telophase | (no subject)

Crossposting from my DeviantArt journal.

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Random things that have been building up for a while.

1) Stop worrying about people stealing your ideas for a manga or a picture. The ideas are not the important part. Your own personal expression of the idea is, and everyone who does something with that idea is going to produce different work.

2) Corollary to 1: your idea probably sucks anyway. So stop investing your time in worry and just draw or write the damn thing already.

3) You cannot copyright a pose. And just because there are similar poses in two pieces of work does not mean that one of them is stolen.

4) The Cowboy Bebop OST is one kickass CD and I'm going to turn the volume up right now since the random shuffle has produced Tank!.

5) Corollary to 3: make sure that when you accuse someone of ripping a deviation that (a) the two works of art actually resemble each other someone and (b) that the piece you claim as the offending piece was not posted before the piece you claim was ripped.

6) Stop whining about how crap your work is. I mean it, and I've ranted before. If your work is crap, we can all see it already and you don't need to point it out, and if it's not crap, you just look like you're begging for attention which is never cute unless you're funny about it. Don't make me kick your ass.

7) We know you hate anime and think ti's crap. Shut up already.

8) We know you love anime and can't understand why someone would think it's crap. Shut up already.

9) If you have to post to a message board asking people how to tell if you're ready for sex, you're not ready yet. Keep your pants on a while longer.

10) If you're going to leave critique on a work, make sure you point out what is wrong with it and give possible suggestions on how to fix it. Don't jsut say "The head is crap" because that's completely useless: if the artist could see what the problem was, they'd have fixed it already.

11) If someone says "Thank you" to one of your comments, you really don't need to post "You're welcome" in return. They won't think you're rude for not doing that, honest.

12) You are not allowed to use dyslexia as an excuse for typing in netspeak.

13) If someone asks for advice on how to improve their art, do not tell them to draw what they feel. That's fluffy and airheaded and completely useless as far as advice goes.

14) If you post a question that is answered in the description of the piece, you are not allowed to get defensive when you are mocked.

15) Corollary to 14: if you post a question that has been asked and answered several times over in the comments, you are also not allowed to get defensive when mocked.

That's it for the moment. More if I get irritated at anything else I see online today.

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The corollary "...unless you're funny about it" can be applied at will to most of the above statements, but you have to actually be funny to more than yourself and your best 12-year-old friend.

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I'll drink to that!

#6 is one that REALLY gets on my nerves.

Yup. This one is especially due to someone on my DA watch list who does some wonderful stuff but keeps posting about how crap they are and finally deleted most of the stuff in their gallery. Which was bettr than 95% of the stuff on DA.

I figure you're allowed to be disappointed that you didn't achieve what you were trying to, but otherwise SHUT THE HELL UP I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR WHINING.

I consider that also to be insulting towards others who aren't as skillful as the whining artist. When the near professional artist says that you yourself are so good and is otherwise so modest about her/his own work, it doesn't necessarily make one feel complimented.

Yup. I don't mind it when someone complains that they can't do what they want to do, or that they're frustrated or something. But the constant self-denigration makes me go "Then why the hell are you posting it, if it's so bad?" and makes me suspect quite strongly that you are really trying to dig compliments out of other people while trying to appear modest. It doesn't work on me. Unfortunately it seems to work a lot on other people.

"the head is crap"

is so amusing. i see a mr. softee type guy, instead he has poop for a head. and maybe is carrying one of those doggy pooper scoopers.

in fact, i would draw this, but i'm too lazy to put my stick-figure skillzorz to the test.

(and swirling poop might be a bit too advanced for me....)

with that said, uhh....

gosh, that was pointless

XD Something like Pyramidhead, only with a swirl?

http://gothamgazette.com/graphics/mr_softee.jpg

mhmm, poopie :)

XD Perfect!

Reminds me of that guy from Digi Charat that has the garlic clove looking head... just imagine it brown.

icky-delicious!

Hoorah :O

Don't put #7 and #8 so close to each other, geez. Are you asking for wank? XD

It is the Wank Event Horizon! All will be sucked in and devoured!

All true but:

If you have to post to a message board asking people how to tell if you're ready for sex, you're not ready yet. Keep your pants on a while longer.

is immortal and should perhaps be in bronze.

It's one of those things that you'd think would be self-evident. Apparently not.

Word.

And Tank! owns.

Oh man, can I get an Amen? This list should be forwarded to everybody on the internet, with the addition of "Dear Everybody: Stop being obnoxious, kthnxdie." *is cranky*

A-MEN!!

Along with:

That's right, vent! >cough< I've only committed #6, so either I'm funny, you can't find me, or the promise of sweets of your choice have kept me alive. So you can let me off with a warning, right? I can give you booze too.
I am specific about crapiness in my art. If I'm trying to draw someone angry and they end up looking constipated, while amusing, doesn't get the right idea across to the viewer. Or if they are crying, but look like they have an eye infection, once again that's a problem.
#10,If some one tells me something looks 'toopid', they're only showing they can grasp the fairly obvious :big whoop:. Something like "the length of the human body is about 7 and half heads not 5, that's why it looks 'toopid'" is much better.
I'm actually scared to critique people's work. I only do constructive criticism, but still some people will turn rabid and start foaming at the mouth. I don't know if it's me or them, so I rarely critique now. #9? If they 'have' to ask that question, they probably don't have anyone to do it with anyhow.
(Since you work at a college, this is a good question for you. "My classes are Monday through Friday but what does the "R" mean, what day of the week is that?" :ducks: I used to get asked that on a daily basis) Now I'm going to 'copy' you and go buy the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, too.

I don't mind complaining about specific problems, and the occasional existential "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I suck!" is fine as well to blow off steam. Just don't do it with EVERY SINGLE PICTURE YOU POST like some DA folks I've run into. :) (Your recent LJ post was about a specific problem - hitting a plateau - dressed up in existential angst, so you squeak through. ;)

I haven't had too many problems with leaving crit - they either say thanks or just ignore me. As you know, I'm also careful to try and stress that it's my opinion and to point out when something is my style or when I'm critiquing based on my personal preferences. (Not always successful at it, but I try.)

I try to base my crit style on the comic artist Brian Stelfreeze, who I've seen give some amazing crits at cons - He'll sit there and page through sketchbooks or portfolios making astonished noises at all of them, and then tell you that you're great and point out all the stuff you're doing right. Then he'll give a bit of crit depending on how serious and how experienced you are: if you're young and new, he'll say something like "What I'd like to see you do here is [blah]" or "Here's a direction I'd like to see you go; [blah]". If you're more experienced and are obviously trying to go pro, he'll be more direct and detailed, but he's just so Brian that you can't be hurt by anything he says. It'll be like "Oh, man, lose the detail here." or "WHat's up with this? It should be [blah]"

At any rate, after a crit session with him you leave fired up to try again, not ripped apart and broken down.

3: Not true. I totally own the "V" sign pose and ANYONE ELSE WHO DRAWS IT DESERVES TO DIE. INCLUDING EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER DRAWN ANYTHING IN JAPAN. OMFG STEALERS.

You are very right on every one of these.

Hehe!
Whatever. Shower and shades, I say. Shower and shades ;>