Hello All
Today concludes our project educate week here at communityrelations on Critique.
I would like to start by saying a huge thank you to all of you who have supported throughout the week, whether you have contributed to articles, commented, faved and passed the message on. It has been very much appreciated and made this week feel very worthwhile!
The purpose of Project Educate doesn’t just rely on one week of information. The articles are for reference whenever you feel like reading them, so please feel free to save them where necessary.
Week opener
General Critique Articles
PE: The Critique Survey!Hi Everyone!
From the 16th of January, I will be hosting Project Educate on critique! As part of this I would like some opinions please and some thoughts about critique. You do not have to answer all these questions as a Q & A, but this is an open chance to share your thoughts and suggestions/advice on critique and critique on deviantART.
I will be using the comments here as references within the critique week as sources of opinion and advice, so please try not to restrict to one word answers. Thank you in advance, I really appreciate your contributions!
The Questions
1. Do you put your art work up in hope of obtaining critique?
2. Do you actively seek critique on deviantART?
3. How do you approach achieving critique on your work?
4. Can you share an experience when you’ve received critique and how you have reacted/taken action following the critique?
5. Have you ever received a critique you didn’t agree with- how did
PE: Finding Critique on dAWhere to find Critique on deviantART?
So, you just uploaded your latest image/writing onto deviantART and featured it in your gallery with a slight satisfaction you have achieved something. Fantastic, that is step one and now you can sit back and watch everyone's responses come pouring in and showing you everything you need to do to make your work even more fabulous.
If only?
The fact is; getting someone to critique your work isn't as easy as that. If you want critique, you need to seek critique and put in the good effort to get it. It won't always work, no plan is fool proof, but here are some places and advice that could help you find the feedback you desire. Not every place on this list will be your cup of tea, but try and see what works for you.
Step one: Make sure people know you want a critique!
If you are a subscriber, make use of the critique function that deviantART provides. You can do this my selecting "Request Critiques" when submitting an
PE: The Basics of Giving CritiqueA lot of people seem to think that giving a critique requires you to have an art degree and a lifetime of experience. This is merely an excuse barrier to stop you from trusting yourself in the art of delivering a fine critique. Today's Project Educate guide is an aid to help you consider the basics of critique, and in particular critique on dA.
This article has been written as a guideline overview only and one persons advice. There are hundreds of existing "how to" guides for critique already existing on dA, so if this one doesn't suit you, take a browse and see what else you can find!
The key rules to critique
1. Keep in mind you are writing a CRITIQUE not a CRITICISM. Be wary of your word choices and make sure you keep in mind you are helping the artist for improvement. Be Constructive, not Destructive.
2. Consider you audience- who is the artist reading this critique? How may they react to your words? Be wary of patronising the person you are c
PE: #Gimmefeedback interviewCritique Groups
There are hundreds of critique groups out there, many of which we have mentioned in previous articles. One group in particular GimmeFeedback kindly offered to share some insight to what it takes to run a critique focussed group, with the wonderful assistance of founder Aeirmid aka Jade!
Can you summarise in 5 words what :icongimmefeedback: is about?
Education. Expression. Improvement. Collegiality. Open-mindedness.
Okay now let us have a more detailed overview 
GimmeFeedback has as its explicit mission the intention to help artists from all backgrounds, media, and skill levels learn more about their work and improve it by hearing different perspectives about their creations. We have a strict "give before you receive" policy under which every deviant (admins included) must leave two critiques for other individuals before posting their own work to receive critique. We feel that it is this policy tha
PE: The Community and Critique!Last week at the beginning of project educate, I conducted a survey to see what opinions the community had on the subject of critique. Here are some of the highlights of the responses made to each of the questions.
Do you put your art work up in hope of obtaining critique?
"Not necessarily.. but feedback is always most appreciated. I've started taking the initiative to becoming my own critic while I make my work.. Judging the appearance while sketching it is a powerful tool for me and makes me respect the art of critical thinking even more. " TheCreativeJenn
" Yes. I strive to become a better artist, so I hope by posting it, I can get exposure and someone who is willing to pick my story to pieces and show me the error of my ways. A reliable editor would be my dream best friend." Cassildra
"Generally, yes. Exposure and critique. It doesn't have to be thorough, but I'd much rather have a comment that tells me what works and what doesn't, rather than just "cool",
PE: Do You Really Want Critique?As part of projecteducate’s Critique Week, we thought it’d be a good idea to take into consideration when you should and shouldn’t ask for critique on a work you post to deviantART.
Before I get any further into the article, I would like to address the fact that the things I say here will not always apply. In fact, they may not even apply most of the time. As with all guides to art and feedback, your mileage may vary, and it’s always best to learn things for yourself. So, without further ado, here’s a few things to consider before you request critique:
Personal work: The most common issue with critique that I’ve personally encountered around dA is the critique of personal work, and a lot of the time this is because the artist requests critique on a work that they are not ready to receive critique on. A few examples of this could be work done as a result of a person’s passing, a difficult change in life, or a work based
Gallery Specific Articles
PE: Art Nude/ Fetish Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique.
Today we are looking at the Artistic Nude photography gallery and the Fetish photography gallery, with our Top Tips provided by the wonderful assistance of Nyx-Valentine
The most important thing when critiquing artistic nude or fetish photography is to keep it professional. Yes, nudity and fetish content can be sexy, or erotic, and you might think the model is "hot." But a critique is not the place to talk about it. Critique is for well...critique. Not hitting on models. Critique is also not the place to focus on things you dislike about the model. When you start commenting on "She should be a redhead" or "He's too hairy", these are things that the pho
PE: Pixel Art Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique.
Today we are looking at the pixel art- and icon-gallery, with our Top 10 (or so) Tips provided by the wonderful assistance of Hardrockangel.
1. The outline of your pixel
Like a drawing, pixeling usually starts with a sketch that is later refined to a line art.
And this line art can make or break your pixel depending on how carefully it was made.
A couple of mistakes that are often made:
- bunched up pixels instead of a 1 pixel line
- a disproportionate outline (looks mashed)
- A sketched outline
So how can you make a good-looking line-art? Take your time!
Don't just sketch, but work with a hard brush-tool of 1 pixel and place each pixel by hand.
What to look for when critiquing: Is the pixel-out
PE: Photography Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique. Today we are looking at the Photography gallery, with a range of Tips provided by Kaz-D
Critiquing Photography 
Disclaimer: Firstly I don't claim to be an expert on this! It's just what I've picked up along the way.
The Composition 
Look at the background, middle ground and foreground. Are they all adequately captured? Is there too much of one and little of another? Do the colours compliment, contrast or make you want to sit down in a dark room for a little while? Rule of thirds – despite the use of Rule it's not actually a law that people should follow. If they've not used the rule of thirds, but it still looks frigging amazing then don't chew them out over it. Simples. If they haven't used the
PE: Vector Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique.
Today we are looking at the Vector galleries, with our Top 10 (or so) Tips provided by the wonderful assistance of ChewedKandi & DomiSM
Like any form of art, overall composition, balance of colours and concept are often a generic subject, however today we're giving you some more technical hints and tips when it comes to critiquing vector work. If you'd like to find out more about the medium, please check out last years Project Educate: Vector Week round up article.
1. Curve Control: The majority of work and shapes you'll encounter will be using tools such as the Pen Tool. This can be a tough tool to gain control of and can be a tough learning curve for some. When c
PE: Literature Critique Tips*Updated 03/08/17 because it needs a refresh!*
Originally, this article was part of Project Educate Critique week back in 2012!
Literature Critique: Top Tips
Before you start giving critique:
READ the piece all the way through.Read it again, making notes of what you would like to point out in your critique.Stay Objective- you are critiquing the piece not the person.
Things to look out for when delivering Literature Critique:
These tips are areas which aren't just necessary in critiquing others' work, but also when self-critiquing your own writing. 
A good opening.
The opening to any form of writing doesn't need to involve an explosion, but it does needs to have a hook; something to entice the reader. It needs to be clear, something that sparks interest and leads the rest of the piece. Keep an eye out for opening paragraphs/stanzas that are flat and unint
PE: Typography Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique.
Today we are looking at the Typography gallery, with our Top Tips provided by the wonderful assistance of pica-ae
Check out the tips!
Readability!
This is one of the first lessons you learn in Typography: "Keep the text readable!" If nobody can read, what you wrote, what's the sense in it?
Now keep in mind that this relates to Design! In Design, Typography is a tool that helps you convey a message. If Typography stands on its own, as an artform or sub-category to Art, this rule is no longer decisive.
If you look at Art, rules are meant to be broken!
There are two sides to why it may be okay for a piece to lack readability.
Too many fonts / Hard to read single words. You can find this very often with music quotes. By using different font siz
PE: Traditional Critique TipsAs part of Project Educate Critique week, the Community Volunteers would like to share more art specific elements to consider whilst giving good critique.
Today we are looking at the Traditional Art gallery, with our Top 10 (or so) Tips provided by the wonderful assistance of Lyricanna
I am by no means an expert but I have picked up a few tricks over the past 5 years that I hope will help others.
About anatomy. If someone's anatomy looks off, suggest that they mirror their sketches/WIPs in the future. This is a trick first introduced to me by digital artists. They would horizontally flip their images to check for anatomical errors. You can do this with traditional art as well by holding the reverse side of an image up to a light or by using a lightbox. Lineart. Different thicknesses of lineart can help indicate depth, light sourcing or
Thank you everyone! Keep an eye out next week when Project Educate hits the Anthro Galleries with the help of the beautiful KovoWolf!
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