Midterm MOC Report

I still stand by what I said man, it's not a bad MoC, but it's not a good representation of a rabbit, and since that was the point that's why you are getting bad feedback. Just take it the criticism and grow as an artist with it, that's the only thing to do.

I still stand by what I said man, it's not a bad MoC, but it's not a good representation of a rabbit, and since that was the point that's why you are getting bad feedback. Just take it the criticism and grow as an artist with it, that's the only thing to do.

How am I supposed to learn from criticism like that? In my personal opinion, it looks plenty like a rabbit. Should I change my perception to fit what other people tell me, or should I learn to flawlessly predict what other people's perception will be? Because the first is impractical, the second is impossible, and neither seems like a way to "grow as an artist": the only "lesson" from this is not to use Furno's mask as a rabbit head if I intend to impress BZPers, and I don't see how that lesson will ever help me on any future MOCs.

I don't mean to say I'm right and other people are wrong. Things like this are entirely based on opinion. But I don't see how that's supposed to help me in the future, since there's no way I could have anticipated what people would think and there's still no way I can anticipate that kind of thing except in the case of this particular use of this particular part.

It's not about changing your perception. You may think it looks a lot like a rabbit, but some (myself included) simply don't see it. It's great that you can, though.

You actually got some pretty good reviews in the topic, with a lot of valid suggestions. You got some constructive criticism, but that's the point of the BBC forum - and a lot of topics that are posted there wither and die without their MOCs getting some decent feedback.

Yeah, I understand the MOC didn't really work out that well for most people. I'm just bothered by the idea this is supposed to teach me something that will be applicable in the future.

I suppose I got some good constructive criticism, but it's still a little frustrating to have put so much work into a MOC and to have gotten more comments about what I did wrong than about what I did right. Not saying that I deserve positive feedback or that it was in any way unfair for the MOC to get so much criticism, but it's just a bit of a downer, particularly since part of my reason for posting it was because I was dealing with a lot of depression/anxiety related to my classes and I wanted to remind myself that not all my creative effort this semester had gone to waste. I suppose that was my mistake, posting a MOC purely out of self-interest, particularly anticipating positive feedback for it. I guess posting a MOC and not being prepared for biting criticism is just setting myself up for disappointment.

Anyway, I didn't mean for those first two sentences to be the central talking point in this entry. All I intended was to compile all my recent MOCing-related news, including the BBC contest, in one entry. But I guess opening with that I should have anticipated it being a point of contention. Just another example of my own startling lack of foresight.

The MOC doesn't look like a rabbit. It doesn't have even remotely obvious rabbit ears, and the small nubs on Furno's helmet don't look like rabbit ears. You don't have to agree with it, but there's nothing really subjective about whether or not it has rabbit ears. It either does or doesn't- and this MOC doesn't.

The MOC doesn't look like a rabbit. It doesn't have even remotely obvious rabbit ears, and the small nubs on Furno's helmet don't look like rabbit ears. You don't have to agree with it, but there's nothing really subjective about whether or not it has rabbit ears. It either does or doesn't- and this MOC doesn't.

I disagree. I think they look like rabbit ears myself. It's insulting that you would try to claim my honest opinion is objectively wrong, even if you happen to disagree.

Normally I'm one of your fans, DeeVee, but tasteless, condescending comments like this make me think some of the things other people say about you aren't really as far from the truth as I'd like them to be.

The MOC doesn't look like a rabbit. It doesn't have even remotely obvious rabbit ears, and the small nubs on Furno's helmet don't look like rabbit ears. You don't have to agree with it, but there's nothing really subjective about whether or not it has rabbit ears. It either does or doesn't- and this MOC doesn't.

I disagree. I think they look like rabbit ears myself. It's insulting that you would try to claim my honest opinion is objectively wrong, even if you happen to disagree.

Normally I'm one of your fans, DeeVee, but tasteless, condescending comments like this make me think some of the things other people say about you aren't really as far from the truth as I'd like them to be.

... okaaaaaay then.

 

Again- there's nothing subjective about rabbit ears, man. Rabbit ears take up 25 to 30 percent, on average, of a rabbit's body length. Even stylized to be smaller for a humanoid, those weren't rabbit ears. They didn't have the proper shape, separation, or angle. Now, I, for one, can see the idea you had for the cheeks and I can see a rabbit nose on the front of the mask. But those could be generic rodent features, and the biggest tell for a rabbit is the ears. Those weren't rabbit ears. I'm sorry.

 

And as has been argued to death on this website- an opinion is not a shield from being factually wrong. Maybe you forget that I am, first and foremost as a LEGO fan, a MOCist. You think I haven't built something I thought looked just like what I was trying to represent, only to be told I missed the mark? It's criticism. It's not condescending- you thought one thing, you were excited about it, and you were wrong. We've all been there. It's not tasteless, unless you think you are above criticism and critiques?

 

Like, I don't entirely understand what you were trying to do here? I understand criticism can come across harshly, especially when you're the most proud of something. But that's not a reason to take it personally and lash out in the same manner you are labeling me with.

 

Notice I never said the MOC was a bad one? I think it's a technically sound MOC with a good range of movement and stylization. It just doesn't succeed as a rabbit, and that's okay. Sometimes as artists we have a vision we attempt to realize, we think we do a successful job of hitting it, and then we find out we were wrong. It's not personal- it's how you get better.

 

I mean, come on man.

I think that MOC is great, but keep in mind that this contest was decided by polls, not creative merit (which is in the eye of the beholder). Popularity contests aren't good - everybody loses. 

The MOC doesn't look like a rabbit. It doesn't have even remotely obvious rabbit ears, and the small nubs on Furno's helmet don't look like rabbit ears. You don't have to agree with it, but there's nothing really subjective about whether or not it has rabbit ears. It either does or doesn't- and this MOC doesn't.

I disagree. I think they look like rabbit ears myself. It's insulting that you would try to claim my honest opinion is objectively wrong, even if you happen to disagree.

Normally I'm one of your fans, DeeVee, but tasteless, condescending comments like this make me think some of the things other people say about you aren't really as far from the truth as I'd like them to be.

... okaaaaaay then.

Again- there's nothing subjective about rabbit ears, man. Rabbit ears take up 25 to 30 percent, on average, of a rabbit's body length. Even stylized to be smaller for a humanoid, those weren't rabbit ears. They didn't have the proper shape, separation, or angle. Now, I, for one, can see the idea you had for the cheeks and I can see a rabbit nose on the front of the mask. But those could be generic rodent features, and the biggest tell for a rabbit is the ears. Those weren't rabbit ears. I'm sorry.

And as has been argued to death on this website- an opinion is not a shield from being factually wrong. Maybe you forget that I am, first and foremost as a LEGO fan, a MOCist. You think I haven't built something I thought looked just like what I was trying to represent, only to be told I missed the mark? It's criticism. It's not condescending- you thought one thing, you were excited about it, and you were wrong. We've all been there. It's not tasteless, unless you think you are above criticism and critiques?

Like, I don't entirely understand what you were trying to do here? I understand criticism can come across harshly, especially when you're the most proud of something. But that's not a reason to take it personally and lash out in the same manner you are labeling me with.

Notice I never said the MOC was a bad one? I think it's a technically sound MOC with a good range of movement and stylization. It just doesn't succeed as a rabbit, and that's okay. Sometimes as artists we have a vision we attempt to realize, we think we do a successful job of hitting it, and then we find out we were wrong. It's not personal- it's how you get better.

I mean, come on man.

I know opinions can be wrong, but frankly, I don't see how that applies to this one. A Hero Factory or BIONICLE MOC is always an abstract representation of a subject, and as such what features are most important to people vary depend on your personal perspective.

For me, the defining trait of this MOC's ears that made them look like rabbit ears was that they were thin, pointy, and pointing backward at a very particular angle from the head. To be fair, they look a lot more like the ears of a young rabbit than those of an adult rabbit, but that was part of where I felt the head's cuteness came from (and part of why I named the character Kit — a kit is one term for a young rabbit). Perhaps because of this the head would work better on a smaller MOC with a more petite, less womanly physique, but I was trying to fit a head to a MOC, not the other way around, and this was the most feminine head design I could arrive at with the parts I currently have on hand. The decision to use this MOC for this contest on account of its animal-like head came later.

Lacking some of the defining traits of real rabbit ears doesn't make them completely unlike rabbit ears. And as I often say, if something isn't completely unlike something else, there's room for people to say "they are alike", just as if something isn't completely like something else there is room for people to say "they are different". A lot of people said the latter in this case, and they're not wrong just because I, the creator, thought otherwise, but it's insulting to say I'm wrong just because I had different priorities.

In a similar respect, I thought the Phantoka masks looked a good deal like the original Kanohi Nuva, because many of the details and motifs that were most important to me were maintained. But to other people the most important motifs might be different, and thus the similarity would be lost. For similar reasons, I don't ever go around saying that BIONICLE fans should like all years of BIONICLE. For me, some of the key traits of BIONICLE stayed more or less consistent from year to year, while other things improved, but different fans might consider different things "key traits", and the importance of the things that were improved to some people might be dwarfed by the importance of the things that were lost.

I appreciate that you don't think my MOC is bad, but saying I'm wrong just because I have a different opinion is still hurtful. And I appreciate that you're trying to be sensitive about this, but your original comment still stings and I still disagree with it, not out of stubbornness, but because the ears of this MOC are still reminiscent of rabbit ears to me, even if they aren't as long as they would be on a real, adult rabbit.

I think that MOC is great, but keep in mind that this contest was decided by polls, not creative merit (which is in the eye of the beholder). Popularity contests aren't good - everybody loses.

Eh, I don't have a problem with polls. As I said, I don't really care about not losing, since there were many great, deserving entries-- it was just very disappointing that the negative feedback for one of my proudest MOCs outweighed the positive feedback. But I posted it largely to reinforce my feelings of self-worth, so in that sense I was seeking positive feedback and thus setting myself up for disappointment.

I just want to say that whatever bad things people are saying about DV are probably totally true, and probably are part of the reason I love him so much.  I love you, Pat!! 

 

PS: The things that they are saying are that he's a real studly guy, right?