C.O.W. - #037: CC Huge Dog Endboss - VOTING!!!

[coondoggle]

I went for Ceberae. Lovely design, excellent personality, and retained the dog features the best working within the topic.

Other entries were excellent pieces, but were animals other than dogs. You could say they "strayed" from the topic.

Ceberae, my only negative comments on your design is that it would probably have to have some proportions tweaked to be animated effectively. The shoulder and elbow on the forelegs jam together and would have to be pulled further apart in the model, and also the neck is so far back that it would not be able to bite effectively. Would need to be pulled forward.

That would be the only beef if I were given that concept to model for a game.
Small things, but very important.

Good work everyone!

[TheDirtSyndicate]

yeah i know it was just a giant mastif. i was just thinking of that moment in god of war when he finds the Titan that roams around the desert with pandoras box on his back.
did you see my WIP sketches in my sketchbook Fozz?
there was another piece i considered, but got bored with it.
oh well.
either way im proud of this piece, its my first finished piece ever. and once i get a wacom, its gonna be even more finished. haha
thanks for the votes!

[theshunzun]

went with masque; it was a nice parody on the frustrations of the endboss fight.
It was also just damn funny.

[Jonoy]

Tyranx vote.
They filled the criteria.
Really, do people read the criteria before they vote? or do they just vote for the 'pretty' picture?

[Fozzybar]

30% do the first, 70% the second i guess...

[ceberae]

masque: thanks (I was thinking about modeling him as well)
coondogle: Thank you for the critique. Excellent points. You have great texture and mood going on in piece as well, and I would have really liked to see more of the creature.
silentkitty: thank you. And don't bring down your own work, I think you did great. A bit of refining of the background (since you've included it) would really make the piece "pop".

[Chuck,mate.]

i can understand jonoy`s beef about people voting for the `pretty picture`
and not much for the actuall criteria.
but i do feel that a good image should be considered when voting.
i mean - one could fill the description needs to the letter, using stick-figures and daubs of color.
but then - were`s the design part of the creature/character design?

i agree - most of the time the chosen pieces aren`t quite what the brief required. but still - always great designs and great drawing/painting.
so the 30%-70% ratio may vary, beautiful art and criteria
both playing a part.

anyway -
voted for masque - a wonderfull idea, well executed. too cute.
(i was smiling like crazy for an hour..)


jakkas, dariz, standing, ceberae, - very close runner-ups.
all very good pieces, with loads of great colors and designs.

[Dominus]

DARIZ - in this CHOW he is the best, sry.

[ashmantle]

complete2 gets my vote with masque a close second (love the action pose of the guy with the rolled up paper!!)

With Complete2's image I liked the way the rendered background and landscape stood out against the sketchy figures of the warrior and Dog.

[Jonoy]

i can understand jonoy`s beef about people voting for the `pretty picture`
and not much for the actuall criteria.
but i do feel that a good image should be considered when voting.
i mean - one could fill the description needs to the letter, using stick-figures and daubs of color.
but then - were`s the design part of the creature/character design?

i agree - most of the time the chosen pieces aren`t quite what the brief required. but still - always great designs and great drawing/painting.
so the 30%-70% ratio may vary, beautiful art and criteria
both playing a part.

::Rant mode initiated::
Looking at the voting as it stands now, the picture coming first, while a cool piece of art lacks any mention of a special weapon within the picture or text.
You are 2nd atm (Chuck,mate) and I think your piece is far superior as a concept art and that is surely what the C.O.W is about (also a better picture allup).
I would definitely not vote for a stick-figure-theatre and certainly don't expect everyone to read the brief when voting;
However, there is a brief for a reason;- the artists participating.
In a studio, if you don't follow the brief, you simply don't cut the mustard.
If all the artists followed the brief I may have voted differently, yet when art the likes of Chuck,mate , masque, tyranx, helzon, cerebrae and standing are overlooked (cool designs and renderings) for art that doesn't clearly illustrate the concept then it reminds me of the greatest flaw and biggest boon in democracy.
This isn't to say that Dariz and Complete2's artworks are crap, they are beautiful designs and renderings but imho fail to clearly illustrate the brief.
::Rant mode expired::

[Chuck,mate.]

well, being 2nd in place (as for the moment) and all -
i can honestly say i DO think
there are a couple or more better works this round than the one placed 1st (which is great also, but do lack any special weapon description visualy or by text + artwork could be done better; rendering and color wise...no offence.).
but this is my opinion, and like in any democracy - there are agendas and all sorts of politics at play.

all in all - the reason for the polls is like the reason for money in poker - to make things interesting for the participants.
so taking part in an activity is reason enough to create.
wining is merely a perk.

[DARIZ]

I voted Jakkas for his creepy endboss dog and his dying breath.

Fozzybar thank you for understanding my p.o.v.

fail to clearly illustrate the brief

Jonoy-i think i need to make things clear about the weapon: his head is a weapon and he is useing it to chop things laying his weight on it or to breake doors or gates as he enters or even to dig for the enemies who hide in the swamp. His head is a shield and a weapon as the rino is useing his. Iep, it'z not a dog's head is a weapon( itz a combination of metal whith organic staff....it looks like this doesen't it?) but the body has the anatomy of a dog.
I thought itz obvios he attacks useing his jawls wich are transformed for this type of actions.

artwork could be done better; rendering and color wise...no offence.).

Chuck,mate- Iep, there is always a 'next level' where you can go whith a drawing.
Cheers
(sorry for my English!)

[masque]

all in all - the reason for the polls is like the reason for money in poker - to make things interesting for the participants.
so taking part in an activity is reason enough to create.
wining is merely a perk.

great comment, chuck, and a good attitude to adopt. and thanks for the vote, too , pleased to have brought some cheer.

re: voting. i've said this before, but it's maybe worth revisiting: the voting on these activities is often all over the map in terms of voting criteria because votes aren't made by a homogenous population; there are no standards to meet for participating in a poll except having an opinion and being willing to express it. really can't expect consistency under those circumstances.

the best "filter" for dealing with off-brief voting is the mod, who has a tough job (but somebody's gotta do it), and we have to trust him or her to always be both fair and strict. i do, though i might disagree with some decisions (i did this time, for example). but i'm not gonna beotch about the pics taken to poll 'cause i can't read the mod's mind and therefore can't know exactly why certain decisions have been made.

which is not to say "Can the rants," they're helpful for "growing" the activity if presented without rancor or insult (haven't seen any of that so far, myself). hell, i've been tempted to crank out a long diatribe/tutorial about "How to really look at a picture" in the hopes of raising a few awareness levels and maybe lowering my own VDL (voting dissatisfaction level) a bit, but i'd rather spend the time doing art.

ultimately, keep in mind that getting a large vote in a poll doesn't mean a pic is "better" than any other. since there are no enforceable criteria for making a judgement before casting a poll vote, there are no grounds whatsoever for making that assumption. myself, i look at the comments folk make about my work much more closely than the vote totals -- in the end, they mean a lot more to me, and i hereby thank everyone for theirs!

[eyesofruby]

my vote goes to Nexus. the mayan theme and description of the attacks on the parchment really caught my eye.
tyranx and chuck,mate also had great pieces. the person in tyranx's piece seemed a tad too big to give the feel of a HUGE dog endboss, while chuck,mate's dog, while intimidating in size, lacked an expression on his face that would convey the ferociousness I would expect from an endboss. both were still amazing pieces. and masque's BDP has definitely stolen my heart.

[Hideyoshi]

I would most likely have voted for Eriboss, had he finished his entry...
:-/
So I go with masque this time -hilarious pupp!
DARIZ was close 2nd!
ceberae, JakkaS, Standing chuckmate, bluefooted, complete2 : great job!

[Fozzybar]

the best "filter" for dealing with off-brief voting is the mod, who has a tough job (but somebody's gotta do it), and we have to trust him or her to always be both fair and strict. i do, though i might disagree with some decisions (i did this time, for example). but i'm not gonna beotch about the pics taken to poll 'cause i can't read the mod's mind and therefore can't know exactly why certain decisions have been made.

you know, i was hard and strict regarding the rules and what i had in mind during the first 1-20 COW rounds...continous whining from people who got rejected forced me to losen the judgement...

As for this round, as i put up the poll thread i had maybe half of the entries not takne to the poll, because (as i stated in the 1st post here) many didn't design a special weapon which was actually a requirement for this COW round...but the problem was, i posted a comment in the posting thread that people don't need to add a description and that was my fault...

I would have rejected all this entries without special weapons, but i made the mistake and i didn't want to reject anyone because it was my fault...

But i know that for the next rounds there will be again a stricter Foz around

[masque]

i think you're doin' a great job, Foz, and appreciate that you're willing to give the benefit of the doubt when things fall into grey areas (for whatever reason).

[chaosrocks]

my vote for ceberae....big scary and dog-like without just being a dog. beautifully drawn

my other kudos go to coondoggle (lovely painting job), Dariz, Bluefooted an d Complete 2

nicely done folks
c.rocks

[hwango]

Voted for Chuck,mate. I liked the lighting, composition, and I thought it fit the theme. Tyranx's is a near second because it's both funny and nifty-looking (and fits the theme), but I liked the sinister presence of Chuck,mate's better than the goofiness of Tyranx's. DARIZ's does look nifty, and I can see that it has an overall canine shape, but the head wasn't quite dog-like enough for me and there's nothing to indicate scale.

Just so I don't seem like a hypocrite for emphasizing the theme so much while my own entry lacks a description that explains a special attack, I thought I'd mention that I was hoping that the smoking green hole in the victim and smouldering green eyes of 'Pluto' imply the presence of some sort of eye beams. I didn't want to draw the dog actually using the attack because I wanted the impression of the beast standing there waiting to fight, rather than already fighting when a player arrives. Before I added in the victim for scale I planned to write a description, but afterwards it just felt redundant, and Fozzybar had already said we didn't need one.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

i think your're doing a great job fozz, i know its a really tough thing to do deciding who's gets accepted and whos doesn't.
for example: i said my dog killed God and became a god himself. sooooo.....technically, my dog has every weapon known to man at his disposal, and THEN some.
someone could draw a normal dog with red eyes and voila! you've got a dog that can shoot lazers outta his eyes.
its a tuff job for fozz and i appreciate him letting me into the poll.
thanks.

[mybutterflyiris]

Wow, impressive round...I had a lot of difficulty deciding
Masque-great puppy concept, you captured their personalities wonderfully
Chuck mate- awesome! The simplicity and colors of this piece really draw the eye.
Ceberae- You got my vote
Tyranx- Really funny and well thought out. Great work
Dariz- Really well done and I like the variation it has throughout it's body
Keep up the good work guys

[depleteD]

man this was a killer turnout. Masque, loved the humor, u would have had my vote but cerbreas pooch is off the hook.

[Fozzybar]

thanks for the support people...now i will introduce the death penalty...

[redehlert]

i just had to vote for chuck,mate. even though the adorable/laugh-infused entries of masque and tyranx were close behind. great job everyone!
cheers,
d

[Standing]

'Standing
Now here is the opposite case of the WIP/not stating/reject thingie...Standing said he doesn't want his entry taken to the poll because he thinks it's unfinished...SORRY, Standing, but this artwork is highly conceptart and it fits every criteria...quality, idea, style, design etc...and that's why my vote goes to you - once again - this time! Thank you!'

Hey Fozz - thanks for the vote and the vote of confidence! It really wasn't finished, but I appreciate you liking it enough to include it in the poll - I am very flattered!
I voted for Dariz in the end - lots of worthy entries this week, but his leapt out at me. Yes, the head isn't exactly a dog skull, but the body is clearly canine and there are some terrific bits of design in the spine/harness. Perhaps the skull was welded onto the original head - yes, sticking to a brief is important, but also stretching it with your imagination is vital. I also think that as a videogame boss, it would be brilliant.
It's not a perfect fit for the criteria, but if I were an AD, it would be a design that I would really want to use, with perhaps one or two revisions to more closely match the brief. So, I'd bring Dariz into my office, yell at him to follow the brief more closely but then ask him to continue to make brilliant and well rendered designs!

(btw Fozz - can you change my link - my website seems to be down at the mo, so I chucked it on Photobucket)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...3/junkyard.jpg

[hwango]

thanks for the support people...now i will introduce the death penalty...

I can see it now - "Sorry, the theme was HUGE Dog Endboss, and your dog endboss is only Sort of Big, so you're disqualified from voting and will be burnt at the stake. Better luck next time."

[DARIZ]

So, I'd bring Dariz into my office, yell at him to follow the brief more closely but then ask him to continue to make brilliant and well rendered designs!

Yo man! This is the best positive feedback i had ever had. That's all i can say!
Cheers!

[Fozzybar]

Standing
fixed the link to your entry!

[Standing]

Thanks Fozz - you're a prince among moderators!

Dariz - You're welcome. I really do love the design. Fab.

[Fozzybar]

where is my blush emoticon when i need it...thanx man!