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Published: 2007-04-17 10:10:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 97114; Favourites: 1747; Downloads: 1099
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Description
Deviant Guide: Good CommentsSince deviantART was first born on August 7th 2000, comments have always retained an air of mystery. deviantART was one of the first dedicated art communities of its kind, and it inspired a standard that is our duty to uphold today. As a deviant, you can play an important role in helping a fellow artist develop their skills, and helping the community retain a level of quality to be proud of.
And all it takes is a comment.
Why Does It Concern Me?
deviantART has a favorite system that has slowly diminished the importance of good critique throughout the site, and reduced the level of effort required for feedback to an artist. In communities where such a system does not exist, receiving a comment is an honor that members of deviantART will sadly never experience the same way members of these other communities will.
However, deviantART has something no other community has: spirit. Like no other community of its kind, deviantART exhibits passion and interest in art that is shown no where else. As such, the importance of maintaining this spirit is foremost. Improving the quality of our comments is one way we can do this.
A truly outstanding comment is always hard to compose, always hard to receive, and always hard to come by. For an artist however, a comment is of the greatest importance. It provides feedback on a deviation that will continue to remain unmatched by that of a favorite. To an artist, a comment is the difference between progression and refinement of ones skills, and continuity of an undeveloped style.
Where Is Critique Appropriate?
The golden rule of critique is always to ask yourself "is it appropriate to this work?" There are many examples of work here on deviantART where it is not necessary to give a massive comment, or where it is impossible to sit and analyze a piece of work for techniques. Make sure you ask yourself that question before you start to comment and save yourself wasted time.
Also make sure you only give critique where it is desired. deviantART has a wonderful system where deviants can select their desired level of critique, and having respect for an artists wishes can save you from a whole depth of trouble.
Consider yourself pre-warned: not everybody appreciates critique, and not everybody will take warmly to your opinion. Just know it's for the benefit of the recipient.
How To Give A Good Comment
A good comment is almost always composed of three important key topics. These are:
Techniques
Effects
Improvements
A good comment will always touch on one or more elements contained in these three areas, and will be highly beneficial to the receiving artist.
A good way to remember these three keep topics is to remember “TEI”, pronounced “tea”. Whenever you view a deviation, think about how you’re going to give them some “tea”.
Techniques
To most deviants, this is the element of commenting that is hardest to perfect and understand, and is often the reason why both givers and receivers of good critique are often confused.
The key step to this part of a comment is to look before you write. It is always tempting as a deviant to jump in and comment right away, but a good comment requires more than just a quick glance at a deviation.
Look at the deviation and ask yourself the following questions, which all refer to techniques the composer has used deliberately:
What are the colors like?
Do the colors blend together, or do they stick out? Is the piece comprised of a small number of colors, or does it utilize many?
How are the elements of the piece arranged? (This is called composition)
Where does your eye first move to? From what angle does the scene appear to be portrayed from? How light or dark is the picture?
How big or small is the subject of the picture?
Is it very far zoomed in or a great distance zoomed out?
Is the picture warped or realistic?
Are there lots of definite shapes in the piece, or is it very indefinite (often a technique of surreal or abstract art)?
What sort of focus does the piece use?
Does the composer use intricate detail, or is the picture very blurry? Does the shot highlight a small part of the scene, or does it capture a vast area?
Does the deviation contain textures?
If you were to touch the texture, how would it feel? Rough? Soft? Sandy?
These are six questions you should ask yourself every time you look at a deviation. Make sure you take an appropriate amount of time to inspect the piece for these techniques.
Effects
This part of a comment is perhaps the easiest, and surely the most practiced part of commenting around the deviantART community.
Describing the effects of the techniques upon you is as easy as saying how the piece makes you feel as the viewer.
There is nothing hard about listing your emotions. However there are some questions you can use to make sure what you are saying is relevant:
How does the piece make you feel?
Does it make you feel happy or sad? Does it make you want to cry or burst out laughing?
Does the piece remind you of something?
Does anything in the scene remind you of something from your childhood? Do the objects look similar to something you’ve seen somewhere before?
What do you like about the picture?
Is there a color that you like? Do you like how the piece is arranged? (Refer to the techniques you’ve already listed)
Make sure your passionate about what you write in this part. If the piece does not make you happy, try not to come across too nasty or unappreciative.
Improvements
This is where the comment can get personal and often get a deviant off side with you. It is important to remember that a deviant spent their time making this piece. However tempting it is to be nasty, don’t ever just write that you “hate the piece” or “dislike it” without having some evidence to back it up.
The purpose of providing the techniques and effects in parts one and two of the comment is to provide this evidence, and if done correctly, it should accurately reflect you attitude to this part of the comment. If it doesn’t, go back and rethink the questions we asked ourselves earlier on.
Offering improvements to a deviant is often going to end up with a sad receiver. Everybody adapts to their own style after a while, and it often hurts to be told that it’s not that great. On the same token, offering improvements to a deviant can be the greatest gift you can ever give.
Here are two questions to ask yourself while giving improvements:
What would make this piece even better?
Always refer to the techniques you used in part one. This will make your comment sound much more professional, and come across as helpful rather than forceful. Find techniques that you think could have been done better, and if possible, post links to another deviation that examples what you’re referring to. This can be inspiring to the deviant and give them a great example to bounce ideas off.
Why do I think you’re a good artist and why do I like your work?
All this time we’ve been professional and offering tips and examples. This is the part where you get to give some real praise. Leaving a comment ending with just improvements would leave the artist feeling down. A kind word never goes astray, so tell them why you liked their work, and why you think they deserve your help! Don’t shy up, nothing will make a deviant happier to hear how much you appreciate their input to the community!
Favorite?
Of course, it’s well within your rights to offer a favorite, so don’t be afraid to tell them they deserve it if you decide to give one! Make sure you really think it deserves a favorite though. If everybody favorites it, it’s not going to mean much to a deviant after a while.
Whats ddi yuo jst tyep?
Never forget to revise what you've written! The best comments are not only honest and well written, but they actually make sense!
Spelling and grammar may not be your thing, but you can at least do the deviant the favor of making it legible. They'll love you even more.
Length
Many deviants are unsure of how long a comment should be. But it’s really simple: how much do you need to write?
Just because a comment is short, doesn’t mean it’s not a good comment, and vice versa for a long comment. Length means nothing. It’s the content that counts.
Is That It Already?
You better believe it! Making good comments is really that easy! Just follow the steps provided, and you’re on your way to making comments that everybody is going to love you for.
Remember one important thing though: always be yourself. No matter what formula you use, nothing means more to an artist to receive an honest comment from somebody who shows that they care about what a piece means to them.
Happy commenting everybody!
Nathan (~kle0012 ) and Kitty (~kittysyellowjacket )
Related content
Comments: 780
CluelessLady [2012-05-08 00:52:48 +0000 UTC]
That's really true, lots of people should read this.
I always try... but I stink with words
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Dragynn275 [2012-03-04 03:28:00 +0000 UTC]
A great guide. Comments can be so confusing and difficult to make, but oh so rewarding to get. The organization of the guide is also very effective, each bit building on and flowing smoothly from the last. The tone is calm and helpful, as opposed to angry and ranting (I know from personal experience how painful a lack of good comments is). Perhaps you could also add to the explanations things to keep in mind when commenting on story (as for literature pieces or comics etc.) in addition to what you already have for purely visual pieces. And I'm definitely going to utilize the TEI concept when commenting from now on. After trying it out (right here, did you notice? ) , I can definitely say that it works. And I will definitely favorite this, so that I can come look at it again whenever I need to.
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KiwiCocktail [2012-02-21 16:26:09 +0000 UTC]
Most of this I already take into consideration while writing comments, but many could use this information. Thank you for taking the time to enlighten other deviants with this!
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Rinnii [2012-01-29 16:02:09 +0000 UTC]
This is really helpful, congratulations on the DD, and I will definitely use this. I pride myself on commenting often as I can, I always like to give critique to something if the artist hasn't said no critique. I hope this will help me to comment more effectively.
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Liten-Angel In reply to ??? [2012-01-04 13:02:33 +0000 UTC]
Thank you very much for this. This was very helpful and hopefully will help me do better at commenting. I've found personally, with things like this, I will favorite because I want to be able to come back to it. I should really stop and think more before I do so though because sadly I am one of those that will favorite without commenting simply because I do not know what to say (and sometimes don't have very much time to give to the piece to really give it the attention it deserves).
I'm going to make this one of my new year's resolutions though, to be better at commenting and critiquing... not just favoriting. Thank you again for this guideline, it has already helped me a great deal.
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Yeldan14 [2011-11-11 05:51:24 +0000 UTC]
After reading another thing that's related to commenting, I've always told myself that I would always comment before faving. Now, this is where this comes really handy. The way you wrote this is very simple and easy to understand. I now know how to make even better comments. Thanks for posting!
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Ginnjii In reply to ??? [2011-11-10 08:36:59 +0000 UTC]
Commenting on a guide on how to comment is amusingly ironic to me.
All in all, extremely helpful piece.
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GraphicLia In reply to ??? [2011-10-26 17:04:16 +0000 UTC]
You have written and formatted this guide with forethought. The style is conversational and light - an easy read. Information flowed well and tied back to itself, a live demonstration in itself of connectedness and continuity. The meaningful subtitles provided an overview of the content and even humor.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and appreciate the refresher. Well done! I can't think of a single that could be bettered.
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IchBinRagady In reply to ??? [2011-09-13 02:39:30 +0000 UTC]
I'll definitely keep these things in mind in the future, and be sure to share this with my friends on here. Thanks! n_n
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InvaderMouse [2011-09-01 02:59:23 +0000 UTC]
Haha, this is great. I am also laughing at everyone having awesome comments, probably from reading this guide. >u<
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ShadowCheetah1 [2011-08-27 19:31:22 +0000 UTC]
This is awesome.
Everyone should read this guide.
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PuzzledHeartBox In reply to ??? [2011-08-25 07:51:16 +0000 UTC]
Due to the fact that I prefer being commented on than just falling victim to a 'fav and run'
I comment 9/10 times when I favourite something, I tend to try and build a nice comment with what I like and dislike about it. How I experience the poem or picture.
Anyway I will this to have it in my favourites, and maybe someone will read it then.
Also, perhaps you could make a "How to watch actively" Guide? Cause most people just add you to and then they rarely comment or watch your new works.. I mean if you're going to watch someone then WATCH them.
Sincerely,
PHB
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SarahRasmical [2011-08-18 10:29:52 +0000 UTC]
I was going to fav this deviation without commenting anything, but then I noticed that it wouldn't be the same. I must confess that I often fav artwork without saying anything, but it's because of three main reasons: 1st- I'm too busy at the moment. 2nd- my english sometimes leaves a lot to be desired . 3rd- I often think that my knowledge about perspective, technique... is too limited. So I don't know what to say, I just know that I like it.
Now you've helped me to solve my third problem
PS: now, I'm faving it
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Quinn-G [2011-08-17 22:19:58 +0000 UTC]
Excellent guide. Favourites are nice, but they just don't mean anything to us artists; comments are the real deal.
It really saddens me that most of the members of the DA community are not exactly in the artistic industry themselves or are learning to be (such as myself), which really hinders any attempt at giving a constructive comment when they try to. Most of the time, they're just "cool", "nice pictuer" (the typo here was intended), "it sux" and others I'd rather not name.
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Daffodilmiracle [2011-08-09 23:50:01 +0000 UTC]
I skipped around the guide a bit, but the parts I read were very helpful.
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FrothingLizard In reply to ??? [2011-08-04 23:30:31 +0000 UTC]
This is excellent - simple, short and very easy to understand - It'll definitely be useful for my future comments. So thanks for the work put into this.
Good way to keep the community working to an A+
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British-Prophetess [2011-07-19 20:12:51 +0000 UTC]
I think this is an excellent guide. Pretty encouraging in most parts as well
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pinkstrawberrypig09 [2011-07-16 23:52:12 +0000 UTC]
Pfft, I just got bashed for my techniques -_____________-
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kenwedaneli [2011-05-30 20:37:03 +0000 UTC]
is awesome, i've been reading a lot of this guides to comments and is just great that we are open to improve everything even our comments, i'll add this to my must read section
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Decepti-girl [2011-05-22 20:39:25 +0000 UTC]
I think this will come in useful for me! Thank you!
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Up-With-The-Birds [2011-05-21 04:50:10 +0000 UTC]
....I'm not this good. Is there anything wrong with a simple "hey, this is amazing art!" or a "so cool, love it!"
ARGG i am not a professional commenter. If I had more comments *ahem*.....
Well, I just don't know.
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Love2FlyLikeMaxRide In reply to Pinocchiofan4ever [2011-05-02 00:03:01 +0000 UTC]
Well, you just got a reply
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Pinocchiofan4ever In reply to Love2FlyLikeMaxRide [2011-05-02 04:52:40 +0000 UTC]
Thanks for the comment
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SuperMochi [2011-04-09 05:45:56 +0000 UTC]
I <3 this guide. its like bringing back the old dA, ;u;
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AnimalCrossingJenny In reply to ??? [2011-04-04 10:57:52 +0000 UTC]
This is a very good guide. You explain it in helpful details so, It could help people improve when writing critiques.
Wonderful job!
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loxell In reply to ??? [2011-03-08 04:48:51 +0000 UTC]
Thanks for making this! It was very , very helpful!
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the-lest In reply to ??? [2011-03-05 10:33:53 +0000 UTC]
This is so helpful- thank you so much for writing it!
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Irysdal [2011-02-03 17:07:47 +0000 UTC]
Wouldn't make sense to fav and run this, right. ¬w¬
This guide make a lot of sense in itself, and I've always thought that a comment could help even more than a handful of unjustified .
And it totally deserves a daily Deviation.
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Raven1389 In reply to ??? [2011-01-30 09:10:47 +0000 UTC]
Awesome, I have been in the middle of starting a group based on helping deviants get more feedback and this really nails every aspect of a good comment and critique, I think it will be great feature in one of the blogs, hopefully many will go check this out.
Wonderful!
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Get00rapped00deviant [2011-01-06 02:44:57 +0000 UTC]
Hey Deviant. GET RAPED. To the rest of you. FUCK YOU!
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KatalystPunkGirl98 [2010-12-25 22:26:21 +0000 UTC]
I really like this because it's true that artists don't always get comments on their art.
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Beatriceisalive [2010-12-08 02:08:25 +0000 UTC]
This is really helpful! Thank you very much.
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Beautiful-evil9 [2010-11-23 21:30:12 +0000 UTC]
I find this very helpful! I am going to practice my comments from now on, because I know how important they actually are!
And thank you for sharing this!
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ighgkh [2010-11-20 21:53:50 +0000 UTC]
This has been very, very useful and it will be in the future. It's a good read and was very worthwhile, just taking the time to listen to it. Hopefully many more people will see how interesting this is and take note before they comment! (:
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MackieUchiha [2010-10-19 01:41:09 +0000 UTC]
This is a great essay and deviation all together. In my year and a half of dA, I've seen, and also dealt out a few 'OMGZ I LI3K DAT's, or 'OMG I H8 DAT IT MAKES ME PUK's. I enjoy long essays and reading them, and I believe this should be directed to new deviants, no matter how long or boring it is. I really haven't known how to write good comments before, so thank you bringbackheart!
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Souless-Solace [2010-10-05 01:37:44 +0000 UTC]
This is a great little manual that everyone should definitely read. Too many poeple just give praise and a few kind words nowadays, we don't realy no where to improve or what made our work good. I myself, have been intimidated to write a good comment. Thank you for providing this simple guide for commenting
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