Cloning account ? it's stupid !!! Sure the person who take that self made a great handjob

It have no sense ...

this is a an online community.  not an art class site, or a training site.  it's not even a store with a community, because the community pre-dates the store. a  tons of people post just to put up something they like and to have other people they like enjoy it.  asking people who post like this to share constructive criticism is like asking people who invite each other to dinner parties to share constructive criticism about cooking.   you can complain that everyone is just exchanging pleasantries instead of analyzing the ingredients of the appetizers, but that's not really going to do anything but create discomfort all around.

lots of those popular artists get free products because they put out work quickly, consistently and have a large audience.  so even if they're not selling their work, they're part of commerce.  and business isn't about being the best, it's about being popular. how you get to be popular is just the means by which you've succeeded in business.

i recently looked at the highest ranked, and i saw some work i didn't think was as good as some of mine, let alone that of the people i follow (most of whom are better than i am).  i also saw some images that were absolutely great, truly professional works.  sure, there were people on that list who are just part of the group of people who keep commenting and ranking each others' works.  but all that meant to me was that i couldn't use the list as a filter to find new and interesting works (and artists), and that even if i ever get back to posting, not to hope to be popular.  ever.  because i doubt i'll ever be great, and i know i'll never be an online Heather.

if you want constructive criticism a) ask for it each time you post, and b) actually try to use it.

i participated in the "critique group" here, and then the critique forum before it died.  i spent a lot of time on critiques of artwork by people who said that they wanted to get better.  a lot of time thinking about how they could improve their work in terms of what they seemed to be trying to accomplish and what was already good.  it was a pretty large group, but only a few of those people used any criticism at all.  most of them just kept doing the same thing they always did, with no changes to lighting, composition, materials, or any techniques.  no experiments, no discussion of trying to improve, just the same stuff, and the same explanations.

and that's cool.   i still follow a lot of those people, because they're great artists.  some i haven't commented on like i used to because i got incredibly busy.    i'll probably comment more soon.  some i (very frankly) won't bother with because even though they asked for critique all they actually want is affirmation.  for me, if the work stays the same, even if i like it, i'll only repeat myself if i feel like it's important to keep someone going as an artist, or i just like the work that much.

it's also cool that some people said they wanted critiques, but then complained when they actually got them.  i find that this whole thing is kind of like a bunch of people talking about working out.  even with the best of intentions, there's going to be a lot of people who find the actual practice too difficult and uncomfortable.  if you're asking for critique, it means you shouldn't be working comfortably.  you should be pushing yourself beyond that, to do something difficult.  it doesn't matter how you (try to) advance (artistically, technically, conceptually, emotionally, etc.), as long as you take a step in some direction rather than standing in place.

if you're not going to push yourself and take advice (sometimes, you just need to grow in your own direction), don't ask for critiques.  because when you really do need them, people probably aren't going to respond.

frankly, for me, technical information is either educational or just noise.   99.9% of the time, the main problems i see aren't technical problems, they're artistic ones.  for instance, VSS, IDL and Poser 8 aren't going to help your realism if you follow the current trend and place a front lit figure in front of a gorgeously lit sky (sunset, full moon, etc.).  conversely, there's a lot of tropes in western art that have everything to do with norms and nothing to do with realism.

but, in the end, the best way to get good critiques is to give them.  back when i was active in the galleries, a few people who posted "wonderfull!!!"and "fabulous!!!" to other people's work would write, "love it, but i wish...." on my work because i was giving pretty thorough critiques (max of  2 hours writing one- yeah, i'm slow).  

let me warn, it actually began to hamper my work.  because i would start editing myself immediately upon starting.  knowing you'll have to read a page or two of critiques after you post can be daunting, as can incorporating past critiques.  the downside to self-publishing is losing creative space to the viewers.  artists used to have lots of time alone and undisturbed (well, those without children).  now we're constantly connected to our audience.  can you imagine what the Mona Lisa would look like the general populace had been able to critique it immediately and freely? Van Gogh was unpopular in his time, but can you imagine if he'd been posting here and asking for critiques?  we'd either have less of his works, or some boring, mainstream ones.

so find a balance that suits you, and be happy as others find theirs.

Quote - A while back, I was the Critique forum moderator.  Kinda quiet but there were a few regular posters in there.  Everyone - including me - benefitted from suggestions and advice given in there.  I always welcome critical comments on my work.

 I rarely postwork, not because I can't but because it bores the hell out of me.  Also, I don't see the point in making a so-so render and tarting it up in Photoshop if you are trying to push your knowledge of Poser.  For a client, it's a different matter; then I'll use whatever is to hand. 

There's definite merit in that, not doing postwork but rather trying to push yourself harder to learn Poser (or Carrara in my case), to get the most of of the render program possible in terms of render and image quality. So it if takes alot of trial and error in doing test renders, (no aa, low pixel accuracy for most of them, medium settings for semi-final proof tests).

Worst thing I hate about post is once you start postwork, the image becomes "static" . On the off-chance a finger isn't wrapped properly around the item in the hand and you don't notice it til after the postwork, or change your mind and make a few more posing adjustments, likely some of that postwork is wasted effort. Same with if your wanting to do multiple camera angle renders. Postwork means redoing alot of it for each different angle to make/bring each image to the same quality.

After all, this is just a hobby. That Render and lighting book 2nd edition does look interesting. Would be worth getting, to see how much more I can improve the the project  scene prior to rendering.

I have an idea.

Clearly there are people who want critique, and clearly there are people who do NOT want critique.

Let's make a "club" -- someone whip up a badge in photoshop that people can use to let everyone else know they are interested in actual critique. People wearing the badge, then, can be expected to dish and receive harsh critique on their work, as they want. People without the badge can continue their joyfest.

Good idea?

Quote - this is a an online community.  not an art class site, or a training site.  it's not even a store with a community, because the community pre-dates the store. a  tons of people post just to put up something they like and to have other people they like enjoy it.  asking people who post like this to share constructive criticism is like asking people who invite each other to dinner parties to share constructive criticism about cooking.   you can complain that everyone is just exchanging pleasantries instead of analyzing the ingredients of the appetizers, but that's not really going to do anything but create discomfort all around.

Double that when sometimes you offer an honest opinion / comment and the artist doesn't like what you said, be it taken negatively or gets insulted by it.

Quote - i recently looked at the highest ranked, and i saw some work i didn't think was as good as some of mine, let alone that of the people i follow (most of whom are better than i am).  i also saw some images that were absolutely great, truly professional works.  sure, there were people on that list who are just part of the group of people who keep commenting and ranking each others' works.  but all that meant to me was that i couldn't use the list as a filter to find new and interesting works (and artists), and that even if i ever get back to posting, not to hope to be popular.  ever.  because i doubt i'll ever be great, and i know i'll never be an online Heather.

Likewise. I'm not a professional, so this is just a hobby. Something to do, something to learn and get better at, so I don't care about the top charts. Nor do I bother to pay the top charts attention.

Quote - if you want constructive criticism a) ask for it each time you post, and b) actually try to use it.

Good point. Though its rare that anyone either bothers to read and acknowledge such a request. Hence some people asking here outright in the thread for it.

Quote - frankly, for me, technical information is either educational or just noise.   99.9% of the time, the main problems i see aren't technical problems, they're artistic ones.  for instance, VSS, IDL and Poser 8 aren't going to help your realism if you follow the current trend and place a front lit figure in front of a gorgeously lit sky (sunset, full moon, etc.).  conversely, there's a lot of tropes in western art that have everything to do with norms and nothing to do with realism.

I usually post technical info when I think its relevant. Most usually when I'm using dynamic hair, fog and/or atmospheric effects, the amount of lights used in a scene with type of lighting. Just so that I inform that these are actual render effects, and not done or touched up or done entirely via postwork. It also helps get more specific comments and less generic ones when people see I spent time and accomplished said effects via scene setup and render. And I post technical info when I'm particularly satisfied and/or proud of how the render turned out.

I've noticed the lighting issues as well. Mainly stems from Poser's insistence of 3point lighting, and alot of vendors also provide 3 point lighting. For indoor scenes, or portraits / pin-ups, 3 point lighting is fine. But When you've got outdoor scenes, and you see a figure with orangy secondary light on the opposite side of the main light, maybe where shadows should be instead or standing infront of something which is not producing that orangy light, makes you wonder sometimes.

Theres a couple occasions over sitemail or instant messaging, i'd finish a render, post it, then get told 'i should've used a 3 point light setup' . I thought it was a rule of thumb i read on some site - the less lights you can get away with / need, the better (doing away with excess lights that don't have a place in the scene). For the render at hand, here's one that comes to mind - "Jundland". 1 light is used (either a distant or tube aka florescent), so the dynamic fur behaves naturally picking up the light. That wasn't the issue. It was the comment on the droid (XCC-900) where it was standing in part shadow, somewhat brought on by the big brimmed hat. So, umm, forget the actual lighting effects made by a single ceiling light from slightly infront of them, and place a secondary and tertiary lights on the droid to light up his face more despite having a wide brim hat? and loose the shadow and darkness on the face which really brings out / emphasizing his glowing red eyes? Not to mention pickup 2 more sources of lighting highlights on his reflective metalic blue body? Most of the body is automatically picking up secondary highlights from having a reflective surface and getting those highlights from the ceiling light shining on the floor.

Quote - but, in the end, the best way to get good critiques is to give them.  back when i was active in the galleries, a few people who posted "wonderfull!!!"and "fabulous!!!" to other people's work would write, "love it, but i wish...." on my work because i was giving pretty thorough critiques (max of  2 hours writing one- yeah, i'm slow). 

Thats also the same way to try to get more original comments rather than cookie cutter ones. By taking time to write a comment based on the image, sometimes the artist acknowledges it, and responds back in kind on a render of mine, or via sitemail, thanking me for the kind words.

Quote - so find a balance that suits you, and be happy as others find theirs.

Well said.

Likewise with a few other renders I like for particular reasons.

• Dungeons and Dragons, was a really hard scene to get lit properly, using tube lights set in the light fixtures, and an anything glows light with the florescent tubes and energy bars set to the glow channel. Probably the closest i've unintentionally come to 3 point lighting, but at least the lighting isn't artificial. - Your a scary scary robot - from the same scene, but an earlier light setup as i was still struggling with lighting being either too dark or too bright, but i got an interesting side effect while playing with some glowing eyes.
• "Cameron", same portrait as above, but sans eye glow, and using the final light setup in Dungeons & Dragons. (same scene, different camera angle actually). No 3 point lighting, just the overhead light fixtures with tube lights (finally achieved the desired values for them)
• LV What???, mainly a distant light, couple weak spotlights on the landing pad with a ship landing, and some spotlights on the reactor in the background. Rest is natural effects and atmospherics.
• My Immortal, yes there's postwork, but not corrective postwork to fix the render. Instead, crop and to frame it, where the render froze near the end, and ended up making something more out of the render than initially intended. No dodge & burn, just a properly set sunlight, and having setup subsurface scattering on the skin. I could'v postworked a streaking tear down the cheek, but it was more a fun challenge to actually model one. Also some friendly advice and suggestion helped make this render, as linked to the prior version of it in the notes which was lack-luster. I also made an entirely new render project, and used the rendered image as an in-scene photograph prop.
  Point being, I've either been griped at / on those images via sitemail, instant messenger, or at another gallery site. Had I used postwork or multipass renders + postwork on any of them, i'd have not struggled to learn and figure out how to fix and/or improve the lighting setups within carrara. They might not be perfect or "profesional" grade, but i'm satisfied with them as they are.

And you can't please everyone. if I put "pure render, no postwork", some wont care or mind, and say it looks good regardless. Some might go "whoa!" for having accomplished this via pure render. Postwork and multi-pass render advocates might trash it anyways out of jealousy or call it crap for the utter lack of any multi-pass or postwork.

Lastly, for the multi-pass and postwork advocates in this thread - this particular render "Carrara", I offer as my argument to spending the time and effort at trying to get the best out of the render program without resorting to postwork amd multipassing. She's my proudest achievement yet, the cyborg a hugely complex self designed shader that multi-layers a full skin shader and a metalic shader. Say what you want, but, she's ready to go in any scene I use her in. A few weeks dredging and hair pulling in figuring out how to make the shader work, saves the hassle infinitely in the longrun as I don't have to layer and erase parts of multi-renders in postwork. I basically picked up where winston1984 had left off with a generic featureless skin sample over cyborg endoskeleton. And now I can use any character skin set with the metal endoskeleton with a mere drag and drop. Only postwork in the image is the adding of my signature. Had I chosen the other route, using this character in more renders would be a real PIA.

Simply put: (for us hobbyists anyways) If you don't know how to do or achieve a desired effect in Poser or Carrara, spend the time trying to figure it out and accomplish it than resort to the easier postwork method. You'll learn lots from it, and have gained a better understanding of the program, if not even pioneered a new skill within the render program.

Most importantly, the same can be said, as I said earlier regarding the use of Light Sets and Character Poses. You can use light and pose sets to start with, but your not learning anything. If you use a light set but don't examine the settings that make it work, your not learning anything. If you examine the light, play with it, try new parameters on it, you might find you won't have to take it into Photoshop/Gimp to use the dodge or burn tools on some areas, or add shadows. If you use character poses like depending on a crutch, your not learning anything, and your limiting yourself to only the range of preset poses you have in your runtime.

Attached Link: The Challenge

I can see by your number of posts, cobaltdream, (as compared to mine) that you've obviously been in this forum/community/gallery a lot longer and know it for what it is. Thank you for your perspective... it is enlightening.

I've been wanting to improve/learn lighting scenes, since that is perhaps my weakest area. I have joined the critique forum (it still exists) with the hope that if I publish my lighting details and perhaps post some scenes, others more gifted in this area (as you clearly are) could point out where I need to tweak things a bit. I did post an image in the Critique Gallery with what I hoped was exhaustive scene/lighting/props/modes details inviting discussion/direction/constructive comment. There have been a few to comment in such a way that I saw things in a slightly different (excuse the pun) light, Santicor being one of those individuals - and thank you, Santicor.

The current Critique Gallery format doesn't really lend itself well to progressive work displaying, at least, not that I'm aware. I'm happy to be shown differently.

RobynsVeil - oh, definitely don't judge by number of posts.  but yeah, i've been here a long time.  you're no newbie, yourself, though!

the forum still exists, but there's next to no activity. compared to the daily critiques i would see posted to various works and gave, it's in a coma even with this renewed interest.

frankly, nothing's going to work consistently unless you either prime the pump, get people to subscribe to your gallery, or both.  when we started the critique group we first made it a subscription to each others' galleries.  then we switched to a forum, which i warned would kill it.  i was told i had no clue what i was talking about.  it died not long after that, because people only come to a forum with traffic, and when less and less people post, the number of people who falloff exponentially rises.

it takes time and effort to write good critiques.  pretty much no one's going to seek that work consistently.  at least not that i've seen.  you want a certain response, it's the same here as it is everywhere on the Web: get subscribers.  do all the things that people do when they want certain responses to their blog posts: politely ask people for it, and in exchange for offering to comment on their work.  or just comment on their work.  the same social practice that generates so many views for gushers generates critiques.  but if you want feedback from specific people, i'd suggest actually sitemailing them.

just to say, i personally disagree with Spacer_01 about postwork.   for me, avoiding postwork would be like openly admitting i'd worked half as hard (if not even less).   but that's me.  personally, i tend to start with a real world sketch (the reduction really helps), move to posing and composition, add all the lighting and materials (and do lots of research in the forums, then go through 20+ iterations refining lighting and materials), do a final resolution render, do lots of postwork (again, incorporating lots of research), then place the final image in a layout and touch it up design-wise.  and i've now started modeling and morphing with Blender.  so, for me, the things Spacer_01 does are only a fraction of what makes the final product.

the point being, if you're really looking for critique, it's good to do as he (she?) did and be explicit about your limits (what you will and won't do), and respect others' limits.  i wouldn't critique his (her?) work now the way i would have someone else's.  looking at those links, there's loads of things i would have suggested that are pretty much impossible without a new (expensive) tool set.  and even then, i'm not sure, since all of the people i've seen use those tools also use postwork.  so it would probably be best just not to give that feedback, and restrict my comments to those that fit within the program's capabilities.  especially since he (or she?  i'm taking no chances) has expressed an antipathy for that type of feedback.

basically, part of the effort involved with doing a good critique is putting away your personal taste and choices, and responding to someone else's.  there's a difference between suggesting growth in an area and trying to fight their work style.

RobynsVeil - what you say about progressive works is true.  it's one of the reasons in the gallery i'm working on for myself  (back to the grind tomorrow!) i plan to allow multiple images per gallery "item."  here, i'd suggest posting more than one version to the galleries and a forum thread.  the only thing you lose is all the comments in one place, but you lose that anyway if you post to galleries and forums.  forums really aren't ideal for showing off images, in any case.  either you link to the image, which makes it unclear where to comment, or you place the image inline, which can break the forum display and never looks optimal.

This is an absolutely fantastic and wonderful thread! WOW!

Not exactly staying ON TOPIC..  But it IS FUN...!!

And VERY informative.

Here's OT OT. Why won't my avatar .gif animate?

Quote - just to say, i personally disagree with Spacer_01 about postwork.   for me, avoiding postwork would be like openly admitting i'd worked half as hard (if not even less).   but that's me.  personally, i tend to start with a real world sketch (the reduction really helps), move to posing and composition, add all the lighting and materials (and do lots of research in the forums, then go through 20+ iterations refining lighting and materials), do a final resolution render, do lots of postwork (again, incorporating lots of research), then place the final image in a layout and touch it up design-wise.  and i've now started modeling and morphing with Blender.  so, for me, the things Spacer_01 does are only a fraction of what makes the final product.

At least we're keeping it civil. I guess we can agree to disagree regarding preferences about postwork. We both spend our time doing what we each think is important in the workflow to complete the image.

Looking through your gallery, its nice to see both raw and finished versions, so the edits and postwork vs raw can be compared.

;)

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Reading for comprehension is definitely a dying skill.

Nothing I can say in reply to the blatant misrepresentation of what I've posted that won't violate the TOS so I'm out.

[OT] well, sort of.  i think i'll actually stop that when i get back into it.  it's a little too much gallery spam, and not very flexible.   frankly, the comments i got showed more confusion about duplication, and it just split the feedback in an unmeaningful way.  and people would post corrections that were already taken care of in the final version, so i'd waste their time, too. 

but most of all, it puts the wrong emphasis on my work.  for me it's not about random aspects of the renderer, it's about the overall finished product.  at certain point,  you can end up with theoretically perfect and artistically void work, and that's where i was heading.  my most effective and popular work by far was way before i discovered any skin shader, before i discovered inverse squared lights, before i started using IBL much.  i need to get back to that place, not further away.

and frankly, my technical process was rather involved when i last posted, and will pretty definitely become more so.   for instance, i need to use Matmatic more, and i'll probably do anti-correction per material and correction on the final render, rather than either way.  but then, i ask a lot of questions in the forums, and get pretty thorough answers from awesome and generous experts.  and since i'm now at a place where the answer is, "upgrade your software,"  there's not much to discuss.[/OT]

Quote - :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Reading for comprehension is definitely a dying skill.

Nothing I can say in reply to the blatant misrepresentation of what I've posted that won't violate the TOS so I'm out.

but you had some really useful information about multi-pass rendering.  i'd go even further and say it's helpful for more than just making changes to the composition itself.  there's lots of things you can do artistically with shadows, highlights, reflections, etc. as layers that you just cannot achieve through rendering.  and in an image editor, you can do it non-destructively and change it in 2 seconds, rather than wait hours for a print res image to re-render.

 To be back on topic, I used to be bothered by the cut and paste comments of some but I've found that when you don't rush over and leave the same inane comments on their art they stop leaving comments on yours. Thank you for small favors. :o)

 Most of the people who take the time to leave a comment on my work are those who actually like my stuff. And they are not bothered by the fact that I don't pop over into their galleries and comment. I just don't have the time. I only have one favorite artist in my faves and he doesn't allow comments anymore.

 I spend any free time I have working in Poser and stopping in the forums when I can. There's always good info to catch, like in this thread, and a laugh to be had now and then.

Quote -
For people just starting out, I think positive critique is great to encourage them to post more and develop their skills.  Then after maybe a few pics, people might add a comment or two on what could be done better.  It's all in the way its handled and lets face it, some people use kid gloves while others use an iron fist.

Totally agree - n00bs should be encouraged, but it's easy to spot a n00b by the small number of gallery images and the total lack of quality. My problem is when you get someone churning out terrible stuff for years with no sense of improvement - galleries full of awful work just demonstrates some people must either have no desire to improve, or just aren't aware that what they're doing is awful. Like when people use Comic Sans because they think it's 'casual'. Such people should be educated; it's not 1996 any more!

Quote -
Many comments are copied and past only, with the hope to get many comments and faves back. Some have a second, third and fourth account to write and fave own images. A point for this are certainly the sh*** art charts,becourse everybody wants to be the best and at the top of them.

I don't doubt it - and a few changes to the rules would stop this from happening. Limit the number of comments per day (20 is reasonable), and limit the number of accounts per IP address to a max of 2 or 3 (it's feasable you could share computer/network with another Rosity user).

Renderosity is a community, but at it's heart, it's an ART community. People are missusing comments and accounts for financial/egotistical gain by giving hollow, meaningless info - it's just like link ghosting, where a website clones all the links from a proper database website (like yellow Pages, or whatever) - you end up with duplication of information for financial gain. And it's holding back the reputation of Renderosity. If the directors of this website meet up and try to figure out how to improve the site's reputation, profits, quality and stability (a site built on meaningless empty praise will soon find how vagrant their 'community' is, when trouble strikes) - they need only look at their poclicies of dealing with the people who use that community.

You wonder why Rosity is rolling out the 'CGSpree' once more? It's probably because they're desperate to keep the show rolling; they're against the ropes because the sycophantic clientelle they pander to in their policy loopholes are dragging them into a cycle of financial loss. You can't base a community on emptiness; whether it's promises of support, or blind positivity - once it hits the fan this sort of community will leave you.

No doubt this thread will be locked, because of the horse flogging, but I think allowing a shallow culture to prevail is a symptom of money-grabbing, and is simply not a robust way to run a business. If Rosity makes it through the current financial climate, it'll either be fluke, or virtue of policy change.

but I've found that when you don't rush over and leave the same inane comments on their art >they stop leaving comments on yours. Thank you for small favors. :o)

Yes, and that is the sticking point here. You don´t get a comment or fave becourse your image is good but becourse you "buy" the comments for your images with your comments to other images. That´s childish, thinking about how old most of this famous artists are ;-)

LOL, yeah I am one of the oldies. I just enjoy doing my thing and sharing it. If people like it and comment, great, if not, I'll survive. I'm just happy to have a place to hang my stuff. :o)

The only way I've found to get constructive critisism is to specifically ask for it.  If I want, as an example, to get comments on how to improve lighting within a particular scene I'll specifically ask if anyone has a suggestion or recomendation about improving the lighting.  That way no one feels put off by making a suggestion.  I've also found that doing that it's usually only the people with enough expertise to be a real help that respond to the request.  Others continue to post the usual sort of comments.

Spacer_01 - I have, from time to time, reworked some of my images and left the old ones in the gallery to show the "improvements".  Now and again, I look at some of my old images and think about doing them all over again.  Then I think, for the most part, I can't be bothered, because, technical shortcomings aside, I said what I wanted to say at the time.

That's not to say some of 'em won't get revisited one day.  All depends on how I feel.

At least with an online gallery, there's less chance of me throwing them away when I've finished.  I'm known for trashing a lot of my "real" artwork once it's done, unless it's for sale or a specific person.  Over the past 30-odd years of pro and semi-pro work, I have maybe half a dozen pieces.

I'm about to face a new challenge, though.  I have to learn to paint bunnies, teddy bears, kittty cats and puppies for my new little boy.  :)  When I suggested to his mommy they should be in space armour, blowing the hell out of each other, she told me to boil my head.  :D

Quote - LOL, yeah I am one of the oldies. I just enjoy doing my thing and sharing it. If people like it and comment, great, if not, I'll survive. I'm just happy to have a place to hang my stuff. :o)

:) While I'm not one of the oldies, the rest is spot on!

I have gained many friends here in the galleries and I enjoy leaving comments or private jokes for them.  BUT..   It is so time consuming,  Looking at images and leaving just "Nice work" or "Wonderful lighting" takes so Much time..  Posting to the CRITIQUE FORUM does not work very well either..!

Attached Link: Snarlygribbly

Apologies if this has already been said, but when you upload an image you get to choose the sort of feedback you want (critical, non-critical or both). Surely nobody's going to be upset if they get critical comments when they've chosen the option that invites them?

Anyway, if any of you want to make critical comments on my work I'd be delighted to hear them and take them in the positive, constructive way that I'm sure they will be meant. It'd be very helpful to me were you to do so.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?username=Snarlygribbly

Likewise, I'd be more than happy to reciprocate - just let me know which images you're specifically inviting coments on and I'll offer my opinions, for what they're worth!

i have come to accept it as reality. An unavoidable and all together unpleasant reality. But, reality none the less.

and I love the petunia Hitchhiker's Guide reference.

Quote - Anyway, if any of you want to make critical comments on my work I'd be delighted to hear them and take them in the positive, constructive way that I'm sure they will be meant. It'd be very helpful to me were you to do so.

The images themselves are fairly well put-together and highly imaginative. You might want to give a bit of story-line or what was going through your mind (what was your inspiration) when you created the image. Something.

Quote - The images themselves are fairly well put-together and highly imaginative. You might want to give a bit of story-line or what was going through your mind (what was your inspiration) when you created the image. Something.

Yes, I've been a little lazy in that respect. It's not just laziness - I do like to let the viewer draw their own conclusions without giving them too many preconceptions. However, I do see what you're saying and I could (should) write something about what motivated me to produce the image, and I can probably do that without compromising my desire to let the viewer read into the image what they choose to.

Well, at least there's a holiday coming up so I should be able to find the time to write a few notes against each image!

Thank you.

You're quite welcome - nicely finished images... you are really quite clever.

Quote - Apologies if this has already been said, but when you upload an image you get to choose the sort of feedback you want (critical, non-critical or both). Surely nobody's going to be upset if they get critical comments when they've chosen the option that invites them?

While I agree with this and make sure that every time I upload an image, I have this option selected.. most people who upload just leave the default settings and upload without thinking about what it says. In my experience here, the same group of people get the same comments from the same other groups of people which places them in the top commented and rated sections of the galleries.

I would love more critical comments on my images, I joined this site originally for the free stuff (I won't lie) but I've grown to appreciate what I've learned. Awhile back we had the critique group which worked out well at the time.. not exactly sure what happened to it, I think it has its own gallery now?

Someone had said earlier in the thread about how some aspect of post work could take 2 minutes while rendering would take an hour.. I laugh a bit at that because most of my end results with post work is something that takes 2-3 hours in post work but saves me 12 hours or more of rendering coughatmospherescough

Anywho, thats my $0.02

Attached Link: My Gallery

If they don't,   they probably won't..!!

Just don't expect  "Art class"  quality criticism..!!

 I can't agree with you, Wolf359: there is no point i simply reinventing the wheel.
The Poser GUI is not intuitive, yet artists are, so computer programmers really do need to consider more intuitive GUIs, and that terms like 'Math', or 'Graph' can turn people away from the programme they have invested so much in writing. If someone has a technical question then why not just give them the reply. 

My .02: most users (including myself, usually, to be perfectly honest) are just playing most of the time. Although I do welcome well-thought-out critical comments, the truth is that it's very unlikely I'm gonna go back to very many of my images and perfect them at this point.

Maybe because I'm still a relative novice, and at some point I'll want to be more serious, I dunno.... but my life is so full it's hard for me to envision devoting (say) 40 hours to an image.

 If I like something, I'll say what. If something looks good but could be great or mind-blowing with some tweaks, I'll outline what to and how if I know.  I'll give anyone suggestions and critiques as politely as possible. If I see something that just sucks, I won't even bother saying anything.

If something shows promise and I happen to know some tricks to make the image kick ass, I'll be happy to share any techniques I have. If I screw something up and don't catch it, point it out!

If you can't stand criticism--don't post to the internet..:laugh:  It NEVER hurts to try to be polite,though.

I just took a look through the beginnings of my gallery, and holy schnikes are those pieces riddled with errors!!  (Hell even my newer pieces I think "Well, crap, I could have done [so-and-so] differently and it would have looked better.")  But I also seemed to have a lot more comments too.  Maybe it was because I was a noobie poster, I don't know... but I was never averse to receiving cosntructive criticism.  I do kind of feel like reworking them in a new span of time with the knowledge I've gained... maybe at a later date.  But over time I've run into several people that actually tell me something they like about the picture, or they offer some advice on how to fix it.  I actually LOVE getting constructive feedback.

My commenting habits are pretty straightforward - if I like it, I'll say something I like about it.  If it really sticks out to me I'll fave it.  Simple, no?  And if, over time, I like enough of a person's work, I'll add them as a favorite artist.  This by no means indicates that i think any one person is a bad artist, because I don't believe that's the right thing to do.  If something doesn't strike my fancy, then I leave it be.  Nothing more complex than that.

I'm not perfect in what I do by any means; I'm always looking to improve, and I'm still trying to carve out where my creative niche is.  By the by, on the subjecct of asking advice on how to achieve certain looks in renders... if there's a technique I particularly like in someone else's art, I'll go ahead and ask how they did it.  Why?  I'm still learning my way around particular software, so a little guidance can be a good thing.  Half the time I don't do the exact advice either - I'll try it out, and in the end I'll make a boatload of changes to make it my own.  That is what art is, right?  Inspiration, evolution and growth?

And when I post, I post to share my work.  If you like it great.  If not, I'm sorry I wasted 5 seconds of your life.  shrug

Plain and simple.

 YAAAAAAAY! GROWTH AND STUFF!  That's it. That is what we are ALL about!:laugh:

Garbage gallery software is the root of it. All people are looking to do is give a nice acknowledgment to a render they liked. Who is stupid enough to expect solid analysis? You can't even rate a pic, and having anything other than a recommend is the only rating there should be, without leaving a comment of a certain length. The software sucks and it drains the life out of the comments.

Quote - Garbage gallery software is the root of it. All people are looking to do is give a nice acknowledgment to a render they liked. Who is stupid enough to expect solid analysis? You can't even rate a pic, and having anything other than a recommend is the only rating there should be, without leaving a comment of a certain length. The software sucks and it drains the life out of the comments.

?...   Can You explain  "Software"..?

Quote - ?...   Can You explain  "Software"..?

http://www.bondware.com/?AID=1

I think Rosity and these guys are actually one and the same. They're both Central time zone. This gallery comments/ratings stuff is an argument as old as the internet. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to click on one of my pics let alone takes the effort to say something nice. :O)