How to get feedback on dA

We all joined this site, more or less for this reason, to get feedback on our art. The whole point of submitting art online is for people to see it and hear what they think about it. 

Now there are a lot of deviants out there who get little to no feedback and as a result ask the people who faved their art to comment or go to random people on dA and ask for them to look at their art or comment in the hopes that the person will be kind enough to return the favor. 
A message to the people who do that, you're doing it all wrong.
Sure, if you ask 20 people who faved your drawing what they thought about it, you might get 1 or 2 answers, but in return, you'll be ignored by say 10 people and you'll annoy 8 people. I get these comments and i'm telling you, begging for feedback is not the way to go, if someone didn't comment when they fave, what makes you think forcing their hand is the right way to go? 
A fav is a compliment, take it a it is. Not everyone has time to comment, but you should be happy they took the time to look at your art and click that fav button. 

Also, commenting on random deviants and expecting them to return the favor might leave you disappointed. There are many friendships that can be forged this way but it's tedious because many deviants aren't very active on dA, many are just interested in receiving comments and don't even reply, and many are happy to receive your comment but have no time/don't feel like returning the favor. That is especially the case with popular artists who receive lots of comments and literally don't have the time to answer/comment/ check out people's galleries. So if you want to do it this way, it's ok, but you could try to comment on deviations who have few to 0 comments. Check to see if they answer to their comments, if they don't, chances are they don't really care for giving and receiving feedback (or they might be interested in receiving feedback but are sure as hell not going to give you any).

Most deviants wait for people to come to them and comment, and that's a legitimate way of doing it. But if you really don't feel like waiting for that to happen and don't want to leave this to chance then here are your options:

1. Comment for comment group, i will even list a few in case you don't know how to search for groups on dA read their projects and journals and apply to get feedback there. You will have to comment in return but isn't it much better to comment knowing that you will receive feedback as well? 
more groups: :iconproject-comment:  

2. critique groups - if you're interested in in-depth comments and critiques, there are groups for that as well. 
Critique groups:


3. Thumbshare in forums. forum.deviantart.com/showcase/… bet many of you didn't know that even existed

4. if you're a writer, there are groups for you too!  which are literature critique groups

5. Be active in the community. Give llamas, browse the undiscovered section, comment in the forums and give other people feedback, but not just random people but people who asked for feedback in the thumbshare or the feedback groups, they are most likely to be grateful for your comment and return the favor. Don't just wait for them to come to you, try to be the one to make the first step. 

I am by no means an expert, this is just what I would do. I get enough feedback and i am very happy with it. If you know of other good methods to get feedback then you can suggest it here and i will include it in this journal.

If you want my oppinion on a particular drawing, you can write a link in this journal and i will try to answer to as many people as possible.

Also, please fav this journal so that many people can see it and have this information. You'd be surprised how many deviants out there have no idea how to find these feedback groups.
I also encourage you to comment on each other's linked drawings in this journal, but you don't have to if you don't want to, but you'll make someone happy if you do.

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