Drawing Critiques

I've found out there is a criteria to giving drawing critiques. The things you learn!

There's no such thing as bad criticism, providing it is backed up with good advice or suggestions.

My First Drawing Critique Request

I am a member on the Drawsketch Forum. A few of us got together to show our interpretation of the same photo.

This is the drawing that we decided to draw together and post our results so we could all compare.

Photo courtesy of ©Helen South / About.com

This is the link to the original photo gallery where we selected a photo that appealed to us.

This is the photo converted to grayscale (a forum member reminded me to do this) -

Photo courtesy of ©Helen South / About.com

Here is my first attempt at drawing the photo. I used a 4B pencil, an eraser to pick out highlights and a cotton tip for blending.

I received the following advice from a lady named Starr:

"I think it turned out really well. I would like to see more really darks, with more contrast between the white of the paper and the dark of the overhanging greenery, reflected in the water. By finding the dark reflections, you will help the water to sparkle."

(I thought that was a very constructive drawing critique - it didn't hurt me, not one bit! How cool is that?)

These images have been reduced and scanned, so some detail has been lost.

Here is attempt #2.

I tried to make the ivy darker by using a 9B pencil. I wasn't satisfied with that, so I used a charcoal pencil to pick out bits in the ivy and to darken the reflection in the water.

Can you see any difference? Do you agree that Starr's critique was valuable? If you answered "yes", then I think you would be right!

I showed my family the amended version and they really liked it. Of course, they have always been supportive but I felt that they were a little bit impressed!

How To Give Drawing Critiques

The Wrong Way

If you are asked to give a critique of a drawing, you shouldn't say "I don't like that." That just isn't constructive and it would damage the spirit of the artist. There is no point in doing that.

Let's face it, we all thrive on encouragement. It doesn't hurt us to encourage others. You could positively change someone's life, just with a little push in the right direction.

The Right Way

You should say (for example):

"If you look at your drawing in the mirror, you can see that you need to alter the width of (whatever)." - You would give this advice if something is skewed due to one side being a different width to the other.

If there appears to be too much detail, you could offer that some forms only need to be suggested,

Analyze drawings, notice the use of technique, can you see what the artist is trying to portray? If you can't, ask questions. There's no reason why you can't learn from the artist. It works both ways.

Does the drawing contain enough expression? Is there enough content, or too much?

If you can't find anything constructive to say, don't say anything. Just offer encouragement to keep practicing. That is all a budding artist needs - that little bit of encouragement.

If there is only a tiny bit in the drawing that you like, mention it and praise it up! Your words could have a huge, positive impact on that person.

How To Receive Drawing Critiques

No-one likes to get negative feedback. However, any feedback can be converted into useful feedback providing you...

Ask questions!

• Why don't you like it?
• Is it the medium?
• Is it too bold?
• Is it the subject?
• Is it my drawing style?

There could be several reasons why a person doesn't like your drawing. Yet, those reasons might not relate directly to your work. So, if they don't explain why they don't like it, it's your job to find out.

For example, you might like abstract drawing, others don't. That's fine, it's what makes the world an interesting place. Accept those types of differences graciously.

Don't be afraid to confront a negative critique, force yourself to ask the necessary questions. You should be able to find some constructive advice in there somewhere.

If a person can't provide anything worthwhile to offer you, you will know not to ask them in future. Sadly, there are some naysayers in the world. We just need to weed them out.

Share your experience with drawing critiques.

Armed with this information on how to give and receive a drawing critique, you should now be able to face this daunting task with a positive outlook.

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