I love you now for this *-*

This is wonderfull sums up how critique should be given I wouldnt be surprised to see artists re link back to this image X3

Great job hun!

wtf omg this is great

lol redfoxdude, the classy commenter

"Kid on the Roof" syndrome, I call it. ^^

So much truth in this. In fact I actually like respectfull critique more than sky-high praises. I'd want to know what I could/should have done better.

OMG *creepy sexual comment here* LOL! :3 j/k. Nice post. :P

YES! a thousand times YES

I've been trying to remember to jot down a positive statement about change or appearance of artists I meet. Like an affirmation ^-^

I've gotten out of the habit of critiquing, since most artists seem to bash themselves terribly. But I've had a few come to me to ask because they knew I'd give them straight. That made me feel good, too ^-^

This should be common sense but unlike the name, it doesn't seem to be.

what the fuck! this picture has way to much white in it! go the fuck to your room! or something :D

I know I am bad at critique as I am in the, if it is somthing bad don't say it, form of thought. But this should be plastered over everyone's page that asks for critique

Haha this is great. I especially like you in the upper right corner. Nice Clash reference too ;3

reference get *highfive*

*hifive* cuz we old!

redfoxdude is my spirit animal

lawl thanks d00d

Godspeed you beautiful person

Why would you just call redfoxdude out like that?

I KNOW RITE????

I think I'm gonna link this to every time I get bad crits XD

Very useful information you have there. Though I think next time there should be a guitar.

In all seriousness, a very well-done Public Service Announcement.

Like that proposed virus to read back Youtube comments to the people who make them before they post.
Reference for the underreferenced: http://xkcd.com/481/

I wish this could be a pop-up when people hit the reply button.

Critique on this site is a rare beast. On the unusual occasions when someone is willing to offer it, it's often not welcomed by the artist, and when the artist does in fact want it, rabid fanboys will sometimes still attack the critic in the comments, anyway. :P

I'm glad someone here is actually looking for it!

Great, helpful, thank you! Would you mind if i Tumbl'd this?

Not at all.

Awesome, thanks!

Congratulations, your internets has leveled up!

Great PSA, it clearly and simply explains how critiques should be! ^^

good guy joe and scumbag dude

The "If you don't like it don't say anything!" types are baffling to me, because it's like, unless you think you're already perfect, you're basically never going to improve with that attitude.

Although, I do have a question- what about people who are really, really bad? Sometimes I get stuff sent to me asking "What can I do to improve?" and I have literally no idea where to start. In those cases, would you consider "Practice for a year and get back to me" inappropriate critique? I mean, at least for me it seems like here's this threshold where there's no real "fixing" it- you have to just raze it to the ground and start over.

Back in the day people on the Yerf forum used to have a minimum threshold for work to get a crit; otherwise they would do a stock "here are some resources to help you improve" post with links to books and stuff. While not always great in execution, it was a good idea at least. Not gonna lie, I got a couple "you are not good enough to redline go home" posts, but that's how it was.

I think the best thing to do in that situation is to commend the person for their enthusiasm; it can be daunting to ask someone for help, especially with something you know you're not super good at. Encouraging them to practice is a good idea but giving them some resources is helpful also, I think. Stuff that deals with geometric construction I find to be pretty helpful, because it introduces people to volumes and how they interact in a basic way. I know there are some sites that offer exercise suggestions, which is structured enough to give people a good starting point.

Hmm... So how would I do that as a writer? Link to a thesaurus and a dictionary? ^^;

So, all kidding aside, regardless of what advice comes after, you do agree that there's a point of skill below which it's futile to critique individual parts of a work?

And man, Yerf... Talk about ancient history....

How you don't mind me dropping my two cents in but personally as someone who used to belong to a big crit club, I found that with beginners, it helps to address their work in general terms and areas that they most need improvement, which is typically things like anatomy, structure, material usage. A primary focus on the basics or simply picking one issue to address at once makes for a relatively easy crit.

A teacher I had once always suggested what he called compliment sandwiches: Say what is working, then point out things that aren't working, then point out something else that's working well.
It's helpful for people who ask for critiques but don't actually want to hear that they still have room to improve. :>

UMMM WTF!!!????!

oh my god you are a treasure

lawl, I like, just joined FA today and my buddy Trace was all "OMG!!!!" Guess I'm like the worst commenter ever!!!! XDDDDDDDD

now all we need is a "joefurryguy" lol

Well. This is awkward now.

WHAT'S WITH YOUR FONT? THAT'S TERRIBLE. YOU SHOULD USE COMIC SANS.


...... :3

Another point: Saying "it's good" or "i like/love it" is not critiquing.

I was going to reply about this as well. It's the only glaring omission in an otherwise comprehensive explanation of critiques. Like many artists, I don't post work exclusively to hear other people praise it. It's great to see that others like my stuff, but I need constructive responses in order to know what I'm doing right or wrong.

"You are an asset to the Internet" amuses me more than it probably should. But then again, 'tis quite true if you post like a reasonable person.

And now, your PSA used as the example itself. :)

Proper critique:
Nice job w/visual example. The points listed in the second half are confusingly laid out as there's no point, dash, capitalization or commas to denote them as each separate, making them appear as all one paragraph or sentence. It derailed the flow of reading momentarily.

Poor critique:
Wow! Your grammar sux. What a crappy font. Tiger chick is hawt, though.

---

Seriously though, great job. It succinctly covers the issue. Though I would argue that, given the nature of a lot of the art here, comments about the attractiveness or arousing nature of the artwork has some leeway. This would depend on the nature of the piece in question of course and should never get too far out of hand or explicit. Also, some artists and characters have different tolerances for such 'playful banter', so discretion is always the safer course.

Actually, I meant to do bullets and I forgot! I will make that edit now, haha. See? Very helpful. I am always self conscious about how I write because it tends to be weird and circuitous, but in this case writing was necessary.

Hurrah! The system works!

I find this PSA very helpful. It covers all the bases in regards to writing a suitable critique for art. The only thing I think takes from this, is the reference image you used. It looks like it was drawn solely for the purpose of the PSA, so the issue/problem/mistake is glaringly obvious. I'd suggest using something from your archives, maybe one with a few notable critiques/"OMG"s already in it.




.....Critiqueception

You realize this is going to be favorited by every artist on FA right?

I noticed the alleged reason you posted this...apparently DragonsRevenge commented on your goat TF.

Like I tweeted to you, I really wouldn't put too much stock into what he says. He pretty much does this to everyone and he's worth blocking.

THANK you.

"Think first" !!! There are so many activities that would benefit from that :)

YES! critique is very important.

Being in a visual art program. Constructive criticism is vital for our improvement. We practically build off of each other.
Thank you for sharing this.

Now if only we could get some artists to stop treating Joefurryguy like redfoxdude and flipping out if someone suggests that perhaps there is room for improvement. Critiques are hard enough to give without having to deal with an artist who is offended at getting it, not to mention their equally offended fans who think suggesting their art ghod could improve is pretty much the same as saying the fans have sucky taste.

I suppose the only thing I could hope to add to this is, after you've thought, and after you've typed, take the time to think some more.

Read what you've written, and take it into as much consideration as possible. One can only expect as much consideration from others regarding one's words as one has invested. If necessary, rework, revise, reformat, rethink, and remember - chances are, you're just some random internet schmuck to this person. If you want them to pay any heed to what you're saying, you have to make obvious that you care enough that maybe they should too.

After that, THEN submit.

I don't normally comment. I never can think of anything to say about it.

All sound advice. It's also important for artists to recognize the useful critiques and filter out the ones that are just trolling. Especially on the internet, there's a very high noise-to-content ratio.

i loe seeing these. you know things showing others how critiquing should work its great

Few things upset me more then someone criticizing the character that I've drawn. Since over 90% of what I upload is a commission, it isn't up to me as an artist to change characters for those who commission me. It's ever so rude to insult someone's character, and more-so on a piece that they are likely quite excited to have bought and paid for.

It's also good to check people's front pages before offering critique.. some hate it, others encourage it.. You do everyone a favor by being sensitive to the wishes of the person who's art you comment on.

<3

Thank you for putting this together.

REDFOXDUDE sounds a bit less like someone who is bad at critiquing, and a bit more like someone who is simply bad... at, like, being... a person. I started reading this like, "oh dear, I've committed some heinous social fauxpas so bad it's broken the proverbial camel's back!" Then I read what you were actually putting up with and I just want to send you a muffin basket... some kind of care package like one sends to soldiers on the front lines.

I'm so, so sorry you have to put up with that.

~Sebastian Quinn

As always:
think first,
then type,
then proofread for grammar nazi's,
think again from the other's perspective,
fix,
THEN send

I'd like someone to do a critical analysis on my face.

This is a fantastice PSA! XD Too many people don't know the basics about critiques - even if you ask for them!
Would you mind if i linked this in my journal and/or profile?

I'm sure this can be just as useful for authors.

I always feel odd giving critique as I'm about as creative as a potato most of the time, I try to give positive things if and when I do such as liking how the eyes were drawn but I don't think that's as helpful as it could be :S

giving a good, helpful, useful critique is its own art form.

Taking one is yet another.

Together, they are marvelously helpful.

*coughs and clears throat*

"DAT PSA! "

But in all seriousness, I think the whole site needs to see this. I'm not very good at giving critique myself, and this helps a good bit. But I think that I would group some things together and include some other things instead. For example, I noticed that you left out a major peeve of mine, roleplaying in comments. I'm not sure if it's exactly appropriate as a don't, but if we're talking about things that shouldn't be done in the place of critique as well, I feel it should be mentioned.

You have just earned my watch and my respect. Thank you for sharing this.

Thank you for this. Particularly the note on not criticizing the character :3

There are some anthro artists who don't seem to comprehend the value of critique... often I wonder if they're the sort who didn't actually attend art school, to learn the value therein and how to defend oneself or dish it out respectfully. Anymew, I really like this and I'm definitely faving it.

Words to avoid... DAT.. made me laugh. Thanks Angrboda for the PAS

Would I be able to submit this to our page? It's very helpful

sure thing.

thank you very much!

added and I redirected favorite's and stuff back to this one =)

You know I have to say I'm sorry to hear, because I know that stuff like this happens to you all the time. Just rude. But at the same time. I'm envious. I always welcome critiques. I even beg for it a few times also. But I never get any. So I'm really happy for your that people want to help you out as well

I had a friend I don't talk to anymore because they always gave art critique similar to your example of how NOT to do it. They never seemed to get that positive reinforcement is just as important as pointing out what you think needs ot be worked on. I very much like this and will share it with the world. Thank you sir.

This should be required reading before you're allowed to post comments.

I remember when I was still new to the internet, on another site far away there was a reasonably good artist who's method of critique on other's artwork was the "x is wrong, y is wrong" etc sort. When I called out him (and some others like him) on it the response was "We're not in preschool where eveyone needs to be told they're good when they're not!!!"
It's largely due to him I think I'm still somewhat sensitive to crit, even when it's the proper kind

To me, there is no point in crits if they discourage the person from drawing, because the whole point is to help their future work be better. I think there is definitely a way to make suggestions and stuff without being a jerk, but sometimes people don't know how to navigate those waters successfully, or aren't interested in doing so. It's kind of a touchy thing because we're all supposed to want crits (and most of us genuinely do; it's rare I meet the artist that doesn't want to at least talk shop) but at some point you can open yourself up to people ripping you apart.

The tough guy attitude you alluded to I find a lot of times are people who just don't have a lot of emotional IQ, and think that empathy is a waste of time. There is a difference, definitely, between coddling someone and showing him or her respect, but that person can't, or won't, see it that way.

This really should be required reading. Maybe if someone gets a warning by a moderator, or something of the sort. Not sure if FA works like that. This picture was perfect to link though in a conversation I had today, although it had a rather rude ending. Some people just don't understand how criticism works.
Anyhow, love your artwork!

I love this! Your example posts and breakdown there of are helpful for pointing the right way. If you ever do a revision, though, could you please consider using a more 'general audiences' example image? Redfoxguy-type commenters show up in plenty of places that the bra-and-panties shot is a bit risqué for.

Truth, this is!