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Critical thinking and critiquing.
12 years ago
You silly furries. What are you doing. Silly furries. Stahp.
I've seen you kids try to critique others artwork and usually I'll hear one of two things that you guys have learned
to say. 'proportions are good' and 'Your perspective is good!' (in regaurds to the relativity of space in a drawing, not
the thoughts behind the piece). These are fine staples of art and in my classes we do hear it as praise. But I have
seen these 2 repeated often and usually on artwork that has neither good perspective (dull, uninteresting angles) or
good proportion (seriously, his arm is bulbous compared to his other and I'm pretty sure bones don't bend like that).
This is bad guys.
I get wanting to be nice, giving a compliment and such. Sometimes you don't catch little things or there are reasons
for 'wrong' details (no, style doesn't count, shut up and learn). But not being honest will hurt the artist. They
wont change what they are doing, they might not be catching their bad habits. Some think that it's good for early
artists if they only hear praise. NOPE. That's the BEST time to get a kick in the ass and told you're doing everything
wrong. Now, that's not to say you shouldn't tell them to explore, change, or make bold movements! When I started
drawing digitally, I had someone tell me my lines were too thick and that I should be more like onta. I wish that person
had shut thier fucking mouth, because that one comment curbed me from exploring styles digitally as I tried to 'fit in'
and 'do it right'. But if they had told me my characters arms looked too skinny (they did) and his clothing too flat (looked
quite like paper on a 2D model) I would have learned a little more about proportion and depth and to look for those
things in my art. See the difference? One if preference and something that should be left well alone, one is technical
skill.
And artists, if someone gives you a critique, DON'T COMPLAIN. You asshole. It's okay to ask people not to critique
in the description and on your page. Thats fine! But when someone does, don't make a scene about it. Just ignore it
like you ignore trolls or leave a polite reminder. Tons of people WANT feedback and when you are a grouch it discourages
folks to leave their thoughts and makes the furry cycle of staying quiet and leaving only favorites more pronounced. :C
Er, anyways, My point behind all this is when you are writing a critique, think critically and honestly about it. Don't hold
back just because you might upset someone. To get better, you need to hear more than positives. Just so long as the
critiquer isn't just bashing someone. Also, remember to leave feedback on how to correct the problem!
Sorry for the wall o text. >.>
I've seen you kids try to critique others artwork and usually I'll hear one of two things that you guys have learned
to say. 'proportions are good' and 'Your perspective is good!' (in regaurds to the relativity of space in a drawing, not
the thoughts behind the piece). These are fine staples of art and in my classes we do hear it as praise. But I have
seen these 2 repeated often and usually on artwork that has neither good perspective (dull, uninteresting angles) or
good proportion (seriously, his arm is bulbous compared to his other and I'm pretty sure bones don't bend like that).
This is bad guys.
I get wanting to be nice, giving a compliment and such. Sometimes you don't catch little things or there are reasons
for 'wrong' details (no, style doesn't count, shut up and learn). But not being honest will hurt the artist. They
wont change what they are doing, they might not be catching their bad habits. Some think that it's good for early
artists if they only hear praise. NOPE. That's the BEST time to get a kick in the ass and told you're doing everything
wrong. Now, that's not to say you shouldn't tell them to explore, change, or make bold movements! When I started
drawing digitally, I had someone tell me my lines were too thick and that I should be more like onta. I wish that person
had shut thier fucking mouth, because that one comment curbed me from exploring styles digitally as I tried to 'fit in'
and 'do it right'. But if they had told me my characters arms looked too skinny (they did) and his clothing too flat (looked
quite like paper on a 2D model) I would have learned a little more about proportion and depth and to look for those
things in my art. See the difference? One if preference and something that should be left well alone, one is technical
skill.
And artists, if someone gives you a critique, DON'T COMPLAIN. You asshole. It's okay to ask people not to critique
in the description and on your page. Thats fine! But when someone does, don't make a scene about it. Just ignore it
like you ignore trolls or leave a polite reminder. Tons of people WANT feedback and when you are a grouch it discourages
folks to leave their thoughts and makes the furry cycle of staying quiet and leaving only favorites more pronounced. :C
Er, anyways, My point behind all this is when you are writing a critique, think critically and honestly about it. Don't hold
back just because you might upset someone. To get better, you need to hear more than positives. Just so long as the
critiquer isn't just bashing someone. Also, remember to leave feedback on how to correct the problem!
Sorry for the wall o text. >.>
If I can't say something nice... I'll say something random
So it doesn't matter to much what you say to begin with.
I spread my comments all over the place. I'm not some kind of uncultured swine
Occasionally I get a critiquing wild hair (hare? ^_^) and spend an hour picking apart what I think is positive and negative about a piece, but really, it takes a long time to do a decent job so that only happens if I get particularly fascinated by something.
Usually I end up talking about the thematic material instead. :)