Project Comment Interviews, Issue 81: Azymic

ProjectComment is a Group of many projects centred around comments, but, more importantly, constructive comments. We offer Members of deviantART a lot of opportunities to get comments, give comments, participate in comment projects, win points, get featured and much, much more!

Every month, we will be interviewing commenters and volunteers at ProjectComment, specifically revolving around their life on deviantART and, the purpose of ProjectComment, constructive comments.

We sincerely hope you enjoy reading the eighty-first interview of this series with Azymic!



Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello, I’m Azymic! I’m essentially a potato. With opposable thumbs. My ability to type and hold pencils is valued greatly. Any spare time is spent neglecting my studies and forgetting to eat. Any sleeping time is spent making art and skulking in my corner of the internet/gathering the courage to reply to comments!
//anxious laughter as I glance at my messages

What kind of art do you do and why?
Visual art! It’s something that I can muck about and experiment with and not feel self-conscious! ;v; Any performance arts were pretty much ruled out because of my stage-fright and anxiety even talking to people (also potatoes are root vegetables and therefore can mostly only roll about). My medium of preference is digital art - less clean-up time afterwards as paint is ever so messy, and I don’t have to worry about wasting supplies.


Do you do a lot of commenting in your spare time?
I try my best to! It’s a really great way to meet some new people and find new works of art. Not to mention, a wonderful way to give back to the community. Sharing knowledge is absolutely great. Heck, commenting on other artists pieces might also get you a few pieces of feedback yourself.

But I’ll admit my mindset isn’t purely altruistic! Dissecting and analyzing pieces of work and styles that i might otherwise not see are great ways for me to learn how to do the same to my own work. What do i like, and why, so to speak.

//other than that, just because it’s a whole bunch of fun!

Do you prefer to give and receive critiques or constructive comments and why?
Personally, I prefer giving constructive comments! It’s just because I don’t really like the rating system on the critique bit, just because the standards seem to vary quite a bit! Reading critiques from others, the way things are ranked are all over the place. For me, it’s also really difficult to rate the quality of a piece! But it could just be because I’ve never really used critiques. ;v;

I also tend to blabber quite a bit, but i just want to give one piece of advice, about a certain detail and comments are more convenient in that regard!

As for receiving, I wouldn’t really mind either, but i don’t have a premium membership haha.

What do you always make sure to include in your comments?
A positive comment, definitely! My rule is to always have at least one or two. Encouragement is the best way to help others! And honestly, anyone who can gather up their courage to draw and post their artwork for others to view and judge should be applauded for their courage and sent plenty of good vibes. Addressing both strengths and weaknesses isn’t just for the sake of being nice. I believe it’s a lot easier to improve when you can understand how to use your strengths to your advantage, and branch out from there!


Is there a particular technique you use when commenting?
I don’t believe i do anything different from most commentors, or use any specific techniques. But i generally work my way from a very broad idea of the piece, to fine details, if that makes any sense.

I’ll evaluate the overall impact, or “feel” of the piece. Does it make me feel something? Does it tell a story? After that, I begin to look at how all the pieces Where is the energy, the movement, the focal point? How does the composition come together? After that, details and anatomy, the more technical components.

I think the first two are things that just grow and develop the more you create art, and there usually isn’t any specific feedback I can give others on how to improve (other than practice, practice, practice). Therefore, the focus of my comment falls on the technical aspects - adding a few brushstrokes here, different ways of rendering materials, a light source that makes sense, and anatomy. I think that giving specific steps is an easier way to help someone to improve than vague answers (although that’s just my personal opinion!). Thankfully, deviant art is a huge resource for tutorials on anything from colour theory to how to draw feet, so linking makes a commentor’s job a whole lot easier!

What do you do when you don't get the feedback that you want? Do you submit to groups, for example?
Submitting to groups is a good first step, and insures that more people will view your art, but if i’m looking for feedback, i go to Project Comment first! The commentors here are really friendly and there are a whole bunch of people willing to help.

I also really love the group CuteArtistUnite ’s critique folder: cuteartistunite.deviantart.com…
Improvement-Club also has “correct me folders” that you can submit to for help!


Do you have any future plans in terms of deviantART and such? Any ongoing projects currently?
Not particularly - I just hope to keep on creating art, and meeting new people! ‘v’
I’m actually working on a webcomic right now, but it’s still in the developing stage right now (and will be for a while).

Can you offer any tips for commenters?
Be kind, always be kind because these are people who are putting their hearts out for you to judge. Artists, listen carefully, because feedback is precious, and even if it’s just a “quick doodle” someone is critiquing, there’s something to be gained and learnt.

Drink lots of water and eat good food and spend your time with people who make you smile!! And keep making art, don’t give up! I’m rooting for you!

*disclaimer I have no idea what i’m doing and no advice to give don’t look at me

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’m a very boring person, so if anyone is looking for resources that are worth more than my vague replies, here are a few below!

TutorialsClub is a fantastic group for a large collection of tutorials!
original-worlds is a good place to share your stories and worlds.

glitchedpuppet has a tutorial on colour theory that is covers everything you need to know to start getting wonderful palettes in your work! You can find it here: purplekecleon.deviantart.com/a…
They also have brilliant character designs you may want to check out!
twin-tail has plenty of tutorials for everything from facial structure to pixels: twin-tail.deviantart.com/galle…
rainue has one for cell shading (and her scenery is beautiful too): rainue.deviantart.com/art/HOW-…

//laughs if anyone has more I have a whole list

And if anyone ever needs some feedback, just shoot me a note and I’ll get right on it! I hope you all have a good day!! c:



Thank you Azymic!

Thank you for reading.
3wyl, posting on behalf of ProjectComment