Post by Wilson on Mar 19, 2007 3:24:10 GMT
(Originally posted by Krishva on RoER1.)
The Freya Images board is for artists of every skill level. This includes expert artists who may have professional credits to their names, but it also includes beginners who were inspired by FFIX to start drawing. All artists need critique, from the newest beginner to the most seasoned professional.
Keep the person's current skill level in mind when you critique artwork here. Different styles of critique are best used for artists of different levels of experience.
Here I will provide guidelines for critiquing each of three "levels" of artist. This sort of thing can also be applied to fanfiction (see the Stories forum).
Beginner
Beginners seem to be the most common group of artists here on the Freya boards. Because they are just starting out (this is no fault of their own), their artwork may look "flat" and have serious problems with anatomy, shading, perspective, or other elements. Be nice to beginners--they need gentler criticism and more encouragement than more experienced artists do.
Beginning artists need very general advice (i.e. "go do lots of life drawing in order to learn anatomy," "go borrow such-and-such helpful book from the library, I used it and it helped me," etc.). If there are many details wrong in the image, do not try to list them--instead try to think about the person's general problem, whether it be linework, anatomy, color, shading, or some other problem. It is preferred that you have a solution in hand if you are going to mention a problem with a beginner's artwork. However, if you have little art experience yourself, you may not have a solution, in which case it is okay to just mention the problem in a polite way.
While I am not a big fan of the "you have to draw better in order to criticize" ideology, in the case of beginners it is appropriate. Intermediate and experienced artists are more likely to offer helpful solutions instead of saying "oh the anatomy looks funny" or "that is a bad drawing." Please consider your own knowledge and skill before attempting a critique of a beginner.
It is not appropriate to be insulting to someone who is just starting out. If you want to say something needs work, you don't have to sugar-coat, but at least be reasonably polite. If any of you are caught actively trying to attack (or even nitpick) artists who are clearly beginners, you will be reprimanded.
If you are big and bad enough to be mean to a beginning artist, you are also big and bad enough to receive harsh critiques, regardless of your skill level. That means that if you are rude to a beginning artist, other forum users may be rude (to a limit) without reprimand in their critiques of your art or fanfiction! Keeping this in mind, please treat beginners the way you would like to be treated.
Intermediate
Intermediate artists have already developed a fair level of skill. Their art is not professional-looking but appears reasonably believable and shows a good grasp on basic artistic concepts. They may be having obvious difficulties in one or more areas of art like color, shading, line weight, anatomy, dynamic poses, composition, or perspective. Intermediate artists can take a fair amount of detailed criticism, but still benefit most from general commentary in areas where they are lacking a lot of skill.
Once someone starts to get more of a grasp on anatomical accuracy, shading, cloth folds, or other difficult concepts in art, it is then appropriate to mention details (i.e. "perhaps you should make the torso shorter," or "the shadows are not consistent"). Again, it is best to be able to provide suggested solutions for intermediate artists, including linked reference images/photos where applicable. Detailed technique explanations from more advanced artists can also be extremely helpful. However, it is not as essential as it is for beginners that intermediates be told how to solve their artistic mistakes. Most intermediate artists can guess at a few workable solutions for problems with their artwork (sometimes in this case the solution is just "practice [whatever] more").
Being rude to intermediate artists is discouraged, but you will not necessarily be penalized if you do it. This includes nitpicking. If you nitpick over details when you could be offering helpful advice to the person, you will look like a jerk, and a moderator will be perfectly welcome to tell you to shut your fat face.
Experienced/Advanced
This is the most advanced group of artist. Their artwork frequently looks like it could be a professional illustration or cartoon, as they have a very good grasp on artistic principles and are usually well-balanced in their skill. Some may still have significant difficulties in one or two areas, though. Advanced artists may have attended art school or acquired some other kind of professional training; however, some are self-trained.
Generally people respond to this kind of artist saying "great pic!" or something like that. That is all right, but please explain why you like the picture if you have no criticism. Artists like input both about what is good and what is bad.
In spite of their apparent high level of skill, these people still can use critique. Because critique helped them to improve to their current skill level, they should be able to take critique generally well; in fact, a good artist of any level seeks critique. Solutions do not need to be spelled out for experienced artists, but giving suggestions is encouraged.
Rudeness and bluntness is more tolerated in dealing with advanced artists. They should be more resistant to harsh criticism than beginner or intermediate artists--as a result, you should not have to tiptoe around your comments with an advanced artist. Regardless, if you are rude and your criticism is unfounded (i.e. nitpicking), a moderator may tell you to shut it.
Regarding "Nitpicking"
You might have noticed that I'm strongly opposed to nitpicking over images. For purposes of this forum, nitpicking means focusing on meaningless details that an artist may have neglected in an image. Listing off things like "her tail is too short" or "his ears don't have tufts" or "you forgot her claws" does not help an artist improve; it's just annoying. It may also encourage beginners or early intermediates to focus on these issues exclusively, thinking it will make their art better to be perfect in character details when instead they should be focusing on the more difficult task of improving their skills.
Some detail-related errors may be stylistic issues for advanced artists, not even memory issues. Mild deviation from character model sheet designs should not provoke an outcry from forum members.
I hope this guide has helped you in your interaction on this forum. Good luck, and happy critiquing!
Meepy's Stupid Rule
Please don't criticize his work unless he asks it, (which is once in a blue moon) no matter how badly he sorely needs it...THAT IS ALL!
The Freya Images board is for artists of every skill level. This includes expert artists who may have professional credits to their names, but it also includes beginners who were inspired by FFIX to start drawing. All artists need critique, from the newest beginner to the most seasoned professional.
Keep the person's current skill level in mind when you critique artwork here. Different styles of critique are best used for artists of different levels of experience.
Here I will provide guidelines for critiquing each of three "levels" of artist. This sort of thing can also be applied to fanfiction (see the Stories forum).
Beginner
Beginners seem to be the most common group of artists here on the Freya boards. Because they are just starting out (this is no fault of their own), their artwork may look "flat" and have serious problems with anatomy, shading, perspective, or other elements. Be nice to beginners--they need gentler criticism and more encouragement than more experienced artists do.
Beginning artists need very general advice (i.e. "go do lots of life drawing in order to learn anatomy," "go borrow such-and-such helpful book from the library, I used it and it helped me," etc.). If there are many details wrong in the image, do not try to list them--instead try to think about the person's general problem, whether it be linework, anatomy, color, shading, or some other problem. It is preferred that you have a solution in hand if you are going to mention a problem with a beginner's artwork. However, if you have little art experience yourself, you may not have a solution, in which case it is okay to just mention the problem in a polite way.
While I am not a big fan of the "you have to draw better in order to criticize" ideology, in the case of beginners it is appropriate. Intermediate and experienced artists are more likely to offer helpful solutions instead of saying "oh the anatomy looks funny" or "that is a bad drawing." Please consider your own knowledge and skill before attempting a critique of a beginner.
It is not appropriate to be insulting to someone who is just starting out. If you want to say something needs work, you don't have to sugar-coat, but at least be reasonably polite. If any of you are caught actively trying to attack (or even nitpick) artists who are clearly beginners, you will be reprimanded.
If you are big and bad enough to be mean to a beginning artist, you are also big and bad enough to receive harsh critiques, regardless of your skill level. That means that if you are rude to a beginning artist, other forum users may be rude (to a limit) without reprimand in their critiques of your art or fanfiction! Keeping this in mind, please treat beginners the way you would like to be treated.
Intermediate
Intermediate artists have already developed a fair level of skill. Their art is not professional-looking but appears reasonably believable and shows a good grasp on basic artistic concepts. They may be having obvious difficulties in one or more areas of art like color, shading, line weight, anatomy, dynamic poses, composition, or perspective. Intermediate artists can take a fair amount of detailed criticism, but still benefit most from general commentary in areas where they are lacking a lot of skill.
Once someone starts to get more of a grasp on anatomical accuracy, shading, cloth folds, or other difficult concepts in art, it is then appropriate to mention details (i.e. "perhaps you should make the torso shorter," or "the shadows are not consistent"). Again, it is best to be able to provide suggested solutions for intermediate artists, including linked reference images/photos where applicable. Detailed technique explanations from more advanced artists can also be extremely helpful. However, it is not as essential as it is for beginners that intermediates be told how to solve their artistic mistakes. Most intermediate artists can guess at a few workable solutions for problems with their artwork (sometimes in this case the solution is just "practice [whatever] more").
Being rude to intermediate artists is discouraged, but you will not necessarily be penalized if you do it. This includes nitpicking. If you nitpick over details when you could be offering helpful advice to the person, you will look like a jerk, and a moderator will be perfectly welcome to tell you to shut your fat face.
Experienced/Advanced
This is the most advanced group of artist. Their artwork frequently looks like it could be a professional illustration or cartoon, as they have a very good grasp on artistic principles and are usually well-balanced in their skill. Some may still have significant difficulties in one or two areas, though. Advanced artists may have attended art school or acquired some other kind of professional training; however, some are self-trained.
Generally people respond to this kind of artist saying "great pic!" or something like that. That is all right, but please explain why you like the picture if you have no criticism. Artists like input both about what is good and what is bad.
In spite of their apparent high level of skill, these people still can use critique. Because critique helped them to improve to their current skill level, they should be able to take critique generally well; in fact, a good artist of any level seeks critique. Solutions do not need to be spelled out for experienced artists, but giving suggestions is encouraged.
Rudeness and bluntness is more tolerated in dealing with advanced artists. They should be more resistant to harsh criticism than beginner or intermediate artists--as a result, you should not have to tiptoe around your comments with an advanced artist. Regardless, if you are rude and your criticism is unfounded (i.e. nitpicking), a moderator may tell you to shut it.
Regarding "Nitpicking"
You might have noticed that I'm strongly opposed to nitpicking over images. For purposes of this forum, nitpicking means focusing on meaningless details that an artist may have neglected in an image. Listing off things like "her tail is too short" or "his ears don't have tufts" or "you forgot her claws" does not help an artist improve; it's just annoying. It may also encourage beginners or early intermediates to focus on these issues exclusively, thinking it will make their art better to be perfect in character details when instead they should be focusing on the more difficult task of improving their skills.
Some detail-related errors may be stylistic issues for advanced artists, not even memory issues. Mild deviation from character model sheet designs should not provoke an outcry from forum members.
I hope this guide has helped you in your interaction on this forum. Good luck, and happy critiquing!
Meepy's Stupid Rule
Please don't criticize his work unless he asks it, (which is once in a blue moon) no matter how badly he sorely needs it...THAT IS ALL!