The art of criticism?
Merely expressing MY opinion here.
1) Even if you want to express your honest opinion, going for ad hominem (that is, ripping on the persona of the target) is poor manners. Gods know that I\'ve felt the temptation now and then elsewhere, and I\'ve fallen. But that\'s human nature. However, ad hominem attacks can turn against YOU instead -- ad hominems are usually tiresome to read, and they miss the point -- the *actual* work, that\'s what you\'re supposed to critique, right?
I\'ve painted for 11 years. That is, I started 1991, painted some five or four miniatures per year, then started painting more in late, late 90s. I have not breathed and lived in the world of the little guys, unlike *some* (not all, of course) of the Great Masters whose works are available on the website. So ripping into someone because the person says \'20 years in painting!\' is a bad idea: you probably don\'t know the background of this person. This is just an example of how the situation can be -- I do not think that you\'re trying to lambast me here
I\'m not that paranoid yet!
Second, not everyone matures as fast as others do. In my opinion, this is pretty much like \'art\' -- yeah, let\'s hear the snickers now, shall we?
-- and it takes time to develop styles, techniques and whatnot. Remember that there\'s always a person -- a *real* human being (and if you\'re an alien from outer space, please drop a mail to me!) behind the miniature. Some of them might be genuine newbies, and scathingly witty, cutting comments can hurt in many ways. I\'d rather see a comment which will help a newbie to develop those skills and potentials s/he has, than roaringly witty, sarcastic remark of those talents which aren\'t here today.
2) It is possible to express your opinion of the miniature without resorting to belittling, offensive or vulgar language; if you *honestly* feel that something is crap, utter crap, and the artist should be dragged behind a shed and beaten to pulp for offending the sactity of pewter, perhaps it is time to take a small break
Here, let me tear apart one of my own miniatures -- the Rainbow Dragon (http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=2042). This one seems to belong to the category \'either you like it, or you hate it\', if the amount of comments and the nature of them reflect this attitude in any way.
Okay. Two viewers, the VulgarLout and ArtCritic. Both hate this particular dragon.
VulgarLout: \"Why the f*ck anyone would paint a dragon that way! You suck! What a moron! What are you, a fairy?\"
ArtCritic: \"The selected color scheme does not fit this miniature. Because the bony tips coming out of the wings are of the same color, it does not create enough contrast to violet color, and the same can be said of the horns and tailbone. Furthermore, the yellow color isn\'t strong enough, and green and blue aren\'t shaded and highlighted. Also, green and yellow smear at the miniature\'s backside and the mess it has left is an eyesore. As a whole, this miniature leaves me cold.\"
Of course, if you *can* give a link to a similiar/same miniature which has been painted in a way that pleases you, the Critic, it is always better; although I do not paint my miniatures for YOU, I\'m always curious to see what sort of miniatures make you tick.
It is always easier to ignore comments like expressed by VulgarLout -- the excessive use of offensive language turns the opinion against him/her; the ArtCritic can tell why s/he didn\'t like it, and the technical points are always harder to argue with. However, a well-written criticism of a miniature is a *lot* more useful for the artist than a sniping poop-flinging contest.
For the artist: In my opinion, it is *always* good to leave some explaining text to the bottom of the miniature; I always read those before I cast any vote or leave a comment -- for me, those small tidbits can really make the difference.
When the person viewing your miniature can attach the miniature to some sort of frame-work (i.e. \'What she was thinking while painting /that/?!?\'), it is easier to judge -- from the art angle, at least -- if you were successful.
The quality of the photo/scan should be taken into account while writing a comment. If there is something you want to note about the technical points of the picture, that artist\'s comment box is a good one for that. (There is a yellow color in that dragon and the blue and green are shaded and it just is a bit too dark digi photo
)
Um. Well, I hope someone will find this useful -- this is just my own guideline for writing comments.
Dachande, if you feel like you want to practice the art of criticism-writing, drop U2U mails to me about various miniatures -- feel free to flame mine, if you wanna -- and we can discuss?
Those who receive criticism, and those who get less than helpful comments -- well, this is the Internet. Having a thick skin helps a lot: this is the nature of the beast.
The \'net, being anonymous, has the effect of reducing basic principles of politeness. Some -- actually surprisingly many -- people manage to adhere to the acceptable social conduct, and this forum is actually a lot more polite than a number of forums you can find from the \'net, despite the attempts of some random individuals who are in the minority.
Let\'s whip out those paintbrushes and paints and flood the site with our art?
