C.O.W. - #119: Unicorn Hunter - Voting!

[Johanna Saarenpää]

Aww, too bad you didn't finish your entry, indus. I would have voted for you.

Alright, will vote longshao this round, it's a neat critter. I also like corspufo's critter a lot.

[artiphats]

this was a REALLY tough round to vote in. There were a lot of entries that I wanted to vote for. Ended up voting Longshao as I could really visuallize that thing hunting down unicorn.

Other favorites : banhatin, scorge, abaker, ATAnderson, richkid, Snarfevs, Michael Jaeks, corspufo, Fozzybar.

If I have time today I will comment on all entries.

Great round everyone

-Ray
oh yeah FIRST!!

EDIT : Dammit Sirjohanna, well I got first vote in anyway

[Michael Jaecks]

All righty then. I voted for scorge. Anyone who's got the nuts to use salmon, purple and turquoise in the same painting plus has the nerve to stand up and tell me ten different things that are wrong with my entry in the posting thread has earned my vote...

this round.

No, but seriously, I asked for it and your feedback was very helpful. Your design is very original and in general your paintings get better and better crafted each round. The colors could have really clashed, but I think they really work here. (One teeny little crit would be that I sometimes wish you wouldn't crop things so close. I know he's big and huge, but give this guy a little space to breath.) But, I also really like how fluffy his fur and the unicorns' manes are. I believe we are witnessing the softer side of scorge.

I also really liked banhatin's entry, longshao's and RichKid's ...all very nice.

And a shout out to our trusty stalwart moderator as well. You never enter anymore; it's nice to see your work again.

[Villa]

voted for longshao. The look of the creature is badass. since unicorns are often portrayed as being beautiful, their nemesis had to be something really mean, big and strong, something that i came to aknowledge when i finished my creature, saw it and didnt look so threathening. i can really see this giant tearing unicorns apart, would have liked if you showed a more unicorn specific mechanism of hunting in the creature given the theme, since it looks like it can rip to pieces literally everything in his path. nonetheless, love the anatomy you put on your creatures mr. Yan. especially their faces and heads.
other favorites are
banhatin: big and strong as well, great finish.
abaker: i like the look of that critter a lot
and snarfevs: unicorn specific, very original anatomy.

good round.

[Moai]

Sweet creature design, Fozzybar. You have my vote.

[Snarfevs]

My vote went to Soulweaver. The concept is unique and integrates really satisfyingly into a 'fantasy ecosystem'. The creature itself is wonderfully illustrated and would look right at home in a Games Workshop manual. The salient details are conveyed in a lucid but stylish way. Well done!

Other standouts:

Orion: Lovely rendering and palette.
Banhatin: Really nice rendering and rock solid anatomy. The concept feels a bit generic though.
Scorge: Crazy cool palette.
Abaker: Sublime rendering. Radiates brutality.
Villa: Cool, well-explained concept stunningly illustrated. This gets my 2nd place.
Michael Jaecks: Really solid anatomy.
Longshao: Really nice. Colours, structure, composition are all excellent.
Corpsufo: I really dig the neck and head on this. If only the pic were tightened up a bit...
Fozzybar: Very stylish, great structure. Good to see another creature from you.

[Blackthorn]

Right on Michael Jaecks. Your entry has something of an epic movie poster quality to me that I really like, and the idea of these crazy centaur like abominations running around savaging the unicorn population is great. Nice work!

[Relic]

My vote goes to Fozzybar.It's a really tough round to vote.I personally more like the brighter tone pieces.
my other fancy:Corspufo(great anatomy,realistic concept),
Michael Jaecks(stunning skill and color),benu(great atmosphere,and my wife loves it),villa(beautiful painting and interesting concept)

[Azathoth]

Great entries all. My vote goes to Banhatin amazing render. My design was a little on the lighter side. If I have time I will add more comments later.

[Gib]

Lots of great contributions.
My vote goes to Snarfevs for the concept. Most creatures in poll are more or less generic predators, but Snarfevs entry is a true Unicorn Hunter.

[ImRazil]

I voted for Soulweaver because of the simple artwork that was made. Also the background story provided a radically different approach to the way a unicorn was hunted, which I liked a lot. The other reason was: It just looks good! .

[Pixelestial]

Thanks ImRazil and Snarfevs for the votes!

Orion9282: I like the design of your creature on its own, but I have a hard time imagining it as a unicorn hunter. It doesn't look particularly sneaky or stealthy like your description implies. Great colors and brushstrokes, though.

gnahz: It's cool to imagine a pack of usuis chasing down a unicorn and using its tail like a whip. Since the hooked tail is so important, I think it should be more pronounced. I wouldn't have noticed that was a hook without your description.

banhatin: Awesome image, but nothing about the creature really says "unicorn hunter" to me. The dark space on the left side might be a little too dark, as it keeps drawing my eye away from the creatures.

Relic: I like your concept of yin and yang. Reminds me of the Dark Crystal.
You have some nice textures on your shadow blade, but the image is hampered by muddy colors and a lack of definitive areas of light and shadow.

benu: I think you missed an opportunity for some nice lighting here. If you really pushed the "blinding white fur" of the unicorn to be brighter, we would be able to see the keythongs more clearly and would have some cool shadows to boot. Kudos on the background, though.

scorge: There's a good sense of scale, and that face is downright sinister. I love the green and purple, but I'm not too sure about that particular shade of red for the unicorns' manes. Great creature, but it looks too big and lumbering to fit the concept. (I think a lot of entries this round could have fit the concept better, though, so this is a nitpick.)

abaker: You critter has a lot of personality, and I like the gritty rendering. Usually pure black shadows are a big no-no, but they work here. I'm having trouble thinking of a crit for you, but there's still something lacking here... Maybe the creature is too simple?

ATAnderson: Really nicely done. It would be cool to see a step-by-step for your technique (especially for that gorgeous jungle backdrop). It might have been nice to hear more about their hunting techniques, or why they need the horn. But on the other hand, I can really imagine these guys in motion and I find myself making up stories to fill in the blanks.

Arteater: There's something really appealing about the design of your weird cat mutant. Like the Muppets meet Where the Wild Things Are. But the leg on our right could use some better definition, and the painting as a whole might be just a touch too gray.

RichKid: Really cool boar/bull/eel combination. It just oozes evil. Pink and blue is a great color scheme, and that pebbly texture on the creature's neck is fabulous. "Unicorn rival" is not really the same thing as "unicorn hunter", though...

That's enough for now, I will try to comment on everyone else's later...

[UCT]

I voted Longshao. What can I say its BRUTAAL & everything a unicorn isn't.

[zephyri]

Damn I wish we could have more than one vote! Some absolutely brilliant pieces here, and for me, it was a very close toss up between Fozzy and Longshao. Both are brilliant in execution, though quite different in concept. And while Fozzy's is perhaps the more original, I could just see Longshao's critter tearing up a poor innocent unicorn. He has that definite look of a predator on the first read, even without the description, so he won the vote by a whisker.

[Sapphire]

Oh my gosh, what a tough round! My vote went to Snarfevs, but it was really close between that and about four others. I loved the concept behind the genetically-engineered parasite, and a lot of thought was obviously put into it. I also like the little mouth.


Kezrek: Really, really crazy-looking beastie! This was my second choice. I love the look it has of an elaborate lure hanging below the actual mouth, though I know it's actually a stinger. It's very creepy that the mouth looks like it erupts from its back. Very inspirational, really! I only wish some bits were more carefully rendered.
Villa: Sweet critter, I love the way he camoflauges as a rock. Remind me of Dragonheart a bit. The only reason I didn't vote for this guy is because he looks like a lot of stuff I've seen around lately, except the stone casing.
ATAnderson: I really like the anatomy of your creatures, and how they're very much mammalian rather than reptilian. It seems weird that they would waste the unicorn meat, but that doesn't matter really.

[RichKid]

Snarfevs gets my vote, his one of the few that actually is designed based around its target. there are some cool ones but most of them could be designs for any topic.
and spysheep gets my love because that is just a really fun design all around. air whales are always awesome

[ye_oldskool]

Really strong round overall - some brilliant entries.
Voted for RichKid on this one. Loved the exaggerated style & proportions of the hunter. Twisted and evil... nice one!

If there was a second vote it would've gone to Longshao.

[Razorleaf]

Since it is asked by the moderator that we explain our decision, here goes...

I liked Orion9282 and gnahz and abaker. All three were very nice. They had great lines, good color, nice contrast and were creatively presented. But most of all they refrained from exhibited the level of gore that many of the others shared.

There are far to few truly wonderful art pieces that express true talent and creativity. Most artists choose to incorporate blood, gore and horror into their pieces, which is unnecessary when generating a response from the viewer, the creature itself should be enough to create an emotion.

All three of my choices depict a hunter, all three are visually appealing and all three have genuine talent. I choose abaker however because the other two felt more like pokemon (which I happend to like )to me whereas abaker created and painted a creature who visually supports all the criteria without the gore.

Well done abaker!

[longshao]

I voted for fozz for the original design, the concept, and the good composition.
I also enjoyed snarfevs entry very much, very unique creature.

[Kezrek]

Sapphire - Thank you for the comment! I wasn't expecting anything compared to many of the other entries, lol. Next time I'll be sure to finalize the image itself better.

[ikuru]

Hey Fonz! Gr8 stuff!

[Fozzybar]

First of all thank you to the guys who liked my entry, it makes me even happier to see some regular COWies popping up

It was really tough to vote, but finally i decided to vote for RichKid :
I like the creature design and mood of the piece. Maybe you have overdone it with the eyes count But well, that's a minor thing. I would have liked to see the creature as a species, like many of them hunting Unicorns or being the natural enemies of them instead of having only one. I just don't like individual creatures for COW. Whatever i had some favs, but yours had nothing what bothered me





Other favs with paint overs, i hope you don't mind guys:

- banhatin
Classic color scheme and rendering as always. Great stuff and good show of your skills. One thing which catched my eye instantly was the bulky look of your creature, it has this brutal appearance but the anatomy was somehow looking juvenile, i think the head was to big compared to the rest of the body, so i gave it a try in PS:



btw, didn't you won a COW star once? I can't see it in your title....


- abaker
I really like the primal look of your creature. It has something brute, like following only its killing instinct. Nice one. The problem i see is that there are too many black areas in the image. Also it seems that you've overdone the burn/dodge tool or maybe layer effects like overlay. I think with some careful handling on the shadows and general tones you could have a really appealing result:




- Villa
As i saw your creature i know that it would be a candidate for my vote. I like the depth you created and everything is clean and sharp. Also great sketches showing how the attack works
The downside is that the idea of a creature hiding as a rock is not the most unique Well, i also have done that before, so there is no escape from this i guess
Another thing is the hind leg. The one in the background works well, but the other one doesn't convince me, it looks too small and not powerful. The whole creature loses the impression of being able to shoot out from its hide. I tried my hands on this point:




- longshao
I really loved the overall artwork with colors, composition, atmosphere, rendering etc But something which gave me very hard times was to spot the creatures head part. I wasn't sure if i understood the shapes in the right way. I opened the image in PS and tried to give this part a better readability, but i think i failed, because i am still struggling with catching the whole thing

[zenichi]

Soulweaver, my vote goes to you, for a creature that uses strategies rather than its bio/ magical attributes to hunt the mystical creature unicorn that's been known to elude and evade the most vicious of hunters. the idea that they are part of a "cycle" is also nice, like they have evolved to hunt unicorns, their hunting abilities seems to have been honed for that purpose only and doesnt seems to work on any other creature, hence befitting the "unicorn hunter" description. also, i just like the menacing and yet "cute" creature!!

[Michael Jaecks]

Not to turn the conversation away from this round, but...

Are we taking a break this week or is there a topic on the way?

A week without COW is like a day without sunshine.

[Fozzybar]

I don't know what you're talking about...


















...sorry, totally forgot about that


There it is:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1868976

[Michael Jaecks]

LOL. Shaving. Whatever will I think of...

[Pixelestial]

Villa: I really dig the design of the head and jaw of your beastie. The leg that is furthest from us, though, looks like an arm because of its position. This confuses the image somewhat. The great little sketches help there, but I think just a touch more atmospheric perspective on that leg will help knock it back where it belongs.

Spysheep: Just hilarious. I especially love the eyeball and the little wings.

Ryn: Nice concept, colors, and textures. The only crit I have is that the image could do without the smoke plumes.

Snarfevs: I like the role reversal of the unicorns. Suits the concept perfectly, and a nice, solid rendering to boot. It gives the Absalom a creepy, alien quality. Maybe the long jumping legs are becoming a little amorphous, and they don't seem strongly connected to the body, but I'm nitpicking.

Kezrek: That's an attention-grabbing design, that's for sure. The red sky is beautiful (a filtered photograph done right?), but I wish we had some red light/green shadows on the Mouth Trap instead of the muddy white/black that's on there now.

3ciona: The lure and bamboo poles are cool, but I actually didn't notice them until I read the description. Currently, they're fading too much into the background. My eyes went straight to the red, and to the sharp black border, which I don't think is supposed to be the focus of the image.

Azathoth: You have an eye for color; the Ringlet's skin is quite appealing. Unfortunately, a lot of that is lost in that toxic green background, which is a little overpowering.

Freha: Cool, wicked-looking creature. I might've preferred more contrast in the image (darker background so the creatures stand out, and some more solid cast shadows to ground them better?), but that's a personal preference. Also, I think you have the best-looking unicorn out of the bunch.

DefiledVisions: It's a pity the unicorn had to go, but that color work is just... gorgeous. I'm saving this.

Blackthorn: Your concept is sound, but your unicorn hunter could have benefitted from some good reference photos. Octopi, squids, and stingrays would have been good reference material to really get the form and texture down.

Michael Jaecks: Your creature reminds me of something out of a child's sketchbook. This is A Good Thing! It's like something embedded in our consciousness... Guillermo del Toro said in an interview that that was his goal with the creature designs in Pan's Labyrinth, so take from that what you will.
It's a powerful image, with a great sense of composition and perspective. I think someone mentioned before that the creature's body was lacking in texture, and I'm inclined to agree. The creature's head is a bit of a let-down... that may be an effect of the noselessness and over-large, almost cartoony eyes.

Rizza: Dragons are traditionally the arch-enemies of unicorns, and yours is wonderful. There's a lot of personality in the face. Unfortunately, for the purposes of this specific COW, it's suffers from the same generic-predator syndrome that so many other entries do, so I have a hard time justifying a vote...

longshao: It's this primal, brutish thing, which would genuinely scare me if I ever saw it, and I have a pretty high tolerance for scary creatures. The mood and atmosphere here are spot-on. Fozzy's paintover has some good suggestions that I can't pin down in words.

artiphats: I like your unique version of the unicorn. But the disparity in style between the two figures is rather jarring (just to be clear, I think the unicorn is more convincingly done than the bat, even with its outlandish stripes).

corspufo: I really like the sketchy quality of this. I could see this in a game manual's bestiary. The anatomy of the hind legs could use some attention, especially in that the one on our left doesn't seem connected to the pelvis.

Fozzybar: Your work has this amazing ethereal, luminous quality that I could stare at all day. I'd buy a huge poster of this for my wall. I wish we would see more of you around these parts.
Great creature, too, and I really want to vote for it, but... we'll see. There's so many beautiful entries to choose from.

[Fozzybar]

Thanx for your nice comments so far...just have to add a funny thing as you mentioned the poster thingy:
I actually made this artwork in 150 dpi and 100 cm x 70 cm (39 x 27,5 inches), so that i can hang it on the wall in my office as a poster

That's why it has a more design orientated layout...

[scorge]

This was definitely one of the best topics for cow. So many cool solid entries.
Voted Richkid for the overall quality of concept and rendering. I'm a huge fan of moonlight. Has a great Oddworld look to it too. Excellent job man.
As for the rest of yous guys and gals:
Orion 9282: Very nice render and concept. Face seems a little too mechanical.
Soulweaver: Beautiful pose and colors, the story is pretty solid. Definitely in the top three for me.
Gnahz: Like the pose, very actiony, but the anatomy could use some work.
Banhatin: While this is one of the most amazing images I've seen in a long time here, didn't feel like there was an original idea. Beautiful work though.
Relic: You did well with the hunter topic and I'm always loving the creatures that don't require eyes to get around.
Benu: I love the classical look of this image!
Scorge: Where the hell did you find salmon color?
Abaker: Pretty evil. Great job of making me feel threatened by an image.
ATAnderson: Great, now I'm going to start having monkey nightmares again.
Arteater: The cheshire cat this aint. Good job with the mood.
Villa: Really diggin this presentation. Creature's cool too.
Spysheep: Hilarious style. I really like your technique.
Ryn: Sweet colors and detail.
Snarfevs: Overall awesome work man. Totally original and beautiful render. Top three as well.
Kezrek: I was really looking forward to this one. I think you could have done without the sketches and the huge signatures on the bottom. If anything, the creature could have used the attention put into those areas.
3ciona: Good presentation and idea. The background kind of makes it tough to read the creature.
Azathoth: A little too stiff. Like the colors though, and the concept is good.
Freha: I like everything about this one except the angle that the creature is shown.
Defiled visions: Seeing as how you know what went wrong, congrats on finishing and I would not want to see one of these swinging at me. Love the armor.
Blackthorn: Nicely rendered simple idea. Goes a long way sometimes. I'm not sure this would qualify as a hunter though. More of an ambusher.
MJ: Nice improvements. Looks friggin great. Very iconically epic. Thank you very much for the vote and the kind references to my fruit bowl of a palette. I'm gonna start studying your colors cause they always seem to turn out right. Thanks again man!
Rizza: Nice job! Welcome to COW!
Longshao: Welcome back to the fold man. What can I say, you've nailed every aspect of the hunter in this one and the mood is perfect. Another of the top three. Inspiring work as always.
Artiphats: I really like the scene but this is another case of a difficult angle on the creature.
Corspufo: Bang-up job man. Presentation and design of the creature are excellent.
Foz: Always love it when you get in on the action. The front right leg looks a little funny, but the originality and cleanliness of the image more than make up for it. I can actually feel the energy coming forth. Thanks for keeping us in line with your voice and artwork.(when we see it of course)
Hopefully I got everyone. See you all in the next.

[HareTrinity]

Not that anyone cares much I suppose, but here are my top 3 (and why)

General: Unicorns are mythical beasts associated with storms (creating thunder, mating during storms, etc), so that for me rules out the practical ability of flying predators (there are some lovely designs, I especially like Kezrek's diagram set but I'm a folklore nut). Also, unicorns are rare, so much as a creature may have unicorns as its favourite meal it makes more sense for the larger predators to be less specific.

A.Baker: My personal favourite, I haven't seen many felines around COW so far and I like the thought that went into the creature's defences, making the skull external so as to protect against the unicorn's horn. Only issue is that I'd expect the neck plates to go the other way, to avoid the horn's tip getting pushed under them in fights.

Longshao: Same as with Baker's; looks practical and vicious. I'm not sure why it glows red, but it's easy to imagine that local villages would see this demonic thing take down their local unicorn/s and associate it with that, naming it a Unicorn Hunter, even if it eats a lot of other things. Also, that unicorns carry a hint of mountain goat and this critter carries a hint of mountain camouflage adds to the effect.

Corspufo: Love the face, but the feet look a little weird (personally the hoof/foot mix doesn't appeal to me, and those foreleg toes look like they might snap easily). Still, I like the idea of a creature being used like a hunting hound getting the title of "unicorn hunter" so it's good. And I DO love that face!

Exciting stuff!