I think so, because it lets us know how you feel about how we feel about your artwork.

i see what you mean- thanks illogical

Honestly its up to you, hon. It really depends on the number of comments you get. If you get LOTS then honestly people shouldn't expect ya to reply to every single 'Good picture'.

replying to comments is not much work, but when you comment my work, do you expect a reply? or at least a sign that i appreciate your thoughts?

A reply is nice but I would totally understand if you didn't respond to me. I don't 'expect' ya to reply, that would be rude of me.

You're a polite person. I say do what makes you feel comfortable. I don't think replies are necessary in general, but some comments beg for reply.

I see what you mean - of course some comments such as questions and advice are worth replying. Do you like it when i reply to your comments? or does it not really effect you.

I appreciate it when you reply to my comments. I don't expect it, so when you do, it's a nice surprise.

thats nice to know - thank you Cougr

I think that if think a comment is worth responding to (and you think the commentator is hoping for a response) you could give them a response. if you don't feeling like replying, I don't see why you shouldn't (that is basically what I do). Of course, it is really up to you.

allright, ill consider that. thank you for your thoughts!

Not a problem at all.

I think replying to comments is a good thing. Lets the people know that your reading actually them.

I don't like when artists don't reply to any. Especially the more "popular" artists.
I really get the feeling that they don't care about what others have to say.
Is it so hard for a "thanks" now and again, heheh *shrugs*

you have a very good point, thank you Macroceli :)

You don't have to comment on every comment. I know I sure don't.
Do what you feel is best, I suppose.

very well, cheers

As I do, i only reply to messages that actually have some content in it :) I use my time to reply to people who gave their time to give a piece of their mind in any which way. I'd say do it but do it how you see fit.

hehe, of course :P thank you sir for your thoughts

It depends on the comment. If someone asks you a question or says something that clearly could open a dialogue, by all means. If someone says, for example, "Oh, I totally agree" then you don't necessarily have to reply. It's all about what exactly is being said.

true, however if you make a simple comment like "good work", do you expect the artist to respond? or do you not really consider it.

Personally, I don't expect a response to a "Good work" or "This is great" or something like that, but that's just me. I see it as a quick one-off comment that doesn't really need to be responded to. Of course, a "Thanks!" can certainly follow something like that, but it's not totally necessary...besides which, thanking everyone who comments on a piece (particularly for hugely popular artists who get hundreds of comments) can get a bit tedious, I'd imagine.

i like your point, i think its good that i reply to all, however sometimes i feel people roll their eyes when i just say "thank you"

I like to know that the artist is reading what I've taken the time to say.

good point - ill consider that, many thanks!

reply to the ones you feel like you have something to say maybe? o.o

but id say more of do what you like the most, if youre a nice guy and all that jazz maybe you dont feel right unless you reply to everything hehe

i suppose, i just want to show i appreciate people's comments, but sometimes i feel people rool their eyes when it comes to simple "ncie work" comments :I

i can see that feeling too @.@ they could just be trying to be polite but you dont know. if you dont have anything you think you need to say to something like that you dont have to. you reply a good bit to your art anyway ^^

Well, when you replied a comment I made I got very surprised, I never saw a mega artist like you reply to all the comments.
It made me feel special, I liked it, but that was a first to me. If you feel like you don't need to replyto all the comments, then don't do it. That's only what I think tho...

If you really mean what you say, then ill make sure to reply as much as possible :)

Oh yeah, I mean it. :P

As long as you keep replying to me, it's all cool.

haha! of course man, definately ;)

Replying makes it apparent you are in fact, listening to the person who commented; if only to thank them for praise or correct an assumption.

It is also an ideal way to encourage critique and other secondary methods of review, since people know you will probably answer questions they pose to you, if you have time; and so they may ask questions that help you locate both points of excellence, improvement, or flaws.

~Tesc.

you have a very good point there. Like you say, i want to encourage people to critique and on top of that, show them that im accualy listening.
thank you very much for your thoughts!

While its nice that you do it, doing it to everyone will just frustrate you :3. Do what you want, we shouldn't control your life!

hehe, dont worry - noone controls my life :P
thank you sir!

Reply to comments that need replying too- alot of the time I notice that comments are just one phrase long and really don't need elaborating on.

thats what i was thinking, however when you make a simple comment and you get a reply, doesnt it make you happy?

it is.. but getting a blause' response for a blause comment really doesn't mean much.
Frankly, unless a comment makes you think, laugh or informs you of a notable oppinion. it's not really worth digging into.

i see what you mean - thanks for your time and ideas man ;)

I pretty much agree with what’s been said above, replies are not expected but accepted as a kind courtesy when given. Just don’t feel you have to put yourself out to answer everything.

true that - thank you very much for your thoughts

I don't think it is necessary to reply to all comments, but I do it too. It just seems like a nice thing to do to me, but I don't think everyone expects you to respond to every little comment they make, especially if you get a lot of comments.

indeed, ill consider that. Thank you neopuc for your thoughts

of course, but doesnt it make you happy that somone replied to your comment?

Be selective about it honestly :3 If they asked a question/said something really in depth you appreciate, go for it. But I won't reply to every 'Cute' or 'Nice picture' stuff like that. Whereas they're definitely appreciated I just usually don't know what to say in reply without sounding like a broken record of thank you's. XD

haha! of course, but doest it make you happy that the artist shows his/her's attention to you?

Of course, but that goes with my whole commenting in general. Theres a ton of stuff I like but I have nothing really...unique to say about it. I feel kinda guilty just saying 'Cute' or 'This is really nice'. I still do sometimes and try to keep it more than one word stuff, but still. XD I definitely don't blame em when artists don't reply to it haha, I just figure they appreciate it and go on with my day

I usually trust that an artist reads all comments, and many do not need replies. You are very famous and that become unreasonable over time. I have an account on DeviantArt about the size of your account here, if not bigger and comments can become overwhelming, especially when you do not tend to it every fricken' day with as busy of lives as many of us have. X3

But as some have said, some comments do demand/imply a reply. Those should be your priority.

indeed - but replying to comments is not so labour intensive at the moment for me :) Im guessing a simple thank you is not much, but does show some appreciation.

Yes, true, as you seem to make each reply different from another. I know some people on DA do that, but their replies were just copy and pastes, so that made them even more worthless to me then if they had not replied at all.

Plus, you might not have all the time to reply forever.

I have like 300-400 messages pouring into my accounts on DA each day. That eats up a lot of my time. X3

wow! damn, 300-400 messages a day is intense!

Yah, but DeviantArt has a lot of features to let me browse through a lot of the garbage that comes through, much easier then FA's system. But having a paid subscription also helps as the ads can really slow things down. My "empire" there is big enough that a subscription investment was well worth it but probably not so much to someone just starting out unless they start watching say 3-5 group accounts that each get between 25-50 submissions a day, like one account I never check for now. Probably has a few thousand submissions to sift there right now. X3

It's always nice, but certainly never necessary.

if you say so, ill make sure i do :)

Well thank you then :)

hehe, i just want to show i appreciate that time people take to comment - even to the small ones.

I think you should just reply to the ones you actually want to reply to, don't force yourself to reply to them all... O.o

all righty then :)

I think some comments shouldn't need to be replied to, these usually are half-assed attempts at being funny, or in other words, using one of the common internet jokes.

I still reply to all my comments because I don't get that many, but seeing your works and the comments they produce are staggering. :P

In the end, it all comes down to what you want, and who can blame you for that? If you don't feel like replying, don't reply.

i always feel like replying. Its just that i was asking myself; "am i overdoing things?"

I know I don't always comment, even though I feel it's the least I can do to show the artist my appreciation for their work. But sometimes it's a matter of how much time I have online. So I can certainly understand the artist not having time themselves, or them not being inspired by the comment.

Still, to answer your question... I really love it when I receive a response to my comments. I feel a connection to the artist, plus get to know the artist and their feelings as well. The artist's work is wonderful enough, but a response to a comment is definitely a "mega" bonus!

well then in that case ill make sure to reply to you then :)
Thank you for your time in sharing your ideas ;)

It lets your viewers know that you do actually check every comment made, which is nice.
I tend to not respond unless I feel confident that I can add something extremely important to the discussion, but I don't think that is the right approach. I keep trying to improve, and considering I used to actively avoid commenting, I guess I've made some progress.
Looking at this journal, my main concern (It'll probably just annoy people to see tons of "thank you"s and "yeah, you're right"s) is unfounded.

So, my recommendation is keep doing it as long as it doesn't become overly difficult, and I'll follow suit myself in the future.

The funny thing is that ive got the same problem when replying to a comment. Its hard to say something constructive back, but im guessing even the smallest of things can be a nice gesture.

All a matter if you see if the comment is worth replying too or not. I try to reply to every comment I get, but there are just some where I can't find anything to say, thus I say nothing.

Exactly the problem i have in mind. But hey, im guessing even the simplest reply can be a nice gesture.
But hey, it all depends on the comment and by who its written by.

I lve when people reply. It give me the sensation to be heared.
(I hate to be ignored.)

no-one likes to be ignored, ill make sure to reply to your comments in the future then :)

Only if you want of course. :)

Well pretty much like the people above said its mainly about if you think its worth the comment , i dont get alot of comments anyways .

But still when i get a reply from another artist that gets overflown with comments and i see how much they reply , i always do think thats a very nice thing of them and in a way shows that they are pretty nice people heh

allright, ill keep replying to comments then :)
thanks general for your thoughts

I certainly don't expect a reply, but it's super exciting when I get one.

For me, I found FA through your art, and it's still my favorite, so getting a response is like getting an autograph from a celebrity! :)

That is very nice of you to say :) ill do my best to reply as much as i can.