I always do calves at the beginning of my workout session, various exercises.

I'd like to add to all of these great points that you need strict form. Pause at the bottom - squeeze at the top. If you bounce it, you're just moving the weight using the stretch and rebound of the tendon. If you're one of those guys with using 4 plates for seated calf raises, and you have 13 in calves, watch Jay Cutler doing it. That will put some perspective on on how much weight your calves can handle and still get a good work out. Eventually, you'll be able to power through with more weight. I think that a lot of people expect gains akin to quad progress. Slow steady gains, with occasional spurts. After a year of this, my calves aren't impressive, but I'm not embarrassed to wear shorts. Oh yeah, and that burn, eventually that will literally feel good. It does for me anyway.

One simple tip that sounds stupid but has helped with my calves is to make sure your bending your knees slighty when doing them standing or on a Machine. It can make a world of difference concentrate soley on only using the clave muscle.

My calves didnt start growing, till i did reps between 50-100. Yes, 100. It is very painful and effective.

Pick one calf exercise. And do four sets of 100 reps.

The main issue people have when training calves is a distinct dislike of pain. Weights get put down far too easily when you could have done another 5-10 reps.

Calves are tricky. Has a lot to do with genetics and height , taller you are the higher the insertion and tie in , harder to get that thickness. Volume and moderate weight , with drop sets. Your calves take a lot of abuse due to being walked all the time, just focus on quality reps , full range of motion , squeezing at the top (mind muscle connection) , focusing on the negative stretch of the movement just as much as the positive movement with the squeeze and hold at the top. Seated calves raises, standing calve raises as long as your activating the muscle it doesn't matter. Changing your foot position to hit both heads of the calve , I suggest you research what each does so than you will have the knowledge of how to activate each. If it doesn't feel like someone is taking a cutting torch to the back of them your not doing them right , that feeling is the blood being pumped into the tissue and it expanding breaking the muscle down , then with proper diet/ re feed you will get growth. Deep tissue massages help also , they're painful but they work by breaking down and forcing stretch of fascia. I also stretch them before and during every set , helps with fascia stretch and increasing full range of motion, your strength will decrease a little but , bodybuilding or anything related isn't about strength its about activating the muscle correctly and maximizing the blood flow to the muscle to break it down as much as you can , then rating to repair. Its that simple, good luck.

I was not blessed with great calves at all and I've worked them all different kinds of ways, 3 takes a week, once a week high reps low reps supersets. My prep coach gave me a routine for them and they've blown up like an inch in a month. Go to the seated calve raise machine, put a 45lbs plate in there, well I put a 25 on each side to make it even so 50lbs , it's light weight. And do 10 sets to failure. I'm usually getting 30+ reps in the begenning and 20 towads the end. It's painful as hell it burns its probably the most pailful exercise I've do, but it's worked wonders. Only doing it once a week. Nice full range of motion squeeze at the top. They wil be on fire. But they will actually grow and a very respectable speed. I just measured now and they've grown an inch since starting this about 5 weeks ago. And also spot injections with gear. No it doesn't cause localized growth but what it does is make it look like you have a constant pump which stretches the fascia which inturn makes future growth easier. Start with a very smooth oil like cyp and do .5ml shots and build up frkm there. It's not bad at all.

This is what I do

I work them 3 times a week.
2 exercises

Workout 1) After chest day (day 1)
3 sets of seated calf raises: heavy+fast for 8-10 reps (45s rest)
3 sets of standing barbell calf raises: heavy and slow 5-8 reps (45s rest)

I go all the way to the top possible contraction to the bottom most. Knees slightly bent

Workout 2) After shoulder day (day 3)
3 sets of seated calf raises: light+slow for 12-15 reps (30sec rest)
3 sets of 1 leg seated calf raises: light+fast 15-20 reps, but no rest between sets since its one legged

Leg day (day 4) has 3 calf exercise sets, leg press calf raises immediately after the leg press set. I dont count these but its 12-15 pretty heavy and fast.

Workout 3) On an off day
Bodyweight raises on a curb 3xmax reps 20sec rest
Bodyweight "calf jumps" (basically just hopping off and on the curb) 3xmax reps 20sec rest

I always had small calves until I started working them almost every day of the week lol with different rep ranges and weights. ALWAYS FULL ROM IS CRUCIAL
Hope this helps!