I made a post on my site a little bit ago, but thought it would be very relevant for this forum. Posting it here instead of shamelessly blog spamming a link 
While we as creative lads and lasses produce work to satisfy ourselves, the commercial game is a different story. When we create art freely, we can inject all of our thoughts and ideas, and make things *feel *right. However, when we are working commercially, we must realise that we have to cater for a larger demographic.
As people in a creative media industry, we cater for others more often than ourselves. While itâs always desirable to stick to your guns and trust your wit, the ultimate opinion is that of a consumer, client or viewer. Art may be a medium to deliver self expression, but creating something to generate a dense and desired response relies on constructive input. Communication in creativity should flow both ways.
So what am I trying to get at? I am saying that as well as speaking (and sometimes complaining), we should listen too. This may sound like a load of philosophical tosh, but it is something that is lacking in media today. We need input, just as much as output; and we can achieve this through critique.
I am in no means any sort of immensely wise wizard, but I feel that I need some way to vent whatever brews in my head. What follows are some ideas which I consider my said of absorbing and projecting back into the world:
Taking a critique
This is the hardest thing to do. *Of course *we are going to hold some sentimental value to our work. We wouldnât be human if we didnât hold some type of self worth. With all of that aside; to simply put it - try and latch onto anything that is thrown at you (and ignore obvious attacks). Even if it isnât pleasant, there could be a fantastic helpful gem hidden within. Even it itâs something like :[INDENT]âHey you such and such! The left eye of that monster looks like ****. You smell like the rear end of a rhinoceros.â
[/INDENT]You can still extract the fact that something is not right about the left eye of that goon, and improving it will only make it better!
How do we listen to critiques?
Listen take a step back, put yourself in the criticâs shoes, and see how it effects the bigger picture. An open mind will diffuse any of the sour anger which might come out of an argument about an idea. Other people will pick up on ideas that you might miss.
It can come from ANYONE.
Someone else with fresh eyes is bound to see something obvious that might require change. Sometimes nixing or changing that idea you are dying to use will make room for everything else to click into something structurally solid. Itâs almost like visual composition - dealing with a balance of functionality and aesthetic beauty. Donât hang onto ideas and shoot down opinions because you are in love with your own. See if it will help to improve. Take it into consideration , but by all means donât follow everything they say.
The more diverse the spread of input, the more youâll be able to fine tune. The opinion of a 12 year old could be just as useful than that of a 37 year old doctor. Try pitching an animated kidâs show to the doctor and the kid. The doctor could tell you all about financing, and how impossible it is to feed a hippo to a porcupine, but the kid could tell you that the top hat on the hippo would be cuter in green. This being said, donât take everything thrown at you personally. A suggestion informing how you could make something better is only going to educate and improve a skillset. Take advice from people you respect, but know when a critique is ill-informed by a lack of comprehension.
Dishing it out
Treat a critique like you want to help improve some work, instead of bashing how terrible it is (though Iâve seen so many cases where it has no chance of recovery). People are going to give you critiques, so imagine what itâd feel like to have it done to you. Be constructive, analytical,define a reason and suggest ways to improve it:
Saying - âthat is badâ is useless.
Whereas âI donât think this is so strong because it is an odd size. Maybe you could reduce it to fit comfortablyâ is much more meaningful.
***The Critique Sandwich
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Find a way to keep it positive! I like to use what Iâve heard to be called the âsandwich techniqueâ. Itâs basically sandwiching a nitpick with two nice compliments:[INDENT]Your underpants are fantastic today! I think you could use a new haircut because itâs pretty scruffy and the lice creep me out. That pair of suspenders are swell with those sweet slacks!
[/INDENT]So much more pleasant to digest!
I hope that you might take away something from a mindset that I find handy to get better at things! I know that without the comments of peers, I certainly wouldnât be working on the fantastically fun and engaging things I love.
