{please note before begining this will either make you ticked to high heaven or make you go hmmmmm. and for those who hate my posts why are you still reading if you dislike themO.o} Ok,,,, I actually noticed this I guess a few weeks back. there is something in the galleries {it seems to be contagiouse} called "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" this is noted by symptoms such as 1-all work no matter what you post is GREAT no matter what. 2-everything you have ever done including that doodle on toilet paper is GREAT. it could be flat,dead,lifeless, empty, no shadow, no details,it could be scribbles with a crayon,it could be a spatter of coffee on a paper plate. it doesnt matter it is GREAT. 3-you start believing everything you do is GREAT and that anyone that says other wise is just jealouse because you are GREAT. 4-hordes of people that have either given you "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" or share in it will retaliate on anyone that tries to say otherwise. 5-this disease is also associated with the "Icandonowrong-itis" now see I noticed this one day when I uploaded a picture I was just not happy with it is..ok..nothing else..and ok is being very generouse to it really. it is just blaaaaahhhhhhhh...but sure enough it was GREAT.{that pic was taken down not even 24 hours later because it was clawing at my very eyes } at this time I decided to really actually go peeking around{insert mission impossable theme music} not just the old accusations that run in the forums from time to time about cliques and rigged votes..but actually look around in all the galleries and I noted this disease. Now the thing is that the disease "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" actually has side effects. such as 1-stagnation of work. because why would you try anything different ..you are GREAT. 2-lack of progress in skills. again why should you try anything new you are GREAT. 3-in bad cases you can get an actual decline in effort or skill. 4-a large inflated ego can also cause problems with perception of reality and qualtiy. you start to wonder why -everyone- doesnt see that you are GREAT. while renderosity has a drop down with several choices. it seems that the disease "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" effects computers as well. it seems only two choices actually work on this drop down menu. that is excellent and great. I have checked with norton and avg..and they do not have anything that scans for the virus that seems to deactivate the other choices in rendos rank menu. ~clears her throat again~ This is a public service anouncement hopeing to bring awareness of this disease. while it may look like you are supporting your friends actually you are tieing a blindfold over their eyes and tieing their hands and minds. Friends dont let friends operate art proggies with "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis". If you care about your friends..you will tell them{that is nice but you need a)better lighting b)better shadowsc)better texturec)better techinique D) any of the above and then some. progress in skills does not come from constant pat on the backs. progress does not come with "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" Now dont confuse helping with being bitchy. that is{Iamgreatandyouallsuck-itis} though the two diseases somethings attack the same person, one thing is nasty remarks putting work down, another is creative critiquing that allows a person to see something they didnt see before and learn new ground to fix it. As artists {or hobbiests} growth is needed. to increase ones skills you have to get critisised at some point. if you are constantly told you are wonderful great etc..you dont even know what to correct or what to work on. I think every artist I know is always in a process of growth of learning of bettering their skill. so please, lets us trounce the "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" lets help our fellow artists. Lets encourage growth and learning of art proggies. Lets correct bad lighting, lets help under-developed shadows, lets reach out and help post work, lets raise awareness of hair movement{not to mention other movements} lets get the jewelry moving with the head lean,the dress to drape with the curve..the elbow to bend correctly, lets build those biceps on models...:) {disclaimer:this was written with humor intended but to convey actual message of awareness that always telling someone their are great or their work is perfect will not do them favors. for those wishing to send hate mail,death threats,rants etc...please address it to sorrythisisnotarealaddy@notrealmailbox.com}

I tried to send you a virus, but your e-mail wasn't working. Are you sure you gave the right address? I will rather not comment about the rest, lol, seeing as I have never posted one of my "artworks" as they all suck.

Yeah, give us your street address instead. We want to come over at tea time and eat all your crumpets! O.o

what a great post! It's really great. More like perfect.

no you are not geting the crumpets! though I have lovely scones.

All kidding aside, it's the "Emperor has no clothes" in digital high speed bandwidth. Well said.

Welcome to Renderosity! :-) bonni

All your Crumpets Are Belong 2 Us! Bwahahaha...And Yer Scone's Too!

for a moment their I heard the witch from wizard of oz O.o not my scones! those are mine! how bout a chip butty

Hmmm. I wouldn't say this was an illness in "all" the galleries. I've participated in the 3dsMax forum/galleries for a while before coming to the Poser ones, and there were far less of the hobnobbing going on over there (albeit there is also far less activity in that forum as well). Not saying it's good or bad, but there seemed to be more genuine honest "critiques" of images over there than I have observed here. Now let's be honest, anything can appeal to almost anyone. For god's sake, the most famous art galleries (real ones) in the world are filled with splattered-paint-on-canvas rubbish that took mere moments to create, but are adored by millions. HOWEVER, that being said, I think part of the reason the Poser community isn't always taken quite as "serious" as other 3D users is because when people from places like CGtalk come here, all they see is "your wonderful!" posted in the comments of most pics that are obviously done by absolute beginners. Nothing even remotely critical is tolerated by the masses on this site for the most part, which really doesn't appeal to those who are looking to improve their art. Sometimes even the slightest negative comment done in good faith is instantly attacked by "friends" of the poster, or followed by a mass-posting of "DON'T CHANGE A THING!" posts when someone suggests adding or removing an element. I think that's why most people feel comfortable here, and that's why this place is so popular (although I'm not sure it's more popular than CGtalk). Beginners can post their stuff here and not worry about getting critiqued to death. I DO believe this place could benefit from creating seperate gallery categories in each software forum for "beginners" and "advanced" artists. Then we'd know more clearly if we should comment with a serious and honest critique, or be light and fluffy with our comments. :)

I'd hazard a bet that some of the "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" is actually "Iinflatemyownegothroughmultipleaccounts-itis" Someone puts up a piece not suitable for even fish wraping and gets great and glowing comments are quite likely worse talent, no talents friends or his own 'puppet' accounts

LOL, DarkElegance, like the way you approach the subject in this way :) However, it seems to me that you must be relatively new here. Let me explain: Once things WERE different, people could give pointers to each other and receive them. Most of time this was done in a civil manner and it was very helpful to see what could be improved. There were also those whose work stood out more, they would get the occassional comment on improving some minor point but there was also a general consensus as to who were the "best". Then, someone got it into their head to play a mean, nasty trick on them. A troll by the name of Zooh went on a rampage through the Top images and lowered everybody's score who had a perfect rating to make some sort of statement - one which he tried to express in pseudo-broken English (Yes, being an English teacher I can tell when someone is not a native speaker and honestly makes mistakes and when it's feigned!) Needless to say people got upset, egos were shattered and and some even took down their galleries. Zooh disappeared after a very short while but the damage he caused is manifested in what you so aptly see in the galleries now. And it's not just "friends". I almost never get any comments suggesting improvements and can assure you the people posting are for the most part unknown to me. It's a "stepping on eggshells" mentality and no one wants to be accused of being jealous or spiteful. It's also very difficult for someone without a gallery here to be heard when they remark on some aspect of technique or aesthetics. "And where is YOUR art?", was the response she/he would most often get :) In addition, the fact that Rosity has quadrupled in membership also makes people more hesitant - it's not the cosy little community it once was with everyone freely chiming in - I know I've become more of a lurker (hey, you get some credit for bringing me out today!)

You have friends? Scarab

maxxxmodelz yes you have also seen the symptoms of "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" ~nods~ it is not as bad in all places..or all galleries but there seems to be a growing epidemic in renderosity. comfort can be good...but honesty can raise the bar and make you reach new levels.

" I'd hazard a bet that some of the "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" is actually "Iinflatemyownegothroughmultipleaccounts-itis" Someone puts up a piece not suitable for even fish wraping and gets great and glowing comments are quite likely worse talent, no talents friends or his own 'puppet' accounts" Perhaps one or two comments would account for this, but not dozens. I've seen some pretty "amateur" images (sorry if I offend anyone with that descriptive term, but in 3D art, there is a pretty clear distinction) with literally a dozen or more "excellent" comments, and even votes for the top 20. It's one of the reasons I have not posted any of my works to this site. I like the site, don't get me wrong, and I'm not saying everyone is like that... but when I post an image, I do expect some people to commment honestly. I have posted several of my works to CGTalk under a different alias than I use here, but I'm still debating with myself if I should even bother posting to the galleries here. Most works here get burried and forgotten within an hour or less, and if people don't know you, they rarely comment on the pic anyway.

Kalypso ahh that must of been a great time. just one person was able to destroy it all? ~hears the opening theme for star wars......."in a gallery far far away in a time long long ago....."

Kalypso has a point. Often when I see a pic that is.. shall we say.. less than perfect, I simply choose NOT to comment on it, and I bet a lot of people feel the same way: You comment whenever you have something nice to say (OR when one of your friends posts a pic...) I know I have also posted comments like "nice lightning" and skipped the "but your character looks like a pretzel" bit. In general I think people here wants to be NICE. So they post NICE comments. I remember once I had posted a picture. I really liked it but there was a major mistake on it - a braid going thru the character's head (ouch!) I honestly hadn't even noticed or I WOULD have fixed it before posting. Sure enough, among the "oh nice" comments, someone pointed out that braid. And my first thought WAS (I'm sorry to admit) "What a jerk!". Of course that person was absolutely RIGHT, but you do get so used to the "Oh nice" comments that a real honest critique hits you right between the eyes. Zooh was before my time here, so I haven't expirienced him/her. A side effect of the "allmypicsaregreat-itis" is that WHEN you, once in a while produce a REALLY great pic.. what do you expect? Since all your picture are "excellent" how about this new, REALLY stunning pic? Well, it is "also excellent" You've washed out the superlative by calling even mediochre things excellent. Personally I VERY rarely vote on pictures at all, and when I do, I have only once or twice voted Excellent, I usually vote GREAT when I vote. For precicely that reason: If everything is excellent, you can't vote for the REALLY STUNNING anymore. Now don't get me wrong, polishes halo I LOVE when people post nice comments on my pictures. I LOVE when they vote "EXCELLENT" on my pictures. I absolutely suffer from Myfriendsinflatemyego-itis. But I TRY to at least be AWARE of it 0:o)

This is one of the few art communities I've seen that has actually built itself around the "vote" and "ratings" premise. It's basically like sitting around with family and friends and showing off what your did for the sheer exhaultation of hearing the "oooohhhh's" and "aaaahhhhh's", never expecting Uncle Joe to say... "you really need more detail in the facial characteristics". LOL. Again, it's the very reason most people feel comfortable here, but also why some people get fed up and choose to ravage the comfort zone with sabatoge.

I think the top artists should battle to the death in an open arena of combat. The audience can bet Quatloos on the contest. Winning artist shall reign supreme and may eat the dead artists' carcasses at their leasure. At least that would be more exciting than the voting system and a bit of a change of pace. That way people could then post complaints about having arms nad legs torn off instead of about ego posts.

Good critique actually requires more effort than merely typing 'ooh, great', and usually deserves a 'thank you' even if you personally disagree with the remarks. There is no obligation to change anything about your image to suit someone else's preferences, of course, but a second (third, fourth...) pair of eyes can often pick up on details missed due to being 'too close' to an image during its creation. It's rather like having a proof-reader read a piece of writing: the number of times I've missed out a word in a sentence, yet managed to 'read it into' the paragraph when checking it myself! So if you find someone willing to resk a knee-jerk 'don't criticise me!' reaction, try to be nice, even if you think they're wrong (and a year down the line, you may even realise they were right after all). Now that sounds preachy. Sorry, that's not the intention. It's as much a reminder-to-self and a comment to others.

'AS a comment to others', not 'and'. And very funny first post, DarkElegance!

OMG like celebraty death match! omg too funny. we all like geting praised not a bad thing it is when it stops being the genuine article and start being the "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" when there is NEVER anything wrong with a pic. when every single thing is GREAT. I mean if everything is great..then what? there is no brass ring to reach for. not only that but when the diseases hits alot of people they will attack. they are easily riled and will form bands of roving "NOyouareperfectdonoteverchange-itis" infected people. change ...is good. hard...difficult...sometimes disheartening...but good.

This is my first forum post.

Way before I became an active member, I was but a simple lurker going by the name of Raventree. I witnessed the disease about a year and a half ago, and it has happily festered since then.

Although I think the symptoms described do not apply to everyone. In fact, the victims of mass praise are more often than not artists who posted one or a few outstanding images once in their life. After that, they could post inferior stuff and it would still be labeled the next best thing - not a single constructive comment (how dare you confront such a marvelous artist?

I started making Neverwinter Nights portraits for the Neverwinter Vault at IGN and I am used to people bashing (constructively) my stuff whenever it was inferior to my previous posts. After a while, I had standards to keep up, and sometimes ditched whole projects because they didn't look good enough. No regrets, though. I couldn't have evolved without the criticism, and I firmly believe in it.

Cheers,

Antonio (a.k.a. Amalthea)

I know I have also posted comments like "nice lightning" and skipped the "but your character looks like a pretzel" bit. Yup, me too. I can, in fact, give very detailed and (I'm told) helpful critiques, but I don't unless I'm very sure the person really wants an actual critique. If I comment, I just say something about the positive (nice composition, good lighting, etc.) and leave it at that. By the same token, I don't actually expect to get solid constructive criticism here. I post for the sake of sharing images that some people seem to enjoy looking at. If I want honest criticism, I have a small group of fellow artists who will happily pick my work to bits so that I can improve it. I know them, I trust them, and I'm happy to have them deconstruct my work. (I can take a critique as well as giving one, heh). Point is, this really isn't the place to get that kind of feedback. You may get some if you post that you really, honestly want it, but it's kind of random and the advice you get may or may not be worth taking. ;-) So, hey, nice lighting! Pity your Vicki's boobs are bigger than her head.... ;-) bonni

Well DarkE, you're not the first to notice it by any means "myfriendsinflatemyego-itis" has been rampant in the poser gallery for months if not years, it's one of the reasons I stopped posting pics. How can anyone expect to compete or improve their skills if a certain few people get their "lovies" to vote them to the top of the shit pile every day? These days I ignore the galleries totally except for a few people who's artwork I know is something to drool over :)

Excellent post DarkElegance (and funny too, I might add!) I'm in the same camp with ernyoka1. I rarely rate images or post comments unless the artist has done something that I find exceptional in some way, or just plain like! Often times I simply can't find good words to explain what I like or, for that matter, don't like. Trying to tell someone that their lighting or shadows aren't quite right would be difficult since I'm not that good at those things myself and would not be in a good position to provide tips on how to improve! I do appreciate constructive criticism of my own work.....especially if the criticism is accompanied by a link to a tutorial to help correct a problem or an explanation of how to do it better. Finally,everyone's tastes are different and what looks bad to me, might look awesome to the next person.

I agree with DarkElegance and I must say most times when I vote I vote for excellent, but now...after this post I realise how many times I've seen some fantastic artwork and I thought: "I've voted for excellent a worst image,what should I vote for that?" and then I don't post a comment at all...Or vote the usual OMG,Fantastic,Amazing etc... Then sometimes I see something that annoys me in an image but I don't have the courage to write it when everyone before me enjoys ecstasy with the image.And then again I don't comment at all... I enjoy critic and thats the only reason I post my images here...Just like I enjoy critic from my friends when they come at home and I show them my pictures and make comments like "Why they are all naked?" or "Why all women have huge lips?" etc... Comments that none would make here I guess that when I'll become a great artist I'll never allow anyone comment my work! :-)

Hehehe... one funny scenerio comes to mind from this conversation... I was browsing the 3DSMax galleries one time, and came across a pic of an interior scene that was actually done quite well. However, I noticed the artist was using a renderer plugin for Max that I myself use and noticed that his render contained some render "artifacts" (blotches in the shadows and materials) that I know for a fact are the result of not increasing the default values on some of the render settings. Anyway, I pointed this out in my comment and told him how to correct the problem. The next day there were 6 or 7 posts under mine that said things like... "Don't listen to him, it's beautiful!" LOL I couldn't believe people were actually telling him NOT to correct a known SOFTWARE glitch! Apparently, they thought it was "artistic expression" for him not to know any better. LOL! Oh boy. :( PS: The funny thing is, he bought into it all. He posted a message thanking them all for their support, but ignored my tip on how to correct the render problem. hehe.

Soooo.... now that everyone in this post seems to agree; will people -do- anything about it ? ~S

Probably not ;)

Has anyone noticed that the butt kissin clique hasnt posted a peep in this thread? I'm amazed it took anyone this long to notice the "desease" as you put it. I've been flamed to high heaven for even daring to critique a clique members post. Everytime this pack of loyal, but less than bright, hounds point out that the critics "only have one or two pictures in their gallery" or "are just jealous" or "have no talent" etc etc ad nauseum. Nice to be appreciated for providing constructive critisism. I am disgusted every day by posts with 50+ comments and 40+ rankings of flowery praise and lavish butt kissery for a image that at best is good. not excellent, not great, but good. The galleries are not a talent contest. lets get this straight right now. They are a popularity contest. nothing more, nothing less. The name gets the rankings and comments, not the "art". I'll keep posting my working and showing it off to my friends when they want to look. The clique hounds can keep their insincere comments for members of their circle. I prefer the honest critics thanks.

I'll continue to give constructive crits whenever I feel they are warranted... after all, it says that's what the comment field is for right in the description... "Your HELPFUL comments for improving this image" is the direct quote from the feedback form in EVERY gallery. Some folks must read that as "Fill in your sloppiest ass kissing comment here". ;)

One thing we could do... I would suggest creating a template that we could automatically add to a post's notes, stating that we accept constructive bashing (but not trolling!) and are willing to take the suggestions into account for our future creations. That way we don't scare off those who are afraid to be flamed for their criticism and instead invite them to a mature debate. Of course, that won't eliminate the butt-kissing clique, but I don't think they are the problem. We can sort out the comments ourselves and seperate the praise from the real comments. What do you think?

I think thats a good idea, and it won't hurt to try. If you posted an outline of how you "see" it in the community center, those of us who agree could support it, cross-application wise, if you see what I mean ? ~S

I'm game! Hey, I don't kid myself, I'm no artist. Never had any formal training and haven't dabbled in conventional mediums since I was in school. I'm an English teacher and would rather sit down and write those 1,000 words the picture's supposed to be worth :) Believe me, I know what stagnant feels like and would appreciate constructive criticism from those who would take the time to give it.

ahhhh the flames...yes bad. sometimes a symptom of "Iamgreatandyouallsuck-itis" flames..bad. creative suggestions..good. I like the template idea but see the disease seems to somehow attack drop down menus and such. while there are more then one rank..only two seem to work. also the disease seems to cause an adverse reaction to such critism. as mentioned with the 3dmax plug in. this is where the disease attacks the creative process..it stunts growth of skills, seems to almost halt the learning ability of some artists. it seems it also causes vicki to loose all her clothes. now I have not a lick of problem with vicki being naked. naked not a problem. naked vicki siting in a setting where you are asking.."why the heck is she naked?" is different. I have yet to see a single woman in combat naked. I think{though not sure}that when one purchases a firearm there is actually a rule that states you shall not go into open battle naked. While NakedVickiInTemples are a tradition. I think unless there is a valid reason for her to be naked{such as being a priestess for a fertility cult or such} that new members are given a quote of only two unexplained naked woman standing in a temple. Nudity is not bad. nudity with out logic can get abit unnerving. the illness causes the perception that all naked no matter what is GREAT. ~.~ it is far to late for me ....3am...isnt there a song with that title...~wanders off~

ohh P.S. Kalypso....I have no formal training at all. none. so dont let that idea stop you...jump in and play ;)

Anoter thing to do is to disable the voting on your pictures.. it's actually something you have to actively select ;o) Same as the comments... But by eliminating those, you also eliminate any contructive critique :o) so.. I'd suggest leaving them on.

Naked babes are a whole different chapter, DarkElegance... but it's worth discussing. ;) Regarding dropdown menus though... since it's a broken feature (the concept is great, but users make it obsolete - a problem derivated directly from the butt-kissing clique), we might as well ignore it and focus on the real criticism provided by a select few viewers. Praise is great, though, as long as it is not limited to one word sentences in bold, 27 point characters accompanied by funny symbols and images. ;) Cheers, Antonio.

I don't frequent the galleries much here, but on another public site now deceased I used regularly to post constructive criticism until I realised it was generally rather badly received. Matters are easier on a private site where a small group of artists can post and comment on each other's work in an honest and open way, because we all know each other and there's no element of showing off to the public.

It's about being nice and about some being very good artists but it's also about the e-bots! "This notification is to make you aware that one of your favorite artists, XYZ, has uploaded a new gallery image. You may view this image by clicking the following link:...." People, who are on many favorite artists lists, get a lot of comments in very short time after uploading an image, because you just have to click the link in you mail, comment and that's it. It's much more time consuming to browse the galleries and view and comment images. I've seen some very good pieces, that had only the few comments by viewers who had found the image by chance. They surely were not on many favorites lists.

Hmmmm, well I never use to post to my gallery, now I do for myself. I was here during that time, it was sad.....this is my release here, I get enough bad comments in the real world, but I can take a good critic. Interesting topic. Sharen

Let's get one thing clear, the pics posted here are supposed to be "ART"...Art is subjective, meaning what one person thinks needs improvement, another may feel is brilliant. Therefore what makes one an expert, so they have the right or expertise to tell another person how to improve their pic. so basically it boils down to if you like the pic say so, if you don't move on and say nothing.
being around here a while I noticed, most of the know it alls, that said this or that needs improvement, were the ones that weren't very good at this themselves. So to finish this story, if you want hits and comments post flowing hair and boobs, if you want to actually learn something try doing something different, probably won't be a popular pic (unless you are on the popular list here), but it will make you grow in your ability.

What to do ? Well how about a group to review the commentators ? These could remove/modify the rating/comment priveliges from anyone who gave out consistently excellent/lousy awards. Alternatively, members could have a fixed quota of rating points to hand out per month. This could be overseen by the same group as above Then we need a group to oversee the reviewers, in order to weed out any signs of unfairness. And so on .. Qui custodiet custodies.

So, simply ignore all "GREAT" unless they are accompanied by practical suggestions to be "GREATER"?

Ratings are over-reated. I personally think they should do away with them, they're obsolete for the reasons stated above a few times. Everyone votes Excellent. This is why I don't allow ratings on my images. Here lately, I've even begun to ponder disabling comments as well. I get a ton of comments on some of my images, not so many on others. I post them for other's enjoyment (and my own) as well as to get some honest constructive criticism to improve my skills. (I can't spell, don't hang me. ;)) Someone said something above about the Favorite Artist lists as well. I agree with that as well. As far as the top 20 images, half the time I don't even bother looking, because each time I do, there are about three artists that fill the thing to the brim. I've hit it a couple of times, and have had to be told I was there because I never expect to get there. It's pretty meaningless to me. I do enjoy it when people like my images, but I like it more when they see my mistakes.

(sorry for the repost .. rosity forums really need an edit button) There should be a category for artists who want constructive criticsm to post under. I, for one, will always post under that category if there was one. I had a friend getting admin warnings just because he made a very critical comment (pointing out several many boo-boos, but also saying about the good parts of the image) after a string of high-praising comments already posted for that pic, and the artist got touchy and complained to the admin to send the poster a warning(?!). Personally I hardly give a constructive comment unless it's to a close friend whom I know accepts these types. I normally just dont comment at all if I think a pic still needs work lol Just agreeing ;) - Dru

I have put in a few comments here and there on ppl's work, and I suppose I'm one of the ones who is always complimentary. My reasoning is why bother to go out of your way to tell someone you don't like their work? I'm not a pro at poser, not even close, so just about anything people do looks good to me. Oh yeah, and post more toonimals. MoxeyH

Actually I have indeed posted critiques on a few images - surprisingly I have more oftenthan not received an email from the creator thanking me for being honest and stating it was helpful. Unfortunately when there is a large group of infected ones posting that an image is fabulous the honest critiques get lost as unimportant, outweighed by the "Oh kewl". One specific artist comes to mind (although there are many). The work never changes, is usually badly put together, same lighting, same blank stare, heck identical looking texture and generally the same hair in every single image. This artist might have gotten better if some had been honest but instead there are droves of "that is awesome!" "that is amazing" "oooh that's hot" etc. comments. Instead of doing the artist a favor by boosting the ego the artist's work has actually gotten worse/sloppier over time with intersecting body parts and slap together images. The infected group still posts that the images are stunning and those who might say otherwise are drowned out or overlooked. The artist is a genuinely nice person with many friends and that only make s the infection take hold all that much more. In reality when looking at a scenario like that one has to realize that they don't actually want critiques - they just want to be told something is pretty. I think that in that case - where a poster really only wants positive feedback they should state - "Did this for fun, not as art or for critiques". I don't think that those who are willing to take constructive criticiscm should have to post something special when that is what the feedback form is supposedly for. My rule of thumb is always find something nice before posting about improvements. Then again I've had an image slammed by someone who simply didn't like the fact that it was a heavy woman posing in the nude which imo is not an art critique but personal taste, there were plenty of actual things wrong with that pic. Sometimes people don't know where that line is.

I comment on images for one of two reasons ... (1) If an image really strikes my fancy; or (2) if I catch a render that uses one of the items I created, it really makes me happy and I take the time to comment as a gesture of thanks I agree about the idea of having a "Tell It Like It Is" gallery. The artist will not post images in there unless he or she wants CONSTRUCTIVE, and HONEST feedback on his or her art. I would probably put a lot of my own in there as well, because as soon as I get LightWave 8, I will devote my art to learning IT. 8-) Mods/PTB, what do you think?

There should be a category for artists who want constructive criticsm to post under. I, for one, will always post under that category if there was one.

That's an interesting idea. I suppose the WIP gallery might be the place to post...but even there, you don't get much criticism.

That might be the solution, though. Separate people who want constructive criticism from those who don't. Either have a gallery just for people who welcome criticism...or just for people who don't.

I will say that I've gotten some useful criticism. It's more common in the Vue gallery than in Poser, but I've gotten some in the Poser gallery, too. However, it's not easy to carry on a conversation, so to speak, in the galleries. Since no one can reply to your comments without deleting their previous commments, and if you post a corrected image, there's no guarantee that your critics will see it, unless they've added you to their favorite artists list.