Seriously, that is my critique on CMON as well - the people get to vote, and they are not always voting the same way. I have seen models wordse than mine, where I score meager 7's, while those models get 8+...! Then again: a good painter KNOWS his own value, just as you know YOURS. You're a great goddamn painter, and with great and innovating ideas besides that. I love the models and what you do with them. Keep it up!

Relax Oli! People's opinions are sometimes strange, but they're opinions. Everyone should have one :D Though it might not be easy to handle with, but you should learn to do so.

I think you know, that those miniatures are better than the votes are, so you can be proud of your work!

The most important thing to me is the comments you recieve, and not the ratings. Honestly if my mini is 7.0 rated, but has sweet comments of some good painters, im happy.

Another thing is that some people are also rating the sculpt. So even if you painted it really good, if they dont like the sculpt, they will rate it low.

I think there is also a population of policemen, thinking their opinion rules the world. So if they think a mini is too highly rated, they will snipe it until the rating suits their opinion.

These are 3 reasons to forget "a little bit" the ratings :) .

There is only one who can judge you right: You alone. :)
If you want critics, than do not post your minis on cmon - because a number is just a number... ;)

I'd say you deserve more for those minis.
I don't really like CMON for that reason, popular painters always get high scores even though sometimes they might deserve it less.

And I don't get why different scale minis are all counted the same, I imagine it's easier to paint good details on the bigger scale ones. It would make more sense to have cathergories.
But then I find it a poorly built website overall, the submissions page is pure awful ;)

Well your minis are great, no doubt on it.

A small critic as you asked for. My opinion is some focal points are missing, to have a clearer "reading" of the mini. I specially have this feeling on the goblin, where some brighter highlights are missing. But thats just my opinion.

One noob question, how can you see the different ratings for a mini (registered people or not)? I always saw just a single total rating...

Relax Oli, it's just some stoopid numbers. You know they are actually better than the ratings you got. ;)

I am kinda surprised that it matter to you so much... Why is that...??... CMON Ratings are not important, it´s about creating Unique, Genuinely Creative Miniatures, not getting 10 Ratings, correct...?...

WHO posts the model largely affects its score, sadly. Another observation, I would make is can a worse painter really judge yours?
I could make comments, but I cant even base as well as you, let alone paint that well. To improve, your peers above your skill are required.
Cheers!

I think the goblin is just about right. Maybe knock the highlights up one more notch, but I'm afraid there already something of a hole in the middle of the model below the head.

The water fairy? Lacks something in the face though on simple blending skill alone these models rate more than a 6.5

You just can't trust CMON. Haterz are going to Hate. You are fortunate enough to friends who have tremendous skill and their criticism and compliments should be well headed.

CMON is brutal and arbitrary, and should be ignored.

A friend of mine, ptlee, got 9.3 for taking a ratty old D&D mini and casting a block of clear epoxy around it. He was very embarrassed about getting that score for an original idea and one hour's work.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/12559

Likewise, and being totally crude, miniatures with boobies will get better ratings than historical miniatures. Finally, the only models that get really high ratings have a particular "clean" style of painting with a lot of effort and skill put into the photography.

I've cracked the mythical 8.0 barrier on a couple of occasions, and I'm not sure that those were my best models.

Don't let you blame by CMON. This are great works.

Like the blue lady with the water-cycles. How have you done them? Which material is this?

I think the CMON rating system is compromised, if not totally broken, and I think your minis scoring a 3 and a 6.5 is evidence of that. Just one person's opinion.

Wonderful work. Share your masterpieces on WAMP, where they will be appreciated. The community there offers helpful, honest dialogue instead of some anonymous, arbitrary score.

A friend of mine, ptlee, got 9.3 for taking a ratty old D&D mini and casting a block of clear epoxy around it. He was very embarrassed about getting that score for an original idea and one hour's work.

That mini is brilliant! It deserves a good score and I know I gave it one :) Sometimes, concept and technical audacity are rewarded.

That scoring business aside, Honourguard, how did you do this icy swirl effect on the top mini here? It's spectacular!

Sorry just have to say this... SCREW CMON! When you put work up for public opinion you will get some detractors. I am not a pro painter by any means. All I know is I check your site at least once a day. If things were not so bad here I would gladly donate, well what the heck I have been coming here for quite some time. Its in US dollars but here is $20. Just keep doing what you apes do and let the other chimps fall from the trees. Now if you will excuse me it is time for some of the 29.

Brian Gregory

CMON Rating system sucks.

And don´t rely on ratings so much. If you like your mini, and if you get positive comments on forums or here, its perfect.

Also had to learn, that low ratings are hard. but try to let your ego out of CMON ;)

That worked for me^^

When I read this post tiltle I expected to view your beginner minis, hehe. Now I feel disappointed. Were are them? Even more, were are 6.5 miniatures???

Yeah - i would say to you Oli that you really don't need to give too much on numbers or ratings. It is hard to learn and not easy to do so further on but in the end it makes you happy - i see a bomb of wonderful comments here about your models and i like them a lot as do many others - don't let CMON scratch on your soul - sometimes for me it helps not posting anything if i feel there are some snipers active or even hyperactive - the rating system on CMON is bad for a long time now and it won't change to the better if those responsible won't do anything - it just seems that it is not important to get a fair rating system with only registred votes as the sites runs well from the shop and everything around, why change something that works - they don't mostly paint and don't see the need ... sadly! Keep yo head up and paint like this crazy Oli i know you - very nice stuff indeed in your own unique style - love 'em!

Wow.. 18 answers, many thanks.. that’s really make me happy.. now I can continue painting hehe :)

Yes, I guess you are right.. I shouldn’t care about it too much, that’s just not good for my motivation and I could use the time more sensefull. Sure nobody likes lower votings, but right.. who cares.. in real people stop at my miniatures and watch them, and I think that’s what I want to reach. That people watch my miniatures and think about the scene or about anything else.. :)

@Ethelie: Yes you are right, many people don’t know the miniatures and their sizes. Its hard to compare a 75mm sculpt with an 32mm model. Mostly the bigger miniature get a better rating. (with the same painting level)

@Jimmy: Yeah, right it’s a little bit too dark, and the lights on the faces could have been brighter. Or maybe more gaudy colours.
You have to be logged in, than you see both ratings the overall rating and the rating in (*) with just the registred users rating.

@Matt: hm.. yea sure. Just because I am angry for very low ratings, doesn’t mean, I do my hobby for ratings. What you said is all I did in the last months and years. 8+ ratings don’t keep me in that hobby..

@Allison M. & HaWior: I started with transparent fishing line and superglue. Later I added acryl gel. And worked with other techniques, like Roman did on the waves of his boat. Good.. not a very long describtion.. maybe I make a tutorial about it in the future.. but there are still things to improve.

@Roger VS: My minis *had* a registred vote of 6.5, I saw now its 7.3-5.

@Roman: Thanks.. :D

Now I am gonna do the only right, going back to this beautiful hobby because there are so many things left to learn. Flat figures, sculpting, realistic bases and plants, historical models, tanks.. damn I need more time.. 

That's the spirit!!!!! enjoy the hobby and forget about the ratings...WE know WHO you are!!!

Brush power!!!

Just quit CMON. The very idea is stupid and elitist. Brush power indeed!

many painters were discouraged when their paintjobs didn't get as high ratings as they expected. and some of them were good and respected, awarded painters.

don't care much for numbers (easier said than done). moreover CMON rarely provides valuable comments these days. that's why some painters prefer to gather on miniature painting forums (like the excellent das Bemalforum for German speaking folks, WAMP or Chest of Colors for some others) and ask for feedback there.

a sad thing it is, but CMON is not much than a huge gallery of pictures with more-or-less random numbers assigned.

no, your minis are not perfect. they lack the obvious focal point which immediately steals attention and nails it to the miniature, and then flows with it all over the model. they're nice but they miss the WOW factor.

and let's face it, CMON is so full of excellent miniatures that people have really high expectations these days. so either keep the unnecessary pressure of working for ratings or forget it and follow Roman with the happy painting concept. That's what the hobby is about for me.

people suggested that only registered people should be allowed to vote on CMON. they introduced the option of seeing ratings from registered people only and I (plus a few of other painters) noticed that registered votes are usually a bit lower than unregistered. your mileage may vary though.

forget the ratings, paint for fun, show pics on CMON but ask for feedback elsewhere. that's my take on the subject.

Personally I definitely think that there is a social dimension to the ratings you obtained. Your works are no doubt top-notch and I love them.

But there are those that are struggling to get recognition out there that are having a hard time doing so when awesome painters like yourself are not slowing down and hoarding the spotlight. So there has gotta be some hate going on.

When the kings keep holding onto the thrones, the princes are bound to get mad.

Just my opinion and observations though. :)

I have my share of crap from CMON too. I'm "Blighted Panda Studios" over there.

I think the only way to get real feedback from CMON is when they jack up that paid membership thing to $10 per month and offer have a separate system to capture ratings for the people with paid membership.

Paid membership? I do not know about that. There are far too many people getting income form adverts on their websites to start charging to belong to any website. Personally the problem with any online judging is that the photographer can hide any mistakes or create an effect with lighting. In person judging is the best.

If I am going to pay for something it is going to be another DVD or content that demonstrates technique. I still consider myself a novice in the hobby since time for me is still limited. There are still techniques like OSL that have limited content on the net. I would love to have a group of talented people that I could learn from here in Saint Louis. However there just does not seem to be the same spirit that I see on MV.

I have never seen nor heard of any painting clinic gatherings or even just a group of people getting together to work on the hobby here. It really sucks learning in a vacuum.

Brian Gregory

Actually I feel Oli's sentiment here. Getting a "3" on a mini is irksome because it's NOT a reflection on the mini but rather a form of personal thing. Has to be. Clearly the mini is above a "3" in rating. So I imagine the insult becomes puzzling, like "what the hell did I ever do" kind of a thing. I personally have gotten enough 3 and lower ratings from time to time, ut way more lately and it's from registered users. I've gotten into it with enough people on the net to not have to wonder if it's a personal thing or not but it does become a frustration. I don't believe at all the syste, of voting 1-10 is broken, it's a good enough system. The users of any system are gonna be the ones that make it work (or don't) though. So I feel for Oli's frustration. But as Mahon and others have stated their are plenty of great forum's out there where you can share work and get some feedback.

Speaking of feedback...

I like your mini's, I like the style of colours. Nice and subdued. As pointed out the focal point might be made more obvious. I also am personally not a fan of the water effect on the chick mini. It just doesn't convince me in this instance. I like that mini's hair. Very nice work, I'd have given them 8's.

I always like seeing your work Oli!

-Scott Radom

Sorry for the long time for my answer.. and thanks for all answers, it was very interesting to hear your thoughts.

@Mahon: Yes you are right, I don’t post stuff of me on our painting site that often because I to lazy to make pictures.. I prefer just sitting in front of my pc, hearing good music and having a brush in my hand :D
But yes, for detailed feedback its much better to post it on another painting side. Good last sentence, yea.. right.

@Raven: Thanks.

@Brian: Think so too, Not easy to judge a photo. And not easy to get good photos without good photo knowledge. Better judge in real.. right.

@Scott: an 8?? Come on it’s a clear 10.. ^^ no, I am just kidding :P
Thanks for the feedback ;)