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Hey Artists, Guess What...
4 years ago
I ranted this on Twitter but I feel like I should say it here too, with a bit more detail:
TLDR: Artists, vet your critiquers, and don't feel like you need to take them. You are allowed to just make art and be happy and not push yourself. And you are allowed to have goals that differ from your critics. Fuck em if they can't be polite.
Hot take that isn't actually that hot: creators, you don't have to take critique from strangers. Or from anyone for that matter. There's this mentality that all critique is good critique & it's not true. My guess is it comes from art schools & trying to get students used to getting critique- something that isn't easy to stomach sometimes. I am deeply familiar with this having gone to and worked at a school where this was the culture. I have taken a million critiques and I've given a million critiques. But in a school you're surrounded by people whose critique you should ideally be able to trust. And you're in a situation where you're prepping for an industry job, more than likely, where you will be critiqued on the regular by your supervisors.
The goals of an artist on the internet are going to be different. For example, I am not a student. I'm making my living off art with little trouble. I don't want or need to be critiqued like a student because I'm not a student hoping for a job. I'm already doing my job, and happy as things are. I do personally foster a work ethic that always looks for improvement, but I get critique regularly from a group of people I trust. I don't take critique from strangers without a bit of professional curtesy first.
On the internet strangers will throw their opinions at you all the time and they're just that, opinions. Don't take them just to be humble. Take them because you trust them, and for no other reason. You don't owe anyone anything unless you decide it's important. AND HEY GUESS WHAT? YOU DON'T NEED TO FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!!! You're allowed to be happy with your work. Art is allowed to be a hobby. You are allowed to make "subpar" art. You're allowed to be doing something people don't understand or like. That's their problem, not yours, even if THEY feel like they need to make it your problem. That is 100% your choice and not theirs.
I'm tired of the internet fostering a mindset of people feeling like their opinion is the end all, most important thing. It's not. And I'm tired of seeing people who aren't artists tell young/beginning artists that they have to be open to critique. NO YOU FUCKING DON'T. You probably should take it if you want to improve. But you need to be extremely aware of the background and experience of the person giving the critique. An artist with more experience in the field you want to be in? Yes. A good source for critique. Someone who probably knows what you should focus on to improve. Someone unlikely to give their opinion, dressed up as "fact". A rando stranger who has less experience than you? They might have good tips, but they very well may not, and you don't need to listen to them just because they think you should.
And finally, the method through which critique is given is very important. If the artist is asking for critique on the art? Go for, it leave it in public. An artist who isn't asking for critique? They might not want it! Posting it on their art is the same as basically yelling unsolicited critique in a gallery. It rudely undermines them, and shows you don't respect them. If you wouldn't tell a crowd in a gallery, or the artist to their face irl what you have to say, don't say it in public forms. Treat the artist like a human being. Be polite. Send them a private message and talk to them. See if they want critique. Ask what their goals are, and see if you can help, instead of coming across as shitting on them and tearing their art down.
I, and the other artists creating the content you consume are not robots, we appreciate being treated like people.
Talk to people before you make assumptions, or you'll look like an ass. :3
*And finally a note: Commissions are a slightly different matter, where more than one person needs to be pleased, so you can't really apply this advice to those situations. The client/artist commission respect rant is a totally different rant, that I'll save for a different day.
TLDR: Artists, vet your critiquers, and don't feel like you need to take them. You are allowed to just make art and be happy and not push yourself. And you are allowed to have goals that differ from your critics. Fuck em if they can't be polite.
Hot take that isn't actually that hot: creators, you don't have to take critique from strangers. Or from anyone for that matter. There's this mentality that all critique is good critique & it's not true. My guess is it comes from art schools & trying to get students used to getting critique- something that isn't easy to stomach sometimes. I am deeply familiar with this having gone to and worked at a school where this was the culture. I have taken a million critiques and I've given a million critiques. But in a school you're surrounded by people whose critique you should ideally be able to trust. And you're in a situation where you're prepping for an industry job, more than likely, where you will be critiqued on the regular by your supervisors.
The goals of an artist on the internet are going to be different. For example, I am not a student. I'm making my living off art with little trouble. I don't want or need to be critiqued like a student because I'm not a student hoping for a job. I'm already doing my job, and happy as things are. I do personally foster a work ethic that always looks for improvement, but I get critique regularly from a group of people I trust. I don't take critique from strangers without a bit of professional curtesy first.
On the internet strangers will throw their opinions at you all the time and they're just that, opinions. Don't take them just to be humble. Take them because you trust them, and for no other reason. You don't owe anyone anything unless you decide it's important. AND HEY GUESS WHAT? YOU DON'T NEED TO FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!!! You're allowed to be happy with your work. Art is allowed to be a hobby. You are allowed to make "subpar" art. You're allowed to be doing something people don't understand or like. That's their problem, not yours, even if THEY feel like they need to make it your problem. That is 100% your choice and not theirs.
I'm tired of the internet fostering a mindset of people feeling like their opinion is the end all, most important thing. It's not. And I'm tired of seeing people who aren't artists tell young/beginning artists that they have to be open to critique. NO YOU FUCKING DON'T. You probably should take it if you want to improve. But you need to be extremely aware of the background and experience of the person giving the critique. An artist with more experience in the field you want to be in? Yes. A good source for critique. Someone who probably knows what you should focus on to improve. Someone unlikely to give their opinion, dressed up as "fact". A rando stranger who has less experience than you? They might have good tips, but they very well may not, and you don't need to listen to them just because they think you should.
And finally, the method through which critique is given is very important. If the artist is asking for critique on the art? Go for, it leave it in public. An artist who isn't asking for critique? They might not want it! Posting it on their art is the same as basically yelling unsolicited critique in a gallery. It rudely undermines them, and shows you don't respect them. If you wouldn't tell a crowd in a gallery, or the artist to their face irl what you have to say, don't say it in public forms. Treat the artist like a human being. Be polite. Send them a private message and talk to them. See if they want critique. Ask what their goals are, and see if you can help, instead of coming across as shitting on them and tearing their art down.
I, and the other artists creating the content you consume are not robots, we appreciate being treated like people.
Talk to people before you make assumptions, or you'll look like an ass. :3
*And finally a note: Commissions are a slightly different matter, where more than one person needs to be pleased, so you can't really apply this advice to those situations. The client/artist commission respect rant is a totally different rant, that I'll save for a different day.
Like the gryphons you draw, its absolutely fantastic on how you draw them, it just so much emotion put into them, your gryphons feel so natural, calculated, lovable yet very predatory, and the raw power that is in their body. You communicate all of that so well.
And dont get me started on how you do canines, I feel like I can go on forever on how lovely they look.
Thanks for your kind words <3<3
Now I’ve got to come up with some of the most insane advice just to see how true this is. :P
‘To draw birbs you must first run with the chickens, flap your arms, and “Ba’QUAK!” As loud as you can.’
I think people as individuals need to just be aware of themselves. I'm too familiar with how every single person on the internet is the prime authority of everyone else, apparently. But I mean hell, even if it's not explicitly asked for, criticism itself is not inherently bad OR good on its face. Presentation absolutely matters, I 100% agree. A person may have legitimately good advice and only mean to help an artist or someone else, but they might just present it in a trashy way. Someone who has no advice to give whatsoever may show up and just start talking shit because they don't like what they're looking at, I don't know. You may not ask for either, but there's obviously more justification to have a harsher response to one than the other.
I actually recall a point a long time ago where, if I remember correctly, you hadn't posted here on FA for quite a while, for what ever your reason was, school, job, idk. But then at the time you'd uploaded again, on the first or second post I saw a comment right away saying something like "wtf is this shit ur gone all this time and you haven't improved at all, this crap looks exactly the same as what you were doing a year ago" or something to that effect, and I'm just like... excuse the fuck out of me?? lmao WHO are you?? I mean great observation dude, I'm sure Lem is so happy to start posting again after so long and immediately have people trashing on it like that, that's real motivating, really stirs up that creativity.
That's my own thought process though. I think there's really just a line to walk with giving and taking criticism. Legit I think some people need to just have thicker skin when it comes to things like this. It's a tough truth folks don't want to hear, but there are people out there who just need to take up and take things like adults, particularly if you are one. You're not the king, it's not your world, you are as much a "random person on the internet" as literally anyone else is. But every so often you get those people who are like, always right in their own mind.
I believe there are valid reasons to want it or not want it. Right on your point of the person's background: picture for example some student chef of 4 months coming and trying to 'correct' Gordon Ramsay on cooking. My god, you'd have a foot up your ass so fast you wouldn't even see it, and rightly so. I'd just call it being conscious or polite in general. I could politely offer you a critique and you could politely decline or accept it. One thing that bugs me personally though is that whole sort of "anything that I don't want to hear is immediately invalidated on account of me not wanting to hear it" mentality. That general way of thinking can get bent imo. A person may say something that's correct or is true, and your position of not wanting to hear it doesn't make said thing untrue. You can choose to take it or leave it! It doesn't necessarily have to be hostile or nagging or be littered with that "do shit this way" attitude, etc. Like you said, reach out and ask if they're seeking help. Ask if they care enough, ask if they want to discuss it. YOU don't have to want to. They don't have to want to!
Like I was alluding to in the beginning, I think a lot of it is context sensitive. I don't think it's fair to say there's a perfected "right" way or "wrong" way. Literally just being decent, polite and conscious of who and what is around you. I don't think that's an unreasonable request.
So I'd say generally, I do agree with you on this topic. Pardon the uh, essay and a half I left here. X3
And if there is someone defending this position, like unironically, I think they may have an actual problem.
But it isn't the only way, either. Encouragement can work wonders, too. I've shepherded a few new artists through their first commissions in the fandom, and when you're just getting started, having someone cheering you on is FAR more valuable than a peanut gallery.
TL;DR: Yes. All of this. And frankly, you're damn good and should be proud of your work.
On that note: what the heck is imperfect art? Like, all artists are constantly working to make their art/style their own most ideal, and everyone cringes at their old art/style sometimes, but like??? It's just a style, mate; it's just how it is and there's nothing to critique. Someone can't suggest vegetables to be more metallic or ice to be less cold, that's just how they are, otherwise they'd be metals/water.
... I guess what I'm trying to say is that if someone is picky about art, maybe they should look elsewhere instead of complaining about a non-issue. :/
so many more great artists that would not have stopped making art
I am not satisfied with my art, but I am going to improve a lot more if I actually keep drawing and experimenting, and when people drop in and say "you did this wrong" it doesn't do anything but discourage.
Likewise I always strive to be polite, constructive, honest and give as good a feedback as I can to other artists. Folks are always free to take or disregard what I've said, like with what anyone says; it's their art, after all, and they should be making themselves happy (commissions notwithstanding).
I hope none of the comments I've made have come across negatively or have seemed pushy in terms of opinion? o,o
~austin