This is the voting thread for ChOW #53 Re-animator
voting rules...
- only 1 vote per person!
- you can not vote for yourself!
There is so much amazing here stuff its gonna be hard to choose just one... but...
Here are the entries.
idiot-monarch
TurkeyOnAStick
Ashman
mega-supreme
Izzy-A
WiZBiN-Yoshi-1
ZaneZansorrow
XWarrior61
Kashi
CypressDahlia
PatBest22
Asperchu
ImpendingRiot
DooDooMeaT
heavyrain
maficmelody
monsterparty
J-qb
My vote goes to WiZBiN-Yoshi-1... its beautiful :)
I was really caught between three artists CypressDahlia, TOAS, and Izzy-A.
I guess I'll put my hand in for Izzy-A, for it being a tad ambiguous in it's message.
Amazing turnout. It was hard to pick a favourite, since most of these are really fucking good, but I'll go with CypressDahlia.
Let's hope we keep this level of quality in COWs and CHOWs to come!
You're right, it was really hard for me to decide on just one.
But I vote for Izzy-A.
Awesome job everyone, seriously. :D
Gonna throw my vote in for Wizbin-Yoshi, since the setting and the line of reanimated makes a world of difference.
Formerly Known As J-Rex
WiZBiN-Yoshi-1 the image in question is like eastern european myths, visually and figuratively, its mysterious and interesting and tells a great story, its a great character piece because it says so much, its what I love.
It shows more than it tells, and it tells so much.
The others were visually interesting but didn't prick my interests as his did, not implying they're bad, the techniques seen here are far better than my ability, this one just resonated with me more, its more unique I feel, its humble, subtle, its like a finely crafted desert, sure there is less of it but thew taste of it is so sublime.
So I'm more than a bit conflicted. I really like three of the entries for different reasons. So, in no particular order:
WiZBiN-Yoshi-1's drawing is beautifully rendered and the rider's personality is conveyed wonderfully, despite the sparse details of the character itself. I like that there's an air of practicality about the character; the dead look like they were reanimated for a purpose. I don't know if he's selling them as cheap labor or using them for cannon fodder, but since the undead seem to have a distinct purpose that, to me, gives the world he live's in a greater feeling of existing, of being alive.
I love how Cypress painted his entry, and his color palette. I like the character design; it really gives you a sense of both the setting's history and the character's personal history. My brain is making connections between this character and both Mr. Freeze from Batman: TAM and the Tesla troopers from the Command and Conquer universe. That said, the connections I've made make it difficult for me to tell if he's frying brains or creating the undead.
PatBest's drawing is the odd one out in my shortlist. I really am not a fan of his line work; his lines lack variation and are messier than I'd like to see with the simple coloring style he went with. There's a problem of scale, too: the arms popping up from the ground should be much larger than they are. Despite all of that, I really love the dynamic feel and energy created by the composition and color choice. Most of all, I love the cyberpunk necromancer vibe I get from this sinister dude.
All of that to say that I'm going to go with WiZBiN-Yoshi-1, despite the fact that it was the setting rather than the character that sold me on it.
Hurrah for writing out my thought process to figure out which one I like best.
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Izzy-A, love the dynamic, atmosphere and postures
Here are some reviews, sorry if I only point out the negatives, all entries were great but this takes long enough as it is.
idiot-monarch
Nice idea, but looks a bit flat and quite a stiff pose on the lady. I like the green veins on her inner thigh, though there could have been more of that to make both creatures more one whole. It's not really clear to me how the flesh part of the slimecreature fits in; is a fleshy creature emerging from the slime/is the flesh part still missing it's green skin? Could have used some work on how the re-animation actually works.
TurkeyOnAStick
good twist on the theme. I like the idea of having a creature made out of bone although that could have used some work in the arms. Also love the little ref to cow87. My main problem with this is the emphasis on the creature rather than the character. I'd have preferred it if the character was standing in foreground with the beast behind him, this is CHaracter of the week after all.
Ashman
This really borders on being a creature rather than a character for me... it doesn't even have a face. Furthermore it's not really clear to me how it would be a reanimator... best hint I have is a finger that might serve as some syringe? It shows that this was a quicky.
mega-supreme
I like the atmosphere you were trying to create here but I don't really think you succeeded. If you had made the background darker and made the character a smaller part of the pic you'd be able to give more of that creepy mysterious ambiance. You seem to have shaded mostly with black and white, this makes the image look a bit dull. Instead try using more saturated shades for the shadows, or tint them towards the background color (blue/purple)
Izzy-A
Nice one, nice composition, her back arm with the staff seems to be bent at an odd angle, or she's missing half of it, couldn't make sense of it anyways.
WiZBiN-Yoshi-1
Might be my favourite piece of art this chow. I'd prefer more emphasis on the character of the reanimator for a chow though..
ZaneZansorrow
Nice one. if this guy is standing before a kettle of some sorts, shouldn't the rim bend downwards rather than up? I love his helmet but his mask seem a bit out of perspective; especially his left (our right) eye looks odd. Not a big fan of this particular red-green combi, maybe some darker shades would have worked better. Also not really clear on what those foreground elements are, they don't really do anything for the pic except break the flow; might have been better to get rid of them and remove the bottom 200 pixels
XWarrior61
I'm no fan of the big round brush shading/lighting, look at my review of mega-supreme's one for some tips on that. Unfortunately it shows that you were in a hurry to get this submitted. Composition-wise I think you have a bit of space to grow; atm everything is basically just lined up next to each other without creating flow or balance. I learned a lot concering composition from watching FZDschool tutorials (episodes 1 & 3 in particular have stuff about composition I think
Kashi
I really should have paid more attention to what you have been doing lately (other than watching soccer) cause I had no idea you had gotten so good, love this one. I like the visible brushstrokes; she's missing a belly button though. Lighting is good but seems off on her shoulders and her boobs (if they are portruding like they should) might have a bit more shade.. I like that you've stopped using lineart for the largest, maybe try getting the face lineless too?
CypressDahlia
yeah, great one. The biggest problem I have with this is the gray cloud on the right; the color is off. Otherwise I love the concept, the shading (on glass and Metal!) the lightning. I feel like his right (our left) hand/arm could have used a bit more finish though, especially since it's a bit of a focus point. Also the start of the lightning (near his fork-thingy) could have probably used some real white in there.
PatBest22
I like the idea but it doesn't read very well; the focal point atm seems to be at the very bottom (high contrast) rather than on your character. the abundance of lines and colors makes the pic look messy. I included a quick redraw to show how you can get the right focal points AND atmosphere with the same composition. If you make quick sketches like these before making the final drawing you can help yourself get a better read in the finished drawing.
Asperchu
Really quick one. Like the idea of the reanimation being a physical burden on the reanimator. almost like he's a victim.
ImpendingRiot
Not really sure what is happening here, is she being reanimated by the tentacle thing? if so I'd say there's too little focus on the reanimator itself. If she is the reanimator I'd think the image needs to be tilted 90 degrees clockwise...? Lovely colors and atmosphere but a bit unclear.
DooDooMeaT
First of all thanks for reviving this thing, and giving us the best CHOW turnout I've ever seen on the art forum.
I liked the red version better. Bit of a standard design this one, but well executed. His staff is a bit messy with the brushes over it as well as the right half of his face and some other areas in general.
heavyrain
Lovely lines, Composition is bland, odd/stiff poses. the cell-shading is well executed, but some of the colors could be a bit more saturated to my taste (blood etc.) The table doesn't seem to belong, both perspectivewise as lineweight-wise, would have been better without it.
maficmelody
I'm no fan of the anthro's and when I take that away, all that is left is a guy in a blue coat injecting something in another guy; pretty bland. I like the lighting.
monsterparty
lovely art, no big fan of her face/head; his could use a bit more contrast. Though I do like the idea I'd like to see it back in the drawing a bit more. A.t.m. nothing about the woman really says she's reanimating anything
J-qb
THE BESTEST ONE EVAH<3 NO COMMENTS!
my vote goes to CypressDahlia
NEVER LOOSE FAITH IN MANCUNT
so many good things!
so these are my top 3
monsterparty
slightly bias on this one i feel as i love the style of artwork you have, the tones and colours are smooth and subject matter clear.
WiZBiN-Yoshi-1
mood, lighting, colours and depth you have it all. its not as refined as it could be but it sure is dam good.
ImpendingRiot
now, I know people say this is unclear and i have to agree. but i love the flow and atmosphere you have created with the colours.
My vote is for monsterparty
(partly because yoshi is getting more love)
Just testing things out l popcorn
XWarrior code 61: There's family, friends, and honor. In terms of importance: 1 is permanent, 2 and 3 are interchangeable.
Wizbin yoshi!
and xwarrior really makes the others to look way much better
f r i c k e n a w e s o m e
After a lot of thinking and reading other people's comments and reviews, I still couldn't pick an obvious "best". So I am going with my initial impression and vote for Izzy-A.
Best Chow turnout ever.
atm the score's are
Wizbin-Y: 8 votes
Izzy-A: 6 votes
Cypress: 6 votes
Monsterparty: 4 votes
Boop the snoot
Throwin my hat in for WizBin Yoshi please!
