*sigh*.... damnit, seesic... I already love your work... Quit making my wallet want to be more empty.
On a more serious note, @seesic: love, love, love your work. do you lay down a white (flat) base to do your work on? I'm curious as to how the hell you (and a few others) are pulling this off. Amazing work.
@pochy: your last 2 pieces have been beautiful as well.
I would like to first say just how excellent the art of so many remains on this site. Kudos to all who post and demonium I continue to be in awe of your work.
My question is what do folks use for magnification (if at all) when altering?
I am looking to treat myself for Christmas and wondered if a certain type and brand is preferred.
First, I want to let everyone know that I unofficially appraise alters for several dealers in my area, as well as players trading/buying/selling in the Illinois/Indiana/Wisconsin area. That is sort of a disclaimer. That said, I have no financial interests related specifically to these sites. I also guarantee that if I place a bid on an alter listed here on a third party auction site, or here on this site, it is because I value the alter. I will either have A) Not commented on it here yet, or will B) Have commented on it and praised the work. My posts are NOT intentioned to de-value an alter or artist's work before I purchase.
Why do I say this? Because while the praise on this thread is always very polite, and kind, I find the feedback lacking. There are great artists here, there are improving artists here, and there are beginning artists here. There are no "bad artists". There are certainly pieces I wouldn't want in my 150+ alter collection, but their artists still have the potential to do great work in the future.
So, I am going to start posting here for the purpose of offering constructive, but firm, feedback for newer artists, or artists that I know can do better work.
Starting with:
EvilNerdINC: ENI, I love that you have ambition. Tackling a dual land is something that a lot of artists simply don't have the guts to do. That said, your piece lacks polish. Your lines aren't as crisp as some other more experienced alterers. And it shows. Your lines have definitely improved, but they could get better. This kind of polish is one of the things that separates out the good from the great, and is one of the first things I look for in an alter. As well, your color transitions could use some work. I am not sure if you apply a base coat or not. If you don't, Eric Klug has given some great workshops on the value of a base coat. The dark outlines of what (I assume) were the borders around the edge of the card again show a lack of polish. This said, I do like the alter, and I especially like how well you have matched textures. I look forward to more work.
@Seesic: Amazing work on the counterspell. Your style is riveting, your lines are clean and hidden well, and your text-work is nearly flawless. I have bid on your alter online (disclaimer for the appraisal).
@Pochy: Similar to seesic your style is fantastic, and this is a fantastic alter.
@onewayletter13: Your lines are very crisp and clean, the mark of a polished alterer. However, your texture transitions take away from the piece. The wings of the dragons look... off. I am sure you noticed this as well, and it is clear the detail you have put into them. Unfortunately the detail doesn't match. It might be a texture difference, but it is hard to pinpoint. I also wanted to congratulate you on the color work, many alterers like to fade to darker colors on the lower borders when text boxes are left untouched, I love that you didn't do this. Again, the mark of a promising alterer.
Any with questions about alters or alterers please feel free to PM.
Tiger
Private Mod Note
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Yo Dawg, I heard you like Flashack, so we put Flashback on a Snapcaster so you can Flashback while you Snapcast...!
To me, it is like hunting with a bow and arrow, or hunting with a bazooka. One takes more skill, precision and understanding, the other is a bazooka.
Currently playing: EDH
GWBGhave, Guru of BeatdownsGWB BWRKaalia of the FacesmashBWR
@Bristol: Honestly Bristol... I don't know. I have the largest and most varied collection that most people have ever seen? People just started asking me one day "is this good?" or "what is this worth?". I sort of try to go by how I think it would sell on eBay, but that only gets me so far. At first I was spitballing, but as it became more common I sort of devised a system.
Does the fact that I value your alters highly, and yours is one I use for an example of a "great alter" in my binder change your opinion
But seriously, no one has to listen.
The point was that this thread lacks consistent, systematic, constructive feedback. It is *mostly* people saying "I love this" or "That looks great". which is fine, and encouraging. But it doesn't affect change. Now, as you saw, I don't always have feedback to give. This is art, its subjective, and when certain criteria are met there doesn't need to be any feedback. But sometimes its helpful. There are a lot of really cool artists here who, if they improve, could make some amazing alters and maybe turn it into a profession. I'm just trying to help.
I gave what "qualifications" I had, simply so people wouldn't write off what I say out of habit. If they read what I wrote, and still write me off, thats fine. I don't really care that much.
@YamiJoey: Art Critic? What? No. I want to offer constructive criticism to help people get better. Not because I think I'm better than them, or you. A critic doesn't often offer advice on what could make a piece better. They are there to simply elevate, or belittle. Not the purpose of what I am doing. That you projected that opinion onto me speaks more about YOUR feelings on art than mine. I don't even make alters. I collect them. Lots of them. From many people. If wanting to help people through more than "I love this" lip service is not reason enough for my posts, feel free to ignore me. I wasn't trying to justify anything, merely provide a background. If you want to take offense at that, please feel free.
I used to provide a lot of formal objective feedback for people, but really, it's ****ing exhausting and completely 1 sided. I think you will see a handful of people that come in and do a pretty good job of giving those critiques, but when nothing happens in terms of follow through, why bother? I also know that people have tried to make more hardcore critique threads and those tend to peter off pretty fast.
I wonder what I am worth. I know that the average price of my alters on ebay over the last few years has been close to 0. What I can regularly sell here and locally for $X sold for about $.25X on ebay, so...
Well, Galspanic, if you honestly want to know, I would say you are almost right on target with what you have charged me in the past. Your work is a lot of fun, and you have done some great extensions. I love that you use german-cards, and your subject choices are well marketed (EDH). An alter usually adds somewhere between $-x (detraction of value) and $60 to the value. There are exceptions but that is a good rule. Are you the best alterer in my binder? I wouldn't say so, and neither have others who have perused it. BUT, you're really good. Your lines are good, and your work has great detailed. there are just some rough color transitions, and a few areas where textures could be smoother. If you want any specific piece feedback, message me and I will do what I can. In general though, I would value your work at around $25-40 USD additional to the card value. This isn't perfect, or exact, and is obviously dependent on a given piece of work.
And I hear you about not getting a lot back for what I offer. And honestly I am not looking for much in return. I just hope it helps. If one or two artists take what I say and try to improve, thats great. If they don't, well fine. Can't please everyone.
Tiger
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Yo Dawg, I heard you like Flashack, so we put Flashback on a Snapcaster so you can Flashback while you Snapcast...!
To me, it is like hunting with a bow and arrow, or hunting with a bazooka. One takes more skill, precision and understanding, the other is a bazooka.
Currently playing: EDH
GWBGhave, Guru of BeatdownsGWB BWRKaalia of the FacesmashBWR
Your lines are good, and your work has great detailed. there are just some rough color transitions, and a few areas where textures could be smoother. If you want any specific piece feedback, message me and I will do what I can.
You realize you're talking to a guy that teaches art, right?
I think your intentions are in the right place, but if you really want to position your self as a serious critic (a person who critiques), you're going to have to offer ideas that are more complex and articulate than "the wings of the dragons look... off" & "your lines could be better."
Aeontropy - congratulations! Getting an EDH deck done is MAJOR MAJOR accomplishment. But...now you have the fun of updating the deck when new sets come out.
Aeontropy - congratulations! Getting an EDH deck done is MAJOR MAJOR accomplishment. But...now you have the fun of updating the deck when new sets come out.
No kidding. It feels good holding that whole stack of cards knowing it's done... for a while. I found with my Kamahl deck I am much more picky about moving things around.
Congrats Aeontropy! wonderful project and excellent work everybody who worked on it! Its really inspiring to see entire decks altered up, going up to the next level on an EDH deck is awesome! Well we all know where this will eventually end up ---> Full art cube. Lets do this! =)
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My Facebook alt art page, I update the photos here with all the work I do: Facebook
First, I want to let everyone know that I unofficially appraise alters for several dealers in my area, as well as players trading/buying/selling in the Illinois/Indiana/Wisconsin area. That is sort of a disclaimer. That said, I have no financial interests related specifically to these sites. I also guarantee that if I place a bid on an alter listed here on a third party auction site, or here on this site, it is because I value the alter. I will either have A) Not commented on it here yet, or will B) Have commented on it and praised the work.
Wow. Someone has an unreasonably and unjustifiably high opinion of themselves. Anyone who enters a conversation with a disclaimer about how their opinion might impact the secondary market is either trolling or ...worse. They might actually believe it.
People just started asking me one day "is this good?" or "what is this worth?". I sort of try to go by how I think it would sell on eBay, but that only gets me so far. At first I was spitballing, but as it became more common I sort of devised a system.
Just because someone asks you if an alter is good doesn't qualify you to value or appraise anything. And it doesn't make you any better at evaluating alters than any other poster or browser of this forum.
The point was that this thread lacks consistent, systematic, constructive feedback. It is *mostly* people saying "I love this" or "That looks great". which is fine, and encouraging. But it doesn't affect change. Now, as you saw, I don't always have feedback to give. This is art, its subjective, and when certain criteria are met there doesn't need to be any feedback. But sometimes its helpful. There are a lot of really cool artists here who, if they improve, could make some amazing alters and maybe turn it into a profession. I'm just trying to help.
The best way to "help" would be to show up and provide feedback. The quality of your feedback will speak for itself. You don't need to announce your entrance by insinuating that your opinion is in any way more valid than anyone else's. Because it's not.
There are certainly pieces I wouldn't want in my 150+ alter collection...
I have this many alters in my cube alone. Plus all the alters I have in my personal collection and the alters I have in my on-deck binder, trade box and sale cards. I have sold more alters out of my collection than you claim to own. I have commissioned and dealt with tons of different alter artists. But I don't claim to have an opinion strong enough to influence sale values of cards, and I don't claim to provide "expert" feedback on the quality of the alters people display here.
If people want feedback on the quality of their art, the best feedback they can get will be from an artist. If people want to know how much they can anticipate selling an alter for, they should go to someone who sells alters regularly (once again, likely the artists themselves).
Your feedback might very well be valuable. But trying to explain your credentials and how they qualify you as an expert in altering cards, the quality of altered cards or the valuing of altered cards doesn't help you to do this. As I said above, your feedback is welcome, but your inflated sense of how important your opinion is ...is not. Let the quality of your feedback speak for itself.
Any with questions about alters or alterers please feel free to PM.
Or you can contact any of the artists for their opinions, or contact other collectors. Or contact anyone else who posts here because their opinion is just as valuable as his.
If people want feedback on the quality of their art, the best feedback they can get will be from an artist. If people want to know how much they can anticipate selling an alter for, they should go to someone who sells alters regularly (once again, likely the artists themselves).
Not exactly. I really appreciate the opinions of my friends who I show my alters to, especially cause some are brutally honest. And even though that kind of criticism can suck, it really helps you work out some things.
High levels of anger in your post bro. He may be a little misguided, but that doesn't mean you need to be mean right back. Just chill out! These threads are supposed to be about the art, man.
Also, I'll be posting some of my alters soon, just gotta take some pics and suck up the fact that most of them suck.
Breaking news.
There will be no Tibalt, Tamiyo, Tezzeret, Garruk, Chandra, Liliana, mini-Jace, big-Jace, Garruk again, or Sarkhan in Theros either.
There will also be no Black Lotus.
Not exactly. I really appreciate the opinions of my friends who I show my alters to, especially cause some are brutally honest. And even though that kind of criticism can suck, it really helps you work out some things.
Absolutely. Your friends will be honest, tell you what they think and provide useful feedback for you. But I doubt they offer it up by first issuing a disclaimer about how valuable their opinion is.
High levels of anger in your post bro. He may be a little misguided, but that doesn't mean you need to be mean right back. Just chill out! These threads are supposed to be about the art, man.
No anger at all. Really, I'm not mad. Just making sure that people post about art and not about their credibility as altered art critics. The posts he provided that were actually about the art are most welcome (and valuable). But as you said, this is a place for art. Not a place for aggrandizing one's self and thinking that their opinion is somehow more valuable and we should all be so lucky to have an expert come in here and critique our work.
Watercolor?
Art Page
Alters for sale
On a more serious note, @seesic: love, love, love your work. do you lay down a white (flat) base to do your work on? I'm curious as to how the hell you (and a few others) are pulling this off. Amazing work.
@pochy: your last 2 pieces have been beautiful as well.
URGEDH Biovisionary.dec BShirei WBSelenia
The brain is the muscle that pumps stupid through the body
@nameless: Prolly as high res as it gets. D:
Art Page
Alters for sale
Volcanic Island:
Check out videos of me altering: YouTube
My question is what do folks use for magnification (if at all) when altering?
I am looking to treat myself for Christmas and wondered if a certain type and brand is preferred.
Seasons Greetings to all.
Why do I say this? Because while the praise on this thread is always very polite, and kind, I find the feedback lacking. There are great artists here, there are improving artists here, and there are beginning artists here. There are no "bad artists". There are certainly pieces I wouldn't want in my 150+ alter collection, but their artists still have the potential to do great work in the future.
So, I am going to start posting here for the purpose of offering constructive, but firm, feedback for newer artists, or artists that I know can do better work.
Starting with:
EvilNerdINC: ENI, I love that you have ambition. Tackling a dual land is something that a lot of artists simply don't have the guts to do. That said, your piece lacks polish. Your lines aren't as crisp as some other more experienced alterers. And it shows. Your lines have definitely improved, but they could get better. This kind of polish is one of the things that separates out the good from the great, and is one of the first things I look for in an alter. As well, your color transitions could use some work. I am not sure if you apply a base coat or not. If you don't, Eric Klug has given some great workshops on the value of a base coat. The dark outlines of what (I assume) were the borders around the edge of the card again show a lack of polish. This said, I do like the alter, and I especially like how well you have matched textures. I look forward to more work.
@Seesic: Amazing work on the counterspell. Your style is riveting, your lines are clean and hidden well, and your text-work is nearly flawless. I have bid on your alter online (disclaimer for the appraisal).
@Pochy: Similar to seesic your style is fantastic, and this is a fantastic alter.
@onewayletter13: Your lines are very crisp and clean, the mark of a polished alterer. However, your texture transitions take away from the piece. The wings of the dragons look... off. I am sure you noticed this as well, and it is clear the detail you have put into them. Unfortunately the detail doesn't match. It might be a texture difference, but it is hard to pinpoint. I also wanted to congratulate you on the color work, many alterers like to fade to darker colors on the lower borders when text boxes are left untouched, I love that you didn't do this. Again, the mark of a promising alterer.
Any with questions about alters or alterers please feel free to PM.
Tiger
Currently playing: EDH
GWBGhave, Guru of BeatdownsGWB
BWRKaalia of the FacesmashBWR
RRR Buy some of my art! Prints! RRR
Does the fact that I value your alters highly, and yours is one I use for an example of a "great alter" in my binder change your opinion
But seriously, no one has to listen.
The point was that this thread lacks consistent, systematic, constructive feedback. It is *mostly* people saying "I love this" or "That looks great". which is fine, and encouraging. But it doesn't affect change. Now, as you saw, I don't always have feedback to give. This is art, its subjective, and when certain criteria are met there doesn't need to be any feedback. But sometimes its helpful. There are a lot of really cool artists here who, if they improve, could make some amazing alters and maybe turn it into a profession. I'm just trying to help.
I gave what "qualifications" I had, simply so people wouldn't write off what I say out of habit. If they read what I wrote, and still write me off, thats fine. I don't really care that much.
@YamiJoey: Art Critic? What? No. I want to offer constructive criticism to help people get better. Not because I think I'm better than them, or you. A critic doesn't often offer advice on what could make a piece better. They are there to simply elevate, or belittle. Not the purpose of what I am doing. That you projected that opinion onto me speaks more about YOUR feelings on art than mine. I don't even make alters. I collect them. Lots of them. From many people. If wanting to help people through more than "I love this" lip service is not reason enough for my posts, feel free to ignore me. I wasn't trying to justify anything, merely provide a background. If you want to take offense at that, please feel free.
Tiger
Currently playing: EDH
GWBGhave, Guru of BeatdownsGWB
BWRKaalia of the FacesmashBWR
I wonder what I am worth. I know that the average price of my alters on ebay over the last few years has been close to 0. What I can regularly sell here and locally for $X sold for about $.25X on ebay, so...
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
And I hear you about not getting a lot back for what I offer. And honestly I am not looking for much in return. I just hope it helps. If one or two artists take what I say and try to improve, thats great. If they don't, well fine. Can't please everyone.
Tiger
Currently playing: EDH
GWBGhave, Guru of BeatdownsGWB
BWRKaalia of the FacesmashBWR
You realize you're talking to a guy that teaches art, right?
I think your intentions are in the right place, but if you really want to position your self as a serious critic (a person who critiques), you're going to have to offer ideas that are more complex and articulate than "the wings of the dragons look... off" & "your lines could be better."
RRR Buy some of my art! Prints! RRR
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=557874
No kidding. It feels good holding that whole stack of cards knowing it's done... for a while. I found with my Kamahl deck I am much more picky about moving things around.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Check out videos of me altering: YouTube
(CubeTutor & MTGS)
360 Peasant Cube!
Custom Cube
RWU Miracles RWU
Your language changing alterations are so clean, every time. Awesome.
WGURBLands!WGURB
WGUInfectWGU
Legacy Lands Primer
Top 8 SCG Oakland 2014
Helpdesk
My Cube on CubeTutor
AC+DC
REFER:
http://stuffpoint.com/gamesrocks/image/13260-gamesrocks-superman.jpg
Wow. Someone has an unreasonably and unjustifiably high opinion of themselves. Anyone who enters a conversation with a disclaimer about how their opinion might impact the secondary market is either trolling or ...worse. They might actually believe it.
Don't worry, they won't. And we wouldn't care if that's what you were trying to do anyways.
He's not. And they shouldn't.
Just because someone asks you if an alter is good doesn't qualify you to value or appraise anything. And it doesn't make you any better at evaluating alters than any other poster or browser of this forum.
At last, a statement I can agree with.
The best way to "help" would be to show up and provide feedback. The quality of your feedback will speak for itself. You don't need to announce your entrance by insinuating that your opinion is in any way more valid than anyone else's. Because it's not.
I have this many alters in my cube alone. Plus all the alters I have in my personal collection and the alters I have in my on-deck binder, trade box and sale cards. I have sold more alters out of my collection than you claim to own. I have commissioned and dealt with tons of different alter artists. But I don't claim to have an opinion strong enough to influence sale values of cards, and I don't claim to provide "expert" feedback on the quality of the alters people display here.
If people want feedback on the quality of their art, the best feedback they can get will be from an artist. If people want to know how much they can anticipate selling an alter for, they should go to someone who sells alters regularly (once again, likely the artists themselves).
Your feedback might very well be valuable. But trying to explain your credentials and how they qualify you as an expert in altering cards, the quality of altered cards or the valuing of altered cards doesn't help you to do this. As I said above, your feedback is welcome, but your inflated sense of how important your opinion is ...is not. Let the quality of your feedback speak for itself.
Or you can contact any of the artists for their opinions, or contact other collectors. Or contact anyone else who posts here because their opinion is just as valuable as his.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Not exactly. I really appreciate the opinions of my friends who I show my alters to, especially cause some are brutally honest. And even though that kind of criticism can suck, it really helps you work out some things.
High levels of anger in your post bro. He may be a little misguided, but that doesn't mean you need to be mean right back. Just chill out! These threads are supposed to be about the art, man.
Also, I'll be posting some of my alters soon, just gotta take some pics and suck up the fact that most of them suck.
₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪
(W/B) Teysa, Orzhov Scion (W/B)
G Devoted G
(U/R) Scramblefun (U/R)
(W/U) Heh, Birbs (W/U)
Absolutely. Your friends will be honest, tell you what they think and provide useful feedback for you. But I doubt they offer it up by first issuing a disclaimer about how valuable their opinion is.
No anger at all. Really, I'm not mad. Just making sure that people post about art and not about their credibility as altered art critics. The posts he provided that were actually about the art are most welcome (and valuable). But as you said, this is a place for art. Not a place for aggrandizing one's self and thinking that their opinion is somehow more valuable and we should all be so lucky to have an expert come in here and critique our work.
Looking forward to seeing them!
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Art Page
Alters for sale