When comparing both criticism and cynicism together, I feel that people can often get the two confused as one. The idea of cynicism is a bleaker example of how people approach someone or a craft of media, having their attitude be more from a selfish and close-minded approach. Criticism, on the other hand, is actually a great way for people to share their thoughts on something in order for improvement for the person the criticism is directed to. When it comes to creating art or doing work, there is always room for improvement, and when people are willing to give you constructive criticism, they want to see you improve as well.
When we start out in doing what we like and creating stuff, we go through plenty of trial and error till we figure out what finally works. There are times where we are not able to recognize when we are lacking in a certain area and there is plenty of people out there who care enough about your work and are able to point out those flaws. This doesn’t mean that they are coming from a cynical approach and I don’t think that’s the first thing we should think when receiving criticism from anyone.