It also seems extremely varied what gets put through for scoring, some being excellent and some just dreadful both in execution and concept

Those are on the dreadful side, but are far better then some that get through. Spend more time on the concept and overall execution of them then try again.

No need to be a smart ass xiv.
I am a professional illustrator, artist and designer, so labelling my work as dreadful when it clearly is not is completely out of order. I find your comment pathetic.

xiv actually wasn't being a smart ass- he's being honest

Not that I am a fan of either of these concepts- your pig one could use better execution, you could draw the text yourself instead of skewing premade fonts and it will look a lot better

I honestly don't see the banana one being printed even if it got through the pending process, maybe you can submit it to another design site thats into that.

the concepts aren't the strongest.
Also, it a good idea when asking for thoughts, to first check if you can handle any less positive comments before doing so.

He was being a smart ass because he was taking my comments about some of the stuff that gets put through and using against my own work.

I know the banana one probably wouldn't get printed but I still think it could go through when comparing it some others that have been accepted.

I take your point about using premade fonts but surely that can not be a reason for this piece being declined. I work in the advertising industry and nearly every design that I see uses fonts that were created by someone else, who no doubt wanted others to use it.

If these fonts can not be used, what next?

gumbolimbo - I can handle negative feedback when it is actually useful. Tess's comments about the fonts I took on board.
xivs and yours are not.

I gave you my opinion of it and told you what you could do to make it better; the concept isn't all that strong, nor is the execution of it. Take that as a simple critique. Don't take offense so damn easy.. especially on the internet where visual/verbal emotion can not be communicated clearly. I wasn't being a smart ass or using your comment against your own work.

ok sorry for the misunderstanding. I just seemed that way in what you wrote.

Anyway back on topic...

Does anyone have anything to say about the standard of some of the work that's approved for scoring compared to mine or their own which is declined?

I think that the first one would have a much better chance of going up for voting if the pig wasn't excreting the pun. That shit really ruins the design for me.

Also I'm finding it difficult to know who to listen to.

Personally I think that the Pigment design is a good concept and executed effectively. People leaving comments on the critique (v1) have also said this. It seems suspicious that the people who have viewed it from the link in this blog have negative comments.

Could that be down to me saying some designs that get through for voting are dreadful?

1. DO NOT listen to the majority of people who comment in the critique section... most of the responses are empty and meaningless. Plus most of them just say "Cool" and leave a link to their work in progress...

2. The blog forum is probably the best place to ask for honest critiques. They wont always be positive or all that detailed, but its better then those in the critiques section. There's also a greater chance alumni and other amazing designers/illustrators will give you their opinion here.

3. get yourself a profile picture. it may seem stupid, but people will pay more attention to you. the more your presence is known, the more feedback/help you will get in the near future.

xiv speaks the truth

ok cheers for the heads up

I'll throw in my two cents while I'm at it...

1. Don't rely on pre-made vectors too heavily. The voters and artists here are experienced enough to spot 'em, and if vectors are too obvious or make up too much of the design it will hurt your score. I speak from experience because that was what I did initially and got terrible scores as a result.

2. If you want to continue to get critiques, actually make some changes or attempt to modify what people are pointing out. A common mistake I made and others make is that they want to get defensive of their work and tend to make no changes. Most people are lazy and selfish and just want affirmation that the design is awesome. I can say that because I've done it. I think to myself, "man this is looking great", and then ask for feedback because I want to hear people affirm how good it looks. But people tend to see flaws that I didnt and point them out. Improving those flaws was a great step forward for me in my recent RAW competition WIP blog. Scroll through that blog to get an idea of how much feedback I got and how much extra re-working I did. It made a big difference in the design and it also showed people I was willing to make changes so I continued to get feedback.

Hope that helps! And welcome to threadless! In two years I've learned a ton from the awesome people on here! It is a great place!

Thanks Resistance.

Because I don't know any of you it's hard to know who's opinions to take seriously or not. I'm used to dealing with people face to face, people who I either know has knowledge and understanding of art/design (who I listen to) and those who don't(which I ignore).

Example.... did a flyer for a night club the other week which they loved, but then they insisted that I change the header font to a dark green comic sans.... on a black space background. I tried convincing them it would look worse but they thought they knew better and as such they ended up with a shitty flyer. Oh well...still got paid. ha

like xiv said the blogs are the best place, you get a lot more honest opinions on here.

If there name is purple like xiv, it means their designs have been printed, so they usually know what they are talking about when it comes to design. Not saying others don't- there are a lot of great designers on here that don't get printed for whatever reason

thanks for the info on the purple name thing... that's the kind of stuff I need to know.