To the new members

[KeithP]

I have to agree with the earlier statement about giving comments to get comments.

OTH, it can be frustrating and disappointing to post and not get many responses.

Personally, I think the Vbench is a great organizer. I get more out of seeing stuff in process than seeing them completed. That can be intimidating too. But, this is a friendly and supportive environment to do so!

Keith

 

[Kyle]

I normally stay in "New to Figures" but am so glad I looked in the General forum this evening. So many of you newbies are saying the things I am experiencing, as I have only been painting since late August. I was very intimidated to show my work when I first did so last week, but I'm so glad I did. I received some GREAT feedback which has helped me improve my highlighting and layering technique (I hope!).

I know I am not a great painter yet, but I love this hobby and have been painting about 2-3 hours a night for four months. It maybe sounds corny, but I feel as if I have found a lifelong hobby, and it has brought me nothing but satisfaction and pleasure.

I have read several books and spent dozens of hours viewing figures online, but this superb forum has made the hobby even more enjoyable because of the great people.

Thanks--particulary to Gary, Roc and Guy.

 

[gwensp]

Originally posted by marvin@Jan 9 2006, 01:29 PM
Roc,

I for one was somewhat reluctant to share my work, because of the high standard I find at this forum (and off course the fact that I haven't completed a full sculpt or paint job yet ).

SNIPPED

I have to agree with Marvin when I first came across this site and saw all these amazing figures I felt rather daunted. This caused me to lurk about just browsing as a guest for a few months before I even joined the site.

 

[garyjd]

Originally posted by marvin@Jan 9 2006, 01:29 PM
P.S. I still don't know if sci-fi is acceptable in these fora. It doesn't have to be historical to fit in here right?

Marvin, Unless the work is unsuitable for young people to view, as there are some that come here, I think any and all types of subject matter are welcome here. It would be unfair to limit subjects to just historical, and we'd also be missing on on seeing the work of some talented people.~Gary

 

[Gra30]

Hi all

I agree with Roc and do think it is important to show your work if you want some tips or constructive comments. Equally though if just looking and gaining inspiration is enough then good on you too.

I have only been on the site for a relatively short period but often have a look, even if its to boost my enthusiasm. Something always makes my jaw drop.

I must admit to being guilty for not posting comments on every page I look at, but its not intentional and sometimes there are just too many good pages to look at.

I cant ever remember seeing a negative comment on the site and thats something I think we should all be proud of. Its a great site and anything that puts us figure modellers in contact is a good thing.

I just urge anyone who is thinking of posting to PLEASE post. Thats what this site is all about and I for one will try and help whenever I can.

Happy new year to you all

Graham

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Ulrich+Jan 8 2006, 03:38 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Ulrich @ Jan 8 2006, 03:38 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Nearly 150 views, but only two comments. One from you with a kind of welcome and a comment from another newbie. [/b]

As mentioned this isn't that uncommon - even for the work of very good modellers it can become boring or tiresome to congratulate them on every new piece

<!--QuoteBegin-Ulrich@Jan 8 2006, 03:38 PM
I think, that you will not bite. But comments (critical or not) from you and the other guys would be more helpfull for me. [/quote]
That's good to hear, but do bear in mind that some people are uncomfortable in giving an honest critique for fear of coming across as overly critical or just plain mean, especially if they are around the same level as the person posting (much less if they realise they are not as good) as well as not being sure whether the poster wants that kind of honesty or just words of encouragement.

A couple of the members here also post on a fantasy-miniature site called CMON (CoolMiniOrNot) where brutal honesty* in comments on posted work is the accepted norm but it has happened in the past, on more than one figure site, that even well-meaning, honest, but very critical comments have been received badly - and not just by the poster - so there is also some reticence by some of us to be blunt. Also, the time it can take to write an honest critique and have it not seem to be dismissive shouldn't be underestimated, e.g. here, especially if there's a lot to comment on. It's a lot faster (a lot of members aren't lucky enough to be trained typists so saying a lot is daunting!) and simpler, although of course much less useful to you, to just say "Nice job!" or something along those lines.

*Rob Herring and myself are both members on CMON and we've discussed at World Expo and Euro Militaire how valuable it is to people to get this kind of feedback and you can see the swift development in the painting of members who post work, develop the necessary thick skin take the criticisms on board and get consistently better.

I don't think we should necessarily become that way here, I don't think it would be welcomed by the bulk of the members anyway and some people need the encouragement of hearing positive comments. So maybe we could add either a new forum specifically for critique, with the rest of the site staying as it is, or the poster could simply say "Honest C&C welcomed" in the Topic Description under the thread title when starting a new thread.

Einion

 

[gordy]

This has been the acceptable policy that should a poster desire a constructive criticism that they request it, that way the poster can expect judgment.

True, it may be that work posted goes uncommented, but that is not to be expected in the vBench's as that is more a vehicle to diary ones work (that is why the vBench forums are chronologically ordered) The internet is full of sites showcasing peoples authored, constructed, engineered works/projects/art that don't have a means of commenting, it just so happens that planetFigure does people choose to use it or not. Commenting is not a requirement of a planetFigure member.

Granted there is also the perception of superfluous commentary but what can one do? That’s a fine line of acknowledging a peer or friends work or seeming to be superfluous. Many other places view this as disservice (stroking each others ego) I do not.

planetFigure has already defined the constructs for commentary:

Constructive criticism is request by the poster
Superfluous posting is not frowned on or discouraged

We have entertained the idea of a separate area for only constructive criticism, but as we have learned from others’ folly, that “area” quickly becomes and “arena”.