So . . . say there's this artist you've known for YEARS and you used to love their artwork. But for years it has been REALLY stagnant and they've actually been regressing in their skills and all critiques are met by falling back on cheap, anime excuses. "It's my style," "it's 'chibi.'"

How do you go about telling them that without being a SUPER prick, or do you just keep your mouth shut and let their pitiful fans (who never have anything useful to say, other than "AMAZING!" "You're so GREAT!") worship them for being lackluster and generic?????

It just seems sad to see people who you once thought were super talented get sucked into a lazy cycle just because they can get away with it.