Art [OBWT] Round 2: Ezekiel & Katana VS Keyblade Wielder

[Ellerby]

[color=#555555][center][img]http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2388/round2copygg2.jpg[/img]
[/center]

[b][size=3][COLOR=Black]The Rules[/COLOR][/size][/b]
The following round is a 2 versus 1 match. I'm going to give a picture that all three of you will work independantly on. All you have to do is take the picture and, following the guidelines, make some prettyful artwork. :)

The winning team will be decided by the members of OtakuBoards (though this isn't the last you'll see of the judges). How it will work is every vote someone gets will be worth 1 point. However if a member of the two person team gets a vote, that automatically gives their teammate half a point.

So let's say The Boss and I are on a team against Dragon Warrior. Someone votes for DW, he gets 1 point. Someone votes for The Boss, he gets 1 point [i]and[/i] I get half a point. If the singular person wins, the other two competitors are eliminated. If one of the team members wins, only the singled out person is eliminated. If you're interested in voting, see my newest post in the underground.

So! Onto the graphic that you need to use. Click [url=http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/8241/round23copykg1.jpg]here[/url].

[b][SIZE=3][COLOR=Black]Picture Guidelines[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]
What you can and cannot do to the picture. The picture is 400 by 600 pixels.
[list][*]The picture must [b]not[/b] be the top layer.
[*]You cannot change the opacity of the picture.
[*]You [b]can[/b] move the picture, edit it's blending options etc.
[*]You cannot crop the picture.[/list]

[center]You have 4 days to submit the [b]completed[/b] entry.[/center]
[center][b][size=4][COLOR=Black]Start![/COLOR][/size][/b][/center][/COLOR]

[Katana]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Woah...it took me a few minutes to get the whole "both team members win if one wins" thing. Sorry, I'm still recovering from my first day back at school.

You know, I've got to say, I found it [i]hilarious[/i] that Ezekiel and I are on a team, considering that in the Handicap Battles, we went up against each other. =) That's been happening to me a lot recently...

Well, let's see what I can...err...yeah.[/color][/size]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]I hate the image we have to work with. I hate you, White. I lay awake last night thinking of what I could do for this. ;_____;

Okay, I don't hate it, but it is difficult. S'pose that's all the fun of it though.

[B]Question:[/B] We can extract the white background, can't we?

Good luck girlies, may the best team/person win.[/SIZE]

[Ellerby]

[color=#555555][FONT=Tahoma]You [i]hate[/i] this image? O_o

This one and the ace of spades are the two easiest images to work with. You have looked at the other images, right? You guys got off easy. ;)

But yeah, you can erase all of the white.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=DimGray][SIZE=1]Righty-hoh, I am finished. I was a little confused about the blending options bit, as I don't have any 'blending options' option in PSP. I assumed it was the same as my layer properties, hence the reason why the stock has been put through the 'burn' effect. If this is breaking the rules, let me know and I can fix it.

[URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/AzureImi/Image1-2.png][B][I Hope You Burn.][/B][/URL]

Good luck, once again. ^_^[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Katana]

[size=1][color=royalblue]And now it is time. All groan, for here is my...thing...>_>;;

Me and Ezzy have polar opposite pictures. XD So it's sorta like, we're not screwed over if one doesn't like a particular style. =)
..I can't think; I am full of teh sickness.

[center]+[url=http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3940/lightsoo2.jpg][b]OMFG FIREY SHINEY![/b][/url]+
[spoiler]'tis a link in case you can't see the picture. =3[/spoiler]
[IMG]http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3940/lightsoo2.jpg[/IMG][/center]

The original picture came from the second FLCL manga. It was Mamimi staring into her lighter's flame while lighting a death stick. -_-;; And to make it prettier, I colored and gradiented the hand.
The symbol-fire-thing is up in the sky with the stars. As of note, blue is the hottest of a flame, and it also blends in with the background, so I went with that. =)


Good luck to you both. This is going to be an interesting match.[/color][/size]

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][b]Voting![/b]
We've waited quite a bit now and I think it's time to let the community of OtakuBoards submit their critique and comments. You'll be voting for just one of the submissions in each thread. Voting rules can be found [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=746126&postcount=64]here[/url].

Voting will end Friday, September 1st at 11:00PM.

In this particular case, the opposing competitor didn't post their submission on time. Making Katana and Ezekiel the winners by default. However, I would still like to let people vote between Katana and Ezekiel [b]for fun[/b]. I don't like the idea of them making these art pieces for no reason. :)[/COLOR]

[jigglyness]

This is a hard choice. :animeswea But in the end I would have to go with [b]Katana[/b]. The fire from the gun really attracted my eyes. THe fire looks absolutely awesome [not that zeke's isn't of course]. I also like the gradient on the stock. I really like the soft warm colors. I think the stars in the bg needs to be toned down a little.

ezekiel - I really love the burn effect on the stock but the thing that really made me vote for katana's was the brushing along the left. I noticed that you always use almost the exact same brushes on some of your pieces. THe brushing looks a little funny because along the stop of the white brushing, there seems to be like a sudden stop, like an invisible border. But I really like the border. Very cool.

Great job both of you. :)

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Okie dokie, time to vote even if it won't make a difference XP

[B]Ezekiel:[/B]
I love the colour of the background because of how it gradually gets darker from orange to red, not much to say about that but I liked it. I don't know if this is what you were trying to do, but I enjoy how it looks like the sign's burning though it's a bit hard to see because the orange sort of blends with the red, and is obscured slightly by the text. And I'm trying to figure out the purpose of the white lines in the "burning" area. The text, I like how it's semi-transparent and it's good on the right side, but I feel it doesn't really work on the left, especially the "t" because it melds with the orange. And like jigglyness, I think the border's nifty.

[B]Katana:[/B]
I love this piece. I do like the soft navy blue and as it gradually darkens. I think I'm most attracted to it because of the flame from the lighter, it curls upward with parts of it along the whole piece which brings the gaze upward and to the sign, also it casts shadows on the hand. I like how it's part of the sky, and there's stars, 'cept I personally think some clumps are too close together.

Hard choice but I decided on [U][B]Katana[/B][/U].[/COLOR]

[Kitty]

[size=1][b]Ezekiel[/b]: Your piece is filled with vibrant color and a good 'theme', I guess you could call it, to match the picture you were given, and I couldn't luff it more. The image and text is placed perfectly, and the font you used blends with the rest of the image extremely well. Like the others have said, the border effect you added is a nice touch, too. The thing that bothers me, though, is the 'fire' made of lines and splatter brushes (I could be wrong here, but by the way it looks, I'm assuming you used your own brushes of splatters to get that effect rather than blend an ink splatter picture with the rest of the piece). It would look too empty without the lines, but with them it looks too messy. The balance is off, but not by too much. I'm just really picky, so ignore my little criticism. xD;; But the main thing is that the background, text, picture, border and even the 'flame' flow together and make the whole image interesting, despite the fact that the only thing in the background is color.

[b]Katana[/b]: Your entry is also lovely. The flame you used is [i]amazing[/i] because it really pops out at you when you look at it, and I love the effects you added, too. The background is nice especially with the stars, making it seem more 'full', and it makes sense that the picture you were given was blended in with it. But there are two things I don't like about your piece. First is that the border doesn't flow with the rest of the image, and second is that the hand and gun don't blend into the background at all. It looks like they were just pasted on top of the rest of the image (technically they were, but it shouldn't look so much like it). Maybe if, like Zeke's picture, the background had a more noticable transition (like hers is orange to red, yours could be dusk fading to night instead of blue to darker blue with stars) it would blend better. But the way it is now, the lower half of the image is less interesting than the rest of the image and, while that isn't horrible, it would've been much better if the entire image popped out at you like the flame.

So, in the end, I've decided I'm giving my vote to [b]Ezekiel[/b]. Her image was more solid than Katana's, but both are [i]extremely[/i] well done.

This was a hard decision, and it came down to only my picky-ness to help me decide who got my vote. Either one of you will wipe the floor with me if we get paired together, so I'm screwed no matter what, lol. Good luck to the both of you, and keep making aweshum stuffies. x3[/size]

[Retribution]

[size=1]I vote for [b]Ezekiel[/b].

Jay, I felt that your piece looks very polished and well done in terms of both effects and design. Everything is graphically sound save those intrusive white lines. I think the idea is a great one, but white is too noticeable, and the lines are too great in number. I personally would've gone a different route on the border, but aside that, great job. The background (very harsh contrast, nice) is awesome, you worked in that icon pretty well, and the typography is amazing.

[b]Katana[/b], wonder concept there. The stock you used is brilliant, but the icon doesn't flow well with the fire coming from the gun. I'd recommend rotating it so that the point of the triangle flows with the blast from the gun (if you see what I'm saying). The sprinkle-looking stars don't really fit in the piece with a fired gun and a fire icon. The last thing (I know it's nitpicking) is the grid overlay on the fire, which I thought to be unnecessary and rather confining to the flow of things.

In retrospect, why are we voting when both of you are on the same team? Is this some sort of point-garnering thing, White?[/size]

[Boo]

[size=1]To above: the icon shouldn't flow with the fire from the gun, but it should blend in with the sky, as it does. The flame of the icon is a lot different than the lighter's fire. I myself would never try to make it flow with each other.

Okay. Ezekiel. Your piece was nice and the idea of it was too. However, there's a lot of sharpness in the background, top layer [i]and[/i] the stock, that shouldn't be there. It kind of ruins the image. The main text is nice (though a bit too bright), but the subtext doesn't work with it. Maybe the rest of the image would've worked with other text - or in one colour/format - I don't know. The background is nicely done.

[b]Katana gets my vote for this. [/b]You did a good job on the stock. It's a bit of a pity that you don't get to see a bit more and that it's outline is different on the flame than it is on the hand, but it doesn't really bother me. The stars are a nice touch and a nice way to blend the given image in. They aren't too bright or big like some of those in Kitty's OBWT piece. Lastly I'd like to mention that the inner border looks nice and so does the lighting on the hand. The image just looks slightly cleaner than Ezekiel's.[/size]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue][B]Ezekiel: [/B]What I like best about your piece is the vivid reds and oranges. I also like the texture and messy graphics on the left side. About the only thing I don?t care for is part of the lines on the left side look like they were cut off instead of flowing in the piece. And the words touch me I hope you burn are just a little to bland. They just don?t seem to fit with how vibrant the rest of the piece is.

[B]Katana:[/B] What I like best about your piece is the gun with the flames coming out. I think you did a wonderful job with the placement and the colors. The thing I don?t care for is that the background of blue and sparkles just don?t seem to flow with the rest of the picture.

In the end my vote goes for[B] Ezekiel[/B] as I love the vivid colors and textures of their piece.[/COLOR]

[Ellerby]

[SIZE=6][CENTER][b]Round Over[/b][/CENTER][/SIZE]

[b]Ezekiel and Katana[/b] [COLOR=DimGray]win infinity to negative infinity. Keyblade Wielder is now out of the tournament. Good job to everyone.[/COLOR]