Understanding Art Critiques
If you are an artist, you will at sometime receive criticism for your work. Don’t let this criticism ruin your drive to create art. Don’t ignore this information you receive either, as it could be vital to improving your work. Let’s look at types of criticism you may experience in your critiques and how to handle these critiques.
Types of Critique:
Constructive Criticism
Constructive criticisms refers to comments about your work that are intended to be used for improving that specific art piece or the way you create that art. Let’s set a ground rule of critique here, you do not have to apply every critique you get, but you should alway be mindful of how this could improve or affect your art. A good constructive criticism would tell you the issues in your work and ways to improve them. Constructive criticisms can be both positive or negative about your work but will always explain why the are positive or negative.
Non Constructive Criticism
Unlike constructive criticism, non constructive criticism are critiques that are not meant to improve your photography. If someone says “I don’t like it,” that means nothing for improving your work. That is non constructive criticism. These are criticism that will not improve your work in any way shape or form. These can be both positive or negative comments about your work just like with constructive criticisms.
Non Constructive Criticisms:
Long story short, Constructive criticisms are criticisms that don’t improve your work.
Destructive Criticism
This is as bad as it sounds. This is criticism that is not meant to improve your work but tear it down. Now that being said it may be something that is true, but they will not give you a result in a way to improve the issues given. There are destructive criticism that are not meant to be malicious, but they will point out the issues without giving supporting feedback on ways to improve. This is non constructive criticism. Destructive criticisms are some of the most discouraging criticisms you will receive. Don’t let these bring you down, remember they are probably just tearing you down because they don’t have anything better to do.
Empty Criticism
Empty criticism are the worst kind, even though they feel the best. That’s because an empty critic is saying your work is great without saying why they are. These criticism seem good, but they also are not telling you how and why you created a great piece of art. If you receive a glowing compliment, ask them why. If they can’t give you an answer, say thank you and leave it at that. Remember, you can’t tell your strength without learning why you are strong at it. Empty criticism is the essence of non constructive criticism. Yes it’s positive, but it’s not improving your work. Most cases of empty criticism come from people close to you. I hear from people “wow! great work” and “I love this” which feels good to hear, but if I don’t hear why I won’t know how I can continue to improve my work. These aren’t malicious, but they are sadly empty.
Constructive Criticisms:
Long story Short: constructive criticisms are critiques that help you improve your work.
Positive Criticism
Positive criticism is the type of criticism you want to receive. It is criticism that is constructive by giving reason why something is properly done in your work. “The tones on you chose model really bring out the emotion in this painting. The warmer colors really give that calming feeling you were trying to achieve.” This is a good positive criticism. Positive criticism are critiques that will tell you things you are doing correctly and the reasons why. A positive critique will generally be about a specific section of your work, not the entire piece. That being said, if someone gives you positive criticisms about your whole piece then consider it a blessing, then get a couple more critiques to see if they missed anything. Otherwise, great job and keep up what your doing.
Corrective (aka negative) Criticism
Essentially it’s a negative criticism, but that doesn’t mean it is anything bad. A negative criticism is pointing out issues and explaining how to fix them, and is actually an extremely positive criticism. A good example of a corrective criticism would be “the photo has bright and saturated colors, but it takes away from the somber feel you wanted to achieve. I would desaturate the image and give it a cooler tone which would fit the somber feeling you were hoping to achieve.” That’s a great constructive criticism. It says what they notice as an issue, why there is an issue, and how to fix it. When you get these criticisms it may feel like you’re being attacked, but I promise you that they are just trying to help you get the most out of your work. Take notes and at least try their corrections and make the decision for yourself.
Portfolio Reviews vs Peer Critiques:
If you go to an art critique, generally you will present your work, and get a lot of corrective criticisms. There are two major types of critiques you will deal with: Portfolio review and peer critiques. Both offer critiques of your works but in two different ways.
Portfolio Reviews
So if you go through a portfolio review, it is a daunting experience. A portfolio review is where you get a select number of your work together and present it to an experienced professional in your field. They will review your work, and then go to town telling you exactly what they think. This means that they will tell you everything you need to fix down to minute details. Every portfolio review I have done has been almost discouraging. It was filled with a large quantity of destructive and and corrective criticisms. “Wait? did you say that you have destructive criticism in your professional portfolio review?” Yep, but it’s not for the reason you would think. If they said it was just wrong, it was because they wouldn’t try and correct it, but instead just leave it out of the work entirely. If you have never had one of these reviews and are a sensitive person, prepare to cry. If you remember the type of criticisms and that they are there to help you improve your weaknesses then you will walk out of there knowing more than you could ever could have imagined. They are there to help you improve, not to tear you down. It seems like a cruel experience but if you remember that they are trying to help you then you will be glad you signed up.
Peer Reviews
Peer reviews are critiques by other artists in your field both professional and amateur. If you are a painter, it would be having a fellow painter review your work and see what is doing well and needs work. Peer critiques are nice because you aren’t rushed and it is less intense than a professional critique. Peer reviews done well will include plenty of positive and corrective critiques. Peer critiques can happen in person or online.
Peer reviews online through groups can be dicy. Many times you will be given destructive or empty critiques. If you receive them, ask them how would you correct the issues they present. If they say they love this photo, ask them to tell what they love and what they think you did right. When I get empty positive criticisms I often ask what they would correct as well. When I receive destructive criticisms I ask what issues they see and how they would fix them. Social media groups may give out many non constructive criticisms, but I have received many fantastic critiques that have greatly improved my work. Don’t let home get you worked up, but just remember the types of critiques and look for critiques that are meant to help improve your work.
Closing Thoughts
I often say you can’t correct what you don’t know. If you receive constructive criticisms and keep it in mind the next time you are using your creative process then you will improve in your work. You ultimately decide whether to apply the criticisms to your work, and not all constructive criticisms are right for your work. I always recommend trying them and seeing what you think.
Critique is an essential part of improving your work. Don’t trust just one person to critique your work, the more eyes the better as they will find different issues and successes. If you receive conflicting critiques try both solutions and mix and match the corrections to see what you come up with.
Critiques should be something that helps you improve your work, and even though it can be intimidating you should jump on a critique any chance you get.