Round #10 - Challenge #1 - Voting

[hermionesparkle.livejournal.com]

I am sorry that this is a tiny bit late. I had to redo the voting guidelines a bit. Please let me know if you have any questions.

There are a total of 11 people participating this round! Thank you to all who signed up!

A skip has been used for stolenglimpse.

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.
- 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.

Comments

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:

#9 _ the icon is very dark and could use some brightening. The cutting away of the background was harsh and softer brush could have been used for the background removal or a blur tool to tone down the harshness. Love the font though.
#3. I felt the coloring on willow's hair was too stark and the artist got some on her face by mistake. Although I thought her black and white was spot on, not too dark or too light.


1 best quality icon

Favorite - #6- love the coloring of Buffy and the color of the texture used in the background. I also loved the placement of the text and the font used.

A question...

[freecat15.livejournal.com]

(I posted a comment, but before hitting the ok button that it'll be screened, I went back to add something. Did you still receive the first comment??
If so, please regard this one here as the real comment...(sorry, I'm still trying to find my way around here...) )


This is hard, judging someone else's work for negative aspects. I get why it's required, though, so here goes:

2 least quality icons:

#3 - reason: It's a little sloppily done (Hairline on both sides); plus - I find the color too harsh in contrast with the relatively plain b/w background. It lends the pic an aggressivity it doesn't merit in this context.

#5 - reason: I like the crop, and I very much like the idea of the text. It's just that it took a while for me (my eyes aren't the best anymore, apparently...) to even realize that it's something written there, and even longer to be able to read it. It's simply too small. Plus, the first word is kind of hanging in the air, maybe due to the artist having realized that it wasn't readable if small enough to fit on the shoulder. That makes the idea simply not meeting the requirement of an icon, but rather that of a banner. Or maybe devide the text in two parts and place it on both shoulders? I'm really sorry for choosing this, cause I like the idea so much.
(#5, #6 and #9 would make a great set, though...)

1 best quality icon
#4 - reason (optional): It's been a tie between 4 and 8, tbh. I'm such a sucker for Scooby friendship, and for once I decided against drama and for hope, which we find in #4...I love the emphasis on the colored hands!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
#3 - Recoloring of the hair seems a little messy, compared to the original image of Willow it looks like the brush used to color the hair was too big and went outside the natural area.
#9 - Need something to tie this together, maybe another color layer over the entire thing to make the colors have something in common. The texture behind Buffy seems out of place.

1 best quality icon
#2 - Nice coloring and use of layers/light, plus fun text!

[tinny]

2 least quality icons:
9 - The screencap looks pretty unprepared before the text and texture was applied, and on my monitor it looks too dark. I suggest lighting it up and balancing out the contrast as base treatment. Tips on balancing lightness and contrast e.g. in this tutorial: http://good-tutorial.livejournal.com/9025.html

7 - The vibrant texture draws the focus into the lower left corner where there is nothing interesting, while it should be in her face. Remember that the eye is drawn towards the most vibrant part of the image.

1 best quality icon
8 - I like the blending which creates an interesting emotional meaning that hadn't been there in the two separate caps. I like the coloring. The use of a filter to hide the quality of the caps works well for me.

[double_dutchess]

2 least quality icons:
#3 - I like the idea of the color splash, but it has been executed in a very sloppy way, with the red color spilling all over Willow's face and the background.
#7 - The bright light texture draws the attention away from Willow, and her face lacks contrast.

1 best quality icon
#2 - Very crisp and clear image, good composition, fun text and lovely coloring.

[eiremauve.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
08 - The picture is too blurry and bright, making it difficult to see.
09 - the bright texture and the not-bright rest of the icon do not really seem to go well together

1 best quality icon
02 - clever use of text and lovely cropping

[seleneheart]

2 least quality icons:
#10 - reason: the curved sides take away from the rest of the composition
#7 - reason: harsh coloring, texture just a blob of color without adding to the icon

1 best quality icon
#2 - reason (optional) good composition, clever text

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

This is my first time voting in a limo-contest so I hope my remarks are appropriate. It's so hard to pick "least quality" and "best quality" when there are so many good entries here.

2 least quality icons:
#7 - The light leak overlay is pretty taken on it's own but completely distracts from the image of Willow; there is no thematic or visual connection between the two layers.

#3 - Props for cutting inside and around complex figures, which is incredibly challenging; however the overall light and color seem cold and flat. The framing effect and plain background don't add anything to the image; faces are washed out and indistinct.

1 best quality icon
# 2 - While I might have preferred a closer crop and greater emphasis on the faces; the dimensionality and depth of the figures and the background is convincing; the warmth of the color scheme belies the harshness and sadness of the scene, as does the incredibly witty text. This one made me laugh even as I felt guilty for doing so. Good placement of the light leak to emphasize the text and soften the background without washing out important elements.

[crazycordy.livejournal.com]

2 least quality icons:
03 - The idea behind this icon is very interesting, but the coloring is very sloppy and isn't concentrated on Willow's hair, which I assume it was meant to. The read bleeds onto her face and takes away from the whole icon

09 - Buffy's face and the bright colored background are very contrasting because her face is so dark. This might have worked better if her face was lightened a little more and the text wasn't so dark, it's hard to read and would have worked better if it was a lighter color and maybe even smaller in text size

1 best quality icon
01