Working on the latest BOTM, I figured I'd write out my thoughts on it's subject matter!


I think there are these breeds of artists holding themselves back, not just on the quality of their work, but on the potential respect they could receive from other artists. If you want to be a part of this community you have to understand that people will scrutinize your work, artist or not, and what they say matters.

It's different if the criticism has no substance or is particularly charged. Like "I think your art is SHIT" is rude and offers no insight and it's sole purpose is to take a jab at you, but when William says "i think your prices are steep" it's just their take and nothing to blow them up for, right? Is that valid criticism?




A couple days ago I saw HARPERSHARPTOOTH opened commissions and I was curious. I gave their page a look and was dumbfounded seeing they were charging 200 USD for a celshaded fullbody and an eyewatering 100 USD for a background which... to be honest... the quality of which did not match the price, anyone could tell you as much. I'd offer a peek at their comms page but it spontaneously combusted after i engaged;

I mention the prices to them as nice as i possibly can, with a


- "i hate to be that guy, but these prices are STEEP."


they respond with


- "if you want to waste hours of your life for pennies - go ahead. No need to proceed that mindset on people who know worth of their time".



I attempt to reply to better explain but find myself blocked.



Firstly: Wow that reply packed some serious venom!

For context (and to say what I would have before I was unceremoniously blocked), my work is priced the way it is to maximize me getting comms to begin with and I think it's valued fairly. It's also valued this way because if I don't get comms, I'll be homeless! so maybe it's not the best move to jab at my low prices when I rely on them to pay bills?

It's a tough balancing act, and they'd know this if they gave me the opportunity to speak rather than sending an extremely disrespectful reply!


Secondly: It's important, like art itself, to try and understand the intent behind someone's criticism. Is it constructive? Is it just mean spirited, or does it have some truth behind it? Are they just really passionate and want to see you do better? Sometimes it can be vague, sometimes it can be overly detailed, and other times people can offer criticism by complete accident. This can help you better pick and choose what you want to improve on and how you want to approach it (and filter out unhelpful and nasty comments).



TLDR; Criticism is extremely helpful for knowing where to improve your work, so don't be afraid to take some!
(and dont act like an asshole when someone offers it- especially your fellow artists ?? at)


But what do you think?