A notice for FD-scale drawings during current Uploading

Everybody with an interest in FD-scale drawings, read this

Since Gollevainen has closed the official upload thread, I am preparing to send the .zip file for FD-scale drawing submissions no later than 48 hours from the time stamp of this post. I also reserve the right to send the file and close submissions at any time earlier than that, by personal arbitrary decision, without notice. All I have left to do is to actually compress the files and send them, but before I do that I want a final opportunity to let anybody submit any drawings they have ready at this time.

On that note, there are a few specific points I want to address, to both people in general and to specific members:

Novice, please finish this drawing by the new deadline I have established in the first paragraph:

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I hate to see this drawing miss out just because it lacks a propeller, but I will not include it into the .zip file without one. Gollevainen has entrusted me to collect all complete and Shipbucket-style conforming drawings, and I do not seek to disappoint him. Also, the sooner you can have it posted, the better. I don't want to disappoint Gollevainen with a tardy file submission, either. That said, I do thank you for your high-quality contributions.

AVALMA, I cannot guarantee that your FD-scale ship drawings will be uploaded, especially the larger ones - Gollevainen has made it clear that he wants the priority of Shipbucket to remain the Shipbucket-scale drawings as well as his belief that drawings that greatly exceed the canvas size appropriate for FD-scale are not appropriate for drawing in that scale. That said, I personally hope that they make it anyway, and so I have included them in the .zip file as well and I will leave it up to Gollevainen's own discretion as to whether or not to include them. However, I just want to let you know that there is a possibility that these drawings will be deemed not suitable for the FD-scale database on Shipbucket. I also thank you for your high-quality contributions, which as is widely known, are many.

Demon Lord Razgriz, Nighthunter, and others who have worked on FD-scale weapons: I unfortunately cannot include the FD-scale weapons at this time as they are not properly organized, but the drawings you have made are excellent no less, so I encourage you to continue your work and expect a large (and organized) selection for next time. These weapons sheets would be very useful, and I'm sure many people agree. Also, if you are able to organize them in time for the deadline as detailed in the first paragraph of this post, I will include them. I also thank you for your high-quality contributions as well, and I outright expect more of the same next time.

On a slightly related note, some of the larger cruise missiles will be included in the .zip file, as these have been submitted under the standard template as aircraft (and are large enough to justify such). Larger weapons systems such as cruise missiles should be submitted as normal FD-scale drawings but I personally won't object to their inclusion in a larger weapons sheet as well, and I imagine Gollevainen agreeing.

To Glorfindel especially, but to everyone in general as well: In the future, all FD-scale drawings submitted for database upload must follow this template, no exceptions:

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The only thing you are allowed to change is the canvas size to accommodate any oversized drawings, but you are highly encouraged not to deviate from that canvas size. Please follow the instructions as listed by WhyMe, as labeled on the template.

I mention you, Glorfindel, specifically, because you are the worst "offender" when it comes to not adhering to the canvas conventions. I have had to correct every single drawing you have submitted, but I will not be doing this in the future. If you are not able to adhere to this template, your drawings will not be accepted for submission in the future - simple as that. That goes for everyone; Gollevainen himself would be the only person excepted, and he does not deviate from the template.

Adherence to the template is important in order to maintain continuity, quality and, yes, more than a certain degree of professionalism all across the Shipbucket database. I am mindful of recent comments Colosseum has made regarding some of the less than positive attitudes that prevail on this website (and I admit that I myself have perpetuated a few), but that does not take away from the fact that quality and consistency are important factors regarding the Shipbucket database, and without them, the database looses much of its relevancy and point. Like it or not, Shipbucket - even "Lego Shipbucket" - is a frequently used and referenced database for military enthusiasts, ship enthusiasts, and various people who re-purpose portions or whole drawings for other uses, and like it or not, that comes with a certain professional expectation. We may all be amateur and hobbyist drawers without any profit whatsoever in sight, but that does not mean high expectations for database submissions are waved. That said, I thank Glorfindel not only for the high quality of the drawings (which indeed, are of high quality), regardless of the quality of the templates themselves, but also for a plethora of drawings of more obscure vehicles that nonetheless serve an extremely important part of a typical military and in particular the Russian military.

Another general address: from this point on, only one nation per template will be allowed. Spamming a single template with various schemes/liveries from multiple nations will no longer be accepted into the database. If you make multiple schemes/liveries representing multiple nations, please make separate templates for the appropriate national database. This is to prevent a growing inconvenience and frankly outright problem in the database as it stands, with planes and armored vehicles spread out everywhere with little logical organization and making them very hard to find - the ultimate result being a Netherlands Air Force F-16 all by itself being uploaded into the database for the United States! This is also why you do your research and treat it with the same care you would when making the drawing itself. If you are making a drawing of a vehicle in the scheme of a national military other than that vehicle's nation of origin, but you still want that vehicle to be uploaded into the database for its nation of origin, then make a scheme for that appropriate military - I don't want to see repeats of what I just described anymore. I want to see this upload session be the last time multiple national schemes/liveries are included on the same template, and the only reason why I didn't totally rectify that was due to time constraints (though vehicles under service of nations other than the original nation of manufacture have for the most part been split off onto their own template).

Multiple schemes/liveries or vehicle variations for the same national military will still be permitted on one template and in fact are still highly encouraged, but you will also be encouraged from now on to spread your drawings across multiple templates if things get too crowded, rather than expanding the same template. For the most part, this has already been adhered to, but the few examples that weren't I have had to leave alone largely due, once again, to time constraints, but I have still rectified as much as I felt would still be an acceptable level to Gollevainen.

One final general point: many of you will likely see the drawings you have submitted to the database having been modified from the form that they were initially submitted in. For the most part, these changes were limited to template changes in order to adhere to a more proper and consistent template standard, or had template submissions split off into multiple templates - basically, what I already described throughout this post. A few redundant entries have also been deleted, with the drawing being deemed superior (as I will admit, by my own arbitrary decision) being recommended for inclusion or retention into the database (or to replace a current drawing in the database, as it were). In a few cases I have had to modify the drawing itself in order to better conform to the expectant quality of Shipbucket - specifically, adding shadows/shade lines and other such details. Please keep in mind that the standards established for Shipbucket-scale drawings apply to FD-scale drawings to be submitted to the Shipbucket database. The only drawings excepted are those with no intention to be uploaded to the Shipbucket database - you will be free to share these as much as you'd like on the appropriate forum, but do not expect these to get uploaded into the official database!

If I am given this task in the future, I will continue to correct for or ensure consistency in certain drawings that I believe are deserving for database inclusion, but I will restrict myself far more in terms of the lengths I am willing to go. It is the responsibility of the submitting drawer to ensure that the drawing properly conforms to established Shipbucket conventions.

This is all I have to say on FD-scale submissions prior to final preparations in getting that .zip file sent to Gollevainen. Please read over these considerations carefully for future reference. In addition to those already thanked, I thank all others who have contributed submissions, and I encourage people to keep drawing and to maintain the high quality that they have crafted up to this point.

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