New SVS website questions

[AustinShurtliff]

@LauraA Right now, the office hours are scheduled to take place on a rotating schedule, at either 10 am or 7 pm Pacific Time each Monday. The other weekly events will be as follows:

• Week 1: Podcast livestream at 1 pm on Thursday
• Week 2: Pro Demo or other live event at 7 pm on Tuesday
• Week 3: How to Fix Your Art livestream at 1 pm on Thursday
• Week 4: Hot Seat livestream at 7 pm on Tuesday

You can also submit questions for office hours before and watch the recording afterward if you can’t make it live. All live events will be available to rewatch for a few weeks, and Pro Demos will be saved in their own space in the community to rewatch anytime.

[LauraA]

@AustinShurtliff said in New SVS website questions:

Week 1: Podcast livestream at 1 pm on Thursday
Week 2: Pro Demo or other live event at 7 pm on Tuesday
Week 3: How to Fix Your Art livestream at 1 pm on Thursday
Week 4: Hot Seat livestream at 7 pm on Tuesday

Thanks for the quick reply, Austin. Honestly, those hours aren't going to work out very well for me. Even the 10am/7 pm one comes right on the tail of a class I have every Monday, and then I'm responsible for the family dinner. I mean, yes, there's the rewatch, but the live aspect is a big part of the appeal. I know, it's hard to find a happy medium between CA and continental Europe!

[LauraA]

@Lee-White, I'm tagging you because you know my work.

I watched the Q & A session on playback today and I have been thinking really hard about this. It does look really great! Here's the deal:

I have been an SVSer since 2017. By now I mostly come up with my own ideas and mostly work on my own projects. I feel like I’ve been on the edge of pro for a couple of years now. I am a member of two high-level critique groups, one illo/writing and one writing only. I have been in talks with agents, but so far no contract. I am also waiting on a contract for a book from a small publisher. I did CBPro and the portfolio review, and have gotten some individual mentoring. But I would love more, lots more, mentor-y pushing and sharp feedback. The hot seat sounds like just the thing! So the studio option appeals to me.

Here’s my quandary. I’m in Europe, and every one of those regular live events is going to require some pretty major fanagling to be present for. Some, like the hot seat, are during the wee hours. Sure, I can watch the video playback, but isn’t live participation the point?

Curriculum-wise, I have watched most of the basic courses multiple times. I have done the work for the more advanced ones. My basic drawing skills are good (I used to be a professional oil portraitist). I’ve been pushing character design for the past two months, trying to work on consistency. I know something about the industry. My gestures, storytelling and ideation could still use work, but it's more a matter of feedback and accountability than intellectual knowledge. And mostly, I’m still slow, despite increased emphasis on ideation. As as result, my social media presence suffers. So I am super frustrated right now.

Given my needs and what is offered, is the studio level a good fit? (Sadly, the $800 wouldn’t be a tax write off for me even if I got work.) Could I use the platform to get feedback on my own projects rather than the coursework? (For the most part--but I will use the evaluation to target what coursework I still need.) I know enough about how competitive kidlit is to realize that being competent isn't enough. I need someone to push me to do truly creative work. That and someone to force me send out postcards!

Thanks for any feedback! It's a lot to pay if it's not a good fit, so I want to make sure.

P.S. If I sign up for the studio version for one year, and can’t participate in enough of what I need to keep going, may I go back to my present subscription price?

[Lee White]

@LauraA All great questions laura. I'll try my best to answer. One thing we really pride ourselves on is not trying to oversell something that might not be right. If our program isn't the right fit, then I really want you to go find something that is right for you.

I would obviously recommend the higher tier for you since you seem to fit that mold. We will be alternating the times for zooms and demos so we can accommodate different times zones. Typically that has been at 10am and 7 pm (PST). We will be doing weekly zooms and of course everything is recorded as you mentioned. You can ask for weekly feedback and even get feedback within 24 hours in that tier on an individual piece. I can't guarantee it will be me that answers it each time, but i'm going to really make an effort to be in there daily.

So ultimately, that is what we have to offer. Is it a perfect fit, I dunno! lol. I wish I had a crystal ball and could tell you if it is. I can say that I don't know of anything better than this right now unless you spend a fortune on a custom college level program and even then it might not fit. My masters degree was sort of lame and it cost me almost $40 grand. So, my recommendation is spend the $400 for a 6 month test for that tier. If it doesn't work, you wont be out that much and I can guarantee the stuff going on in there is worth $400 for that much time. I mean my internet subscription is more than that (if broken down monthly). Once you sign up, you are in that tier for the minimum 6 month time frame as I don't think you can switch from a high tier to a lower one during the time frame you sign up for. I'm still learning how that works though so let me double check that

[BetsyElam]

I have the annual SVS Subscription, plus I bought CBP and SPP. Will I still have access to my CBP and SPP for a lifetime as promised? Or do I only have access if I maintain a SVS subscription? I'm happy to have the current subscription model for where I am now. Is that the one that is grandfathered into the mid grade model that costs new students $300? Also, I certainly hope you keep the Jim Madsen video. I've watched it more than once. Even though it is outdated in some ways, it is timeless in terms of transferring painting skills to digital.

[LauraA]

@Lee-White Thanks for the detailed reply. Obviously you don't have a crystal ball, although you do have a very nice deck of tarot cards!

What I meant was that, if I upgraded to the studio level and the membership expired, could I go back to the previous subscription price I had, or does upgrading interrupt that?

[Lee White]

@LauraA Once a term is up, you can switch to any other tier you like. : )

[LauraA]

@BetsyElam That was really my question about downgrading, too. Not, is it possible to do so, but if I do, will I be able to go back to the previous price, or will I have to change to the new price for my current, mid-tier level? That is, once you upgrade to studio, does that reset your middle tier price to the new annual one and jettison the old monthly one I am currently paying? Because as an OV, I’m pretty well grandfathered in and that’s one reason I’ve stayed subscribed even just to go back and watch a course now and then.

I hope that is super clear now.

I gather that people who subscribe at the middle level will keep paying their current price, but I’m not anyone official, so I can’t say for sure.

[BetsyElam]

@LauraA @Lee-White, Yes. I see that my question is similar. But to be able to see the courses we've already bought seems like a must, no matter what teir we're at. I've paid the money for CBP and SPP and HTFYA as stand alone classes. I would hate to lose access if I feel I'm not quite ready to invest at the top tier level. What should I do to keep the classes I've already bought?

[evka8D]

@LauraA I was wondering the same thing.

[BetsyElam]

@LauraA @Lee-White Thanks for your reply, Laura. I definitely don't want to lose the previously stand alone courses I've already paid for in full such as CBP and SPP and HTFYA. Does anyone know the answer to that?

[Kim Rosenlof]

@LauraA @evka8D I am also a long time subscriber, early 2018, and had the same question. I have been emailing SVS about it. I asked if I signed up for the Studio Level for a year or two and then needed to stop, if I could go back to the Desk Level at the old pricing that I have, and the email said, "The grandfather rate will be lost when subscribers change their subscription regardless of which tier." I am sure it would be hard to keep track of who is doing what and how much subscribers used to pay, so I get it. I want to move to the Studio Level, but I would hate to lose the rate I am paying now if I had to stop the Studio Level down the road. Will @will-terry-art and Jake @Jake-Parker also mentioned prorating the Studio Level for long time subscribers on the Q&A Live video for HTFYA, but when I asked about this, I found out I would pay the $450 or $800 plus the 20% off discount they mentioned for the last How to fix your art session. I assumed it would be different if you were subscribing for so long, but I really have no clue what was meant by that. $800 is still a good deal even without the 20% discount, but I am still on the fence about it because I hate to lose the old pricing if I need to go back to Desk Level. I hope that answered your question.

[Adam Thornton 0]

@Kim-Rosenlof Thanks for explaining that, Kim. Really useful.
It does seem that those of us who have been subscribers for a few years are nervous about losing our great annual price if we decided to downgrade from the Studio membership So grateful for the clarification.
It's been very generous of them to freeze the price for us. I'll probably hang in at the Desk level for a bit and let it all sink in. Although I do love the Studio stuff!

[Lee White]

@Adam-Thornton-0, @BetsyElam @LauraA @Kim-Rosenlof All great questions. We are really focusing on keeping what you guys already have. Of course, it's really difficult due to how hard it is to control that for so many people and we are still learning the new system details.

To answer a few questions for sure - If you bought anything outright, such as a pro level course or an individual class, you will still have access to that information on the new site.

for current subscribers moving up in the tiers As long as you don't have a gap in subscription, we can definitely get you back into the mid tier for your current pricing as long as there is no gap in membership. You just may need to let me or our admin know that you are doing that so we can move you.

[AthenaBeana]

Has anyone gotten into the new SVS forum?
I've been trying to log in with the link they sent in the email (https://community.svslearn.com). But it keeps saying my email address is invalid, even though it's the same one I use to log into SVS.
Should I assume that my account has not been transferred over yet?

[Lee White]

@AthenaBeana we are still in process so hang tight. The email for getting in is going out in about an hour...

[AthenaBeana]

@Lee-White Thanks!
It's so soon!!! I'm very excited!

[Adam Thornton 0]

@Lee-White Thanks very much for clarifying that Lee. Wonderful news, and very kind of you.
Hope the transition is going well. Sounds like you're all super busy with it. Looking forward to seeing the new Desk set-up.
Best wishes from the UK!

[Adam Thornton 0]

@AthenaBeana Hi Athena, I've not even received the email yet, so guessing that they're in the process of rolling it all out now.

[Lee White]

@Adam-Thornton-0 yep! it's going out right now