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Define the Storm - Results Announced


Rache

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I apologize for the extreme lateness of the results, and take full responsibility for it. Without further ado, onto the winners!

 

First place: SodaNaranja
3fj6cKK.jpg

The judges absolutely adored this artwork for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to the style, level of detail, and the sheer amount of personality on display. This entry does a fantastic job of portraying the wildness of the electric type, earning it a well deserved first place. Congratulations on first place, your artwork is outstanding!

 

Second place: kadonzaxus
CQrsE6E.jpg

Coming in in second place is this adorable entry. The judges loved the cleanness, simplicity, and overwhelming cuteness of this entry. It's clear that the Joltik is the star of the show here, with very little to distract from it. Congratulations on a much deserved second place, we hope to see more from you in the future!

 

Third place: WolfgangDamien

HYJXuPn.jpg

Taking third place is WolfgangDamien, with his highly detailed piece showing a variety of Pokemon inhabiting a landscape. Every time we viewed this entry, we found ourselves noticing something new. Congratulations, your work is always a pleasure to see.

 

Thank you to all who participated. It's unlikely that another contest in this series will be hosted for a while due to time constraints, but we hope you'll look forward to it nonetheless. Detailed critiques of each entry can be found below.

 

Spoiler

I should start this section off by stating that what I am about to say here is purely my own opinion and may be strongly disagreed with. This is not intended to offend or embarrass anyone. Any negative points I make about an artwork are done with the intention to help the artist, and I've tried to keep them as fair as possible. It's also worth pointing out that having a lot of flaws doesn't mean that the artwork or the artist behind it are bad by any means - it simply means that there's room for improvement in those areas. These are in no particular order.

 

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@SodaNaranja
http://i.imgur.com/3fj6cKK.jpg

It's rare that I find myself looking atartwork with nothing but "wow" going through my mind. This is one of those times. It's very difficult to find anything that I don't admire about this artwork.

 

Starting with the overall art style, the white outline around each Pokemon is very pleasing to the eye and allows so many Pokemon to be grouped together without looking cluttered. It's a stylistic choice that has worked out extraordinarily well in the work's favour. The way these Pokemon stand out from their environment is also something I have to applaud - the dark shades and level of detail present in the background contrast well with the primarily white characters, making them stand out without clashing. Each individual Pokemon has been depicted very well. They're each very expressive, whether through their actual expressions, body language, or both. The Jolteon's face looks a bit off, but it's a very minor flaw.

 

The shading on the Pokemon, while fairly minimal, also looks carefully considered. It doesn't clash with the clean style, and the restraint shown in ensuring that is remarkable. Adding too much shading may have backfired, making the Pokemon blend in with their darker surroundings. Cleverly, the way it is done also draws the eye down the page, using Thundurus' tail to lead the viewer to the Voltorb below it. The shading on the tail is also outstanding, especially being done by hand. The amount of depth on each segment makes them genuinely believable, and the dark shades chosen help to break up the image and add visual interest. The way that the Thundurus' hands are drawn and shaded looks very convincing - I love the way this is done.

 

The only part of the artwork that I don't think works particularly well is the bottom half. Specifically, including foliage on the left side without any on the right. The left side currently draws the eye away from the focus of the image, while the right side looks very empty. While perhaps not the most elegant solution, I found that copying, pasting, and flipping the bushes on the left to place them on the right greatly improved the composition and stopped that area from being distracting. Placing bushes of a similar shape and size on the right would be ideal.

 

This is my personal favourite entry this time around, and it should be easy to see why. The end result looks professional, lively, and it's clear that a lot of time and effort was put into it. Congratulations on your well deserved first place, this is truly a standout entry and I'd love to see more from you in the future.

 

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@kadonzaxus
http://i.imgur.com/CQrsE6E.jpg

This one wins the unofficial prize for most adorable entry. The large Joltik in the middle of the image looks pretty much spot on - there's very little that I can criticize about it. The shading is clear, the lines are crisp, and it looks genuinely happy. Its back legs look very close to its front legs though - it may have been better to position them either a bit higher up or at the sides of the body rather than showing them between its front legs. Joltik is also a very tiny Pokemon - it looks a bit too big compared to its surroundings here.

 

The floor is beautifully detailed and textured extraordinarily well. The perspective does look a bit off though - due to the angle of the Pokemon, the gaps between the boards should appear to be noticeably closer together towards the top of the artwork and further apart at the bottom. The outline of the thought bubble at the top right is a bit too light and would benefit from darker/thicker lines. It could just be the scan, but it's quite difficult to see at first glance and blends into the wall.

 

Overall this is a very solid entry and it's easy to see why it was so widely loved by the judges (including myself). Congratulations, your artwork is well deserving of its place.

 

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@WolfgangDamien
http://i.imgur.com/HYJXuPn.jpg

 

This one's quite ambitious. There's a lot to love here - the level of detail is outstanding and every time I look at it, I notice something new. The clouds in particular are a treat for the eye - the difference in line width and dark shading shows a lot of attention to detail and technical skill. The work isn't without its flaws though.

 

One of the most noticeable issues with the work is the scaling/perspective. For example, the Electrike among the houses appears to be enormous due to it being approximately the same size as houses that appear to be closer to the viewer. The houses should either be larger or moved further into the distance to justify their small sizes. Placing the line of trees higher up in the image would have given you more room to place small houses. Many of the houses themselves are very nicely drawn however, particularly the bottom right one. The texture of the rooftops gives a good indication of the material they're made from, and the restraint shown in drawing the wood, leaving small gaps, helps to make it look natural and uncluttered.

 

I'm assuming that the bottom of the image is a hill and closer to the viewer, but if not for the house at the bottom right, it would be very difficult to tell that this is the case. It took a while for me to realize that this was what was intended - the line of grass separating the two areas isn't very effective at communicating the difference in distance. This is primarily due to it being very similar in length and line width as the grass in the distance, resulting in it looking like an awkward line of grass rather than the top of a hill. Ideally the lines in the distance should be lighter/thinner/shorter.

 

The Zapdos' head is rather confusing. The head spikes look more like a frill than the Pokemon's pointed feathers,appear to be angled forwards instead of backwards, and the placement of its beak resembles a horn growing from the top of its forehead. To fix this, the angles of the spikes and beak would need to be adjusted. When struggling with angles, it can help to create or locate a 3D model to study and reference. As for the Pokemon's wings and tail, while a departure from the Pokemon itself, look actually quite nice. Angling issues aside, I'm fond of how the Pokemon was depicted here. Its shadow doesn't visually match it though unfortunately.

 

An aesthetic choice that I have a lot of admiration for in this work is the Pokemon-themed totem pole on the left side of the image. Not only is its design well considered and executed, but it helps to tie the image together and make the overall composition very pleasing to the eye. Varying the size and placement of the elements in an image can go a long way in making it interesting to look at.

 

Overall, despite its flaws, it's clear that a lot of effort went into this artwork and from a very competent artist. For every element that doesn't quite work, there's another that is pulled off excellently. I hope to see more from you in the future.

 

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@Kickern
https://s14.postimg.org/fp6q9ge3j/mega_ampharos.png

There are a few issues with the anatomy of the human character on the left, most notably the neck-thin waist and rubbery looking arm. The visible hand looks very bizarre. It's worth looking at some reference images if you're ever unsure of how something should look.

 

The Pokemon themselves are much better drawn though - particularly the Mareep and Flaaffy.  They both look very cute and quite accurate, although the positioning of Flaaffy's left (our right) ear is confusing given the perspective. Ampharos is quite good for the most part, although its arms are shaped and connect differently. The head/mouth shape is amusing, I actually really like it.

 

As far as shading goes, it's a little bit flat. Shadows do a lot to define shape and make different parts of images blend well together. Ampharos' belly and legs are the only part of the image that seems to have depth - the other shading used throughout is either a bit too minimal or outright missing.

 

The background gets the job done for the most part. It's not too busy and most of the colours are chosen well. The green used stands out too much though, drawing the eye away from the most important parts of the image. The subtle inclusion of Zapdos is nice, although its legs are a bit too thick.

 

A part of the image that I think has been pulled off genuinely well is the staff and the lightning. The details and design of the staff are both very solid and there's very little that I can nitpick. The lightning used throughout the image looks powerful and convincing - it's clear that a lot of effort went into making it look as good as possible.

 

Overall, the image looks a bit rushed in places and would benefit from some time spent polishing it up and adding more detailed shading. Electricity makes for a very fun light source and can provide some interesting shadows and highlights if you make the most of it. This may be easiest to pull off if the rest of the image is darkened a bit, since the whites used are difficult to effectively add highlights to.

 

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@LuisPocho
https://i.gyazo.com/b5db15a1829daf838f54e15d795da366.jpg

Although not on par with some other entries in terms of technical skill, there's something charming about it. It could be the Stunfisk hat or how smug the person looks to be wearing it, or both. The ear is a bit too high though, and it might look a bit better with some cleanup of the linework in the lower half. It's an amusing drawing overall, and a fun concept for a hat.

 

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@AshisCatchin
http://oi64.tinypic.com/23jgv9w.jpg

This one's very cute in its simplicity. Although Minun's lines are very wobbly, all three mouse Pokemon look cute and pretty accurate for the most part. Ordinarily I'd say that Pichu's hand and cheeks looks strange, but it suits the style you seem to be going for.

 

Zapdos on the other hand is a bit confusing. The gap between its left (our right) wing and its beak in particular is distracting and difficult to decipher.

 

Despite the chalkboard background, none of the Pokemon or writing look like they're actually drawn onto it - they look more like stickers because of how crisp the lines are and the solidity of the colours. Being a little messier with the colouring/texturing and some smudging of it might actually work in the artwork's favour in this case, since it would better suit the theme. If the gap in Zapdos is supposed to be a partially erased area, this might also help to make that more clear. With that being said though, I do like the concept.

 

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@GreenskyZZ
https://i.imgur.com/Rgyik8m.jpg

This one's pretty ambitious. Some of it is pulled off quite well, but other parts need some work. To start with, the anatomy of the Luxray is very confusing. Its head looks like it's coming from the middle of its back and its front paws are enormous, even when considering perspective. Its hind legs appear to be very thick compared to its front legs, and its ears are on very different angles. Some of the Mightyenas surrounding it appear to have broken legs, but for the most part look okay. Shinx's front right (our left) leg looks a bit too thick compared to the rest.

 

Something I actually really like about this piece though is the colour choices. The greens and reds in the Luxray's dark fur and the purple shading in the blue areas make this very visually interesting and attention grabbing. There is clear attention to lighting direction overall, and the shading gives the Pokemon a lot of depth. While the colouring and shading is pretty good for the most part, there are some issues with it. The blue glows making the Mightyenas stand out from the ground behind them doesn't make much sense and is a bit distracting once noticed. They may have benefited more from a darker palette compared to the area around them to make them stand out from it. The yellow glow placed at the bottom middle of the image detracts from the artwork overall. It's not bright enough to look like a light source and obscures a lot of what's behind it. If the software you used supports luminosity layers, it's worth having a play around with it for bright light sources like this.

 

In some parts, the messy outlines and shading work fantastically well. This is most apparent on the Luxray - particularly the shading of the mane. In other areas of the artwork though, it makes it look unpolished and unfinished. The tail of the Mightyena at the bottom right is the most obvious instance of this - there are blobs where it connects to the body that should have been removed. There is a blob to the right of the Luxray's tail that looks very accidental, and beneath the black fur of the Mightyenas, there are some quite noticeable gaps where the background shines through.  

 

Overall, it's very dynamic and despite its flaws, it's clear that a lot of effort went into it. Some more time spent polishing it up and more attention to anatomy may have improved it significantly. It's perfectly fine (actually a good thing) for an artist to references animals etc when trying out subject matter that they're not fully confident working with - it could do wonders for your posing.

 

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@FlareBlitzz
https://i.gyazo.com/facde69ce964be012f43bec1e4993eb2.png

 

Reported for Pidgey abuse, instant last place. In all seriousness though, this entry is rather well done. The lines are smooth and solid, and the overall image has been pulled off nicely.

 

The Electabuzz's legs make it look like it's levitating, and its left (our right) hand looks off in terms of size and positioning. Its teeth are coming off as slightly odd angles, and the V-shaped stripe on its forehead appears to be longer on one side. Most of these are fairly minor flaws however - the posing, expression, and other detailing are very solid overall. The electricity surrounding its body adds a lot of interest to the Pokemon.

 

The Pidgey's slightly goofy expression actually works well here, since it's being shocked. Outside of that, it doesn't appear to be experiencing much though - sharpening the feathers and spreading them out a bit more to show the effects of being zapped may have been a good touch.

 

The lightning bolt behind the Electabuzz ties the image together quite nicely, and I particularly like the choice of red for its outer edge, making it stand out without clashing with the other colours in the image.

 

Overall, this is a big improvement. I'm liking the originality, and the stylistic choices that have been made here. Keep it up!

 

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@debuti
http://i.imgur.com/q5ZsCYJ.jpg

 

This is quite the unique entry - the postcard design really sets it apart from the other entries.

 

Starting with the positive aspects, I love the use of colour. Using dark reds instead of blacks makes the artwork appear a lot warmer, and blends well against the yellows of the two Pokemon and the blue chosen for the water. Shifting the hue when shading the Pokemon, making the shading closer to orange than yellow, is also something I enjoy seeing as it adds visual interest. The overall composition and choice of angles makes this artwork a treat for the eyes.

 

No work is without its flaws though, and the same applies here. While the Elekid looks great, the Electabuzz and Lt. Surge look a bit off in certain areas. Surge's right arm (our left) looks a bit too short. The Electabuzz's left arm (our right) looks far too long though, appearing to be several times the length of its body. The angling of its left (our right) hand and positioning of its fingers are also a bit confusing, resulting in either its hand looking like it's facing the wrong direction or its fingers looking extremely long. Its other (its right, our left) hand looks possibly a bit too small. The dotted lines on the white part of the boat are a bit distracting, and would perhaps look better on a slightly different angle.

 

Overall, I'm very fond of this artwork. The long arm is a bit distracting, but everything else works well together. The colour choices are excellent, the art style pleasing to the eye, and the concept is original. I like that complex angles have been attempted, which for the most part works well. If you keep at it, you'll go far.

 

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@rotukot
http://i.imgur.com/SN58oYZ.jpg

 

I'll preface this one by noting that criticism doesn't mean that I dislike an artwork or that it is lacking in value. This one I'm quite genuinely fond of and it has a lot of potential, but it could be pushed much further than it has been.

 

The artwork looks a bit rushed overall. There is little depth to the shading of the pancakes, and no consistent light direction. The syrup also appears extremely thin due to not having an impact on the outlines of the pancake stacks. All of this results in them looking flat and under-detailed. The Pokemon don't appear to be having any impact on their environment either - showing some disruption in the surface of the syrup and some amount of it coating the Pokemon can add a lot of polish to an image. The three smaller Pokemon appear quite flat and lacking in detail - a bit of shading can go a long way. Without it, some of the Pokemon look like they've been stuck on top of the background rather than part of the world. This is particularly noticeable on Minun due to the contrasting background.

 

Scaling is something that could use a bit of work. The butter on top of the stack that Raichu is sitting on is closer to the viewer, so should look larger in the image - making it the same size as the rest makes it appear to be significantly smaller, especially when the Raichu is scaled well. The sizes of the three distant Pokemon are also a bit off - their canon heights are the same (~40cm), but because Pikachu has been drawn larger and placed further back than the others, it looks much larger than it should be compared to Plusle and Minun. The tails of Plusle and Minun, especially Plusle, also look a lot longer than they should be. The coloured parts of their tails canonically connect quite close to the body. Their ears are also a bit short. It's a good idea to keep reference images on a layer of its own (to allow for easy hiding/deletion later) while working to ensure that the depiction is fairly accurate to the species. Raichu's tail bends in an odd way near the base, but aside from that, it actually looks pretty good overall.

 

As a whole, this artwork is cute and I like the concept. The thing holding it back the most is the lack of detail in the shading - it looks unfinished overall. The base drawing actually looks very good, but the colour detail looks rushed and lacking in depth. With some more time and attention to detail, this has the potential to turn out to be an outstanding piece of artwork.

 

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@Excellios
http://i.imgur.com/YkzQJer.png

If this is based on an existing Yu-Gi-Oh card, I'm not familiar with it and can't find anything similar, so I'll judge this purely based on the artwork itself rather than how it relates to what it's referencing.

 

I'm guessing that this was drawn using a lineart curve tool. The line quality, despite this, isn't actually too bad - it's not perfect, but I can see that effort has been put into it. In some areas, a few extra clicks to smooth it out would have resulted in a more polished looking final product. The line between the horn and moustache in particular looks angular instead of round. The blue spike "tooth" looks a bit thin compared to the Pokemon, but it's otherwise a decent representation of its facial shape. I like the menacing expression. The way that the card is being held is somewhat confusing, as it appears that it's being held up with a single finger.

 

The linework of the hand in the card artwork looks a bit thick - it's very similar in width to the line of the finger holding it as well as the same colour, making them blend together somewhat. The purple chosen for the background of the card artwork is obnoxiously bright and could be toned down a bit. Tornadus' cloud looks quite wonky, and its hands look a bit like lobster claws - they could have used a bit more time spent on them. Adding the lighter purple box seen on real cards below the card artwork would have improved it overall, both making it more accurate to the game it's based on and helping to make an empty looking area of the artwork as a whole appear more detailed.

 

A common mistake that I see from time to time is the usage of a smudged black to shade over a light colour. In the vast majority of cases (including this one), this results in a rather unappealing colour, often looking like dirt instead of a shadow. It's generally best to avoid using black as a shading colour unless it's being done for stylistic purposes. In this case, using a darker blue, perhaps with a purple tint, would have likely been more appealing. Because of the cartoony style of the work, cel shading (solid colours) may have also worked better than smudged shading, complementing the rest of the image instead of working against it. Some shading in other areas of the artwork instead of just beneath the chin may have improved the end product too.

 

If you have an interest in digital art, it may be worth looking into getting yourself a graphics tablet to allow for more natural looking lines, pen pressure, and an overall easier working experience.

 

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@PasteloPuffle
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lfP_iOIirHbXMP6fauL5uePMoF-lW9I742NYz-ygFAaeJGN_ALuzecTtPqld2grXvEanX7Cqw2u7r-mybKQxT-AT9oU0cuutZp8bkoqhnjWKIDYptG7wLW1c7e3i7ve-DGCTLMa2

 

The concept of this artwork overall is one that I rather like. The Plusle and Minun are interacting nicely with each other, and the Lampent lamp is a cute idea.

 

The colouring overall is very messy. Zooming in, it's possible to see blue gaps in the clouds and a lot of colouring that goes outside of and/or overlaps the lines. One of the perks of creating or modifying art using a computer is the ability to create multiple layers if using software that supports it. One of the benefits of doing this is being able to keep your lines on top of your shading, preventing any overlapping from occurring and making colour work easier to do as a result.

 

The different areas of the artwork clash with each other quite heavily. The different textures and mixture of traditional and digital colouring stand out from each other and overall look distracting. The outlines and highlights on the clouds make it somewhat difficult to tell what they are - they look solid and shiny, like plastic.

 

The faces of the Plusle and Minun are a bit scary, mostly due to the jagged mouth lines. The Minun's left (our right) foot is a bit of an odd shape. Aside from that, they actually look quite decent. The colouring could perhaps be a bit more solid though.

 

The best advice I have is to keep practicing - this is a decent start, and as you do more, you'll pick up on the finer details and discover what works for you and what doesn't.

 

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@Moetal
http://i.imgur.com/eV06pXT.jpg

 

Although lacking an actual Pokemon thus preventing it from being a valid entry, it would be criminal to ignore this artwork.

Something that immediately stands out about this entry is the quality of the shading. There is a lot of depth on display, and the colour choices, particularly the shadow, make the artwork look quite warm overall.

 

The character is very well drawn, and there is little that I can nitpick about it. The positioning of the back (her left) arm makes her knee appear to be very thin though. Everything else looks just about right. There is a lot of attention to detail overall, both in the drawing and colouring.

 

It's a shame to only be viewing this in a compressed state - had the entry been completed and uploaded in higher quality, it may have placed. Regardless, your artwork is excellent as always.

The original thread can be found here.

Link to comment

Hell yea!!! I really didn't think I was going to place in this one.

 

I also appreciate the critque, almost every issue you pointed out were issues I knew about, and basically I didnt have time to fix them. I think a few of the issues would have been less obvious if I had time to color, like shading wouldve made the hill in the foreground stand out better.

 

Thank you very much!

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