I'm writing this because over the course of my years I have beared witness to the most ridiculous arguments and disagreements I have ever seen on simple planes. These arguments have more than often been the demise of quite a few creators as many of them would often translate into a storm of insults.
I joined the simple planes community because of the positivity and kindness, the willingness for others to provide support and uplift one another and to grow together as a community. I have seen a simple piece of constructive criticism turn into a full blown argument for no reason. If a person is giving you advice, there is no need to get so destructive, just simply state the purpose of your creation, and if it was intended to be that way or not. The person that gave you that blunt advice is most likely very experienced and is just trying to help you become a better builder. More importantly, if you are unable to figure out the point of someone's build then ASK THE AUTHOR what it was meant for, don't make complaints or insult the build because that is sure to start problems.
I am writing this because for the past few months I've been noticing quite a few of these issues popping up on Simple Planes, and it makes me sick to see us fight one another like this because I have seen quite a few people leave this community because of the negativity thrown at them and it's shameful that many of us only recognize what was done wrong until after that person is gone. It's time for this crap to end. If anyone has a disagreement, then take it somewhere else. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR IT. People seem to forget that people have feelings, and that people can become offended. If anyone reading this message understands and feels the same way I do then please share the message, Simple Planes is a very special place for me and many others and I hate when things like this destroy our community. I do not upload builds to impress anyone, I upload and create builds because I genuinely love doing it and love providing inspiration to other creators who believe that they will never be good, because I was that person once.
I am an artist and I love to draw, but I wasn't always as good as I am now and it took time to get better, and lots of feedback/constructive critisicm but one day I was told I can't draw and it broke me to the point that I considered quitting, but then I discovered simple planes in 2015. I began building planes and began recieving so much support and it made me happy, my spark for creativity was reborn and I realized that that negativity is just someone being mean because they envy my talent, they hate the fact that I'm doing what I love. It takes time and dediction to get better but others like me sometimes don't reach their potential because the negativity that exists here is so powerful that it can instantly stop a person from pursuing their dreams. I love being able to go back to my earlier builds and compare them with my latest builds, and all the progress I made with the help of others, why should starve eachother of that oppurtunity? Unfortunately as I do not know how to upload pictures here I will provide you with a link to my deviant art profile so you can see some of my works, I'm still not that great but I'm improving, and I'll never quit because I have a lot of positivity behind me and I've turned that negativity into fuel to become better. The same can be said for simple planes, but sometimes that negativity is powerful that it becomes impposible for someone to overcome, So I employ everyone to think very hard about what you are going to say to someone about their build because you could very well end up becoming a person who crushed someones hopes and dreams, intentionally or unintentionally doesen't matter, you must think what others may think, yes people are entitled their opinions but a person can leave an opinion but still be very positive. Leave the negativity out of it. If anyone reading this post shares my view then please share this post on your profile. We need to be lifting each other up, not putting one another down. Simple Planes means a lot to me and many others, this crap has to stop.
Everyone has their own style, it is not our job to push our ideals onto one another but to provide each other with ideas and knowledge that way we can improve ourselves in our own way, and that's what makes Simple Planes truly special.
Link to my deviantart profile:
https://www.deviantart.com/ajforever51
@Ajforever51 lad, i made this acount 5 months ago, but i had an older acount that would be around 2 and a half years old
HOLY CRAP UR DRAWINGS GOOD AF!
Everything is as it normaly is comrade, nothing has changed.
The thing that has changed is your ability to percive issues.
Excellent post m8.
Some people are just jerks, usually, (not always) it is younger kids who think they can mouth off to just about anybody, and for absolutely no reason. Sometimes it’s adults who have yet to grow up. The point is, jerks will always be around, and you can’t stop that, so just ignore them, and trust that humanity isn’t all bad.
The only person you can control is yourself.
This is a bit sad for me to hear, as I have just returned from a break from this game. I hope that this website is still the great community I remembered it to be. This is quite an important message, for all of the users on here.
I agree.. I think one of the main reasons some of this stuff goes on is because there is a wide age spectrum here...you can quickly discern this after looking through a few posts or comments. It goes both ways.... "some" younger users have their way about them, and "some" elder users have their way.... like any relationship people interpret things differently and butt heads about the dumbest poo....And.....there's also language barrier issues.....people may use a translator app that does a really poor job and may actually come across as inappropriate or aggressive....I forget quite often that we are not all in the US....Just my humble grizzled opinions...
woof
I’m also always open for feedback, feedback helps to improve builds so I like it when people give it. @PhantomBladeCorp
@Ajforever51 I'm no professional either. I'm not even an amateur.
But yeah, you can use your fingers to blur out the lines but I find handkerchiefs to be better at it.
@AstleyIndustries Thx M8!
@PhantomBladeCorp I'm glad you understand what I'm getting at and thanks for the advice about shadows, as I don't have any proffesional drawing tools right now all I have been able to use are an average mechanical pencil, a pretty good drawing pen and my my fingers for shading/shadow effects, but that handkerchief might come in handy (and take a whole lot of strain off of my thumbs).
Also, I like the way you draw. Not necessarily what you draw, but how you draw. Just one little thing: shadows look a lot better when they are uniform. Doing them in pencil usually leaves these clearly visible lines which don't look that nice. What I do is: I take a handkerchief and start rubbing the shadows with it. Not only does it homogenize the shadow (thus eliminating most of the lines the pencil leaves), but it also creates this soft shadow effect which looks really kewl in my opinion.
Honestly... I've gotten my skin burnt by making constructive criticism or trying to be goofier. The latter means I'm trying to say the same idea as I normally would but in a sort of funny way. By no means am I trying to make fun of someone's defects, all I'm really trying to do is cheer you up a bit so that you can go ahead with a positive mindset. That way, you should be more open to new ideas, new perspectives and so you remember much easier the essence of critique. But this is theory and, so far (this so far meaning just one person; not to mention it was the worst choice I ever made), it failed.
I used to critique quite a bit. Never did it because I envyed said person or simply cause I wanted to be an A-hole. All I wanted was to help them become better and/or have it easier. Never have I criticized someone just for the heck of it. Again, I always had both a good reason and good intentions and, even today, if I wanted to criticize someone's plane (just to give you a concrete example), I would do it almost the same way I used to.
But, you see, criticizing someone means you embark on a trip on the slipperiest road ever. How so?
I've experienced this first hand. Almost every time I criticized someone, there were two outcomes. One of them occured way more often than the other. Maybe due to the way I word stuff (I'm rather blunt; sugarcoatting is not my style) or simply because I chose the wrong recipient.
The first outcome is: they respond negatively. In fact, fiercely negatively. And due to this, they start spreading fake rumors about me and so I get a bad rep.
Second one: they respond positively. It happened rarely but trust me, it had a huge effect. Mainly because the recipient was able to understand the underlying reason of my critique and, secondly, the way they perceived it. Not only did I help massively by making someone else's life easier, but they also thanked me for doing it. Now that's a huge thing if you ask me.
I've personally chosen to refrain from critique. I decided to only ever do it when asked to. This way, I eliminate about half the variables that usually go against me.
TLDR: when criticizing, choose your target carefully. Don't dive head first and think later (like I usually do, not just when criticizing :P ). A bit of planning doesn't hurt, either. And one more thing. Choose. Your words. Carefully!
Oh and, by the way, I'm glad that there is someone just like me that can take constructive criticism and doesn't get easily offended.
Hi fellow deviantart user :)
I think your drawings are pretty good! I've been making concept design posters for a year now, directly based on my SP builds.
To put image in forums and plane desc use
NP. Glad to give some. I’ve put up with it myself on a couple occasions and saw the outlash from many more that I never witnessed.
@NovaTopaz Well one can only hope... Thx for the support M8.
I was here when a lot of those things were going on(maybe, probably, something. IDK, lol.). Oh well, it’s in the past now. Good message regardless, though how much it’ll effect the community is anyone’s guess.
@Ajforever51 Many years of art class.
@F104Deathtrap Glad someone understands what I'm getting at :b
@Ajforever51 But constructive criticism is useful, if made carefully. Especially in a game where few people understand the underlying mechanics.
@Phoza No no no. I got it. I just misread it the first time. And it was a good summary.
@Awsomur Exactly everyone has their own style, that's what makes an artist unique
@F104Deathtrap oH yeah sorry I didn’t mean it like that. I was summarizing the post for you; I never would call anyone names. Sorry
@Phoza I was into the 5th sentence of my response to you calling me a... when I re-read it and realized you actually gave a pretty good summary. lol