Critiques: an art unto themselves.
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posted02/10/2004 01:47 AM (UTC)by
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The_Red_Dragon
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-Peace out, cubscout.

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04/26/2003 05:48 AM (UTC)
Often, I’ve seen people submit something that they have put a lot of work into and feel quite good about, and then get ripped apart. That in turn starts a war of flaming that results in getting way off topic and the loss of what was initially important: giving one’s opinion on work. As you may or may not know, I’m currently attending school for art and I’m hoping to transfer soon to either RISD or MassArt. Anyway, being that it is my second year (fourth semester) of art classes, I have become accustomed to and enjoy the critiquing process. For this reason, I thought I would come up with a short list of pointers for anyone who is unfamiliar with the critiquing process.

First, be honest. Don’t hold back your opinions even if it may not be what the artist wants to hear. The only way a person will grow artistically is if they know where they need to improve.

Example of what to say: “...the edited sprites look too thrown together and unnatural. Try working on them more so they look more coherent...”

Second, be specific. Do not use phrases like, “I hate it”, “it sucks” or “I love it”, “it’s cool”. If you dislike the work, try to articulate your feelings so it is clear what needs improvement. And by the same token, if you like the work, why? What makes it a good example of its style of art?

Example of what to say: “...in some areas, the perspective is off. Shao Kahn’s leg looks shorter as opposed to it receding. But you did job on the contour drawing. The lines are create the form perfectly and denote the placement of the lighting very well.”

Third, when you do explain a work’s shortcomings, try not to do so in an aggressive manner. The idea of a critique is not to make the artist feel badly about himself, but to help him understand and see aspects of his work he may not have seen. Often times people become quite attached to their work and as a result, cannot see anything wrong with it.

Example of what to say: “...you made a good attempt at lighting Scorpion’s face, but the direction is also, instead of light hitting certain locations, the whole face seems to be glowing. Try adding in some shadows once you have applied the light...

Fourth, a word to the artist: do not start out saying, “well, this isn’t very good, but...”. We as the viewers, do not need to know that you don’t like your own work. Allow me to pose this question: how are we supposed to appreciate your work when you don’t even like it?

And fifth (last too, I’m sure you’re all thankful it is finally over), attempt to remain open to different art styles. I’m not a fan of “chibi”, but I still try to look at them objectively.

Example of what not to say: “ok, I did this last night REALLY quickly. I don’t like it very much, but I was bored so I decided to submit it. Please don’t hate it!”

So, that is it. Thank you to anyone who read this and I hope it provided some insight and maybe will save someone from being flamed for making Sub-Zero’s head too big.
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MaxDam
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02/07/2004 01:50 PM (UTC)
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I so agree with you. I'd like to point out two statments that you mentioned;

The one about people who says that "It Sucks". It agravates me to read those kinds of comments, mainly by the ones who never submitted anything.
I'd prefer to hear something like "I dislike...Because,..."
By the way, I'd like to see some art of yours. Just don't worry about my reviews, you'll never read "it suck" from me. wink
The second one when you mentioned the "art submitted last night, please don't hate it" I think it is a poor excuse to not get honest critics.
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The_Red_Dragon
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-Peace out, cubscout.

02/07/2004 04:11 PM (UTC)
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You're right about excueses being made so people don't get bad reviews, but even in school I hear people constantly saying, "yea, I really don't like this", and it's just a bad way to start off a critique.

And I recently got a new scanner so hopefully I'll find some time to draw some MK related art.
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XcarnageX
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I Have Become as the Wastelands of Unending Nothingness. Now Shall the Night Things Fill Me with their Whisperings, and the Shadows Reveal their Wisdom.

02/08/2004 05:38 AM (UTC)
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Regarding your point on the artist saying they don't like their own pic, I think that depends on the situation. For example, the first picture I submitted to this site was a concept sketch of the Dragon King, and in the comments I said that I knew it wasn't technically a very good drawing, but I was more interested in opinions on the concept. Obviously, if an artist thinks their pic is bad, and say so just so people won't give negative reviews, they shouldn't post the pic. But it's different if they just want feedback on the concept, especially if they really aren't interested in becoming a good artist, but feel they have some good ideas.

Or am I just making excuses for making excuses?
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tabmok99
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For the most in-depth, in-detail, Mortal Kombat lore analysis vids, there's only one source:


https://www.youtube.com/tabmok99

02/08/2004 06:15 AM (UTC)
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You know who's good at this? TimsMK.

+ First he lists all the positives

- Followed by the negatives

Although occassionally he'll miss something, so I give him a score of 4 out of 5.
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MaxDam
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02/09/2004 04:50 PM (UTC)
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xcarnagex Wrote:
Regarding your point on the artist saying they don't like their own pic, I think that depends on the situation. For example, the first picture I submitted to this site was a concept sketch of the Dragon King, and in the comments I said that I knew it wasn't technically a very good drawing, but I was more interested in opinions on the concept. Obviously, if an artist thinks their pic is bad, and say so just so people won't give negative reviews, they shouldn't post the pic. But it's different if they just want feedback on the concept, especially if they really aren't interested in becoming a good artist, but feel they have some good ideas.

Or am I just making excuses for making excuses?


Regarding your Dragon King Concept, it is ok when you explain it like that because you are specifique about what you wnat the reviewers to focus on, like the concept only.
An artist shouldn't be affraid on posting his art, even if they think it isn't very good, but my advice is that if you don't think it is good, spend more time working on it untill you feel satisfied. The thing is when the one submitting his work writes "It is not good, please be gentle", how can someone give you an honest review?
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RaMeir
02/10/2004 01:47 AM (UTC)
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Who was it that had really cracked the whip on that? It was ThePurpleBunny or whatever his name is. Respond with just, "It sucks" or "Great" and expect skulls. It was beautiful. The reason of course it that it adds nothing to the exchange of ideas. Notice that a positive comment with no clarification can be just as bad as a negative.

Wyatt
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