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Value For Money
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User Reviews
Value For Money
A Site That Sold Its Soul?
I've recently noticed this site favours those who pay!
The latest "artist" of the year award went to somebody who likes to use edited photos layered with digital filters passed off as traditional artwork.
This guy was vomiting up about 4-6 of these "works of art" in less than a week then paying to promote most of them.
The last of these so called art works i viewed had very detailed tree silhouettes which looks very realistic with its identical reflection in the water..imo looks like a photograph with heavy contrast adjustments.....so why if indeed this was painted by hand would you just slap the same space/stars backdrop filter over it (probably taken from nasa archives) used in several other pieces?
This persons work was the only ones that looked out of place and un-natural..the pixelation which is clearly visiable in most pieces reminds me of messing about on photo suites with the smear or smudge tools.
Value For Money
You'll Be Glad You Joined.
I hosted an exhibition and made sales - it was a big success. I owe that to the experience I received from this site. Experienced photographers and artists are willing to give you quality feedback. Yes, members take the time to write thoughtful comments about what works and what doesn't. It's easy to post here and the site is easy to learn. Definitely a recommendation.
Value For Money
Worked For Me
My experience over the past four years of membership has been a very positive learning experience. Here, I connected with a great community of artists and photographers and have learned much while making sales. Because of what I have learned here I am now an independent photographer earning taxable (yippee!) income.
Value For Money
Terrific Site
I enjoy and recommend this site. The feedback has helped me improve greatly and get exposure. I have been a member for nearly three years. What I enjoy about participating here is the community atmosphere. To be success it's important to make connections and get your art seen. I think this is the strongest feature of this site. When you post something it gets feedback from other artists. If it does well it is featured throughout the site so everyone can see it. I find with each posts I get fans. These are potential buyers. The contests are fun.
Value For Money
Enjoy It
I joined for the contest but stayed for the wonderful people I've met here. The feedback I receive on my photography is very helpful. The contests are fun and often encourage me to try something I normally would not do. The people though are wonderful. It's great to get input on my photography from experienced photographers. Highly recommended.
Value For Money
Not A Serious Review Site
This is a site that largely caters for beginners in photography or for those who have no interest in improvement. The site uses a peer rating system for reviews. This encourages people to provide positive reviews for, sometimes, quite dreadful work. If you gain a reputation for critical reviewing as I did then your work will be boycotted.
There are some very talented people on the site but many of those at the top of the ranking are there by virtue of their prolific postings and friends who would never say anything negative about their work.
The upload quality of images is dreadful. It is virtually impossible to show off work properly. I would suggest that idea behind the site is great but it is badly run.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided. It really is a hell site as you can see from the site stalkers (Lifeisbutadream) who won't even leave you alone even after you've left.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided.
Excuse me, but we all have to start somewhere. This is primarily an entertainment site and the site host will tell you that. In the process one can and does learn. The camaradarie cannot be beat and one can actually make lasting "web" friendships with people who sincerely want to grow in their craft and who will help you along. Try speaking with other artists on other sites....ha. Uploads have improved. Fanartreview is as close to perfect as a site can get in helpful hints, fun, enjoyment....put a little light in your life!
Excuse me, but we all have to start somewhere. This is primarily an entertainment site and the site host will tell you that. In the process one can and does learn. The camaradarie cannot be beat and one can actually make lasting "web" friendships with people who sincerely want to grow in their craft and who will help you along. Try speaking with other artists on other sites....ha. Uploads have improved. Fanartreview is as close to perfect as a site can get in helpful hints, fun, enjoyment....put a little light in your life!
Value For Money
Save Your Money!
When I first started out painting I stumbled upon this site and thought the reviews would help me improve. However, it didn't take long to figure out the site is about how much money they can squeeze out of you. If you post a painting/ photograph you will receive two reviews for "free". If you want more reviews you will have to pay. The site guarantees a certain number of views per dollar you are willing to spend. In addition, people earn points/dollars for reviewing your work thus earning dollars towards more reviews of their own work. It's all a vicious circle and you can't really count on an honest review. Some of the work I saw on that site was hideous, but because the artist was willing to shell out $10 for multiple reviews they earned recognition that they didn't earn. I was frustrated that reviewers confused my paintings for photographs not because they were that good, but rather they didn't bother to look. No one will thank you for an honest review. At best you can expect a terse reply. Invest your time and money into art/ photography classes. Learn from professionals.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided. It really is a hell site as you can see from the site stalkers (Lifeisbutadream) who won't even leave you alone even after you've left.
Value For Money
Time And Money Trap
I've been on FAR for a little over 3-years. There are many aspects of the site I enjoy (i.e., social interaction, new friends, light humor etc.) And I will admit I feel my photography has improved from the simple fact the site encourages you to take pictures daily / regularly to sufficiently participate in both ranking and contest offerings(you will find yourself getting a lot of practice) Albeit - make no mistake, this site is all about your money. Pay for membership and pay for each image uploaded in hopes of receiving more than two reviews (with any luck you might receive a review that holds merit and can assist you in developing your craft). Consequently - those that are skilled are too busy for such non-since and fall to the bottom of the ranking. While those that take images on their Iphones and Ipods pay to promote there work and receive a trophy at the end of the year. I've been amused at some of the reviews I've received, to find the reviewer's profile loaded with images similar to the old Kodak snapshots of 30-years ago. Humerous Really!
If you just want something to do - FAR is fun! If you want to truly compete with peers equal to you or better, receive constructive critasism, develope your talent and be truly recognized for your skill rather than your checkbook.... Look for another site.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided. It really is a hell site as you can see from the site stalkers (Lifeisbutadream) who won't even leave you alone even after you've left.
Value For Money
The Same Group Works Together To Maintasin Their Positions.
The problem with Fan Art Review is that the same people continuously submit sub standard photos and yet the photos will be rated high by the same members who are in concert with one another, ensuring that the closed group remains at or near the top of the leader rankings. It is relatively predictable who will vote for who and give ratings often out of proportion to the quality of the submitted photo. Several of these individuals are on the "Committee" that decides which works are chosen for photo of the month. Again, it is almost totally predictable which photographers will be placed up for vote. The same individuals choose their own, thus ensuring their status. Rather discouraging to see clearly inferior works receive high ratings by members of the "Group". If you enjoy photography I recommend you place entries on the site. The important thing is not to have unrealistic expectations about how well you will do in a contest. I have won several, yet for the majority of contests it is the same people. It has little to do with the quality of submission and more to Who submits the entry. Overall a decent site but there are others that are a better value for the money.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided. It really is a hell site as you can see from the site stalkers (Lifeisbutadream) who won't even leave you alone even after you've left.
Value For Money
Be Careful How And Who You Review
I've only been on this site a couple of days, but already I'm noticing a trend. Some of the people on this site are extremely touchy about receiving ANY criticism whatsoever - no matter how kindly you put it. I think the site is geared towards earning "rankings", etc. so you can be on top, regardless of whether your work is really good or not. Honest criticism of work seems to be discouraged simply because of the system in place. I wish I'd known it was like this before making a membership purchase, because I don't think I'll ever get honest input from people there. And I don't think they want honest input from me, either - because they want to climb in the rankings whether their work is good or not. They aren't interested in becoming better artists - just earning a false ranking.
LOL I was harassed for saying I would pray for someone. Due to the poor design of the site, I didn't know my comments on my profile went out to the entire site like a Facebook feed. There was a group of foul-mouthed thugs from the UK that immediately pounced on my comments & made my life a living hell on that site. I'm talking about pornographic & pedophilic comments + the typical backwoods/bucktoothed/illiterate stereotypes about Christians - misspelled of course & some of it in broken English to boot, so you know there was quite a contingent. Coincidentally the webmaster used the same broken English - so you know there's some shenanigans going on. The owner Tom Ens implied that it was my fault that I was being abused & did nothing. It got worse as demi-thugs such as Lifeisbutadream dog-piled on & suddenly I was getting tons of abusive reviews - name calling & insults that had nothing to do with the quality of my work - & I suddenly couldn't win any more contests. Someone - possibly the webmaster? - found a way to use a proxy to make the preferred site users (the cliques) vote count go up incredibly fast - 100s per minute - & magically these same few people would get more votes collectively than registered users for the site. After awhile you notice that contest winners are always either clique members &/or those who pay cash for the "member dollars" needed to enter & create contests on the site (otherwise you have to spend 100s of hours posting reviews of other people's work, which is really just a common trick to get people to spend more time on the site to make the Alexa & similar website ratings go up). Even though I was the one being hounded, Tom Ens said I was impacting other users "enjoyment of the site." I didn't even care about winning contests with no real prize money & no prestige in the actual art world, but I enjoyed the creative challenge of entering the contests - it forced me to make art to a theme that someone else made up (user-created contests). Basically I was keeping my head down & minding my own business - & keep in mind I was paying a monthly fee to use the site - but Tom Ens put a restriction on my account so that I could no longer enter contests. Oh I could post reviews all right & earn "member dollars" that I could no longer use for entering contests. In effect, he was forcing me to quit the site while continuing to collect my monthly fees. Fortunately my subscription was through PayPal, which refunded everything I had spent, because it is fraud to collect fees for a service that is not being provided. It really is a hell site as you can see from the site stalkers (Lifeisbutadream) who won't even leave you alone even after you've left.
I have to agree. You are absolutely correct.
Q&A
Does an artist or photographer get to keep his copyright ownership?