Good critiques and bad critiques

That is what Cliff was trying to say this entire time: saying only the negative isn't a good idea; saying only the positive isn't a good idea. It's to say both.

yeah i saw that cliff but the thing is i have the feeling that its not everyone that is understanding

I understand perfectly what Cliff was saying. I wasn't trying to contradict him at all.

Well, is the strawman burned yet?

I think we're all on the same page, though. Continuing the argument will become increasingly pointless.

Krisexy26 wrote:

whats wrong saying its perfect?

Well, I believe a quote from a good friend of mine EroGG (check him out, seriously http://erogg.deviantart.com/) answers that.

"And I am a man of many things, the least of which are my writings. That which I can imagine in my head, I can relate with my words. And so I write, seeking to better my skills at the art--seeking to improve from mediocre to extraordinary, knowing that perfection is forever out of reach and yet the ultimate goal. I write for none other than myself and my own betterment, but that does not mean I would not appreciate your thoughts."

And that it why, as Zion said, saying something is -perfect- would be a lie. Nothing is ever perfect. Perfection is forever out of reach, as said before. And so, critiques help authors improve themselves, their sole purpose is to help them advance further on the road towards perfection. To ultimately better themselves. An author who can't take critiques and is pissed off by them, well, as previously said shouldn't even request them in the first place and furthermore would not improve. His own mistakes would evade him and serve the purpose of holding him back.

And as for critiques, I whole-heartedly agree, it is important to find the balance, else the whole "I'm trying to help you" deal will lose its appeal. It would become more of a "Hey, I'm here to bash you" kind of thing. I for one can never find the balance, the scales always seem to tilt more towards simply giving praise. To be frank, they just fall over and I don't give any negative feedback at all.

I apologize for adding to the arguement.

Well, sometimes, I feel harsh criticism is needed. I've seen more than one story where it seemed the author made no real effort to research Felarya. I remember seeing this one Metroid/Felarya crossover....

1. Samus got Crisis to spit her up with ONE charged-up shot to the inside of her stomach. People, this is CRISIS'S stomach. At the very least, it would take MULTIPLE charged shots, and if that failed, nothing less than a power bomb.
2. Later, Samus and Ridley getting spit up....by a dryad. Uhhh, dryads can't throw up AT ALL.
3. Vivian getting the living snot beat out of her by Samus. Could Samus do that? Yesssssss...but it wouldn't be so one-sided. Vivian is NOT a cream puff, no matter how squeezably soft you imagine her titties to be.

Greyman wrote:

3. Vivian getting the living snot beat out of her by Samus. Could Samus do that? Yesssssss...but it wouldn't be so one-sided. Vivian is NOT a cream puff, no matter how squeezably soft you imagine her titties to be.

Vivian is probably quite powerful, she's a spellcaster and has lived long enough to amass a vast knowledge-base and the experience to use it. I'd say she could hold her off.

Anime-Junkie wrote:

Greyman wrote:

3. Vivian getting the living snot beat out of her by Samus. Could Samus do that? Yesssssss...but it wouldn't be so one-sided. Vivian is NOT a cream puff, no matter how squeezably soft you imagine her titties to be.

Vivian is probably quite powerful, she's a spellcaster and has lived long enough to amass a vast knowledge-base and the experience to use it. I'd say she could hold her off.

Exactly my point. The idea that Samus could knock Vivian on her luscious scaly butt with only a few missiles to the face and a screw attack to the gut is asinine. I'd say it'd take well over 150 missiles, a few shinesparks to the noggin (OUCH), and CONSTANT VIGILANCE to stay one step ahead of Vivian. And this is coming from a Metroid fanatic here.

I think critique has to be detailed in order to be a good one, BUT sometimes also a small compliment can do good. As a writer and artist I sometimes struggle to "interrogate" my friends about the work I've done since they don't really know HOW to give a satisfying feedback.

"This looks good" or "this looks bad" doesn't really help, even though the first may motivate someone to carry on. But The kind of feedback I like the most is a feedback where it says "I like this and that and that, especcially the..." and so on BUT also says something like "you may want to improve on your (Lineart, background, colouring, whatever) or "this leg looks a little off" or "here you made a mistake with the shadows" or even something like "i dislike the atmosphere".

So a good critique is a critique which contains good feedback as well as bad feedback AND that can give reasons why the spectator liked/disliked specific parts of my art.