00:00
00:00
ArrJaySketch
I'm just this guy, see?
Commission Terms of Service (TOS): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZiNBq6_ceGqos1gOz52s4tGq0WiWQpI8NTnRtEOLCos/edit?usp=sharing
Commission Progress Status (via Trello):
https://trello.com/b/ZKNWSBeZ/commissions

RJ @ArrJaySketch

Age 48, Male

Milwaukee, WI US

Joined on 2/9/14

Level:
3
Exp Points:
86 / 100
Exp Rank:
> 100,000
Vote Power:
3.34 votes
Rank:
Civilian
Global Rank:
> 100,000
Blams:
0
Saves:
0
B/P Bonus:
0%
Whistle:
Normal

ArrJaySketch's News

Posted by ArrJaySketch - 3 days ago


I was thinking about an earlier journal. I do always enjoy positive and supportive feedback!


I actually do like constructive criticism, too; I basically need to get in the right mindset for it, first, and the format helps a great deal. If you wish to offer constructive criticism, I put together a format that has definitely helped me over the years, cobbled together from many others' and my own experiences!


1. Ask if criticism is wanted or welcome! 

  • Criticism of any kind is only useful as long as it's expected and wanted. 
    • For instance, at my DayJob constructive criticism is expected and wanted as a requirement for the job.
    • I don’t view criticism as a requirement for my art, because it’s not my job. It’s something I do to relax and have fun with.
      • Getting into “accepting criticism” mode requires me to shift my mood and expectations into “serious learning mode”!
      • Sometimes this mode isn’t fun and can be a bit painful, but it’s alright if I’m prepared for it!
      • Some days I have zero energy or patience because Adulting Sucks; in this case I'd probably ask that the person follow up with me some other day! 
  • Asking someone if they’d like criticism helps both you and the person, so you don’t waste their time and your time,
    • Constructive criticism that is useful to me may take a lot of time to put together. 
    • You may not wish to spend that much time on putting together good constructive criticism after all. 
  • If you don’t do it right, you could cause a lot of resentment, pain, drama, etc., depending on the person.
  • Most of all, if you insist on giving criticism in an unhelpful way it looks like you are more interested in being cruel than actually helping anyone.
  • All of the above are why some people may not offer criticism, and perhaps why some artists don’t want it. 

2. Don’t conflate personal taste with criticism.


  • If you’re criticizing the content of the thing, like, say, “I don’t like big boobs”, or "I don't like that this piece is focused on her ass. You should draw boobs more", that’s not helpful at all to the artist. It just means the art is not for you.
  • I remember someone red-lining one of my pieces to make the boobs smaller. The character had big boobs. Not helpful! Show me how to draw big boobs better!

3. Understand what the artist is trying to accomplish!

  • If this step is not clear, it’s OK to ask the artist what they’re hoping to do or convey with this piece. The rest of the criticism really heavily depends on it!
  • The critique should be tailored to helping the artist achieve their goal(s).

4. Review and acknowledge all the stuff the art piece is doing really well with respect to step 3!

  • A good tactic for assumptions is DON’T.
    • Don’t assume that the artist knows that you already like their work.
      • A simple statement of “I like / love / adore your work in general” helps greatly.
    • Don’t assume that the artist is also assuming good intentions of you, especially these days. Have you seen Facebook and Twitter?
      • Someone who assumes bad or negative intentions of you will absolutely not trust or believe a single thing you say. 
      • “I saw something about this piece I feel I can offer a lot of help with! I have no doubt you can accomplish this goal.”
      • Even if you’re already good friends and are giving a formal criticism, it’s still a good step.
    • Don’t assume that the artist already knows what they did well and what they messed up on. 
      • The reason this is important: stopping inadvertent overcorrection!
      • It's not uncommon for an artist to get really insecure about their artwork because of bad constructive criticism and change a bunch of stuff that didn’t need changing. 
      • Additionally, a lot of fandom artist folks have anxiety of varying severity; this helps keep them from spiraling into worse anxiety.


5. Review and acknowledge all the stuff the art piece is NOT doing well with respect to step 3.


  • What exactly about the piece is not contributing to the goal determined in step 3? 
  • Be very specific! 
    • “The anatomy looks way off” 
    • The way the hips were drawn could be improved! Usually the widest point should also be about level with the crotch” is way more specific and helpful!
  • I've seen criticism that consisted solely of this step. 
    • “Here's everything you're doing wrong” with absolutely zero guidance is unhelpful, frustrating, and irritating. 

6. Show the artist how to improve regarding step 5, with respect to step 3

  • This is likely where the most time will be spent.
  • I am a visual learner. Red-lines or red-lining helps!
    • Make a new layer on top of the image, and show me what shapes and methods you would do to improve the image. 
    • Usually this is done in red, but it technically can be any color line. The point is to make it contrast with the image colors so the corrections can be easily seen.
  • Show me reference images, and break them down into simpler shapes! Show me your methods. 
  • Text can be useful, but for me it should supplement the red-lines and images for in-depth concepts! 
  • Give me resources that have helped you! 
    • Physical books have helped me far less than digital resources. Digital versions of the books are fine!
    • The main reason I have nowhere to keep the physical books open in a place where I work; it's super impractical to reference them!


Posted using PostyBirb


Tags:

Posted by ArrJaySketch - 4 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW with Kliefox & ThibbyCat!


Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 5 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW with DrakeRogers, KlieFox and Chromatophore! 


Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 6 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW until I get tired! KlieFox, Chromatophore and Idders will be joining! Possibly another!

Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 8 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW for about 3~4 hours! 

Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 10 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW until whenever! Chromatophore, Kliefox, and Idders will be joining! 

Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 11 days ago


Hello all! Streaming NOW until whenever! Chromatophore, Kliefox, and Idders will probably join! 

Workin' on various NSFW stuff!


Mic and Music ON!


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 11 days ago


So! Over the past month or so, I realized I was struggling with Patreon and SubscribeStar! 


Being that I am a hobby artist and have a full-time non-art DayJob, I'd often feel wiped out after work. Some days it's honestly hard to work on art even on my days off. This, and I had a lot of other projects I wanted to work on meant that I felt like I had a lot of trouble keeping up with making art for patrons, let alone working on my own personal projects.


Rather than closing Patreon and Subscribe Star, I am keeping them both open. The different tiers don't get you anything special; I've reduced the $5 tier to $3, and the $10 to $5. 

I am going to honor previous $10 tier months toward a future commission, whenever open for those again.


I'm still working on the poll winner; whenever I post art, I'll just post it everywhere. 

Maybe some day I'll look into doing more with my Patreon and SubscribeStar! For now, it's just a tip jar. 




Please, no roleplaying and no creepy comments!


Please do not offer criticism unless it is specifically asked for. 


PATREON:
https://www.patreon.com/c/ArrJaySketch


SUBSCRIBESTAR:
https://subscribestar.adult/arrjaysketch-s-art-and-stuff 



Posted using PostyBirb


Tags:

Posted by ArrJaySketch - 2 weeks ago


Hey all, I'm streaming now until whenever! Various folks may or may not show up today, who knows!


NSFW! Probably working on thumbs for a proper Tremmie & Evan comic.


Mic and Music ON! 


https://picarto.tv/ArrJaySketch



Posted using PostyBirb


Posted by ArrJaySketch - 1 month ago


Hello all! 


I've mentioned giving feedback on my streams, and I figure I'd mention it in some official capacity!


The subject of offering feedback / criticism comes up now and again! Over the years, I've learned that most people are terrible at offering useful feedback!


For feedback to be good, one needs to follow some good general rules that work for almost anything!

  • Get permission & consent first! Feedback given is only useful if it's wanted! Obviously if the answer is "no", don't proceed. A lot of people fail this first step!
  • Understand what the artist is trying to accomplish! I've had people give feedback that conflate personal taste instead of trying to understand what I'm doing. Like, way back when the site ArtSpots was a thing, someone red-lined my art to make a characters' boobs smaller. No, that's personal taste. If they had advice to draw the characters' big boobs better, sure, go for it!
  • Review and acknowledge all the stuff the art piece is doing really well! It's so the artist doesn't change or fix stuff that doesn't need changing or fixing! 
  • Review and acknowledge all the stuff the art piece is NOT doing well.
  • The last step is showing exactly how to improve the the piece! I am a visual learner; red-lines help! Text descriptions are pretty much useless!

A lot of feedback also just "here's all the stuff you messed up on" and offers no useful advice. Great, I honestly don't care.


So!! Unless I specifically am asking feed or criticism, it's safe to assume that I don't want it. 




INKBUNNY: I'm thinking about pulling down my ArrJaySketch and Tremaine galleries there, because of the far right folks there, and the fact that the site owner is a huge transphobe. 


I pulled down my art off of Derpibooru and e621 because they allow Nazi art. Fuck that shit. 


If you're upset that I don't like the far right nor nazis, I am not the artist for you.


You can always find where else I post at https://arrjaysketch.carrd.co 




FUTURE PLANS! 


I'm currently working on a Sherri & Kyle series! I've been wanting to work on this since 2000!


About the Tremmie & Evan series: it isn't perfect, and it doesn't have to be! I just wanted to do something with it to get it out of my head. Now that I got it done, I wouldn't say I'm happy with it! Anatomy, spacing, stuff I wanted to do, lots of things! There's a LOT of room for improvement! Let's just say I'm happy to be drawing at all, after burning out badly and nuking all my art in 2012!


I'm also going to resume regular streaming going forward! Dates and times TBD, but I'd like to keep doing Friday evenings for sure at the very least!


I've resumed billing on my Patreon and SubscribeStar! Going Forward, I'm hoping to have updates at least once a week starting on Saturdays, starting next week!




Please, no roleplaying and no creepy comments!


Please do not offer feedback or criticism unless it is specifically asked for. Most people are terrible at giving useful feedback.


PATREON:
https://www.patreon.com/c/ArrJaySketch


SUBSCRIBESTAR:
https://subscribestar.adult/arrjaysketch-s-art-and-stuff 



Posted using PostyBirb


Tags: