I'm cute, I'm crazy, and I'm a dragon. Oh, and I'm a good artist. What more do you need? ;3
Oh FINE, here I am then.
NAME: Yuki Ryu
AGE: 24. Nothing wity to say there, so moving on.
GENDER: Would like to be neutral, but is stuck on female.
RACE: Dragon. Randomly insane dragon to be precice.
FAVORITE FOOD: MILK! Miiiiiiiiiiiiiilk... Chocolate chip cookies are nice too.
FAVORITE SERIES: Yu-Gi-Oh, Sonic the Hedgehog, Digimon, Ranma 1/2, Harry Potter, NiGHTS into Dreams, Silent Hill, Mega Man, Lunar, Pokemon, and many more.
FAVORITE MEDIUM: Oekaki BSS. I like making masterpieces with a mouse icon. X3
MOST LOYAL TO THESE PAIRINGS: Bakura/Malik, Atemu/Seto, Yugi/Anzu, Sonic/Sally, and Ranma/Akane. (I'm probably forgetting some.)
LIKES: Romance, anime, video games, hentai (tastefully done), good art, good writing, milk, cookies, and more.
DISLIKES: Art thieves, posers, biters, Mary Sues, OOC without good reasoning, Gary Stus, bullies, and other crappy people like that there like 4Kids.
The Etiquette of Commentingposted Jun 14th 2005, 3:19PM
Mood: Confused
Music: 403 - Southern Cross
We all know that commenting is one of the main reasons why we artists post here, since we want a forum in which that we will get feedback on our work. We also comment on other pictures since we want to do the same for other artists that we would like to be done for us, and because we have things to say about the picture.
Simple, right?
We also have the wonderful option of replying to those who leave comments, whether we're the artist they are commenting towards or someone else who has just something to say about someone's comments.
A few things I've noticed about this system are you notice who the younger people or "newbies" are if the artist replies to every single comment. However art thieves also do this same thing because they are stealing in order to revel in praise and attention, even if it rightfully belongs to someone else. Because of this an artist replying to every single comment tends to look highly suspicious due to how desperately they seem to thrive on attention.
Due to circumstances like these whenever we comment on an artist's picture we tend not to expect a reply from the artist on whatever we commented, whether it be a picture, a journal entry, or on the artist's page itself.
There is also the fact that there is somewhat of an awkwardness for seasoned artists in replying to every single comment they get, not just in because of how it looks, but because a good number of comments don't necessarily need replies. After all what do you say to "awsm!11" or "First comment! =D"? Saying thanks to every single comment tends to get repetitive, so the artist decides that they will simply hope that the message is implied, and reply only to posts that catch their attention. Whether it's because someone asked a question or if they said something in particular that the artist feels that they have something to say in response to. This is generally the unspoken rule of the seasoned artist and I think most of us catch on to that right away. Heck, a good number of people favorite a picture without leaving a comment for the simple fact that they know chances are that their "It's good!" comment won't be responded to, and so adding the picture to their favorites list will say the same thing, only it will also show off that picture to other people and thus give free advertising to the artist. A win-win situation right there, right?
An artist loves getting comments and their pictures added to another person's illustrious favorites list. It makes us feel wanted, validated, that we spent all this hard work on our pictures not in vain, but we are appreciated for it, even if just by one other person. It's a wonderful feeling that I think sometimes those who comment take for granted.
I suppose that this is also a reason why all negative comments can be extra offensive to an artist. Trolls, flamers, etc. These random people with too few fame and brain cells who wish to get popular and more comments through negatively commenting on other peoples' works, leeching off of anger and other negative emotions are people none of us want to have around. Thankfully administration is rather good about taking those people out and seasoned artists who post their work in public in general are pretty good at taking shots as well as we are at dishing out. However, are some artists (some new to the game, some not) with thinner skins that need to be treated a little more gently (within reason of course) until they can develop their own thick skins, but until then negativity can be rather damaging to them.
Then there's the gray line, the people who don't know any better who either make a negative comment or imply something that could be negative because they don't understand something and sometimes don't appreciate getting a personal reply from the artist in order to get it explained because it makes them wrong. These people tend to get defensive and passive-aggressive and subtly can get really nasty in insulting the artist and their works. Yet they can always seem to claim that the artist or other people who reply to them that they just "don't understand" and feign taking the high ground and "mature" stance no matter how immature and/or incoherent that they had acted up until that point.
I think that we've all gotten comments from this sort of person at one time or another, am I right?
Getting right to the point, I think that we artists would all be a lot happier if those who comment would keep these points in mind:
1: Pay attention to the contents of the picture and description, as well as if the artist in particular wants heavy critiques or simply shallow flattery. If someone wants their picture thoughtfully critiqued and commented on then they would rather not get things like "LOL!11". Or if someone is sensitive about a picture and what they perceive its faults to be, they don't need someone tearing it to shreds in comments.
2: Give yourself more than 10 seconds to form the comment in your head. Give a comment that you would enjoy getting on one of your own pictures, even if it is a critique. Tact can go a long way.
3: If you have nothing to say related to the picture itself and just feel like being random, save that for the artist's page itself, their journal, or even a note sent to the artist. This can be a pet peeve of many an artist. However I would like to note that some seemingly random comments could go well on a picture page IF they have some meaning related to the picture, particularly if it's some sort of inside joke that the artist is likely to understand and enjoy too. I know that I enjoy a good random inside joke. ;3
4: If you had a point or argument that got countered by the artist, don't get offended: just either accept that there was a reasoning that you didn't see before and move on, or give your own counter-argument in a calm manner if there's still more yet to be said. The good artists don't want their pictures to be used as a means to start trouble. (Although sadly some people do post pictures for that express purpose, but I'm talking about good commentary between civil artists.)
5: Don't post a comment for the sake of getting attention or an imaginary prize such as first comment seems to be on popular artist pictures. This is just plain annoying. Commenting isn't a race; it's a means of feedback for an artist. Of course that doesn't mean that you can't reply to yourself and declare, "I got first comment!" after the fact, or even mention it in some part of the post that otherwise focuses on the picture. I can understand the allure, but, please, don't cheapen the first comment by simply stating that you got it and as such wasting it and its meaning altogether.
6: Don't flame, troll, be an idiot, etc. It's just not nice and artists don't need to be harassed strictly for someone else's amusement. But I think that we all know this already.
7: Don't leave comments that are basically chain letters because you thought it was "cute" to "kiss" an artist or write "SEX" in ACCII in someone's front page, journal, or even pictures. If the artist enjoys that sort of thing then go right ahead and pass that sort of thing back and forth among those who want it. Otherwise it's just plain creepy to see someone write "J0 haV JeS7 B33N 5Exx0R'd11!" or otherwise depict the groping or fondling of an artist out of the blue like that.
8: For heaven's sake don't plug your own art/fan fiction/whatever in your comment unless it's in your default signature or related to the picture in a way that the artist needs to know and not just to advertise in order to try and glean the fame off of others. You've got a perfectly good artist's page and signature that you can plug away with to your heart's content within reason. If you and your art are interesting enough to be worthy of much attention, you'll get it sooner or later so long as your persistent and you don't have to upset other artists in order to get the fame you deserve.
9: Don't be a poser. Don't pretend that you're someone you're not just to get respect that you didn't earn. This includes pretending to be an administrator, a famous artist, or a hacker. Chances are you're going to be found out rather quickly and will be in trouble with the real people/group that you tried to impersonate; sometimes in very, very deep trouble. Also, posing doesn't lend you any weight to what you've been saying; it just makes you look like an idiot.
10: Don't be an art thief. I cannot stress that enough. I know this (and others on this list) doesn't relate exclusively relate to commenting, but I have seen "artists" accuse real artists of sealing their works... when in reality they're the ones who stole from the person that they are accusing, likely from another page. Or these "artists" accuse another "artist" of copying when in reality they both copied from the same picture. Or they both stole from the same page. Art thieves, whether they completely blatantly rip of a piece of art or try and copy it in virtually every detail, are terrible parasites on the art community at large.
There is a line between being a good artist and/or commenter who wants to help others out to be a good person, and being someone who simply wishes to gain attention, whether it be good or bad, and doesn't mind doing bad things and upsetting other people in order to get it. This is a line that shouldn't be crossed, for the sake of all parties involved. These art communities thrive on positive communication and mutual appreciation for art. If we didn't want to share our works with the world we wouldn't be here trying so hard to show the world what we can do. This is why good commentary is so important, not just to give feedback but to validate the artist for all of their hard work and to show them that they are appreciated.
In closing, I would like to state that these are my opinions and observations that I have taken in over years of taking part in artist communities; both as an artist and a commenter. The examples of what not to do are caricatures drawn from past experiences that I have had and are not direct examples from any particular past event that I have had. I am not making any accusations here or pointing any fingers at any one person in particular. I just want to make these points clear.
My entire reason for this post that has turned into sort of a rant in my own personal artist journal was because I felt like hopping onto a soapbox and making an observation about the art of commenting to an artist. At first I thought that I'd have trouble making four paragraphs and now I just noticed that it's turned into a four-page declaration (according to the writing program that I'm initially typing this up in). This just goes to show you how things can snowball and that maybe you have a lot more to say about some subjects than you would have initially believed, you know?
I probably will remember things that I wanted to say here later, or someone will point out something that I missed, since that's usually how it works. I may or may not add to this in that case and make an already too long rant even larger. It really all depends on my mood and if I feel that I missed something important that needs to be said.
But then again all of the people who look at my pictures/journal entries/stories regularly already know that I like to ramble on and on and explain things ad nausium. If not then you haven't been paying attention.
thank you i made a huge mistake and we got off to a rough start so lets start over..........by the way i love your art just the way you color and draw it so ill watch you
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