um, ok, so yes i admit i'm new here and havent really lurked at all so i dont know what the standard is around here, but i was very taken aback when the first thing i posted was criticised.
its not that i don't mind constructive criticism, i just wasn't expecting it, especially as i was posting a finished piece.

so i was hoping someone could explain to me the standard comment etiquette, and is there an option to... not get criticism?

Absolutely not. Professional and dedicated artists thrive on criticism and it will never be discouraged here.

1) It's not personal, ever. If it is, then it's not critique--it's a flame, and action will be taken against the poster.
2) No piece, even by the best artist ever, is so good it can't be improved. Thus all pieces could benefit from critique, not just yours. So again, it's not personal.
3) The critiques are directed at the art, not at you. This is why, even if you get really harsh, blunt critique, you shouldn't take offense because it's not directed at you, it's directed at the particular piece... once again, it's not personal.
4) Just because someone offers a point of critique doesn't mean you have to accept it or even acknowledge it (though you should consider all critique carefully and make sure you're not just rejecting it based on an emotional reaction).

I strongly recommend you read Surviving a Pixel Art Forum - The 9-step program, particularly step 4 (I don't know whether or not you're a doller, but it doesn't matter--step 4 just deals a lot with coming from other communities where critique is uncommon or prohibited).

Since I did some of that crit on your piece, I might as well try to explain ;).

I'm sorry you felt bad about it, I could read that in your answer. But, as others have said above, CnC is the main purpose of PJ, both forum and gallery. Most members do expect it, all are encouraged to give it too.

Feedback on your art will help you, and the person giving it, and everyone reading it afterwards ('em lurkers, do that too!).

True, not all crits are relevant, and as Hatch says, you're free to dismiss the contents of crits. But you shouldn't dismiss the crit itself. The person giving it took of their time to give a close look at your art, and write something about it.

I also understand some crits can be hard on the receiving end: a heap of relevant but blunt information might hurt a beginners motivation. I for one am not always careful enough about that, I'm afraid. But as Green said, the crits on your piece were of a rather mild kind, not forgetting positive feedback and encouragements too!

So I really hope you come to appreciate this feature of the PJ community (and this community too). Speaking only for myself, I couldn't have believed 6 months ago the kicks I'm getting every day from looking at, studying and doing PA. This mostly results from the fantastic amount of feedback that has been piling around here, for us dedicated pixel pushers to get inspiration from.

This being said, you're always free to post something like 'no CnC please' in your descriptions. We'd be sorry for that, but we'd have no hard feelings either.

Looking forward for your bashing my work!


Edit: Hatch, great link, thx!


Edited by Manupix - 14 December 2009 at 10:16am

"Surviving a Pixel Art Forum - The 9-step program"

How did I miss that?
Anyway, you should add in a filler step so it equals 10, like they did with the commandments.