A discussion:

When I post pictures, I usually have my own ideas of how good (or bad) they are (and I assume most of you do also).
Question: Do you find that viewers' responses tend to agree with your assessments, or do you find yourself scratching your head, saying "Why do they like that one and not this one?" Do you find yourself beginning to doubt your own artistic judgement calls, or do you say to heck with everyone else, I'll keep on doing the ones I like?

(Obviously, this extends into the whole art topic, not just fractals, but I personally find this happening more with my fractal-based abstracts than anywhere else, so I thought I would ask the forum at large.)

I usually post a brief tech description, and in some cases a description of what is in my mind when I view certain works. The comments, when posted, do tend to bear my own observations out, but I don't think that's either here nor there. I'm not the least bit taken aback when a comment runs contrary to my own opinion. I value freedom of thought and opinion above all else in this world, and it's vital to exercise the process.

I've often thought that if a psychologist were to visit my web galleries and treat them as a Rorschach test, the men in the white coats would be paying a visit to me fairly quickly. (And the thought of spending some quality time in a padded cell somehow appeals to me!)

It all comes down to personality...

Do you find yourself beginning to doubt your own artistic judgement calls, or do you say to heck with everyone else, I'll keep on doing the ones I like? not doubt per se... just reaffirm that we are all different. when we look at the sky, each of sees a different color blue. that is part of what makes posting in a public forum interesting for me.

I guess part of why we have our favourites also has to do with what was and is in our minds during the creation of that particular image. Even a very simple image can sometimes hold a world of meaning for the creator but can't hold the eye of the viewer. I have found that some of my favourite pieces are definitely not the favourites of the viewers :) But that's ok and is sometimes truly wonderful; especially when one person out of the thousands that belong here notice that special picture too.

Comments, you get comments? Wow ... haha ;~) Just kidding. From my experience the comments here at osity aren't a very good indicator. The most reliable responses are in the forums like this one, or IM's, or email. Your fractals are very good and I think the ones you've chosen to post show good taste on your part. By all means Do the ones You Like. Just remember, friends are always too nice, newbies are always too harsh, and 99.99% of viewers ohhhh and ahhhh and then move on without leaving a comment. Have fun, Ray

I am more interested in how the artist sees his/her own product, and compare it to how others see the same things. I find like firefly, that knowing how much work went into a piece, or lack thereof, can influence my own reaction. I, perhaps mistakenly, sometimes equate time/+effort with quality. And when it comes to abstract art, where the reference to line and composition often defers to pure color, I have a harder time judging the quality of a piece (being more accustomed to 3d/realistic artforms). In such a case, feedback from an informed artistic community comes in handy. I was hoping that a discussion of the issue of artistic judgement would help others, as well as myself, deal with the oddities that result with the public review methods here. (...and besides, I'm waiting for the next topic for a forum contest, so tried to fill the time....)
So feel free to chime in... anyone?....hellllloooooo?

(Well, micheleh, audre, I did my best to keep the forum active!)

hehehe, you posted a good one Rosemaryr. Too bad more didn't respond with their views. Or, perhaps we covered them already!! (big grin)

"I may not be an artist, but I know what I like." What else needs to be said? ;-)

This is my first visit to this forum. I have posted to newsgroups and fractal-world. Often it seems that viewers post comments knowing that human nature leads the artist to post a nice comment to their artwork in return. Therefore, I am not sure that comments and the rating system are an honest appraisal of anyones artwork in most cases. Some viewers, I believe, do post their honest opinions, but they are few. Having no art training, I have a hard time posting comments that are an actual critique of anyones artwork. I either like what I see, often because of the shape and/or coloring and can say no more. I know what appeals to me, but I enjoy seeing the world through someone elses eyes, ie, fractals. We each have our own style and I do not think we should be influenced to change our style just because we do not recieve tons of favorable comments. Hope this makes sense. Marion

Hello to everybody :) Interseting subject, after a quick babelfish translator to understand the real substance of your messages, i can see we have the same enigm in our heads :) I agree with Ray about some people see your gallery but not fractaliser and it's certainly the better viewer with best critic as us. We (fractaliser) have a vision very different to a layman (not sure the word is appropriate). We can see how a person create a fractal, or a little idea and we can say in iour head "humm good effect with this filter , intersteing colors with overlay, etc..." but a layman see nothing to that. He said only "wonderfull" or "berkk it's not good" but he don't know if it's hard or easy to obtain a fractal. For exemple since 2 day i receive 2 message in mail tio said me "magical picture , how create that". I explain with all reference of different software and i don't know if the persons search more information or if they said "ouch to hard for me" but it's certainly the best feedback we can receive when we can make some emolation to others. I remember when I start Ultra Fractal I see some gallery and it's certainly a lot people i can see the work they emulate me to continued to use this software (not easy for a frenchy ;)) Well, about feedback we can receive here it's a good thing too, but if you like a pict you post , but you don't have a feedback, it's not a bad picture, it's a part of you, it's you, and if you like it it's essential. There is no beauty and no horror, and some day we appreciate a certain style cause we are enjoy or sad, and some day we prefer other colors and style cause we have different feeling. Pfiuu i stop my blah blah i have finish my therapy for tonight ;)) Have a good feeling and continue to post wonderfull fractal all. See you. Laurent

I believe that we all don't have the same artistic pleasure, and this also owes you to that is something very personal. In my case I time recently am announcing fractals, and in certain occasions me had happened not especially with the fractals, if with the design in 3D that work hard during many days and even weeks and it is however a design that I like a lot, in the moment to announce the work the results in the quantity of comments it is not the one that wait, and it is comprehensible, I cannot seek that all like it, since like I say but it arrives all we are different in our aesthetic formation, and what one stops is an excellent work, for another it passes as something indifferent, or for another it is an incomprehensible work, this is also applied to the fractales, it can happen that not all the people are prepared or they like, the rule gives it to me that the comments are generally almost in other artists' that make fractales exclusivity. Personally I consider that it is an artistic expression but, and for that reason I carry out what I can inside my limitations of knowledge it has more than enough fractales. Be not discouraged, continue working and creating, the fruits the vera immediately, but they surely arrived. Rodolfo Ciminelli

Interesting and pertinent discussion. I have certainly been somewhat boggled by the response to my images. Usually how it works is the ones 'I' like the most are the ones that others are less impressed by, and they seem to like the ones I think are ok. Usually if I have something I think is outstanding, it usually gets a positive response but it is interesting to see how people respond to your work :)

When I posted the Try Weave image, it was NOT my own fav - but it got good feedback. The Try LDM from yesterday and the Try Elliptic from today are nearly ignored, although I like them very much and made great efforts to create them as they are...
I will continue creating the images that I like, perhaps asking if I'm in doubt, ...
Feedback from the Non-Fracs is sometimes surprising, but always a good hint into a more general direction, i.e. to make good Fractal Art good Art too.

Very interesting topic. As a newbie who has had UF for 30 days, and will be regestering it today, these forums are our only link to the world of other fractalers. I was thinking of posting some of my "better" ones, but hestitate after another thread discussed that some are not interested in just looking at more images.

I have posted several images at another email list I belong to, and I have had only a couple of comments to my images. I have noticed that there are half a dozen or so regulars who generally correspond frequently on each other's work, and many images are not commented on at all.

Surely, we all would like to receive some gratification for our work, that's only natural and very human. We know when we have created something that is "good". At the time I created something, I may think it is my best one yet. I might post it somewhere, and after receiving no comment, wonder to myself, well, maybe it was not that good, after all. And after a month, I can look back and see which images are better than others. Hopefully, we are learning and progressing as we explore new techniques, and delve for a while on certain types of images, color, and design. Often, feedback from others is the only way that we have of knowing if we are learning and creating artful images that others enjoy. I personally do not "know" anyone who has UF, so conversing via the internet, is the only way to learn. Having one's spouse or family member offer a compliment is, of course, nice. But having other fractalers who can offer suggestions and answer questions on how to accomplish a certain task, is the most helpful of all as we try to improve our skills. I am very grateful to the help that has been offered t me when I have been stumped on a problem.

I look at the web sites of the better known fractalers, and sigh deeply, thinking I will never achieve such beauty, and wonder if I should just forget this project. But after an hour or so, I am back at the computer because I just have to make another one. It is so addictive at this point. Perhaps after a while, it won't consume all my time and thoughts, lol. I have looked at other postings, and thought, no I just don't care for that one. We have a feel for what we like to create, and if I feel comfortable with an image, and I think it's my best one to date, then that, in itself, might be considered justification enough. I don't care for Picasso, but it's perfectly allright that millions of others do. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some climb Mt. Everest just because it is there. So it is with this art. If others can enjoy it, as well, so much the better. It is your and my artistic expression. And the polite little "pat on the back" comments do add a deeply gratitfying and satisfying "warm fuzzy" feeling, knowing that someone took more than just a passing glance at our work, understanding the time and effort that went into a piece, even if it is not a Rembrandt, or bronze statue. It nurtures us and encourages to continue.

Just my two cents. Thanks for reading. :)

CavalierLady, Post some to the fracal gallery. I would love to see some of your work.

CavalierLady, you are like me!! I also love to do fractals and have a folders full of them but none posted here yet. I just want to mention to you all, there are many, many times that I look through the fractal gallery and ooh and ahh about soooo many of them. I do leave the odd comment, not very many due to the slowness of rendreosity. Sometimes it is a conflict of "do I leave a comment" or do I go onto the mysteries of the next page. All the fractals I think are appreciated and enjoyed. Mostly by this group but things seem to be expanding a bit :) Under Audre's and Micheleh's care I think we will see the sweep of fractal exposure and knowledge expand even more too.

Whenever I create an image, or look at the works of others, I tend to judge them based on several criteria. Here are some of them... I consider overall composition...does the image work well as a whole?...are areas within the composition competing with one another or are they in balance?...do I want to keep looking at the image? I also look for form within the image...is the form interesting?...Is it thought-provoking? I consider contrast...do light areas, dark areas, and greys work well together? Is there drama in the use of light and dark? I consider how color is used...do the colors work well together? Do the colors seem appropriate to the mood of the image? I hope that a work will evoke some sort of feeling, memory, or response. I also look for uniqueness...Is there something different about a particular image that makes it stand out among others? I also consider the amount difficulty involved in creating the art, however I do not rate this as highly as any other criteria, or else many simple yet beautiful and uniques works would be discounted. I also look for personal artistic style when looking at the works of others. I appreciate the works more of an artist who has developed a style which is uniquely his or her own.

Ah, personal style. I had started a thread asking about the development of personal style in the Art Theory forum. Some interesting feedback resulted. I would really like to hear what you have to say on that topic!

I make fractals for the same reason any artist creates..I have to. And I post them in the galleries, webshots, my server and every where else I can for the same reason that an actor gets up on stage and screen....it's almost a compulsion to put the art (2d or performance) in front of others. Comments are nice but I dont much care whether I get any or not. If it points out some flaw I feel needs to be fixed I'm appreciative and make note to change things on the next piece. And everything I post, I donate to whoever views it to download and do whatever they want with...because for me creating it in the first place is what was important...