[killtom]

I have been looking at artwork here for a pretty long time... i would say close to like 8 years. I never got the nerve to post until recently, and what's funny about that is i rarely if ever have time to draw anymore.

Now, I dont want to sound disgruntled, because i am sure most people are as strapped for time as I am, but there are some really great artists on here, and it seems like alot of the ones who aren't so great or even some that are not bad, but need more practice, kind of get ignored. This isn't directed toward anyone as an accusation, but for those of you that have posted tips on some of the less than amazing artists work, thank you. I understand that some people get kind of uppity about it and it makes people angry. All I am hoping to do through this post is get more of the truly amazing artists on here to try and help out the smaller guys. Even if they are really horrible. Everyone has to start somewhere, and hopefully i didn't make myself any enemies with this post. It's honestly just in general. (mostly because i came across a post that had been removed by the poster with the comment "since no one thought these worthy to comment.. i'm leaving.")

please no one take this personally, just a thought to help out the people that are still aspiring to the greatness that some have already achieved.
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www.killtom.net
(It's a work in progress right now.)

[killtom]

PS: I am guilty of this too, which is why I mean it just to be food for thought. Since I have never shown any artwork on here I suppose most people would say I have little room to speak, but if everyone would once in a while just stop to say hey, try this, or here's a good tutorial to get started on, I think we might see alot of people grow as artists and could possibly find inspiration in the things they create, cause sometimes creativity and good input can go a long way. Also, I plan to eat my feedback and comment on things that need commenting myself =)

for those interested, there is nothing really here yet, but soon I'll be building up a portfolio to make up for all the artwork I never got around to posting and lost due to hard drive failure.
http://www.killtom.net
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www.killtom.net
(It's a work in progress right now.)

[Ranath]

for some reason most people are not up for giving a lot of critiques here in sijun, myself included. This is for me the place of real talent and inspiration, and place to relax. Maybe this is just not the place for starting artists (though I agree that if one comes here and asks for crit, he should get it) because people compliment only the best. That's a real measurement for me to post into speedie thread, if someone bothers to drop a line, the pic is good.

I think Alp Altiner has a forum where he and some other pros help other artists.. it was something like laborganika.com.. google it. Maybe people who need a lot of advice find that or some other forum (like cgtalk.com, conceptart.org, gfxartist.com more useful)

[Gort]

I'm just here for the snacks.
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- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield

[Ian Jones]

Yeh, I think we all notice this from time to time. Not that I post very often, but I do make a point to visit the WIP gallery and help the newbies out from time to time with what I can. Unfortunately I've noticed that sometimes you get no response at all when you do this, so it can be a bit disheartening when you critique something and your reply remains the last post. This seems to happen on many forums, I frequent CGTalk and the same deal applies. I think it has a lot to do with time, people couldn't be bothered and want to gain quick enjoyment from a forum and go for easy and instantly rewarding choices like viewing a new image from a well-known artist or clicking on topics with a high number of replies.

[Max]

I have to second what Ranath said. This is a place where people go to relax nowadays. The speedpainting thread may be the best example. There used to be alot of practise threads but they disappeared. Sijun is like a huge digital gallery with random musings to hang around and chat. As Ian mentioned it often happens that you get no response to your posts. Well, I got used to it but that may also be the reason for many people who don't bother to post. Anyway, people who are at their very beginnings with art have to figure out most of the stuff by themselve. I think critique gets useful when you are advanced and really know what the person is talking about. Many beginners just wouldn't know how to deal with a special comment and just start a new pice which is better anyway and makes critique useless. IMO.

[Mikko K]

I second to Max about beginning artists not being able to understand some critiques. Sometimes we are looking for praise in a wrong place, and when people give crits we sort of get pissed off 'cuz we don't want to hear it.. we want to be good and skip all the work.. I think the biggest talent is actually sticking to do what you like. Improvement will happen over time.

Rather than making your own threads (that no one cares about), you should contribute to the speedy or something like that, and when you're there for a while, people start thinking "okay at least he's trying hard" and maybe then you'll get more comments on your work.

in short: if you don't invest a lot of your own time to learn the basics, you shouldn't expect any investment from others.

[Brake Check]

I am not an artists..I can't draw..I just mess around for my own amusement but I posted to a thread here and received an amazing amount of help and support from the really good artists..
I found Tutorials..in fact..I found this forum through a Ron Lehman Tutorial I am still using to practice..
EyeWoo has a great Tutorial about using channels for textures..and I found I could do that on Corel PhotoPaint..so now I use a program I was not benefitting from before..
There are basic tips about using programs..
The people who are talented take the time to answer questions..really basic questions about copyright and shading..
I can only say THANK YOU and I like to look at the art of the ones who have worked hard to develop large and small talents!
Great Forum..no complaints here..

[Duracel]

Agree with Max, Mikko and Ranath.
Agree about the "talent to stick on things", agree about "sijun as place for fun, not for hard learning, where a short comment in the speedthread is worth alot" etc..
And while this is how sijun works, every hard critique might be twice as painful for a lot of people.(especially while you have to learn to go with critique aswell, in the beginnings it wasn't as easy for me to realize that, too)

Well, one reason for me to keep from too complex discussions in here most times is that english isnt my mother tongue. My englisch is not as bad(i hope so), but it costs twice the time to give good critique. Its a bit like drawing and painting, the better you are in the basics the better you can concentrate on the message.
And well, for all germans there exists an excellent board with all those comments which are rich in content and fraught with meaning and good and frequent help for every beginner as you wish them. (www.digitaldecoy.de)
I guess for a lot of languages there is such a forum, where you can get all this. (perhaps im wrong and germans can be lucky. ^^)
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Lars G�tze

www.duracel.de Gallery

Detailling a speedpainting is nothing but speedpainting in detail.