Art [OBWT] Round 2: Boo & Sara VS sakurasuka & jigglyness

[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 2 match. I'm going to give a picture that all four 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 last round 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. The losing team 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://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7620/round25copyev0.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]

[Boo]

[size=1]I have 4 days to submit the completed entry, so for now I wish to post this, just so I have something done (in case I won't be able to do anything the next days):

[center][[url=http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7374/freedomept003bo3.png][b]'Freedom' Prototype.002[/b][/url]]

[url=http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7374/freedomept003bo3.png][IMG]http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/6342/thumbnailqg4.png[/IMG][/url][/center][/size]

[jigglyness]

Ah hah. I'm done with mine. I couldn't really think of anything to go with the image provided though. :animeswea I might remake this one if I have some time in the next few days. Anyways, here's mine:

[b]EDIT[/b]-----------
Ok. I knew the whole'freedom' idea wasn't very original but it was the only thing i could think of at that moment. But after seeing some of the other submissions, I decided to just remake mine. I really like this one better though so yeah. I'm glad i remade it. :)

[CENTER][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/sesshofreako/forums/butterfly3.png[/img][/CENTER]

best of luck to everyone else. :)

[sakurasuka]

[size=1]

Editnessrawr-



Butterfly05-
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/butterfly05.png[/img]



So meh. PhotoImpact+MS Paint sucks major arse.

Ah, well. I like it.

[/size]

[Sara]

[center][color=#b0000b][size=1]Inspired not by freedom, but by [i]The Perks of Being a Wallflower[/i].

[URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8647/wallflowermr7.png[/IMG][/URL][/size][/color][/center]

[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.[/COLOR]

[Guest password]

I vote for [b]Jigglyness[/b] because her piece isn't as mononchromatic as the others. I like the text placement and the overall composition of her piece. The brushing is also really nice.

[b]Boo[/b] - I'm not too fond of the brushing on the butterfly. And it feels like there is a lot of empty space that needs to be filled. It's just a tad plain to me. But the text is somewhat original with the name and the idea with the cut out butterfly is original.

[b]Sara[/b] - I think it is kind of plain too with only just the butterfly,a gradient, and text. BUT the butterfly looks reallyl nice. propz for that. I'm not too fond of the shade of green you used.

[b]Sakurasuka[/b] - Personally i really don't like pink. But I'm not as experienced with vectoring so I can't really give you some hands on criticism here. ^^' But I just HAD to point out the typo near the bottom. I am a hardcore DDR fan and i JUST couldn't get over it. lol.

[Kitty]

[size=1][b]Boo[/b]: There isn't much to this piece to begin with, so there isn't much to critique. =\ The effect you added to butterfly was okay, but leaving the rest of the background black does not look good; especially with such a colorful image as your subject. I really don't understand what the text is about, other than the word 'freedom', and the barcode seems rather pointless, too. Overall, I don't care for this at all. =3= Not one of your better works, Boo. D:

[b]Sara[/b]: This image is colorful and bright, but it is again, kind of bland. The text is fine, and so is the background (the fading is a nice touch), but there is very little to this image. The only suggestion I think would be useful is to have kept the butterfly at it's original size, keeping it in the upper right corner, and have it partly behind the text. This was a very well done piece, but not too interesting.

[b]sakurasuka[/b]: I [i]think[/i] I get the reference [spoiler](Samurai Champloo, right?)[/spoiler], which is an interesting, but confusing, connection to a butterfly. Despite that, your vectoring (you vectored, right? I can't do it for the life of me, so I have no idea what programs it takes and what the results look like, so forgive me if I'm wrong =3=;; ) is done well, and I like the addition of flowers and other butterflies. But the image is very pink. And that's it. Maybe if the background had a pattern to it, rather than just a flat color, it would look more interesting.

[b]jigglyness[/b]: Yours is truly impressive. I'm jealous of this one, right now, and wishing I had made it instead. :P The fonts are used well together (I love how you fit the word 'breaths' so well with the smaller parts of the quote, lol. It was a really nice effect), and the quote is very endearing, too. I like how the butterfly in your piece, as opposed to the others, is [i]darker[/i] than the background, rather than the other way around. And speaking of background, yours is actually fun to look at. It's not a flat color, or a simple gradient, but patterns mixed together, and mixed together [i]well[/i] to boot. Gah... I'm so jealous. xD

In the end, [b]jigglyness[/b] gets my vote, hands down. The other pieces, while done well, were just too simple and somewhat repetative, even with the freedom theme removed from two of the entries. Good luck to you all, though. And I hope to steal-- er, see more from jigglyness, even outside of the OBWT. <.<;; Again, awesome job.

[b]edit[/b] :: Okay, so I didn't get sakura's reference. -3- *feels stupid now* I don't play DDR. *is shot*[/size]

[Retribution]

[size=1][b]Sara[/b] gets my vote, absolutely no contest.

Her image was extremely skilled, and I'm surprised that no one picked up on that. Drawing in the details and [i]shading them[/i] really makes the butterfly seem 3D, dynamic, and interactive. The text could use some slight rearranging ("and in that moment" placement could be better), but on the whole a superb job.

[b]Boo[/b], you did alright. The white really hurts this piece, though. The text also seems rather out of place because I don't think "techy" when I see a butterfly. The colors are great, though.

[b]sakurasuka[/b], I got your quote. It's from the song Butterfly (DDR, baby)... but your piece is pretty bland. There's nothing that stands out, the text doesn't support the stock, and the stock doesn't support the stock. All in all, there's just too much space that isn't used well. I'd recommend being bolder with the text next time and putting it closer to the center.

[b]jigglyness[/b], I'm honestly disappointed with you. Sure, your background is great and all, but your techy brushes don't work for a butterfly in the foreground. That, and the black butterfly seems rather out of place on such an interesting background. You did pretty well on the text, but be careful using the font you used for "away" (it's name escapes me as of now). It's a pretty overused font with some folks and unfortunately it loses its originality.[/size]

[sakurasuka]

[size=1]

Motherf%$&ing typos.

Ah, well. I don't think I'm allowed to fix it.

Plus you can't save with layers in Paint =P

[/size]

[Sara]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I don't think I'm allowed to vote, but I'd like to add my comments to everyone!

[b]Boo[/b], I really like yours. Plus, you get major props for getting something up and out there right away. I think the techy theme works well, because it's such a weird juxtaposition. The small additions of green and blue really make the butterfly pop, and you're also the only person who was able to do anything with the original colors of the butterfly. (I stared at them for the longest time before giving up and saying "Screw this; time for a color change.") Because you kept the original butterfly and added your mark mostly to that, your butterfly is by far the most intricate. Originally I thought that the rest of the black background needed something?maybe some more techy fairy dust like the stuff that's scattered across the butterfly?but it also works as is.

If I had done your piece, I probably [i]would[/i] have scattered more techy fairy dust around, if only to bring the rest of the image "in" a little bit. Right now the whole thing seems kind of weirdly balanced.

[b]Jigglyness[/b]?I can't even remember what your first one looked like anymore, but I like this one a [i]lot[/i] better. It looks much more ...I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for. Professional? Corporate? Something. The background is very solid. I think the "moments that take your breath away" saying is also a very good choice for a butterfly piece, but I'm not sure about the way your did it. The wording seems clumsier than I'm used to ("Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"), which bothers me when I read it. (I think "amount" is only to be used with indefinite plurals: you would have an [i]amount[/i] of money, but a [i]number[/i] of coins. Does that make sense? Anyway, nitpicking.) Also, your small white serif font seems really out of place in the rest of the piece. Unless you really know what you're doing and have chosen a [i]specific[/i] serif font for a [i]specific[/i] reason, default text in in graphics should probably by sans serif. It's simpler and easier to read.

Oh, and one other thing: My first impression of the black butterfly is that it's a shadow, or that it's been "cut out" of the rest of the graphic. And that's pretty cool, but it gets all thrown off when I see that there's a drop shadow behind the black butterfly. Kind of disorienting. I don't know if "silhouette" or "cut out" [i]was[/i] what you were going for or not, of course, but that's something to think about.

If I had done your piece, I think I would have not had the butterfly be full black, but have it be a butterfly-shaped section of much darker brushing (kind of like your bottom corner, but darker).

[b]Sakurasuka[/b]: Before you admitted it was a typo, I thought you'd written "you" intentionally because of the way the song is sung. I thought it was pretty cute. (Actually, I still do, and I don't hold it against you, heh. I recently typo'd "rescued" as [i]rescused[/i] and then sent the imageoff to be voted on by two thousand people, so I know what those mistakes can be like. Oops. Anyway!) Again, I don't remember exactly what your other piece looked like, but I remember thinking "Oh, I like this one better" when you first put the second graphic up. So, whatever changes you made...good job! Heh.

Like the astute observers before me, I must say?your piece is pink! But that's okay. I like that you brought in some more butterflies, and the flowers you have there look pretty cool. The problem that I end up seeing with your piece is that not only is it one color, it uses very simple shapes. Together, those two things end up saying "We cannot hold your attention!" And that's too bad.

Since the two contributing factors are "simple shapes" and "one color," that problem could be fixed by changing either one of those. Going back to your original concept and working with two colors?say, pink and a sort of tangy blue, or pink and orange?would add a lot of interest to your piece. Alternatively (and I think this is what I would have done with your piece), finding more intricate shapes would help a lot. [url=http://www.oberonplace.com/draw/paintscripts/alink2/pxsubflower.gif]Something like this[/url], which isn't purely a silhouette (or even technically a flower, but bear with me) would have broken up the large spaces of "just pink" or "just white."

I also don't know what kind of fonts you were working from, but your typography is also something I would have changed. Instead of using italics for contrast, I probably would have used two different fonts (rather like Jigglyness did): a simpler, smaller one for most of the text, and then a fancy-pants flamboyant one for the [i]Samurai[/i].

[b]Sara[/b]! Like I said, my design was inspired by [i]The Perks of Being a Wallflower[/i], so [url=http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=the%20perks%20of%20being%20a%20wallflower]this[/url] is where that garish green color comes from. The copy is also a quote from the book (and Retri's right, the placement of 'and in that moment' is kind of jarring. I don't know if it's the placement itself or the fact that after I went through and kerned the letters in the words, I forgot to reposition the words themselves in relation to one another. Oh, well.)

My design, like sakurasuka's, was originally one color, but pretty soon into the process I realised that it was just too much of that green color. The pink was added to the butterfly and the border. I'm still not sure what I think about that. On the one had, I like how it kind of holds things together, but on the other hand, the piece loses a lot of the effect of the [i]white letters spilling onto the white border and disappearing off the page[/i], which was something I really liked. With the pink border holding things in, there's nowhere to spill. I'm not sure how I would fix that. Probably if I were to do it again, I would play around with the pink border and try having it fade to white in different places. If it looked alright, I might keep it that way.[/color][/size]

[Boo]

[size=1]I think I need to explain my piece a bit.

Originally I named the piece something in the direction of ?Border Me - ? and then a varying selection of words. We all noticed by now that butterflies bring up the word ?freedom? and the ?free? feeling. Now I wanted this piece to put contrast a bit central, which is why the black background worked rather well, in my opinion. I added borders to the butterfly to get a feeling across, but realized that it wasn?t really clear enough. Therefore I added the barcode, as if it is a experiment/product of some sort.

The main reason why I didn?t add a lot of sparkly stuff or anything to spice up the background, is because I don?t want people to get distracted by the sparkly stuff. I want them to look at the subject and try to think about it, not just say ?Ooo, pretty? and then look away. The butterfly was symbolic. It was not meant to be the subject of the picture as ?a butterfly?, but as a symbol for ?freedom? (with quotation marks).

I could comment on all pieces, but Sara pretty much said I would?ve want to say. All I wanted to do was explain my piece, really, as it probably needed to be. :P

The name [i]'Freedom' prototype.002[/i] doesn't just have 'prototype' in it to look cool, but to bring forth the whole idea. ;<

(Sidenote: does anyone even [i]get[/i] my piece/explanation now? <<; )

[b]Edit:[/b] [quote]I'm not too fond of the brushing on the butterfly.[/quote]
What brushes? <_<; *burns j00 for saying I use brushes*[/size]

[Katana]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Don't try so hard, Boo. >_>;;

[b]Boo:[/b] Your's was the first piece up, so when I saw it, I knew it was the one I loved. The picture posesses a sort of mystical, sparkly, "shining light" quality to it, and it gives me this feeling of the butterfly actually moving. You also have an eye for the color scheme, because blue and green are the opposite of red and orange. =)
I'm so two-sided with the simple black as a background. On one hand, I like how the main entry is just right there, and it draws your eyes to the actual piece itself. On the other hand, I think a trail-ish of sparklies would've worked well too.

[b]jigglyness:[/b] If I'm not mistaken, I think you revised you posted up, like, three entries. XD I saw all of them, and I'm glad you posted up this one, since I like it the best.
This piece is so varying, it gives a great sense of depth and perception. The neutral pallet gives me this idea of a dreary spring day or a wet forest. But like Sara, I was totally and amazingly confused about the butterfly. While I now see it as a "black" butterfly with a shadow, it just didn't look right to me before. Not only that I just...don't get the text. I mean, I sorta do, but then again, I sorta don't. And uh...

[b]sakurasuka:[/b] I have to be blutn and say I'm a bit disappointed. I've used PhotoImpact many times before (back in the day when I floated from free trial to free trial), and I know that you can get some pretty decent graphics out of it. PI is like PSP that way. The two, although certainly not the same, harness very similar qualities.
ANYWAYS, I look at your piece and first go "Pretty!". And while I enjoy the vectors and everything, there's just...I dunno, it just seems like it's not too well made. What bugs me the most are the dots within the flower, since they're so uneven, and vectors are basically known to be clean and (more or less) symmetrical.
And I love DDR. I love "Butterfly". And while I like the quote, I don't like how "Samurai." is just there, jumping out yelling at you. It seems awkward compared to the rest of the fitting and italic text.

[b]Sara:[/b] The green and the muted pink/purple work wonders together. I enjoy the sort of "light" coming from the corner, and how the butterfly is sorta there, but sorta not. Also, due to your gradient work and such, the butterfly looks pretty shiny and pretty. It's...awesome. =)
If I do have one complaint, it's that trying to focus on the butterfly itself hurts my eyes because of all the color elements occuring. It's not a horrendous complaint, it just bothers me. =O

I'd have to vote for [b]Boo[/b], which, if I calculate correctly, ties up the match. Go forth, voters![/color][/size]

[Ima]

[B]Boo[/B] gets my vote


[B]Sara[/B]: Simply amazing piece.. In-fact for a while you had me hooked.
The thing that changed my mind was the "freedom" of Boos Butterfly.
Your image is very, but it blends a bit too well with the background and does not show freedom rather it being the same as everything else. I will agree with Retri that you by far had the best looking butterfly and overall feel, but it did not capture the whole "freedom" feel.

[B]jigglyness[/B]: I'm going to disagree with Retri on the middle brushing and say that is the best part. What took away from the piece was the top. It did not blend at all and just seems to cut off and go right into it. Your butterfly had no complexity and the piece does not really show freedom at all.

Very nice overall, but not what i'm looking for.
[B]
sakurasuka[/B]: Unlike alot of people I like this piece. The Simplicity of it does not take away from everything else and it all blends.. But it also removes from the piece and does not add any overall feel that you seemed to be going for. Good but not great, not your best but good overall.

Last but not least[B]
Boo[/B]: This piece has that overall feel of "freedom." The white spot adds a ton in showing that the butterfly is seperate from its surroundings, this is the reason you got my vote. I really like the back of your butterfly and enjoy the filters used.

[jigglyness]

I was actually trying to get [i]away[/i] from the freedom feel. That's why I redid mine three times. and plus, I submited it a day late from the original due date. *shrug*

[Retribution]

[quote name='Ima']I will agree with Retri that you by far had the best looking butterfly and overall feel, but it did not capture the whole "freedom" feel.[/quote]
[size=1]There was no theme, and if that's what you were looking for, you are mistaken. Sara's doesn't even attempt to capture freedom, so how could you fault her for that?[/size]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue][B]Boo:[/B] What I like about your piece is how the bright vivid colors really make the butterfly stand out. And the surround darkness just makes it really pop. What I don?t care for is the white butterfly underneath. It kind of distracts from the overall picture in my opinion.

[B]jigglyness:[/B] What I like about your piece is the wonderful background as it really makes the simple black butterfly stand out. The whole thing just goes together so beautifully. The only thing I don?t like is the choice of font for the smaller words as the other font for the word Breaths and Away just flow so much better.

[B]sakurasuka:[/B] What I like best about your piece is the simply pink and white look and yet it flows together so nicely. The simple clean lines of the butterflies and the crisp border just give it a nice look. The only thing I don?t care for is the choice of font. The lines to the butterflies and such have such a nice flowing feel and the font just feels blocky and cluttered in comparison.

[B]Sara:[/B] Out of all the pictures I love what you did with the butterfly the best. It?s simple and yet so elegantly expressive all in one. The choice of colors are nice as the tiny hint of pink just goes so well. The thing I don?t like is your choice of font. It just doesn?t seem to go with the butterfly and the way the word infinite is cramped doesn?t appeal to me. Or that the word Were is too closely placed to the dot of the I in infinite.

In the end [B]Sara[/B] gets my vote as I really like the work that went into the butterfly in her piece. Excellent job everyone. [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=SeaGreen][B]Boo:[/B] Your piece is so beautifully vibrant and colorful. I love how you made the butterfly stand out from the darkness. The thing I don?t care for is the white outline as it?s so stark compared to the rest of the vibrant look and feel to the piece.
[B]
jigglyness:[/B] I too love the background of your piece, all the textures and depth really make the black butterfly stand out. The font is beautiful and the whole thing just flows nicely. The only thing I don?t care for is the simple butterfly almost seems a little out of place as the rest of the piece has so much going on. It just seems like it needs a tiny bit of something on it.
[B]
sakurasuka:[/B] It?s pink! And I love the way it?s a simple pink and white picture. It?s clean and has a nice feel to it and the way you?ve done the border with pink on the outside and a white line on the inside, it just makes the whole piece look like an art print. The only thing I don?t care for is the placement of the text and I don?t care for the font as it doesn?t seem to fit. It practical where the rest of the picture seems to be more flowing?
[B]
Sara:[/B] First of all I absolutely adore your butterfly. It?s simply amazing all the details you put into it. You?ve give it a wonderful realistic feel and the soft touches of pink just wrap it up nicely. I also love the pink border on your piece as well. The only thing I don?t care for, the placement of the text and the type of font just don?t seem to match.

My vote goes to [B]Sara[/B]. Great job everyone! ^_^[/COLOR]

[Ellerby]

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

[b]Boo and Sara[/b] [COLOR=DimGray]win 5 to 2. jigglyness and sakurasuka are now out of the tournament. Good job to everyone.[/COLOR]

[jigglyness]

Congrats Boo and Sara. :)

[Boo]

[quote name='jigglyness']Congrats Boo and Sara. :)[/quote]
[size=1]Thanks. ;3

And yay, we won. Great job, Sara. :'D [/size]