LIMS VOTING GUIDELINES // SKIPS // ADVANCES
WELCOME TO OUR FOURTH LIMS ROUND!!!
PLEASE READ. These sort of challenges are a great way to improve your work, not only because you tend to put a lot more thought in it when risking elimination, but also because reciving constructive critisism helps you realize those things you're lacking, or perhaps those you have in excess. Because of this I set this LIMS to revolve around different techniques, as challenges go by the techniques will increase in difficulty allowing you to test yourself in different "arenas". Perhaps some of you have already mastered all these, I do know that there are some incredibly talented iconmakers in here, but for the other it could be a chance to try out some new things and test your limits.
Because of this I will ask you all that when voting you also take into account what the contestants have been asked to focus on. Each challenge will have a very especific theme and, whether or not the makers have been able to follow it, will be as important as if the icon looks good, or if the use of other techniques has been well done. I particularly stress this last point, the LIMS won't work as well if this isn't taken into consideration. It's challenging to make good icons but it's even more challenging to make them following someone else's will.
~ VOTING GUIDELINES ~
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:
Criticism or advice that is useful and intended to help or improve something, often with an offer of possible solutions.
Like I said the idea of this LIMS is to help us all improve our skills and in this votes are key. They are the ones that help you understand where you failed and what could be corrected. Of course we might not always agree with the votes we get, art is always subjective, so we're free to take the advice we believe to be well founded and dispose the others. But as a whole this should be a positive and helpful experience.
What to take into account when voting:
* Main focus (what where the makers told to focus on? does it show?)
* Colouring (is it too much? is it too little?)
* Cropping (can you make out what the icon is about?)
* Image quality (too sharp? too blurry? too dark? too bright?)
* Use of text (placement, font, etc)
* Use of textures (is it overpowering? does it blend well with the rest?)
* Use of other techniques (not all techniques fit all icons)
In short, you have to see whether or not the icon blends in well or if it's all over the place. If there's something standing out that shouldn't, if the original message of the icon has been preserved or if it has been clouded by the techniques used. We can't all master all techniques so some things might be off, I'm only asking you to pick the icons you think have had more failings.
BAD VOTES:
What counts as not technical you ask? Well I know we all have our own preferences technique wise... What some people might find oversharpened others might find alright, some find textures overpowering, others find icons without them to be plain. There is a very thin line between being neutral and letting your personal taste win the best of you, especially as rounds go on and makers get better, still I think there are some major distinctions we can agree on.
What counts as personal preferences are comments such as:
"I find pink to be overused in nowadays icons."
"That technique isn't original enough."
"I don't like light textures."
I think you get the idea. Pink might be overused (not really, was just a random example) but it could still look good on that particular icon. Techniques don't have to be original to be used properly. I don't care how much you hate any technique, if it fits and/or is presented the right way then it's not enough of an excuse.
GOOD VOTES:
Again, we can't always be completely arbitrary, but if you explain your choices with a logic we can all follow then it should be acceptable.
What counts as not personal are comments like:
"There's too much pink in the icon making it hard to distinguish Hermione from the background."
"That technique doesn't fit the sort of base you chose." or "That technique doesn't bring out anything about the icon making it look plain."
"I don't like that light texture because it overpowers the icon and takes away attention from so & so."
Perhaps pink was the first thing to catch your attention because you hate it so much, but your choice was explained in a way pink lovers might also agree with.
MISSPELLINGS:
This is sort of a fence case. Personally I wouldn't vote against a misspelled icons but I know some might and I think it can often be justified. However if the misspelling was done with a purpouse then the vote against it will not be counted. Here are a couple examples:
"My preciousss" ---> The excess of S's can be taken as a misspelling, but Lord of the Rings fans will be able to tell there's a purpose behind them.
"It's leik LOL!!" ---> liek is obviously misspelled and one could argue that LOL isn't a word, however using that sort of internet lingo can often be used to add meaning to the icon or to make it funny.
Since we can't all know every word of internet lingo or every fandom and their own idiosyncrasies, some might not be able to tell the difference (myself included). I am sorry if your icon happens to be a victim of these "bad votes", it's a risk you'll decide whether to take or not.
LIMS Skips:
Remember that once we've reached the last five contestants your skips will be of no use, to make the competition fairier.
MEMBERS THAT HAD/HAS TWO SKIPS (you can't have more than 2 in total)
karlakaine
pasta_and_pepsi
stefycarter
MEMBERS WITH ONE SKIP
...
MEMBERS WITHOUT SKIP
fabi7
MEMBERS NO LONGER IN THE COMPETITION
_jc_icons_
cheapxdate
curtana
dark_flight
daysweremember
driveshaft108
embergirl
endgegner07
fahrenheit1993
farfadine
fightclubs
geekpuss
ginny_lv_harry
hermionesparkle
hezzda
iconsbywong
juliemary1989
juniorfan29
katiegsr
kimaginethis
mugglecrazed
nasirah
nihilious
prunae
restlessme
that_was_cheesy
weasley_hobbit
utkari02
~ LIMS ADVANCES ~
For those of you who know you will be out of town and need an advance on a challenge.
1.) Comment here with the dates you will be out of town.
2.) I will then reply in a screened comment with the challenge in advance. Make sure you recieve email notifications or you won't be able to see my response.
3.) When your entry is ready you need to comment to this post BEFORE YOU LEAVE TOWN!
4.) All regular rules apply. You should include the IMG and SRC tags when commenting.
5.) Let me know which challenge you are entering. (use the codes below)
6.) All comments will be screened here, just like it would be if you were entering the challenge.
7.) Make sure you do this right! Failure to do so could result in your elimination from the competition... I will let you know if there are any problems.
Format to Submit your Icon:
If you have any questions reguarding any of this, please comment and I'll get back to you. I want to make sure everything's clear before we start.
+ There's still time to SIGN-UP if you're interested, before the first Poll is posted February 6th, 9pm Central Time Zone !