should i start a underrated mini column?
- Thread starter rosac
- Start date
AinuLainour
New member
o rly?
Braveheart712
New member
Hey Rosac, welcome to CMON!!!!
A few thoughts crossed my mind...
1) Like so many other have said, don\'t do it.
2) I took the time to look at your minis and while I see potential, they are very table top and the ratings reflect it. By all means continue to paint and you will improve!
3) You mentioned that you have a new camera and are learning how to use it. Please look at the many fine photography tutorials posted here. Ratings are also a result of a good camera and a good photo as well as a nicely painetd mini. The excuse \"It looks better in person\" may be true but will not get you better ratings.
4) DO NOT TAKE RATINGS TO HEART! While this site has a wealth of wonderful minis to view and learn from, it also tends to be very harsh to the average painter. Remember why you paint ( usually for relaxation, fun, etc) and set realistic goals for yourself.
A few thoughts crossed my mind...
1) Like so many other have said, don\'t do it.
2) I took the time to look at your minis and while I see potential, they are very table top and the ratings reflect it. By all means continue to paint and you will improve!
3) You mentioned that you have a new camera and are learning how to use it. Please look at the many fine photography tutorials posted here. Ratings are also a result of a good camera and a good photo as well as a nicely painetd mini. The excuse \"It looks better in person\" may be true but will not get you better ratings.
4) DO NOT TAKE RATINGS TO HEART! While this site has a wealth of wonderful minis to view and learn from, it also tends to be very harsh to the average painter. Remember why you paint ( usually for relaxation, fun, etc) and set realistic goals for yourself.
Infidel Castro
New member
Blimey, hark at Mr Self Important! To then go and rip apart the fella\'s views and grammar (albeit with an half-arsed apology) shows you up in a bad light. In the spirit of your surmisal, please answer me why it is that a fella (thee) who writes up a weekly review on superbly painted and (importantly) photographed minis can\'t actually get a decent bloody picture up on CMoN. Surely you\'ve learnt something by now! :cussing:
And on the Spacemunkie idea, why the hell not. Dredge up the worst shite possible and give us all a laugh. Not everyone can be good at something, so let\'s be open and honest and tell it like it is. That would be the perfect antidote to people voting 9\'s on piss-poor miniatures and leaving fawning, sycophantic drivel in the comments on miniatures. Spacey, I demand that you start it RIGHT NOW! :beer:
Legacy Account
Active member
Damn well said that man! It\'s one of my major gripes about this country atm - we constantly get the average and humdrum thrust at us and told that it\'s \'great\'. (Many) Kids get their egos inflated at school and come out thinking that the world owes them a living because teachers aint allowed to tell them that what they do is utter shite. Our sportsmen are f***ing rubbish and they still win Sports Personality Of The Year because they scored a goal somewhere once....
And just because someone spews forth a bunch of half-arsed superlatives about a few nicely coloured in chunks of metal, they think they\'re bloody Brian Sewell (Christ forbid!).
A tip on correcting spelling/grammar on forums: Go and look up dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysorthographia, asfedia, aphasia.... Have a few beers and try to leave some messages. Consider one\'s own academic background, then consider others.
Personally I find what people have to say more revealing than how they say it....
Dragon Forge Design
New member
Ahh the Wussyfication of the current generation where we don\'t keep score and everyones a winner in the end and gets a snack and a juice box.
Legacy Account
Active member
lol
Yep. Feed them dirt and make them play Bulldog with the big lads from the fifth year....
I fully understand what you are on about...Its very similar to the American Idol thing.
These people who audition have been told by all their friends and family \'you can sing!\'-- but no one has ever been honest with them. Once they audition and are told the harsh truth by the judges, they are shocked!
BUT...that being said, I have started many threads about this sort of thing. It\'s not ego stroking or pandering I am interested in, but there are plenty of \'mid scoring\' minis on this site that just never get a chance to shine.
And it is those minis that I draw the most inspiration from. I am not trying to celebrate mediocrity in those threads, just trying to share minis that aren\'t top ten quality. Minis that one might not see as a casual viewer. Thus the titles of the threads I have started are always things like \'lost in the shuffle\'.
The blessing and curse of this place is the fact that there are SO many minis here. Not every mini has to break new ground to be inspirational. Not every mini has to be able to sell for hundreds on Ebay before it has worth.
I was in an art museum not long ago. And amidst the gorgeous oil paintings I found a small room that consisted of the artist sketchbook and earlier works. Some were scraps of paper with pencil, others more serious attempts. But it was in THAT room that I became most inspired by the art.
Anyhow...its a topic I am very interested in. And one that I am a bit surprised at how quickly an elitist attitude can develop.
These people who audition have been told by all their friends and family \'you can sing!\'-- but no one has ever been honest with them. Once they audition and are told the harsh truth by the judges, they are shocked!
BUT...that being said, I have started many threads about this sort of thing. It\'s not ego stroking or pandering I am interested in, but there are plenty of \'mid scoring\' minis on this site that just never get a chance to shine.
And it is those minis that I draw the most inspiration from. I am not trying to celebrate mediocrity in those threads, just trying to share minis that aren\'t top ten quality. Minis that one might not see as a casual viewer. Thus the titles of the threads I have started are always things like \'lost in the shuffle\'.
The blessing and curse of this place is the fact that there are SO many minis here. Not every mini has to break new ground to be inspirational. Not every mini has to be able to sell for hundreds on Ebay before it has worth.
I was in an art museum not long ago. And amidst the gorgeous oil paintings I found a small room that consisted of the artist sketchbook and earlier works. Some were scraps of paper with pencil, others more serious attempts. But it was in THAT room that I became most inspired by the art.
Anyhow...its a topic I am very interested in. And one that I am a bit surprised at how quickly an elitist attitude can develop.
Dragon Forge Design
New member
@ Vike,
I agree completely with you, Im less interested in seeing something thats technically \"perfict\" than I am seeing something that has emotion or feeling to it. Thats why I tend to get turned off/bored by it at times by some of the high scored works.
Some of what is considered the best on here only looks good in photography from that one view you see it in, other wise it tends to look like crap.
I agree completely with you, Im less interested in seeing something thats technically \"perfict\" than I am seeing something that has emotion or feeling to it. Thats why I tend to get turned off/bored by it at times by some of the high scored works.
Some of what is considered the best on here only looks good in photography from that one view you see it in, other wise it tends to look like crap.
In practice, there is a real factual question behind this, namely whether or not a given mini really is underrated. (Whether or not we should care if it is is another question.) It does strike me that those expressing concern about underrated minis and those talking about minis that really don\'t deserve a higher score may very well be thinking about very different pieces. Fact is, most of us could probably find a few of each, both underrated and overrated. So, the possibility of one shouldn\'t really count as an answer to concerns about the other.
Whether or not its worth hammering out the proper scores, I don\'t know. Probably better to just take it all with a grain of salt. The occassional discussion thread seems a good venue for calling attention to a mini you think gets the short shrift, and if that happens once a week, so be it. Even then I wouldn\'t focus too much on the score. A simple comment to the effect that you think it merits a second look and then say what you like about it. A productive discussion would focus on the qualities of the miniature; that isn\'t well served if we end up fighting over the most appropriate numbers to attach to it.
Whether or not its worth hammering out the proper scores, I don\'t know. Probably better to just take it all with a grain of salt. The occassional discussion thread seems a good venue for calling attention to a mini you think gets the short shrift, and if that happens once a week, so be it. Even then I wouldn\'t focus too much on the score. A simple comment to the effect that you think it merits a second look and then say what you like about it. A productive discussion would focus on the qualities of the miniature; that isn\'t well served if we end up fighting over the most appropriate numbers to attach to it.
charley1968
New member
should i start an \'underrated mini\' column
I say yea. I\'d be checking regularly!
It may not help much to get better ratings, but at least people might comment and explain what\'s wrong, in their opinion, with the mini in question.
@ spacemunkie: you sound plain arrogant.
I say yea. I\'d be checking regularly!
It may not help much to get better ratings, but at least people might comment and explain what\'s wrong, in their opinion, with the mini in question.
@ spacemunkie: you sound plain arrogant.
tidoco2222
Active member
Who are we to decide what is and what isn\'t an underrated or overrated mini, peoples perspective on different aspects of miniature painting differ greatly.
To get a subjective thread on either subject I feel would be very difficult indeed. There are a hell of a lot of images on this site now and the majority that I have seen over the last few months are table top quality or below. I spend hours every day voting on minis and it is difficult to find minis unless you regulate your browsing criteria that are above this.
There have been countless threads on the scoring of minis on this site and no doubt will be evermore in the future.
I appreciate what you are trying to do but I think it can only end in a negative discussion and not really achieve what you are looking to do.
If you think that a particular mini is not doing as well as it should then leave comments on the minis telling the person so.
I don\'t want to sound negative but I realy cannot see this having any beneficial impact on the site sorry.
To get a subjective thread on either subject I feel would be very difficult indeed. There are a hell of a lot of images on this site now and the majority that I have seen over the last few months are table top quality or below. I spend hours every day voting on minis and it is difficult to find minis unless you regulate your browsing criteria that are above this.
There have been countless threads on the scoring of minis on this site and no doubt will be evermore in the future.
I appreciate what you are trying to do but I think it can only end in a negative discussion and not really achieve what you are looking to do.
If you think that a particular mini is not doing as well as it should then leave comments on the minis telling the person so.
I don\'t want to sound negative but I realy cannot see this having any beneficial impact on the site sorry.
Now don\'t judge Mr. Munkie too harshly...He has been an opponent of this sort of thing for a long time and makes a very good case, one that I happen to not agree with. He certainly doesn\'t need me defending him, but I thought I\'d try to curtail this before it gets out of hand.
But, that said, we should aim to have a civilized discussion of the matter without name calling or poking fun at someones grammar skills.
If you are tired of reading about this stuff on the forum, simply don\'t read it. If there is interest, it will generate discussion, if not it will die on the vine much like a thread about the merits of speed ironing.
Legacy Account
Active member
I have my opinions and I\'m perfectly entitled to them! Just as you are to yours - even if you do talk out of your arse! lol
I simply don\'t see the point in starting \'reviewing\' individual submissions. What\'s wrong with posting comments on the minis themselves or in the Discuss Submissions section? What\'s with the \'etiquette\' on this as well? Are the creators of the stuff that gets reviewed asked beforehand or do they just find out they are a \'chosen one\' when the review appears?
@Vike: I\'m just being obtuse when referring to stuff as \'average\'. You\'re absolutely right, there\'s some quality stuff out there that rarely gets noticed. DR\'s thread in Discuss Submissions was/is a brilliant idea and is the way to do it.
So to precis, it\'s not the standards of the minis that I have a problem with. It\'s art critics!
Legacy Account
Active member
That\'s a rubbish idea. You donkey\'s dangler!
Infidel Castro
New member
Aye, in all fairness, the whole issue depends on the approach of the person in the first place. Some chap or lady posting a pic in Discuss Submissions with the tag THIS IS GOD (sorry, misspelling again!) is pretty clean in my book. It\'s an opinion, job done, agree or disagree, whatever. The other stuff? It gives us a chance to share a few gems we find on our journeys and, if done proper-like, can be quite insightful. Mishandling on the other (mis-) hand can be quite INCITEFUL. See what a clever lad I am with my grammar? lol
