Critique Arena suggestions
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I'd like to ad a suggestion to the critique arena survey. I like the all star contest that gives some of the other students a chance to make the top 16. I like the idea of having some critique arenas for the students at the beginning of their illustration progress. Instead of illustrating a podcast, they could win a detailed critique from one of the instructors.
Another question was about why I don't enter more often. Time. I just don't have enough time to make a finished work. It won't always be like this but for now I run my own farm with 100 goats, horses, herding dogs, and I haul goats all over all, all summer to eat weeds in parks etc., and I have a 92 year old mother that needs me, often, and lives 100 miles away - so the time between the prompt and the day it's due is rarely enough for me to get an entry done.
I know I'm not alone in schedule issues. Time would not be a problem if we got a few months of prompts at a time. I could aim for a prompt a couple months away instead of the 3-4 weeks we usually get. Maybe this would be more useful to the beginners like me. What does everyone else think?
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@kim-hunter Hi Kim,
This is an interesting topic. I think that time is always going to be an issue, although it does sound like you have chosen a particularly busy life! Sounds great though - being outside in the fresh air so much. Have you painted your goats? They're great characters, aren't they!Are you suggesting having a lot fewer prompts then? I'm not sure what difference receiving, say, 4 prompts in 4 months would be to receiving one prompt every four weeks.
The one main concern I have about being given a few months prompts at a time is that I know some of us, like me, are training to be professional illustrators. I suspect that the 3-4 weeks we get to create the illustration is more indicative of the industry.
In fact, I believe pro illustrators could get a lot less time to complete their work. Therefore, I specifically put time aside to ensure that I can complete the illustration by the deadline. It encourages me to find ways to work faster and more efficiently and as a result I've seen my artwork improve more quickly than otherwise. If we had a lot longer, I would fear that would be lost.What do you think?
Best wishes,
Adam -
@adam-thornton-0
I agree with you for the more advanced students. But the beginners need a little more time to do it right, even if they don't have 100 goats. So not having the time means the entry will be unfinished each month. So, enter an unfinished work or don't enter. The problem with entering an unfinished work is that the quality level will never be reached unless the artist continues working on it after the contest. And if they know it's not good enough, why try to enter at all?Although, I'll admit, just getting anything done was my goal for my first entry. The second one I had a lot of fun and came away with a character and a story line that's worth pursuing. I'm a writer first so a good story line is exciting. That was more important that month than making the top 16.
I do sketch my goats in pencil and Procreate. I am writing stories about them and working toward a life as an author/illustrator.
This post doesn't apply to working the classes and practicing. It only applies to entering the contest each month. Thanks for your thoughts.
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@kim-hunter Thanks Kim. Yes,
I understand the dilemma and hope you find something that suits you.
Best wishes with your progress.Adam.
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Just want to make clear - I filled out an SVS survey about the Critique Arena and one question was about why one might not enter the contest. I'm just adding to my answer on the survey. Cheers!
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@kim-hunter I can understand the frustration that comes with lack of time but I think it’s necessary in this case. Tasks expand to fill the the time they have. In other words, if you have a month to do an illustration then it will take a month to do. If you have two months to do that same illustration then it will take 2 months to do. Suppose we had 1 extra month for each critique arena. The beginners may have more time but so does everybody else so all of our illustrations will be 1 month better. I know it can be hard to submit on time but I believe this is intentional. Constraint is not an obstacle, it’s a tool for improvement. Take advantage of this time constraint, keep pushing yourself towards having a finished illustration on time and once you do, it will feel that much more rewarding.
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@griffin Well said!
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@kim-hunter I also responded similarly (sans goats). Time also limits my ability to enter every month. I feel that a reasonable expectation for me would be to do my best to have something I feel comfortable entering at least a couple times per year. A stretch goal for me could be to try and enter, say, 6 challenges out of 12. For me, entering the contests also means making time for interacting in the forums. I haven't been reading the forums let alone sharing crits or posting anything in the past several months that I've been a member, even though I know it is so valuable to the education of an illustrator (both giving and receiving critique). So part of my stretch goal would need to include discussing the process with others. I think every artist's pace is valid, and I also appreciate the time constraint. In my personal work style, a tight deadline helps me to improve. At the same time I appreciate that were are not being "graded" on whether we submit something in any given month or not.
I did like the series of challenges that included character design, scene design, and a home (both Albert and Yeti). Even though I didn't submit to them all, I made attempts. One good thing about them was that there was a little bit of a preview of coming challenges, so that started the ideas percolating. So even though we didn't have the exact specs in advance, we kinda knew what to expect.
