C.O.W. - #080:Winged Healer - Voting!

[Einen]

I've actually gotten votes? Neat! Thanks a lot you voters!

cannibalcandy: I'm glad you like it! I didn't really feel like doing a plausible creature for this topic. And I see your second entry is up as well. That creates quite a dilemma. However, I think I'll stay with Moai, but consider yourself a really close second place.

Delmar: I got ditched because my Oho didn't look stupid enough? Oh well, I'm glad you liked it regardless.

[Ryan DeMita]

holy shit, you guys do some great work in here. i took time to look at everyones and everyone came up with something pretty unique.

kudos go to the following:

cannibalcandie- your creature kept my eye the longest. the texture is a little crazy but man, i love the feel of that piece. i like the pseudo smirk on his face. interesting shape as well. it pushes the barrier between concept art and art, which wins my vote.

jakkas- wild shape. beautifully painted. the design is borderline hard to swallow. (MAYA= most advanced yet acceptable) regardless, i love it! mad kudos!!

spitch- wow! this one is great. very well executed. pretty bizarre for the topic but nonetheless great work!

masque- gross! lol. cool concept.

hurri- damn bro, killin it as usual. im not 100% sold on the healing part but a great image regardless.

you guys do awesome work in here! gj everyone!

-ryan

[Cloister]

BTW I passed the test and got to see the dragon archives. Now I will diminish, go into the west and remain Galadriel.

No, you won't, CA is still in your pocket... (and whoever enters the forbidden archives pays the penalty of death.)

Btw, I see your avatar (like mine) still has no star decoration. Cmon, Michael, what are you waiting for?... I'll race you to it. (though I'll settle for a trod the coming weeks. Got an exhibition coming in a few weeks...)


Jakkas: He, he. Perhaps I'll see what I can do to extend your description and wear out your dictionary next week as well... Cheers!

[scorge]

No time to play this time but more than enough to comment.

Spitch: Great Job! We definitely think alike. The rendering is awesome and the idea is even better. I do think the absorbtion of disease could have been shown a little better, but hey, what the hell. You did a bang up job on this one. Looking forward to see what you do next.

Woodlandwalker: Nice presentation and a cute little bugger to boot.
Tommoy and KasenKato: Good concepts, just a little rough around the edges. I get hammered for it all the time.
Hurricane: Well, what can I say. I'm always pleased when you show up here or anywhere else just like 99% of CA, and your speed, talent and tenacity no matter what anyone else says are always a boost for my own work. How does it feel to know you're feeding the competition? JK buddy. Anyway, I too am missing the healing aspect of your bug friend. Of course the rendering is great, but the topic feels a little left out.
Teknoholic: Jesus, If I saw these guys hanging out around the battlefield, I might just run away. Very cool stuff. I'd have to say you were in my top three.
Cloister: Ever since you came back, you've been great about giving out advice and helping everyone out. I really admire that. Thanks. Now, about your guy here, that face has got to go. I'm not sure what sort of expression you were going for, but you didn't find it. The body looks pretty good and the stance is very majestic, but the face....oh the face.
Masque: Wow, this really was a great idea. Very palpable. I also enjoyed seeing your work progress throughout the week. I love the stitching effect you've created. You also were in my top three.
Grendel Grack: Man, this guy had some serious potential. Just seems unfinished to me. The painting is great, but the left eye and the right shoulder have been mistreated. Do you think you'll work on it some more? It really could be great. You're 80% to greatness.
JFWalls: Thanks for your advice on the lava swimmer. I'm learning something new every day. This is an interesting combination. Man, hummingbird, and butterfly. While the idea is good, the way you've combined them is a little too obvious. Diggin the traditional stuff though.
Blobs: I can't wait till Fozz makes the topic "Hilarious Genetical Syndrome".
That expression is priceless. Great color too!
Maoi: Helluva story. If I may be honest, (and I hope we all are), Something about that sky really bothers me. Could be the blankness, or the layout of the flying guys. I also find myself losing interest in the characters very quickly. I do like the look of concern on the Dad's face. Maybe a little more detail on the Pterosimians themselves?
Njoo: When I first saw what you were doing, I thought "Fozzy'll never let this get through, even though it kicks some serious ass" To be honest, I would have expected you to redraw the entire thing because of how good you are. Which you really are and have proven several times already! I mean shit, I redraw my stuff twenty times before I lose to you and I love doing it. So, I bow to your skill, congratulate you on your stars, and look forward to the day when mine will match yours. Great stuff.
Poinko: Awesome style! And I do mean Style!
TomC: Wow dude. You're an animal. You turn these things out like there's no tomorrow aaaaand your topics are always the ones we're drawing. You badass you. This guy along with the rest of 'em rocks. The background change was necessary and definitely worth it. Unfortunately, your guy became way too blurry in the process. I remember your 50 tonner was tight. What happened?
Mr. Jakkas: For some reason I imagine you having one of those teleportation devices from "The Fly', then you throw a bunch of animals in there and draw whatever comes out on the other end. Your shit is always crazy and I would be disappointed to see it any other way. Have to agree with the foot comment.
Einen: Great texture and mood.
Vegas: Did someone say Movie? Your work always kick some serious ass. This one was a little too typical for my taste. Sorry, but you set the bar. Still, very nice work.
Xgabo: I remember when I was a kid, I saw this guy at an animatronic exibit at the wild animal park in San Diego. Had something to do with creatures
50,000 years in the future. All I can say is, you can draw. Killer shit.
Green Topaz: Beautiful style. No description?
Delmar: I have to say I've never seen one quite like this. Very artsy. Makes me want to keep looking.
Cannibalcandy: I admit I liked the bird better. But, this one is a little more intriguing. The only thing is the patterns on the wings/flaps. Most of them are patterns you find on fabrics, then one sheet of music. What's the story?
Loved your sketches.
BLKCelebration: Sweet story, sweet character. Very, um, somber.
MJ: There you go with that color again. Fuck, I've gotta find out your secret. The texture is a little mass produced.

Well, now that I've talked all this shit, I'll have to throw something down for the next one. Living trap was it? I'll do my best. Great round people. Onwards and upwards.

[Verithin]

Some great work everyone, nothing that really stood out head and shoulders for me though so it was a tough choice. Wish I could have got something into this round but just got swamped. I'll be in the next one to face the music with all y'all.

Woodland Walker: Lost me on the body on this one. Love the scale and the head but the whole package just didn't come together for me.

Tommoy Liked his meaty wings but the spindly legs and frontal view just didn’t tell me enough about the creature.

Kasen Kato: Just not enough detail for me, I have no idea what the body structure behind the wings looks like.

hurricane: I love everything about this image except the wings. They don’t feel like they belong to the creature and feel unfinished in the image. More detail in the wings and you would have had my vote.

Teknoholic: Great idea, cool creature just not a fan of the rendering. I think the sky and ground fades are what turned me off. Just wish there was more detail in the creature…

Pluizje: Nothing in this image caught my attention. Too simplistic a rendering and the idea didn’t pull me in.

Cloister: Reminds me of the “Never Ending Story”. Really not a fan of the image, I think the expression is what really turns me off. Looks like one of those crooked plastic surgeons rather than a healer. I do like his / her tail though.

masque: Cool idea, tons of information and detail. For some reason the colouring just didn’t work for me though. I also think your lighting / shading could have been stronger, it would have really brought the scene to life, it’s a little flat right now.

Grendel Grack: The character and expression, the pose all hit the right chords for me. The execution, detail, colouring didn’t deliver though.

jfwalls: Crazy lookin’ little bass-terd. I also love the prisma-colour! The legs just don’t feel right though.

blobs: For a ball o’ healing the image sure feels flat. The wings also don’t feel like they belong to that creature and the lips seem really out of place. It’s a fun looking piece though.

Moai: Tons o’ promise with this one but the lack of polish just doesn’t sell them.

Delmar: Can’t really even tell what’s going on. Looks like Jimmy Hendrix discovered a new brush set. I like the underbrush idea though.

Thayne: Like the coy just not sure how the wings fit in. Wish the lighting was a little better but I think you were going for a more stylized look… a little “Group o’ Seven”-esque.

gnahz: Really doesn’t look like a new or special creature to me. More like a collection of insect parts without enough detail to sell any of them. Healing drool though… cool.

Avalanche: The pose makes it really hard to see what’s going on and the rainbow BG is just distracting. Tons of work on the hair though, some nice choices there.

Green Topaz: Same comments as before, no idea about the scale of this creature and I wish there was more detail. Love the drool though.

Spitch: Man… I wish you would have put some healing FX where his tentacles were touching the skin. Love the perspective, the colours and the BG… but I think it’s just missing a few finishing touches.

xgabo: Love the feel of this one just wish the creatures eyes had more life and that it was looking at the guy with the torch. Some great brush / texture work as well. I think the physiology of the creature threw me a bit though and the FG wing’s pose feels really awkward.

Vegas Mike: Love it all, just wish the posted image were bigger. If you would have added some FX “healing” trails coming from the healed soldiers as they move away from the healer that would have told the whole story. Great work though… you got my vote!

Einen: I loved Princess Mononoke, and this reminds me too much of the creatures in that film. For me, you lost me on a lack of originality. Still a cute critter and I love the rim light.

Jakkas: Gorgeous but, for me, there’s more life and personality in the crabs than there is in the creature itself. I mean… an amazing looking creature that is beautifully rendered without a doubt. Top notch stuff… just no emotion or motion coming from it at all though. Would have loved to see it in a pose healing something. You would have been hard to beat at that point.

Tom Cardin: Really cute and I love the sagging legs / arms and the expression. That being said it’s a little monochromatic for me.

Sir Johanna: The rendering style makes it really tough to get a sense of the creature for me.

poinko: Awesome doodle… just not enough polish in the image for me.

njoo: Love the concept, the snake creature that you added to it works, but the overall palette feels a little muddy to me. Still, a really beautiful piece.

Ham-e: Just doesn’t seem finished to me. I do like the shapes though.

monkyd: Same crit as a number of the entries… not enough detail, doesn’t seem finished to me. I do like the pose though… lot’s of motion.

BohemianChaos: The image just feels rushed and un-inspired. It’s a good rendering of a bird but that’s where it ends for me.

WhtTigress: Man, you love them veins… just too much detailed line work to really be able to understand the creature and the creature itself feels too familiar.

Micheal Jaecks: Great textures and a cool creature… just feels like it needs to be pushed a bit more and the pose is a bit static for me.

yoitisi: Cool looking creature but I had a hard time figuring out if it was a space jelly-fish (in terms of body makeup – texture) or if it was solid like a whale. Also, the entire image was a little to pink for me.

BlkCelebration: Love the pose and the mood of the creature, but the execution, polish, lighting doesn’t feel finished to me.

cannibalcandy: Gorgeous on so many levels, looks like a creature to heal bad interior design though. The scale of the patterns on the wings really fights with the scale of the creature itself. I love the style of the image though.

Again.. congrats on the effort and execution of your creatures everyone!

Good luck.

[Spitch]

Usually, I look for the creatures which reallly "personifies" the theme, when I'm to vote.
...
I haven't really found any such creature of quality among the entries
...
It is far too easy to create the creature you like to draw and then post-invent some description to make it fit the theme, I think.

You made me think (didn't know I could), about my work and concept in general. I'd lie if I say that everything in my pic was fully intended to tell "Healer" but when I was working on it, I thought some of it was obvious. But after your comments I realise that you're (sadly) right. If anybody that didn't know the topic looks at most of the concepts in this round, I guess my pic along with a bunch of other will look "Blood-sucking-bastardy-creature" or just Nasty-beasty. I guess in the next round I'm gonna try to think more with an Outer-CA-Eye (or maybe stop asking my mother about it...).

Anyway thanks for all the kind (and ironic) comments, C&C and votes.

[Fozzybar]

I'm bummed that Topaz didn't have a description, and kinda confused that Tom got nixed on the basis of a similar lack. That's odd.

I said that Tom Gardens entry was rejected because of the missing description AND that it wasn't on par with his usual work he posted yet. It looks very rough and not finished compared to his other entries.

I know that mostly people don't like when i reject pieces, sometimes even when i know them somewhat more like in this case But i guess Tom will get over it and at the end this cases give members a better feeling of what COW is supposed to be.

I reject any piece where i have the feeling that the artist didn't put enough effort in the work, measured by his/her skills, the rules and the general quality bar set for COW.

eg i would have rejected njoos Winged Healer if he hadn't change it. And i believe that the changed creature is MUCH stronger than the one before. So see this as a chance to improve your approach and skills




btw i pm'ed GreenTopaz about the description. Seems that she isn't online that often...

[Spitch]

I like to have my pic commented so I'm gonna try to give tit for tat...

Woodlandwalker, You should have play the fluffy card till the end. The head seems a bit repulsive for a "commercial" use.

Tommoy, I think the angle of view makes the creature a bit confuse.

Kasen Kato, Your creature is halfway between realistic and humoristic. You should have pick one and give it a full go.

Hurricane, Nice execution, the pic lacks just the fantasy and crazyness your concept seems to intend.

Teknoholic, I like the concept. Maybe a warmer tone would have made the recovering wounded seem more "alive".

Pluizje, I would have like to see this "healing powder", like a trail or so.

Cloister, very mythological, you should have put the healer in situation (batllefield...).

Masque, one of the most believable concept, maybe too realistic (I expected more fantasy with this topic).

Grendel Grack, You should drop the scientific aspect of the concept, The myth part did fine..

Jfwalls, some more background in the pic would have done.

Blobs, a good laugh, a coloured background should have fit the fun of the pic more.

Moai, The healing part is much too far in the text. I forced myself to read it till the end.

Delmar, I would have like a more precise form.

Thayne, I like the touch in your pic. I would have like totally "Iconic", like an ancient book illustration.

Gnahz, In my opinion, the healing process didn't suppose the death of the healer.

Avalanche, the B/W version of your creature seems stronger to me. The additional information was not indispensable.

GreenTopaz, this is where the lack of concept shows exactly what Cloister said. Anyway, fine pic.

Spitch, I know you can do better, you lazy S.O.B. Go back to work !

Xgabo, The engraving look in your work is amazing, just think the beast looks to mean to be benign.

VegasMike, Great job, closest second along with CannibalC and Einen. maybe a bit frightening, but that's part of the concept...

Einen, nice take, very original in style and concept.

JakkaS, cool pic. The legs seem too stuck in the sand to me, it makes the beast static instead of the dynamism I expect of such a long legged one.

TomCardin, I was expecting real healing.

SirJohanna, The tail looks a bit too "wormy" to fit the rest of the animal.

Poinko, I like the fun of your pic, along with the zoological board approach. Calvin & Hobbes finally met Da Vinci.

Ham-e, Sort of too "cleany" and mechanical one.

Monkyd, The background seems a bit far from the story you tell. A fly over ground, maybe a village... dunno.

BohemianChaos, Nice pic. It lacks a bit of contrast or brighter highlights to come out.

WhtTigress, the purple strings drag too much attention, they kill the pic.

MichaelJaecks, I miss textures.

Yoitisi, Cool stuff, I like the mood. The healing part could have been more obvious in the pic.

BlkCelebration, The feather seems not that bright in the pic.

CannibalCandy, Great job. This one was really my favourite design. But the story was too much in the text and too less in the pic.

Njoo, It has everything to me. The style, the healing, the benign feeling. Sorry... no comment.

[Cloister]

Spitch: I'm glad to hear it... the thinking part. (Keep asking your mother though, I bet she enjoys the role.)

Scorge: I really appreciate your honesty... and I don't only say so. I only wish your critisism had come earlier. (Because I had many second thoughts of, and a love-hate relationship to that face during the whole making.)

Verithin: See above.

I need sharp and straight-forward comments and criticsm, and for me it's okay if it is put bluntly. Crush me underfoot, so that I might spire once more, refined.

I would also like to echo Supervlieg's last post here. This place (and its inhabitants) is a grand part of modern reality.

[Michael Jaecks]

Hey guys:

Thanks for the kind comments. Spitch: they can't all be filled with grizzly striated muscles. Sometimes they're soft and kind.

Cloister: would love to know what a girly man like me has to do to get into your forbidden archives.

That was warm camp, by the way, not warm irony. Its hard to tell the difference sometimes. Which reminds me of my favorite line from the Francis Bacon bio-pic Love is the Devil: "Welcome to the concentration of camp." Oh that Francis.

In reference to your transparent chiding about my lack of CoW stellar phenomena, all I can say in my defense is that I have been rather busy and try my best when I can. In the star regard, I feel a little like Susan Lucci minus the nominations. And if you understand that quintessentially American reference, you've gained access to my forbidden archives, which even I don't have the security clearance to access.

BTW I ended up voting for Jakkas... if ever I have a hard time voting, surrealism makes the decision for me.

[xgabo]

Voted yoitisi. Very intriguing design and great rendering.

[Verithin]

Scorge: I really appreciate your honesty... and I don't only say so. I only wish your critisism had come earlier. (Because I had many second thoughts of, and a love-hate relationship to that face during the whole making.)

Verithin: See above.

I need sharp and straight-forward comments and criticsm, and for me it's okay if it is put bluntly. Crush me underfoot, so that I might spire once more, refined.

Cloister: Noted... as I mentioned I was buried with work this week and really didn't have the time to frequent the boards, let alone enter. My apologies my comments came after the fact.

[life on the sofa]

voted for moai, i think it has kinda..fun atmosphere, little under polished in the background but meh, background isnt important in this its the creature.

well done all tho

[ikuru]

wow what a spread out voting! You fail to see that jakkas has the amazing creature this round?

[TomCardin]

Thanks for the feedback, I think. Some of you guys are getting awefully subjective...but hey, thats ok too.

Cloister - perhaps I was trying to appeal to 11 year old girls? I will take that as a plus, I know nintendo loves designs that broaden their market.

Scorge - thanks. The blur was an attempt to make it appear to be glowing...In my 75 ton entry I placed an enormous amount of work, was completely pleased with it...but go NO votes. So I have been changing up my style and techniques in hopes of gaining more appeal, also just to learn and improve. With this entry I followed a lot of the fine tutorial njoo provided for his lava swimmer.

Spitch - It is real healing...but only to the females of the species...I suppose my text should have been more wordy about it but I was keeping it short so that it wouldn't be a nuisance for the many nationalities of our community.

Verithin - thanks. I wanted the creature to look almost angelic so I kept the palette mostly to whites and blues but I put plenty of golden yellow in there to enhance the image...it appears to me that many other artists here kept their palettes limited as well.

Bottom line is I don't know what anyone will vote for, does anyone? My goal here is to improve and to get feedback and the occasional asspat to keep me going. I appreciate the feedback I recieved before the poll, that was very constructive. Feedback after the poll can be a bit of a slap in the face, especially when its not constructive or overly subjective.

My hat is off to everyone here who has put forth the effort in their own valuable time to produce their artwork. I see massive improvements all around in technique and composition and creativity.

When I get no votes or very few votes thats a message to me to change things up. Take a closer look at the winning pieces and light a flame under me to improve. When I get constructive, objective feeback that is an even clearer message of what areas of my work to address, and I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks all and keep up the good work!

[njoo]

Heya, wow this round for 34 entries! Nice to see some new and old artist showing up Man everytime I look at the art in COW, it’s like a free dosage of ideas and art juice into my brain!

I was so torn between who to vote and honestly even if I sit here to think any longer I don’t think I can decide, the vote went to Vegasmike! Tho for this round I think I really could’ve voted for so many other entries (cannibal, xgabo spitch, jakkas, BlkCelebration, Greentopaz, Yoitisi...etc) it’s probably the most difficult to choose round of COW up to now for me..

Woodlandwalker: I remember I think you were the first one to finish! Cute creature!
Tommoy: I like the creature’s silhouette!
Kasen Kato: I think you put more effort in this entry comparing to ur past entries, way to go! Pretty happy colors 
Hurricane: Your stuff’s always awesome, the mood in this one is just great!
Teknoholic: I like flying tentacle stuff Tho it looks a bit like its an alien invansion and zapping and killing the humans hehe
Pluizje: Nice entry, each part of the creature seems a little bit separated, like parts of different creature? Could be cool to somehow merge it together more?
Cloister: I can feel the holiness of this creature~ Maybe if the head’s angled a little bit to the side u can see the silhouette of the horn more and make it even more interesting!
Masque: Wow the details, feels like some medical illustration, strange but really unique colors and I think it gives a really unique touch!
Grendel Crack: I really like this design, the old wise looking face,etc!
Jfwalls: Ohhh traditional all the way, I like this one a lot more then the lava swimmer! The design got a bizarre and cool touch!
Blobs: Lol what can I say, the balls are a funny addition.
Moai: I like it a lot, really got a sense of believability and realism to it! One of my favorite from you!
Delmar: I like the mood of it, tho I think the texture is a little bit too much and looks a little be messy
Thayne: Not sure if it’s a stylistic choice, I think the colors for the glowing parts could be push more and add more dynamic lighting!
Gnahz: Nice and simple! The greenish slime coming out looks poisonous haha
Avalanche: I like the upper body more then the bottom half, looks like you spent more time at the front~ and what’s the earring?
GreenTopaz: Nice to see you back, your creature’s face are always so happy and smiley! Love it! Wish there’s a desc tho, love to know how it works!
Spitch: Wow it’s awesome, nice lighting and design. It’s a LITTLE bit confusing that it’s a body laying there without seeing the feet tho, maybe would push it even more if you showed some hint of the muscle lines, even a belly button,etc, but great work!
Xgabo: Love the mood, design I thought it was a little bit too close to a bat, but the story’s great! You always have good writing for the back story!
Vegasmike: A lot better after you changed the healing beam effect! The idea of insect war’s unique!
Einen: I love the style, the expression on the face’s just awesome!
Jakkas: It kicksass as usual, don’t even need to comment much, but I gotta say, maybe I got 300 stuck in my head and going crazy, the top of of the creature’s head just reminds me of spartan’s helm hahah!
TomCardin: I like the design of it, I’m not sure if the yellow’s the color of the feather or a glowing effect, it looks like it was suppose to be glowing from the reflected color on the wing, but it’s not really working if that’s the case? I think the silhouette is nice overall, but the big eyes and smiling mouth breaks the holy, peaceful mood of the creature and pic perhaps. 
SirJohanna: Cool~, the face looks like some kind of mask
Poinko: I haven’t seen such comical approach to COW before, and it’s a fun to see. Probably a style choice, but more colorful simple colors would’ve been nice too!
Ham-e: Wow sooo smooth…..and it’s really eyecatching, tho it seems like you didn’t polish the leg and wings, maybe the sketchy lines were a style choice, it comes off as a little be non finish atm, good job tho!
Monkyd: The idea of the plant glowing around the creature’s pretty interesting and unique I’d say! Maybe the message would be more clean if you draw him waking up form the cave with all sorts of rare healing plants glowing, or if you draw him in a village where ppl are picking off the plants!
BohemainChaos: The idea’s unique but I think the design could be pushed further, now it’s almost just a normal looking bird~
WhtTigress: I didn’t check, but where you the one that drew the dinosaur and the finger in Dungeon cleaner? The rendering of the finger just reminds me of that entry! I like the colors at the edge of the wing, the transparent effect, maybe tho you could’ve put more detail on the body, insects usually have really fun anatomy to draw!
Michael Jaeck: the hand sticking out is a nice bizarre touch, maybe if shifted a little bit down so it doesn’t look like it ate creature~
Yoitisi: Ah ha~ red again! Well shade of red hehe, don’t get me wrong red’s nice, I don’t see pink used much but it’s so cool, I like the unique box shape too!
Blkcelebration: Somehow I love your fat and chubby design here and the last one too, the design and expression is great! What did it eat to get so fat??
Cannibalcandy: I love the illustrative approach to it, a refreshing change from your awesome painted style.

Whew done.... which I can type longer for each comment, but gotta get back to work! Can't wait to see the entries next round!

[VegasMike]

Well guys Ive been a deadbeat dad with commenting the past few rounds...So here it goes!

Woodlandwalker:Cute creature design...I want one! I think the type distracts from the creature though.
cannibalcandy:I love the face but the patterned wings just dont work for me...I really liked the drawings and first bird too!
Tommoy:Cool design, reminds me of a Chozo from Metroid...the wings are kinda hard to make out.
Kasen Kato:I would tone the saturation down on the red to give it more depth
hurricanene of my favorite competitors, love your work! Like the glow and body, wings could use something more...bground softer.
Tecnoholic:Cool creature...can't really see the effects of the healing, almost looks like hes killing. Very Clean.
Pluizje:Could use some work on the wings...more see through.
Cloister:I like this piece but like some have said the face is not working...I think the eyes in particular.
masque:Awesome, I kinda had a similiar idea in the rough stages...colors could use some work.
Grendel Grack:I like this wise looking guy!
jfwalls:Crazy! I like the traditional approach, the legs are hilarious!
blobs:Fun stuff...I wish mine could glow!
Moai:Great painterly approach and love the colors...The redesign helps a lot!
Delmartrong marks but kinda busy, the green is too saturated for my taste.
Thayne:I like the Asian influence...
gnahz:A bit soft in the rendering and textures...I would tone down the green.
Avalanche:The rendering on the arms of the wings are the best part...would like to see that much time spent on the face as well.
GreenTopaz:Awesome piece, like the clouds bground and ceature but want to know about him!
Spitch:Beautiful lighting and design!
xgabo: Cooool, I like the strong marks very woodcut like...is that the scratchboard pen from Painter?
Einentrange looking creature! Kinda stiff and a little flat...
JakkaS:Beautiful as always! The colors are great and rendering superb...I would like to see him in action.
TomCardin:I like the angelic feeling and the wings...could use a bit more contrast.
SirJohanna:Vibrant but the face is kinda confusing.
poinko:Fun!
njoo:Imaginative as always! You recovered nicely with the snake addtion.
Ham-e:Realistic and good idea, could use more to the image.
monkyd:Reminds me of a Collosus...could use some atmosphere to make him seem bigger...ocean needs some work.
BohemianChaos:I like the glowing belly but the colors are not really working for me.
WhtTigress:Hmmm tone down those lines in the wings and it needs more of a cast shadow.
Michael Jaecks:Cool creature! The pattern could use some organicness.
yoisitiutta this world! I like the color scheme and boxyness of the creature.
BlkCelebration:Reminds me of the Great Owl from Secret of Nimh...Nice colors, the rendering could use some softer spots to smooth it out.

So who should I vote for? So many nice pieces but nothing is really standing out and slappin me in the face! I'll have to go with JakkaS for the beautiful colors and rendering! Phew! Thanks for all the comments and feedback guys.

[yoitisi]

Why do I just have one vote?! I really couldn't choose this round...Vegasmike: you got my vote because I liked the atmosphere you build.

CannibalCandy: you were so damn close second here that I honestly can't say why you didn't get my vote I think the patterns just didn't really do it for me, although it's nice to see someone trying something new.

JakkaS: very surreal, and the creature is rendered very good as usual, but the background looked a tad bit sloppy (it came down to things like that when I figured out who to vote for).

Spitch: It's a bit too smooth for my personal taste, I didn't really get the idea it was a healer. Otherwise very strong, much more so since you changed the background.

Njoo: Very good painting as usual but I think it's a pity you had to change the concept, it weakens the idea of the spirirts a bit in my opinion, although I agree that the first version didn't really look like a creature.

About my own piece, Xgabo and Mattbyng: highly appreciate your vote, made my day I must say though that looking back at it I feel it's a bit too rushed and I went a bit too much for effect rather than rendering it like it should look. Njoo your damn right, (shade of) red again I guess I'm addicted or something. Ah well, there's tons of COWs still to come.

I wish I could comment on everyones piece, all you people deserve attention not just the winners, but I need to give my arm rest and even typing makes it ache grrrrrr...

[jfwalls]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Mine is definitely not the coolest creature, but I just wanted to do something fun.

Cloister: Hmm...what's wrong with butterflies? I'm sorry mine can't have a "Blue Steel" look like yours

Scorge: Yeah, you're right about everything just looking kind of stuck together. I was thinking though that I wanted it to have a kind of stuck together feel to it. Like the wizard got bored one day, and wanted to see what animals he could slap together. Glad my crits helped!

Verithin: Prismacolors are great! I hardly use them anymore, but I think I'll try and use for my COW's now.

Spitch:I contemplated putting a background in. Just didn't have the time though. Especially using the prismacolors.

Njoo: Thanks! I was hoping the legs would give it a bizarre feel.

Vegas: Another thank you! Yeah, the legs make me snicker everytime I look at it.

I'm gonna skip all the crits this time, but I'll jump in for the next round. Thanks again for your kind words and comments.

[Spitch]

Spitch - It is real healing...but only to the females of the species...I suppose my text should have been more wordy about it but I was keeping it short so that it wouldn't be a nuisance for the many nationalities of our community.

I thought it was some kind of a "mating trick". My misunderstanding (I'm one of the not that good at english nationality, so thanks)

[Johanna Saarenpää]

Thanks for the crits guys, you make me want to push myself further. I'll return the favor some day when I've actually got enough time to look through the pieces you make. Voted for xgabo by the way.

[Fl3wk]

Xgabo: This one intrigued me! I love how you have implemented human history into the creation. I know a little of some of the wierd things earlier homo sepians did and this idea cannot be far off! i also like how you have used an existing animal and just tweaked it somewhat (the bat). This I believe is the best way to hint that this creation was made by mother nature.

This is why I voted for you.

However, there is a problem with the suggestion factor. There isn;t much to suggest that humans worship this creature. When I looked at it without reading the description, I thought the guy was trying to roast the bat or use the bat as a tent.

[Darasen]

I went with Technoholic. His image I could look at and tell it was a winged healer no discription needed actually and the rendering was nice as well.

[Cloister]

Since I'm not very keen on the Living Trap-topic, I did a re-make of my Healer. Particularly the face have gone through some serious surgery. This is perhaps not the thread to show it, but if anyone is interested, here you can see the less benign and possibly less annoying version:

Darker version of my Winged Healer


jfwalls: It's the New Age Movement. (The Age of Aquarius). They sort of keep overexposing dolphins, rainbows, butterflies and a lot of other very wonderous and beautiful stuff in a context that makes me sick - spirituality commercialized. Unfortunately this nauseating feeling rubs off on other contexts as well... at least in my brain. (Yes, M. Jaecks, I know I did a rainbow once )

Tom Cardin: Just to make sure, I had no intentions of diminishing you concept nor 11 year-olds. It was merely the reason why you didn't get my vote. I was very subjective. Next time I'll return to focusing on more technical art-matters when I write my comments. I just felt like doing something different this time. Btw, your creature was one of the few I felt suited the topic (my interpretation of it).

Michael Jaecks: Perhaps some mysteries had better remain unsolved..

Fl3wk: LOL! The tent and roasting part... now that is funny. (No harm intended Xgabo. You have a good monster there.)

[SquirrelHunter17]

Voted for poinko. Its amazing to see that somebody is doing something different from the usual conceptartists.

[JL.Alfaro]

Wow, amazing entries everyone. gotta give my vote to xgabo, execution, style and idea...nice very nice.

-JL

[ikuru]

cloister, not only darker, way better actually, and normally Im pretty sick of everything beeing dark but that one rocks.

[Michael Jaecks]

Ah Cloister. Answers only breed more questions. What is important is how one navigates between the two. That's my Bene Geserit wisdom for the evening.

As far as the new version of your creature, I agree with Ikuru, the second version is better. Its not darker, its more majestic, I think. Having a goofy look on ones face doesn't necessarily mean one uses its powers for good, as my avatar proves well. The first one is sweet, but perhaps too sweet. I think its the mouth that's the most off-putting/out of place. But you did a fine job giving yourself a paintover.

I'm also a little bored with the living trap. I can't think of anything tha doesnt remind me of a spider, venus flytrap or Sarlaac, so I may just sit that one out.

[Delmar]

I just wanted to thank you guys, for the crits.....and i have to say you´re completely right, for a creature concept mine is way to painterly and busy, as you said.
I try to improove this points in the next rounds i´m attending, thanks a lot.

[BlkCelebration]

Thanks to those that voted for me and gave me crits. Again, I really appreciate getting any votes especially when all the other work done was of great caliber.

I voted for CannibalCandy because I liked that he didn't go the conventional way (like myself). Love the textures, well executed. The creature design kept me going back to it several times.

Spitch was second by very little. I really liked the creature event hough its quite simple in design. The whole piece works together quite nicely.

Moai: I really liked yours. Great scene you portrayed on your piece. I think had you worked it a little more I would of had a tougher time voting.

Great work everyone.