Round #11 - Challenge #1 - Voting

[hermionesparkle.livejournal.com]

Wow!! 15 sign ups and 14 of you entered the first challenge! I am floored. Thanks so much for participating!

A skip has been used for jane948.

Rules:
- Vote for 2 icons of the least quality. Reasons such as 'I don't like' or 'It's too plain' are not allowed. Actually think about why you are voting out the icon. If the icon is too plain, why is that bad thing? What could have been done to improve the icon?
- Also vote for 1 icon that you feel is the best quality. The reason for this one is optional but encouraged.
- Keep your icon identity hidden until after the results are posted. Do not vote for yourself or get anyone to vote for you.
- You do not have to be a participant to vote (the more the merrier!).
- Positive votes do not take away from the amount of negative votes. This will change in the event of a tie.
- One person will be eliminated as the result of the voting.
- The comments are screened.
- If you entered and do not vote then you will not be eligible for Community's Choice or Mod's Choice.
- Voting will be open until Monday at around 11 PM ET.




Examples:

Least favorite:
12. The texture really takes away from the focus of the icon and throws off the balance.
120. The image is very sharp in spots including Buffy's hair line & facial features. It could have looked better with either some contrast or using a blur tool.

Favorite:
04. Beautifully cropped.
166. The coloring really makes the icon stand out from the others.


2 least quality icons: # - reason # - reason 1 best quality icon # - reason (optional)

1.		2.		3.		4.
5.		6.		7.		8.
9.		10.		11.		12.
13.		14.

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
12 - Aspect ratio for Buffy seems off...might be the color/texture behind her but either way it is kind of distracting.

3 - I'm not sure this followed the rules? Is these really negative space? It feels very busy. (if I'm wrong, let me know, I can change my vote...just doesn't feel like negative space)

1 best quality icon
2 - crisp and clear image, blends with background very well, like the lighting effects. Just flawless.

[hermionesparkle.livejournal.com]

Yes, please change your answer to the second one. The technique is quite subjective and I felt it did fit it. Barely but it did.

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!
Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
# 9 - reason- I really like cropping and double image but the Image is not sharp and could use some sharpening and some brightening.

# 5 - reason- You can tell the artist used a hard brush, instead of a soft brush to remove the background because the edges around Willow are kind of harsh. The background is too plain and could use a texture or a gradient but I really like the coloring it is very vibrant and spot on.

1 best quality icon
# 6- reason -Love the coloring and the texture used.

[scarred-loretta.livejournal.com]

least quality icons:
12. - the Buffy image looks slightly stretched, and also could have done with some brightening and colouring aswell as some more space around the crop.
5. - it's great, but some lighting/shadowing on the front or back of Willow would make it stand out more and make it a little less plain.

1 best quality icon
10. - excellent use of texture and colouring. Blown away!

[tinny]

Wow, we have so many good icon here! I'm really happy we have such a big round of participants this time.


2 least quality icons:

09 - Spike is well cut out, and the theme Negative Space is clearly visible. I am confused by the vague outline within the negative space - is it supposed to be someone recognizable, or is it just a remnant of recoloring the background? Spike's face could have a bit more contrast. As it is, it looks like you didn't make changes to the cap. I'd suggest sharpening (at low opacity, so it doesn't get too pixelated), and adding contrast. If you're using Photoshop, duplicate Spike and set the duplicated layer to Soft Light to increase contrast.

12 - Buffy is mostly well cut out and the theme of Negative Space is met. In two places - her hair and the arm on the icon's left side - the background is blurring into her a bit, making it look like she has green hair. In general, it looks better if the subject matches the background in coloring. Here, you have a very vibrant rainbow and a very natural-looking Buffy. Either she should be just as vibrant (which is hard, because then the skin goes pink very quickly), or go the opposite direction and make her black and white.

1 best quality icon

10 - Technically very good in all aspects, and nice orange-y coloring that works with the slightly grungy texture. I like the asymmetrical placement of Buffy with that plant(?) in the background balancing out the composition.

There are several technically very good icons, but I wanted to vote for the icon that in addition to that incorporates the theme Negative Space best.

[julie-izumi.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
#9 - This icon could use a bit of lighting and contrast. It also looks really blurry, a bit of sharpening would help to make it look better.
#12 - The icon would look better if there was more space left on top of her head, the cutout loojs also a bit blurry on the edges and the color in the background are really bright compared to the character who seems a bit lost in it.

1 best quality icon
#3 - Gorgeous coloring and use of stock textures!

[freecat15.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is the part I don't like. I don't feel qualified to judge others' icons, and even less to give advice. Also, I feel like I have to nitpick, since I really like them all.
Here goes:

2 least quality icons:
#12 - reason: The background is too bright and colored and distracts from the subject instead of enhancing it. Plus, in places the color seems to leak into the subject at the edges.
#5 - reason: The edges around Willow are too sharp, they could have used some blurring (with the smudge tool, maybe?). I also feel like the bright and happy coloring of background and clothes didn't do the atmosphere of the icon any favor.

1 best quality icon
#13 - reason (optional): I love how negative space is used here via composition and not via background. Also, funny :)

[dixon.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
#12 - The aspect ratio is not well proportionated, wich makes Buffy look too wide and a bit pixelated.
#8 - The crop is really nice, but the coloring could've been worked a little more since it's a little dark.

1 best quality icon
#6 - Althought it's a bit too sharp, I love the crop, coloring use and that you incorporated her shadow, wich is a very nice detail.

[double_dutchess]

2 least quality icons:
#12 - The background colours are really harsh and overpowering, and don't fit with Buffy's pastel shades.
#1 - I think it's a lovely icon with great colouring, but it has hardly any negative space and so doesn't fit the challenge.

1 best quality icon
#10 - I love its colouring with that golden glow, the balanced composition and subtle paper texture.

[hermionesparkle.livejournal.com]

Hi there. Could you please change your answer to the second one. The technique of negative space is quite subjective and I felt it did fit it. Barely but it did. Thanks.

[double_dutchess]

OK, new one:

#5 - I think the composition would have been more balanced if Willow had been positioned a little more to the left rather than right in the middle. Because of Willow's posture and her facing to the right, the viewer's eye is drawn to the right side of the icon, so more negative space is needed there than on the left. Also, I think Willow stands out a bit too sharply from the background, looking disconnected.

[stolenglimpse.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
12- the choice of background takes the attention away from the center image which doesn't have an original crop. I feel she gets lost in all this coloring. Also, even if it's from Buffy, it's a promo picture. Screencaps, in my opinion, give a better challenge to the maker. Overall, I don't think the maker put much thought into this. Sorry.

9- This icon would have been better had it been sharpened some and could use some contrast and a bit more color.

1 best quality icon
2- this icon could have been taken right off the show, it fits so well all together :)

[irish-bunnie.livejournal.com]

[holtzmann.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
12 - I like the bright coloured background, however the aspect ratio is a little off and it makes buffy look squished into the frame.
9 - the colouring is a little dull, and the icon overall looks blurry to me, making it flat

1 best quality icon
5 - really cool colouring

[neatmonster.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
#8 - The dark slate above Buffy's head undermines the natural space of the icon, it doesn't add much to it since the cap has already a dark feel, maybe in another color would've worked better.

#9 - The crop looks great but Spike's face looks a bit blurry on my screen.

1 best quality icon
#2 - Nice lighting and contrast.

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:

12 - The background colors are very bright while the colors of the image are muted. The effect for me is that the two fight with each other. There doesn't seem to be a "reason" for this background. The image could be a little sharper.

11 - I really like the image and the composition, but the image looks a little over-sharpened, or over saturated or something. I also think it might have had more impact if the background had a little bit of gradient. The patch of green next to her head bleeds into her hair and seems random.

1 best quality icon

6 - I like all the icons, but I think this one has a background that works really well with the image. It adds a lot of interest and texture, but doesn't overpower the image. I especially appreciate that the light and shadow are consistent between the image and the background.

[crazycordy.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
4 - the cut out was done actually very well, but Buffy and Tara look over-sharpened on my screen and it makes the quality of the image look very low
12 - Putting the rainbow colors in the background is a neat idea, but the brightness contrasts with Buffy in the foreground on my screen and makes her look very out of place. Her face also looks a little distorted on my screen, like maybe the resizing wasn't done correctly.

1 best quality icon
2 - I love the light colors of this icon, and the painting on her hair is just perfect and light enough not to draw too much attention

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

EDIT:

Least Quality:
13 - little over sharp and I think it would have been better without the text, or maybe using the Netflix font instead?

[hermionesparkle.livejournal.com]

VOTING IS CLOSED!