Guide on How To Receive Feedback and Critique

This is an editorial written and submitted by namenotrequired on behalf of ProjectComment, a group founded by 3wyl that aims to encourage deviants to seek and provide constructive feedback that can help you to better yourself at your art.

What's in this article

1. Encouraging people to comment

2. Getting comments through ProjectComment

3. Other places to get comments:

Groups
Forums
Chatrooms

4. More related guides

Make clear in your artist's or author's comments that you're looking for feedback. You can also ask specific questions to potential commenters about it (“Does this character come across as realistic?”, “Please tell me what you think of the composition/colours/...” etc.).
More about using your Artist's/Author's comments effectively can be found in our article How to Write Artist's (or Author's) Comments.

Some useful stamps and plz'es;

  
_{(You can use up to 6 deviation thumbs such as stamps in your artist's comments, and only if you have a premium membership. There's no limit or requirement to using icons.)}


Be appreciative and respectful of any comments you receive. Even if you already knew, or disagree with, everything they said, always reply to at least thank them for their time and effort. Not only cause they have at least tried to help you, also cause it will also put any more potential commenters at ease, rather than scare them away.


It will help to give comments, too. Treat other people as you wish to be treated. Many will return the favour, and comment on your art, too. An extra advantage is that critiquing an art piece, and putting your thoughts about it to words, will also help you getting better at creating art yourself.


Having some faithful watchers and friends on here can help a lot – see 5 Tips to Gaining and Maintaining Watchers for more on this.


Don't be afraid to ask. Many people will be glad to help. That doesn't mean you should go to everyone you can find telling them to comment on your deviations, but if you see someone offering, don't let the chance pass you by! You have nothing to lose.


Of course, the next question would be - where do you find people who'll be willing to comment? Which leads us to...



The Commenter System is supported by many people, for every type of art, who are willing to comment constructively on your deviations. Don't be afraid to contact a couple of them – they signed up for it and they all love to receive requests for comments.


There is a Comment Thread, a fun 'game' that guarantees you at least one comment if you give a comment yourself.


'Get Familiar' Comment Project allows deviants for the chance of receiving constructive comments from other people participating in the project.


Submitting to the Gallery and Faves increases your chances of receiving comments and being seen. Not only that, but there is a Volunteer Commenting Project amongst the Admins of ProjectComment, where every week, Volunteers of ProjectComment post comments.


Last, but not least, there are a few other things in the works if you stick around.



These groups all focus on critique and other constructive feedback on various art forms. Most of these are found from ProjectComment's affiliates list. This list is nowhere near complete – to find more groups you can browse the :devgroups: page.




deviantART has a Forum with various places where you can get feedback. To find more forums, browse the forum page and the galleries forums.

In the Thumbsshare Forum (and, for Premium Members, the Subscribers Thumbsshare) there are always several threads from people offering feedback for anyone who posts one or a few thumbs of their art.


Most galleries (as in dA art categories) have their own forums, often including forums specially reserved for giving feedback and critique. An example: the literature gallery has besides the general literature forum called Poetry & Prose, and the Fantasy lit forum, a Lit Workshop forum where writers can give and get feedback.

Many art-related chatrooms, such as #iPhotograph and :#theladiesoflit: found on the chat page, hold regular or irregular critique sessions where visitors can post thumbs of deviations to be critiqued. Some rooms such as :#KnockOnWood: and :#critiqueexchange: are even open to critique 24/7 (if there's anyone present, of course).
Chat events are sometimes announced on the Chat news section of news.

Guides from ProjectComment;

A Guide to Commenting
5 Tips to Maintaining and Gaining Watchers
An Observation of deviantART

How to Comment - Pointers and Examples
How to Write an Artist's (or Author's) Comments
A Guide to (Offensive) Comments
Why Comment in the First Place?

Other useful news articles related to critique

Praise VS constructive criticism
by Snowy-Ninja

When it comes down to critique
by selene18

Critiquing Short Stories (Sci-fi/fantasy focus)
by rushingtide


Thank you for reading! I hope you find it useful. Please note that this is not intented to be complete, it's just meant to nudge you in the right direction and make you aware of the variety of opportunities. The community out there is large... most of you will know from experience that you're unlikely to get much out of it if you don't try and become part of it.
In such a vast community, there must be many places we aren't even aware of. If you have any tips or additions to this article, please feel free to comment! We can't edit this article anymore but at least those reading the comments can profit from it.


namenotrequired on behalf of ProjectComment
With thanks to 3wyl!