Have you ever posted a negative comment about a picture before, whether it was constructive or not?  If so, what happened afterwards?  Is it considered impolite to say "I don't like it," or is it the responsibility of the creator to be mature and accept it?

if i dont like an image, i just dont comment. now, if I do like an image but see a constructive comment that can be given in a polite manner, I do.  but generally, i operate under:  "if you cant say something nice..." theory.  after all, art is subjective and all about perspectives and personal taste. what i may love, you may utterly hate and vice versa

forgot to add...what DOES bother me is when  people give long and largely negative critiques about work and give specific "fixes" ...then you look at their gallery only to note that there isn't one.  to me that is rather like me telling someone how to do brain surgery....i cant because I have no experience in the matter.

These days I take pretty much the same view as webster2772. Very few, if any  will say "I really hate your image", perhaps with me it's not so much being kind, as not wanting to stick my head above the parapet!

I rarely browse the galleries, and when I do I rarely comment. When I do comment it's because the image evoked some kind of feelings/thoughts within me and I felt compelled to let the artist know.

Routinely if I don't like an image, rather than hurt someone's feelings I just close the image and go onto the next one.

Many people here will ask for help on an image if they are struggling with it, but I am of the belief that the gallery is a place to showcase your finished work. So with that in mind, who am I to tell the artist that they should have used hues of blue instead of green?! Or that the lamp should be on the left instead of the right in order to provide balance to the image?  I figure if they wanted to use blues or have the lamp on the left they would have done that. It's their image and their vision, not mine.

Now if someone specificially asks for helpful criticism, then I'll do my best to tell them what works for me and what doesn't.  Does that mean their image is bad? No. It just means that if I had done that image I would have done something different in it, according to "my" vision.

Now on the other hand if I see it's a new Poser user with one or two images in their gallery, I will tell them that they are off to a good start and then gently give them some suggestions on ways to improve their "concept" via lighting or scaling.

I frequently send a link to an image I'm working on to a few people via Site Mail to get their input on how it's looking and any tips for improvement.  I also have been running it by a couple people at home too, just to get "non professional" opinions on what they think and what they feel could be improved.

This is a hard one! lol Because someone who posts there art, images, ect. must know that not everyone will like the image. But I do agree that if you have nothing nice to say don't say it at all, but then again it takes away from freedom of speech and so on. I would comment in a nice way saying what you didn't like and what you did like as well. :)

verrrrrry carefully..;) If I see something I know I could fix, I might drop a hint or two. If I know of resources that can help (web sites, etc), I'll drop 'em in. I always end on a positive note of encouragement (E flat..;).

The problem is that some people, despite what rating they set, just won't accept criticism of any sort, positive or negative.

I don't post negative comments. If I don't like it, I won't comment.
I do leave feedback if I see something I know could be improved, but rarely.

Quote - Have you ever posted a negative comment about a picture before, whether it was constructive or not?  If so, what happened afterwards?  Is it considered impolite to say "I don't like it," or is it the responsibility of the creator to be mature and accept it?

I never posted a negative comment. I can't see a good reason to post a really ersonal opinion such as "I don't like it". It woun't do anything but hurt authors feelings.

BUT, I have posted comments where I point out what's good on an image, and what could use improvement. Again, I try to make it sound positive, like, it would be even better if you try... (and make a suggestion about what to try)

Images which I really don't like, I don't comment on. Which is why I don't frequent galleries all that much. There's a lot of stuff to wade through, and my time can be limited.

Quote - The problem is that some people, despite what rating they set, just won't accept criticism of any sort, positive or negative.

This sometimes happens even to people whom say they want critiquing!

My suggestion would be to not post negative comments. The basic question would be to ask why you'd want to? There really is no value doing that. If an image is really good, it is worthwhile to give the image a good rating. If enough people do so, the image can join the ranks of favorites and reach a larger audience by being highlighted in one of the "highly rated" galleries. A bad rating doesn't have much affect on the visibility of an image to other Renderosity members, so there's not much reason to pan an image.

The bulk of Poser users are hobbyists and aren't making any money from their work. When they post an image, they're posting something that they think is worth the time to put in a gallery. There is no way of knowing whether the artist is a professional or a beginner. There is no way of knowing how the artist will take the criticism. If an artist wants critiques, there is a forum here where the artist can post a work-in-progress to get suggestions on how to improve the image. Once it's posted in the gallery, criticisms are somewhat of a moot point because the image is finished.

I seem to recall seeing a thread once that said Renderosity has over a million images in the gallery (the What's new section has 24,000 images going back to mid-Nov07, so a million sounds about right). There are more images in the gallery than anybody has time to see. Any one image gets a few days exposure on the What's New pages and is subsequently buried by newer images. The main galleries can only be browsed for the last 45 days. A really bad gallery image has a very short lifespan. It's pretty much gone. The only way to subsequently find that image is by specifically searching through the user's gallery or by another Rendo user that lists either that artist or one of the images as a favorite. A image, that's so bad as give a person a reason to rate it badly, probably isn't on too many favorites lists. A bad image is gone and won't be offending anybody's sensibilities.

What is the value about negatively rating an image? It's not going to be on any of the coveted high ranking lists. Images get most of their ratings and comments in the first few days they're up because they're buried so fast, so that should provide an indication of whether it's worth looking at the image while browsing thumbnails.

I'm wondering how a person can open an image that can upset them bad enough to leave a negative rating. All images have thumbnails and a bad image usually has a bad thumbnail. The easiest way to avoid getting irritated by a bad image is to avoid opening the bad thumbnail. If the thumbnail happens to be uninformative, like the close-up of an elbow, don't bother opening it. There are enough informative thumbnails that one doesn't have to open up one of an elbow to only be disappointed that the image sucks. There are enough options at Renderosity to find good images that it would be hard to find bad ones unless somebody is specifically looking for them.

If a person only wants to look at highly rated, highly viewed, or highly commented images, under the assumption that they should be reasonably good, there are galleries for those and they're now limited to 45 days of exposure, so there's some turnaround. Looking at artist favorites, in artist profiles, is probably an even better way to find artist galleries of interest. The "highly" galleries tend to focus on cheesecake because Poser users are primarily interested in female figures . Whenever somebody finds a great image, the odds are good that the artist behind it has done more very good images and lists favorites that are similar in style.

I useta post comments when the image was an obvious copyright violation, but there were so many of them that I gave up and quit looking at the section involved (usually involving photomanips IIRC).

Oh yea, I'll let 'em have it both barrels if you know what I mean. Nooo, not really. I have made a couple coments in the past about camera angles being at snake high levels. I guess I just personally hate it 'cause in real life you'd have to be a roach, ant or a snake to get a shot like that. Of course it's going to make things look bigger than life and that's why I don't like it. lol

Never.  I have posted suggestions for improvement, when the poster has indicated critical comments are welcomed.

I disagree with webster that people without galleries shouldn't comment.  I believe that, since the galleries are publicly viewable, anyone should be allowed to comment.  After all, we all have opinions on TV shows, footballers, music and so forth.  Doesn't mean we could write, act or direct a show, play football or play music.

Quote - I disagree with webster that people without galleries shouldn't comment.  I believe that, since the galleries are publicly viewable, anyone should be allowed to comment.  After all, we all have opinions on TV shows, footballers, music and so forth.  Doesn't mean we could write, act or direct a show, play football or play music.

Although I kind of agree with you, there's a big difference in scale and purpose. Professional reviewers try to help us spend money on worthwhile entertainment. Images here are free. The rest of us can talk opinions about professional movies, sports, and so on without feeling too guilty. It's a bit tacky to vent that opinion on a person's page. Leaving a negative comment about a Vince Vaughn movie in a forum is one thing. Doing it on his personal webpage is a bit nastier. That's what we're doing here when we leave a negative comment on somebody's gallery image. It's part of their profile. Vince Vaughn can cry all the way to the bank when he sees a negative criticism by a non-professional reviewer--or a pro for that matter. A Renderosity artist doesn't have the solace of a multi-million dollar paycheck.

How quickly would a moderator shut down a forum topic about posting the worst gallery images seen at Renderosity? Would the mods be as quick to close down an off-topic post to name the worst movies ever seen? I'd go with a DVD a friend lent me: American Pie: Band Camp. It's one thing to beat up on a bad movie that probably cost millions of dollars to make, but still turned out wrong. It's another to jump all over somebody's personal artwork that they spent hours creating and freely sharing. I've seen discussions here with members that wanted to critique images they see when their own galleries weren't all that terribly impressive. A person doesn't have to be a professional artist to critique art, but it's a lot more convincing when they are. It's a bit ridiculous to have a person critiquing an image for having badly posed figures when the critic's work has badly posed figures. If only we could see our flaws as well as we can those of others.

Well, perhaps 3 years ago I saw a wonderful image with beautyful roses and character. All things went well but not the lipstick which has "shot" the whole image. I wrote this and said that it would be better to try or use another lipstick next image. 
The artist (female) has start to kill me after this message....So since I let others do what they want.... 
Most I only comment a view images from artists which I took in my favorites. Others I only comment if I see a work from whom I´m impressed.

Sure, "I don´t like" isn´t a comment that helps. Not all persons like the same style of art, and so not everybody "like" or "dislike" my art by sample. I can give a critique if I recognize a technics probleme, but than I also have to say how to fix it or how to do.

I remember in the beginning with Poser so many told me "There are no shadows", but no one told me how to do a shadow :-// That makes non sense.

But´if you don´t like an image, it´s better to say nothing ;-)

I wonder who has the worst renders all around and no matter how many helpful comments were left the art just never got better yet keeps posting them? Making all who see think they are so glad that they are better than that. I need images like that! Thank you for posting them. I love you! :)

There is a curious implication above that

(a) amateurs are automatically worse artists than professionals

and

(b) professionals respond to criticism in a more temperate way than amateurs.

Neither would appear to be a standpoint that bears up very well to analysis.

Quote - Although I kind of agree with you, there's a big difference in scale and purpose. Professional reviewers try to help us spend money on worthwhile entertainment. Images here are free. The rest of us can talk opinions about professional movies, sports, and so on without feeling too guilty. It's a bit tacky to vent that opinion on a person's page. Leaving a negative comment about a Vince Vaughn movie in a forum is one thing. Doing it on his personal webpage is a bit nastier. That's what we're doing here when we leave a negative comment on somebody's gallery image. It's part of their profile. Vince Vaughn can cry all the way to the bank when he sees a negative criticism by a non-professional reviewer--or a pro for that matter. A Renderosity artist doesn't have the solace of a multi-million dollar paycheck.

How quickly would a moderator shut down a forum topic about posting the worst gallery images seen at Renderosity? Would the mods be as quick to close down an off-topic post to name the worst movies ever seen? I'd go with a DVD a friend lent me: American Pie: Band Camp. It's one thing to beat up on a bad movie that probably cost millions of dollars to make, but still turned out wrong. It's another to jump all over somebody's personal artwork that they spent hours creating and freely sharing. I've seen discussions here with members that wanted to critique images they see when their own galleries weren't all that terribly impressive. A person doesn't have to be a professional artist to critique art, but it's a lot more convincing when they are. It's a bit ridiculous to have a person critiquing an image for having badly posed figures when the critic's work has badly posed figures. If only we could see our flaws as well as we can those of others.

Plain ordinary people go into galleries and pass comment on the work exhibited there as well as art critics.  Some artists don't post their work here.  Over 50% of my work isn't posted here, or anywhere else for that matter, since it's done for paying clients.  A lack of a gallery is no indication of a member's artistic ability, or lack thereof..

Expressing an opinion about something is part of what we all do, all the time.  However, a thread about the worst gallery images would be asking tor trouble since it's holding someone up to ridicule, which constitutes a TOS violation.  No personal attacks, remember?  So yes, we'd shut that down pretty damn quick. 

If there was a big prize for worst. I'd try for it.

I wouldn't know how to feel if I lost.

Okay, you want to be serious and I guess it is. I'm leaving.

Hehe, I´m sure nobody would find the top of worst images, as nobody knows really what "worse" image is. Think about the different between Leonardo da Vinci and Max Bill...

Don't get me started on LdV...

I guess I'd be most upset if I was trying lose and won.

I think though some people have a talent for making ugly poser images. Others could try and never be able to compete with them. It just comes natural. The figures pose wasn't wrong. It's exactly the way they wanted it in perfect form, you know what I mean? We only think they got it wrong. It leaves them scratching their head when somebody say something about it. I'll see you all around, later again.  

Someone once gave me constructive critisism. I thanked her for it and she got all defensive.  Eventhough I tried to tell her that I agreed with what she had said and that I was gratefull for an honest view..  I guess thats the atmosphere here;  Everyone is soo carefull not to insult the other, while that's usually good, it really doesn't help a person improve as an artist. Most of my stuff is utter shite and people are too afraid say that : "Peelo this sucks." In fact I'm still waiting for someone to say that. I know it sucks so I don't mind. There's usually only one thing in my pic that I like and the rest of it sucks, so if I can say it out loud why can't others?
  If a person leaves a comment that has constructive critsism, it means that the persons has really  taken the time to look at the picture carefully. Isn't that better than your usual : "This rocks!" -comment?

peelo, I just looked at yer gallery page 1 and they're pretty good IMVHO. however, I would advise against using progressive jpeg, as it takes a very long time to load, even on my 6mbps connexion. p.s. I like acadia's new avatar of the kitty in the sno-globe. hey, wait a bit! I think lenny da vinci was very good, too. definitely not a minimalist :lol:

Sometimes I see an image that looks great in the thumbnail, but when enlarged, there are flaws. I want to say, "Great, but you need to set the terrain texture so that there's no obvious tiling" or "Why not render again at a higher antialiasing level?" but I say nothing. I don't even comment when I love an image lest I trigger some ghastly tit for tat compliment chain.

Never said Lenno was a minimalist - just don't like his paintings - and don't give me the parachutes that would never have opened, the helicopters with the aerodynamics of Liverpool Cathedral, or any of his other thank-god-no-one-ever-actually-tried-it lunacy.   His anatomical work was his genuine  masterpiece, but, even then,  Stubbs did the same thing with horses.   The difference is that Stubbs painted beautiful pictures.

Shame Lenno never posts on Renderosity. 

I don't leave negative comments. If I don't like the work, I don't comment. Of course I don't comment sometimes even when I really like the image. But if my hands are acting up with lots of pain, I can't type. One time I got a negative comment of "this sucks" but no reason why it sucked. How could that help me improve? Criticism I can take when it is constructive, but destructive comments don't help.

I don't comment in the galleries at all these days, I really can't be bothered with the hassle making comments brings to my inbox.

I don't know about anyone else here but I don't save poser setups once I create the image, so the only way I could fix it would be to do it in postwork which I don't do a lot of. Actually I do save some setups but that is only for clients so if they want a change I can do it, and I would never post that work in the gallery. I pretty much leave good comments. I don't go to the galleries unless someone points out something and then it's usually so good that only a good comment would do.  I am in agreement that once it's posted it should be there to enjoy, not tear apart. You can't walk up to a painting in a gallery in the real world and start marking comments on the wall next to it. Just enjoy them. If you don't like or don't understand what the artist is trying to say then move on to the next work. Sometimes I do stuff that is not balanced and I do that to disturb the eye rather than appeal to it.

Quote - My suggestion would be to not post negative comments. The basic question would be to ask why you'd want to? There really is no value doing that.

not to disagree with people about polite behavior, but i would totally and completely value negative comments.  not that i'm particularly thick-skinned, and wouldn't pitch a fit to myself and my long-suffering and supportive boyfriend, but i'd rather hear why people don't  like something than get the silence i sometimes do.  or even just that they don't like it.  because without that feedback, i can't tell the difference between it evoked a strong (if negative) reaction and it's just forgetable.  i mean, i wouldn't be interested in personal attacks (sort of got that once over at DAZ's artzone, and it totally creeped me out), but i am interested in personal reactions.  i don't have to be guided by them, but it would be useful to know if someone didn't like the picture because they didn't like the colors vs. they didn't like the subject. 

If I really like an image I'll comment, if I think it's garbage or it's just not my taste then I'll just move on.
Constructive criticism is a good thing, but I think this differs from personal opinion. If people are saying they think the colour tone was wrong, the camera angle is wrong, the tree would look better over there, I don't like the outfit, to me this is an opinion, it doesn't mean the artist's work needs correcting. If they could be given comments to help them technically with their 3D app settings (ie render, lights etc), postwork, or specific help to what they have asked for, then that's fine. But to say you think such & such could be improved just because it's more to your taste, I find is not very helpful unless it gives the artist new ideas to think about. 
If I was to post a fantasy image & someone stated a particular thing didn't look realistic I'd pull my hair out!

I have commented negatively on images before, but only to artists whom know me, or of me. I always give reason why I post negatively, not just "This sucks" or what have you.

I believe critical feedback is more valuable than "OMG YOU ROCK". It's how I grow personally. I get critical feedback all the time. Sometimes, it's nonsense. Other times, it's valid. Not taking it personally is the key.

At the end of the day, the art is for the artist. Someone I posted negatively commented to pointed that out to me. They are right of course. Our art is for ourselves.

Some people want criticism. Others don't. As I recall, the button that allows user feedback does say positive and negative. If people don't want honest feedback, they don't have to enable that option.

I'll never post a negative comment.
Most peps tend to hold onto their creations a little too hard here, instead of looking for improvement.

The only time I will post a comment is if I like the work or if some is asking for help like how do I get less shadows here? I rarely save the "setup files" unless I have not finished with the project I am working on.
Example is I am currently working on a scene where I need a boarding platform for a space ship. I have several different spaceships I could use with scene but none like I want to use. So I will save the scene and hunt for the prop/figure I want. Has anyone seen a platform like the one on the Millenium Falcon?

Quote - Have you ever posted a negative comment about a picture before, whether it was constructive or not?  If so, what happened afterwards?  Is it considered impolite to say "I don't like it," or is it the responsibility of the creator to be mature and accept it?

No but I've received my fair share of idiots who think posting stuff like "It's Crap" is appropriate criticism.  Let's just say I don't put a lot of stuff in my Galleries anymore.

If someone has asked for negative comments and there is an obvious flaw, I do as Sam recommends and point it out gently.. even then, I've had an inbox full of flames.

I am also careful with the ratings... people expect 5 stars and I have been sent emails for giving fewer than 5. The way I see it is 5 is the best and there are some artists who, IMHO, deserve 5 stars. But they are few and it's dishonest to give 5 stars to lesser quality pics.

At times, instead of posting negative comments, I posted a comment inviting people to come to the critique forums.
Sometimes I did the same with really good ones, in hopes we get a mix of people who know their stuff, and people whom want to learn more.

When I leave gallery comments at all -- which is rarely -- it's around 98% positive.  About the only thing that will inspire me to leave a "negative" comment are images which I find to be politically / philosophically objectionable.  In which case I am responding to the idea behind the image.....not to the artwork per se.

It's kinda inevitable that you're going to upset some people if you say negative things about their work.......because artists (at all levels of expertise & talent) tend to regard their artwork as a personal extension of themselves.  So verbal jabs at their pretty picture are interpreted as personal insults.  There's also the fact that some people are simply more sensitive by nature than are others.  It can't be helped.

In a similar vein, some people can take the heat in the forums.  Others run off crying to the Mods everytime that someone says "boo!" to them.  Likewise, some people are comfortable enough in their own skins to let negative statements bounce off of them, while others feel every word deeply.

I tend to reserve most of my "negative" comments for the forums.....not the galleries.  In a way it's more fair: because the opposite has a chance to answer back.

Heh -- the flipside of this "negative comment" coin can be taken too far, also.  That is to say: the implied idea that True Maturity can only be demonstrated by standing around stoically while being unjustly or wrongly criticised or attacked.  An odd sort of maturity, that.  Attackers tend to like that sort of "maturity" residing in their targets -- because it gives the attacker free rein to do whatever they want to do without fear of being answered, or criticised in their own turn.

You can hand out negative comments if you want to: but be prepared to get them back in return if you do.  Don't start crying "foul!" (or just start crying) when your words are returned to you in the same spirit as you've so freely shared them.  I have a serious problem with critics who can't stand to be criticised, or who get huffy when their negativism turns out to be contagious.

People have a right to criticise their critics.......or even to contend that their critics are flatly wrong.

Attached Link: Critique Forum

Not really. I was mostly saying that I'll respect a critique from somebody who is a better Poser artist than me over somebody who isn't. I'd also pay more attention to diet advice from a fit athlete over that of a 600 lb couch potato. It doesn't mean that any of the advice is wrong, but that the advice from the person who can personally apply it to themselves carries more weight than the advice from the person who has not demonstrated the ability to improve themselves.

Quote - Plain ordinary people go into galleries and pass comment on the work exhibited there as well as art critics.

True, but those comments aren't permanently left next to the museum painting.

Quote - However, a thread about the worst gallery images would be asking tor trouble since it's holding someone up to ridicule, which constitutes a TOS violation.  No personal attacks, remember?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not asking to post that type of thread. I could go through the gallery and fairly quickly create a thread of problems in a lot of images without trying to make it personal. It isn't hard to find images that have real artistic problems. However, the critique would probably be taken personally. Whether the criticism is done in a forum thread or in the gallery, it's probably going to be taken personally. 

As has been mentioned by a few others in this thread, gallery works tend to be final works. Critiques that are specific to a gallery image usually won't get fixed. Artists have either deleted the .pz3 work files to save space or they are too busy working on something new to fix an old image. The advice is somewhat moot. 

There is a critique forum here and every artist posting work there is asking for advice on how to make their images better. Those artists are welcoming honest critiques. It's safer to offer advice there than to offer unrequested advice in the galleries.

Quote-There is a critique forum here- (so forth and so on)

Yep and that's the best place to make critique comments however the galleries themselves would only be a place for only positive remarks and ghastly tit for tat comment remarks. Almost worthless.

The best thing to do is put your art in a guarded place if you can't take the heat of "open to the public". If you do it for a living and a bad remark will cause you to lose money or stature then don't give anyone the opertunity to cut you down. Like Sam does.

As far as the artist that reported a comment of "that sucks" I hope I didn't say that(what picture was it I'll look? No don't tell me- I'm sorry!), but whoever did might have been in a bad mood or something. Cut 'em some slack it's the best thing to do(could have been drunk too). They may have felt bad about it later. Or not, who knows? No room here for vengance stalkers, wouldn't think so anyways.

Art is likely to bring out the best and the worst in people. The comment area is wide open to recieve it. People her post pics with some strong messages that are their personal opinion/beliefs/agenda advertisements to the public. Why can't others remark( agree or disagree) in a peaceful manner?

After this thread though I'll be less likely to comment anymore period. I realize it's too complicated and maybe dangerous if you don't know them and can trust them. Who knows anyone that well? Not me. Yet, I let it happen here. Maybe I shouldn't. Later 
  

Quote - If you do it for a living and a bad remark will cause you to lose money or stature then don't give anyone the opertunity to cut you down. Like Sam does.

  

Actually, no.  I don't post them here because they aren't mine to post.  I keep a portfolio to show clients but I can't post the stuff online.

You're right, I remember you said that now. It's sounds arlright to me though, but everyone will do what they want to. Just my thoughts on the matter. Take care Sam. 

I don't post negative comments. What I will do, if I see something to comment on about the image is very gently give a "This looks a little bit off, here's one possible way to correct it or improve it" type of comment, but I too always end on a positive note with my comments.

I never just post "I don't like this" and if it's a new user to the programme, I try to encourage them, rather than just go 'this sucks!' because new users are so very sensitive to what they're doing. They come into this and they know they're wading in the big pond with all the big fish that have been there for years and they can sometimes be very quick to get a hand-slap and run to another pond somewhere else.

That said... I don't even post a whole lot of 'fix this, tweak that' type of comments to begin with. Only rarely do I make a comment like that. And of the few times I have done so, most of the times it's been met with dignity, though there was one very recent time that the artist decided to get snarky and left a snarky comment in 'retaliation' on one of my images after doing so. I just let that sort of thing ride.

If you're posting in the galleries, yes, expect some negativity, I'd say. What you like, or you prefer, isn't neccessarily what others do, and if you don't have a thick skin and aren't able to take critique or comments, you shouldn't be enabling comments on your images anyway. IMO, for what it's worth, there you go. LOL

~ Seliah

Quote - peelo, I just looked at yer gallery page 1 and they're pretty good IMVHO. however, I would advise against using progressive jpeg, as it takes a very long time to load, even on my 6mbps connexion. p.s. I like acadia's new avatar of the kitty in the sno-globe. hey, wait a bit! I think lenny da vinci was very good, too. definitely not a minimalist :lol:

Thanks! See, I had no idea about that and the progressive jpg's. So no more of those then. Thanks for letting me know.

Quote - "There is a curious implication above that
(a) amateurs are automatically worse artists than professionals
and
(b) professionals respond to criticism in a more temperate way than amateurs.
Neither would appear to be a standpoint that bears up very well to analysis."

* *

***Not really. I was mostly saying that I'll respect a critique from somebody who is a better Poser artist than me over somebody who isn't. I'd also pay more attention to diet advice from a fit athlete over that of a 600 lb couch potato. It doesn't mean that any of the advice is wrong, but that the advice from the person who can personally apply it to themselves carries more weight than the advice from the person who has not demonstrated the ability to improve themselves.

***Firstly, I wasn't aiming that at you, gagnonrich, so I'm sorry if I gave that impression.   Nobody  readily takes slimming advice from someone who is twenty-three stone, because the too, too solid flesh of that adviser suggests that he or she may not be speaking from a position of genuine authority.   Those that bestow artistic advice don't advertise their qualifications - or lack of them -  quite so conveniently.   The problem with the concept of the Critique Forum is the blithe assumption that the critics know more than the artist, have better taste than the artist and have a technique superior to the artist's technique.   Where is the evidence that such assumptions are justified?