Hey guys! So we're closing in on this group being here 3 months now. I'm sorry I've not been very active lately. I've gotten pretty busy and this past week I had a tooth pulled and it took more out of me than expected. I'm still planning a contest here in the future although I'm not certain when. I'm also working on a contest in the #KeepThemHonest group as well.

How has the group been working for you guys? Have you received any critiques? Have you given any? If you got critiques were they helpful? What are your suggestions for improving the group?

I just commented on about a half-dozen or so pieces yesterday or so -- in part making up for slacking before. I also moved a few deviations that had been accidentally placed in the wrong folder when they were submitted.

I had originally planned to write 2 critiques every month because I figured that was a small enough number I could keep track of it... I'm going to try and shake things up a bit for myself and do at least one a week, likely on Sundays. They may not be big, but with any luck they'll be helpful.

Remember this group is for you guys and you'll make it a success. Get out there and give someone a critique if you haven't already. It doesn't matter if you don't feel like your own art is very good or if you feel like you're not good at giving critiques. Don't get yourself all wound-up about it, just look through the gallery, find something you think could be better, and offer your thoughts as a friendly suggestion.

Remember when you offer a suggestion for improvement to offer a complement to go with it -- folks are more receptive to suggestions when they're coupled with a nice complement.

Also phrasing helps. If you're worried about offending people a) don't and b) here's a tip for your phrasing. Talk about "something that could be improved", rather than "a bad thing". In other words, people are more receptive to hearing that "I think adding an extra panel here might improve the flow" as opposed to hearing "this flow is bad". The latter sounds kind of "final" and "condemning", so it can put people off, particularly if you're not suggesting a way to resolve what you think is a problem. But if you phrase it instead as "here's something I think might help", that's much more inviting and friendly and people will be more receptive to it.

Oh! And remember to tell them you found them in Critoons, so they know the group is working!

Now get out there and offer some advice!

Happy critiquing, everyone!