Constructive Criticism

A Pillar of the Game-Artist.Net Community.

Do you want to be a respected member of this community, want to develop your communication skills so that you are prepared for the industry or the workplace in general? It doesn't involve a lot of work, brings great benefits and will make you a better artist. Take the initiative today.

So what makes for poor criticism, how do we identify it and correct it?:

"Awesome work, best piece I've ever seen!"

This is the worst sin of all when it comes to constructive critcism. You are in effect giving the author of the work a false sense of success and are limiting his or her abilities to grow as an artist. The root of such comments can often be traced back to users who wish to see their post count increase. Repeated occurences of such comments will fall under the warning system outlined in the forum rules (which can lead to a ban). We wish to see the artists in our community develop and increase their skill-level, not be limited because the only criticism they receive is patronizing. Clearly, exceptions exist, but they are very few in number.

"Texturing looks terrible."

Negative comments are a lack of respect for an artists work and as such will be removed. Repeated occurences of such comments will fall under the warning system outlined in the forum rules (which can lead to a ban).

"The piece could use a lot of work."

This is a generalization which in 9 out of 10 cases will not help the artist, you need to be specific in your criticism and take the time to explain what you feel can be done better. The same basic thing you expect from other users when they give you feedback! Paintovers or reference images are always appreciated by the author, just make sure you don't take over the thread with images too large.

"The txetrue lookks ok." . .or. . "That is so leet."

Reading through posts which are poorly structured and lack basic spelling/grammar can be very exhaustive on viewers who try to take the time to understand your work, perspective or opinion. Take the 10 seconds you need to proof read your post. Look out for basic things, capitalizing the beginning of your sentences, breaking down your post in paragraphs that make sense, etc. People will appreciate it and your communication skills will also increase as a result. We also realize that not everyone is of English mother tongue, we appreciate your efforts in communicating in a language that may not be the easiest for you.

In the end, it boils down to basic communication skills which are essential all the way from forums such as these to your workplace. If you do not take the time to develop and maintain this skill, it will have an effect on your abilities in the long term:

"Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one" Source

In summary:

If you pledge to post strong critcism (to the best of your abilities) and wish others to do so in return, show your support by adding this button to the right of your signature image (not underneath):

Copy paste this code:

[URL="http://www.game-artist.net/forums/view.php?pg=constructivecrit"][IMG]http://www.game-artist.net/spotlight/crit/supportgoodcrit2.jpg[/IMG][/URL]