Mod Post

[neke]

Hi. Your mod here. :)

Potentially we could have a lot of fun here at iconcritic, but so far there hasn't been that much activity and 'not much activity' to me equals 'something's not quite right

Comments

[neke]

That's a very interesting point you raised and one I've come across at voting posts before where I know some people take the theme interpretation in consideration when voting.

Constructive criticism in general is geared towards the more technical aspects of an icon, how well the icon is executed. The way I see it, interpretation of theme is so incredibly subjective, it has very little place in a concrit. How can one 'judge' how someone else interpreted a theme like 'endless', for example.
In the case of this round with the colour prompts, there are so many shades of red, I personally can't see myself mentioning in a concrit that the way someone has interpreted 'red' could be 'better'. What I could see myself saying is that on my screen the red might be a little bit too vibrant so maybe toning it down would be a good idea, for example.

I guess this all comes from a) my personal approach to theme interpretation which is very wide and b) the fact that I personally think that concrit should have a technical and objective focus, and that theme interpretation is neither technical nor objective.

The prompts and themes are there for inspiration, and yes, although I do expect to see it in an icon, because otherwise I might as well make this a free-for-all icontest, it is in my eyes completely irrelevant when it comes to how good the icon is. I think that is where the 'problem' lies. Some people see theme interpretation as part of how good the icon is, I see it as something separate. :)

Anyway, I'm not advert to seeing the prompt mentioned in a concrit, or the part of the icon that is following the theme, in case of the red in the above example. What I do object to is touching on how someone interpreted the theme in a way that suggests they could have done better.

I'm sorry this turned into such a long comment but since it seems this is the reason why you're not active here anymore and deleted all your comments (and I'm very sorry you did, that was never my intention), I thought this issue deserved some explanation from my side.

Thanks for your input. :)

PS
Can I unscreen your comment?

PPS
Sorry about the re-post.

[my_innersanctum]

yes, no problem, unscreen away.

uhm, yes, i agree, the technical and execution elements of the icon are important and integral to the icon crit. however, i like to see in feedback to me something on the order of, "i like your interpretation of the prompt, it works well", or "i can see you included in the prompt requirement in the icon, but perhaps more (or less) might work better", or, "i'm not really seeing your inclusion of the prompt at all but perhaps i'm missing it". i guess if i go to the effort, i want to hear about it.

i've been thinking (on another note) of including links to the original images i use in an icon so folks can have an idea of where i started. sometimes i can dig up the original image or what may have been the original image and it seems the resulting icon was merely cropped and repositioned an not truly manipulated. but, that's just something i'm thinking of doing in future icontests i participate in.

i appreciate your feedback, and yes, the prompt was the primary draw for me for this icontest as well as the allure of possible concrit on my icons.

[neke]

Unscreened now. Thanks. :)

Right. I never looked at it like that. But maybe that's because I see it more as an inspiration than as a challenge. If you like what someone has done with a theme you can definitely mention it, I was just afraid it would turn into a 'I think the theme could have been interpreted better' and that is something I'd advice anyone to steer clear of, since theme interpretation is so subjective.

That is definitely a good idea and it will most likely make the concrit that much better.

Glad to hear that. :)