I just don't get it! First of all, I'm not going to mention any names because when it boils down to it, the majority of people on this site don't want comments that aren't "ooo that's fabulous" and real criticism is frowned upon.

I see images by certain "arteests" that have no background, the figure is stiffly posed in a canned pose, or a canned pose slightly modified. There is either no expression, the zombie eyed expression, or the deer stuck in the headlights expression. And the work has no meaning, no message, no real creativity beyond showing off the latest toys they bought or were given...and they end up with between 60 to 80 comments saying "ooo" and "ahhh", and telling them what great artists they are and the image gets some of the highest ratings on the site. I saw one image by a "highly regarded artist" that was posted in the gallery (not the WIP gallery either), in which he admitted a joint looked broken, and there were a few other flaws...and he still got a huge number of comments telling him what a wonderful image it was and how great he was.

What the f*** is wrong with us, people??!?!?!?!!!

There is some fantastic talent posting in these galleries like garyandcatherine, originalkitten, Mondwin, samhal, DigitalDream666, Primal, Fredy, and so many others that barely get a notice. These people put a lot of thought and creativity into their images. They go the extra mile to put that "something extra", and they have more talent in their little fingers than most of us have or will have in our whole bodies even if we had an extra hundred years.

I just don't get how some of the hacks get such large followings of sycophants, while the real talents get little to no attention. We really need to re-evaluate our what we're doing. Everyone certainly deserves to post their images here, and they certainly deserve to get comments, but come on people...are we so shallow that we have to keep telling the emperors that their clothes are stupendous when in reality we all know they aren't wearing any. Maybe it's time to end the popularity contests, stop being suck ups, and recognize the real talent for a change.

Take the time to look at some of the artists I've linked to. When you see someone that's got their kind of talent, take the time to rate their image, make it a favorite, add a comment. Let's give the people that really deserve it, the encouragement they deserve, and let all the others work a little harder to earn it.

It's all fun and games...
Until the flying monkeys attack!!!