Constant rejections of my wallpapers does little for self confidence or my want to create anything

I feel art for wallpapers is rated on the personal likes & dislikes of the moderators

http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=cadmar
I sent 4 wallpapers in yesterday just to have them all declined. There was no reason in the guidelines, I had other people use them as wallpaper before I uploaded them. I posted them to various websites and received very posative comments on them. They seem to frown on anything created digitally. They used the word default to me one time when describing digital art. They replied to me at one time before telling me digital art was simply art added by default. Nothing I create is by default.
When I create something most of the time it is from the ground up. In World Machine I have to create the landscapes and I will only get what I put into it. I have to create the mountains, and everything else that is part of the terrain using nodes to achieve what I want. Sace as a ter file to import into terragen. I have to create atm or tgw for atmosphere,sky & effects. I do not just pop in any sky or atmosphere. I have to create surface textures and with these textures create a srf file to apply to the landscape to give it the grass, rock, snow, and so on.(A lot of the texture & effects I can create in PSP. After creating all of this I have to decide which pov I wish to use, where I want the sun & at what level. I then have to render it, which can take hours. Especially when I make it 1280x1024. I then Usually import the terragen image I created into poser 6.
There I add things to the image I could not create in the terragen or world machine program to give it more interest, things like air balloon ships, animals or trees.
I create a lot of the things I add to the image using a program called Hexagon2 & Shadew 7le. I then render again to add these items into the image & give it a 3d effect. I then finish off in psp touching things up here & there.
IT may be digital but it not default. I will never again send anything to this site,the moderstors seem to base their decision on want their personal like is. What one person may not appreciate another one would. IT is very individual & personal.For example I am not attracted to abstract art. That does not make abstract art bad, it simply means I personally do not have an interest in it. The moderators should not be deciding what wallpaper art you would like, it should be up to those who are viewing it in the wallpaper section. The downloads will speak for themselves. Sadly you will have newer people creating art & have it turned down could turn them right off to creating anything. It could effect your self confidence. The email they send you back is very blanketed. (Thank you for submitting...it does not meet the requirements....) The link I added shows some of the things I have created. Some I would not submit as it could be a little to busy. Some of it would be very nice. The 4 I spoke of are not in here but will be eventually.

Thanks for reading this

Rick [email protected]
6,474 views 37 replies
Reply #1 Top
Well, My guess is if your worth and validity as an artist is dependent on other people liking it - then your art can't possibly be that important to you, is it? I'd say an artist can stand alone; even in a world where no one likes what he/she does. They're *still* expressing themselves and holding true to self. *shrugs*

Besides, it's no one's duty here - or elsewhere - to ensure the backs of artists are constantly patted. An artist creates no matter what; he/she wants to. Doesn't matter who likes it and who hates it. Be true to yourself.
Reply #2 Top
Wow, that’s a lot of complaining for someone who already has these wallpapers somewhere else and people can get them from there. You have to understand that WC receives A LOT of submissions for downloading and the wallpaper section by far probably gets the most (well maybe next to bootskins and logons). Not everything is going to go through… they would be swamped. Also, though you might not want to hear this... wallpapers are a dime a dozen in many "genres" (ie. photos, landscapes, 3D work, graphical and minimalist just to name a few), you can also get them from 100's of site. I'm almost surprised WC offers them in the first place because of these same reasons. Your walls are available elsewhere right? Put a link on your personal page to where people can find them or something.

This subject comes up often... My (insert skin type) was rejected!! As long as WC doesn't allow every little thing through then the site remains a "premium" place to get things and not have to sort through a bunch of junk (not meaning yours but go to one of the sites that does accept everything, you'll know what I mean). Plus it helps with bandwidth and space.
Reply #3 Top
People create art for many reasons. To some it's an outlet, to others it's a means to build self confidence, again to others its simply for the pleasure. There are many reasons why people create art. Some people may feel the need for approval, depending on where they are in their headspace. There is nothing wrong with that. IF it makes a person feel good to receive posative feedback from others in respect to what they create, there is nothing wrong with that.Their artwork bercomes a symbol of who they are because of where they are. Take for instance someone who is depressed or someone in need of building their self confidence as a result of some tragity in their life. This is as true a reason to create as is the simple self pleasure of creating. The reasons behind creating are all equal & valid. One reason does not superceed another.
No one can tell anyone, you can only create artwork if you hold true to yourself & the opinions of others do not matter. Reality is for some, it does matter and that does not make any less a creation of art. I play violin because it brings pleasure to other people and it creates a sense of feeling for everyone who hears it. I would get bored playing my violin for myself & myself alone and that is ok. Some people find pleasure in giving pleasure.
I know the moderators are not expected to patt an artist on the back. The least they can do since they rejected their work is to tell them why. I feel that is important. The blanketed email is very cold & really says nothing. However this blanketed rejection email does make some artists feel, their work was not worth a moment of the moderators time to lightly explain why it was rejected.To receive 4 out of 4 blanketed emails of rejection can have an effect on someone. That is simply human nature.
Not everyone is as centered as you are Master Apprentice causticFX. No one has the right to define why a person does works of art. I have seen a lot of work where I could see how that person was feeling in what they have created. Liked by some & disliked by others.

Rick
Reply #4 Top
The blanketed email is very cold & really says nothing. However this blanketed rejection email does make some artists feel, their work was not worth a moment of the moderators time to lightly explain why it was rejected.


Unfortunately, some artwork isn't worth the time. I'm also willing to bet they get quite a few submissions frequently - in addition to submissions for other galleries for which they may also Mod.

The least they can do since they rejected their work is to tell them why.


I disagree.
The least they can do is nothing. Just reject and move on.

A reading through the forums will find this complaint over and over again. You'll also find answers from Mods in those posts. The main one you're looking for is: you can always email and request why.

You can also submit to your page.


Constant rejections of my wallpapers does little for self confidence or my want to create anything


Constant? One day of upload and rejection is not constant.
Reply #5 Top
Mr Cadmar1,
I don't know why your submissions were rejected as I cannot read the minds of the moderators. With that said, I like the artwork I viewed using the link you provided.

I couldn't help but notice however, that your walls tend to have aspects from different artists included. One possible reason for denial could be submitting without proper permission from the original artists. Simply giving credit is not enough. I don't know if this is the case......but it's one possibility.

I think causticFX advice to "stay true to yourself" is great advice. If, as you say, you wouldn't do it without the approval of others, you are not creating art for "arts sake". Playing the Violin, you say, would bore you if others weren't able to enjoy it. I used to play in (several) bands. Frankly, I got sick of all of the attention and now I prefer to perform to myself. If I get bored with it, I just don't do it until it interests me again.

Everyone is different. I understand this. The need for acceptance exists in all of us whether we care to admit it or not. Art and acceptance have historically been two different things. A very large number of fantastic artists were never even acknowledged until they were dead. Still, they did it. It pleased them. You cannot base your artistic enjoyment on whether or not others like or, accept it. If you do, I submit to you that you are not looking to create art. You are looking for the spotlight.
Reply #6 Top
I checked out the link and am curious to see the ones rejected. If similar to what I saw, I can understnad why. Not that they are bad or anything. I have turned in similar things, in the sense that they were 'busy' or what was going on in them was so off the wall, I was the only one who understood them (being it was my vision), and they were rejected as well. Some I toned down, some I trashed, some I posted elsewhere.

I am not pretending to understand the way the moderators think, but I almost always know when something I submit is going to be rejected, but I take a shot anyway. I believe they are mostly shot down because the theme is either just so abstract (Theme, not the style) and/or they are just to busy or have too much going on to work as a wall. Then there are those, where my angles and 3d imagery is just all wrong as far as perspective.

Some of the walls I saw just have so many characters and no connection to one another. Some aren't even relating to one another to carry out a theme. The work is good, and better than anything I could ever do with 3D, but it's like they are there just for the sake of being there.

"Two Happy Frogs, The Voyage, and Moonlit Dance" appeal to me the most, because they aren't overcrowded with other characters and are relatively simple in what they convey. I like them. I GET them and feel them.

You have talent, you are good. It IS personal taste. My personal taste says simplify them, cut back on the characters. Heck, some of the scenery alone in those would be good walls.

Hope I haven't offended. Just trying to be honest and maybe give you the insight you were looking for.
Reply #7 Top
Thank you all for your comments. Master Apprentice I really appreciate what you had to say, so thank you.

Rick
Reply #8 Top
I saw one that was rejected on that link, or it was close.I rarely approve a wall, I think 4 total and I really liked them.  They are voted on by a hand full of mods so if they are rejected, it means no one like them or damn few did.  I wonder if I should put up links to the 4 that were rejected.  No, I'll wait for the resident wallpaper man to decide.
Reply #9 Top


For Vagrant to say "if they are rejected it means no one liked them or damm few did" is a very strong & ignorant comment. The four that you rejected had better not still be in your hands. You rejected them, I expect them to have all been deleted & removed from where ever you store them. Your name fits you well. I read another ignorant comment like the one you wrote above and there will be trouble.
Is that clear enough for you!


Reply #10 Top

From the images in the first page at the link provided, perhaps the first and second 'dinnertime' and 'out of the city' would work as wallpapers.  The rest on that page were poorly executed 'digital pictures' a conglomeration of disparate objects culminating in a busy and/or haphazard mess.

If you [or anyone] really desires genuine critical analysis...eg why light-sources being all over the place is a bad thing or how perspective and scale is totally implausible or why ONE particular submission looks like an a-b-c-d button-press unlike that OTHER one that was an a-b-D-c button-press then we can always critique these things publicly.....provided artists' sensitivities and egos are left at home first.

Usually a rejection email describing 'reasons' becomes a catalyst for a heated tirade that serves nothing other than a taste for revenge on the part of the rejectee.

From memory, I put a 'maybe' or an 'ok' on one [only] of those 4 submissions....out of consideration that maybe everyone should be allowed ONE a-b-c-d button-press-wall.  After all, there's ONLY 2.5 million site members...so in total we'd ONLY end up with 2.5 million of them.

Unfortunately, not every submission WILL BE ACCEPTED.  It is a condition/reality of that which is Wincustomize.com.

The reason for this is simple.  Wincustomize.com is primarily a skinning site.  We simply happen to 'also' host walls.  These will ideally be specifically suitable AS walls, and not merely pictures that happen to be an appropriate resolution to pretend to be a wall.

Unfortunately [as is self-evident with any google search] every person with a computer [almost] will at some point or other aspire to be a 'wall artist' or 'digital artist'.  They will [for example] 'find' a copy of Bryce, discover the word/form 'torus' and upload it here [or elsewhere] with or without a generic dolphin jumping through the 'hoop'.

Or....there will be some 'ship' flying across a landscape powered by balloons or flying Islands, etc  [how surreal].

None of that is particularly original.  I still have 'Yessongs' on vinyl somewhere .... [Google it]...

Reply #11 Top
Personally I have always been a fan of teragen images. I love your images. The only thing I don't like... the additions of "human" materials. Such as that air balloon, the frogs, houses, etc.

I have had a few things rejected. I wish I had a reason for each rejection (I have had a few, followed what it said, resubmitted, and got them accepted) but I do understand that people are busy.

If you can't get stuff uploaded here, just use Deviant Art lol ~_~.
Reply #12 Top
After reading some, not all, but some of the comments here I am actually glad they were rejected. Reading "some" of the comments like this one I can see the type of peope I am dealing with. You do not look for the good in art, you go out of your way to find what you consider to be faults. I would not want this kind of person to judge anything I created. The responses by a few of these people are so unprofessional & uneducated. They are simply lashouts. Not constructive. The four that were turned down today are not posted at the link because they are 1280x1024 and that is a bit to big. Shrinking them down would remvove some of the quality.
Thank you Masterapprentice, Keikonium, TheGuyPC for your constructive comments.
Reply #13 Top

You do not look for the good in art, you go out of your way to find what you consider to be faults.

Au contraire, we go 'out of our way' to look for submissions which 'may' appeal to many as wallpapers.

Art does not necessarily enter the equation.

The Wallpaper gallery is exactly that, nothing more.

Even were the submission done by thumbnail dipped in tar, provided the result evoked a 'wow, I'd use that as a wallpaper' it'd likely be approved.

Naive 'art' can and does get accepted....just as long as it is deemed suitable as a wallpaper.

It's not about tools used or effort expended.

It's about result.

Reply #14 Top
If you can't take rejection, regardless of the reason, don't submit here, don't take it personally, and get your ego stroked somewhere else that accepts everything. A rejection of a wallpaper here is more the norm than an acceptance. If you've been around this site for a while, you would know that. They could have been accepted and given a 1 star rating...then you could whine about nobody being able to see them. Create them for yourself, upload them if you would like others to see them, and it's out of your hands after that. Accepted, rejected, 1 star, 5 stars, they are the same work you felt good enough to submit.
Reply #15 Top
Admin Jafo, I appreciate what you had to say here. Thank you for your comment.
Reply #16 Top


I appreciate what you have to say here boss0190. Honestly, this has really nothing to do with my ego. My lack of self confidence, partially I guess.
How we perceive things inwardly will become our ourtward reality. I do a lot of real life art. Someone commented that people & things did to seem to connect. That was because in real life perception, all that you see is not connected. Art does not always have to be about everyone & thing interacting in some way. If people had read what I was trying to project in my stuff they may of understoood better. (I have gone off topic of wallpapers). Anyway thanks again boss0190
Reply #17 Top

Critique?  All four submissions had the exact same 'mountains' [credit to Terragen and/or World Machine for those] .  The only difference was either a filter via Paintshop Pro X [usually that's Photoshop] so it looked less photo-real or one object in the foreground was transposed with another.

'Forgotten in Time' was the greyscale version...'Airship' had the water....'Simplicity' had the filter.

To me, the only one with half a chance was 'Landscape 1', though considering its brethren the '1' had an ominous sound to it.  I would have approved that one...but the moderation process is democratic, not autocratic.

At least Landscape 1 did not have some distracting object littering the scene like an afterthought.  It was simple and understated....ideal as a wall.

However, it was also very much like so many others....far too common to be noteworthy...

 

Reply #18 Top
I actually did get ONE rejection with an explanation......

Reply #19 Top
I like this. It actually made me laugh today! Thank you Master Apprentice for sharing this.
Reply #20 Top
That's better than the ones we send out
Reply #21 Top
Glad you got a laugh out of it.
Reply #22 Top


Now why would anyone have a problem with a Troll, a Goat and Vaseline! The Troll and the Goat are cleary "theme based" and the Vaseline just helps things go smoothly!

Well, so much for my wall.... "Troll, Smurf and Draino".
Reply #23 Top
No Thump
Reply #24 Top
Just so you know that you are not alone in rejections...all that was kinda tweaked from one of my many rejections. And for the hell of it, I submitted it as a wall....Here is the response...


I have to say, i thought it worked as a wall. Plenty of room for icons and widgets and such...not to crazy with the colors and all..relatively simple..but then there is the whole 'TEXT' thing and use of words...that never goes over well. But the theme is clear. Oh, well.


Don't let the rejections get you down. What works on one site may not always work on another. Just keep doing what you love and enjoy yourself.
Reply #25 Top

Let's NOT post falsified emails which may be misconstrued as legitimate.

Thanks.