There are a lot of reasons why we wanted something different from the traditional graphics site.

First of all, we were tired of asking questions that no one answered. We talked to a lot of people who were rather discouraged after trying to learn and get involved in other graphics sites. A lot of sites catered to the advanced artist, and encouraged a separation between the beginner and the master. Pages and pages of questions went unanswered in the support forums. Advanced talked only to advanced, and beginners or new members felt left out.

Second, we found that many of the levels people were sorted in were rather subjective, and often a matter of taste and not talent. No one but the artists who already considered themselves advanced really believed they could move up, and over time it became apparent that it wasn't just a matter of 'working hard'; in some ways it was more how to work the system. Some artists sorted into higher levels only used 1 or 2 techniques over and over again, while those sorted into 'beginner' levels were trying all sorts of different things, perhaps with varying levels of success but creating more experience. Plus, not everyone can afford expensive software like Photoshop, and were not just inexperienced, but limited technically with what they could do.

Also, tutorials were often only specific about how to make an exact graphic, and didn't explain why you did one of the steps. This leaves people unable to reproduce the technique on a different kind of image, and unsure about what effect each layer was creating. We feel knowing the general 'why' is more important than knowing the specific 'how'.

Last, we have been very disappointed in the past with sites where people were just plain mean, and criticized everyone else's graphics without trying to help the person, and with the admins who let them do this.