Last Man Standing 2 • Round Two • Matches 1-30 (HUGE D/L)

[Mike Dutton]

Already posted in the other thread, but just wanted to reiterate a congratulations to all who advanced, and to everyone else who put up a helluva fight, including my opponent Hyver.
Heh, instead of savoring this brief moment of victory, I've been sweatin' bullets wondering who I'm going up against in the next round.

[el coro]

i feel like my match was mis judged. no offense to any of the judges, but i feel like Dave took me fair and square. i cant continue doing these and am planning to drop out anyway because im old, sick and too tired to continue on. would it be possible to have Dave take my place, since in my opinion i feel he did best me. not only that but i want to see more shit out of him as well . he fought a great fight and deserves to continue on. please? is something like this possible? -c36

[Mike Dutton]

Having the "Coro36 bitch that's right motherfucker" avatar continually flash in my face while seeing this kind of respect, humility, and honor at the same time.... well, I think it's enough to make a man implode. Major props to you, Coro.

[strych9ine]

i feel like my match was mis judged. no offense to any of the judges, but i feel like Dave took me fair and square. i cant continue doing these and am planning to drop out anyway because im old, sick and too tired to continue on. would it be possible to have Dave take my place, since in my opinion i feel he did best me. not only that but i want to see more shit out of him as well . he fought a great fight and deserves to continue on. please? is something like this possible? -c36

I see nothin' wrong with that. If that's cool with you, Dave, you're in.

[romance]

Coro:

[DavePalumbo]

my first reaction is honestly that I don't know what to say. If such is Coro's wish and it pleases the court so to speak, I'll continue on. Coro, respect. There will be no fucking around, I'm on borrowed time now

[Mr.Blonde]

and mr. allcaps comes back with something to make you feel sick to your stomach...

[Mr.Blonde]

"Considering too that your taking into account that you might not be able to keep up with the next two rounds"

I'll let you tell me what you mean by this

*edit* feel free to ignore me, there is no reason to draw this out... sorry mike, if i misunderstood*/edit*

[el coro]

jeez guys im not a monster you know. i respect how much Dave gives to this community, and he deserves to move on i think. he busted his ass and produced what i thought was a brilliant piece. i am very busy feeding our company and just dont have the time to continue, but maybe thats just how i rationalize my loss haha.
Dave im glad you are willing to move on. you are a bright young up and comer, and deserve the exposure much more than i do. make me proud you fucker and win this shit now! yay ca.-c36

[Justin.]

GOOD LUCK DAVE!

I'm rooting for you.
(Seven Cheers for Coro)

[loizze]

congrats to joiton ,and good luck for the next round man,it was a pleasure
may be see ya at the next thunderdome
and congrats to all the winners , can t wait to see what s gonna happen next
kick it guys !!!

cheers to all
loizze

[DARYL]

0kelvin - of course the authors name would be official after the judging

I think its hard to not be biased even on a subconcious level when watching entries and who did them. also, sure some will be recognizable with their style and all, but I still think that would be a minority. I would never have guessed m@'s piece for example as that wasn't his usual style or theme.

[cotron]

coro, I know you act all hard with your guns and stories from life on the street- but inside, you're a newborn puppy made of marshmellow goo and glitter.

things like this prove it!

[S.C. Watson]

Rock solid work people.

Hands down favorites:
Jason Manley's & DavePalumbo's.

~Shane

[chaosrocks]

Coro..Im only an observer in this... But your piece was great and you are a true gentleman

thank you for upgrading the manners and courtesys here.
you are appreciated

and Dave..you better continue to KICK ASS!
chaosrocks

[Jason Snair]

I'm not sure why I never checked out this thread before...I guess I was under a rock or something. Anyway...to all those battled...wow. Such beautiful work from everyone. I...I'm completely blown away. I think the one that really stood out for me, which is hard because they're all outstanding was...Shelly's. Simply stunning. I actually stood up out of my chair when I scrolled down to it. The colors and the comp and the story. Simply beautiful.

Cant wait to see the next round.

[Y-S]

wow...

that's like....so fucking impossible..........to create like these....

[Main Loop]

Congrats Sergio!!
And Congrats to everyone else who made it to the next round, I don't know if I would want to be you guys, 6 people battles, holey poo! I foresee this third round being even better then the last one, or the Crappiest one yet because everyone will be peeing their pants from fright. goodluck Suckaz!!
AWE! sits back and relaxes.
No really I'm just goofing with you all, You all did some amazeing work, this was really fun.

I think the next round topic should be anything haveing to do with 'Death Race 2000'.

thanks tiffany! im a bit surprised im going to the next round, considering how much we all liked yoru piece.. I almost wish i didnt make it cuz look who i have to go up against! jason chan! Nicolas! M@!! Its gonna be a heck of a round.....

[sweetoblivion314]

I've said it before and i'll say it again... Man i love being a turtle!
but also... Dave Palumbo is my hero!!

[Art_Addict]

Shit! I'm so late with my reply.
For me there's only 1 true winner in this round, apart from all the eye candy
others produced.
m@ damn !!! The piece took a moment to take in
but then just tears sprung to my eyes.
The emotional and political theme he put in with so little is superb !
Definately the best interpretation of the subject 'escape' hands down.

Especially because it's soo true! They are in fact not there when it happens!

You've got my total respect m@

anyway I look forward to see what everyone else produces in the next rounds

Good luck everyone!

[m@.]

Art Addict : well... thanks a lot, glad the piece speaked to you.

Main Loop : hehe yeah it will be a hell of a round!

[magicgoo]

I'm gonna be honest here, and I don't intend to hurt anyone's feelings. But, by now, you all probably know I usually speak my mind. For once this won't be the if-you-can't-say-anything-nice-don't-say-it-at-all post, simply because I'm sad and angry to see that a lot of amazing artists aren't moving on to the next rounds.

Match 1. I'm really sorry, but it looks like m@ just discovered PS texture brushes for the first time. Things are mushy and blurry and distracting from whatever is going on. ZERO people voted for Proteus? ZERO votes? Proteus' piece may not have the best in accuracy, but it looks like he really pushed to create a full illustration with background, action, humans, and vehicles. Seriously. Not one vote for that?

Poise's piece blew me away in Match 8. I believe it's one of her absolute best. It showed both an amazing idea, and amazing artwork to make that idea come to fruition. Main Loop had a great idea, but the composition and anatomy is off to the point of being distracting from the piece.

Match 9 was an odd choice for winner because there was clearly so much more effort involved in the rendering of the 2 losing paintings.

Match 11 seems so out of place. The winning entry was the least detailed and least thought out. It was cliche, had Photoshop stamped all over it, and looked as though no time was spent on it at all in comparison to the losing 2. I know I've seen Tyranx do so much more amazing quality, so I'm entirely confused as to how his piece was chosen.

Match 17, I'm a little confused by, but I think it's more personal taste so I don't know. But I feel that the losing 2 were a bit better rendered.

Match 22. Wow. Really? El Coro's bottom half wasn't even properly cropped to match the top half. There's a big white line down the left side. I liked the idea, but c'mon. Did he get the votes simply because he is El Coro? Did the judges not see the cropping? I think it was very very big of him to give his win to Dave Palumbo. I respect that a hell of a lot, when the actual "winning" artist has a better sense of who is worthy of the win than the judges in this case.

Match 26. I know humor usually gets votes and Summer's is a bit cliche in idea, but the lighting and depth in Summer Pudding's piece is spectacular while Rusty's is sketchy and flat.

Match 30 (removed so I can prove my point about the better rating system.)

And to give a constructive idea (amongst my seemingly apparent bitterness) that would better suit the voting system, I believe each piece should be voted on, and given a rating between 1 - 10. 1 being absolute BS and 10 being perfect in every way possible. No one should be receiving a 1 unless it is obvious that they are incapable of creating a stick man and no one should be given a 10 unless the image is flawless. This would ensure that no one receives zero votes. It also is a much more accuate and fair method of voting for what we all do: artwork. No one here is worthy of zero votes, and that sort of method doesn't tell much about the pieces when a judge is only capable of choosing 1. Imagine instead, that one piece is rated an 8 and the other is rated a 6, and the third is a 9. This scale method says much more about the actual art, as more time is taken to actual judge the individual images, rather than a judge being forced to choose just one. Please take this into consideration for the next battle round so that the image is rated and not simply abandoned.

OK, fire away. I just couldn't sit back in silence any longer.

[m@.]

you rock magicgoo, I wish everybody was as honest as you (doesn't mean I agree with all you say :p )

[romance]

There were a few rounds I was surprised with the voting results and wish some people had made it through while others not, but I also understand that the judges aren't me, and see things through different eyes.

A rating system used by the judges, as Magicgoo suggested, could work better. Might help reduce any bias that could occur during judging and would probably reduce the chance of a stalemate between entries and the need for more judges.

EDIT: The system works well now, and of course implementing a rating system would be more work, for Cody and the judges. The rating system is only an idea, and considering we're already into the third round, wouldn't make much sense to implement. Perhaps something to consider for the next LMS.

-R

[Rusty]

what the faaa!.....how the hell did i pull that off?,i was certain you had that one in the bag S`puds and i mean that,believe me im shocked as fark!

...Jace

[el coro]

uh oh.........do you guys hear that? i could be wrong, but, no wait! there it is...thats the unmistakable sound of the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE!!!
c'mon guys? really why make it more complicated than it really is? so we can all feel good about ourselves cuz we got a vote cuz we twied so hawd?
i respect the hell out of all the judges in this and previous thunderdomes, and see no reason to open it up to let the public decide. the general public, are, in fact typically the worst judges in terms of taste. id prefer to let the professionals sort it out. i have been a judge for a few of these, and im always quick to vote for what i feel is the better image, plain and simple. some people might not agree with me, but we are all entitled to our opinions. i myself am just happy that cody is generous enough to give his time to these tdomes, and am sensitive to the fact that the more complicated these things get, the more the man has to work. the system is not perfect, but i think its a damn good system. and id rather have judges who's eyes i respect wieghing in their opinions than open it up to a vote.....-c36

[sve]

Ursula, art is not countable, "much art", not "many art". I don't think we can give such a discrete rating (6 or 8 or 5) to our subjective feeling about art work.

Another thing in my opinion, we need to accept judges decision. Because it is a system of trust in some way. It has some weak sides, but if we took it in the beginning of the contest we need to stick with it. I might think differently about entries, but I play by rules we chose in the beginning. Or it will be chaos and endless arguing and lost of trust and attraction to the contest..
In my eyes people who didn't get farther are not losers in any sense. Just didn't go farther because of the rules.

[Mike Dutton]

I had a pretty long drawn out retort, but felt it was best just to summarize:

Point number 1 - Cody's dome, Cody's rules. Don't like? Don't play.
Point number 2 - Judges are not receiving free Nanos to do this so show some respect for their participation. Disagree? Fine, but there's a reason why these people do what they do and are successful at it. Learn from their reasoning rather than fight it. (You still don't have to agree, but learn anyway; The bottom line should be to learn something from all of this so you can become a stronger more competent artist).
Point number 3 - The amount of time you spend on a piece is never a way to measure its success. Also, a more finished looking piece does not mean it is more valid than something done in a loose style. Finished or unfinished, it's what you set out to achieve and how closely you came to your goal in the end that counts. Did you want an ultra photo realistic rendering but ended up with a sketchy and/or anatomically incorrect painting? Then it is an unsuccessful piece. If you wanted a sketchy stylized piece with a loose painterly style, and got just that, then its successful. And if it only took you three hours to do, that's no reason not to deserve to move on. I think this is along the lines of what happened in Match 30.

[Justin.]

I have to say it REALLY ticks me off that the guy who beat me didn't submit.

Some critique; Not saying anything about "who shoulda won" or "This piece shouldn't have won", because that's not my decision.
Match 1
M@: I gotta agree with the Goo here. I also don't really like the blue.. I think something purplish would have complimented the skin a little better.

Proteus' was awesome, though It would have been cool if the guy's suit had folds and stuff to show the penetration better.

I am sad to see BOON not submit...

Match 2
Very nice Posh, though I think her leg is just slightly stiff and long (though it probably fits the perspective, it looks just a bit too long). It's a classical piece and the execution is awesome.

Cody, not much for the concept (but it is innovative and original), and the only real problem I see with it is that the brush strokes are very visible, and it kinda makes the piece feel less "done".

SBA: The girl doesn't really look too sweaty or tired, just a bit banged up. I think you could have also handled the perspective better, the truck and the house seem on different planes a bit.

Match 3
David; I love the sense of foreshadowing (not foreshortening) the piece has, the only thing I see is that the girl's head looks a bit too big in comparison with her body.

Mr. Visions, The only thing I think detracts are the hands that aren't there... It would have been a great spot to do something cool I think, it is the only thing I am not fond of in the piece, mostly because I don't know what it is. James Kei, we know you work hard ;D

Match 4
Robinchyo; Almost no crits; the only thing, which is very subjective, is that I think it is a bit stiff, and perhaps it could have been more of a "jump" than a "run". But that's just my opinion.

yAdam, if the figures were up to par with the monster, this would be a great piece. No real crits other than that.

Match 5
DUTTON! Dutton dutton- this is such an AWESOME PIECE! It's brilliant! My only comment is on his lower leg, it looks sort of funny but I couldn't say why. The colors and the expressions are freakin' INCREDIBLE! Kudos man, Kudos.

Hyver; The composition is delightful! My only crits are the colors, which sometimes seem muddy, or out of place because of saturation. That, and the bear- Not sure if you used reference, but I think the bear hurts the piece a bit.

Match 6
Gringo; Sometimes I really like your lines, other times not so much; This time I like the lines, but not the colors. There are parts of his suit that are all pinched and stuff? I'm not sure why- but it sort of ruins a "clean" stylization you have otherwise. Tryin' to figure out the Naked chick too.

Helzon; Cool piece! Her arms are slightly unreadable, and I would have seen the lightsource effect the BG more, but overall, the characters and designs are good, the colors are good, the anatomy is good. Nice work! =)

Johanson, Great concept, though I think more emphasis could be placed on his hands. The composition and flow of action is nice, but I think you should have varied your pallette just a bit, some parts blend a bit too much. Other than that it is a real nice piece.

Match 7
No crits at all for this Match.
Nicolas, yours was simply awesome. The small pink strip on the bottom added a sort of back story to the characters that I think really makes the scene hit home that much more.

Hurricane, this one is just funny. The gestures, the expression, and the colors. Nice!

Match 8
BDub; I think the guy should have been farther up on the ladder, as is, the compostion seems really unbalanced. It's a good concept, but some of the people seem inconsistent with the lighting scheme. Perhaps you should introduce more yellow into the highlights, or more bluish into the shadows.

Main Loop; What an EXPRESSION! This is a GREAT piece, hands down. The only thing I am not fond of is the anatomy in the girl to the left. Her head seems just a bit too big for her body.

Tiffany; My favorite part is the unsymmetry between the ladies. It's so... natural and fitting... I just love it so much!

Match 9
Spraynation; The bike seems a bit out of perspective, and the figures I think could have been better, but overall, with the concept, the composition, the colors and all, it is a great piece.

Min; WOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH. Those faces in the explosion- so radical! There is something about the colors that bugs me, but I don't know what it is- but this is definitley an incredible piece.

Ghill; I think the lines around the figure sort of hurt the piece, along with the lack of contrast in his skin, and the colors. The concept is sort of stale, but the pose is done well, but the background seems like a cop out, and alot of the lines are still visible which kind of hurts the piece as well..

Match 10
No crits, aside from I think Fedezz went slightly overboard on the textures, just a little. GREAT pieces, from all of you.

Match 11
MIKECO-err, MikeCorriero;
I remember you saying (in your exclusive book I think) that you need to work on vehicles- don't want to be rude but I couldn't agree more. Great piece aside from the bike, which just look terribley skewed I'm afraid- Especially the water. I can see you payed special attention to that even though noone would hardly notice it =)

Tyranx; Very simple, very cool.

RasselTass; I love it- the colors, the scene, the action! My favorite of this match, which is quite a match indeed.

Match 12
No crits; Matches like this make my life easier
Praise to Kelv for goin Grayscale, and the incredible details. Mr. Potato head, 2 furbies, trolls, Optimus Prime, buzz lightyear.. the gangs all here!

Match 13
Arkady; It's fairly messy, and not in a stylish kinda way.. The birdcage seems muddily colored, and her face isn't hardly effected by the light. I assume you were busy, because I know you can do better!

Stace; Great piece, I'm no horse anatomist, but the pose looks a bit like he's gonna crash and burn... other than that, I love it.

Match 14
No crits!


Match 15
Again no crits; great, great, great match.

Match 16
Shamagim; I think the gnomes falling back could be grabbing on to something to emphasize them flying back-
Other than that, zero critsos.

Match 17
Nacho; Great piece overall- I think the kid is slightly out of perspective, but you managed to capture a very dream-like scene with the way you handled the BG- very nicely done.

Dreck; Looks like you had fun with the overaly adjustments? The piece is a bit messy, but it got a giggle out of me.

No Crits for Andy!

Match 18
No crits again? These matches are getting better each time! o_o

Match 19
Shadoman: I think some of the materials and the composition could have been handled more effectivley, but for what it is, it is pretty good.

No crits for Plobo

Gloominati: It loks like more of a battle than an escape to me- the character doesn't seem to be going anywhere other than into the fray. The Anatomy on alot of the figures seems very off, I think if you would have used reference it would have benefitted you greatly.

Match 20
Again, NO crits! Just... great FANFREAKIN TASTIC JOB for both of yas!

Match 21
Ditto... Kudos to Simon for the sequential.

Match 22
Clubb, the perspective on the main guy is very nice, but alot of the pic seems flat;

As for you two.. Dave, you know what I think- Coro,


I love you, I really do. But you creep me the fuck out sometimes.

Match 23
I you all

Match 24
This is such a classic Vyle piece! haha! Good work.

Yumiko; The thing I love the most are the clouds; It's a great piece overall- only 2 things really get my goat/ram if you will- The colors... something about em, maybe all the black in the piece, sorta leaves me hanging. The composition too, it took me a while to discover who was escaping-
But those is some damn nice clouds.

Iolarnula; I like the composition, very dynamic! To tell the truth if this was happening at sunset, or over an ocean, or something that added more to the piece, I would really dig it, but just the clouds seems sort of boring. The ray is done very well though!

Match 25
First 2; Funny and done really well. Good work!

Snarfevs; Everything is shiny and glisteny and stuff. Everything! even the rocks! You seem to have set aside the anatomy and perspective for the rendering and concept, which I think really hurts your piece. The background seems totally irrelevant to the rest of the piece, and it's more of an assasination than an escape.

Match 26
2 wonderful pieces, Rusty's is so funny! And Summer Puddings is just beautiful.

Match 27
Badger; I think you could have been more meticulous with details and had a better outcome; along with a few more higher highlights.

Mythmaker; It's a great piece, awesome colors; It's just really busy, and I can't tell wether it's supposed to be day or night- but It's a nice piece.

Romance; Great, stunning, beautiful. No crits.

Match 28
Jason Chan is totally gonna lose this round.

I will use this time to be mad at Theif for beating me, being faced against the Chan man, and NOT EVEN SUBMITTING!!!!! =( Perhaps Jason, I could make it up to you by doing a little private T-Dome if you feel so compelled?

Shame on Fidi as well! THIS Was supposed to be one of the best matches evar! I just hope it was because something personal happened or something like too many deadlines.. if it's because of laziness, that would totally BLOW! =(

Match 29
Manley and Bowlin, Good luck competing with Matt's boobies. Kudos to Jason though for going Blacknwhite.

Match 30
Robot, awesome piece, same to you Goo-
but I am depressed Helium couldn't do a piece. Though I suppose it's better for you 2, ain't it? =)

WHEW! Hour an a half or some such! And it didn't get deleted! woot!

Good luck to all, and better luck next time to the ones who don't make it!

[Justin.]

Well, there was the right amount of "tilt" in it I think, but I think you just didn't quite foreshorten it enough. Just by a little though =) The water was STUNNING Btw. Just really loved the water.