hi everyone. so i'm feeling pretty nostalgic right now.. so, a LONG time ago (as in, a good 5-6, maybe 7-ish years ago... jeez, am i really that old??) I used to draw and post art on these things called oekakis. for those who have no idea what i'm talking about, an oekaki is probably best described as a public art drawing board where you could draw, for free, in an art program built into the website and it was immediately uploaded to the art forum where others could comment/also post their own sketches, drawings, etc. a lot of artists also re-uploaded their art to Deviantart, creating this community of artists that connected with each other through different oekakis and DA. i tried doing a search online to see if anyone has ever written an article or discussed the whole culture and community of oekakis, but haven't found much. they were really popular between the years 2008-2012 (even earlier, probably, my memory is hazy).

Does anyone else remember these/used to draw on them? Which oekakis were you guys members of? Has anyone tried to draw on them? Why do you think the whole oekaki community just kind of died?

Oh man, I remember oekakis! I was too late to the party when I discovered them (maybe around 7 years ago, when most oekakis were either only archival or dying,) and I thought someone would have wrote about them by now. I vaguely remember Oekaki Poteto. I'd say they peaked some time around 2003-2006. I'm not sure if Tegaki E can be classified as an oekaki, but I used to have an account on the original one. Here are some things I did there (back in 2011):

What I did get to participate in while it was still bustling with activity, however, was iScribble. It's more like a chatroom with a whiteboard, than a proper oekaki. I was sad to see that there were only 39 users online when I checked it today.

Here's a tumblr post showcasing some art on an iScribble room I used to frequent. I was really into Homestuck at the time.

i never discovered iScribble or Tegaki E!! subeta had one for awhile there too. some big names i remember from around that time were SRO, SSRO, NAO, and some other one but i forget what it's called?? starts with an S?? and how did you come to discover them? i feel like most people discovered either thru neo or deviantart

iscribble was such a good time i think i found that one through subeta

i believe way back in the day there was an official subeta oekaki as well

I was thinking about Oekaki just the other day.

If you find a good one that's still running can someone ping me?

Definitely though deviantART for me, as I was very active there from 2008 to 2010. :)

I finally remembered my iScribble password, and did this last Tuesday. :o

i miss oekaki's! my first was subeta's oekaki actually.. then SR wish they never died out :<

Ahh, oekakis were so fun -- it was a great way to just relax and be silly with my friends. I don't remember the specific oekaki I used, but I'd always visit Suta-Ratio and be jealous of the talent and fun going on! Didn't have a tablet back then.

I used to be a member of SRo, SRAo (and had been there since they both were created and died :9 I used to be Kodisku if you remember me haha), SSo... I think I tried joining NAo at one point. I remember there was a website that uhhh had you host your own oekaki? Made a bunch of those. Joined a bunch of 'em but SRo/SRAo was the best until it wasn't. There used to be a huge special community oekaki too but i can't remember its name. Never joined that one... too complicated.

I wish I could still oekaki. T ^ T macs hate oekaki though bc it runs on java... urgh.

omg I seriously came to this forum to see if anyone was mentioning this.. I'm not exactly sure if oekaki is what I am remembering... But it's close to what you described.. And I remember that you could sometimes have like a continuous drawing, where people take turns and it becomes like a chain... does that sound familiar???

I think you guys would like paintberri. It's still in beta but it's similar enough to an oekaki/tegaki to feel nostalgic.

Subeta's Oekaki...I vaguely remember it but then again, that was yeeaaaars ago.

Wow, I remember subeta's oekaki! I was just remembering setting up a oekaki for my friends neo guild x) I think they aren't the most secure of things though, which is maybe why they got rid of it in the end?

I dug up my old hard drive, and found of couple of very old oekaki images on it x)

I used to go to oekakis a bit. I participated a little but unfortunately never had a drawing tablet. I'm finally going to get one soon. I'm good at drawing on paper and have messed around with digital art a lot with GIMP and whatnot but there's only so much you can do with a mouse!

I always felt out of place on Oekakis. My art style never really had traction. Same with Deviantart. My work didn't match the cultures there.

Be a trendsetter instead of a trend follower then! :)

Be a trendsetter instead of a trend follower then! :)

That's what I'm trying to say. Oekakis were circle jerks for anime fans. My art is different and didn't fit in. haha

I think there are many styles on DeviantArt other than what's most popular. And I don't believe in trying to "fit in" if I do something that isn't what's most popular. I get what you were saying but I hope you didn't let having an art style that's not what's hyped up the most get you down much.

biiiitch the sutaro oekaki that you used to be able to access thru subeta...fond memories of drawing with a trackpad every day when i got home from school :'-)