintings that depict different sorts of Fae, elemental beings, and other magickal creatures, I thought I'd post a few sketches and works in progress that I've accumulated over a period of time. Some of these were from my "Free Sketch Days" that I used to hold over at my shadows_gallery blog; others are just ideas I've had and projects I've started over time. I want to do my next painting as a crowdfunded piece, so your input is important to me! Which one do you guys think I should focus on next?

I'll post again later with further details when I decide (based on your input) which one to pursue.

Thanks!

New Crowdfunding Project: Goal-Fish

2013-04-22T00:27:24Z

Goal-Fish is a new site offering a customizable to-do list by . It has categories, such as chores and fun, with constraints (day/night, indoor/outdoor, current pain level, cost of supplies, etc.) for available tasks. Once you ask it for a task, it presents a simple description, and you can open detailed instructions if you wish. Learn more here.

The site is optimized for people with assorted physical or mental limitations, so it has a high accessibility rating, but anyone can use it. If you have trouble with choice-paralysis or time management, Goal-Fish looks like a more effective solution than some of the simple to-do prompters already extant. So if you have friends with those kinds of challenges, pass the word.

This is a crowdfunded project. Your donations keep the site going. It's a distraction-free zone with no ads, so donations are the only income. Anyone can use the site free, and access the generic features without an account. Registering is free and lets you add some of your own categories and tasks, so for instance, you could set up art or writing tasks. Donations allow you to add even more categories and tasks.

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

2013-04-20T06:13:32Z

Welcome to the seventeenth Crowdfunding Creative Jam! This session will run Saturday, April 20-Sunday, April 21. The theme is "conflict." (Visit the Creative Jam over on Dreamwidth.)

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

Everyone is eligible to post prompts, which may be words or phrases, titles, images, etc. Prompters may request a specific creator, but everyone else may still use that prompt if they wish. Prompts may specify a particular character/world/etc. but creators may use the prompt for something else anyway and post the results. Prompters are still encouraged to post mostly prompts that anyone could use anywhere, as this maximizes the chance of having creators make something based on your prompt. Please title your comment "Prompt" or "Prompts" when providing inspiration so these are easy to find.

Prompt responses may also be treated as prompts and used for further inspiration. For example, a prompt may lead to a sketch which leads to a story, and so on. This kind of cascading inspiration is one of the most fun things about a collective jam session.

Everyone is eligible to use prompts, and everyone who wants to use a given prompt may do so, for maximum flexibility of creator choice in inspiration. You do not have to post a "Claim" reply when you decide to use a prompt, but this does help indicate what is going on so that other prompters can spread out their choice of prompts if they wish.

Creators are encouraged, but not required, to post at least one item free. Likewise, sharing a private copy of material with the prompter is encouraged but not required. Creative material resulting from prompts should be indicated in a reply to the prompt, with a link to the full content elsewhere on the creator's site (if desired); a brief excerpt and/or description of the material may be included in the reply (if desired). It helps to title your comment "Prompt Filled" or something like that so these are easy to identify. There is no time limit on responding to prompts. However, creators are encouraged to post replies sooner rather than later, as the attention of prompters will be highest during and shortly after the session.

Some items created from prompts may become available for sponsorship. Some creators may offer perks for donations, linkbacks, or other activity relating to this project. Check creator comments and links for their respective offerings.

Prompters, creators, and bystanders are expected to behave in a responsible and civil manner. If the moderators have to drag someone out of the sandbox for improper behavior, we will not be amused. Please respect other people's territory and intellectual property rights, and only play with someone else's characters/setting/etc. if you have permission. (Fanfic/fanart freebies are okay.) If you want to invite folks to play with something of yours, title the comment something like "Open Playground" so it's easy to spot. This can be a good way to attract new people to a shared world or open-source project, or just have some good non-canon fun.

Boost the signal! The more people who participate, the more fun this will be. Hopefully we'll see activity from a lot of folks who regularly mention their projects in this community, but new people are always welcome. You can link to this session post or to individual items created from prompts, whatever you think is awesome enough to recommend to your friends.

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

2013-04-16T17:48:45Z

Today I'm holding a bonus fishbowl featuring the series Path of the Paladins. Please drop by to give me prompts or just watch the fun.