ProjectComment is a group that provides Guaranteed & Constructive comments for the DeviantArt community. Our mission is to encourage the development of a culture of exchanging constructive comments within the DeviantArt community, for the benefit of all its members!

What's an example of great, constructive feedback that you received? What specifically in that comment helped you to improve?

~ Ace1999
This is an example of a great comment I once received on a piece. This helped me a great deal due to my fixation on only SOME parts of my paintings; it made me see that it's not just ONE THING that makes the painting, it's the entire piece. noodlingdoodling also provided me with links and references and encouraged me to look up how things work if I am ever stuck. The amount of smiles also made everything feel so nice and comforting, so that made me instantly take it in

~ Ailithir
It's hard to single out a specific critique that helped me more than the others, especially since it hasn't been long since I joined, but from the tendency in critiques like this one by Sokiawolf and a few others in pointing out exactly where "I got lazy", I learnt how I should pay more attention to the details instead than trying to cut corners when I'm not sure about something, hoping that people will not notice, thing on which I begun to work on as of recent, although I lack a proper example in the gallery at the moment.

~ fluoroid
I've received a lot of helpful feedback from many members. The feedback that comes to mind is from sisiziur. Granted, this was way back in July, but her feedback has definitely been something that's stuck with me since. I never did go back and modify the piece she commented on, but I have applied her feedback to other pieces. By trying to better analyze what makes a given expression different from others, I feel I've been able to improve in my ability to convey emotion.

~ matarioshka
In this deviation [below] I received a wonderful comment by Glanzfell - that made me feel reaaally happy, she said - "I think, it is interesting how you are able to use
many colours, that are quite striking, without creating
a happy or cute or somehow 'colourful - yay' look. The image
has a nearly rough appearance - in a good way. If it was a
movie, I would say it fits in the adult and action genre.
Somehow like a Tarantino film, isn't that impressive ?” Music to my ears. I almost drowned in tears..

Also, Will-Erwin gave a comment that is properly constructive and explains all advantages and disadvantages of the drawing. I´ll point out the disadvantages - "It looks like the dude in the background has only three thick fingers on his hand. I have to really look to see the edge of the fourth, which is slightly distracting.
The red background in the upper right corner is nowhere near as awesome as the rest of this piece. Granted, it makes those feathers stick out more, but so would a blue sky. The circle texture seems a bit odd and doesn't seem to go with the rest of it.
-Having some ripple effects in the red and white stripe area of the flag would be pretty awesome, too.”

The other smaller comment I received was very lovely, but it didn't help me to improve. Who helped me to improve were 2 ones I mentioned! One person gave me strength and inspiration and the other pointed out what should I be working on.

This is my new deviation, you can see the slight difference.

~ rainbow000pegasus
Tuntalm's comment and Dark-Fenrir's great comment are great because they elaborate on what they want to say, for bringing out both strong and weak points, and linking to some references/tutorials. Personally I'm too lazy to visit every one of them, but they really do help when I give them a go. They don't only state the obvious too, but go into details and little minor bits of the artwork, studying it from every angle.

~ Zitruseis
I've received quite a lot of very helpful comments, so it's really hard to pick one. Though, one that immediately comes to mind is this one by paddedpaws.

I like this comment for a lot of reasons. There is both praise and criticism, but both sound friendly, polite and are well explained. What helped me the most was the advice. Not only because padded paws pointed out the flaws in my picture, but also because she explained the exact issues and provided me with some great tips for solving them. For example, the following sentence provided me with an easy rule of thumb that I can use for my future works:

The vertical placement of eyes is usually approximately the middle of the head.

Another piece of advice that had a great impact on my art was this one:

[...] you may be interested in varying the way you colour in the skin tone. [...] Varying the shades [...] can often make the image look more "alive".[...] I found this tutorial massively helpful[…].

Again, she explained why this would improve my art, gave me some basic tips on how to do do it and also provided me a link to a very good tutorial with more detailed explanations.
To illustrate how this comment helped me improve, here is the picture the comment was directed at (left) and similar one I drew some time after receiving the comment, incorporating the advice (right):

Commenter Bios and Art

Ace1999 - I am a 17 year old artist with a heart for musicals and Disney villains. Up until recently I've been self taught, but my past years as an art student have truly opened a whole new world to me.

Mature Content

Ailithir - I'm an Italian guy that has always loved to create worlds and tell stories; I grew up in a pretty strict environment so at times I sound more severe than what I intend to, still, I think to be pretty tame and genuinely like to help where I can.

:thumb637699083::thumb618119399::thumb630594749:

fluoroid - Currently I'm primarily focusing on being a comic artist, and while I have had a few formal classes, I'm mostly self taught with respects to drawing and digital painting. I love learning about anything and everything, and finding ways to use that knowledge in my comics and art is one of the things I enjoy the most.

:thumb654626852:

matarioshka - I´m a crazy & ambitious artist. Hobbyist. Made in USSR, Lived in Lithuania, dumped LT for Argentina, now I live in ARG with my Boyfriend. I´m 27. Not married. I dream to have a good job, or to open my own business. And ofcourse to have some project with the great V. How could I forget about them? How could I?!..

Marilyn Critrawkets: Out of the kitchen! Part1Part 1.  A BIG MISTAKE
Year 1972, U.S.A.
Evening, a very beautiful, long haired ash-blond woman wearing starred-striped underwear started a custom made motorcycle.
What appears to be an American Chopper has a strong engine with a specific sound. It was Harley Davidson engine. The woman drives through the small streets of the city like insane, she appears to be enthusiastic with her ride. She was both crazy and in rage.
You can see she have been wounded on her arm and leg, but not seriously.
While riding her motorcycle she kicks a garbage container, some garbage bags, and empty boxes on her way, stray dogs start to bark while chasing her.
She takes a ferry and feels a bit sad that her hippie-friends decided to stay.
The woman looks very lonely while watching the Statue of Liberty and the beautiful city becoming further away.
It was already getting dark and the blonde decided to stay in the hotel. The hotel had “Roxy” sign on its side, and one letter wasn´t lid up,

rainbow000pegasus - rainbow000pegasus has started art since a young age. She has a passion for art and literature. Some of her personal favourite fandoms are Gyakuten Saiban and Cardfight!! Vanguard.

HoO: Nico di Angelo x Reader: Today's Embrace
    One week. You've been stalking him for one week.
    It seems wrong, but you were utterly obsessed. Since his return and defeating defeating Gaea, you were always watching him.
    He was always with Hazel.
    You couldn't help being envious.
    You were his guardian after all...
    You looked at him as he was looking far out at the road downhill, where a bus cruised along. His half-sister was there, Hazel was leaving him.
    You weren't looking at the bus. A wind swept across the tranquil air, sun lighting Nico's dark clothes and hair. The setting sun was a beautiful sight from the hill, but not when you're too interested in Nico.
    "Who are you?"
    You blinked. It took you a moment to realise that he was addressing you.
    "I notice you, I'm not dumb. Why are you stalking me?"
    You were immersed in his c

Zitruseis - I'm a self-taught artist from Germany. I think I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pen, but it's only been for a bit more than two years that I've actually started considering myself an artist. I'm always striving for improvement, probably owing to my perfectionist nature. In my day-to-day life, I'm studying social sciences and I'm hoping to become a professor of sociology and a scientist one day. I have a wide range of interests, including psychology, philosophy, storytelling, video games, writing and cooking among others. I also love rabbits!

How To Nominate

We are always looking for nominations of deviants who you think should be featured! Note astarayel with the subject "Nomination" and the following information:

  Name of Deviant

  Link to their exceptional comments. (This is great way to give back to a user who has given you fantastic feedback!)

You can suggest anyone and everyone at any time and include as many nominations as you want in one note. All nominations will be taken into consideration--if your nomination isn't featured immediately, it may still be featured in a future news article!

astarayel, posting on behalf of ProjectComment