Okay everyone, here it is! Here are the assignment 1 submissions, in no particular order.
Scarlet Renoux
Judge 1: Creative approach to the assignment, but the assignment calls for holiday "cheer", not holiday "mourning". Good job with the lighting and cropping, but of course the eyes are closed, and that can't be helped due to the emote but as I mentioned, the idea of this assignment was to show the excitement and happiness about the approaching holiday and it looks like Scarlet is dreading it.
Judge 2: Poor Scarlet! However, like another judge said it is supposed to be holiday cheer. The background I think, is well enough done but the emote IMO is a bit bland...The armor color/type fits in nicely but the only thing that bugs me about it is the seam from the nylon-looking arms, but that might just be me =X.
Judge 3: I think that the photo and composition is nice and Scarlet looks lovely... but even though the "holiday" is there, the cheer is missing!
I think the cropping could have been handled a little better (closer), and having the candy cane and wreath further away from you would have made them less distracting.
Gracie Grumple
Judge 1: I clearly see Wintersday in this shot. Dwayna, the snow, and the arena in the background for the snowball fight. Though Dwayna is brighter than you are, I do notice you first. But like you mentioned, the picture is dark. Your armor kind of blends in with the background too so it makes you a little hard to see, but I still see the excitement of Wintersday going on.
Judge 2: Your explanation on your picture was very well done, however even with it I still think it would have looked even better with better lighting. Lovely background however with the snow, and I can clearly see you are referring to the snowball arena's part of Wintersday. I must agree with your view on the cropping as well. Good job!
Judge 3: You are definitely the first thing I see when I look at this photo, but my eyes wander away because the armor does blend in a fair bit with the background. Although I do see Wintersday once I read your explanation, I think it should have been made more obvious from just the photo alone even by something as simple as a holiday hat or item of some sort.
Render Me Useless
Judge 1: I really like this shot. I can see the spirit in the air and almost like Render is reaching for the star and placing it on top of the tree. And she's so excited she can hardly stand it. hehe Good cropping, and I know it's dark in there but you pulled off a great shot nontheless. Awesome!
Judge 2: Good job with getting the Christmasy feel into your shot! You (as well as the tree) are nice and close, so we don't have to squint just to spot them. One thing though, is that leg! Its quite distracting, at least to me anyway
. Also it would have been a bit nicer if your hand was bare, but I know that that is the fault of the armor and not of yours. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you have to offer!
Judge 3: This photo is very cute, it reminds me of a Christmas card!
However, I find with photos where a character is not in the center, it is important to make sure that you stand out from what is behind you as the eye naturally looks to the center of the photograph first. A different color of armor would have helped a lot in this situation as I look at the tree first, and then to your leg which could have been cropped closer.
Nymphalis Antiopa
Judge 1: Oh, how cute!!! I can totally see you finishing up your snowman. I do kind of see the snowman first so it kind of takes away from you, but then I quickly see you.
Very creative, and even with the darkness of the town you pulled off the shot well so you can still see Nymphalis. And I love the furry armor to keep you nice and warm. hehe The only problem I really see is the orange bush, since it's not really "wintery" to me. But other than that, great job!
Judge 2: Aww, this shot is adorable. Props to you for having creativity into your shot! Its just that, the lighting is a bit bleh, and the background (mainly the bright orange bush) is a bit distracting. But its good to see some creative posing! *hint hint nudge nudge*
Judge 3: Although I simply ADORE the idea behind the photo itself, its execution needed some more work mainly because the snowman stole my attention right away. The brown part of your armor blends in way too much with the wall and statues behind you. An altogether different set of armor, and perhaps even using a different snowman would have really helped your cause.
Ember Coals
Judge 1: Very cute shot with the snowmen! I love how you have your friends in the background, each doing something different, and you are still the main focus. You said you're over excited but I had to look a few times to see what you meant. It seems you were so excited that a snowman melted and your friends shooed you away so you were pouting. So I do see some holiday cheer here, I just didn't notice it right away.
Judge 2: Great shot, but I kinda fail to see the 'excitement' part of it. I see you pouting, or perhaps even being cold. Besides the mix up of the explanation and the shot, I really like this picture! The extras in the shot make it seem like a nice, wintery time in the snow.
Judge 3: I LOLed for a few minutes when I saw this pic. Very creative idea.
Although I am certain that it was present leading up to the event that was photographed, the photo itself lacks “cheer.” The activity behind you is a tiny bit distracting, as there is a lot for the eye to take in. The “cheer” could have easily been added by changing the end of the story to all of you laughing at your blunder.
Deus Toutatis
Judge 1: Awesome shot! Very creative and different approach. I love the story of winter and how well you implemented it. Good job showing the effect of Deus/Rimen creating winter to balance the world. I see lots of snow but still enough green to show that he's creating it. The only thing I see is that maybe you could have zoomed in a little bit but that would have taken away from the winter aura. Good job overall.
Judge 2: Holy cow, wow, that's some good story and explanation! You are extremely talented when it comes to explaining your picture, nothing was left out! However, I still feel that your picture may have had more power to it. The ice cave in the background is a nice touch, as well as the skill you used, but that rock behind you is just still much of a distraction, even with your explanation. However, I am looking forward to seeing what else you'll have to show us!
Judge 3: Your story was wonderful, and it matches quite well with your photo. I do feel that your background choice could have been more flattering and would have done your story even more justice. The cheer is not prominent in the photo on its own, though, but I do really like your take on this assignment.
Ao Kanashimi
Judge 1: For someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, you did a great job!
I do see the holiday cheer here with someone giving gifts to others. As the old saying goes, it's better to give than to receive. The only thing that kind of bothers me is that I notice the big tree and present before I notice you, and the cape you're wearing is kind of distracting. Maybe if you removed the cape and cropped it a little more from the top, but that's just me.
Judge 2: I enjoy the location of your shot (then again, I pretty much love every Wintersday decoration) as well as your armor choice, but when I think about the meaning behind the picture there is not much there. Your description was mediocre...yes, it did explain it but it didn't seem quite thoughtful enough. Also, although the background is pretty it's kind of 'large' and makes you look tiny. While we love wintersday, we also want to focus more on you!
Judge 3: Your theme was great but the photo is very busy. A closer zoom would have helped, and having the tree and large present in the background further away would have really improved this shot.
Nobushige Sanada
Judge 1: Ooo pretty pics! hehe I like the background story to the assignment and how Nobushige is excited because, after sleeping for 3 days straight, it's Wintersday and the ugly town is now pretty and cheerful. The only issue I really see is cropping. I wonder if you could have cropped a tad bit smaller from the top. And there is a random NPC in the background but I know that's something that can't be helped. Unless perhaps you changed your angle to fix both of these problems, such as moving toward the left some more to take out the NPC and zooming toward the top of the tree so the star was like right above your head so there wouldn't be so much empty space.
Judge 2: Your background story was a bit cheesy to me actually, and not to sound like a grammar freak but there were quite a few grammar errors. Nothing really jumps out at me with your picture...I'm trying to decide if I like the blend of your white armor and the snow, or if thats why it looks like its missing something. Overall though, I think the cropping is acceptable, since the tree is tall and if you cropped it too short it may have just been the trunk.
Judge 3: Your story was very cute, and I definitely can see the bewilderment in your eyes! The top part of the tree should have been cropped closer to you though, or else have it further in the background. I also feel that a different color of armor would have made you stand out more, but the focus is still on you as the skin tone keeps the eye focused on you as the central thing in the photo.
Ambriel Deison
Judge 1: One of the rules of the assignment was "Make sure you're showing us that you're having a good time for the holidays" and as you mentioned, you're not having a good time. Looks like you're dreading the holidays if anything. And you used the exact same background as you did in your application shot, as well as in TNTS. So I'm really not seeing variety here, and I can hardly tell you cropped the image. I see the background more than I see you.
Judge 2: Heh, you do love that background don't you? I noticed that in TNTS, as well as here! Even though the snow is pretty, it does tend to get old. Also as another judge mentioned, the point was to show 'holiday cheer'. Your paragon is very pretty though.
Judge 3: There is absolutely no cheer at all!
The zoom and cropping needed to be adjusted quite a lot, and a different color of armor would have helped you stand out.
Corrupt Rosary
Judge 1: Your post in the thread was right - you can do better. I've seen what you can do from the application shots and to me this isn't it. The first thing I notice is yet another sad submission. Yes the holidays are stressful but the assignment didn't call for that. It called for holiday cheer and happiness. Not only that, but your face is covered, your eyes are closed, and though your armor stands out against the big present, I don't notice you first. But good job with the lighting and cropping. Oh, and I have to add that I love that armor combo.
Judge 2: Your armor combo is...interesting, but I don't think that it quite matches the picture. Its a nice combo, but I think for this shot if you stuck with perhaps a different color, it would have been better. Bit of a boring shot overall, though I can understand the stress. Hopefully you'll be able to bring us better pictures next time, which I know you're capable of!
Judge 3: The background is quite festive and would have easily made a good one with a more joyous mood. I really think you look like a shadow in your photo… A closer zoom, without your hands in front of your face would have really helped.
There you have it! And if anyone wants to see my own attempt at the assignment (as well as the outtakes), check out the
feedback thread.
Contestants are now welcome to post their outtakes in there!
Expect results either later today or tomorrow, with assignment 2 shortly after!
