I would say let people pick if they want to do one. Only choose at random if they want to do another one but don't know (or care) which one they would get.

Just my two copper pieces.

I personally love ALL of the orcs on the list (super excited to get started after work!)

I personally wouldn't mind doing a random orc if i finish my first two, but having a choice of whom i could finish up would be a nice bonus.

If this is about me asking, it was because I forgot they were random.

After checking what you said on the rules,

I think that the idea of keeping them random in a way that makes sure they are even (that is, to avoid having 30 versions of one drawing and only 3 of another) sounds fair.
Also, it would it that if someone cannot finish their original two, increase the chances of others covering up those spots.

It wasn't just you, which is why I brought it up. I do think that people who go out of their way to do extra work ought to have some kind of a bonus. Hmm.

I think having the option to choose would be cool. I can't imagine everyone will opt in on doing more than the assigned 2. You could limit them to only be able to choose a maximum of 1. It might be less work on your end if you let people choose. That randomization thing you did seemed like a lot of work lol

Well it's really cool if the person already finished two pics and decides to do another one.
And if they didn't get the one they really wanted it could be a nice reward for them to just get it.
That way there will be even more awesome orc pics ^3^ in the gallery later.

I think the person should be able to decide if they want to get another random one or just pick one by themselves.

I think that would be fair.
Everyone should get painted at least twice, and not everyone's going to do more than the initial two anyway.

Why not let people choose but put a cap on how many times a piece can be covered? First come first serve. Cap of 4 or 5.

Tuskbuddies, I presume, is meant to spread the love around. So while some people doing extra is awesome itself, maybe have a 'suggested' pool to include those who might be less popular, or have someone who's looking like or already have flaked artist for the colouring round?

well as of right now I have no submissions beyond anybody's initial 2, and I won't know if people are flaking until it's too late to do anything about it. Maybe we could do them 2 at a time? Like.. one random and one chosen?

example,
1st step(high level) - at random.
2st step(extra higher level) - choosable.

Personally I prefer to work on art that has been given to me randomly. I assume that part of the fun in this project, is the challenge of working on a piece of art that you had no hand in creating, as well as getting it all done within the allotted timeframe. Additionally, trying to live up to the expectations of artists you admire, or creating a cohesive look from an illustrative style you're unfamiliar with can also be a challenge. Either way this process can help a person grow creatively as an artist. If I had the opportunity to choose and work on any participants illustration that I wanted. I might be tempted to pick a piece of art that I was familiar with. Or something that I could easily reimagine and work on. Ultimately all of the artwork that people have submitted for the Tuskbuddy exchange are publicly available. Its all online and easily accessible. So who's is to say a person can't simply pick what they want to work on, or continue to work on Tuskbuddy illustrations long after after October 24th. Or even after Orctober entirely. It really doesn't matter. But for the challenge of getting it all done between the 11th and 24th. Im going to stick with a random selection method.

This is perfectly acceptable. I am thinking at this point along the lines of the note above yours. The first extra will be assigned, and thereafter it will be a free-for-all. However, if you want to go the extra mile and you STILL want me to assign randomly, I will do that.