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Why you're not getting any replies

1
You've posted some nice artwork and asked for feedback, but no one seems to be offerring you any critiques. Why are they passing you by?

Someone asked me this in a private message. I thought it might help to share the response, and get more details from the community too.

I feel there are a couple factors at work here. 

First off, there is a lot of traffic here, so there are a lot of things to look at, so not everything gets responses.

Next thing is, you might have a great initial post, but no follow-up posts. There are unfortunately a lot of people who post something, but thereafter they have no other interaction with the community. 1-post wonders. 

Often these are seen by others as not worth the time to write a good solid critique, because it looks like a fly-by-night. You invest your time to write a good crit, but then hear nothing else from this person. 

This doc describes a similar online community and why things are the way they are. Not exactly the same here, but shares a lot. Just replace "hackers" with "polycounters". Worth a read.
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#intro

I suggest posting regularly, updating your thread with new work. Show that you are proactive and steadily working on your art. Describe your process. Share your techniques. And give others solid critiques.

Involve yourself in the community, show you are invested in being here, and others are more likely to respond in turn. I think the axiom "give and ye shall recieve" is applicable.

There are a couple more factors at play. Hopefully others will chime in here with more info.

I hope this helps!

Replies

  • fearian
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    fearian greentooth
    Someone is going to post a graph with a downwards bell curve. Everyone knows this graph but IMO the points laid out by Eric above carry more weight that the quality of your work*. There's no such thing as a dumb question, but there are questions that have been asked and there are good questions!

    *Unless its some blizzard level stuff ;)
  • PolyHertz
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    PolyHertz polycount lvl 666
    There are unfortunately a lot of people who post something, but thereafter they have no other interaction with the community. 1-post wonders.
    What's worse is when you try and help someone and they don't even acknowledge you posted at all. For instance; I made a post here just the other day to help someone having issues with MEL script, and was the only person to respond, but his followup post didn't even acknowledge what I said at all. The only reason I know he read my post is because he used what I said in his second posts example code. I don't feel like it's worth my time to continue helping someone like that.
  • ArNavart
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    ArNavart polycounter lvl 2
    Of course, there's also the gibish(yeah, it's a new adjective don't google it, it'll only be in the next Webster's edition) way of doing things. But if seriously, I think it's only good and natural, it prevents artists to fall into narcistic dreams. Me too, I keep posting work here, but so far got solid 0 replies, but I feel myself just fine, in contrast some years ago I've been working with a modding team, where( both inside the team and fan base ) the degree of flattering replies mixed with personal likes and dislikes has gotten so high that critique would be viewed as a heresy.
  • Lt_Commander
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    Lt_Commander polycounter lvl 10
    Getting a solid reply on polycount is the highlight of my week when I get one.  :D

    I try and provide meaningful feedback when I have it as well. The bar for posts here can feel so high sometimes.
  • RyanB
    PolyHertz said:
    There are unfortunately a lot of people who post something, but thereafter they have no other interaction with the community. 1-post wonders.
    What's worse is when you try and help someone and they don't even acknowledge you posted at all. For instance; I made a post here just the other day to help someone having issues with MEL script, and was the only person to respond, but his followup post didn't even acknowledge what I said at all. The only reason I know he read my post is because he used what I said in his second posts example code. I don't feel like it's worth my time to continue helping someone like that.
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
  • Gilgamesh
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    Gilgamesh polycounter lvl 12
    RyanB said:
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
    That makes no sense at all really, I don't post much because my work is well .. childish compared to that vast majority on the forum and I'm just a hobbyist.  I wouldn't have access to all the help I've gained over the years (of which is quite considerable) if it was private only, because a) I'm crap and b) I don't have anything to offer apart from my meagre knowledge when it comes to some technical things.  I'd feed deprived of a great community and even greater artists and be relegated to flicking through artstation looking at great art but have no 'connection' to any of it.

    I love seeing from the start and the updates that follow. I love seeing the thought processes people go over from iteration to iteration.  Seeing what works for the scene/piece and what doesn't and more importantly how others help to narrow the focus of the art.  Making that all private to full artists would be a real shame.
  • Tekoppar
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    Tekoppar polycounter lvl 10
    RyanB said:
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
    That's the stupidest comment I've read this week.
  • Alemja
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    Alemja hero character
    Another thing I see are people who don't post concepts are mood boards and are trying to create their own thing; this is especially prevalent among student work. I would love to help but I don't know what you are trying to create, the more information given, the better.
  • Swaggletooth
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    Swaggletooth polycounter lvl 5
    I'm always interested to look in the showcase threads, but there's always so many threads - so unless if it's something with a real eyecatching title or known author it isn't going to stand out. To that end, I think the "what are you working on?" thread is good for cross posting in where your pictures can (hopefully!) leap out where your words haven't.

    The bar for posts here can feel so high sometimes.
    Yeah, often there's times when I see something that someone's done and think "oh that's nice". But just posting a comment like that would seem a bit spammy!

    But yeah, just getting a reply to something you've posted does feel like an achievement in itself!
  • PixelMasher
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    PixelMasher veteran polycounter
    step 1 for a lot of people would be to actually put some thought into their thread name. looking at the what are you working on section, there are hundreds of threads titled:

    Scifi Hallway
    just Another Scifi hallway - self depreciating thread titles like these are brutal, its screams dont bother looking in here.
    scifi corridor 01
    grungy alleyway
    etc etc

    If you cant create even a compelling thread title that grabs people attention and cuts through the noise, dont be shocked when no one looks at your work. Im not saying you have to be amazing just give some thought to what you would click on if you were scrolling. even something like "deus ex style urban environment" or "star wars inspired character diorama" will probably get more eyeballs on them simple because there is context given and you are tying your work to something people are able to understand and are fans of. 

    if its something like a character instead of just "steampunk character" call your thread something like "Beware the victorian leigon! - a steampunk inspired bounty hunter" give it some life and attitude.

    in the project writeup talk about why you are excited to do this piece instead of just posting a few images, give a clear objective and things you really want to learn/focus on. HELP ME....HELP YOU! 

    tl:dr -  provide context, grab attention and cut through the noise. 



  • Odow
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    Odow polycounter lvl 8
    RyanB said:
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
    Let's add an art test and an interview to that private forum of yours.
  • Amsterdam Hilton Hotel
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    Amsterdam Hilton Hotel insane polycounter
    didnt read the thread beyond the OP but i find the #1 thing you can do to actually get replies is to post updates to your thread daily  or more. that means not waiting until a project is done to post it (huge mistake). the 3d forum is drowned in more work than ever and people are just not going to see your thread if you don't frequently bump it to the top. you will get wiped to page 2 in mere hours and page 1 is the real estate for clicks. just make sure every bump adds value, either a new update or a response to a question someone asked or a workflow explanation. if you bring enough value you will at some point get comments 
  • m4dcow
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    m4dcow interpolator
    step 1 for a lot of people would be to actually put some thought into their thread name. looking at the what are you working on section, there are hundreds of threads titled:

    Scifi Hallway
    just Another Scifi hallway - self depreciating thread titles like these are brutal, its screams dont bother looking in here.
    scifi corridor 01
    grungy alleyway
    etc etc
    I don't know man, Sci Fi Hallway and Grungy Alleyway seem fine to me if it's describing the subject matter. What is worse, is some sort of clickbait or vague title title that leads me to a plain old Sci Fi Hallway or Grungy Alleyway. For example just looking through the showcase titles I see something called "Lumineer67 Project" upon clicking on it it's actually a cool looking Sci Fi scene, but the title is useless, and the only reason I would click on it, would be to see what it was. It would be cool if the clickbait titles were always something cool, but they tend not to be.

    Maybe the takeaway would be to come up with some more compelling subject matter.
  • AtticusMars
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    AtticusMars greentooth
    m4dcow said:
    What is worse, is some sort of clickbait
    You mean like "[UE4] Root cellar (Sex Dungeon)"?
  • Nam.Nguyen
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    Nam.Nguyen polycounter lvl 9
    step 1 for a lot of people would be to actually put some thought into their thread name. looking at the what are you working on section, there are hundreds of threads titled:

    Scifi Hallway
    just Another Scifi hallway - self depreciating thread titles like these are brutal, its screams dont bother looking in here.
    scifi corridor 01
    grungy alleyway
    etc etc
    m4dcow said:
    I don't know man, Sci Fi Hallway and Grungy Alleyway seem fine to me if it's describing the subject matter. 
    .



    From my experience with polycount lately, thread with title like "MY FUCKING SCI-FI HALLWAY" will definitely get you more traffic
  • Bek
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    Bek interpolator
    RyanB said:
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
    This kills the community. Why? It's unfair, which is to say it treats people unequally. Having some 'exclusive' area would just alienate newcomers and drive them away. I don't know if I even count as a 'serious contributor' but I wouldn't want to be part of some self-important group that only deems itself worthy to talk to 'serious' users...

    HOWEVER — I get what you're saying. You want to reduce the number of people who always ask for help but never help anyone else. You want to avoid wasting time on the drive-by posters or those who ignore critique to a terminal extent. The better way to do that, I think, is simply to respond less to lazy questions, troll threads, and selfish users. Instead look for the threads with 0 replies from new users, or the ones you know give back and critique/help others. Obviously newbies won't be able to help others for awhile, so they get a pass.

    The other reason it would be a bad idea for a private section is now suddenly you've got a fragmented forum with the 'serious contributors' ignoring public sections, so then the public section stagnates and dies, eventually dragging the private section with it. That is, if it doesn't die as soon as you open the can of worms over how you determine who is a 'serious contributor' and who isn't in the first place.
  • sacboi
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    sacboi high dynamic range

    Some thoughtful insights expressed here. and If I may an additional observation or three on the topic.

    (apologies if overlapping occurs :) )

    Null replies - Is actually a form of critique in and of itself, other than the viewpoints raised thus far. A further aspect for consideration I believe is acquiring an objective attitude too ones work. Human nature being what it is, we tend to invest a certain measure of personal capital in whatever captures our interest at the time. So by divesting a measure of subjectivity will empower an artist to discern where he/she can adjust their particular approach to hopefully entice traffic.

    Be Polite - If fortunate in receipt of a reply, remember to be courteous whether a positive review is offered or not speaks volumes about the person behind a username. WIP sections primarily are places for learning, engaging the brain before hitting send negates a less than favourable experience for all parties concerned. In fact a kindred community I've a current membership with, as part of it's joining process enables the individual an option to remain anonymous or reveal personal details about themselves via their forum facing profile, such as name, location, profession etc. For those of us who've been around a while not always the case of course but generally when these policies are in place there's a tendency for a more civil exchange of views particularly when diversity is taken into account.

    "Help!" - I see this thread title with monotonous regularity and I have to say more so of late than at anytime throughout my experience spent on the Surface-Web. Not really sure if associated with this irritating social media frenzy the young ones mainly are enraptured these days, resultant consequence a hastily shot off plea usually accompanied by scant information about a specific problem at hand immediately followed by a random *thx* plus to cap things off posting on the wrong board. Seriously in this instance reading the appropriate rules mitigates an abrupt response from a mod and/or senior member.

    Proof Read - Always PREVIEW! ensuring importantly what was typed is for starters readible plus there's an attached image/s for people too crit to begin with. I know during the excitement or if English is not a first language can be problematic however pausing for breath or leveraging Google translator or better still asking a native speaker for help will often resolve the issue.

    ...lastly

    Confidence - Don't be discouraged and give up at the 'f'irst hurdle', "easier said than done!" I'm hearing in the background :) although as I mentioned above re-evaluate what you're trying to convey, ask for a fresh eye perspective. These communities are populated with artists who are approachable and willing to provide advice again if courtesy is extended. For example politely PM the person of who's work might have inspired or has a similarity to what you're endeavouring to do. After all this is an open forum along with all that entails, and even though putting your competence on public display regardless of proficiency is typically an impediment especially for novices, which to be perfectly frank vital for anyone too master in order to progress.                             

  • Bek
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    Bek interpolator
    Interesting, I didn't get a notification for the @ mention, even though that's checked in my prefs. So that's still buggy.

    To be honest I'm not sure what you're getting at with your first paragraph. It's up to you to evaluate the crits you're given to decide if they're valid. Some people will take the person's work/job into account, other's won't. Doesn't bother me. I don't think I said anything about respect or some sort of art-skills food chain.
    But maybe something you could passively observe and petition for critique, and be voted in or something to become a contributor.

    Hm. To be honest my impression is that the forum works this way now, minus the bit where pro's are encouraged/coerced (makes it sound like a job TBH) into giving crits. I think we're VERY, very lucky to get the expert opinions, tutorials, and level of dev interaction (marmo/alleg/quixel mainly) we do on these forums. (I'm not saying you don't think this; just that the current system is really quite marvelous).

  • m4dcow
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    m4dcow interpolator
    m4dcow said:
    What is worse, is some sort of clickbait
    You mean like "[UE4] Root cellar (Sex Dungeon)"?

    Haha Wow. Maybe the chains and whips are to come, but it least it is a cellar and there's a "Story" to it.


    From my experience with polycount lately, thread with title like "MY FUCKING SCI-FI HALLWAY" will definitely get you more traffic
    Well if you can live with all the penis tanks... what am I saying?, more traffic and penis tanks, that's a win win!
  • RyanB
    Gilgamesh said:
    RyanB said:
    I would love to see a private forum for serious contributors. 
    Making that all private to full artists would be a real shame.
    I'm not saying that all forums should be private. 
  • stickadtroja
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    stickadtroja polycounter lvl 11
    yeah i also want this private part of the forum. it could be like "club" of some sort, where only the people we like gets in. and then we could build a fort, and totally drink soda and eat candy all day. also if people come near, we shot them with bebeguns if they are not really cool.

    rules for ryanb's super awsome coolest club;
    1. only cool people allowed.
    2. no dorks!
    3. no moms!
    4. no farting in the fort.
  • Eric Chadwick
    We're not going to make a gated forum.
  • lotet
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    lotet hero character
    I dont agree with adding a private forum, but I do agree with the issue behind it. I pretty much only hang around in the 2D section now days, because its not as bloated. I miss the old days when you could recognize people and we had a more unifieds group of users. 

    with that said, I dont think we can impose new rules or change anything to make that comeback, the forum is bigger, thats just a thing that happens. sorry for the of topic post, but I feel we end up here in a lot of threads now days.

    I do hope there is something we can do about it though.
  • Biomag
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    Biomag sublime tool
    As JordanN has proven it, it actually just comes down to be 'someone' on the board. Break through the anonymity, either by contributions, your art,... or simply becoming a 'character' that polarizes. That seems to be the best way to get replies to threads. Maybe not the way to get the best feedback, but it gets attention as it seems...
  • mazz423
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    mazz423 polycounter lvl 9
    Won't bother commenting on the gated forum idea, this is slightly off the original topic but I think the main issue isn't necessarily the numerous art threads that don't get proper attention and replies. There's simply so many that of course some are going to get lost in the noise. Eric's points to counteract that can work very well indeed, I however think the main issue is when threads that could be extremely helpful to the community go unnoticed.

    I know I've stumbled upon old threads which had great info but barely any views or replies, the most recent example I can think of would be Seth Nash's marvelous designer tutorial, it's fantastic.

    http://polycount.com/discussion/178475/md-tutorial-pdf

    (Edit: for those that might want to check out the tutorial as the links in the thread are bust https://www.artstation.com/artwork/w99GO )

    Yet the thread has 3 replies (of which I'm one and Seth is the third :P ) and less than 300 views at the moment. Obviously this is a special case as it's not someone showcasing an art piece, but for threads of this nature where they may contain some really useful information to some it'd be great to get more eyes on em. One solution could perhaps be employing a temporary sticky for threads that are beneficial, whether it's an informative tutorial or an art piece with great breakdowns and explanations of processes. Like a thread of the day or week for example pinned to the top of the forum section it's in? Just a thought.

    I know that this is already done to a degree with the front page being used to showcase highlighted threads, but based on my browsing habits at least it's rare that I don't just jump straight to the forum.
  • Eric Chadwick
    All the links in seth's post are dead, so that's one reason. You can still find it via the Artstation link in his signature.

    But yeah, I think it'd be great to highlight more things. Moderators can't see everything. We talked about maybe having a voting system for highlighting useful threads. Maybe it could be based off the (relatively) new + button. That would require a new site feature.

    One thing people can do right now is use the Flag: Report button. This sends a link directly to the Moderators. We check this list about once a day or so. Mostly it's about moving threads, or solving disputes. But you can also use it to ask for a Front Page. Just don't ask for your own stuff to be Fronted, instant ignore haha.
  • Odow
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    Odow polycounter lvl 8
    Even with a Greenlit steam kind of system it would end up like the same problem they have, clan greenlit each other no matter how crappy the game is.


    I think one of the big problem is that we are starting to have a lot  of "Here's my finished scene" thread. And people don't care much about them.. I mean if you wanna showcase ONLY the completed project, post on art station. Forum are made to discuss and help each others, that why thread with a lot of update and wip get so much more attention. Also like we all know there's the problem of non-implicit thread title.

    I don't take a pro feature would help much either. Mostly anyone that live in a "rich" country can afford paying 10 bucks a month, doesn't mean they are good or invested in the forum. While skilled people from poorer country would be hide because they can't afford it.

    We talk a while ago how you didn't want to create sub-forum category in the 3D portion, but i was thinking of a user category system.

    Not sure if our forum platform allows it, but must regular platform group allow you to create user group and identify them with name color and special logo/banner. If it was possible to create group like "student - Character" "Student- VFX" "Student - Generalist" "hobbyist - animator" "pro" etc, and create a way to filter the thread by the user category would help. For example, if i wanted to see really great character art i could just make thread created by Pro character artist. If i would want to coach student I could filter post only made by students. Even easier we keep it to either only the kind of work your doing (animatino, vfx, concept artist) or only your rank " student, hobby, Pro, Senior"

    It doesn't create that much of a gap, people enter the category by themselves (and if you want your exclusive, block the pro section with validation asking people where they are working) the section stay the same, maybe slightly more colorful. But it offer the possibility to filter what you see. A bit like how you're force to write in the welcome thread to be able to post anywhere else, just bigger.
  • radiancef0rge
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    radiancef0rge ngon master
    I have to piggy back on the thread title thing. Ive seen so many bad titles lately so I just skip the thread. 
    Also people put to large images ALL the time. I can't load WAYWO at home or work because it times out. Both places are 100 mbps+
    My interest has declined recently because of all the timeouts on the image cdn. 
  • Eric Chadwick
    I've been patrolling WAYWO lately, spoilering all images over 1mb, and removing multi-embeds. But ultimately I think we need a tool that makes thumbnails from your images, so you see a 900x embed, but you can click on it to see the full original if you want.
  • mazz423
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    mazz423 polycounter lvl 9
    @Eric Chadwick Haha yeah, spotted that after linking the thread so not that useful an example. Ah cool, I never thought of using the Flag button for that, may well give it a go in the future if I stumble upon something useful :smile: 
  • RyanB
    lotet said:
    I do hope there is something we can do about it though.
    As an alternative, I would suggest a tagging system.  People could self-tag and other people could filter based on that tag.  Anyone could read the threads but individuals could choose to only see certain self-tagged posters.
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    Here's a suggestion:

    Post feedback in other peoples threads.

    When you're an active and helpful member, people will remember and take note, and return the favour.


    This is a community. Don't be a sponge.
  • Meloncov
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    Meloncov greentooth
    m4dcow said:
    I don't know man, Sci Fi Hallway and Grungy Alleyway seem fine to me if it's describing the subject matter.
    If "Sci-Fi Hallway" is the most descriptive title possible, it seems likely not the most interesting project. I'd be much more likely to check out, say, "Genetics Lab" or "Refinery Ship Interior" or "Sci-Fi Diplomatic Ship Corridor". 
  • Tekoppar
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    Tekoppar polycounter lvl 10
    Is it really Stupid? It's already happening and tends to happen naturally - the more chaos the more people will clique up to get communication of value to them.  There's tons of chat groups, email lists, etc. you are or aren't a part of.  There's slack, facebook, skype, discord, google hangouts and even more I don't even know about just for polycount.  The ratio of new, more needy, users to quality posts tipped over long ago.

    Real seasoned people seem to get fatigued of all that and leave to their cliques or work sometimes permanently.  I'd welcome passively witnessing a group of top artists focused and tearing through critiques of work of various skill levels without the mob (myself included) able to interfere.
    It is stupid because it's segregating the community is never going to be a solution towards getting better quality. You're talking about small communities and not a big one like Polycount. Small communities forms all over the world and I'm not getting to be a part of many of them. Why not have a weekly thing where people submit art and a bunch of people get invited to critique it and it just gets posted on the news page? You get your top artists critiquing art without the us interfering in anyway and you don't create a secret club but maybe a fun little thing where people post their art to get it critiqued. The people critiquing could get to choose the art, that way it fun for most people. People critiquing and people getting their art critiqued and people learning what to do and what not to do.

    It's just an idea, that I think is better then a secret club.
  • MiAlx
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    MiAlx polycounter lvl 10
    Great points, Eric. :)

    But this was brought up as an issue waaaay before the day I started lurking polycount to be honest. But it's an issue that has nothing to do with polycount itself, it's just how humans work, I'd say.

    First of all, there is a reason why the term "click-bait" exists and second, if you realize that someone will 90% of the time post something that will be genuinely interesting (or in valuemeal etc. cases funny) or constructive like the average user here, most of the time you will want to see what was posted. If you open a thread and a person expresses no interest in feedback and has some ambiguous art on display, I won't answer because maybe I don't get what feedback I should give, be it due to my lack of knowledge in that topic (I find myself in this situation often), or where to start (something is posted that lacks even the basics of basics, what can I say there?)

  • sacboi
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    sacboi high dynamic range

    Chiming in again.

    The current conversation in respect too a private area for serious people to coalesce cordoned off from the masses sounds more than a tad elitist however it's ethos is not entirely without merit. If for example lets say a variant or rather a splinter group of experienced contributors, can be anyone seasoned from all walks of life, whether industry credentialed, indie mavericks, freelance journeymen, hobbyist codger's, hairless prodigies, cross-dressing programmers, core MMO shooter gamer fucks and even mods (that is...if time & glucose levels allow)...whomever! 

    As long as they know what they're talking about, giving focused critique on a dedicated board for serious works only, as I think someone above had alluded to already. But and here's the kicker MUST be stringently policed sorting the 'wheat from the chaff' either uploaded content or the comments offered, basically something along these lines or whatever...just a thought.

    https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?46064-Focused-critique-rules-PLEASE-READ-before-posting!  

  • JimmyRustler
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    JimmyRustler polycounter lvl 8
    I actually wanted to contribute to the community by posting more feedbacks and replies to another users work, but i never really did that as i don't want to come across as arrogant, considering my skill and knowledge is still below average compared to the majority of the users here.

    I've been called out as arrogant in another forum. Even though i'm just trying to be helpful, i notice that my post can be harsh looking back at it, so in some way, i even agree with those people that criticize my comment. The whole experience just made me prefer to shut up and focused on myself first.

    Its pretty much my only problem on contributing here. I do leave some replies and feedback here and there, but only the basic stuff and never really trying to pick them apart considering that im still learning myself.


  • Meloncov
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    Meloncov greentooth
    I actually wanted to contribute to the community by posting more feedbacks and replies to another users work, but i never really did that as i don't want to come across as arrogant, considering my skill and knowledge is still below average compared to the majority of the users here.

    I've been called out as arrogant in another forum. Even though i'm just trying to be helpful, i notice that my post can be harsh looking back at it, so in some way, i even agree with those people that criticize my comment. The whole experience just made me prefer to shut up and focused on myself first.

    Its pretty much my only problem on contributing here. I do leave some replies and feedback here and there, but only the basic stuff and never really trying to pick them apart considering that im still learning myself.


    I'd like to think no one on Polycount will dismiss a valid piece of critique based on who gave it. In practice, I'm sure some people will, but you frankly shouldn't worry too much about the opinions of those people.

    As for worrying about coming off too harsh, you can always use the compliment-constructive criticism-compliment format. I don't think it's strictly necessary--I don't think many people will complain if you just post a short post pointing out something that could be improved--but it'll ensure you come off as friendly.

    Also, don't be too hard on yourself. There's some nice stuff in your portfolio.
  • Biomag
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    Biomag sublime tool
    Well for answering questions regarding technical things there is a right and correct answer - even if it is in some cases 'I can't give you a final answer, as it depends on....'. So everybody could chim in and help out as long as they learn their stuff - no excuses for rookies not to do it... we should all know by now how bad ngons really are and that you absolutely must not ever use 4k textures...


    With art my experience is different. Getting feedback from peers and non-artist is helpful to some degree. It can also lead you in the wrong direction - ever had someone telling you that you should do something differently just to find out he/she was wrong? It happens. No big deal if someone corrects it in time, but if it doesn't happen you easily turn it into a habit.

    Besides the way how a critique should be formulated (we have here enough tips how it should be done properly and honestly it requires little to no magic to understand what constructive critism is) there is the point of what the feedback is about. I made the biggest progression in the last couple of months. The reason for that was me watching Adam Skutt giving feedback to other class members. There is a tremendous difference when a really good and experienced artist gives critiques. You start to see what they are looking for and what level is expected. These are things students and others can't help you with as 99% of the time they don't see the issues - if they would they wouldn't make the same mistakes themselves. So what's the point I am trying to get at?

    Asking new members to show that they contribute before giving them feedback is most probably not a way to get quality feedback.How to give proper feedback is a skill that needs to be learned. You have to train your eye to be able to spot the issues and actually persons from who to learn it. Someone struggling with basic shapes won't be able to help others.

    The other thing is - 'Keep posting to get feedback' - while the message makes sense from the veterans' perspective to reduce noise and to those who know it, newcomers actually just see that their posts don't draw attention. And if my work doesn't draw enough attention for comments, who am I to give others advice? - I rather expect most newcomers to simply not come back here. This at least was the reason for me to not get too involved neither here and even less on ZBrushcentral.

    Now none of these things are polycount specific and this is not a rant, just simple observation. I get it that there are far too many posts to keep track of and far too many beginners with the same issues and this neither makes it easy nor fun to help. It is just a different perspective to the issue - more from the new guys point of view trying to get into this community.

    I said it before and I say it again, I don't think it is fair of polycount to expect to be able to do it all. The community size is too big to handle critiques & feedback properly. Its a terrific place to learn about the industry, find information about software and workflows, but when I personally post here I don't expect any reactions at all and by now its just doing it because its part of the business for people that are new to the industry.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    And then there are threads like this, which are pretty much guaranteed to not get any constructive replies because they do not follow any of the recommendations outlined in Eric's post :

    http://polycount.com/discussion/184706/the-rookies-2017-competetion-has-started
  • sacboi
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    sacboi high dynamic range

    JimmyRustler said:

    I actually wanted to contribute to the community by posting more feedbacks and replies to another users work, but i never really did that as i don't want to come across as arrogant, considering my skill and knowledge is still below average compared to the majority of the users here.

    I've been called out as arrogant in another forum. Even though i'm just trying to be helpful, i notice that my post can be harsh looking back at it, so in some way, i even agree with those people that criticize my comment. The whole experience just made me prefer to shut up and focused on myself first.

    Its pretty much my only problem on contributing here. I do leave some replies and feedback here and there, but only the basic stuff and never really trying to pick them apart considering that im still learning myself.

    Irrespective whether you're a pro, hobbyist or student you never stop learning, period! So honestly I'd advise continue posting detailed critiques, don't stress yourself with what people may or may not think because if the recipient of your recommendation/s is non responsive, so be it! everyone is entitled too an opinion. At the end of the day remember there are other artists, that nevertheless might benefit from those insights and by the way not necessarily noobs trawling through these threads seeking tips, in general singularly in pursuit of progressing their creative development. It's how I initially started out and I'll hazard a guess many others here as well.

    Cheers.  

  • JimmyRustler
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    JimmyRustler polycounter lvl 8
    @Meloncov
    Yeah, tried to brush off those people, but back then, those negative experiences really got to me, and shutting up about it really helps, so my mindset now is still stuck 'just shut up' phase. I know its a bad attitude here, and everyone knows that getting an encouragement reply could brighten up someone's day, so yeah, i'll try to be more active these days. Thanks.

    @sacboi
    Great way looking at the problem. In the end, If atleast someone might benefits from my words, i guess its makes it alright.
  • ArNavart
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    ArNavart polycounter lvl 2
    Here's an example:
    A day ago I posted a thread with a portfolio piece, that's nearing the finish, to get some feedback to compare with my own notes, but it's about to pass away to second page, has some 40 views and 0 replies. I learn better with real example, than with theory. So I wonder, if am I doing something terribly wrong or does the piece in question falls into some grey area or just a bad luck?

    http://polycount.com/discussion/184779/prefinal-wip-mercenary-veteran-halberdier#latest

  • kanga
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    kanga quad damage
    No reply is also helpful. If you follow all the good advice here and still get no reaction that is also a reaction. If I follow all the advice about structuring my post properly ( good title, updates in the first post so my work is view able on the mouse over preview, post a development story etc) and no one replies it means the subject of my piece is uninspiring, or technically uninteresting. That information is extremely useful. If I make work it is to develop my art and to showcase my skill set from concept to game engine. Its quite a bit of work so having a subject that is uninspiring makes that work only useful for personal development which is not only what I am looking for.

    Many artists post on multiple sites and don't really track feedback, or they are just busy with other things. I know that because as a moderator on another 3D forum I ran an experiment by replying to wip posts that had 0 replies. I found that I received about 10 % gratitude from posters and 90% no reaction. 

    This is an artist/designer site and members are interested in everything from moodboards to the finished result. With so much content getting responses is a great way of pulsing the strength of your concept and the structure of your process and thread.

    I think.
  • Chimp
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    Chimp interpolator
    herpes is why you dont get replies
  • fearian
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    fearian greentooth
    ArNavart said:
    Here's an example:
    A day ago I posted a thread with a portfolio piece, that's nearing the finish, to get some feedback to compare with my own notes, but it's about to pass away to second page, has some 40 views and 0 replies. I learn better with real example, than with theory. So I wonder, if am I doing something terribly wrong or does the piece in question falls into some grey area or just a bad luck?

    http://polycount.com/discussion/184779/prefinal-wip-mercenary-veteran-halberdier#latest

    I gotta say this is a mix of bad luck and posting at the wrong point of a project.

    This might just be me but I think there's an un-sweet spot where a project is so close to completion that the only things to crit are often quite minor or subjective. For example I think your knights cloth under-armour shouldnt be the same grey as the armour  - its a good place to put contrast, maybe a bright highlight color. But you already made a decision to go with grey... those kind of critiques are the ones most often ignored. I don't know what you tried, what your ref was.

    Short answer for this thread and everyone else: Post your project early and keep posting updates. sometimes it takes a few posts to get people involved and show your open to advice. I know that's not ideal, but that's how things are in a popular forum where your work will drop off the first page of posts in less than a day.
  • Eric Chadwick
    ArNavart said:
    Here's an example:
    A day ago I posted a thread with a portfolio piece, that's nearing the finish, to get some feedback to compare with my own notes, but it's about to pass away to second page, has some 40 views and 0 replies. I learn better with real example, than with theory. So I wonder, if am I doing something terribly wrong or does the piece in question falls into some grey area or just a bad luck?

    http://polycount.com/discussion/184779/prefinal-wip-mercenary-veteran-halberdier#latest

    You wonder what you did wrong? Apparently you did not read the first post in this thread. :)
     
    Fearian's reply above says basically the same thing I did in the OP (but with better finesse!). 
  • ArNavart
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    ArNavart polycounter lvl 2
    @kanga
    Thanks for the info!
     
     
    @Chimp
    I didn't understand what you mean.
     
    @fearian
    Thanks a lot! Before it, I posted other steps too (except the concept - a big folder of references :D  ), in 1 - 2 day intervals: sword(which I later decided not to add) -> dagger -> halberd -> knight model(there was simply no sculpt), but I'm interested to know what else could I add between plain and textured model?
    http://polycount.com/discussion/183257/arnavarts-3d-work-showcase#latest
    I totally agree with you, don't worry it's not difficult at all there is a master .PSD file with all the layers separated, will add color to the clothes.

    @Erik Chadwick
    Haha... I read your post twice, it's just better with real example in place.
    Thanks anyway!
  • Eric Chadwick
    You were doing great with your first thread (3d work showcase), you were adding daily updates. But then you stopped. 

    And then you made a 2nd thread with only one post in it (eyeball), and a 3rd thread with again only a single post (pre-final wip). Those two are bound to get less replies, both because they are "1-post loners" and because they will disappear from the first page quickly.

    My advice would be to post more work-in-progress shots. Make it more of a development diary. Show more of your process. Keep updating your one thread with techniques and workflow and questions.
  • ArNavart
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    ArNavart polycounter lvl 2
    OK, thanks!
    I'll keep that in mind.
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