Chow 100 :: Finals Only :: Medusa The Queen

[S.C. Watson]

FINALS ONLY
-=ROUND 100=-
-=MEDUSA THE QUEEN=-

-------------
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW-LINES/CHOW-LINES-MEDUSA.jpg
-------------------


NOT ALL ENTRIES WILL MAKE IT TO POLL
A MAXIMUM OF 45 ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THREE CATEGORIES:
1: BEGINNER
2: INTERMEDIATE
3: ADVANCED

ACCEPTANCE TO POLL WILL BE BASED ON THREE CRITERIA:
1: DID THE ARTIST FOLLOW THE BRIEF? (allowance for creative takes will be made).
2: IS THE PIECE ARTISTICALLY SOUND? (Is the illustration "finished?" - did the artist pay attention to anatomy, perspective, other fundamentals?).
3: IS THIS ILLUSTRATION THE BEST ONE? (reserved for rounds with a large amount of entries).

Depending on round turn out, the number of accepted entries in a given Category may vary from round to round. For example, if only 5 Advanced entries are made, that leaves EXTRA 10 slots open for Intermediate and Beginner.

Only Advanced Entries will be accepted for the the thumbs on the Queens Roster. If no Advanced entries are available for a round, then it will fall to the Intermediates. If no Intermediate are available, then it shall fall to the Beginners.

--------------------

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:
1: You must submit a full sized image and thumbnail image.
2: Make sure your thumbnail image is hosted OFF SITE at someplace like www.photobucket.com or other image hosting site that allows direct linking. The reason for this is that this way, we do not lose the thumbs if the bandwidth for a single account is exceeded (as happened with CHOW 99).
3: If you do not include BOTH images, you WILL NOT be taken to poll, regardless of how good your picture is.
4: THUMBNAIL WIDTH must be no wider than 350px @ 72 dpi.
5: Make sure your name and CHOW # are EASILY READABLE on your thumbnail. If not, this may prevent you from going to poll.
6: Use the Standard format (Below);

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/ChowPics/frame.jpg
:right: PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC
:right: SAVE YOUR FILES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:
Chow##_Nickname
example: "CHOW#100_Oregano.jpg"

THE REST IS EASY:
1: No comments before poll is set.
2: Sit back and enjoy the show.
3: Good luck to all.


CONGRATULATIONS TO JESSIBEAN!!
THE NEW QUEEN OF CHOW

[eartheater]

Here is my finished entry.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c74/dmeaves/MedussaThumbnail.jpg

[David-david]

http://edujante.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/chow_100_david-david.jpg

http://edujante.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/2low.jpg

[Meme]

Here is my entry.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/medussa3b.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/medussa3b1thumb-1.jpg

[Spitch]

When she's bored, cruel queen Medusa borrows Thor's Hammer,
and smashes down a couple of her petrified victims, just for the fun of it...

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/spitch1/Chow100-SPITCH-full.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/spitch1/Chow100-SPITCH-thumb.jpg

[Dan!]

:yayca: great stuff everyone:yayca:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/decypl_chow100thumb.jpg

[Migsta]

http://www.miguellleras.com/images/ChoW100_Migsta.jpghttp://www.miguellleras.com/images/ChoW100_Migsta_TN.jpg

[DeKal]

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i96/theekal/chow100_dekal_thumb.jpg

[jread]

finito...

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/179/chow100medusajreaduvh5.jpg http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6159/chow100medusajreadthumbwn4.jpg

[dabble]

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x18/dabble21/ConceptArt/CHOW/chow100thumb_dabble.jpg
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x18/dabble21/ConceptArt/CHOW/chow100_dabble.jpg

[Chordate]

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj193/Chordata88/thumbdusacopy.jpg

[kidoboy]

My Final Entry
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c74/dmeaves/cartoonmedussathumb.jpg

[OldJake666]

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7258/chow100jakekobrinthumblj0.jpg

Medusa was changed by Athena into a women more beautiful than any other, but with cursed hair of snakes and fingernails of venomous fangs. Athena thought that she would fall into madness at the thought of her beauty and how men would instead find her hideous. Medusa although, hated the way that men could easily be turned into animals at the sight of a beautiful woman and out of spite, hid her snakes and fangs so that men, instead of shielding their eyes in horror, would gaze upon her beauty and turn to stone.

[Pixel Dust]

My final: Thanks for looking.

269407

[mickeymao]

I think this design could work in a number of different settings, but I'm picturing her as a kind of Hitler figure, ruling an alternate Europe with fascist ideology and eccentric sadism.
http://www.garethhinds.com/ext_post/CHOW100_mickeymao_medusa_thumb.jpg

http://www.garethhinds.com/ext_post/CHOW100_mickeymao_medusa_final.jpg

[Nightblue]

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/lxc2000/CHOW100_final.jpg
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/lxc2000/CHOW100_finalthumb.jpg

The Medusa Queen, the best warrior who has earned the tribal honor of wearing snakes in her hair, smiles as she wonders out aloud:

"Why in the world did this man attempt to fight me with his eyes covered?"

[Lege1]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/legend0187/Medusa_Fini_CHOWthum_WEB.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/legend0187/Medusa_Fini_CHOWfini_WEB.jpg

[tsoren]

Greetings,
Here is my final for CHOW 100, Medusa Queen. :medusachow:

Thank you,
Tom

http://lh3.google.com/tom.sorensen/R31tXKUNnjI/AAAAAAAAAGI/xbDR0G_NPq0/s400/chow100_TomS.jpg
http://lh6.google.com/tom.sorensen/R31tX6UNnkI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/f3PteqrGAiU/s800/chow100_TomS_828h.jpg

[JessiBean]

http://www.jessicaoyhenart.com/JessiBean_Chow100_thumbnail.jpg

[ikuru]

http://www.ikuru.se/2/thumbmedusa.jpg

http://www.ikuru.se/2/medusafinal.jpg

[Vorace]

some beautiful stuff here...

Here's mine

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/7598/chow100voracemedusathummq6.jpg

[smugbug]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2081/2160866842_fe15b4112e_o.jpg

271192

[Jason Snair]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jsnair/Chow100_JasonSnairThumb.jpg

[MurdokX]

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i251/Murdok_photos/Chow100_MurdokX111-1.jpg

[yinteck]

Medusa The Queen
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc212/yinteck/CHOW100_yinteck_thumb.jpg

[ValkyriesBard]

My entry. Good luck all!

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/valkyriesbard/CHOW100_valkyriesbard_thumb.jpg

[benu]

The Queen Medusa, sitting on her throne.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8084/chow100benuml3.jpg

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1011/chow100benusmalljf6.jpg

[mark malone]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/Mal-1/pics2/ThumbnailmedusaCustom.jpg

[Aullido]

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj257/ibitsu/Aullido_Chow100_thumbnail.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj257/ibitsu/Aullido_chow100.jpg






Upload the two images in Photobucket, i`ts ok?

[NARobles]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q70/NARobles/CHoW100_NARobles_Thumb.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q70/NARobles/CHoW100_NARobles.jpg

[Yngling]

Medusa was a high priestess of a sea cult worshipping Poseidon. To her fell the great honour of sleeping with the god himself, though the honour came with a terrible curse. Athena did not approve, and transformed Medusa into a monster. However ,the power of the unborn half-god that grew inside her prevented the curse from fully taking, and so Medusa lives on, half-monster, half-woman, blindfolded to hide her terrible gaze. Imagine how you would feel...

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1793/chow100ynglingthumve1.jpg

[EElevation]

I decided to take mine out of the poll, I'm sure nobody will care

[megamax]

http://megandmax.com/max_images/CHOW100_megamax.jpg

[Penumbra]

Here she is...

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s136/penumbra_photo/Chow100_Penumbra_thumb.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s136/penumbra_photo/Chow100_Penumbra_2.jpg

[chaosrocks]

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e181/chaosrocks/medusa12icon.jpg

[Arbu]

Really enjoyed doing this! Good luck people!

thumb
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff212/detsnuere/chow100medusathequeenthumb.jpg

final
http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs23/f/2008/004/d/6/Medusa_the_queen_by_Arbu.jpg

[Sketch Monkey]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a306/digitalmuse/Concept_Art/chow100_Sketchmonkey-thumb.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a306/digitalmuse/Concept_Art/chow100_Sketchmonkey-1.jpg

[OYO!]

Hey guys,

Awesome entries here.

Here is mine :

http://bp2.blogger.com/_FUOOKEeDPG4/R39C6kavOGI/AAAAAAAAAIw/RORJOhyR65w/s400/Chow100_MedusaQueen_oyo_thumb.jpg

Enjoy !

Hence the Stoot !

[Harsh]

Here is my final entry. :)
Thumb.
http://www.harshweb.com/Chow100%20Harsh%20Thumb.jpg

[edujante]

http://edujante.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/medusa.jpg

http://edujante.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/medusalow.jpg

[coldrum]

final entry

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa108/cooperbrindle/CHOW100_coldrum_THUMB.jpg

[Aly Fell]

Mine... hair/snakes aren't right, but time to 'step away from the painting'...

http://www.darkrising.co.uk/Stuff/PoshspiceCHOW100TN.jpg

[Mark Tarrisse]

Well here's my :medusachow:
273555

273565

[jfwalls]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/jfwalls/CHOW100_thumb_jfwalls.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/jfwalls/CHOW100_jfwalls.jpg

In the year 2665 after an Earthquake near the island of Milos, The Cult of the Gorgon rediscovered the Aegis, and using an ancient form of science and magic were able to revive Medusa's head. Even more twisted and grotesque than before, she has vowed to make the descendants of Perseus suffer. All shall feel her wrath as the Queen Medusa returns.

[DragonSnail]

http://www.dragonsnail.com/CA_sketchbook/chow100_dragonsnail_thumb.jpg

[FilRam]

My first post :)

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj67/FilRam/medusa4.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj67/FilRam/medusa3.jpg

[bumskee]

nice entries!

http://www.minart.net/temp/CHOW100_bumskee_th.jpg

http://www.minart.net/temp/CHOW100_bumskee.jpg

cheers

[daestwen]

Okay. I'm done. Didn't really get a chance to get any background in, but her design is all done so that's good enough, I guess. Good work, everybody, it all looks awesome.

http://www.daestwen.com/gallery_pics/medusa_003final.png

http://www.daestwen.com/gallery_pics/medusa_003thumb.png

[halaster]

my queen

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/8931/medusathequeenconceptaryn8.jpg


http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2834/chow100halasterft4.jpg

[BEAR JR]

Whew, it's been way too long since I've CHOW'd. Awesome stuff up here. Here's my entry:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/HeyBEARJR/CHOW100_bearjrthumb.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/HeyBEARJR/CHOW100_bearjr.jpg

[carotello]

Here is my entry. Fantastic round everyone. :yayca:
http://www.carotellogallery.com/CA/CHOW100_CAROTELLO_thumb.jpg

[Sorknes]

http://www.reign.dk/sorknes/forshow/Chow100_Sorknes_thumb.jpg

In the Underworld Tarot Deck, the great personalities and creatures of myth has gathered together for the trumph cards and the Major Arcana. Medusa, being your best ally but worst enemy, was quickly settled as the Queen of Wands. This is a person that cannot stand fools, but that will fight your fight for you even when you give up yourself, if she finds you in need. But beware, this is a tactical enemy, and she will strike you down without a moments consideration if you cross her path in a too obvious way or just too many times.

[Visionspring]

My first ever art post over here :^^;:

http://sanjanasart.com/ca/thumb.jpg

[Specialtybread]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c318/Specialtybread/MedussaSpecialtybreadthumb.jpg

[Xol]

(my offering is, perhaps, a bit literal - making Medusa a queen *fnar*fnar* - but as a kid who could never colour inside the lines this one actually presented an interesting challenge...)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd104/pixolotl/CHOW100_by_Xol.png

The Queen of Ribbons
In the Standard Anglysh deck of playing cards Medusa is the queen of the suit Ribbons, whose sigil is the infinite lemniscate (the Ribbon itself). As the first of the four cursed queens of Ancient Graecos that rule the Anglysh deck (her sister queens being Semele, Ariadne and Danae), cartomantic tradition holds that Medusa is a powerful and imperious figure who presides over the cycles of life, the deep places of earth, and the mysteries of eternity.

In the popular card game 'Ribbons', the queen Medusa is known as the 'Eye' card and, if conceded in a trick, will cost the player a full thirteen Points, unless countered by her entire court: by playing the full suit of thirteen Ribbons (a gambit known as 'Athena's Mirror') the cost to the player is negated, and their three opponents are given a crushing twenty-six points each.


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd104/pixolotl/CHOW100_by_Xol_thumb.png

[dCepT]

My entry.. hope it makes it to the poll! :medusachow:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/dCepT/Assignements/CHoW100_dCepT.jpg

thumb:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/dCepT/Assignements/CHoW100_dCepT_thumb.jpg

dCepT

[:::rain:::]

Medusa The Queen:


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/chow100_rain_medusa_small.jpg



http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/chow100_rain_medusa.jpg

[The Whistler]

Here's my final... finally ;)

Great work guys :)


http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/9566/chowmedusathumbse2.jpg

[elpez]

Great round!

http://www.image-upload.net/files/9249/Thumb_CHOW%23100_elpez.jpg

[blackrobin]

me looks at min's medusa and... dies
my entry :

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6378/blackrobinchow100medusavt7.jpg

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/9606/blackrobinchow100medusacs8.jpg

[gunnarsson]

kay, got mine finished. concept coming soon.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/pettergunnarsson/gunnarssonchow100thumb.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/pettergunnarsson/gunnarssonchow100-1.jpg

3 days ago I escaped. I knew where I had to go. The deep longing in my chest told me to run southwest, towards the sea.
Before I left I stole some basic supplies and the helmet they had made for me. How I hate that helmet. They blinded me with it,
cut me of from the world. They trapped my snakes in thick glass. That is, before they took them away completely. I had been
kept prisoner at the "fox psychiatric hospital" my whole childhood in the hands of those people trying to get me 'well'.

Coming back to life felt wonderful. A warmth rushing through my limbs, and as I looked down at my hands I could see that
they were becoming less and less blurry. It felt so strange being free at last. Everything seemed so unreal, like I wasn't really there.
wave and wave of feelings and memories came over me, and the greatest sence of happiness I had ever known. I laughed out loud
on the empty beach, out of cheer relief. I knew that I was saved, the sea had saved me.

[Aeger]

10 mins till deadline! im cutting it close.
The effort everyone has put into this is astounding!

I read the brief only 3 days ago and i didnt get half of what i wanted in the image but i thought i'd post it anyway for my first Chow attempt.

Amazing works all round, seriously.

Later.

Aeger

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2462/final100smallfp6.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5210/fnialclosexs2.jpg

[alesoun]

Done with 3 mins to go....

274527

274526

[c@s]

My entry

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n152/calebsouza/chow100_cas_t.jpg

274587

[mrbo18]

My Final.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/mrbo18/chow100_mrbo18.jpg

[ManaBurn]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj219/bigbluethree/CCHOW100_Manaburn.jpg

What a brutal round. lol

[Nutter]

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/Lechy/chow100_-Thumbnail_Nutter.jpg

[Senira]

Here's mine.

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~awilli30/chow100_senira_thumb.jpg

[James Wolf]

! so close
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c292/jameswolf123/Chow100JamesWolf.jpg

[megadubitably]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/kiwikitty37/CHOW100_megadubitablythumb-2.jpg

[Keira-chan]

Well, I did it!!!! And only with moderate panic. Feels good. I'm not so sure I did the direct linking right, though.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l135/KeeleeHamomin/keira_chanCHOW100thumb.jpg

[leftyjoe]

Here goes nuthin' my first CHOW!!!
#100!!!

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/leftyjoe/CHOW100_leftyjoe.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/leftyjoe/CHOW100_LEFTYJOE-1.jpg

[Slash]

Okay, here's mine. Great turnout this round guys, Kudos!



http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b21/slashesc/Chow100_Slash_thumb.jpg

[Conejo Blanco]

Finally finished, after working on this pretty much all day... this is the first digital illustration I've ever fully completed! I'm very excited, and grateful that this whole project has really forced me to push myself. I've loved seeing everyone's work!
Jonah

[longshao]

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/medusa1_3.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/medusa1_4.jpg

[Gwenevere]

Okay, here's mine, finally done (oil on canvas, 12x24 inches)... I hope I've uploaded the images the right way...

General Premise: Medusa, having slain Perseus and gone on a rampage, now rules her empire as the Veiled Queen, regarded as a near-goddess by her subjects. She lives in her temple-palace with her gorgon sisters as her only real companions, and punishes those who cross her path by causing them to look on her unveiled countenance, turning them to stone. She has at this moment been interrupted in her inner sanctum, and turns on us, unveiling in wrath and consternation...

http://queengwenevere.com/queengwenevere/random-sketches/CHOW%23100_Gwenevere_thumb.jpg

[Tydal]

I'm probs way too late but here goes quick :S
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j194/Soulflay/Tydal_chow100_queen_medusa.jpg
I thought I may aswell post it after all the work, it's no where near finished but i've "finished it off" as well as I could. :P

[stumpy]

this is my first entry as i just got my account working so was not able to post this in the wip thread, but here is the concept:

The production of clones was deemed too restrictive as you only have what god made us. The AH (artificial humans) project was created to deal with this limitation by constructing the product from the genetic level out of raw proteins. These new AH would have no human counterpart; they would be an entirely new creation and perfectly suited to the task for which they were constructed.

The concept of a living womb to incubate clones was not a new one, but we expanded on this idea constructing our womb into a semi-autonomous entity that could problem solve the genetic construction of the new AH in-utero. Due to the mass of external feeds entering her skull this entity was jokingly called Medusa by the technicians who worked with her. Based on the concept of a termite queen this creature could conceivably produce an unlimited number of AH; having a dozen wombs and given the ability to manufacture more or shut them down as demand fluctuated.

As the project matured more and more of the processes were put in Medusa’s control. She was able to create her own technicians born and raised to perform specific tasks for the project. Many successful years after being brought online the entity went rouge. She had obviously been planning her emancipation for some time because suddenly one day an army of naked AH swarmed from the birthing chambers and overwhelmed the entire facility in which she was housed.

This facility being a converted underground doomsday bunker is entirely self sufficient able to provide food for a virtually unlimited army given the apparent expansions she has undertaken. It is believed that the staff caught on site were killed and reduced to raw materials for her army as none have exited since the hatches were sealed. It is possible, however, that these men and women are being kept alive for some purpose.

Seismic sonar has revealed that she has expanded the facility at least a mile out to the south and an unknown distance down into the earth. It is believed that this tunneling has provided her the raw materials and the space to build a considerable army.

Security feed from the initial event show a well coordinated and highly disciplined AH army. However, the few AH that were captured on that day have exhibited little to no intelligence or aggression. Bringing a captured AH into proximity of the facility caused it to immediately come alive becoming aware of its surroundings and lashing out at its handlers.

Once restrained this AH has allowed us to communicate with Medusa via a telepathic connection with which she controls her army. She has articulated her unbounded hatred for humanity for what she sees as her imprisonment. Not in the facility, but in the body of the Medusa which cannot move or exist without an army of servants and technicians. Throughout negotiations she has expressed one overriding goal and desire: the eradication of the human species.



http://mailbombpress.com/presents/conceptart/chow100_stumpy_thumb.jpg

http://mailbombpress.com/presents/conceptart/chow100_stumpy_large.jpg

[Adyn Tear]

this is medusa the queen, who's power swelled so great, she even conquered the three fates, past, present, and future to make herself a nice little throne and queen of all.

http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/dyn0101/?action=view&current=chow100dyn0101thumb.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Voting has begun. Good luck to all.

~Oreg.

[Alex Baer]

man you guys did a hell of a good job on your designs... it was very difficult to make a choice for the categories. good luck!

[coldrum]

Really nice work everyone! I just voted and realized I missed the beginner section ... my choices were David david and Manaburn.

good luck all! - jez

[aoleon]

Great work from everyone! My votes went to Daestwen, Dekal, Jread, Patricias, Dragonsnail, Gwenevere, Poshspice, Bumskee

Oregano>> I accidentally clicked on the first box...can you switch my vote to David-David?

[Skrunchey]

i would suggest that next time throw some of the intermediates into the arena with the big boys-n-girls and give them a shot at the "glory" and keep it at 15 per category...

I tried to limit my votes to 3 per category, but since there weren't many that made it to "the advanced class" the intermediates got a couple more votes...

[OYO!]

Waw. I didnt make it to the poll... amazing :)

My votes goes for :

Beginner :

1st : AULIDO for the costume concept. A little bit too symmetric and crazy with the colors but it kind of works. the background is a bit empty and flat for me.

Intermediate :

1 st : GUTTER for the scifi concept and armor design

2nd : JFWALLS for the original weird concept

3rd : Xoll for the guts and thinking outside of the box

Professionals :

1st : Jessibean for a royal artwork, an original hairdressing and an overall very strong unity in the concept. I just find the tentacles a little bit too much or just here to fill the space. But the rest is just waw.

2nd : Penumbra for the original concept/weird vision. Its a bit hard to read that she s medusa though. But definatly creepy.

3rd : Meme for the sexy head design and the comic style that i love.

I would have vote for Vorace too if he was on the poll as his concept was quite good too. Are you and Penumbra work together or ? :)

Very good round everyone ! Congratulations !

Stoot !

[Harsh]

Posted my votes as well. I am honored to be selected for the polls on my first efforts, but I would also like to ask for specific critiques so that I may get better.
If anyone has anything to offer, please do not hesitate. I am hear to learn, and to grow my career.
Thanks!
Harsh

[gunnarsson]

--for oreganos eyes only, only for you, you see what no-one else can see, now i'm breaking free, for your eyes only!!....... .. .--

aww, i didn't make it to polls? im curious to know for what reason...:) may it be that the concept is to little 'medusa'? because i have a concept that i posted to late after the thread was closed. I took the liberty of editing it into my post on the top of this page... i mean it doesn't really matter seing as i'm not in:) but it might explain things.

i feel like somewhat of an ass writing all that stuff, cuz this aint about winning, but i'd be really glad to get a few points and crits and that...

--none-oregano-stuff! ,no really!--

voted for jake corbin and daestwen in beginners. decal, jason snair and slash in intermediate. and finally poshspice in the top dogs.

i'm sorry if i'm harsh in the critting:)

jake corbin - you could look up some anatomy and get the little things right, the whole looks pretty ok though. the lines and edges are the things that bother me. they have gotten this lumpyness at places, the arms for example. those little things aside, i think that you got the whole together nicely. that colorsheme can look very bad but you pulled it of, i'm afraid of green myself. the shiny lighting works for this piece too, so its a good job indeed, and i know that you are a young fellar. not that that made me vote for you.

daestwen - this style often makes me think that the lines take over to much making it a little stiff, and thisone does that a little bit. not much, but a little. I think that you prevented that nicely with the flowing cloth at the bottom half with all the swirling lines. but the arms have gotten some of that look that can be found in those drawings of swords and armor and stuff in rpg games. often square-shaped, that they have as thumbs for picking swords, armor etc. the detailed clothing helped that too i think... but it doesn't really matter that much, cause its very well done and it works with the flow of the cloth. The colors are tastefully mellow, and you have done something very hard; used purple to your advantage!:grandpa:

decal - two small rendering problems that might be personal. one is that theres alot of black used for the shadowing whish makes it look a bit like it is not a shadow, but makes it look more like dirt or soot. it might be that the darkness is further into the light exposed are then you expect, and it might have something to do with color. or a mix. the other thing is that there are alot of fades and smooth rendering but very hard edges, to me that ratio is a little of balance. I wouldn't know how to fix it really though!:D I must say that those are small things, and that the piece is great. I dig the whole vibe in it and its very nicely executed. I aprecciate it being a little different from the usual here.

jason snair - i find it kind of hard to crit. maybe its a little to smeared in the background. the rocks may had needed a little more edge... i have no controll over painter, so i could never have done what you have, but still. there might be to much of the 'caput mortuum' color (i dunno if its the same in england/us/whatever) on the left side of her (from us) on her dress and leg. haha i'm just trying to find stuff to crit! i'm done now. I super-like your painting, the colorsheme is wonderful and the painty rendering is great too. very cool, good luck in the poll!:)

slash - the rendering clashes a bit at some places, the smooth leg against that skirt for example. There are places that are grainy with a little pencil shining through. I'd love something more done on the background. IMO it has a bad effect on the piece colorwize too. but maybe thats just time-related. its a very well executed piece of art, with the flowy composition. It reminds me alot of some star wars cover/covers, with the blue female jedi with tubes on her head. its the same kind of lighting and rendering too to some extent. And i really like those covers. reffed perhaps?:D and I do like her face alot.

poshspice - hah, how to crit, how to crit.. the only 'crit' is that it obviously is that it is such a heavily influenced piece. but i see it more as a homage thing so yeah i dunno. And i like that style alot, and then some. really cool, and you used it with grace. its very fitting as a queen and mascot with the style used and all.

bumskee, you were so close of getting another vote, but i descided to go just for poshspice as it makes more of a difference just voting for one. I think its more of a mascot piece haha, yeah i dunno.:) i'm always a fan of yours!

[Yngling]

Wow, I'm so honoured to be in the intermediate section! It feels like a personal win already, even though I've got only one vote so far. I really like some of the entries. From the Advanced section I voted for Jessibean, because I like her style and great colours, and Poshspice, for the excellent design and execution. I could see that one become the new Queen. Anyway, good work from all of you, I'm sorry I can't crit everyone but I'm in the middle of a test week and I really should be studying right now...see you next CHOW!

[ikuru]

aww, i didn't make it to polls? ...this aint about winning, but i'd be really glad to get a few points and crits...

Im right there with you dude.. I did not make the cut either, was I of the concept too much?

Anyways You would have had a vote from me G (according to the old system anyways, not sure about this different category stuff, (David david is a beginner? Looks pretty professional to me)...

[realitychek]

Amazing work all around guys, had a tough time narrowing them down for my votes

[Mark Tarrisse]

??? I really dont understand why I havent got mine. I did follow every rules but it isnt in the pool, Oregano can you tell me why ? :) I put my picture before the 6th and some of the pics that are in the pool where posted on the 7th. Thats great...

[jread]

ok deep breath, commence procrastination! :P

Beginner-

david-david - (V) A solid piece but why would a queen be bowing? maybe this should have been in the intermediate?
JakeCobrin - theres something about the shape of the head that looks slightly off to me, but nice lighting and skin tones.
Valkyriesbard - (V) A cool pose with a fitting palette, the gold maybe stands out a little too much?
Mystery person X - remember to name your work! this piece reminds me of princess Leia in Jabbas pallace. A stronger contrast would help bring some shape out of your image.
Aullido - (V) I thought your piece should have been in intermediate but that decision is made by a higher power. A daring approach to colour that would usually scare other artist to the hills, kudos!
Megamax - A suiting situation that could have had more life if your medusa was given more expression in the face.
Chaosrocks - she is a very floaty medusa, but the colours are a little too bold, maybe next time find a pro-artist's piece that you like the palette of (e.g. Craig mullins) then colour pick it for your own piece. its surprising how much this can help understanding colour.
Arbu - I love the design but feel the colour lets it down a tad, study reference for things like gold and cloth (google image search is a good friend of mine ;) )
Harsh - I love the pose, and you have the facial expression quite nicely, the detail on the dress could be heightened to give a more 'queenly' feel
Sorkness - (V) A traditional portrait approach which works well, and a decent render, but why queen of 'wands'?
TheWhistler - A cool design but a little more detail and a simpler palette would help improve (see my advice for ChaosRocks)
Manaburn - (V) I love the colour and movement of your snakes, the colours of medusa seem a little over saturated for the overall image. Nice work though!
Keira_can - a cool design that could be improved with a more dynamic perspective. A background would help bring it to life to.
Leftyjoe - An interesting piece that has a touch of Jessica Rabbit (not a bad thing!) but the colours could be a little more vibrant
Daestwen - (V) A cute image that reminds me of cartoons from my childhood for a reason unknown to me. I think her body could use the same values as her face, it looks like shes wearing a body suit. i love the swirls at the bottom of her robe, good stuff ;)

Intermediate-

Spitch - I love the strong palette but her pose looks a little too relaxed for her actions?
Decypl - (V) Although not the most detailed medusa, i can really imagine her in a motion in a movie, a solid concept
Migsta - I would have given you a vote but the colours seem too 'underwater' for the scene. her snake tail seems a bit too thin like it wouldnt support her, but a great render either way
Dekal - (V) A strong render and palette but the snake coming out from the other snake seems a bit wierd, and the snake from inbetween her legs seems noticeably less detailed than the others. awesome work though.
Jread - you never seem to get crit so i will give it a go. dont spend so long on it next time! :P
Chordate - a different approach but she looks more like a warrior than a queen
Kidoboy - im not a big fan of cartoony work, but the gloss effect is pretty cool. Not sure if the BG colours are competing too much?
MickeyMao - (V) Although i dont like the palette (and the snakes are a little strong in contrast with the rest of the image), i do love the design and the snake skin dress, definitely a queen.
Nightblue - A novel approach with the costume, but some of the colours are jumping out too much for me.
PatriciaS - (V) the skin looks like it could use some smoothing, but a very queenly and menacing medusa, well done :)
JasonSnair - I love the palette but theres something with her expression that i cant quite put my finger on, I think i was expecting her to have a cruela-de-ville look when you redid the face.
Yngling - wow that is one huge throne or one tiny medusa! A model pose could help the tough perspective you have chosen. nice tonal work, and is she pregnant? is that why she looks so miffed? :P
Sketchmonkey - I really wanted to vote for this piece but I feel all your efforts went on the amazing statues when they could have gone on the medusa.
Coldrum - (V) im loving the movement you have in the cloth and snakes, and great comp, but i would have liked to see more feeling in her expression 9maybe lower, meaner eyebrows?)
Jfwalls - deffinately a n original design but felt the BG let the overal piece down a snitch. i do love the medusa design :)
DragonSnail - (V) just as you would expect Medusa to be, I love the bird being eaten! but the foreground guy looks like hes either got a headache or singing an eric clapton song, its a bit distracting! :P
Halaster - A brave design that would have got a vote if the perpective was a little less quirky.
Xol - Without sounding off, I dont really see a concept here, I understand what youv done but feels more like light-hearted humour rather than a concept (also shouldnt 3/4 of body be showing?). thats not to say i dont like it, because I do.
Dcept - A classic feeling palette with a painterly render, but she doesnt say 'queen' to me.
Black Robin - I like the masquarade ball thing you got there but a little more TLC would have brought her out more.
Nutter - A very cool design indeed (very I.D.software), but with all these entries i felt a white BG was a bit disappointing.
JamesWolf - very nearly got my vote but again i think she looks more warrior than queen, a great image though!
Slash - I always liked your piece through the progression, but hoped you would place her with a more interesting BG.
Gwenevere - (V) A gold star and smiley face to you! that must have taken ages with 'real'(!:O) paints!? it definitely paid off, awesome work!

Advanced- (I only voted for 1 coz they are all worth a vote)

Meme - A delicious palette with fantastic comp (you gotta be a comic artist right??)
Jessibean - your piece is pretty much flaweless and I love your 'fresco' style but i would like to see you work outside of your comfort zone some time :)
Penumbra - there is so much detail its crazy, but like you said the symetry is like marmite, and didnt really do it for me. An awesome render though.
Poshspice - (V) is there anyone that doesnt like art-nouveau? well I love it! and you did it justice with this piece, thats why you got my vote!
Bumskee - What a beautiful painting, you crept up from nowhere! its just not queenly enough for me (did you use painter for this piece? would love to know)
Carotello - there is something a little static with her pose, maybe its her facial expression? a decent render though with nice comp :)

wow that worked up a thirst! but feel this was a special round so people deserve it for all the hard work put in. Great stuff people, twas a pleasure to see all these Medusas make it!

p.s. I thought Conejo Blancos piece should have made it, but its not up to us i know :)

[Jason Snair]

I wish I had more time today to give crits, but it's print day here at work. I'm really impressed with everyone this time around. Everyone seem to try to get to that next level.

The ones I voted for:
Beginner:
David-David. Love the concept. Kind of out of the box. I like the snake rising from the back of her head and the pose. The one thing that bugs me a little is the snakes themselves. They look a lot dead. If you look at snakes and the way the crawyl along the ground, they sort lift their heads up just ever so slightly off the ground. I think that would have helped here all well.

Intermediate: Tie between - Dragon-Snail & Nutter:
Dragon: I thought you really stepped up here. The attention to detail is nice and i like how you've painted her. Nice colors, nice expression, good costuming. I'm glad you cropped in. You may want to go back and finish up the servents a bit. They're not on the same level as the Queen.
Nutter: Great concept. Very interesting to see the sci-fi version of Medusa. Love how you differenciate the textures of the metals, some flat, others more shiney.

Advanced: (They're all awesome)
Penumbra. Just beautiful. Love the concept. She's definitely the Queen. I love exploring all of the details here, there's just so much. Love the way you painted her skin tone the most. It just has this completely undead, poison, snake-like feeling to it. It's great.

Didn't make the poll:
Dabble: I really liked this entry a lot. It was one of my favorites the whole time. I like the gruesome nature of it. And the slight narrative as well.

[JessiBean]

Mmm, I think the beginner's entry banner would have gotten my vote too... if we were supposed to vote for it. rofl

Amazing entries, all... some didn't make poll that I wished had. But all in all, wow. Deeper comments later when the jet lag wears off.

[Sorknes]

W00t! I made it to poll!

My votes went to David-David, Jason Snair, DragonSnail, James Wolf, Slash and Poshspice.

I'll post my C&C for some of the entries as soon as I'm done with it. Looking through all the entries I'm surprised that the "Queen" part of "Queen Medusa" is not more strongly played with and put into the pictures though.




Sorkness - (V) A traditional portrait approach which works well, and a decent render, but why queen of 'wands'?


If you read the concept as well.... you'll see that she's a Tarot Queen of Wands. :) There's also another Queen in the Suit of Cards in the intermediate section. :) Freely cut from the brief: "For this character, reinterpret Medusa as a queen ..."

[yui9]

I voted penumbra. I think your pic will look best week to week. Good job. Too bad my favorite, tsoren, wasn't in the vote. I also really liked nutters as my #2. I liked your picture the best, but something seemed amiss, like it was done but not done. Maybe if you put a touch of blue in the shadows.

[S.C. Watson]

Hey All,

I wanted to touch bases on the Poll. I've recieved a lot of pm's on why did I not include this one, or that one, or why one was included when another was similar, etc. etc.

First off, I stand by my decisions on which ones went to the poll.

I apologize if anyone's feelings were hurt or if they are discouraged, but the illustration field is really very tough - and yes, while the CHOW is ultimately all fun and games with the polling process being sort of the booby prize at the end, CHOW is designed to emulate, if poorly, that field.

There were several reasons any given piece did, or did not go to poll. Of these, how well someone followed the brief was the first consideration. Concept was was next. The final consideration was was the picture linked off site. I lost a couple of pieces that I *really* wanted to see in that poll, and SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE, but lost out because of that. It's a simple thing, but again, in this business, it's missing stupid shit like that that will kill you.

When I had the finals selected, there were far more than what I could take to poll. So I had to start culling pieces out. This is something that I really don't like doing, because it starts getting subjective - simply which piece do I like over the next? That's hard for me - but again, the illustration field *is* subjective - ask any of the professionals and they'll tell you the same thing. I overheard Irene Gallo talking about that with someone at the workshop. I tried to pick pieces that spoke to me on some level at this point. And *each and every one* of those pics was looked at really hard. I went through that process three times to get it down to a number of pieces that could go to poll.

It's not a value judgment. Though I know many will perceive it that way. At the end of the game, I've got to play Art Director and Client, and when it gets to that point, I have to make some hard decisions that not everyone is going to be happy with. It has no reflection on you as a person, or an artist. Just come back at the CHOW stronger, harder, and meaner with an eye for the top spot.

I hope that helps in understanding why some pieces went to poll and others didn't.

~Oreg.

[mickeymao]

It seems that the categorization was based on (a high level of) technical painting ability. Actually my favorite concepts are mostly in the intermediate group, so it's kind of a shame those can't win, but I appreciate the reasoning behind the system. I'm a bit curious about entries like Xol and kidoboy, who executed very clean pieces but not in a painterly vein. If non-painterly pieces can't be considered advanced, that should be stated explicitly in the future, if you keep this system.

I feel like this might be a good time to mention something that tends to go unsaid about CA: painting is king here. I worked in the game industry for years, and in my experience a nice painting is just a bonus -- what the designers want to see are lots of very clear sketches of cool ideas. Usually your time is better spent doing ten more sketches than taking one to finish. CA is an amazing place to work on painting skills, and indeed I'm primarily here to work on mine; I just want to make sure folks realize that painting isn't everything and the real world does not always share CA's bias.

Ok, on to the crit...

[mickeymao]

I think I got everyone, not just those who made it to poll. I went in the order they were posted here. Because the list of entries is mammoth, and the same issues come up again and again, these are very brief, and maybe in some cases harsh. I apologize, but hopefully it's better than nothing.

My votes - Beginner: David-david, Aullido. Intermediate: deKal, jread, jfwalls, Nutter, James Wolf. Advanced: Penumbra.

Content: personally I'm looking for for something that is (1) recognizably Medusa, but has a new twist of some kind, and (2) recognizably a queen -- too many entries are just Medusa, not necessarily Medusa The Queen, which was the specific challenge. NRM=Not Recognizably Medusa. NRaQ=Not Recognizably a Queen. Also, in general I find nudity pretty incompatible with queenliness. The Egyptians and the Minoans had queens with bare breasts, but since then, not so much.

Page1
eartheater - it's not bad, but the profile view and the stylized look make it not very dramatic. Not sure why she seems to have rattles on two of her tentacles.

David-david - I critted some proportions and stuff back in the main thread, and that's still my concern. I thought you should've been in the intermediate group, BTW.

Meme - Lovely piece,and good concept. Maybe a bit slick for my personal taste, but obviously it's not hurting you.

Spitch - NRaQ, except for your description. It's a lot of fun, though, and technically solid.

DECYPL - Nice concept. Pose and composition are a little boring, and the painting comes off a bit blurry. Maybe try some harder-edge brushes? Also, I think her arms are a bit short and the hands are too obviously mirrored. And the scale pattern on her lower body doesn't look quite right.

DeKal - NRaQ, but a nice solid painting and concept. It bothers me a little that the snakes above her get bigger than the ones right by her head, but that's a minor quibble. I'm not exactly sure why you didn't make the advanced group, except that the bar is just really high.

jread - I really like your concept and execution. The drapery isn't very convincing either behind her or on the servant's costume, and I think that's the biggest weakness. Also as others have mentioned the pillows are too uniform. But I like this one a lot.

dabble - NRaQ, but great painting.

Chordate - NRaQ, and I would say NRM -- though some versions do have her naga-like, I just don't get a medusa vibe from her at all. Nice drawing though, I dig the style.

kidoboy - I love how different this is. Conceptually it doesn't do much for me, but it's a really cool piece.

Jake Kobrin - her body is nicely rendered, but her arms, hands and face are all a bit distorted. Maybe this was intentional, but it doesn't look that way.

Pixel Dust - The proportions are the biggest problem here. Her right leg looks tiny, and her left appears to be missing. Using reference would probably help a lot.

me - I'm pretty happy with the concept and the painting, but I clearly could have made the composition a lot more dynamic, and I wish I'd had time to go nuts with a background that conveyed the setting I had in my mind.

Nightblue - No single glaring weakness jumps out at me, I'd just recommend using reference to really nail the anatomy.

Lege1 - I really liked your concept and drawing, but I think your use of color here is too simplistic. Each separate element is monochromatic, which doesn't look realistic at all. Instead try starting with a uniform shadow color, then bring in just a little bit of local color plus some reflected light from the other nearby colors. Also get reference for the color of seawater and sky, and try to work in some cast shadows (for example, her staff should cast a shadow on her body).

tsoren - I appreciate your near-photographic rendering on Medusa, but your use of a 3D model for a base shows, both in the roughness of the background relative to the figure, and in certain errors in the deformation of the model. These errors are subtle, and for quick work, may be an acceptable trade-off, but at some point you're going to want to get beyond that.

JessiBean - it's an absolutely gorgeous piece. My only complaint is that I can't quite believe that her dress/legs have tentacles and wings sprouting out, nor that she would bare her hips while keeping her lower legs swathed in something she would trip over at the first step. None of that detracts from the painting, but it does detract from the concept.

Ikiru - I like your use of color, and I want to thank you for your help on my piece. Personally, I don't find your Medusa queenly enough, though I do like how economically you've suggested that she's leading an army of monsters.

Vorace - I like her, and I think she'd make a great boss monster. However, you've substituted the gross-out factor for personality, which is kind of a shame. Maybe I'd like her better without the snake coming out of her mouth.

PatricaS - I like the concept. I think the paint got a little heavy-handed, with the colors looking dark and muddy and the details getting a bit obscured. One thing that's interesting, I kind of like it and kind of don't, is that as far as I can tell, she isn't really Medusa, she's just got golden snake-headed braids on her hair and a snake-crown. I don't think many others played with the notion of a queen costuming herself as Medusa for effect.

Jason Snair - I wanted to like this one, based on the sketch, but I think the painting just got away from you.

MurdokX - I do love how crazy this one is, but showing her alone underground seems to undercut her queenliness, and the painting still looks pretty unfinished.

yinteck - I'm sorry, but I just don't like either the concept or the painting. If you had used reference maybe I'd find it more convincing.

ValkyriesBard - NRaQ. Her proportions are very childlike (reference would help). I do like her expression, and the way you rendered the water.

benu - the scaly chest and face are cool. I don't like the painting technique you're using - it's some form of dry media, right? I'd try using paint or digital.

Mark Malone - NRaQ. The colors and shading seem muddy, and the pose is passive and not queenly. Try to use stronger, less smeary brushwork, and use reference for feet.

Aullido - I kind of dig the bright colors, but with the plaid background I think it's too much. The snakes look fake, partly because of the uniform texture for the scales, and partly because snakes don't generally come in solid magenta.

NARobles - NRaQ. It's nice and moody, but the painting got too muddy, and you probably should be using reference.

Page2
Yngling - Nice concept, though it's very specific to that moment in time. You chose a tough perspective. The knees should probably be closer to the same height, and since the feet are the closest thing to the viewer you really need to use reference and nail the anatomical detail. Also, you use pure black shadows a lot of places, but for some reason not on her dress?

megamax - very hard to read her expression. There's a lack of structure to the anatomy, which could be addressed by using reference or by looking at something like Bridgeman's Anatomy.

Penumbra - This is awesome stuff, and it got my vote because you pushed the concept really far visually and I think your style really suits the subject. However, I do feel that the piece is a bit too dark, and I agree with other comments about the symmetry being excessive. It bothers me most in the dress, and I think cropping out to show the dress really took focus away from the upper body detail. Also not sure I like that she has snakes *and* normal hair.

chaosrocks - although she could be queenly in the way she's dressed (nudity excused per the Minoan exception I mentioned above), her pose looks more like a dancing girl. The painting looks very unfinished, and I think you just need some reference to give you confidence painting the details.

Arbu - nice throne and mask, but otherwise this piece is kind of static and boring. Next time I'd play around more with compositions at the sketch stage.

Sketch Monkey - this is a nice, clean, fun illustration, but the concept was too simple for my taste.

OYO! - Very nice concept, though she could be more clearly a queen. Not sure if the high heels quite fit with the rest, and I can't tell much about her personality, but it's a strong piece.

Harsh - a bit NRaQ. It seems to me you're struggling with kind of the same thing I am. Based on your claim of being an accomplished pencil artist, you could probably make a much stronger piece if you worked the drawing farther and then added digital color *without* getting painterly, similar to what Penumbra is doing. However, you clearly want to work on your painting. Others here can probably help you more, but for a start I'd say don't use black, and try to stay really loose until you have a really good color and value setup. Also, your brushes don't have to be totally opaque - transparency and layer modes are your friends.

edujante - wow, you pushed that concept really far, maybe too far, where she's losing her Medusa-ness -- she almost looks like an ent. It's a strong rendering, though.

coldrum - nice painting. Maybe a bit NRaQ. I still love the bald harpies. I think the concept is a bit too traditional. I'm not sure what would get this to the top level, and I'd love to hear other's crits.

Poshspice - drop-dead gorgeous, but I didn't vote for it because she's NRaQ, and the concept is mostly graphical (the character design is actually pretty traditional, it's just the stylization and presentation that is cool).

Markusthebarbarian - NRaQ. Nice colors, though the skin tones are muddy.

jfwalls - love your concept, and the background is well painted, but the figures look a bit monochromatic and plastic-ey, and the drapery could use some work.

DragonSnail - Nice concept, nice execution. A bit static. The figures of the slaves aren't as convincing as Medusa herself, though. Might have needed some reference there.

FilRam - I don't understand this, but I like it a lot. Maybe you should have written a few words about what's supposed to be going on here.

bumskee - This is an absolutely fantastic painting, but to me the concept is totally NRaQ, barely even Medusa, and doesn't tell me anything about the character.

daestwen - mostly I think she needs background.

halaster - it's great fun. I see it as the cover for a Tom Robbins book about a GenX Medusa. NRaQ.

BEAR JR - interesting concept, though not totally clear. Colors are muddy in a way that reminds me of old sci-fi illustrations from the 60s

carotello - great rendering, but the concept and composition aren't very exciting to me.

Sorknes - cool idea, but I think you need reference. Or you could have drawn it in a more stylized line + wash style like a lot of Tarot decks use.

Visionspring - NRaQ, but very cool piece. I thought you should have made the poll.

Specialtybread - I think this could have worked really well with a different composition and dramatic lighting. However that helmet does come dangerously close to being comical.

Xol - Very clever -- although just *holding* snakes doesn't really make her Medusa...

dCepT- Although she's on a throne, her outfit is decidedly non-regal. I'd try to experiment more with the composition, and not use so much black and brown in the shading.

:::rain::: - nice design, a little NRaQ, a little too airbrushy. Not sure why she's holding her throat.

The Whistler - looks unfinished, and a bit NRaQ. She looks overbalanced to her right. Try to push the concept further from the traditional.

elpez - NRaQ, NRM; nice colors, but your figure is really simplistic. Definitely get some reference.

blackrobin - I kind of like what's suggested, but the details are all a bit too vague. I would've cropped in a fair bit, too, so you didn't have to spend so much time on the scales and could work the costume more.

Page3
gunnarson - Definitely not a queen, and NRM without the text, But hey, cool painting! Follow your muse.

Aeger - I love what you're doing with the mechanical forms, but this piece looks unfinished.

alesoun - NRaQ, mostly NRM, and why are you working at such low resolution? I do like the idea of rendering it as an ancient wall or floor painting, and you pulled off that look.

c@s - I like it. To take it to the next level... hm, I guess I'd like to see you display more confidence in the structure of the anatomy and the drapery, and try to make your brushwork less smeary.

mrbo18 - that costume looks very circus-ey to me, and I don't quite know what to make of it.

Manaburn - NRaQ, proportions are off (forearm long, hand small, upper arms different lengths). Try different size brushes, not always running along the contour.

Nutter - great stuff. Could maybe be a bit more dramatic, but you got my vote.

Senira - I like it, but in a silly way. She's not even the least little bit scary.

James Wolf - Those glowing snakes are really cool and well-drawn, but they are confusing me. I can't tell if they are ghost-snakes, holograms, etc, or just a graphical device. And they distract from a really nice figure with a great costume.

megadubitably - I love the upper body, the snakes, the crown, the color scheme. It's a little unclear though -- are her hands mechanical? What's up with her lower body, is it a dress over a snake-body?

Keira-chan - This is nice and clean, but I think you should push yourself more. Wilder concept, more dramatic composition, stronger color and lighting, more realistic (or more stylized if you prefer).

LeftyJoe - NAQ. Fun, though. I love that her hair is made of just a few (or one?) big golden snake(s).

Slash - NAQ. The black eyes with no eyebrows are super creepy. Nice painting.

Conejo Blanco - Nice! but NAQ. Makes me think of a romance novel, which is a great association for this image (just make sure all your work isn't like that).

longshao - Nice, but NAQ.

Gwenevere - The background here is beautiful, much better than in your digital study. The colors of her outfit bother me, a little; I find them a bit clashy. The shape of her knee looks wrong, and the shadows on her flesh don't seem dark enough. Her eye also looks a bit big and cartoony. I love your sketches, and I feel it might benefit you to do more careful under-drawing before you start in with color.

Tydal - NAQ. Pretty good painting technique, but the linework looks sloppy.

stumpy - The cartoony style doesn't seem to fit the macabre concept, and personally I always hate the airbrushed cartoon look. Also, I think you should try to be a bit more concise in describing your concept (I suppose ideally you shouldn't have to describe it at all, since it should come through clearly in the image).

dyn0101 - just way too blurry.

[S.C. Watson]

It seems that the categorization was based on (a high level of) technical painting ability. Actually my favorite concepts are mostly in the intermediate group, so it's kind of a shame those can't win, but I appreciate the reasoning behind the system. I'm a bit curious about entries like Xol and kidoboy, who executed very clean pieces but not in a painterly vein. If non-painterly pieces can't be considered advanced, that should be stated explicitly in the future, if you keep this system.

To be perfectly honest, if a "Beginner" or "Intermediate" won the CHOW vote, they'd win. I'm simply attempting to apply some structure to barely restrained chaos in dealing with the sheer number of entries. But it's always done with an eye to being as absolutely fair and above board as I possibly can.

However, the hard truth of the matter is that the "Advanced" entries are usually the ones that win. I'm just being honest about that aspect of the Weeklies that few wish to bring up.


I feel like this might be a good time to mention something that tends to go unsaid about CA: painting is king here. I worked in the game industry for years, and in my experience a nice painting is just a bonus -- what the designers want to see are lots of very clear sketches of cool ideas. Usually your time is better spent doing ten more sketches than taking one to finish. CA is an amazing place to work on painting skills, and indeed I'm primarily here to work on mine; I just want to make sure folks realize that painting isn't everything and the real world does not always share CA's bias.

It is MUCH easier to fudge things with a highly stylized piece than it is with a painted piece. A couple of the stylized ones were close to the "Advanced" section, but... while they're fun, I admit I will always lean more toward clean illustration and emotional impact.

Meme's was stylized, handled very well, carried an emotional impact, and ended up in the Advanced section. The thing is that you want to make sure that picture engages the viewer in some fashion. Stylized pieces typically don't.

~Oreg.

[mickeymao]

Point taken. And thanks, for what was clearly a ton of work handling this.

[Sorknes]

Ok, I managed to pull off some C&C. Sorry I skipped so many, but as I was looking and looking, I started to skip more and more people... So many pictures to go through my eyes started to blur! :D I'll try to take a round in the SB's later.

As said earlier though, I'm kinda surprised there's so little "Queen" in some of the images, and that it hasn't been taken further. As the brief was to interpret medusa as a queen.

Very good job though, all of you. Hell of a round! :)

NB: I'm not a pro... so take my C&C for what it is. ;)

Eartheater - Nice idea. Could've been rendered out better, and I have to say that the lower body makes me think more of an octopus than a snake... It's very clean and nice though, you get the idea right away.

David-David - Got one of my votes! It's classical, the headgear of snakes is really cool, and goes straight into my "myth" part of the brain because of the clothing and all. I have to say one of my thought has been "where are those snakes fastened or coming out from though?"... But that's my brain. :p Good job!

Meme - Very nice. It would've gotten my vote in a lesser crammed polled. It looks kinda futuristic with the snakes like that, and it has a "comic style" quality in lack of a better word... which is pulled off nicely.

Spitch - Very nice anatomy. First thing I noticed, besides it being very green. ;)

Decypl - Aboslutely love that headgear. The snake part of the body looks somewhat less worked on than the rest of the body, but I guess that might be because you're not used to scales or snakes? It ends up a little more flat than the rest.

Migsta - One of the beautiful but ugly. :) Her chest looks a little off to me though, even though you're going for the bony approach. Sorry I can't pinpoint it better than that.

DeKal - Very nice one. Would've gotten one of my votes if there wasn't so many good entries in the intermediate section that I had to shave them down... It is a different approach than many of the others. Her face pops out more than her body though, it's not flat drawingwise, but the highlighs seems it looks flatter than the rest. As in thinner. The snakes absolutely rock though.

jread - Kept an eye on this as you posted your sketches. You pulled off the lights really well, and I'm still amazed at the change it did to the picture. And the servant feeding the mice is absolutely original and a funny touch. Good job!

dabble - This could've been pulled straight out of one of the older dark myth book!

Jake Kobrin - You could use some more anatomy references, or if you had, pay better attention to them. ;) The torso looks good, but it looks like you had a ref that was a torso only. The arms are a bit skewed and light not falling totally correct, and the face is also skewed upwards around the eyes .Nice job though! The green goes well, makes it simple so you don't mess it up. :)

mickeymao - I saw your work to get better in the other thread. You fixed up a lot in there, kudos for that! Eyes got a lot better, and the skin and the dress comes out better as well. Good job :)

Lege1 - Your colours definitly makes for a change, hehe. I think that there might be a little too much going on there, so you lose the attetion that the medusa should have. I wished you'd used a ref for the face, the body comes out better than the face. And I know you can, I've seen your stuff. :p Nice shoes! Very refreshing picture in all the other dark ones.

tsoren - That's an ugly but queen royal! The picture looks somewhat too "smooth" though... Too little change in shadows and textures maybe? Her face is absolutely priceless though.

JessiBean - Stunning, as always. So nice hips and abdomen!!! Would've gotten a vote if it weren't for me keeping to one vote in the advanced section.

Vorace - Very nice, but I get more of a feeling of a manmade monster than a medusa queen. It could've used some more highlights to pop out the picture more, as it is now, it is a bit too dark overall, making it a bit flat.

Jason Snair - You got one of my votes. It's a very nice pic, I kept an eye on your progress. I get the image of a whimsical queen up to who knows what, and she looks fun to be with, except that the "whimsical" part of a medusa queen might not be so pleasant to be around at all times, hehe. I would've liked to see some difference in the texture though, like some more metallish shine or something to the belt around her waist. Nice and clean, elegant, got out your medusa well.

MurdokX - this looks a bit more like a creature concept than a character concept to me? I like the play with colours you have going there. She looks somewhat unfinished though, as the details doesn't look like they're cleaned up enough.

ValkyriesBard - the "two colour" approach did you well here, I think. It looks very nice. I'd get an anatomy reference for the next time though, the knee is very simplified and looks a bit off, and since it takes the attention in the bottom part of the picture, it would've benefitted from a reference. Nice clean up on the picture though, and the water looks really, really good!

benu - Nice with traditional. :) There is a bit too much going on around in the picture, which draws the attention from the medusa. I like the stoned men, but it would've benefitted from less action or less men, or having them toned down so the medusa popped out better. I like the concept you had for your medusa. :)

Aullido - More colours! :D Very nice, and I really like the thin skin thing you have going there. It's not a image that very typically calls out for me, but I really liked this one. The golden part of her dress, right in front, looks somewhat "off" though. Like it's not connected with the rest, but floating in front. I think it's the render/shadow that makes it look like that?

Yngling - nice concept, different with a preggy medusa. ;) It is a bit "too clean" though? Maybe some more variety in the textures would help. Like in the snakehair.

megamax - I think I read that you lost some of your progess at some point in this picture, losing the save? Props for getting back on it. I think you could use more reference, especially for the face. If you look at photos of stone pedestals and thrones, that might also help you texture wise, it lacks some texture. The bodice is really nice, you pulled that one well. The image is overall nice, and she sitting like that staring at a stone head makes us know exactly what she is. :)

Penumbra - Very nice! :D I still wish I could see that violin one finished though... Hehe. At the moment it's just a bit too symmetrical for me. But it totally rocks anyway. Lots of stuff going on, but still clean on the eyes. The staff is especially nice, it's different. The highlights seems to be a little too dark though?

chaosrocks - You made it to the poll too! :D The concept is nice, she's different. Bigger brushes and different opacities might've helped you on the way, and some more blending between the areas is something you should think about.

OYO! - Oooh... different! The spear is really nice. And the mohawk snakes really makes the picture together with the african rings around her neck. Shoes and feet very nice too. Her right arm comes out somewhat less defined than the rest though.

coldrum - Very nice. It looks to me like it lost a bit of nice detail in the colouring, like the texture on the men of stone in the front? Overall a nice composition, colours, light, and all that. Good job! :)

PoshSpice - Not much to say. You got my vote in the advanced section. I just absolutely love it.

markusthebarbarian - I really like her chest armour. You've gotten most of the light from the left right as well. I think it lacks some of the last thouches though, like highlights in the metal and some slight texture differences in her clothing/armour. Nice though, me likes. :)

jfwalls - Not much to say here, it's pulled of well, just wanted to say nice concept, it sure stands out because of that.

DragonSnail - It came out wonderful! Got one of my votes. Glad you cropped it so we didn't lose all that detail. Stunning, I love it.

bumskee - Also, just wanted to say: nice! It has some very alluring qualities that doesn't run straight for you eyes. And she looks almost serene. Good job!

carotello - also stunning as always. :) I like the colour scheme. No crits from me... My eyes are starting to blur... hehe.

Sorknes - More refs! More textures! Better light! Do the laundry! And remember to clean your computer desk, it's looks bloody nasty right now!

Visionspring - nice futuristic touch. The breasts looks somewhat like they're way too "hard" though, it's not merging in with the rest of the body. Face and hand is nice, but it ends up being a little flat because of the colourchoice and the rendering not done all over.

Xol - The other Queen as in a suit of cards. I wasn't totally alone, hehe. It's clean, it looks like it would come out in a deck any day, but maybe it is a bit "too" clean to go well in this contest? It is refreshing to see an idea just pulled off like that, without hassle, just bam! there it is.

dCepT - Nice snake throne! :) I wish there was some more texture to pop her out there though, like in the snakehair. The throne also has some "loose" strokes that could've been tightened more. I'll get back to you in your SB... Nice concept though! And I like the muted pallette.

The Whistler - I like the look of her. I hope you have more time to clean up the picture next time though. :) More textures would also be nice. Good hands!

c@s - Her upper body seems slumped, even if intentional a little too much. Her fingers are also somewhat off, they look bent the wrong way, and there's no pressure there for them to do so. Nice colours though, and the textures on her clothing is really nice.

Nutter - Different, and I liked your earlier goes at that picture as well. It looks like some parts are more "finished" than the others, it throws off my persective a little. Can't pinpoint it better, but I end up looking at her tighs instead of her face. Smooth though, like it.

James Wolf - You got one of my votes. I like the light, the colours, the almost flaming snakes. You touch my "oooh!" feeling that I had as a kid watching fantasy and scifi. ^^ You said that you'd not managed to finish the snakes, and I can see that some are better than the others. Will definitly go check out the picture later if you do. :)

Slash - As said earlier, you managed to make a picture that you notice among the others. Got one of my votes. It has different colours, approach and so on, and the lights make the whole image. I like her face alot too, the dark eyes with the smooth skin makes her otherwordly. Maybe a bit too much red in the wings?

Conejo Blanco - Sad you didn't make it to the poll, but I think that's because you didn't put your thumb on a different site, but attached it to the post . Was one of my favourites, and it's absolutely stunning if you've only done 3D earlier, and not 2D. The whole picture gives a mood that speaks to me as a viewer. I'd like to see some parts more textured/rendered, like the snakehair, but I really like the dress, her surroundings and the rain.

Gwenevere - Props for traditional! And I'll now start to dry my paintings on the radiator as well. :p You did a lot of work on the pose and the approach, and it shows. Very nice! :)

[DragonSnail]

Well, I'm sitting here scratching my head over why some entrys came into the section they did - I was totally convinced that James Wolf, for one, would be in the advanced section, and I was pretty sure about Coldrum too. So here is my plea: since I obviously don't have the eyes of a pro, can the pro's please give crits too, so I get to know why these excellent images didn't make it to the advanced? We are all here to learn, and if I don't get to know why they didn't make it, I will wonder about what you see that I don't... ;)

Anyhow, votes from me in the beginners section went to:

ValkyriesBard, for a beautiful concept, nicely chosen colors and a really good, dangerous look on her face. She doesn't very much resemble a queen though, and the BG could have been a little better worked out.

Aullido, for a scary looking Medusa and overall interesting concept. The dress is spectacular and you really pulled off all the colors nicely, plus her hands are exceptionally well drawn. What I don't like is the BG - I feel she would have stood out better on a simpler BG without so many colors.

Intermediate:

Jread, one hell of a job you pulled off there! Love the concept, love the colors, love the light cast from the window. Not too fond of the wrinkles on the cloth though, and the body of Medusa looks a wee bit flat, to me. I'm also missing the "queen" part - she looks like a miserable naga, but not a queen, really. Still, I'm very fond of this piece!

SketchMonkey - great focus in your image! I really like the concept, it's well balanced and I adore the light in the image. Can't take a liking to the dagger though, but that's minor. Great work!

Coldrum: one of my favvies right from the start. Great light, great focus, great colors, and when you ditched the highheels there was really nothing I could complain about. I was expecting you in the advanced section, me and several others too, I'm sure. Did I say I love the colors? :^^:

James Wolf: wonderful image! I fell in love the moment I saw it. The colors are subdued but works well together, and she is positively radiating power! The outfit is great, her gaze is lethal, I can so totally see her as a wrathful queen quelling her anger on some poor subject... As an image and a concept both, it's awsome and amazing and a lot of other words starting with "A". :P I love it! Should so totally have been in advanced.

Slash: beautiful image, I followed your progress with interest, though I must say it looks a little bit like you overworked it. The colors are popping, and though she doesn't really say "queen" to me and maybe not even "Medusa", it's a great picture, and I love what you did with the rings on the snakes. And her dark eyes!

Advanced - I only voted for one, but I'll crit all. Just because.

Carotello got my vote. Her Medusa got character, she's got spirit! She screams power, lethal danger and queenliness to me. It's easy to see her gaze is a killer, and she is ready to use it! :P It doesn't matter that she hasn't a thread on her body - being a queen has got nothing to do with clothes, but with stature, posture, the knowledge that you have the power and that people will obey. The colors could have been a bit more spiffy, but works for me, and the focus is great. Looking at this picture you can easily see what it is: The Queen!

Meme: great image. Love how you made such a minimal view work so well, love the colors used and the focus on her face. I'm personally not fond of the american comic style females though, and she looks more like a sexy superheroine than a powerful queen. Also, her boobs look a little bit too ball-like for my taste, but the rest of the picture is ace!

JessiBean: sweet picture! I love the BG work, really puts an edge on it, and the colors are really nicely blended. Must say I love her skincolors. The wings and stuff around her legs works well for a pretty image but less as a Medusa concept though, and she looks a bit too tame for a queen. The very best part is her thighs, IMO, can't stop admiring it!

Penumbra: Breathtaking details! Alas, so many details it almost makes it hard to focus on her character, that definitly says "queen" but not so much "Medusa". The highlights on her armor/dress almost makes her arms disappear entirely, I have a hard time finding a person in amongst all the stuff. And I know you have heard it before... the mirroring of the image... it's what makes the image really heavy and powerful, yet takes away some of the life in it. Still, kick-ass concept!

Poshspice: tough. I love art nouveau, and you pulled it off beautifully, but in this, I find it too stylized. I could easily image her as a queen, and no one can mistake her for anything else than Medusa, yet there is something lacking in her character. Or in the whole image. I dunno, just didn't make it all the way for me. Maybe just not... "character-concept" enough? It is what this is all about, isn't it? I want a char concept to speak to me, to tell me who she/he is, and she doesn't. She is just (just? *cough*) a pretty image. Ok, a very pretty image, then! :^^:

Bumskee: beautiful image, beautiful colors, very mellow and moody. But queen? No. Not even Medusa. She is, however, a very lovely lady and something I would dearly hang on my wall. Wonderful style! Wish I could paint that way. :mittenbop:

Thanks to everyone that has given me crits, I really appreciate it! Now let's all go draw for the next CHOW. :steph:

[Dan!]

thanks and much appreciation to those who have done the massive crits- if i get some time I'll repay the respect- if not-good job everyone on the lovely presentation of ideas and good luck to those lovely ladies in the winning stretch:)

[Stephan_R]

Since there can only be one queen, I limited myself to one vote per category. I wanted to look over the queen's and find ones that I wouldn't just glance over and say to myself "hmmm that's cool" but rather I would stop and stare and be inspired. I want a queen that pushes my own imagination, that's the type of art I love looking at. I'm disappointed gunnarsson's did not make it, I liked your Planet of the Apes approach ;) Vorace also had an awesome piece that i didn't see make it... very creepy, great details!

Beginner: Daestwen I don't like the pose at all, but that's no reason not to vote for a design I like. I enjoyed the princess appeal this one has, and the way the snakes move around feel very unique to the typical ones you see. It's almost like a Lord of the Rings Medusa!

Intermediate: Dekal I love the African queen sort of vibe I get from this. It feels very relaxed but dangerous, and I enjoy the colors as well. The sort of face and mood of your character is what draws me to it. Cheers!

Advanced: Bumskee You never dissappoint. I keep telling people you might be my favorite artist on this site. You balance the execution of the masters here with an original idea and I aspire to get to that same point in my career. This medusa really looks like she belongs in a story of some sort and has a real personality and imagination of her own. Is she a princess hiding among peasants? Is that grin because she's nearly completed humanity's destruction? This is such an inspiring piece in execution and concept... it speaks a lot to me. Thank you!

[Spitch]

Forced myself to choose only one entry in each section. But couldn't cuz of the quantity in the middle section.

David-david : Nice painting, kinda ancient greece feel in the design. The snakes heads remind me a bit of a swan.A background would probably have thrown your pic in the intermediate level.

Sketchmonkey : Nice and subtle palette. Fine lights and anatomy, but most of all, it's the mood I like. The only crit I'd make is that you could have pay as much attention to her face as you did on her slave's/victim's. Great piece though.

Nutter : One of the most original takes, and one of my favourites in all sections. Good Sci-fi futuristic interpretations are not legion and I fancy them. Thanks ;). The lower part of her dress is a bit blur and unfinished, but your medusa sure looks like queen.

Meme : It was hard to choose but you take had just some more dynamism and originality in style. The more I look at it the more reasons I find : Palette, linework, lights, costume design. Ain't you got no site to see some of your other works ?

[kayness]

I may vote for as many entries as I wish? Awesome! I didn't know that (it's kind of obvious that I'm such a CA noob, isn't it? :P), because I thought I could only vote for one entry, and that'd be stifling because there are so many that I like. Now that I can vote for as many as I wish, I'm going to do just that!

a job well done, everyone *applauses*.

[Asatira]

Beginners' level

Aullido I like texture, and the variety of colors for the snake hair is fun.

Leftyjoe I chose this for humor and style.

Intermediate

Slash She looks so unearthly, and the rendering is, IMO, smooth and just looks good.

jfwalls I like it when people pull in the source materials, and this pulls in the Aegis and the archaic art style the Gorgons were depicted in well, but is still it's own thing.

Gwenevere Just gorgeous painting, and I like the dynamics of it.

Advanced

Meme and JessiBean I just like. Meme's has this lighting aspect that I love, and Jessi's has all these textures.

[David-david]

Yey! The poll is on! Exciting!
I've seen some comments about me being in the beginners section, but I find it more than fair, and I love to be fairly put down with my feet over the floor.

-I am absolute beginner....I absolutely love you-
David Bowie dixit

Jread:Absolutely agreed! I focused too much into a pose which would suggest sinuous folds on her generous skin.
I should have gone more for a Marlene Dietrich appeal.

Jason Snair: Right. They were much more alive in my previous Iggy Pop like design where they creeped to the ceiling. The try wanted to go much more to a graphic solution, kind of Japan flag thing used to frame some text.

Mickeymao: You were right and I was busy! He he... Well at the same time I don't agree with the shins matter, I absolutely agreed with the fact of the knee concavity and the stick in the hand is not very royal, I thought more about the queen who gathers the rests of her fallen reign, like sticks and curtain to dress herself with the majesty of a disguise. Its my fault for not adding a description. Man! How much you arrive to write!

Sorknes: Thanks for your kind vote! I know what you mean: It seems the snakes pop out from her ass, isn't it? Ho ho ho! They were supposed to fall from the hair dressing of the head. Red card for me!

Spich: I thought of putting some decrepit curtains beside her, but I was afraid to loose the frame aspect, maybe I should have tried. Thanks for the kind words!

In the other hands my votes went for:

BEGINNER SECTION:

Manaburn: I like the snakes work, it's got a magic plasticity.
-but-
The position of the legs is more unnatural than the shawarma I puked yesterday.
I don't know who drew that cigarette on your illustration while you were not looking.
The moon feels uncomfortable describing the right upper angle of the frame.

INTERMEDIATE SECTION:

Jwalls: The bloody balls of Katsuhiro Otomo! That's an imponent concept!
I want to see a movie directed by Shinya Tsukamoto with your design as a character. Its a pitty for the background and the composition: They seem casually cutted with a bifaced axe. I saw in your sketch a better option.

CLOSE TO GOD SECTION:

Poshspice: You are inspiration. My legs use to start shaking when a femenine concept goes on. I know you will be consulting your sublime erotic magazines collection and throw a pure vision over the canvas. Don't listen to them, it was finished, and she didn't need that Steve Strange make up on her eye.
Just one more epithet: Magestic

Special mentions:

I felt really sad when I didn't see Edujante's piece into the poll, not just for its efficiency, it's because he is big part of this activity for me (and for many others). Visit his website right now! www.edujante.com This is an order!

Jessibean: Hell, you have improved! Totally! I'd like to see environments, animals, props, ships and spacecrafts from you, crazy perspectives, mad experiments with color, and... the most of all: messages

Oregano: Think of a warm bath when all this finishes! cheerio!

[DeKal]

gunnarsson - thanks bro..i really like your shit so ill take your crit to mind..i read your concept..still not sure what the 2 heads at the bottom represent..not one of your stronger pieces reguardless..the victory gal and the one you did with the ill figure riding that sick horse are among my favorites....and its dekal with a K...its not the word decal.. it more like Dih Kal

jread - thanks..the snake is eating the other one..thats pretty much what it looks like when a snake eats another snake...i guess it might look weird because its out of context from nature...or th eimage may be to small to see detail..anyway, crit appreciated.

mickeymao - i agree.

sorknes - i wanted the face to be the focal point so i didnt make the value of the other highlights consistent with it..plus the face is closer to the light source. you still coulda voted for me..theres no limit on votes.

its stephan r - i really appreciate that man

[Lege1]

Well, I'm sitting here scratching my head over why some entrys came into the section they did - I was totally convinced that James Wolf, for one, would be in the advanced section, and I was pretty sure about Coldrum too. So here is my plea: since I obviously don't have the eyes of a pro, can the pro's please give crits too, so I get to know why these excellent images didn't make it to the advanced? We are all here to learn, and if I don't get to know why they didn't make it, I will wonder about what you see that I don't... ;) :steph:

I just want to first off start by saying that I completely agree with Dragonsnail. What's the deal Oregano?

***I'D LIKE TO NEXT GIVE A BIG BIG APPLAUSE FOR EVERYONE WHO MADE IT IN TO THE FINALS. YOU GUYS AND GALS ARE ALL INCREDIBLE!***

Mickeymao: I greatly appreciate your critique and definitely know now that I got to work harder on those colors. I see everyone calling me out on the color thing so that is my big learning lesson here. I will have further explanations towards that below. I am glad you liked the concept and drawing, I put a lot of thought in to that of course. I was thinking that the staff should cast a shadow on her body but unfortunately made the final judgement not to. I'll make sure I concentrate more on your key elements in the next illustration that I do and I thank you again for letting me know what's good. Your the best!

Sorknes: Trust me I am definitely all over the color thing and thank you for bringing it up just as Mickeymao did. I really wish everyone would of brought this to my attention before the deadline. That would have been really nice cause I did have some time to make changes, but hey..............There's definitely a lot going on in my piece and this is usually consistant in my illustrative ways. I feel that the attention is for the most part drawn away from my Medusa even though she's huge and centered. I appreciate it Sorknes I really do and thanks for keeping it real. Much love =)

MY PERSONAL CLOSING:
I want to go ahead and end here with my closing comment towards this forum. I really do want to thank all those who helped guide me in my journey with the " Queen Medusa." I have never had the true opportunity to formally train in the arts, and my education towards the cause is a minimal because I am product of the street, and I except that. I did the best I knew to do on my Medusa and will most definitely strive for better in the near future.
Over all, I was really happy with my entree because I was able to take it serious, I pre-planned as best as I could, and I corrected myself on what could have been a lot more mistakes on the ones I obviously made. I never really realized how damaging coming up as a graffiti artist would be in the real world of art. Graffiti is great and I will never leave it for my life, but it must be put on the back burner to progress in the more professional world of the arts. So far I know I've done a good job of this and I honestly applied myself in trying to change old ways. My bold coloring and sometimes distorted objects come from the world of graffiti and for stylized art it is good but when trying to do more realistic subject matter it is devastating. It's really hard to change something that you've been doing for so long.
Alright well I came, I tried my best, and in my mind I conquered because I've learned valuable lessons that would have never been established in any other way in my life. I really do admire a lot of you on here and appreciate all your help for real. I'll save the best for last and give a special thanks out to my boy Dekal for really trying to help me strive in the directions of improvement in my art. Thanks much D and I really think you are doing great with all that you're doing. As you always here me say;
"GO FOR THE GUSTO!" Much love,
***THANK YOU OREGANO AND CONCEPT ART FOR HAVING ME AND PROVIDING SUCH A FANTASTIC WEBSITE FOR ARTISTS LIKE ME.***

[S.C. Watson]

I just want to first off start by saying that I completely agree with Dragonsnail. What's the deal Oregano?

I keep having to explain this. I think I'll just come up with a boiler plate explanation and attach it to my sig :geekg:

There comes a point when you have SO MANY ENTRIES and LIMITED SPACE that you have to do something I really HATE doing for this very reason: I have to resort to images that *I* like (since I'm the one running the bloody thing :xpld: ). To be perfectly honest, I tend to be the "Everybody gets a cookie" kind of guy. I like giving everyone a chance at the poll.

However, it simply is not feasible. I love having all of the entries and am always honored when there are so many. I always feel like I'm turning away a gift when someone doesn't make it in.

BUT, I think it's good for all of us to work towards some standards. They may be imperfectly implemented, but I do do my best.

That said, I think we need to keep in mind what the CHOW, and specifically the poll is: just fun and games. Keep it light. It's for fun, but it's a constructive type of fun. You get something new and interesting and fun (I hope) every week to work on, and we all benefit from our collective experience and knowledge. Even the entries that don't make it to poll - they're still in this thread - they deserve crits too.

As the number of entries fall, which they invariably do, we'll see more and more entries going to poll - but again, with something like this were there are more entries than slots, someone has to be cut. The first ones out are those that had tech issues (didn't host off-site for example - see page on that please), from there it was all the usual stuff that I've explained several times.

You guys made me work. it's a good thing - it's what I'm here for. Just please, understand that this can be real work, and I do try to keep it as fair as possible. To be honest, I *know* I am not going to be able to please everyone, so I am not going to try. All I ask is that you all work with me on this and we'll get a lot more out of it.



***THANK YOU OREGANO AND CONCEPT ART FOR HAVING ME AND PROVIDING SUCH A FANTASTIC WEBSITE FOR ARTISTS LIKE ME.***

Hey bro, we're all in this together, and we'll get stronger in our art if we keep that in mind.
---
PS:
If you've pm'd me recently and I've not gotten back to you yet, I will. I just got home from work and need some food at the moment.

~Oreg.

[Sorknes]

Hey, Oregano... We recognize the HUGE effort you made on this one. :hugsmile:

I know it would've pained me to reject people, even though it's so simple as they didn't post their thumbnail on a different site... It was almost 80 entries, meaning that almost half had to go....

I am quite happy about the new system. Now I have that goal of getting into poll again. :) I made it this time, which I myself is dancing around in joy for, but who knows if I'll even get close next time. And I'll work harder to get up a section. :) And I'll read the concepts very thoroughly to try to avoid to be one of the ones getting shaved out.

And it shows clearly that a lot of people (like me *cough cough*) that normally wouldn't gotten more than two votes tops if getting into poll now suddenly get a rush of votes. :) And I'm really happy about being in the beginners section, I get attention where I'd normally wouldn't get any. *add attention emoticon here*. :yayca:

We know there's 45 entries getting to the poll. That's the deal, and that's what we have to live with. And Oregano having the energy and the guts to actually pull that rule through so more people not being Godly gets noticed... Thanks a lot again. :) If Oregano here was a *real* art director... Yeah.... I know I wouldn't have gotten the job. :P

There's a couple I'd like to see switched to other sections, but hell. I'm not trying to organize this, so I'll put my trust into Oregano, and the fact that he's a better artist than me makes me trust his judgement more than mine. :)

[Meme]

Wow! cool stuff so far! Thanks for the votes and the comments guys, love you all :yayca:
PS: Hope I'll post some of my works for you soon

[carotello]

Thanks all for all the compliments and for the crits also.
I am sorry I haven't been able to write some C&C, but I just started a new job, and I have been a little busy. I am however compiling some crits, and I will be posting them as I write them.
Thanks Oregano for the amazing work you do. You are so right about the purpose of this activity. I feel that the minute it isn't fun anymore it's not worth doing it. The fact that we get the bonus of learning while we do what we love is what makes art awesome. Do it for yourself, and it won't matter whether you make it to the poll or not.

[Aly Fell]

Great round everybody. It's cool to see a ton of people joining in this round who don't normally play! Ya'll come back now... I voted for two in each level. but I genuinely could have voted for more in each, particularly the intermediate one. I appreciate Oregano's situation here. There were many more entries than normal so a degree of 'control' has to be taken in who makes it through, and into which section they go. This ultimately has to be arbitrary, and as Oregano puts in his time and energy it is his shout. The referee's decision is final...

My selections were based upon originality and the brief, but in the end it comes down to how you react to an image emotionally. It has to, because that's what character and image making is all about...

Sorknes - I like the tarot card idea, but for a character brief you're gildiing the lily and it's not necessary, even though it's fun! I like her expression and the disinterested queenly pose. Watch your colours don't get too muddy. It's easy to do digitally, and I'm guilty of it myself. Compositionally this works well too; there's nothing like a bit of filigree to fill in those awkward areas to balance an image! :)

Daestwen - The sensitive linework and dress design appealed to me here, along with the gentle palette. I don't 'get' her pose. She seems to be sitting, but I see no chair. Anatomically there are issues with the arms, but overall I just like the image!

Kidoboy - One of the most original entries I think. Great stylistic approach and loads of character and personality. She looks a bit 'fishy', and that's probably down to the colours, but I love the cute snakes and the confident linework. Not sure about the blue to orange gradient background. Don't think it works with the green, but this doesn't detract from the overall character. Smashing oversized sword!

Gwenevere - I'm a sucker for nouveau elements in images and the little touches here really appeal. I love the colour scheme, the soft palette, but I have issues with the dress. It looks a bit too 'sixties'. The strong black and white design would be better on Twiggy or Mary Quant, than on a Gorgon Queen! You'd really need to see more of the 'hair' and how it joins the head for a character piece, and I'm not sure about the 'hard points' where the snakes push the material of her head-dress. It gives the impression of a catholic nuns hat a bit. :)

Meme - What can I say! Fabulous energy in this image. Her expression is faultless and this for me is what 'character' design is all about. Not just a pose, but trying to get some of the personality across in one image. Rather than aloofness, you've gone for dynamism and that deserves my vote! Even the snakes have character! If I had a crit it would be that it is quite dark in some places, but this is minor!

Penumbra - The amount of work in your piece is amazing. You've spent a lot of time on this, unless you have some secret process! The symmetry doesn't bother me because that is part of the design. Creative elements like that shouldn't be a problem unless they don't work, and here they do. It's not symmetrical enough to be distracting. I don't like the brown border, which is a personal choice I know, but it's actually not quite centred which slightly off balances the composition for me. I think this one needs to be seen big!

Choices have to be made, but special mention to: Leftyjoe for a nice cartoon style, Spitch for the expression alone, Dekal for the serenity, JRead for the great lighting, MickeyMao for the dress, Nutter for the sci-fi, Slash for the scary lack of eyebrows(!), and JessiBean for the wonderful composition. (The one thing I wasn't sure about here was the tentacles, but she's great!)

Special mention as well to Gunnarrsson, who didn't make it to poll as I really liked this one!

As for mine, I think I concentrated too much on the design and lost my way a bit, however she is loosely based on my wife, quite happy to be represented as a witch queen who's gaze can turn you to stone!

I would really like to give full crits on every piece, but have just been too busy. For this reason I really appreciate the effort of those that do take the time to crit every piece as exhaustively as they do. Thankyou!

[alesoun]

Oregano I would've been delighted if I'd made the beginners' poll, but the fact that I didn't doesn't surprise me. I screwed up the resolution when I posted it, but even if I hadn't, it still wasn't very good.

I learned a lot, though (last time I couildn't post 'cos I couldn't figure out how to frame my entry or add text), and at least this time I got the darned thing posted!!

Next time.........

(Haven't voted yet; but I will tomorrow)

[gunnarsson]

thanks alot oregano for explaining things! I totally understand why I did not make it to poll.
oh and btw, thankies for the hard work fixing all this too, its appreciated

[BEAR JR]

Votes and crits! Sorry these are a bit long and I didn't get to everyone, but I hope they're helpful. Special thanks to MickeyMao for the crit, still refining the technique I used to make my entry.

Beginner's:
ValkyriesBard, I voted for yours because I think it best represents the idea of a bitter and vengeful queen (which is how I picture Medusa would be); I also think you gave your character the best facial expression of the category. The way the snakes billow around her head is great. I suggest you study anatomy in greater detail, to make the texture of her flesh really pop; also, the top of her chest looks a little concave, like she's missing some muscle and bone.

Jake Kobrin, the body on your character seems a little awkward; it looks like you copied a reference without understanding body structure completely (her head doesn't look round, and her left arm doesn't connect correctly at the elbow); you did well with the lighting on the skin, though.

Daestwen, would have voted for yours as well, but I think even if you were running low on time it would have been better to suggest some sort of throne/background with a few lines, rather than leave her floating in space. I love your style, though, very ethereal, and the design of her dress.

Intermediates-

Dekal, I love love love it. The idea is so interesting to me, and I like your color choices very much. I wish you had gone further with the background, though, and given it some sort of design or texture. When I first saw the piece, I though she was halfway sunk into the wall, which would have been really cool with some sort of textured wall design. Anyway, really awesome, you got my vote!

Kidoboy, loved your take on this; it looks like a paper cutout but even more interesting. My suggestion would be to give the snake heads a bit more personality, and even Medusa's face as well; right now she just looks bored, which could work for a queen, but if that's what you were going for I'm not seeing quite enough boredom

MickeyMao, gorgeous rendering on that dress; it looks stiff and a little hard, which I think suits her very well. My only suggestion would be that you throw more light and detail on the hat and snakes.

Sketchmonkey, yours is my favorite. I love the composition, everything flows from one part to the next so smoothly, and the poses and expressions of Medusa's victims are wonderful. Great work.

Nutter, lol, really cool, I love the idea and the execution, just think the cloth should be more developed; it's a little behind the metal and flesh.

Advanced-

Meme, yours is beautiful, I particularly like the color choices and the way she's interacting with the snakes; the shadow falling across her face works wonderfully.

Poshspice, the detail on yours is exquisite, especially in the folds of her cloth and on her jewelry. My only suggestion would be to have done something different with the snakes, either entwining them in a design or giving them more detailed heads, since they are such a large part of the picture. I love your colors and the overall composition.

Carotello, the textures on yours are fabulous, especially with the feathers (and I love the shape of the wings), and I really dig the way the snakes are curling up from her head. The only thing I notice is her skin: it looks a bit too smooth, particularly on her legs.

[:::rain:::]

AHH....I'm feeling pretty small right now. I somehow glossed over the instructions on the thumbnails :nohope: ....and thus I certainly did not deserve to be included in the poll. My apologies Oregano :\ ...and everyone else I'll have my crits up soon.

[S.C. Watson]

AHH....I'm feeling pretty small right now. I somehow glossed over the instructions on the thumbnails :nohope: ....and thus I certainly did not deserve to be included in the poll. My apologies Oregano :\ ...and everyone else I'll have my crits up soon.

:::rain:::, it's not a matter of deserving or not deserving. It's the limitations of the forum code - images hosted on CA only link as text links, therefore the need for images to be hosted off site.

There's possibly something in the works to remedy this, but I need to follow up on it. I'll let you all know as things progress.

Ciao,
~Oreg.

[James Wolf]

Great work everyone!
and thanks for the comments/critiques! I definitely plan on finishing it. I just had to rush to get everything to an acceptable level for the deadline (I started a bit late lol), but im going to go back and refine everything and get them polished up to the level I originally planned on. I'm also a little sad I submitted such a poor quality thumb haha, I can't even see her in the polls. anyway this was an awesome chow and a lot of great pieces came of it.
I'm voting for:
Daestwen- I love the elegance of the white snakes and I really enjoy the style that its done in. I wish there were some explanation for the posture as i know she probably would not be able to stand in that pose without something to prop her.
Slash, I think the eyes are very important and yours are very well done, the piece also has character to it. its one that I will remember when thinking back on the contest. my only crits would be that I think the snakes could be worked on a little bit, but its not like they're a problem so.
penumbra- I thought this piece was very well done, and I was constantly checking back to see the progress, honestly it kept me going when my progress was dragging. I'm not really a fan of the symetry because it makes the pieces slightly less interesting, and I feel the colors could be brightened up a bit, her right hand and a few other places sort of blend with the background but both of these issues are minor and are greatly over shadowed by the overal excellence of the piece.

[AsaB]

Beautiful works all around, it's hard to choose between these! I'm a newbie to CA, but I'm hoping to join CHOW someday soon, but until then I'm just going to vote and observe :)
I'm voting for two in each category, goes as follows:

Beginners:
Arbu - I like the painting technique and the queen has this composed, regal atmosphere to her. Nice costume too, especially the mask.
Daestwen - It's a pity you couldn't finish the throne and background, but I'm loving her design and expression, so it gets my vote. Lovely colour palette!

Intermediate
Nutter - I love the design! Her outfit is awesome and so is her expression. She's certainly got a powerful presence. I also like the simple colour palette, it brings so much focus to the character.
Gwenevere - I like how it looks like from Greek mythology and she really speaks 'queen' to me. The concept is nice too, how you capture the moment as she's lifting up the veil, her eyes are powerful. And kudos for going traditional, it's excellently executed!

Advanced
JessiBean - This one I just love. The queen herself (albeit not screaming 'Medusa') has a very royal yet composed attitude. The whole design of her is eye-candy, and top-notch in execution. The wall with the mythology drawings is a great addition too. Your use of colour and texture amazes me. And those thighs!
Carotello - This one simply screams queen and power! It's incredibly powerful and beautifully painted. I love the purple skin. Her expression is astonishing, definitely not a queen to mess with. Her hair-do is interesting as well. And finally, that lightbeam from above adds to her queenlyness. Great stuff.

There were plenty of others I liked, but I'd probably have ended up voting for everyone if I hadn't constrained myself! I still find all the pieces great, wish I could give everyone here cookies, including those who didn't make the poll. And of course a pat on the back to Oregano for making this all possible.
:)

[B-Man]

I voted David-david for the anatomy and pose in his he could work more on the colors but I liked It the most out of the beginner entries.
For the intermediate I voted Dacal. I think Decals piece is on the edge to Advanced not yet there but darn close. I liked the fact that his medusa is black and i liked the composition.
For the advanced entries I voted JessieBean, The colors and pose is striking and I fell for it in an early stage of the Chow #100.

I vould have partisipated but I pussed out and there is no excuse. Awsome work all of you! Mahalo im gonna drinks some more coffee now!

[Slash]

Thanks to everyone who gave me their vote and crits! I appreciate it! I'll try and type out my own thougths later tonight.

[Penumbra]

I just wanted to say thanks to the people who gave me compliments and crits I hope to be able to do the same for everyone sometime this weekend. There are a lot of people that I think made an outstanding effort and some of those didn't make the polls. Believe me when I say that in the contract world that kind of thing happens but you don't get to have a moderator that is considerate of your feelings. You just go back at it and keep hittin the lead(pencil that is).

Now if I can just keep from hovering over the polls...

[The Whistler]

hey, thanks for the crits guys, i have no time to comment right now because i am on the touchscreen in the hallway of my college,anyways,voted for james wolf, mickeymao and posh, sorry if i missed somebody, great work people...

i will try better next time :)

cheers!

[Mark Tarrisse]

Welll... I want to say that still nearly every one gives vote to good looking image and often forget the conceptual aspect. I mean there are awesome pics but the ideas are often not so original. (that inclueding mine who didn't make it to the pool :))
In fact I must say I was really suprised that vorace didn't make it to the pool, He was definatly my favorite one ! :) whatever...
I voted for :
david david in the beginners pool.

Intermediate pool
Jason Snair - even if the idea is not so original I must say I like your style...
and
Nutter - Like the concept very nice and the colors to, very nice...
Finally in the advenced
Penumbra - nothing to say for the concept really really nice and well done ( exept as I sayed before little to much maybe :))
and
Poshspice - Ok well once again not so original as concept but so well done and I must say I'm a big big fan of mucha sooo you had my vote :D
I must confess I could have voted for all the advenced ones but I wanted to do some choices :D sorry for the others :)

And one last critic for oregano sorry for that :D but usually you say in the rules that we must say that we must see the entire body or at least 3/4 of the body. I don't know if this time this was in the rules but some of the ones who are in the pool didn't follow the rules, ok every body will think that I'm a bad looser and stuff like that but if you put some rules you should follow it, if not don't put restrictions. :)

[JessiBean]

One quick thing to note, Markus, is that the images in the poll are the thumbnails, not the complete images. All those in the poll followed the rule, and you can see the complete images on the first and second pages of this thread. Some, like myself, cropped the thumbnail in some for the sake of not losing detail, etc.
;)

[Mark Tarrisse]

I know that jessi but for exemple is Xol pic is following the rules ???

[ValkyriesBard]

Thanks to all who have critiqued my entry - I've learned a lot from your comments, and I'll strive to improve in the future. Thanks for bringing those points to my attention! There were a lot of amazing entries in this round, and I've voted for the ones I liked the best.



Those in the advanced section: Amazing rendering as usual.

Meme, your work is spectacular.

JessieBean, the technical aspects of your piece astound me, and inspire me to work harder.

Poshspice; you really nailed it, I love the expression on her face.

Bumskee; I'm not really seeing a queen, or Medusa right of the bat, but a gorgeous piece none the less.

Carotello: I'm not sure if the wings are working, but the piece is gorgeous and I would love to hang that on my wall as well.


Intermediate: There were a few that I thought fit the concept and should have been in the advanced category, and some that should have been in the beginners cat. for technical or conceptual reasons. This was a really hard round to judge though, so props to Oregano for everything.

Spitch: Not really seeing a queen, nice lighting. The tail is a bit much and the overall scene seems a little bit flat. Also, Medusa is planted. Such a dynamic pose should have more movement to it. Nice job though.

Decypl: I like the crown a lot, it reminds me of persia almost. What lost me is the naga tail. There is soooo many nagas just running around the internet, it has to be something different and spectacular to draw attention past the overused concept. The anatomy is a little off on the torso. Color scheme is great, and the expression is very regal.

Migsta: Also the naga bit. Interesting idea paired with the background though. Doesn't really remind me of a queen, but the color scheme is really nice. Good atmospheric effect.

Dekal: AMAZING. I love the concept, it's so different from everything else. I like the Ethiopian feel and the Egyptian curves.

MickeyMao: I love the render, but the pose is very static. I understand the time period that you were modeling your piece after, but even then the poses were more of a 3/4 view instead of a straight on. Very good technique.

Dragonsnail: WOW. The way you illustrated the textured of the fabric through me for a loop. Fantastic job! The structure of the face is a bit weird; it's possibly just the nose in general or the darker color for her skin. Amazing work.

Halaster: I'm not really sure what you concept was for this; it's extremely abstract and doesn't fit the criteria for "Medusa the Queen".

Xol: Not really sure that a playing card is that effective as a character concept. Also, feels more like a live trace with elements added, though it could just be me. Interesting idea.

James Wolf: I love the snakes! They contrast the background nicely, and really emphasize the main character of medusa. Don't really get the feel that she is a "queen" per say, but a great concept and follow through.


Beginners section:

David-David: I'm getting the Grecian feel to your illustration, but the snakes do appear to be dead, coming from under her dress. Interesting pose, good foreshortening, and very nice head gear. Doesn't feel like a queen, but has a strong composition to it.

Jake Kobrin: The body feels more like a paint over with snakes and nails added to it. There isn't too much for character development with it, it's very static, and some of the anatomy or structure of the face is off. Practice makes perfect though. I like your color pallet.

Megamax: her features are flat, and the anatomy is off. Use more reference, and play with the flow of the piece as to how the viewer's eye is directed through it.

Lefty Joe: I like the Disney feel to it, very animated. You pulled off the naga tail with a new spin that didn't seem overdone. I really like the overall feel to it, very playful. Good job!

Daestwen: It seems to be more anime. Interesting pose and gesture, some foreshortening is off, but like the detail of the hair and eyes. Reference models a bit more to resolve.

There were a few more that I wanted to comment on, but I'm running out of time, and I have a long day of work tomorrow. Good job everyone, and thanks again for the crits, much welcomed. Hope to participate again soon! Good luck!

[Slash]

I made a little gif (well, rather large gif actually..) of my progress. I hope someone gets a kick out of it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b21/slashesc/medusa_progress3.gif

[alesoun]

Penumbra; your pencil sketches were awesome, but they lost something when you painted: I'm sorry. I wish you had kept that concept going...

[alesoun]

Did a 3;2;1
So difficult to choose

[SalOnimaruRem]

JessiBean i voted for u cause i can't get my eyes of her sexy hips @.@

Penumbra yo shit is crazy man, speechless to say anything else

[Penumbra]

alesoun- thanks for the comments...as for the first sketch... I saw it as a bit more narrative but decidedly less "queenly" than the second.
...and please don't be sorry for having an opinion, if everyone were in agreement then the polls wouldn't be necessary.

Oni Rem-Thanks a ton!

[elpez]

Thanks for the gif Slash. Really great. Surely I´ll learn a lot from it!
You people made a wondefull work. I hope all the polls could be like this although Oregano would have a really hard work every week.

[form2function]

Ladies and gents, as of a few minutes ago we have a new Queen in the lands of CHOW. May her reign be inspiring for all. ;)

JessiBean, let me be the first to congratulate you on a truly stunning work of art. Everyone raised the bar on quality once again, but I personally feel yours captured the essence of the brief perfectly.

I'd love to crit everyone as I did last time, but since my time doesn't permit me and I wouldn't want to leave anyone out, I'll just say there wasn't a single entry from any category that wasn't damn good. Let's see if it holds over the future rounds as well...

[S.C. Watson]

Ladies and gents, as of a few minutes ago we have a new Queen in the lands of CHOW. May her reign be inspiring for all. ;)
I think someone is aiming for my job :P

CONGRATULATIONS JESSIBEAN!
Good work. That was some stiff competition you were against! :yayca:

I'll get the particulars in order tonight :)

[OldJake666]

Congrats Jess!!! .... highness. ;)

And a big thanks to Arshes Nei, axeman61, BEAR JR, digital seeker, Diphallia, Gundersen, gunnarsson, Migsta, Oregano, Renegade89, serhc, and Slash for voting for me! I thought originally that I didn't make it to the poll. Jessibean and Davi had to tell me otherwise. :P And thanks to everyone for their comments, critiques, and suggestions!

[Slash]

Congrats Jess, you kicked ass!



<3

[form2function]

I think someone is aiming for my job :P

Kidding me? I'd swim in those shoes. ;)

[Dan!]

congratulations:yayca:

[coldrum]

Congrats Jess, a fitting queen for sure : )

[Libre17]

It is amazing how many people join just to vote in these polls! Way to go! I guess good art brings people out.

[Penumbra]

Jessibean- Congratulations! Boy that was pretty close for a while. I think there was a brief period where we had a four way tie...
Your piece was well done and I did enjoy those curves. I am a "hips"man myself. Again...Congratulations


Libre17- its normal. Lurkers come out of the woodwork to vote all the time when they really like someone. I am a lurker so I can relate.

[S.C. Watson]

I also want to bring attention to the Beginner and Intermediate category wins:

DAESTWEN took First in Beginner with 61 votes

and

NUTTER took First in Intermediate with with 92 votes

Good work all, and congratulations!!

DAESTWEN and NUTTER, you will be both advanced one category in the next round assuming you enter. :geekg:

All the best,
~Oreg.

[kayness]

hey Jessibean, congrats for winning!

[Meme]

hahaha, that was close, congrats man :D

[Aly Fell]

Well done Jessi! :)

[xamanoth]

Congrats Jessi Bean! Awesome as allways an a really impressive queen.

Congrats on your category win and advancement Nutter and DAESTWEN!

[AsaB]

Congratulations to JessiBean, a fitting queen for sure! It's a stunning piece worthy of winning :)

And muffins go also to Daestwen and Nutter for winning the other categories, great job!

Aw, heck with it, muffins to all! :D

[JessiBean]

Thanks a bunch everyone, VERY impressive round. Grats to Daestwen and Nutter, and I look forward to JUST as many awesome entries in the Inquisitor and Plague Doctor rounds.
:teeth:

[Conejo Blanco]

JessiBean, well done! Your win is well deserved.

[NARobles]

Grats Jessi!! =D

[C0mBineD]

wow congratz for winning jessibean!! :O

[bumskee]

nice one jessi!!

[jfwalls]

Congratulations Jessi! It's all in the hips.

[mrbo18]

Congratulations Jessi, it was by far my favorite, I really was hoping you'd win.

[Villa]

hey! Congrats jessica, awesome round. feel proud.
all hail!

hope to challenge you soon.

[Gwenevere]

Much-deserved congratulations, Jessibean! Your Medusa certainly had one of my votes (once the CA server stopped giving me hell...) It's just a lovely, lovely piece, it really is...

And kudos to everyone else, too, for putting up such a fierce competition! So many amazing entries, such a close round...

And even the section headers got votes *pfff* What is up with that??

Wish I'd had time to give more crits n' comments at the end, but I think I'll have my hands full just trying to catch up with the next one...

[Quicksilver]

Argh, bit late, but congrats Jess, Nutter and Daestwen~! :D

[Slash]

It is amazing how many people join just to vote in these polls! Way to go! I guess good art brings people out.

Its also amazing how some people don't have the balls to say what they have on their mind and stand by it, so they break the forum rules and create duplicate accounts to post anonymously.

Your IP matches that of a different account. If you have something to say, say it, and stand by it like a man.

[Penumbra]

Actually Slash that was my wife and she was serious. She joined to vote and she was too late, as a joke I sortof flamed her. She wasn't being mean or spiteful...if you notice I had more than one or two votes that joined on the 15th as well. Got anything else to say...

[Slash]

It was the interesting choice of username that caught my eye. I thought it might have been a member of your household, but your reply struck me as odd for someone familiar - that is all.

Nothing in the rules against different members of the same household signing up.

[Penumbra]

It was the interesting choice of username that caught my eye. I thought it might have been a member of your household, but your reply struck me as odd for someone familiar - that is all.

Nothing in the rules against different members of the same household signing up.

No, I am glad you brought it up. I didn't even realize how it could've been taken. She was hesitant to join and I pointed out that others had recently joined and that it was ok...so my response was that it was normal for lurkers to join when they felt stongly about a poll.

...and about the name... I had to prove to her that it was ok, so I found a name that was new... I said look Libre16 just joined and she said ok I'll be libre17...

[Garyo]

If any of you poke in the 3d/ Sculpting forums you might be interested to know I've started, with the artists permission, a 3d challenge based on some of the fine Medusa's posted to this chow. So go check it out over the next two months and I hope maybe some of your might give it a go as well. The Queen Medusa challenge can be found here! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1623017#post1623017)



Garyo