Round 17 - Challenge 05 - Results
ROUND 17 - CHALLENGE 05 - RESULTS
1ST PLACE [5 points]:
alisea_dream with +9 votes.
2ND PLACE [4 points]:
starkwars with +7 votes.
3RD PLACE [3 points]:
tinnny with +6 votes.
BEST INTERPRETATION [2 points]:
&
angelamaria & jsfunction with +5 votes.
MOD'S CHOICE [1 point]:
nightbulbs
[This icon is so cute! It almost looks like it should be a full sized poster to advertise this book club, you know? The circles give the icon great movement, but I love how the vibrancy of the characters allows them to stand out even with such a busy composition. I also love how the characters are all tied together with dark blue clothing. It helps bring all the different elements into balance especially with how the blue contrast against the orange/yellow background.]
TABLE KEY:
+++ = 1st Place Vote
++ = 2nd Place Vote
+ = 3rd Place Vote | Beginning of a new comment.
Note: Votes are not weighted in this round. Meaning a 1st, 2nd or 3rd vote will only give you 1 point when tallying the votes. [Tiebreaker procedure:]Except in the case of a tie - then the icon with the most 1st place votes will be given first. This is upheld in all cases unless 1) the amount of votes is equal in all cases (i.e. 3 first place, 2 second place, and 1 third place) or 2) breaking the tie would result in an icon with enough first place votes to place being knocked out of a placing spot (i.e a third place tie between two icons). In these cases, ties will stand as is in order to maintain a sense of fairness for all participants.
ICON VOTES
applepips16POSITIVE VOTES
+++ The colors pop really well here, and the painting in the hair works great with the overall coloring. The lighting and sharpness work well.
+++ Really love the coloring and the "texture" of this icon.
++ Love the coloring and the painted hair, great cutout and lighting!
++ Great work on the painted hair, and the colouring works nicely, so soft and blue!
+ I like the use of the filter on her face, making it exceptionally smooth so it matches the hand-painted impression. The hair is perfectly painted and the choice of color is great.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The coloring is nice and the making of hair painted is well executed. I would have just made the background in another color, so the blue in her hair could stand out more.
+ The colouring is lovely, but her face looks a bit too Topazy smooth and unnatural - it could do with her facial features being more defined, maybe by lowing the opacity of the smoothing layer, or sharpnening her eyes, or adding contrast to her face. Also, the cut-out around her hair, and some of the painted strands look a bit oversharpened compared to her eyes, which might exaggerate the blurredness of her face.
+ I'm guessing the blue bits you painted over Britta's hair were for the "detail" theme, but I feel they actually work against the color scheme of the icon as-is. With her face being such a pink/purple red, the greenish blue you're using only highlights the color difference between her skin + everything else. Her blonde hair might normally smooth that transition but since it's now hidden the reds almost look jarring. I'm guessing from the coloring here that you used cooling filters (w/the PS photo filter tool) to achieve the blues you have going on. I've found that often using either the green or the underwater filter is a better way to get cool tones in an icon because the other choices all pump up the pinks and reds, which then pop out more. I would suggest either using that method, popping into your selective color layer, masking out the cooling filter over her skin, or a combination of the above to get the color scheme more unified.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ nice crop and beautiful cool coloring. The painted hair is done really well, too, and the blue is the perfect shade to pair with the rest of the icon
+ I love the subtle grunge texture use here and the hair painting is super well done, the hair strands are perfectly placed!
+ Very beautiful blue colors and I love her hair! Amazing. Her face are little blurry on my screen; I'd add a soft light layer to bring more contrast her face.
thyla87POSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love the retro-drama atmosphere of this, the yellows of this are so nice and the whole look of the icon is so neat. I really like the animation too, gives something different to it.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Woah! It makes me dizzy.
+ Love the composition and the rotation effect. It is very cool!
+ this icon is silly (in the good way)! :D Having Walter spin around the icon is really eye-catching, and the colors are wonderfully vibrant
+ I really like the animation, it's fun and creative! And nice job with the cut-out as well. Walter's face looks a bit dark and yellow/orange-ish, though, you could add a layer of selective colouring to fix that.
+ The extra vibrant coloring in this icon is spectacular! I particularly like the way his outfit matches the neon yellows of the background. The animations seems a bit random and unnecessary to me, but then again I’m not familiar with the subject so that’s probably why I’m missing its point.
starkwarsPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ The crop, the coloring, the lighting - everything is just perfect!
+++ The close crop looks very pretty! Lighting and sharpness are perfect and the coloring is really interesting as well, I love it!
+++ Beautiful crop and colouring! The crop and the colouring both work to give the icon a very intense feel.
+++ I really like love the dramatic, vibrant colors! Totally appreciate the difficulty of a crop like this as well, so kudos for that. Really loving the extreme sharpness and clarity and light work
+++ I love the coloring and the incredible depth. The light noise could have worked against that, but instead adds to it, like stardust floating in front of her face.
+++ The crop and coloring is beautiful. I do however wish there was less topaz, it quite visible under her right eye.
+ Beautifully intense coloring and contrast, and the close crop in this icon is absolutely flawless! I love the bits of grunge, it’s an unusual choice for a vibrant close crop but totally works and gives this a nice sparkly fairytale look. The sharpness is fantastic too.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ The crop is beautiful, the coloring and light use is so nice, it looks like the subject is in slow motion and I really like it.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Stunning colors and the crop is eye-catching.
+ the crop on this icon is amazing, and the coloring is fantastic too! The speckled texture make it feel almost like an outer space galaxy with stars
+ Nice interpretation of the theme, I like that extreme close crop and the very daring colours! The sharpness is on point as well, well done!
cool_spectrumPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ Although it's a nice way to interpret the theme, I feel like a different colouring/lighting would suit this icon better. Here the frost lacks definition and I didn't realize what it was at first, you could add some contrast to it, or focus the light on the hand instead.
+ I wish there was more contrast on this icon or just less dark. Also, I wouldn't color the hand in the same blue coloring than the background, it would have more impact that way.
+ I like the colors in this and while I like your use of the theme, I feel it should have more of the character in it because one can't really tell who it is or where the image is from without seeing the original screencap.
+ The coloring is nice but I think the icon would benefit from another crop, because without the original cap, I wouldn't be able to tell what's going on. Maybe moving the crop to the left where we would see more of his arm and less of the wall would make the icon more balanced.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ unique crop on the cap and nice coloring, too!
+ Very original cropping. The coloring is very smooth and I like the soft lighting and contrast.
+ I love the blue colorings but I think it would work better different crop. Maybe you should try cropping where also appear in his face.
shameless666POSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The colors look good, but the painting on the hair next to the busy background feels a bit overwhelming. Maybe less color on the hair or a simpler background would give it a smoother feel.
+ I love the colouring of the icob. It is so vibrant and pretty. However, I think the background colour should have been something other than the same colour as her hair. Right now, it feels like the hair is disappearing into the background. I think a different colour like red or orange or purple would have helped the hair stand out better.
+ The colouring of this icon is lovely, and the painted hair is a nice effect, but overall it looks a little over-contrasted and blurry, especially in the top left corner. Maybe adding some light textures on low opacity screen/soft light might help?
+ Even though I really like the hair-painting, I wish the background was a different color. This is both to keep the hair from blending in with the background and to make the icon pop more. Perhaps purple or blue could work, as they look pretty with orange/yellow.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Lovely colours and composition!
+ I love the colorings and the lighting
+ The colors on Clary are incredible! The yellow and orange colors fit her perfectly. However, her hair seems too painted, especially around her bangs, with the strands being a little too thick
+ I really like the coloring of this icon, lovely vibrant hair especially! However I think the hair painting is a bit awkward, since the hair strands are quite thick and don’t seem to vary in thickness. I’d recommend doing hair painting with a drawing tablet with pressure sensitivity on, and with a very small (1-3px) brush.
naginisPOSITIVE VOTES
++ The somehow muted and yet, at the same time, bright look of this icon is so eye-catching and I love it, the colours and the text use is perfect.
++ I really love the colorings and how creative this icon is. The colors fit together so well and I love font!
+ The bright colors painted on the subject work really well and accent the background/overlay colors. The way they cover his face is well done and gives the icon a unique feel.
+ I love the composition in this icon! The color scheme is lovely and I love how the text starts off one color and ends another, with the contrasting color as a "shadow". It lends itself to a complex icon that is also beautifully simple.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like the color combination and the composition looks quite interesting. However I think the lighting was a bit harsh on this icon, with the result that now the caps look a bit blurred and not very detailed. I'd suggest to use a colored light surce, maybe pink or green as the background.
+ The coloring on this icon is amazing, and the cut outs of the subjects are great! The text is a little hard to read, however, since it's the exact same colors as the backgrounds, and it feels there's pieces missing from the people rather than text on top of them. Changing the pink to a darker color(like the dark pink color of the hair) would help define the text more
+ I love this icon, the colors are so terrific and vivid so it's why I struggle with the black and white of the character on the left. The tone of that cap detracts from the overall vibrancy of the icon and if it were colored like the characters on the right, the icon would just really stand out.
+ Great composition! I love the text and the two figures on the right. The pastel green is a wonderfully bold choice and goes really well with the pink. The face in the corner looks a little too light in comparison to the high-contrast rest of the icon, though. I would leave out the light gradient or add more contrast to the face.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I had trouble figuring out what was going on at first (that top-left glow isn't necessary and I think Sarah might use a bit more contrast here), but I actually like your composition and use of text!
+ Love the composition and the color combination in this icon. The large text is fantastic as well, great size, placement and font choices! In my opinion the lighting on the left washes out the b&w cap a bit too much, turning too much of it into a mid grey. I think a matte look might work better for this icon or just leaving the lighting mostly to the right. Still a gorgeous icon though!
alisea_dreamPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love your texture work in this icon! It makes the piece come together so nicely. Well done!
+++ the coloring and composition on this icon are really amazing! The colors each complement each other, and the tiny lines around the icon work very well
+++ Wow, this icon is completely amazing, and perfect for the theme because there are so many cool little details hiding in here! What a fascinating composition. The bit of grunge/halftone texture in the background, the lines and shapes and the white outlines added to the subject are all extremely fascinating to look at and on top of that the coloring is wonderfully vibrant too, the cyan details pop gorgeously against the contrasting yellow. I just love everything about this icon!
+++ The use of textures to fill the negative space is incredibly well done, and the cut-out and colouring is amazing - the icon looks so completely different from the dark screencap!
++ The background looks so rich and the bold coloring is perfect! I really like the white outline around the sofa as well, I think it makes the icon look really special.
++ Great use of color and textures
+ Very pretty and playful coloring.
+ Wow! I love negative space and the yellow color. Character is very well cut-out and I love the bg.
+ I love the background and colour scheme here, everything is really detailed and the almost-extreme negative space is perfectly executed.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the texture use on this icon and the color is just so good.
+ Great composition and use of texture, a very cute icon!
novindalfPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ The crop is fantastic and the icon fits the theme so well!
+++ That crop tho! I love the crop and the smooth feel of the icon. The black and white use makes it have even more of an impact.
+ The cropping is so inspiring here. Chosing to do a black & white coloring makes the icon more powerful in my opinion.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ amazing job at capturing and the perfect cap and emotion for the theme
+ I quite like the crop plus added drama of the black and white icon--it really highlights the focus on her eyes and how she is looking at whatever she is looking at!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the close crop and lighting.
+ The cropping is superb and I love how the darkness and turning the cap into bw create a dramatic look.
julie_izumiPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The theme is completely respected here, well done there! However, I think the crop looks rather awkward with the way her mouth is cut off and we can only see a tiny bit of her left eye. I think maybe a slightly less extreme close crop could have helped show more of her features in a more proportionate way. I would have moved the image to the right so both her eyes feature in the icon and more of her mouth is shown.
+ the crop is amazing on this icon! The cap, however, is a little low quality and it leaves some splotches around the darker/shadow spots of the icon, like her nose and cheek. Play with the blur tool (around 35%) and those rough edges will disappear
+ I really love the crop and the emotional impact of this icon! It just looks slightly blurry on my screen, taking away some of the impact. I think slightly more sharpness, especially on her mouth and below her eye, would have made it perfect.
+ I love the stark and feel of the icon. It makes it stand out really well. And while I like the extreme close crop of the icon, I think the crop should have been positioned slightly differently. At the left corner you can still see a little of the subject's eye and on the right you can see a little of her eyebrow. Personally, I feel little details like these tend to detract from the rest of the icon. In your icon, I would recommend rotating the crop a bit so that you can get a little of her left in the picture or completely cut it out. Alternatively, since the subject has such pretty eyes you could crop the cap in such a way that it highlights her eyes.
+ Love the daring extreme crop here! Close crops are quite tricky because you're so up close to the face that small smudges are highlighted, which I think happened here--on the lower right hand side there's a bunch of jpeg artifacts that are distracting most especially because the rest of the icon is quite smooth. There is a danger of this icon being almost too smooth as well, such that it looks a bit mannequin-ish without going all the way over (i.e. exploiting it completely and turning it into a style), so I would suggest either embracing that somewhat unnatural smoothness, or going the opposite direction and adding a bit of grunge instead.
+ On the one hand, I love the crop here. Having an extreme close crop where her mouth is in the corner and the mouth-eye axis creates a diagonal line in the middle is a great idea! But on the other hand I don’t think the source cap lends itself well to cropping this close. Extreme close crops usually require a cap where the subject is already very close, while this cap has a medium crop so using it for a close crop leaves some quality imperfections visible, such as the slight blotchiness on her skin in the bottom right and the blurry look of her facial features. Blurring some parts manually while sharpening others might work to some extent but generally I’d suggest using a cap like this for a mid crop or negative space icon, and using closeup shots of characters for close cropped icons.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I think you could try a slightly wider crop as the way her nose and right eye are cropped out looks a bit odd. Alternatively, you could add some shadow textures/brushes/gradient to mask what's left of the eye and a bit of the nose and make the icon pop out a little bit.
ghanimasunPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like your use of light here, however there's a bit of light left behind the subject's head that looks slightly out of place and takes the focus away from their face. I think you could tweak the lighting (add a black gradient on softlight ?) or even the crop slightly just to avoid that little bit of light by their neck.
+ I like the crop style, its so balanced and it makes you focus in her expression. The coloring is maybe way too dark in the left and too bright in the right, the deep lighting makes the icon look a bit grainy/over sharpened, I would use a soft gradient mask and lower the opacity, or use a soft brush and add some dark and light in the spots I want to darken or lighten, focusing specially in the up right corner with the bright lighting.
+ The cropping is really nice in this icon, however the lighting seems a bit off. The way her neck is almost completely black makes it look like it's not there. I suggest balancing out the lighting with a light to dark gradient on soft light.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ fantastic crop! The coloring is a little unbalanced though, with her eyes beginning to wash out and her neck disappearing into the dark. Try playing with gradients and soft light layers
+ I love the golden tones in this icon! Great lighting too, and the crop is perfect for the theme since the other features being mostly hidden and the eye being nicely framed by the shape thing (tattoo? makeup? idk) draws the eye to the eye right away. Some parts of this icon look a bit too sharp to me though, especially the bright pixels near her ear.
nightbulbsPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Super creative, the texture use, the caps and the coloring is so vivid.
+++ Wonderful use of texture and composition is stunning. I love texture work and colors!
++ this icon is really cute and the composition is just as nice! The coloring is really good and the typography fits the icon just right.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I absolutely love the concept of this icon and the coloring you used on the caps is super pretty, but there's something about the background that doesn't really look harmonious to me and I'm not sure if it's the white circles, the orange "stripes" or, probably, the combination of them. I think I would have kept only one of the two elements, probably the circles since they better match the really pretty composition in the center, but coloring them orange.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ What a fun icon! Great composition and I love the text lol
+ What a fun whimsical icon! LOVE the composition, you found a really creative way to combine many subjects and I looove that you even came up with a fun book club theme that ties the characters together. Each of the caps is gorgeously colored too and I love the shapes in the background add even more interest to this icon. I like the text too but I’d make ‘book club’ a bit smaller so it would be the same width as ‘TARDIS’, just a personal preference probably but I’d find the text neater that way. This icon was a strong candidate for my top 3, wish there had been more space there.
laxiryaPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Lovely soft lighting and unusual use of multiple images
++ I got the feeling this icon is telling me a story, which is something amazing. The coloring is also really nice and warm. The star texture suits is well too.
++ I love how you arranged the characters at different angles and how you adapted their colors (especially the face) to match. Very complex and unusual, but it looks like a coherent whole.
+ Great composition, I love how the different images are arranged and I love the coloring
+ Great blending and use of colour!
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason provided.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ Wow, I love the bold, creative collage arrangement you went for in this icon! I think the coloring could use more work though since all the three caps are so similar in coloring that they blend together a bit too well, making it hard to see what’s going on in the area where the three caps meet. A simple and clear way to fix this would be to use gradient maps to turn all or some of these caps to different monochrome colors: maybe one could be yellow-black to match the yellow stars, one could be red-black and the third could stay natural colored or maybe black and white or a different red monochrome (lighter or darker)? Or, just turning the middle image into a monochrome could be enough. This is just a suggestion, I really like this icon. The glowy lighting is fantastic too!
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ nice composition and the coloring is really pretty and soft
+ Love the pretty colouring and the composition. I also like the way the subjects are positioned.
+ The composition in this one is wonderful, the soft pink tones are pretty and everything fits perfectly put together.
adriftingseaPOSITIVE VOTES
++ This icon is spectacular and reminds me of old-school blocking with its many, many repeated images! The vibrant coloring and shiny lighting and stark contrast all make a wonderful impact together, so A+ work on the base image, and then the composition itself is amazing as well. You managed to fit so many blocks there and each of them shows just enough of the subject.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ I love how you interpreted the theme Multitudes. The positioning of the blocking makes it seem like the subject herself is multiplying. Also love the colouring of the icon!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I love the lighting and the green colors but her face gets too lost in the green colors and the left character is blurry on my screen. I'd fix this by masking out some of the green colors her face and character sharpening may help.
+ The repetition and composition are nice but I think one of the repetition could be more visible and with a more natural coloring so at least one of the pic allow us to see the subject properly and have a precise point of focus. The coloring is also really green and I think it would benefit to mask it a bit from her face.
+ I love the coloring and the light/shadow play you have going here! However the blocking, I feel, could be a little more purposeful. I do find blocking to be a challenge myself and totally understand why you went the blocking route, but at the moment the icon looks too homogeneous, too much of the same thing. I would suggest changing up the blocks a little: either in color (contrasting colors, perhaps?) or crop (you could also flip the image around), or using a completely separate element to tie them together, like a cutout of the character in the foreground, or text, or even a decorative accent, just to break up the blocks a little.
+ While I'm a fan of your coloring and texture use, the composition of this icon throws me because not only can you see the face of a character in the little side of each block that's sticking out, you also see what I think is the top of her head, repeated, to the left of that face? It looks rather strange to have a disembodied head-top floating around, and it also makes me feel like I'm missing something because I can't tell anything important about her from the part of her that you've shown. I also think that the image duplication here isn't very exciting because it's basically just the same thing in different sizes. While the differently-sized overlapping blocks are cool, I would love to see each duplication focus on a different part of her to show the viewer something that they may not notice in that last block alone. An example - that may end up going very badly because I am NOT familiar with this fandom - is that this is a character who has an alter ego? or an alternative self? or something? I think? - and using the duplication/blocking method to compare and contrast those two characters would be really interesting!
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Nice composition, and a great interpretation of the theme!
+ I really like the interpretation for the theme. Overlaying it with gradients like that is an amazing method for making them all look different. I love that!
angelamariaPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I'm so impressed you manage to put that many characters on one icon without it being too 'busy'. The coloring and composition is also really nice and interesting. The texture is also really pretty.
++ I am really impressed with the composition of the icon. I love how you choose to frame all the subjects around Frodo without overwhelming the icon!
+ I'm frankly impressed with the amount of people you managed to fit into this icon without it looking overcrowded! The whole piece does look a little sharp and washed out on my screen, which makes it kind of hard to tell what it is - I would maybe screen out some of your layers that add brightness/paint over important features with a dark color and then set that layer to soft light to bring some definition back so we can see everyone clearly!
+ The composition is sooo pretty here! I love how all the characters seems equally important here: I think the contrast between the brown/orange palette and the blue/green background really works well.
+ The composition of this is wonderful! I also love how you managed to tie in all the individual figures by keeping the yellows from the centre silhouette consistent with the colours of Aragon and Sam's hair.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ No reason given.
+ Fantastic use of so many images, definitely fits the theme 'multitudes'!
+ Impressive composition, and final result looks really great and definitely gives that idea of a multitude supporting Frodo
+ Whoa, you’ve done a fantastic job combining an insane number of caps! *__* Seriously, I’m in awe of this composition, it reminds me of a really cool movie poster. The yellow silhouette behind Frodo was a clever way to make sure he stands out from the multitude of caps. I’d probably remove the white grungy texture since there is definitely enough going on without it, but otherwise I think this icon is pretty much flawless, and a perfect, nicely ambitious take on the theme!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The compositon here is awesome, I had no idea that a 100x100 icon can gather so many different images! However, the icon looks really oversharpened on my screen and I find the white texture in the center rather distracting. I'd recommend add a blurred layer on top on lower opacity to smooth the sharpening areas or just go over with the smudge tool around their hair and faces. And I'd also remove the white texture, the icon is too busy as it is and adding further details just overly complicates it.
+ The concept of this icon is really interesting and so well done, but it looks a little grainy so I'd recommend smoothing a little with the smoothing tool, also that cloudy/grunge texture covers most part of the icon and it gets all the attention, it would look better without that texture. As for the yellow shadow effect I think it will look better if it was much more closer to Frodo's.
+ I really like the idea here and the colors. However, I think there is too much going on. I think this could work better without the white texture because it covers a part of the characters.
+ This icon has such lovely colours and an amazing composition! But I think the smokey/cloudy white texture on the bottom half hides too much of Merry, Pippin and Aragorn's face and distracts the eye, which is a shame because there's so much to love about this! I would also perhaps remove some of the brightness over Boromir and Gandalf so that every character is equally visible, and I'd erase/lower some of the sharpness on the bottom half - because of the stronger contrast, Legolas, Merry, Aragorn and Pippin look a bit oversharpened on my screen while the rest of them don't. The darker and contrasted an icon is, the less strong sharpening it needs.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I love the way the multiple caps were layed out and the blues and yellows of this icon.
+ the amount of caps you managed to work into a single icon is phenomenal!! Bravo to you, brave one! The coloring is really nice and rich too. The only thing that doesn't seem to fit is the white blotch over the middle of the icon, since it doesn't blend well/match the rest of the icon
+ I adore the complexity of this icon. Unfortunately, it looks very sharp on my screen, especially the person in the yellow shirt on the bottom. I'm also not sure about the white noise that partly covers Frodo. I think it would have worked better without it, letting him take center stage. I really like the coloring and the yellow cutout behind him, though, and how you managed to fit so many of the fellowship into the icon.
tiptoetwirlPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The lighting and coloring on this icon are so great. It just feels a little over sharpened or lacking some contrast. A different sharpening method, or erasing some areas where it looks a little grainy would help.
+ I like the cap that you used, especially as it relates to the theme. The crop is really pretty but I think the coloring feels halfway between vivid and neutral. The blue against her blonde hair gives it a green cast. I think pushing the vibrancy with saturation layers and fill layers would really round this icon out and given it punch.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ the coloring on this is amazing, and the icon is so bright and pretty! The crop is really nice, too
+ I really like the brightness and contrast of this icon! The coloring is lovely too, I especially like how all the vibrant turquoise pops.
+ I love how nicely this fits the "stone cold" theme, both with the icon itself being cold and with Helena as a stone cold killer. You could even try a closer crop to make it stand out a bit more!
marcasitePOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ this cap is so amazing and the crop works with it perfectly! The coloring is really nice to, and the lighting works wonderfully
+ The crop looks slightly out of balance to me, as the eye is drawn more towards the empty bit on the right than towards the subject. To keep the negative space, maybe change the lighting, by having the bright part being on the subject rather than in the corner?
+ I love this one especially because of the cap selection, and that your worked with the light and dark very well, the blues are so soft and it gives the icon a sensation of calm, while the cap can express some "angsty" sensation.
+ This icon has a wonderfully smooth, subtle overall look. The contrast, coloring and lighting are all so soft and beautiful and work together incredibly well.
spirits_risePOSITIVE VOTES
++ This icon looks simple but is very eye-catching, well done on the colouring, texture use and soft lighting!
++ Love the low contrast/faded feel of this icon. The subtle colors make the icon stand out and the lighting is a nice accent.
++ I love the muted colours and the subtle lighting
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Really beautiful muted colors.
+ the crop is very nice and the muted coloring is very pretty, but the icon feels a little blurry, especially around his head
+ This looks a bit too dark and sharp on my screen, I think Sir Leon needs to stand out a bit more against the background. You could play with levels or add textures on soft light?
+ I love the antique-y, muted tones of this icon so much! It feels quite apt for the theme and the low contrast coloring is done really well, while still retaining beautiful depth in the lighting of the whole icon.
+ LOVE the coloring of this icon. The muted vintage color scheme looks super gorgeous and the sharp, gritty look really fits the coloring and mood of the icon. The subtle lighting on the right adds a perfect finishing touch to the look.
+ In general I'm a fan of muted coloring, and I like what you've done with the coloring in this icon, but right now the piece looks a bit unfinished because it looks very flat. The subject almost blends into the background even though he's not exactly the same colors - but everything shares similar hues and the same brightness, so there's not much depth. This is where lighting textures, gradients set to soft light, or making-the-lighting-yourself are really helpful. For instance, if you took a small black brush and outlined him, then blurred a bit, then set to softlight, bam, there's a bit of a shadow around him that makes him pop more. If you don't like that, you can invert for a halo effect. And then use the same technique to play with the light in the background. Playing with lighting is one of those small tweaks that can make a huge difference in the "pop" factor of your icon!
jsfunctionPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Wow. I absolutely LOVE your colouring here, and the animation is amazing too!! I'm completely in love with this icon.
++ Nice effect and so fitting for the theme and the colors are really pretty!
+ I love the colours in the icon and I all the more love how you chose to use the animation effect. The end result is that it looks like a really vibrant painting that is in the process of being made.
+ Pastels colours are my favs and this icon has all of them and I just love the coloring and how the painty-look animation merges with the background.
+ Cool use of animation and textures
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ No reason given.
+ Really creative way to "erase"
+ Those different brushes look amazing.
+ Very clever use of textures to literalize the theme!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I love how you have interpreted this theme, it's so clever and the colors are magnificent! However I'm not sure if the gif was the right thing to do for this challenge, because often gifs lower the quality of the icon itself and in this case it made the icon grainy, especially on the left part, where the dark areas are. I'd recommend to keep the icon png, and "erase" only bits of the icon with the paint brushes, so it will preserve the quality of the image.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ a wonderfully creative way to interpret the theme "erased"! The coloring is really nice and bright, too, and the semi-painted effect is great, as well
+ I just love the creativity in this! I love how he's literally being erased, or painted over, and the bright colors are just lovely. Great job!
+ The animation effect is stunning and I really love the colorings.
gribouillePOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the lighting and colouring and I really love the texture use.
+ the lighting on this icon is wonderfully, and the crop is really great as well!
+ I like the cropping and the texture use, the sof contrast is beautiful and the overall look is so mutted and soft, very pretty,
+ I actually really, really like this icon! I love how it is slowly fading away, being erased away, and how the fading it jagged, painty, almost as if someone really is rubbing her out. I kind of wish the coloring is deeper/more dramatic/more contrasty and there wasn't that bit of light on the left border of the icon, however I just imagined it being "colored in" and I think I also prefer it not flat black too, haha. Overall a lovely icon with so much potential!
+ I really like the muted coloring and soft lighting in this icon! I’m not sure about the brushstroke/painty effect on her, I think it looks slightly out of place since the overall look of the rest of the icon is very soft and shiny, while that brush effect is bold and gritty. I think you probably used it to make the icon fit the theme, but the bright lighting on the right is already a great start to making her ‘erased’ by the light alone, so maybe taking that idea further would have worked better. Or alternatively, I could also see this icon working nicely if you kept the brush effect and continued with the use of painty textures on the rest of the icon so it would be a cohesive look.
+ I want to start by acknowledging your awesome texture work here - I love love love the way the texture overlaps her face! It's like she's disappearing into fog. Or maybe becoming a ghost. I don't know, but it's awesome! I do think the lighting is a bit uneven (and hear me out before you say, yes, that's the point)--what I'm talking about has more to do with the amount of detail the lighting allows us to see. On the right side of her face, we can see pretty much everything because it's lighter. You can see the difference between the pupil and the whites of her eyes, for instance. On the left side, both her eye and her hair are mostly just a dark spot. So, though one half of her is supposed to be dark and one half light, I would do a bit of lightening work on the whole icon first to pull out those details. It may be something you can do with some carefully-painted-on highlights set to soft light, or maybe masking out layers that make those parts darker. Or, you could lighten it all and then add shadows back in where they don't destroy details. Or, and this is a personal least favorite, grab some nice PS brushes and reconstruct her hair with a bit more depth and detail. I love the idea behind this icon, but I would also love to see the base looking a bit more balanced so the too-darkness doesn't draw attention away from the textured bit!
tinnnyPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love that this icon is soft and complex at the same time. The background is amazing, and the blending and text are really well done. Each element is visible while not being overpowering and distracting either. It's a very well-balanced icon.
++ This is a rather strange composition, but you won me over with it. I really like your text work, it's easily readable even though it's over both dark and light backgrounds, and I know how hard that is. I am a bit confused about what's going on in the background of the cap because I keep thinking that its more of the person whose face outline you used; part of that reason could be because of the pinkish-orange bits amidst the green that kind of look like skin tone. I think it's just part of your texture, but doing a bit of color correction on that might not be amiss!
++ I love the creativity in this icon! I love how there are still faint hints of the background character's facial features as well, and how you've filled it in with the background--it lends a very dramatic feel to the icon, very well done! Only I'm not entirely sure about the text, I understand why you set it to screen but I think a solid color would have benefited the icon better.
++ The composition and text works really well together. I love how it almost looks like he is floating in the clouds.
+ such a cool and creative icon! The blending works really great, and the double exposure idea is really cool and creative for the theme. The coloring is nice as well, and the blues/teals work together well
+ Nice composition and coloring!
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like the full body image imposed over the erased face and the texture use. I think it could use a little more contrast on the right side and maybe some sharpening there as well. The person in the center I think needs to be brightened and sharpened a bit too.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I really like the composition of the icon and the text. I would recommend a different colour for the text however as it is not easy to make it out against the background. Or you could even just set the text layer to Difference so that it will contrast better against the background.
+ Interesting composition and use of text, I'm not familiar with the fandom so I didn't realize that the silhouette in the foreground was supposed to be the subject's face at first, but after looking at the screencap I think it's a good idea, and I like your use of light.
+ This is a fascinating icon. I like the original idea of blending with an inverted cap, it took me a look at the cap to understand what it was, at first I only saw a texture or a brush stroke behind him, but it looked good either way because of the way the silhouette frames the smaller cap, pulling it to focus. I like the text too, especially the fact that you’ve blended it with the icon by using a layer mode that isn’t Normal (Screen maybe?). The muted, cool coloring looks great too.
After 16 and a half rounds of filling in this table the exact same way I decided to switch it up to help cut down on copy&paste errors. Hopefully that helps, but if you see anything amiss, please let me know.
Updated points spreadsheet here.
1ST PLACE [5 points]:
alisea_dream with +9 votes.
2ND PLACE [4 points]:
starkwars with +7 votes.
3RD PLACE [3 points]:
tinnny with +6 votes.
BEST INTERPRETATION [2 points]:
&
angelamaria & jsfunction with +5 votes.
MOD'S CHOICE [1 point]:
nightbulbs
[This icon is so cute! It almost looks like it should be a full sized poster to advertise this book club, you know? The circles give the icon great movement, but I love how the vibrancy of the characters allows them to stand out even with such a busy composition. I also love how the characters are all tied together with dark blue clothing. It helps bring all the different elements into balance especially with how the blue contrast against the orange/yellow background.]
TABLE KEY:
+++ = 1st Place Vote
++ = 2nd Place Vote
+ = 3rd Place Vote | Beginning of a new comment.
Note: Votes are not weighted in this round. Meaning a 1st, 2nd or 3rd vote will only give you 1 point when tallying the votes. [Tiebreaker procedure:]Except in the case of a tie - then the icon with the most 1st place votes will be given first. This is upheld in all cases unless 1) the amount of votes is equal in all cases (i.e. 3 first place, 2 second place, and 1 third place) or 2) breaking the tie would result in an icon with enough first place votes to place being knocked out of a placing spot (i.e a third place tie between two icons). In these cases, ties will stand as is in order to maintain a sense of fairness for all participants.
ICON VOTES
applepips16POSITIVE VOTES
+++ The colors pop really well here, and the painting in the hair works great with the overall coloring. The lighting and sharpness work well.
+++ Really love the coloring and the "texture" of this icon.
++ Love the coloring and the painted hair, great cutout and lighting!
++ Great work on the painted hair, and the colouring works nicely, so soft and blue!
+ I like the use of the filter on her face, making it exceptionally smooth so it matches the hand-painted impression. The hair is perfectly painted and the choice of color is great.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The coloring is nice and the making of hair painted is well executed. I would have just made the background in another color, so the blue in her hair could stand out more.
+ The colouring is lovely, but her face looks a bit too Topazy smooth and unnatural - it could do with her facial features being more defined, maybe by lowing the opacity of the smoothing layer, or sharpnening her eyes, or adding contrast to her face. Also, the cut-out around her hair, and some of the painted strands look a bit oversharpened compared to her eyes, which might exaggerate the blurredness of her face.
+ I'm guessing the blue bits you painted over Britta's hair were for the "detail" theme, but I feel they actually work against the color scheme of the icon as-is. With her face being such a pink/purple red, the greenish blue you're using only highlights the color difference between her skin + everything else. Her blonde hair might normally smooth that transition but since it's now hidden the reds almost look jarring. I'm guessing from the coloring here that you used cooling filters (w/the PS photo filter tool) to achieve the blues you have going on. I've found that often using either the green or the underwater filter is a better way to get cool tones in an icon because the other choices all pump up the pinks and reds, which then pop out more. I would suggest either using that method, popping into your selective color layer, masking out the cooling filter over her skin, or a combination of the above to get the color scheme more unified.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ nice crop and beautiful cool coloring. The painted hair is done really well, too, and the blue is the perfect shade to pair with the rest of the icon
+ I love the subtle grunge texture use here and the hair painting is super well done, the hair strands are perfectly placed!
+ Very beautiful blue colors and I love her hair! Amazing. Her face are little blurry on my screen; I'd add a soft light layer to bring more contrast her face.
thyla87POSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love the retro-drama atmosphere of this, the yellows of this are so nice and the whole look of the icon is so neat. I really like the animation too, gives something different to it.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Woah! It makes me dizzy.
+ Love the composition and the rotation effect. It is very cool!
+ this icon is silly (in the good way)! :D Having Walter spin around the icon is really eye-catching, and the colors are wonderfully vibrant
+ I really like the animation, it's fun and creative! And nice job with the cut-out as well. Walter's face looks a bit dark and yellow/orange-ish, though, you could add a layer of selective colouring to fix that.
+ The extra vibrant coloring in this icon is spectacular! I particularly like the way his outfit matches the neon yellows of the background. The animations seems a bit random and unnecessary to me, but then again I’m not familiar with the subject so that’s probably why I’m missing its point.
starkwarsPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ The crop, the coloring, the lighting - everything is just perfect!
+++ The close crop looks very pretty! Lighting and sharpness are perfect and the coloring is really interesting as well, I love it!
+++ Beautiful crop and colouring! The crop and the colouring both work to give the icon a very intense feel.
+++ I really like love the dramatic, vibrant colors! Totally appreciate the difficulty of a crop like this as well, so kudos for that. Really loving the extreme sharpness and clarity and light work
+++ I love the coloring and the incredible depth. The light noise could have worked against that, but instead adds to it, like stardust floating in front of her face.
+++ The crop and coloring is beautiful. I do however wish there was less topaz, it quite visible under her right eye.
+ Beautifully intense coloring and contrast, and the close crop in this icon is absolutely flawless! I love the bits of grunge, it’s an unusual choice for a vibrant close crop but totally works and gives this a nice sparkly fairytale look. The sharpness is fantastic too.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ The crop is beautiful, the coloring and light use is so nice, it looks like the subject is in slow motion and I really like it.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Stunning colors and the crop is eye-catching.
+ the crop on this icon is amazing, and the coloring is fantastic too! The speckled texture make it feel almost like an outer space galaxy with stars
+ Nice interpretation of the theme, I like that extreme close crop and the very daring colours! The sharpness is on point as well, well done!
cool_spectrumPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ Although it's a nice way to interpret the theme, I feel like a different colouring/lighting would suit this icon better. Here the frost lacks definition and I didn't realize what it was at first, you could add some contrast to it, or focus the light on the hand instead.
+ I wish there was more contrast on this icon or just less dark. Also, I wouldn't color the hand in the same blue coloring than the background, it would have more impact that way.
+ I like the colors in this and while I like your use of the theme, I feel it should have more of the character in it because one can't really tell who it is or where the image is from without seeing the original screencap.
+ The coloring is nice but I think the icon would benefit from another crop, because without the original cap, I wouldn't be able to tell what's going on. Maybe moving the crop to the left where we would see more of his arm and less of the wall would make the icon more balanced.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ unique crop on the cap and nice coloring, too!
+ Very original cropping. The coloring is very smooth and I like the soft lighting and contrast.
+ I love the blue colorings but I think it would work better different crop. Maybe you should try cropping where also appear in his face.
shameless666POSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The colors look good, but the painting on the hair next to the busy background feels a bit overwhelming. Maybe less color on the hair or a simpler background would give it a smoother feel.
+ I love the colouring of the icob. It is so vibrant and pretty. However, I think the background colour should have been something other than the same colour as her hair. Right now, it feels like the hair is disappearing into the background. I think a different colour like red or orange or purple would have helped the hair stand out better.
+ The colouring of this icon is lovely, and the painted hair is a nice effect, but overall it looks a little over-contrasted and blurry, especially in the top left corner. Maybe adding some light textures on low opacity screen/soft light might help?
+ Even though I really like the hair-painting, I wish the background was a different color. This is both to keep the hair from blending in with the background and to make the icon pop more. Perhaps purple or blue could work, as they look pretty with orange/yellow.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Lovely colours and composition!
+ I love the colorings and the lighting
+ The colors on Clary are incredible! The yellow and orange colors fit her perfectly. However, her hair seems too painted, especially around her bangs, with the strands being a little too thick
+ I really like the coloring of this icon, lovely vibrant hair especially! However I think the hair painting is a bit awkward, since the hair strands are quite thick and don’t seem to vary in thickness. I’d recommend doing hair painting with a drawing tablet with pressure sensitivity on, and with a very small (1-3px) brush.
naginisPOSITIVE VOTES
++ The somehow muted and yet, at the same time, bright look of this icon is so eye-catching and I love it, the colours and the text use is perfect.
++ I really love the colorings and how creative this icon is. The colors fit together so well and I love font!
+ The bright colors painted on the subject work really well and accent the background/overlay colors. The way they cover his face is well done and gives the icon a unique feel.
+ I love the composition in this icon! The color scheme is lovely and I love how the text starts off one color and ends another, with the contrasting color as a "shadow". It lends itself to a complex icon that is also beautifully simple.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like the color combination and the composition looks quite interesting. However I think the lighting was a bit harsh on this icon, with the result that now the caps look a bit blurred and not very detailed. I'd suggest to use a colored light surce, maybe pink or green as the background.
+ The coloring on this icon is amazing, and the cut outs of the subjects are great! The text is a little hard to read, however, since it's the exact same colors as the backgrounds, and it feels there's pieces missing from the people rather than text on top of them. Changing the pink to a darker color(like the dark pink color of the hair) would help define the text more
+ I love this icon, the colors are so terrific and vivid so it's why I struggle with the black and white of the character on the left. The tone of that cap detracts from the overall vibrancy of the icon and if it were colored like the characters on the right, the icon would just really stand out.
+ Great composition! I love the text and the two figures on the right. The pastel green is a wonderfully bold choice and goes really well with the pink. The face in the corner looks a little too light in comparison to the high-contrast rest of the icon, though. I would leave out the light gradient or add more contrast to the face.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I had trouble figuring out what was going on at first (that top-left glow isn't necessary and I think Sarah might use a bit more contrast here), but I actually like your composition and use of text!
+ Love the composition and the color combination in this icon. The large text is fantastic as well, great size, placement and font choices! In my opinion the lighting on the left washes out the b&w cap a bit too much, turning too much of it into a mid grey. I think a matte look might work better for this icon or just leaving the lighting mostly to the right. Still a gorgeous icon though!
alisea_dreamPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love your texture work in this icon! It makes the piece come together so nicely. Well done!
+++ the coloring and composition on this icon are really amazing! The colors each complement each other, and the tiny lines around the icon work very well
+++ Wow, this icon is completely amazing, and perfect for the theme because there are so many cool little details hiding in here! What a fascinating composition. The bit of grunge/halftone texture in the background, the lines and shapes and the white outlines added to the subject are all extremely fascinating to look at and on top of that the coloring is wonderfully vibrant too, the cyan details pop gorgeously against the contrasting yellow. I just love everything about this icon!
+++ The use of textures to fill the negative space is incredibly well done, and the cut-out and colouring is amazing - the icon looks so completely different from the dark screencap!
++ The background looks so rich and the bold coloring is perfect! I really like the white outline around the sofa as well, I think it makes the icon look really special.
++ Great use of color and textures
+ Very pretty and playful coloring.
+ Wow! I love negative space and the yellow color. Character is very well cut-out and I love the bg.
+ I love the background and colour scheme here, everything is really detailed and the almost-extreme negative space is perfectly executed.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the texture use on this icon and the color is just so good.
+ Great composition and use of texture, a very cute icon!
novindalfPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ The crop is fantastic and the icon fits the theme so well!
+++ That crop tho! I love the crop and the smooth feel of the icon. The black and white use makes it have even more of an impact.
+ The cropping is so inspiring here. Chosing to do a black & white coloring makes the icon more powerful in my opinion.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ amazing job at capturing and the perfect cap and emotion for the theme
+ I quite like the crop plus added drama of the black and white icon--it really highlights the focus on her eyes and how she is looking at whatever she is looking at!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the close crop and lighting.
+ The cropping is superb and I love how the darkness and turning the cap into bw create a dramatic look.
julie_izumiPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The theme is completely respected here, well done there! However, I think the crop looks rather awkward with the way her mouth is cut off and we can only see a tiny bit of her left eye. I think maybe a slightly less extreme close crop could have helped show more of her features in a more proportionate way. I would have moved the image to the right so both her eyes feature in the icon and more of her mouth is shown.
+ the crop is amazing on this icon! The cap, however, is a little low quality and it leaves some splotches around the darker/shadow spots of the icon, like her nose and cheek. Play with the blur tool (around 35%) and those rough edges will disappear
+ I really love the crop and the emotional impact of this icon! It just looks slightly blurry on my screen, taking away some of the impact. I think slightly more sharpness, especially on her mouth and below her eye, would have made it perfect.
+ I love the stark and feel of the icon. It makes it stand out really well. And while I like the extreme close crop of the icon, I think the crop should have been positioned slightly differently. At the left corner you can still see a little of the subject's eye and on the right you can see a little of her eyebrow. Personally, I feel little details like these tend to detract from the rest of the icon. In your icon, I would recommend rotating the crop a bit so that you can get a little of her left in the picture or completely cut it out. Alternatively, since the subject has such pretty eyes you could crop the cap in such a way that it highlights her eyes.
+ Love the daring extreme crop here! Close crops are quite tricky because you're so up close to the face that small smudges are highlighted, which I think happened here--on the lower right hand side there's a bunch of jpeg artifacts that are distracting most especially because the rest of the icon is quite smooth. There is a danger of this icon being almost too smooth as well, such that it looks a bit mannequin-ish without going all the way over (i.e. exploiting it completely and turning it into a style), so I would suggest either embracing that somewhat unnatural smoothness, or going the opposite direction and adding a bit of grunge instead.
+ On the one hand, I love the crop here. Having an extreme close crop where her mouth is in the corner and the mouth-eye axis creates a diagonal line in the middle is a great idea! But on the other hand I don’t think the source cap lends itself well to cropping this close. Extreme close crops usually require a cap where the subject is already very close, while this cap has a medium crop so using it for a close crop leaves some quality imperfections visible, such as the slight blotchiness on her skin in the bottom right and the blurry look of her facial features. Blurring some parts manually while sharpening others might work to some extent but generally I’d suggest using a cap like this for a mid crop or negative space icon, and using closeup shots of characters for close cropped icons.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I think you could try a slightly wider crop as the way her nose and right eye are cropped out looks a bit odd. Alternatively, you could add some shadow textures/brushes/gradient to mask what's left of the eye and a bit of the nose and make the icon pop out a little bit.
ghanimasunPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like your use of light here, however there's a bit of light left behind the subject's head that looks slightly out of place and takes the focus away from their face. I think you could tweak the lighting (add a black gradient on softlight ?) or even the crop slightly just to avoid that little bit of light by their neck.
+ I like the crop style, its so balanced and it makes you focus in her expression. The coloring is maybe way too dark in the left and too bright in the right, the deep lighting makes the icon look a bit grainy/over sharpened, I would use a soft gradient mask and lower the opacity, or use a soft brush and add some dark and light in the spots I want to darken or lighten, focusing specially in the up right corner with the bright lighting.
+ The cropping is really nice in this icon, however the lighting seems a bit off. The way her neck is almost completely black makes it look like it's not there. I suggest balancing out the lighting with a light to dark gradient on soft light.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ fantastic crop! The coloring is a little unbalanced though, with her eyes beginning to wash out and her neck disappearing into the dark. Try playing with gradients and soft light layers
+ I love the golden tones in this icon! Great lighting too, and the crop is perfect for the theme since the other features being mostly hidden and the eye being nicely framed by the shape thing (tattoo? makeup? idk) draws the eye to the eye right away. Some parts of this icon look a bit too sharp to me though, especially the bright pixels near her ear.
nightbulbsPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Super creative, the texture use, the caps and the coloring is so vivid.
+++ Wonderful use of texture and composition is stunning. I love texture work and colors!
++ this icon is really cute and the composition is just as nice! The coloring is really good and the typography fits the icon just right.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I absolutely love the concept of this icon and the coloring you used on the caps is super pretty, but there's something about the background that doesn't really look harmonious to me and I'm not sure if it's the white circles, the orange "stripes" or, probably, the combination of them. I think I would have kept only one of the two elements, probably the circles since they better match the really pretty composition in the center, but coloring them orange.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ What a fun icon! Great composition and I love the text lol
+ What a fun whimsical icon! LOVE the composition, you found a really creative way to combine many subjects and I looove that you even came up with a fun book club theme that ties the characters together. Each of the caps is gorgeously colored too and I love the shapes in the background add even more interest to this icon. I like the text too but I’d make ‘book club’ a bit smaller so it would be the same width as ‘TARDIS’, just a personal preference probably but I’d find the text neater that way. This icon was a strong candidate for my top 3, wish there had been more space there.
laxiryaPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Lovely soft lighting and unusual use of multiple images
++ I got the feeling this icon is telling me a story, which is something amazing. The coloring is also really nice and warm. The star texture suits is well too.
++ I love how you arranged the characters at different angles and how you adapted their colors (especially the face) to match. Very complex and unusual, but it looks like a coherent whole.
+ Great composition, I love how the different images are arranged and I love the coloring
+ Great blending and use of colour!
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason provided.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ Wow, I love the bold, creative collage arrangement you went for in this icon! I think the coloring could use more work though since all the three caps are so similar in coloring that they blend together a bit too well, making it hard to see what’s going on in the area where the three caps meet. A simple and clear way to fix this would be to use gradient maps to turn all or some of these caps to different monochrome colors: maybe one could be yellow-black to match the yellow stars, one could be red-black and the third could stay natural colored or maybe black and white or a different red monochrome (lighter or darker)? Or, just turning the middle image into a monochrome could be enough. This is just a suggestion, I really like this icon. The glowy lighting is fantastic too!
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ nice composition and the coloring is really pretty and soft
+ Love the pretty colouring and the composition. I also like the way the subjects are positioned.
+ The composition in this one is wonderful, the soft pink tones are pretty and everything fits perfectly put together.
adriftingseaPOSITIVE VOTES
++ This icon is spectacular and reminds me of old-school blocking with its many, many repeated images! The vibrant coloring and shiny lighting and stark contrast all make a wonderful impact together, so A+ work on the base image, and then the composition itself is amazing as well. You managed to fit so many blocks there and each of them shows just enough of the subject.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ I love how you interpreted the theme Multitudes. The positioning of the blocking makes it seem like the subject herself is multiplying. Also love the colouring of the icon!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I love the lighting and the green colors but her face gets too lost in the green colors and the left character is blurry on my screen. I'd fix this by masking out some of the green colors her face and character sharpening may help.
+ The repetition and composition are nice but I think one of the repetition could be more visible and with a more natural coloring so at least one of the pic allow us to see the subject properly and have a precise point of focus. The coloring is also really green and I think it would benefit to mask it a bit from her face.
+ I love the coloring and the light/shadow play you have going here! However the blocking, I feel, could be a little more purposeful. I do find blocking to be a challenge myself and totally understand why you went the blocking route, but at the moment the icon looks too homogeneous, too much of the same thing. I would suggest changing up the blocks a little: either in color (contrasting colors, perhaps?) or crop (you could also flip the image around), or using a completely separate element to tie them together, like a cutout of the character in the foreground, or text, or even a decorative accent, just to break up the blocks a little.
+ While I'm a fan of your coloring and texture use, the composition of this icon throws me because not only can you see the face of a character in the little side of each block that's sticking out, you also see what I think is the top of her head, repeated, to the left of that face? It looks rather strange to have a disembodied head-top floating around, and it also makes me feel like I'm missing something because I can't tell anything important about her from the part of her that you've shown. I also think that the image duplication here isn't very exciting because it's basically just the same thing in different sizes. While the differently-sized overlapping blocks are cool, I would love to see each duplication focus on a different part of her to show the viewer something that they may not notice in that last block alone. An example - that may end up going very badly because I am NOT familiar with this fandom - is that this is a character who has an alter ego? or an alternative self? or something? I think? - and using the duplication/blocking method to compare and contrast those two characters would be really interesting!
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Nice composition, and a great interpretation of the theme!
+ I really like the interpretation for the theme. Overlaying it with gradients like that is an amazing method for making them all look different. I love that!
angelamariaPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I'm so impressed you manage to put that many characters on one icon without it being too 'busy'. The coloring and composition is also really nice and interesting. The texture is also really pretty.
++ I am really impressed with the composition of the icon. I love how you choose to frame all the subjects around Frodo without overwhelming the icon!
+ I'm frankly impressed with the amount of people you managed to fit into this icon without it looking overcrowded! The whole piece does look a little sharp and washed out on my screen, which makes it kind of hard to tell what it is - I would maybe screen out some of your layers that add brightness/paint over important features with a dark color and then set that layer to soft light to bring some definition back so we can see everyone clearly!
+ The composition is sooo pretty here! I love how all the characters seems equally important here: I think the contrast between the brown/orange palette and the blue/green background really works well.
+ The composition of this is wonderful! I also love how you managed to tie in all the individual figures by keeping the yellows from the centre silhouette consistent with the colours of Aragon and Sam's hair.
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ No reason given.
+ Fantastic use of so many images, definitely fits the theme 'multitudes'!
+ Impressive composition, and final result looks really great and definitely gives that idea of a multitude supporting Frodo
+ Whoa, you’ve done a fantastic job combining an insane number of caps! *__* Seriously, I’m in awe of this composition, it reminds me of a really cool movie poster. The yellow silhouette behind Frodo was a clever way to make sure he stands out from the multitude of caps. I’d probably remove the white grungy texture since there is definitely enough going on without it, but otherwise I think this icon is pretty much flawless, and a perfect, nicely ambitious take on the theme!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The compositon here is awesome, I had no idea that a 100x100 icon can gather so many different images! However, the icon looks really oversharpened on my screen and I find the white texture in the center rather distracting. I'd recommend add a blurred layer on top on lower opacity to smooth the sharpening areas or just go over with the smudge tool around their hair and faces. And I'd also remove the white texture, the icon is too busy as it is and adding further details just overly complicates it.
+ The concept of this icon is really interesting and so well done, but it looks a little grainy so I'd recommend smoothing a little with the smoothing tool, also that cloudy/grunge texture covers most part of the icon and it gets all the attention, it would look better without that texture. As for the yellow shadow effect I think it will look better if it was much more closer to Frodo's.
+ I really like the idea here and the colors. However, I think there is too much going on. I think this could work better without the white texture because it covers a part of the characters.
+ This icon has such lovely colours and an amazing composition! But I think the smokey/cloudy white texture on the bottom half hides too much of Merry, Pippin and Aragorn's face and distracts the eye, which is a shame because there's so much to love about this! I would also perhaps remove some of the brightness over Boromir and Gandalf so that every character is equally visible, and I'd erase/lower some of the sharpness on the bottom half - because of the stronger contrast, Legolas, Merry, Aragorn and Pippin look a bit oversharpened on my screen while the rest of them don't. The darker and contrasted an icon is, the less strong sharpening it needs.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I love the way the multiple caps were layed out and the blues and yellows of this icon.
+ the amount of caps you managed to work into a single icon is phenomenal!! Bravo to you, brave one! The coloring is really nice and rich too. The only thing that doesn't seem to fit is the white blotch over the middle of the icon, since it doesn't blend well/match the rest of the icon
+ I adore the complexity of this icon. Unfortunately, it looks very sharp on my screen, especially the person in the yellow shirt on the bottom. I'm also not sure about the white noise that partly covers Frodo. I think it would have worked better without it, letting him take center stage. I really like the coloring and the yellow cutout behind him, though, and how you managed to fit so many of the fellowship into the icon.
tiptoetwirlPOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ The lighting and coloring on this icon are so great. It just feels a little over sharpened or lacking some contrast. A different sharpening method, or erasing some areas where it looks a little grainy would help.
+ I like the cap that you used, especially as it relates to the theme. The crop is really pretty but I think the coloring feels halfway between vivid and neutral. The blue against her blonde hair gives it a green cast. I think pushing the vibrancy with saturation layers and fill layers would really round this icon out and given it punch.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ the coloring on this is amazing, and the icon is so bright and pretty! The crop is really nice, too
+ I really like the brightness and contrast of this icon! The coloring is lovely too, I especially like how all the vibrant turquoise pops.
+ I love how nicely this fits the "stone cold" theme, both with the icon itself being cold and with Helena as a stone cold killer. You could even try a closer crop to make it stand out a bit more!
marcasitePOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ this cap is so amazing and the crop works with it perfectly! The coloring is really nice to, and the lighting works wonderfully
+ The crop looks slightly out of balance to me, as the eye is drawn more towards the empty bit on the right than towards the subject. To keep the negative space, maybe change the lighting, by having the bright part being on the subject rather than in the corner?
+ I love this one especially because of the cap selection, and that your worked with the light and dark very well, the blues are so soft and it gives the icon a sensation of calm, while the cap can express some "angsty" sensation.
+ This icon has a wonderfully smooth, subtle overall look. The contrast, coloring and lighting are all so soft and beautiful and work together incredibly well.
spirits_risePOSITIVE VOTES
++ This icon looks simple but is very eye-catching, well done on the colouring, texture use and soft lighting!
++ Love the low contrast/faded feel of this icon. The subtle colors make the icon stand out and the lighting is a nice accent.
++ I love the muted colours and the subtle lighting
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Really beautiful muted colors.
+ the crop is very nice and the muted coloring is very pretty, but the icon feels a little blurry, especially around his head
+ This looks a bit too dark and sharp on my screen, I think Sir Leon needs to stand out a bit more against the background. You could play with levels or add textures on soft light?
+ I love the antique-y, muted tones of this icon so much! It feels quite apt for the theme and the low contrast coloring is done really well, while still retaining beautiful depth in the lighting of the whole icon.
+ LOVE the coloring of this icon. The muted vintage color scheme looks super gorgeous and the sharp, gritty look really fits the coloring and mood of the icon. The subtle lighting on the right adds a perfect finishing touch to the look.
+ In general I'm a fan of muted coloring, and I like what you've done with the coloring in this icon, but right now the piece looks a bit unfinished because it looks very flat. The subject almost blends into the background even though he's not exactly the same colors - but everything shares similar hues and the same brightness, so there's not much depth. This is where lighting textures, gradients set to soft light, or making-the-lighting-yourself are really helpful. For instance, if you took a small black brush and outlined him, then blurred a bit, then set to softlight, bam, there's a bit of a shadow around him that makes him pop more. If you don't like that, you can invert for a halo effect. And then use the same technique to play with the light in the background. Playing with lighting is one of those small tweaks that can make a huge difference in the "pop" factor of your icon!
jsfunctionPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ Wow. I absolutely LOVE your colouring here, and the animation is amazing too!! I'm completely in love with this icon.
++ Nice effect and so fitting for the theme and the colors are really pretty!
+ I love the colours in the icon and I all the more love how you chose to use the animation effect. The end result is that it looks like a really vibrant painting that is in the process of being made.
+ Pastels colours are my favs and this icon has all of them and I just love the coloring and how the painty-look animation merges with the background.
+ Cool use of animation and textures
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
+ No reason given.
+ Really creative way to "erase"
+ Those different brushes look amazing.
+ Very clever use of textures to literalize the theme!
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I love how you have interpreted this theme, it's so clever and the colors are magnificent! However I'm not sure if the gif was the right thing to do for this challenge, because often gifs lower the quality of the icon itself and in this case it made the icon grainy, especially on the left part, where the dark areas are. I'd recommend to keep the icon png, and "erase" only bits of the icon with the paint brushes, so it will preserve the quality of the image.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ a wonderfully creative way to interpret the theme "erased"! The coloring is really nice and bright, too, and the semi-painted effect is great, as well
+ I just love the creativity in this! I love how he's literally being erased, or painted over, and the bright colors are just lovely. Great job!
+ The animation effect is stunning and I really love the colorings.
gribouillePOSITIVE VOTES
None.
BEST INTERPRETATION
None.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
None.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ Love the lighting and colouring and I really love the texture use.
+ the lighting on this icon is wonderfully, and the crop is really great as well!
+ I like the cropping and the texture use, the sof contrast is beautiful and the overall look is so mutted and soft, very pretty,
+ I actually really, really like this icon! I love how it is slowly fading away, being erased away, and how the fading it jagged, painty, almost as if someone really is rubbing her out. I kind of wish the coloring is deeper/more dramatic/more contrasty and there wasn't that bit of light on the left border of the icon, however I just imagined it being "colored in" and I think I also prefer it not flat black too, haha. Overall a lovely icon with so much potential!
+ I really like the muted coloring and soft lighting in this icon! I’m not sure about the brushstroke/painty effect on her, I think it looks slightly out of place since the overall look of the rest of the icon is very soft and shiny, while that brush effect is bold and gritty. I think you probably used it to make the icon fit the theme, but the bright lighting on the right is already a great start to making her ‘erased’ by the light alone, so maybe taking that idea further would have worked better. Or alternatively, I could also see this icon working nicely if you kept the brush effect and continued with the use of painty textures on the rest of the icon so it would be a cohesive look.
+ I want to start by acknowledging your awesome texture work here - I love love love the way the texture overlaps her face! It's like she's disappearing into fog. Or maybe becoming a ghost. I don't know, but it's awesome! I do think the lighting is a bit uneven (and hear me out before you say, yes, that's the point)--what I'm talking about has more to do with the amount of detail the lighting allows us to see. On the right side of her face, we can see pretty much everything because it's lighter. You can see the difference between the pupil and the whites of her eyes, for instance. On the left side, both her eye and her hair are mostly just a dark spot. So, though one half of her is supposed to be dark and one half light, I would do a bit of lightening work on the whole icon first to pull out those details. It may be something you can do with some carefully-painted-on highlights set to soft light, or maybe masking out layers that make those parts darker. Or, you could lighten it all and then add shadows back in where they don't destroy details. Or, and this is a personal least favorite, grab some nice PS brushes and reconstruct her hair with a bit more depth and detail. I love the idea behind this icon, but I would also love to see the base looking a bit more balanced so the too-darkness doesn't draw attention away from the textured bit!
tinnnyPOSITIVE VOTES
+++ I love that this icon is soft and complex at the same time. The background is amazing, and the blending and text are really well done. Each element is visible while not being overpowering and distracting either. It's a very well-balanced icon.
++ This is a rather strange composition, but you won me over with it. I really like your text work, it's easily readable even though it's over both dark and light backgrounds, and I know how hard that is. I am a bit confused about what's going on in the background of the cap because I keep thinking that its more of the person whose face outline you used; part of that reason could be because of the pinkish-orange bits amidst the green that kind of look like skin tone. I think it's just part of your texture, but doing a bit of color correction on that might not be amiss!
++ I love the creativity in this icon! I love how there are still faint hints of the background character's facial features as well, and how you've filled it in with the background--it lends a very dramatic feel to the icon, very well done! Only I'm not entirely sure about the text, I understand why you set it to screen but I think a solid color would have benefited the icon better.
++ The composition and text works really well together. I love how it almost looks like he is floating in the clouds.
+ such a cool and creative icon! The blending works really great, and the double exposure idea is really cool and creative for the theme. The coloring is nice as well, and the blues/teals work together well
+ Nice composition and coloring!
BEST INTERPRETATION
+ No reason given.
CONSTRUCTIVE VOTES
+ I really like the full body image imposed over the erased face and the texture use. I think it could use a little more contrast on the right side and maybe some sharpening there as well. The person in the center I think needs to be brightened and sharpened a bit too.
ADDITIONAL VOTES
+ I really like the composition of the icon and the text. I would recommend a different colour for the text however as it is not easy to make it out against the background. Or you could even just set the text layer to Difference so that it will contrast better against the background.
+ Interesting composition and use of text, I'm not familiar with the fandom so I didn't realize that the silhouette in the foreground was supposed to be the subject's face at first, but after looking at the screencap I think it's a good idea, and I like your use of light.
+ This is a fascinating icon. I like the original idea of blending with an inverted cap, it took me a look at the cap to understand what it was, at first I only saw a texture or a brush stroke behind him, but it looked good either way because of the way the silhouette frames the smaller cap, pulling it to focus. I like the text too, especially the fact that you’ve blended it with the icon by using a layer mode that isn’t Normal (Screen maybe?). The muted, cool coloring looks great too.
After 16 and a half rounds of filling in this table the exact same way I decided to switch it up to help cut down on copy&paste errors. Hopefully that helps, but if you see anything amiss, please let me know.
Updated points spreadsheet here.