onthegreatsea:

dont do this

it like the no.1 way to give someone an inflated sense of ability, make them p much immune to constructive criticism and help them stagnate as an artist

“that musta been a lot of work. i like the colours too; purple is my fave, but i think you need to work on your proportions more because the eyes are kinda off. if you make the right one smaller and made the pupils face the same direction more it’d look much better, see? you have to remember that you’re drawing a 3d structure even tho the picture is 2d (dont worry, i have problems remembering that all the time).

you could try making the chin rounder and less pointy too, that might help. have you tried looking at pictures of real faces and using them as reference? i find that makes the faces i draw a lot better”

- how to be nice without lying to someone about the quality of their art

Putting the epic trashman meme aside I just want to rant for a second.

This is obviously easier to do when you know the person. The artist tends to already know you mean well and you’re not just trying to hurt their feelings.

Consider that people may not want critique for various reasons but it doesn’t always mean they aren’t serious as an artist. So don’t give it unless they ask for your honest opinion.

You shouldn’t lie about liking the art if you don’t but you also shouldn’t have to feel you need to lie to soften the blow. I mean come on. Fluff like "That must have been a lot of work and purple is my fave” is really unnecessary in my opinion if its not what you really think.

Just be direct and well meaning. “It looks a bit strange” can be more effective to some artists just as “Have you looked at references” can be crushing to others. 

I’m not saying critique shouldn’t be “this is what I like and this is what I don’t.” I’m just saying don’t lie about the positives or the negatives.

It’s different with kids though. Lie through your teeth until they are strong and smart enough to understand critique.