AOTM #19: Combined Voting!

[AOTM]

Theme: Rainbows
Defined: Follow the components to create something full of colour!
Due Date: 9th December
Theme suggested by: Lustre
Contest run by: Contra Fates, Kally and Lustre


Notes for Entries!
1 - Rainbow was drawn by hand in Paint.
2 - Hand drawn, without references.
3 - Hand drawn.
4 - No stocks used.
5 - No stocks used.

Components:

• Include a rainbow. Self explanatory.
• Use at least 5 different colours. These must be separate colours from the rainbow.
• Use a rainbow shape ( the arch ). This must be separate from the rainbow.
• Physically create something. A physical object, such as a badge, or a plushy.
• Your rainbow is drawn by hand. Self explanatory.

Rules for Voting:

• Vote on your favorite entry based on graphical skill.
• Please post explaining your vote and why.
• Please provide helpful feedback on the entries.
• Do NOT post anything insulting or offensive about entries.
• Do NOT vote for your own entry.
• Do NOT tell others which entry is your own.
• Poll End Date: 13th November

Comment Template:

• Areas of Achievement:
• Areas of Opportunity:
• Consensus:

This is NOT mandatory. This is to promote thoughtful critiques for the artists who took the time to submit their entries. This is just another way to show our appreciation for them.

It is not necessary to place the comments and critiques within a hider.

Other Notes:

AOTM Contest Managers are allowed to read, review, and submit their own entries - but are NOT permitted to cast a vote. This is because they know who each author of these entries are, and the entries are no longer anonymous to them. WOTM Contest Managers, however, are allowed to vote - as the entries have remained anonymous to them.

We greatly appreciate those of you who participated, and especially those of you who vote. Without either of you this contest would not exist.

Remember, it is YOU who decides the winner, so you all hold the power. Use it well. (:

Also, seeing as this is a special occasion for the Guild Newsletter, we decided it would be better to have only one winner, so the voting threads have been joined to make it easier to vote, and to give more diverse choice! Have fun!

[Jorick]

I voted for Entry 3. I'll give a brief statement of my thoughts on each piece, but I'm not a very artistic person (in the visual drawing/painting/etc. field of art, at least) so my comments are entirely opinions based on aesthetics rather than assessments of actual skill.


Entry 1 - I don't like the whole MLP thing, but this is a well done piece of art. Looks fine to me, especially considering it was apparently hand drawn via Paint. The curving rainbows to fill those large swathes of empty space were a good choice.

Entry 2 - This just looks kinda weird to me. I get that it's a person, but it seems too.. scribbly. The words and numbers and such written randomly around the piece, especially those going over the face, are strange and distracted. Not a fan of this one.

Entry 3 - I voted for this one because it seemed to me to be the one that took the most artistic skill and had the most inventive use of the theme. Hand drawn art generally seems more impressive to me than things done on a computer and this one simply looked better overall than all of the other entries. The only thing I see wrong with this entry is that the carpet around the drawing is kind of distracting, but it's not a big deal at all so whatever.

Entry 4 - This one wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It just seems so basic compared to all of the other pieces so I wasn't at all compelled to vote for it. I liked the mosaic style sky though, that was a neat choice.

Entry 5 - I would rank this piece as my second place choice. It was well done and did more with the rainbow theme than just a literal rainbow of colors, but I ended up liking Entry 3 a little more. The only slightly negative thing I have to say is that the little word banner thing in the lower right looks a little odd due to having two very different font types in it; the first font seems to fit the feeling of the piece just fine, but the second one seems a little out of place. It's not a major problem or anything, just something that bugged me a little.

[love that panda]

I'm really not enjoying the 'combined voting'. :/

That being said, I voted for #3, with #5 coming in close second.

[Kagamine]

Edit: Never mind.

Reviews pending.

[Rose Swan]

I voted 3 as well. Most of what Jorick said is what I think, but allow me to add a bit more.

Entry 1: MLP seriously turns me off, and the rainbow seems too thin and slightly crooked. Have you seen the picture of "Go Home Rainbow, You are Drunk"? It reminds me of that on a much smaller scale. It certainly fits the theme though, and you did fill the empty space, which was good on your part.

Entry 2: I can't understand much anything where this entry is concerned. It looked like you were going somewhere, then veered off course and took it to weird places. I don't understand the words or numbers, and I think I see a smiley face in there too? I guess we could call this abstract, and only certain people could really get it.

Entry 3: You got my vote! Very creative with the rainbow trees then black trunks and person. It's very well done.

Entry 4: As Jori k said, this one is a bit plain. Well done, but not imaginative.

Entry 5: Very well done, almost voted for it. But for me, it looks like one of those websites where you generate art due to the banner at the bottom. I'm sure that's not what you were going for, but that was the one thing that kept me away from voting.

[Lustre]

I'm really not enjoying the 'combined voting'. :/

Well - what can you do with only one advanced entry?

[Kagamine]

Alright, review time!

#1- I'm sorry to say, this one really disappoints. I'm not hating on the MLP thing- as I'm a fan myself and the idea made me laugh a bit- but it falls flat on the execution. The main focus of the piece is quite clearly copied from the show, the background is plain black and the words you just typed in, so, really the only thing you created that you're the artist behind are the small, skinny rainbows in the background. And, as someone else said, they look pretty crooked. If I'm supposed to actually critique your art them the most I can say is, really, make more curve-like rainbows- because that's the only thing in the piece for me to comment on. :/ Other than that, try to put more of your own work into "your art". I'm not against using stocks, but, do something to them. If the main focus of your piece is a stock that remains untouched, and hardly any of your own work is added to it, then... there's a problem. Really all I can say for this one.

#2- Again, adding to what others have already said, this one's pretty chaotic and messy. Yes I suppose it falls under the category of "abstract" but that does little when the people looking at it can't understand a thing. Here I am, trying to read the words and make sense of the numbers but I just... can't, because the words and numbers are impossible to read in some places, not to mention all over the place with no clear rhyme or rhythm to them. It also seems to fall short on the "rainbow" theme, as other than the rainbow in the background, there isn't a ton of color here. About 50% of the image is just the gray hair covering this person's face- too much gray and white. But, mainly, the reason why this didn't get my vote is because I just plain don't get it, sorry, plus it seems kinda messy and all-over-the-place. Points for it being hand-drawn, but that's not enough to make up for it.

#3- Now this was my vote, because it's A) aesthetically pleasing, B) not hard to understand, and C) you did a pretty good job drawing it. Emphasis on draw. That always adds points in my book. I know I can't draw, only create digital art, so seeing someone actually be able to draw things, on paper, with their hands, I think shows a bit more talent than playing with Photoshop- coming from someone who can only play with Photoshop. Even the way you took the photo of it is kinda impressive- whether you meant to do this or not, the surface of whatever you put the drawing on (a carpet I think?) makes a perfect border for the image. So, congrats on all that.

What I can suggest, though (for the sake of being critical), is that you add more detail and more flair to your works. Detail because, as it is, this is pretty simplistic. The trees, the spots of color, the person, the bird... most of them aren't made with shapes that are too defined. And flair because, well... again, simplicity. The whole scene is kinda plain. Looks nice, but it's plain. If more color could be added to it somehow, then I think it would fit the feel of the theme better.

Also, I'm a bit confused on your choice of color, since shades of blue aren't normally found on fall trees but, eh, minor things. Overall, nice work.

#4- I like the idea and art style here, the mosaic look is nice, especially in the sky, and I can see the effort you took to cut out each piece, so props for that. However, things start to fall apart after that. It seems rushed, especially looking at the girl- seems like you tried to make her out of as few shapes as possible. And, even then, there are other flaws, like one arm being longer than the other. Following that, the stripes on the rainbow (made of circles I think?) are all different sizes, causing them to fit together oddly. All in all, it just doesn't seem like you put as much effort into this as you could. Plus, the style doesn't seem to stay completely consistent. The way you cut out shapes in the sky and for the rainbow doesn't follow through for the rest of the piece- I'm not even sure if you were still cutting out shapes at that point, as it doesn't have that mosaic look anymore.

#5- I do agree with Rose that this almost looks generated, but I won't assume that. At any rate, the banner does give the appearance of it, which makes it look... odd. I don't know. This was close to getting my vote, though, so I can tell you that you did pretty well besides. It's cute, well-constructed, and I don't see any glaring flaws, so good on you.

[Ichthys]

My vote went to #1:

Even though the overall composition could be worked on a bit. I did admire the art itself, especially if it was made from scratch. Not to mention they used paint it says, which is not the easiest thing to work with at times. Nonetheless, I chose the first option because of the artists's ability to make a very clean and professional piece of artwork in such a program like paint.

Even though I chose #1 however, I really enjoyed #3.

~~~

Wait. It just occurred to me that by "Rainbow hand-made" it could actually be referring the the rainbow, and not Rainbow Dash... >.< Oh god, I do hope the whole thing was made from scratch.

~~~

Anyways, good job e'reone.

[Kagamine]

My vote went to #1:

Even though the overall composition could be worked on a bit. I did admire the art itself, especially if it was made from scratch. Not to mention they used paint it says, which is not the easiest thing to work with at times. Nonetheless, I chose the first option because of the artists's ability to make a very clean and professional piece of artwork in such a program like paint.

Even though I chose #1 however, I really enjoyed #3.

~~~

Wait. It just occurred to me that by "Rainbow hand-made" it could actually be referring the the rainbow, and not Rainbow Dash... >.< Oh god, I do hope the whole thing was made from scratch.

I had the exact same thought process when I first saw it. Thankfully the realization came to me before I voted.

In fact,

(One Google search later...)

Couldn't find the original image, but these still get the message across. As I thought, the Rainbow Dash was a copy/paste. Only thing hand-drawn is, as the artist comment says, the rainbow.



Ah well.

[BoostPowah]

Ah well.

The human today will do anything for popularity. How sad.

-

Okay, I voted for #3, because it was a purely beautiful mixture of autumn and rainbows together.