Comment 71330

Parent Comment

4212
Jul 29, 2008, 5:25:02 AM UTC
A few of my artistically-inclined friends use colored pencils and have nothing but praise for them. Unfortunately I live in a small town where the nearest thing to an art store is the Wal-Mart, and they only have the Crayola crayons, markers, and pencils.

Don't worry about critiquing me; I know you only intend to help me improve. It's like Simon Cowell's role on American Idol--it's better to be brutally honest than to receive a lot of empty praise that only sets one up for a bigger disappointment.

Comment ID 71330

[Art] The Joker and the Octopus
ArkillianDragon
Aug 3, 2008, 5:42:00 AM UTC on [Art] The Joker and the Octopus
Sorry ^^; Some people give me the impression that critique scares them cause of the l33tists that throw the hard core on >.> I try not to crit harshly ^^; I think I missed that it was a sketch- can't remember though ^^; Hope I didn't offend you ^^

Replies

  • 4212
    Aug 4, 2008, 4:32:13 AM UTC
    No, of course you didn't offend me. I know that a lot of artists, particularly on Paperdemon's rival--(coughdeviantartcough) have particularly unpleasant reactions to getting critique. I once tried to say to one of these types, "Okay, overall this is great, but for future reference it might help if you adjusted perspective a little bit, especially when it comes to..." Now I was only trying to help her improve, and then I got her reply: "F--- off." Then she blocked all critique from that particular drawing. Ack! I, on the other hand, am aware that my works are usually "in progress" and that there is a difference between critique and trolling; namely, the former is meant to help one improve and is to be appreciated.
    • ArkillianDragon
      Aug 5, 2008, 2:57:03 PM UTC
      Critique is a tricky thing everyone wants to be awesome at art, but they want the easy way. There's not alot that truly want to be awesome at it and work hard :< You can usually get a feel in their comments if they care or not. I don't get the trolls though- they have no issues with berating a beginner cause they wanted advise. Advise doesn't need to be offending Sad
      • 4212
        Aug 6, 2008, 4:01:44 AM UTC
        "Everyone wants to be awesome at art, but they want the easy way."
        Hence, the art thieves that proliferate, like maggots on poo, in websites like this and DA. Recently I had a problem with someone stealing one piece of my Octopus fanart. I reported it--and turned out that I had followed a tip I saw somewhere on PD's forums--and along with my signature, hidden the words "Pier 56" in my lineart.

        ...busted!

        Of course there are some artists who don't want *any* critique. I've written one comment on DA saying very politely, "This looks great, but personally, I would slightly fix the perspective, and (blah blah blah). Other than that, it's really good. Keep up the good work." And got this reply: "F*** off. This is my style."

        But for my part, I like to think I've improved since I first started drawing. And I owe part of that to the helpful friends with their constructive critique.

        --MP
        • ArkillianDragon
          Aug 6, 2008, 3:42:56 PM UTC
          Yeah- some people just doodle for fun and were only drawing cause they can. I do that sometimes, so I can see where they're coming from, but they don't need to be rude ^^; You're taking your time to comment. Least they can do is say thanks, but no thanks ^^; That's why I'm glad PD have the crit options. Makes it alot clearer if people want crit or not. I'm surprised DA took so long to get them. PD have had that option for ages now.
          • 4212
            Aug 7, 2008, 2:23:45 AM UTC
            Ages, huh? Then again I find paperdemon to be a bit more "serious" than most of deviantart.

            I mostly draw for pleasure, because I'm well aware that my true talent lies in the written word.
            • ArkillianDragon
              Aug 7, 2008, 8:12:41 PM UTC
              PD isn't so much serious... I think we're alot more quality minded here cause we're a tad more strict on presentation, but I like that. I don't really want to be spammed by art I can't see to appreciate Yes DA is a chuck bucket for memes, sonic fanart, and miscatagorised scrawls. There's a very small percentage of decent artists on da. Most account are PLZ accounts, dead ones, spam ones, or lurkers. It's kinda sad T.T