Chow 127 :: VOTING :: Little Mermaid

[daestwen]

FINALS ONLY
-=ROUND 127=-
-= Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' =-

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http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW-LINES/CHOW-LINES-MEDUSA.jpg
NOT SURE ABOUT THE GUIDELINES? CLICK HERE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117390)
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DESCRIPTION

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid

Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'.

Please keep in mind that this is *not* the Disney version, and I don't want to see anything even remotely related to it.

We need Two Character Designs for this: her mermaid form, and her maiden form. You may want to do this more as a straight-forward, orthographic design, but you are not required to.
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ACCEPTANCE TO POLL WILL BE BASED ON THREE CRITERIA:
1: DID THE ARTIST FOLLOW THE BRIEF? (allowance for creative takes will be made).
2: IS THE PIECE ARTISTICALLY SOUND? (Is the illustration "finished?" - did the artist pay attention to anatomy, perspective, other fundamentals?).
3: IS THIS ILLUSTRATION THE BEST ONE?

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SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:
1: You must submit ONE full sized image.
2: Make sure your name and CHOW # are EASILY READABLE on your entry.
3: Use the Standard format (Below);

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

THE REST IS EASY:
1: No comments before poll is set. They WILL be deleted with utmost malice and petty grumbling.
2: Sit back and enjoy the show. BYOPC (Bring your own popcorn)
3: Good luck to all.

[daestwen]

Please review these helpful reminders if you have not done so already.

:right:ON GETTING TO POLL (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1891823&postcount=15) - updated.
-------------------------
:right:NEW ROUND RULE: WIPS PLEASE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1910999&postcount=27)
-------------------------
:right:SUBMISSION FORMAT REMINDER (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1911002&postcount=28)

[Lalilulelo]

:anime: Banzaii!!!:anime:

[KleeWyck]

no more time to work on this so...

[laterDays]

469558

Separate Images

469549

469559

469551
469552
469553
469565

[The Whistler]

Progress thread here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1928734&postcount=60)


Anyways, this is my final, needs a lot more polishing, however, there's no more time.

[katinki]

soo many beautiful pictures up to now! i feel humble...

i went for the polarity of the wild and free sea folk the little mermaid is from (imagine, they have rites of passage with piercing you with oysters!) versus the bourgeois / biedermeier-y society of andersen's own time (crinolines, corsages, domesticity and patriarchy) for which she longs but cannot fit.

here they are & a sheet with serveral wips and inspiration photos:

[Skolld]

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k102/skolld/LittleMermaidChowformat.jpg


http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k102/skolld/Chow127MermaidWipsSkolld.jpg

[paintedraven]

Just want to say I had a lot of fun on this one and that there are a LOT of fabulously talented people here!

[Clochette]

Hoo great entries so far, I feel really nervous posting mine! :^^;:
Here we go! *glups*

About the process, I made some sketches, find the magazine idea to show how much she dreams about human life and physical attributes. And she is supposed to be 15 so she is kind of idealist and dreamer. Then I draw the magazine in a flat version. Then I've start the illustration it self, and made the mermaid design first. After that I've made her maiden version, trying to keep the most important elements which remind her previous state (hair, color and proportions) because I thought that we have to recognize her. I tried to create a mood contrast between the two versions, to focus on her disappointment and sadness. Being a human girl was not at all what she was dreaming about finally...
And at the end I've made my final picture including these two illustrations. Hope you like it! :)

Writing this I'm full on doubts now, I hope that I didn't miss the subject and not fall in the Disney version. The cartoon style of my version makes me feel a bit frightening about this point... Anyway, that's all folk!
Good luck to everyone! :yayca:

[matjosh]

Here's my finals, hell this was a really nice round o_o. cheers everyone!


http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/407/chow127matjoshtf3.jpg


bigger ones, warn me in case they're too big :
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/1548/finalmermaidformzv2.jpg
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1711/finalmaidenformyd6.jpg

The process. i usually skip sketching out too many thumbs, i rather go trough it in my head, and start drawing when i have an idea that i like.
Same happened here. the first one kinda has a dramatic look, it's more serious and all, here i showed the moment where the little mermaid has drank the potion and is giving in for the transformation. the second one,on the other hand, is more fun, i tried to look at it a little differently. i just kinda thought of the pose first, tried to show the moment where shes sort of more used to having legs, but is trying to get the courage to go to the prince, and meets a human girls problem, the "what to wear" thing ;D

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/1738/chow127matjoshaswiphq9.jpg


hope you enjoy, and good luck everybody !

[avefenix]

Thanks to the people who gave me feedback. Awesome entries everyone.


http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq39/avefenix_bucket/chow127_avefenix.jpg


wips:

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq39/avefenix_bucket/chow127_wip_avefenix-1.jpg

[monotony]

470039

470040

[Daray]

Oh my gosh... I've finally got around to submitting ;)



470044
470045

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

So. Here's my Final and Wips
I already rambled about in the Wip thread about how the way she dies and maturation process along the way was what I was trying to get into. While the mermaid piece was basically a lot of fun to design.
I wanted to show her enthusiasm and yet retain some slightly timid feeling.
Her future is still obscure and she's naive, her perception is limited, so I kinda went for a darker color scheme, ... or something like that. :D
The maiden is the opossite of that. I think although being tragic, the end of the story still has something very hopefull and self determined so the colors are supposed to reflect more her inner state. (I mean, seriously hauling that silly princess over the ship's rail and dragging him to the altar would have been a valid option to consider in that kind of situation!)
Well, I pimped up the sea in my final maiden version and hope it's not too overpowering.
The mermaid isn't really from a particular scene. Could be any sunken ship, I guess.
The maid picture shows her right after jumping into the sea at dawn, the dagger floating next to her, while she dissolves.

[skorpi]

I wanted to paint it with wathercolor, and I regreted it in the under wather part, so this one is not as good, as I wished.

It's a sad story, so I choose a dark/ grey background. Especially the maiden form is fair and frail, not really able to survive in her human body.
(I would write more, if my english were better)

[Supervlieg]

http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/chow127_final.jpg



http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/chow127_final_wip.jpg

[Venger]

I think I went as none Disney as I could :)
The main thing I was after is that after all the changes, she's still a fish inside (or thinks like a mermaid rather than a human)
Surely a normal human dagger would rust under the sea, so she has a narwal/or shell dagger instead.
(Obviously you can see why the Prince rejected her - she smells of fish. Fillet a mermaid and you'll find legs inside :p)
470161
470171
470172
470174

[Fractalbot]

Its come a long way from the initial sketch, but here's mine!

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/mermaid_final.jpg

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/mermaid_process_final.jpg

[Jason Strutz]

Oil paint on masonite
24" x 24"

[Cup_of_Tea?]

Here is mine,
I haven't finished the maiden as much as I would like but time is my enemy.
Still, I am chuffed with what I have done and just happy to be finally entering a somewhat finished product. It really has been a learning experience, and next time I will spend more time on "character development".
Thanks for everyones help and motivation .

[Adele]

I wanted to do a bit more of a storybook painting...and also show the pain that she had to go through for love...and then he dumped her anyway!...poor little mermaid :(

As a mermaid she has her tounge taken for exchange for some land legs and then as a human she feels the pain of knifes when she walks...as you will read in the story.

Anyway, I didnt get to spend as much time as I would of liked on this but here it is. Not my best effort and the weekend was spent relaxing outside...but I still wanted to show my interpretation.

well done everyone!

[ikuru]

http://www.ikuru.se/2/chow127_ikuru.jpg

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

here is the Websafe version (http://www.ikuru.se/2/websafe.jpg)

[amaliax]

Okay, I'm brand new here, so I'm not entirely sure I'm doing this right... I just found this thread on Friday, but I wanted to try it anyway.

So, there's no way I can compare with you all talent-wise, but I wanted to play anyway. ^^ I have looked around here a lot. I think I've seen all the pre-entries, and the entries. You are all amazing! Seriously, there is some classy stuff here. Anything anybody can tell me about doing it right and doing it wrong (in this site, this activity, or these drawings) is welcome with wide open arms. Also begged for.

Notes:

I wanted to keep her as true to the story as I could. I like drawing mermaids, and there are so many possibilities! A million kinds of fish from which to draw inspiration, and a million body types. But, in the story she always seemed so delicate to me, almost fragile. I tried to keep a bit of that. In the mermaid picture, she is a little young. It was a long time before she met the prince, and I think this is some time in that range. I wanted her to keep the red flowers she loved so much, too. The maiden picture is from near the end of the story, when she knows she is going to die--but she dances. Then, she is so full of fire, grief, and passion. Again, I tried to keep some of that.

Thanks.

[tmyohlaing]

Finally...

Higher res for each.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/CHOW%20127/CHOW127_tmyohlaing.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/CHOW%20127/CHOW127_tmyohlaing-1.jpg

Wips

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/CHOW%20127/LittleMarmaidSketch001B.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/CHOW%20127/CHOW127_tmyohlaing_wipsB.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/CHOW%20127/CHOW127_tmyohlaing_wips.jpg

[onionface]

bit rushed - lunch break art jam.
sorry no wips, 1 layer ps, speed paint, saving as I go.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/onionface/onion-chow127.jpg

[Vorace]

Uh no more time to work on it

[Claudio Grassi]

Ok here's my final..I wish I could sit here and write more about it, but Im afraid my connection is going to punk-out....one thing worth mentioning, for her human form I had her drape herself with a banner/flag she found on the shipwreck she saved the prince from.

here ya go..best of luck to those of us that need it ^_^

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/CHOW127_KUGU.jpg

Wip animation..the process can be found on the CHOW 127 thread :)

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127-Kugu-wip-anim.gif

Some AMAZING entries ..wow! Im soo happy I got to post a final! big day for me XD

[Max Martelli]

Here is my final.

I have some thumbnails of my process underneath. They go in order.

I started with an initial sketch. In the case of the maiden I reworked it on the advice of daestwen (by the way, thank you for pointing that out).
I then refined the sketch and began to color the figure. I played around with the orientation of the maiden figure and decided that the upside down
position without a recognizable background worked the best with the figure. Also I thought that it would work well with the mermaid as a final composition.
The next step was putting the figures in front of their backgrounds and then finally the borders. Throughout all these steps I would go back and rework parts of the figures.

Thank you all for your critiques and compliments.

Good luck and Enjoy.

[adri_n]

So, I have this sinking feeling that I'm missing something. When did we start posting WIPs? I don't have any this time around. My brainstorming session turned into the final, so here are some reference pics instead.

[Larriva Art]

I was aiming for the sort of romanticism that was popular a century ago. Came out a bit more illustrative than character design.

Inspiration and Progress (http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1932079&postcount=189)

470542

[Ramariel]

Well, I gave it the college try. Heres my submission!

[iuvo]

I'm aiming for a fantasy-feeling, without being too much like Disney's.

[Xaya]

Well more or less finished...!

So here we go:

My intention for the mermaid painting was to show her desire for the "upper world" where Mr. Prince lives.

The maiden painting, shows the situation she realized that the prince doesn´t love her and that she can´t go back to her former world.

I didn´t used almost any reference, although i should have... .
Here are the refs.:

470611 470610

My concept was formed really quick and after some few hours i got to this stage:

470614


I still struggle with rendering and finish my paintings, nevertheless here is my final version:

470618

[Cam Sykes]

I hope it's not too late. Had to rush human form but all good just glad I got it done. If I had to redo something Like this I'd probably paint each picture skipping between each other, so that they were more unified.

PS: To Vorace: I'm a big fan of your style.

[Carnifex]

ran out atlittle of time...still rather happy with the whole process.
good luck everyone!


471031

470824

[LA-Fairy]

Never did this, hope I did it right, if not.. just nevermind LOL.

470887
470888

[Teigrob]

Here's my final. My wips are here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1933944&postcount=252).

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/char_design/CHOW127_Teigrob.jpg

[Senira]

Here's my final. As I said in the WIP thread, I guess I'm the only one who decided to be lame and do a turnaround. :^^;:

I'm actually quite happy with how the mermaid came out, not so much with her maiden form. I wanted the maiden form to convey how awkward and suffocated she felt in our world. My original idea involved her in more of an elaborate, geisha-style getup vs. the gown she's wearing now, but I was having so much trouble trying to visualize what I wanted that I ended up pussing out and doing this instead.

I tried to keep some continuity between the color schemes of her in maiden/mermaid form, and I tried to make her maiden form somewhat recognizable by using a toned down version of her mermaid head shape. Again, I'm not sure if my attempts were as successful as I hoped.

P.S. If the image for my final is too big, let me know.

470980

[indus]

"Urrghh!...?....(Oh...oh my god....)"
http://in2thepaper.cdn2.cafe24.com/chow/chow127_indus.jpg
http://in2thepaper.cdn2.cafe24.com/chow/127wip_2.jpg

she is in morphing...(to make 2 in 1... -ㅂ-;)
initial design here
http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1933975&postcount=254

[Scraw]

Here's my entry. Some WIPs attached. I ended up saving over my WIP image by accident (whoops) so I only have the sketches and final to show, plus ref.

And this time I actually submitted properly! Huzzah! :drinkup:

[Dan!]

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/decypl_chow127.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/decypl_process_chow127.jpg
I jumped right in and never looked back on this one- really an exercise in trying not to dwell on too many areas too quickly. Did it work? mmm..sort of. I started almost immediately after the sketch with laying in colors to try and get the mood. I originally wanted to have the potion bottle in between the two figures but many attempts at that failed and got in the way of the design of the two body shapes. I really tried to push the colors hard. I also used soem scans of watercolor paper and sketchbook paper as well as concrete to add some uncleanliness to the colors. In the end I chose to crop the piece a little closer than the original.

[Slash]

Man, this is a really strong round! Good luck to everyone, and thanks for sharing!

WIP Links:
Mermaid form:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=464889&stc=1&d=1221526807
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=465383&stc=1&d=1221584347
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=465630&stc=1&d=1221600148
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=467571&stc=1&d=1221770170

Maiden form:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=468473&stc=1&d=1221863472
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=469236&stc=1&d=1221953771
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=469993&stc=1&d=1222028298

Here's my finals:

[Flipnastywebby]

heres the final and the wips
the weird sea cucumbers are called spanish dancers...i thought it was fun to add them.

:pirate:

[WTFsteph]

I think i'm kinda late. got totally distracted on this one and kinda lost my way.bah oh well.

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Final & Wips

Maiden form is not as refined as I was going for, but time was a factor. I look forward to revisiting this one.

CC's welcome and much appreciated!

[DecayingLolita]

Maiden form was only 1 day's (4 hours) work as something came up. Meh.

[MM Howard]

Cutting so close!!! Here it is with WIP images.

Two minutes late. Automatically disqualified right? Great. Well, at least I tried.

[Hexokinase]

Great entries everyone.

I didn't have as much time as I wanted - no biggie though.
No refs used.

471302

471303

[S.C. Watson]

No Entries Past This Mark

[S.C. Watson]

GENERAL NOTES:
This may be a short lived poll due to the amount of boobs we have and the fact that photobucket (where poll images are hosted) tends to be pretty fascist with what they consider porn. So, if images start vanishing, that’s why.

Off Topic/Brief


No WIPS



Incorrect naming format (NEEDS TO BE CHOW000 YOURNAMEHERE)
fractalbot
LA-Fairy
Skolls
Supervileg - You should know better! :(
Iuvo

Failed quality check (sloppy/rushed/unfinished artwork and/or insufficient artistic quality)


Good, but just not quite there


Too much style, not enough focus

Almost made it, but... we had reservations


Anatomical Issues


Almost didn’t go, but we had less than fifty entries:
Most of these would have fallen into the Failed Quality Check category above. The biggest problem is that your rending is very rough, but there were also issues with anatomy and proportion.
DecayingLolita
avefenix
CamSyko
MM Howard
Digitallydumfounded
Havoc-DM
JasonStrutz
Kleewyck
Max Martell
Paintedraven
Skorpi
Tmyohlaing
onion

[Adele]

I voted for:

Katinki, laterdays, xaya, lalilulelo, carnifex, indus, vorace, venger, senira, alotabitalittle, cloebelle

They all had stand out originality and caught my eye in some way. The stand outs of the lot are Vorace, Venger and Indus...brilliant colour, character and depth to character...you can see the story in just those images, some themes and all the feelings of the character.

well done everyone and good luck

[Senira]

I voted for indus, venger, clochette and matjosh. Indus had a great concept for the illustration, and the rendering was beautiful. Venger, Clochette and Matjosh each had something in their designs that really made them stand out for me.

Everyone did great this round, though; the competition is tough!

[MM Howard]

Good luck to everyone! Looks like the people I thought were going to do well in the poll are.

I had a lot of fun doing this. This definitely did challenge me in digital painting. I'm truly new to digital painting, maybe only six months into it (one month total actually spent on painting) and brand new to character design, so to be in the poll (that I almost didn't make because my work was sloppy) with so many talented people is an honor. I had a hard time...which means more fun next round...lol.

I'd have to say everyone's work is awesome, but the one's that standed out to me the most were Vorace, Daray, Senira,laterDays and VampireHungerStrike. VampireHungerStrike, your use of romanticism is so beautiful. It is without doubt my favorite.

I'll say it again, Adelle, that would make an awesome animated character for another animated version of The Little Mermaid.

Good luck again guys!

Edit: I only voted for Vorace, because I'm an idiot and hit the button too quickly and forgot to choose all the people I wanted to vote for. Those all basically the picks I would have had, however.

[zenichi]

went on to a voting spree.... i voted for 8 entries....
and so many that were close seconds... unbelievable, immense joy, thanks to all entries.

[Larriva Art]

I voted for a slew, too. Such great quality in this round.
I was looking at overall rendering and finishedness, and also good characterization. I like the entries that portrayed a playful mermaid form and a tragic human form.

[ikuru]

voted, Clochette and Vorace on this one...

Vorace, I'm not always a big fan, but u totatly deserve to win this one. There both so cool in a special crazy way. ;) Good job m8.

[Supervlieg]

Incorrect naming format (NEEDS TO BE CHOW000 YOURNAMEHERE)

Supervileg - You should know better! :(




Arg, I made a fail. I would love to change it but I guess it's to late for that. I guess I should know better. And as far as naming goes it's supervlieg not supervileg ;)

[Supervlieg]

Voted Vorace and VampireHungerStrike. Great going everyone!

[monotony]

beatiful entries again.
there's so many I loved but I tried to limit myself with the voting. my winners are.

clochette --- your style fits the topic perfectly. the hair is awesome and the magazine did it for me! very nice layout as well.

laterdays --- unique mermaid and costume designs. especially love the rocky elements of the tail and the hair.

Senira --- great mermaid design as well! I liked your orthographic approach and ultimately the shell things on her back sold me. nice entry.

VampireHungerStrike --- awesome painting. the human version under water is just beautiful.

Venger --- at first I thought the maiden wasn't enough human and pretty princesslooking for me. but ultimately the mermaid design and the very well done transition to human won. the fishy dress and hair is a very nice touch!

[The Whistler]

Woot! nice round!

Votes go to:

Katinki - because the maiden form is awesome

laterDays - Wow. Just... Wow.

Xaya - again because of the maiden form, gorgeous

Slash - awesome rendering

Matjosh - my fav this round, it has a certain charm about it that I love, and also, I can't stop staring at her feet in maiden form. Awesome!

[Wiggers]

Voted for vampirehungerstrike, vorace, venger, and xaya

[Carnifex]

votes went to:
laterdays ("out there" designs)
slash (really good rendering)
vorace (i'm a total sucker for all things demonic,first place basically)
clochette (totally charming)
matjosh (fun,fun)
vampirehungerstrike (so beatiful, second place basically)

special brownie points to:
adele k. (nice emotion on the human half,really makes me feel her pain), xaya (needs more interesting poses!), katinki (beautiful design) and venger (also very "out there" design)

general crits: the reason why i posted the inspiration link in the normal thread is because it perfectly illustrated how two "cloven" characters should work together - mainly looking at the unicorn illustration. so many elements that were used in a different manner on both forms,and thus form a coherent picture,and shows us that these two characters are one and the same. it's a thing i tried to go for,keep recognizable elements or attitude. many entries here missed this! (or not enough). really think about what character you want to illustrate. if you were to meet this character,how would she act,what would you remember about her look? something to consider in every round.
(also,this is one of the few times that everyone goes for an outlandish body,but keeps perfectly normal heads (instead of the other way round); i know you want to keep it pretty and recognizable,but think alittle)
thanks for all the votes btw.
cheers!

[Kreator]

my Votes-

Indus- cool narrative, drama , polish

Vorace - awesome style, attitude, execution.

:)

[UCT]

Later Days & Vorice.

Later days - the textures and styles are soo fresh, really great combination of imagery and design. The difference is textures and forms work very well together and seems natural without competing against each other but help demonstrate the contrast of both designs.

Vorace - Fantastic colours and form. I like the way you work and this week you have excelled. I appreaciate the darker theme you have employed with this topic, I get the feeling you had fun with doing this because it doesnt appear laboured at all.

[matjosh]

I too, like zenichi went on a voting spree. the "if skill levels are in place for a round, please vote for all skills" got me confused a little.
Sad that Supervlieg didn't make it to the voting, would have been one more vote from me.

[Jazz]

Oh MAN...I'm telling you, I wish I could've joined in for this CHOW!!! But I'll be able to make something for that other thread, so yaaaaay!! But beautiful works!! Strong contenders!! :D Here are my votes, and LOOK at the votin' I did...wow:

Daray: Reminds me of a sophisticated cartoon or book cover!! I love the work you put into all their details, how they connect to one another as "one" (the mermaid looks almost like...inside of the girl's mind or something!).

Kleewyck: There is an ominous feel to yours, and I love it. Kinda gives me shivers with the greens and that moon up there!

Ramariel: I love this because it's as if no one is around! Like the girl is alone, and yet she really isn't! I love the colour standing out from that foggy haze all about. It's sad, but oddly reassuring.

skorpi: What I liked about yours is that there is uncertainty beyond those hills, and the girls look so comforting to each other! Makes the scene suspenseful to me, and sweet as well! I like all the colours you used, too!

Whistler: Stormy weather...but the way they're chillin' like that, it seems pretty relaxing and warm! I loved the designs you made of both versions, but the mermaid form is my fave!! ^_^

alotabitalittle: The expressive nature of both forms really gets me here! I love the human form, especially! There's something innocent and curious, even slightly "disgusted" about the way she touches that water!! Heh, nice contrast to her mermaid counterpart!! Beautiful tail. :D

avefenix: I liked how you had certain colours common to each form. Like the mermaid's tail and the water somehow connected (to me) with the human girl's curtains. Of course, I could be wrong, but I just see paralells in the piece that brings these two forms together!

clochette: I love your style, it's just...I can't explain how cool and 50's/60's ish it looks!! Fun and rather funny, too!! I'd like to meet the mermaid and her human other! ;)

flipnastywebby: My favourite part of yours was how the dress and the tail match. Hee hee!

Indus: AWESOME!! Fusion between tail and leg...I was pondering over that type of entry, myself! But your idea is fantastic!! I love the underneath part...reminds me of a huuuuuge slimy sea thing, even though it's...probably just creepy water! O_O I think your textures are my favourite ones to look at!!

Slash: I just love how you made the mermaid!! She looks so interested in things!! My favourite expression!! :D :D

Teigrob: The mermaid and girl (or at least the mermaid in a one-sided fashion) seem to be communicating, and I do believe I like when the counterparts appear to be communicating with each other, too! I don't know what it is...but that's why I picked yours too! That and the awesomely clean lineart!!

VampireHungerStrike: Heh...at first I thought your name was a very abstract title for the picture. LOL!! Cool...having the girl in the water and the mermaid looking kinda nasty, and being outside. She looks controlling, too!! Mean and slimy-tailed... But the girl has this mermaid look to her attire!! It's very cool how those two connect...lovely and unique, I think!!

Vorace: So beautiful, so sinister looking, BOTH of them!! O_O And since I love reds, I was enthralled by the colours you used!!!

---

I know it's a LOT of voting, but I think everyone I voted for (and a few others) deserves such praise!! So much great work done!

[LA-Fairy]

Incorrect naming format (NEEDS TO BE CHOW000 YOURNAMEHERE)
fractalbot
LA-Fairy
Skolls
Supervileg - You should know better! :(
Iuvo


Argh, why didn't I see this earlier...
I'll know next time LOL..

Okay, off to vote.

wait a minute.. Am I missunderstanding something? You have a few in the poll that have it
username----chow000 instead of chow000-----username... O_O what's up with that?

[REKLAS]

Really nice finals this week, and I'm not just saying that. There are a lot of really cool designs and nicely rendered pieces. It was a difficult choice between a couple but I decided to just vote for one, so I voted for laterDays. Awesome work.

[Clochette]

Great works so far!
Ccsears, why your mermaid isn't there anymore?! I wanted to vote for you ! :(
Anymay I spent 20 minutes hesitating but I finally voted for :
AlotAbitAlittle, Indus, Kugu and Slash.

Their work was right in the subject, beautiful execution and respected the character brief to my eyes and focus on a character design more than the others. In one word, I though their entries were the most professional. Congratulation anyway to all, really good stuff! :D

[Foofea]

Gutted I couldn't make this one but I managed to get all my assignment done (hooray!)

Love all the entries guys have a really hard time picking 'the best of the bunch'

so these are my pics

Decayinglolita - I love the delicate touches on the vial and the dress she is wearing looks like water - its beautiful!

Ramerial - the emotion behind this image is fantastic, you feel for her being isolated in each of her forms

Indus - just wow! it captures the transition and the pain of the character and looks stunning

VampireHungerStrike - beautiful and well thought composition, the process of design and what you used as inspiration is evident throughout....

good grief I feel like I'm marking my students course work!

Theyre all beautiful guys well done :)

[DidiHer]

My votes:
Slash: Love your mermaid expresion.. she is so happy to be a mermaid!
INDUS: My favorite! The tension on her face! The pain! The Transition is very well expresed.
MatJosh: Great ambience and expresions.

Anyway, so beautifull entries, i feel sad for not reaching in time to finish my versions.
Congrats to all !!!

[kiwigarbage]

Vampire Hunger Strike, Indus, and Lalilulelo get my vote. Although, everyone had amazing entries this round...I feel terrible that I never had the chance to finish mine!

Seriously guys, way to raise the bar.

[S.C. Watson]

Argh, why didn't I see this earlier...
I'll know next time LOL..

Okay, off to vote.

wait a minute.. Am I missunderstanding something? You have a few in the poll that have it
username----chow000 instead of chow000-----username... O_O what's up with that?

You are right. Though, I usually allow for a certain amount of dyslexia being involved, in this case I didn't notice them in the thick of it. That said, there was one (Venger) who should have been cut based on the naming criteria that just simply slipped through the cracks on my part.

I will do a double check next week before uploading to photobucket!

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

All the best,
~Oreg. :ore:

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Hard, hard hard!!!
I thought I already had my favourites during the WIP thread. But while trying to vote I was severly insecure. But I guess that's good and speaks for how some of the pieces evolved.

So, I tried just to comment on my votes for now, but... the hell with it.
I just have to be more thourough here.

But for a start.

Laterdays: Was and is my absolute favorite! Beautiful style. Only crit would be that on her maiden form the upper part of her arm that's turned away from us seems alittle long.

Ramariel: That was a spontaneous vote. :) Your final piece just captures this solemn feeling, very fitting for the japanese theme. This has a very strong vibe and I also like how your kimono turned out. Definetly an improvement to the earlier WIPs.

Senira: Bonus points for the ortho view and the unusual desig. But also for her expression and the overall quality.

Vorace: I thought in your WIP she looked too aggressive and didn't really fit my idea of the little mermaid. (Although it was still cool, of course.)
But in the final you really brought such a seafarer melancholy into this. It's very dramatic and intense and in fact I think you pulled it off to not make her so victim-like and she's a real character.
So, apart from the quality, the picture really apeals to me.

And last but not least,
Venger: One of my favourite designs. Even in that rather monstrous form she retains a clearly readable expression.

I also almost voted for... basically the rest. :x
No seriously, there was a vast amount of good quality works and also a lot of improvement from a lot of people. Particularly
MMHoward: Your rendering on the mermaid is very, very good. Just work on that anatomy. :)

The Whistler: I think your picture is very good compositionally. her tail is also really well done. Altogether I think your skin colors tend to muddy up a bit. They could use more warmth (and also cool contrasts) and overall you could push the values there. :) Almost got my vote.

Carnifex: I can jsut judge from the other CHOWs I've seen from you but this seems like a leap forward! The compositon is top notch and really easy to read and both forms have personality.

Slash: Woh, hey, WOW! You know, I almost like the maiden form better. (Was that unreferenced?) I think you have a more consistent style and rendering in that, especially the dark mass of her hair works better in the maiden form.
Nevertheless. Man, you're getting soo good.

Ok, from here I'll just start from the top, I'm loosing the overview!

Adele: You style is unique and consistent and really quite different in being comicy but not too cutesy. I like that. :). I think her mermaid form looks more like she's dying. It took me a moment to realize that this is the moment when she drinks the potion. While that's really expressive, it probably comes out a little too strong.

AdriN: That has such a 70's sci-fi novel cover sorta look. Almost voted for that too, but I think her kaiden form got a little lost and doesn't have the expression and quality (anatomy issues, though it's hard to tell at that size).

Daray: Beautiful style and expression. Hmm. I think, looking at it now I would have found it interesting to see some graphical elements more strongly contrasted and breaking the gradient. Should have said so in the WIP thread already, I guess. ;P.
Anyway, I like. Almost voted.

DecayingLolita: I think the opossing color scheme is a good idea but it clashes a little too much. (And why did you cut off her foot in the final? :O )
I think her extended leg is a little to far up. While at first glance the pose looks right, on second I'm trying to figure out what's going on underneath her dress and wich leg is in front and it doesn't seem to add up. :)
But great compliment for even tackling that!!! I didn't have the nerve to do so. And I think you actually managed to show "unhappy dancing". :^^:

DigitallyDumbfounded: You need to push your rendering more. Go, start a sketchbook. Oh, wait! :blah: ( Yeah, lame, saw someone else doing this and thought it was funny. :^^;: But really, I need help!1! And thanks to Oregano and the Chow activity in general for kicking my butt into gear.)

HavocDM: He, her mermaid form looks ... biblical ;P. Like Eve holding the apple. Also a little too sinister for my taste. But I love the colors. On her maiden for I think her leg looks a little cut off. Maybe we should see some hint of foot or so.

JasonStrutz: First thing that comes to mind is that the background is just too white and that realy hurts the piece. Her tail looks more like a dress, even though it is beautiful. Her hand seems too large as well and I can't really relate to the round object you put as a background. I like the idea of holding hands though.

Katinki: Awww. So close to getting my vote. While I think the design of the dress is nice, I think I somehow expected something more flowing (I now, not very helpful, sorry).
Her mermaid form is absolutely lovely!

Kleewyck: I really liked your sketch. It had something very fluent and loose and I think you lost that in the painting. Your colors a re very solid and, like TheWhistler you could bring more variation into your skintones.

MaxMartelli: Basically same advice with the skin here. :)
You used some grey to shade on her maiden form, maybe because you wanted her to look pale? The anatomy, especially on the mermaid is wonky, her left arm is too short for example and the shoulder doesn't connect properly. But I have to say I kinda like the expression of the maiden. It's kinda otherwordly. :)

Monotony: I think you ahve a sollid style but here also I find the white background a little distracting, because you do have a more illustrative approach here. Also the blueish skin of the mermaid makes her almost dissapear against the backdrop.

Paindraven(?): Very, very bright. (Particularly on my Macbook, I hardly can make out any forms in the figures.) While the face of the mermaid seems very well done and her anatomy and color scheme is well thought out I think the maiden is a little too plain. Also her neck seems long and her shoulder too far back.

Skorpi: Now, I really like where you went with showing the two forms.
But it seems to have no consistend lighting and the mermaid gets alittle lost, contrast wise in the water. Good expression on both, though!

Tmyohlaing: (Now, I had to look thrice to get that name right. :P)
On her maiden form she'd fall over forwards and her arms are too long, like the atmosphere her anyway. And I think the proportions on the mermaid are alittle bulgy.

WTFSteph: I really, really like your simple style. I just think here you could have probably added in more stuff (jewelery, interesting hair and clothes).
While she's very cute, she doesn't really convey much character (as in characteristics).

Xaya: Lovely rendering and you handled both, the rain and the ocean so well!
I don't know, it might be completely unfair, because it's really about character design, but they both seem so similar in expression and also the poses/body language don't convey much emotion. It might also be because of the arms and hands, in comparison to the faces, don't have much expression. I hope you don't find that offensive, it's just, your piece is so well executed, yet doesn't grip me as much emotionally, that I'm trying to figure out why that is the case.

Lalilulelo: Gorgeous, self confident women. I like! the mermaid seems very impressive and the meiden is not despaired but rather brooding. Very convincing.
You know, somehow they really have a fashion model vibe to them. I guess my only crit would be that I find the ship and plants to be a little distracting in the mermaid piece. Maybe they could be toned fown a bit in contrast.

AlotAbitAlittle: These are great! I think I like the maiden even better. That quizicall look at her feet is very convincing.

Okay. Phew!
I'll do the rest later.
Oh, and I'm really sad JessiBean and Zephyri didn't get theirs finished. Want! Nao! (Nah, hope you ladys are doing well and prolly put this up in the revision thread, pretty please. :^^: )

[Venger]

You are right. Though, I usually allow for a certain amount of dyslexia being involved, in this case I didn't notice them in the thick of it. That said, there was one (Venger) who should have been cut based on the naming criteria that just simply slipped through the cracks on my part.

I will do a double check next week before uploading to photobucket!

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

All the best,
~Oreg. :ore:

?? How so?


ah...wait I see.. the SAVE file name - my mistake - (a quick pm would have sorted that out - but thanks for including it Oreg)

[S.C. Watson]

There are two main reasons for the naming convention - one: so we can identify who the entry belongs to as well as which chow round it belongs to, and so we don't end up with a hundred images named "mermaid.jpg." I've lost work, and had to go back and redo things more than once because files have gotten overwritten. If we stick to this format, it makes life so much easier, and me less grumpy. :)

All the best,
~Oreg.

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

And on we go!

Avefenix: That's a good start.
Crit would be that they both are not really affected by the surrounding light conditions. You see, they are placed in completely different environments, but have the same skintone. Thiink about how everything reflects light (that's why you see it in first place;P) but that light doesn't just hit your retina but EVERYTHING else in it's path. So you skintones for eample will be affected by the blue of the sky and the oceans, etc.
BUt your costume and interiour are very well thought out. The expressions could be more definite. :)

Cam-Syko: Now that's a hard one. I can't really immediately find something that's obviously off. It just doesn't convey the subject so much for me. Her mermaid form, I think would have benefited from a more dynamic pose and showing the maidens face better might have been good.

Clochette: Also almost voted for that!! I like how you joined both illustrations and I can totally see that as a character design in a modern take on the story.

FlipNastyWebby: Also, almost vote. You always have so very, very fluid, dynamic poses. I like the colors too.

Ikuru: Now, I like the mermaid. But not as a character desig. ;P
Also, sorry, but I don't really see why she would be naked at that point in the story (holding the dagger in hand).
I think there's something off with her ribcage. It's too close together under her breasts. (Unless you intented some altered physique.)

Indus: Very beautiful colors and pose. I thik I actually liked the blue in the WIPs more though.

KuGu: Bodybuilder mermaid to the rescue! :D Nah, I like this. The maiden seems to be pouting. Her knees seem too round.

Scraw: I think her lips a re a little too intense (dark/big). In her maiden form the neck seems short. I actually like her body a lot more than her face and I think her left arm could be a little more extented from the body or more visible. Also I think her nipples are too closely together, her right should be more outwards, I think. Sorry to go on about the boobs so much but I think the size doesn't work out. By that I mean that they are simply big but the shape is a little lumpy.

Teigrob: Meep! So sweet. I actually think your mermaid hits the nail on the head. I just can't relate so much to the maiden.

Cup of tea: wonderful pose for the mermaid, it just seems rather like that she's giving the potion to someone, not taking it. Hmmm, on her maiden form her arm obscures the top of her dress. Since it's so similar in value to the background, it's a little distracting.

VampireHungerstrike: The maiden blows me away!!! That's so darn beautiful and expressive. I somehow think I would have liked it if they (maid and mermaid) had been the same size.
But the contrast, maiden in water and mermaid out of it is real, real witty. ^^

Matjosh: Aw, you would have deserved a vote as well, but alas, too many good entries. Very solid rendering and I like what you did with her hair. Also and interesting idea for a maiden.

Decpyl: This has a very strong energy! The longing is coming across strongly. I think a less textured more desaturated background would have been better and the angle that the left side has could have probably been continued somehow in the left side. Nevertheless it's a powerful image.

Onionface: She-Ra mermaid! (No offense, I loved that series. :P)
I actually like your color choices a lot. She just really doesn't spell little mermaid to me. She would have most likely rather swung that prince over her shoulder and have had her way with him. ;)

Hey... I'm through! :D

So, if I forgot someone I'm really sorry. No intention!
Also I think that basically everyone deserve an e-cookie or something for finishing this. We are all great. Yay! :cheerleader:

[AsaB]

I keep lurking here and following the process, hoping to jump in. One day, when the time permits, you'll see me submitting, just wait ;)

Just wanted to jump in to vote. I'm afraid I don't have the time for individual crits this time, but I'll just say that the ones I picked were ones who stood out for me regarding storytelling and design :)

Those were: Adele, laterDays, The Whistler, Xaya, Clochette, Indus, Slash, VampireHungerStrike and Vorace.

This is quite the bigger bunch than I usually vote for, but damn, this round was simply gorgeous! Good job, everyone :)

[ikuru]

If any of u wanne hear some H.C Andersen tales for free, some are to be found here (http://librivox.org/andersens-fairy-tales-by-hc-andersen/), they arent the best recordings but pretty decent nevertheless.

Edit, here's (http://librivox.org/librivoxs-short-story-collection-007/) some more... including the Mermaid (http://ia331338.us.archive.org/2/items/short_story_007/mermaid_andersen_sdw.mp3) too!

You can search on your own at: http://librivox.org/newcatalog/

I'd love to illustrate some more of these. ;)

[avefenix]

So many great entries, voting proved to be quite tough. Ended up voting for Katinki, laterDays, indus, and Vorace who had just beautiful paintings with great design. But overall there were quite alot of exceptional entries.

[Adele]

Thanks guys for the votes and comments...I thought I could of pushed myself much more in this one...but I ran out of time...excuses excuses :D

Great entries! Well done

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Wow! lots of great thing happening...Some crits...more to come later. Disclaimer - these are my opinion and meant to be a helpful glimpse of what others (or just me) see in your work. Also, please excuse typos - lunch breaks are only so long...

Adele: I feel like your maiden form misrepresents the story a little (she wasn't afraid of her feet hurting because she was so taken by love) - but there is a sense of psychology about this one - take careful and precise steps (as she had to do). The two forms relate well & I love the tongue floating away.

Adri N: I think the dolphin in the upper right weakens the composition and takes away from your angles. It is always nice to compliment an angle...carefully so as not to take away from the focus. It is nice to see some traditional mediums.

Daray: Great composition. I wish there was a little more emotion in the mermaids face though. Perhaps wonder or anticipation.

DecayingLolita: I wish there was more emotion in their faces.

DigitallyDumbFound: The composition on the mermaid one is nice. You could have strengthened it with more organic forms & complimentary angles of the tail.

Havoc-DM: I would have like to see more contrast in the rendering (PO). Easy hint try a filter or use levels.

JasonStrutz: I am curious what it would look like if you overlayed your ink drawing and your final - might give it a nice punch.

Katinki: Nice.I would look at some reference of the boobs. Also the dark line underneath might be what makes them look a little flat. I wish there were more emotions in their faces. Nice rendering.

Kleewyck: I agree, great ominous feel. Nice angles too! I would continue to work on anatomy and focus your rendering a little to make your characters turn in space.

laterdays; simply beautiful! Some parts are so well rendered the come of the page/screen.

Max Martelli: I would work on anatomy and perhaps get some reference. Keep up the good work.

Monotony: I would work on anatomy a little. Fun idea - i like the reflection.

Painted Raven: The composition is a little static. When two figure are in a space use the forms of the figures to relate to each other with angles.

Ramariel: A note on rendering, her skin would have more of a blue/gray hue considering the surrounding light. And I saw a while ago you were suggested to flip the composition because it didn't make the most sense for the maiden form to be on a rock in the middle of nowhere. By far my favorite - but I am a sucker for japanese style.

Skorpi: I love the interaction of these two characters. I would continue to work on your rendering. I found John Signer Sargent to be very helpful. The use of a few strokes to create his skin tone is beautiful.

The Whislter: Go lion fish! I would practice rendering fabric. Once you get the understanding of how light hits folds it kinda stays with you (as long as you practice it of course!).

Tmyohlaing: I would look at some fish and get an idea of the transparency of the fins - unless you were going for a more whale like approach.

WTFsteph: Hair is hard - I would try looking at some reference to get a better understanding of the highlights. I love the playful wave of the mermaid.

Xaya: The poses are a little static. I love the water in the maiden and the dress is remenicnenst of fins.

Lalilulelo: The maiden is beautiful. I am not sure what the pose of the mermaid is saying. Great anatomy.

Avefenix: Good perspective in the maiden concept. I would look at reference of fish fins to get an idea of their transparency. Great potential - keep it up!

CamSyko: Flounder has been replaced by a lizard! Ha ..awesome. Mermaid form could use a little more fluidity in the pose. Perhaps the fin curling up.

Carnifex - I love it! Great rendering. I wish the tail fin had some of the transparencies of the others. Oh yeah and your composition rocks.

Clochette: So cute! Do you think she'd pick up heals so quick. Doesn't relate to the stories as much as some of the other. Great rendering for this style.

Flipnastywebby: Beautiful poses. I love the textures you bring in as well. Not as great as I have seen you do, the faces look a little rigid. Great anatomy!

Ikuru: Poses are a little rigid, but nice exploration of the lighting in the maiden form.

Indus: You rocked out with your conch out! Nice use of filters - I wish I thought of the two-in-one.

Kugu: I would look at anatomy a little for you maiden form ( hands look a little big). I love the switch in lighting between the two - you definitely get a cold vs. warm thing going on.

MM Howard: Nice work. The arm of the mermaid gets lost to me. I think you could refine your rendering a bit - i love the noticeable strokes - but some parts don't turn in space (look flat).

Scraw: I noticed you used reference in your wips - I would take a close look at your nipple placement. For the mermaid, I would tone down the background and let the figure take the focus. It is nice to have expressive strokes as longs as they aid to your concept.

Senira: Great ortho. The fabric flows well for the style. Work on your rendering and keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more from you.

Slash: I know you worked from reference on the mermaid and it shows. Good anatomy. The rendering styles are a little different between the two - they look like two totally different people. Beautiful water.

Teigrob - Great work. I love the detail and emotion. I would have like to see the maid interact a little more with the mermaid and the composition could be refined. Love the dress too!

Cup of Tea?: Anatomy and rendering needs work. i loved your initial sketches.

VampireHungerStrike: That pose of the maiden is very familiar. I love the switching of places - mer on land, maid on sea. Nice work.

Vorace - Wow! Rock on. I notice the maiden form changed a bit from your initial sketches. You lose the left leg a bit. Great tats - i love the Shawn Barber painting is great reference.

Matjosh: I love your mermaid - she's gorgeous. I don't get the emotion of the maiden on as well - doesn't relate so much to the story. Great rendering.

Decypl:I like your split and complimentary colors. It looks as if on the maiden side the world is coming to an end?

Onionface: Cyberpunk mermaid? Nice colors otherwise.

Venger: Reminds me of the creature from the black lagoon. The mermaid form had great movement and the maiden form gets a little static. Great rendering otherwise.


Phew...I hope this helps. CC's are welcome. Keep up the good work everybody!!!

[Niva.]

Vorace I love your artwork, it's my fav of the bunch mostly because of the style.

Matjosh yours is really well done and stylized as well, you got a vote from me. Like I said earlier it seems to stick too closely to the Disney designs but great nonetheless!

VampireHungerStrike - I like how you managed to give it the feeling of a painting. Also love the idea of turning the image upside down in terms of convention with the mermaid on dry land and the human form in the water - for this you got a vote from me. Painting is really high quality anyways, I especially like the color transitions on the mermaid's belly and the highlights under the water. TOp knotch work!

Ramariel - it was neat watching your work evolving, end result is a well done piece which forces the viewer to double take.

Xaya - excellent reference - yum :)

Senira - really neat design - just unusual... in other words it's original. I honestly think you could've pushed the painting much more.

Indus - you also got a vote from me - I honestly think yours is probably the most powerful image which was entered. It looks like a 3d sculpture and I'm not sure if you used 3d but greatly done. Also the transitional element just looks amazing with the human and mermaid forms mixing. Nice highlights on the boobage and the whole image looks wet. You did very well with this entry!

Slash - I really like your mermaid, the human painting is not working for me despite being very well done and having so many good elements. Mainly there seems to be a loss of perspective with the human not fitting into the scene... the angles seem wrong. I'm sorry if I can't be anymore helpful, hopefully someone more qualified elaborated on this better than i. Either way you get a vote because I REALLY like the mermaid form. It reminds me of someone else's work though I can't pinpoint whose. Keep up!

AlotAbitAlittle - awesome mermaid painting. The human form is not working for me again even though the piece is very well intended. I'm not even sure what my problem with it is... just seems off when shown next to the mermaid form. I'm trying hard to give proper critique and failing...

I'm going to stop trying to give critique because I'm tired. There were a lot of awesome entries this time, more than usual. I voted a lot! It was fun working on it too. I ended up finishing the mermaid painting but only had a sketch going for the human form so I could not complete it on time. Despite this I enjoyed this CHOW. My finished mermaid can be seen here for those who care: http://www.eternalseven.com/?p=118

See you all in another CHOW :)

[Daray]

Thanks for the votes everyone! Never had more than 2 votes before, so this is a success for me! :D <has a small confidence boost>

I would crit, but I'm quite bad at it most of the time and I dont feel my 'yeah thats really cool' would suffice ;) But well done to all, wonderful round, thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Fractalbot]

Originally Posted by Oregano View Post
Incorrect naming format (NEEDS TO BE CHOW000 YOURNAMEHERE)
fractalbot
LA-Fairy
Skolls
Supervileg - You should know better!
Iuvo



Oregano... sorry, I don't understand why I'm not in the poll for naming conventions... I thought I had done it correctly-- and Scraw has exactly the same as mine and he's in!

If this is my fault please let me know what happened so I don't make the same mistake again.

[iuvo]

I voted for:

Katinki: Really unique feel to your illustrations, lots of personality
laterdays: very interesting concepts and clever ideas. I like that the dress resembles the shape of the fishtail
ramariel: solid illustration
lalilulelo: I LOVE your design of the mermaid.
vampirehungerstrike: very nice rendering and light - but not very conceptual. vorace: great shapes - and great mood
venger: your designs don't really seem like something out of an Andersen fairytale. But they're very interesting and distinctive. good job.

honorable mentions:
D'aray: I really like your final colours. It's hard to put a finger on it, but perhaps it's a bit too much of an illustration - I don't learn much about the character from it.
Havoc DM: I like your mermaid. The human figure seems to have some anatomical problems and doesn't seem quite finished.
Kleewyck: your original sketch for this was great. I think you should work on your lighting - especially the light on the human figure lost a lot from your original drawing in my opinion - it looks like a completely different face.
Skorpi: I really like the emotions in yours. Maybe get some reference for the anatomy next time?
Xaya: I like yours, rendering and colours are nice, but i can't really get a feel for her character from them.
Carnifex: Nice character - maybe work a bit on the rendering for next time to really make it pop?
Scraw: nice design on the mermaid
Matjosh: nice rendering and designs - She feels more like an elf or fairy to me than a mermaid
Clochette: loving the colours and stylization - the anatomy of the human figure doesn't work for me - especially the legs
Supervlieg: probably my favorite. Would have voted for you obviously.

[DecayingLolita]

Mine didn't get finished because of a fwe days spent too sick to turn on my pc let alone try drawing. This happens a lot in these timed things unfortunately. Also I think i drew too large cause most of the deatails have disappeared with how tiny they were shrunk.

Voted for Laterdays and vorace cause those are awesome designs.

[AlotAbitAlittle]

n1 va - I agree. They don't flow together as well as I had hoped. Probably should have waited for a chow event that focused on one character first (since I am new to this). Hopefully this next round I can improve. I checked out your mermaid - she has some potential...parts are rendered quite nicely (chain breast piece and some of the hues in her skin are fab. I also like the twist in her tail.

[Teigrob]

I voted for the following...

Daray: Very whimsical and lovely. I'm a big fan of Mucha, and this reminds me of his style.
LaterDays: Simply amazing designs for the mermaid AND maiden.
Ramariel: Beautifully done. Very meloncholy, I love it.
LaLiLuLeLo: Fantastic color choice and beautiful rendering.
Alotabitalittle: I love the poses, especially of the maiden.
MMHoward: I love the mermaid design, she looks like a goldfish!
Slash: Very nicely done. I like how you tied the two together design-wise, and the mermaid is quite the contrast to the maiden emotionally.
VampireHungerStrike: I just love the classical style, beautiful.``

[S.C. Watson]

Oregano... sorry, I don't understand why I'm not in the poll for naming conventions... I thought I had done it correctly-- and Scraw has exactly the same as mine and he's in!

Fractalbot, I'm at work right now, so I'll have to check into this when I get home.

If your file name was correct and I held it, then it was a mistake on my part and I apologize. I'll get back to you later today.

All the best,
~Oreg.

[Larriva Art]

Wow, I don't think I've ever had this many votes before. Thanks for the votes and comments!

AlotAbitAlittle: Thank you. The pose may look familiar because I referenced and modified a pose from Herbert Draper's 'Sea Maiden' (http://www.wfu.edu/~woodaljn/ant260/seamaiden.jpg) early on in the sketch phase.

n1va: Thanks! It feels like a painting because it is a painting.:)
Oil on panel, 16" x 20," in case anyone was curios about the medium.

[Niva.]

n1va: Thanks! It feels like a painting because it is a painting.:)
Oil on panel, 16" x 20," in case anyone was curios about the medium.

Well that explains it, really awesome job! Congrats on all the votes :)

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Wow, I don't think I've ever had this many votes before. Thanks for the votes and comments!

AlotAbitAlittle: Thank you. The pose may look familiar because I referenced and modified a pose from Herbert Draper's 'Sea Maiden' (http://www.wfu.edu/~woodaljn/ant260/seamaiden.jpg) early on in the sketch phase.

n1va: Thanks! It feels like a painting because it is a painting.:)
Oil on panel, 16" x 20," in case anyone was curios about the medium.

AaaahhhHA! Thats the one. It was right in front of my face and I didn't put them together. Thank you - I couldn't remember where I had seen it. Love that you did it traditionally too!

[RyerOrdStar]

I agree with the post above, it's so awesome to see that traditional look.
You just don't get that shiny slippery look quite as good as with oils.
Love it!

Did you dry it and scan it or take a picture?

[TheJester]

This round it's Indus and Vorace for me

Vorace : Very rock 'n' Roll rendition of the theme, it's the most original piece in the poll no doubt, and you nail it all the way! Plus, the faces hint a bit of manga - based features, which makes it about 34% cooler than usual! :D

Indus :well, all I can say is holy crap. It's a beautifull piece, and I think half of the people that read the briefing, thought about capturing the moment of transformation, as did I. Well, as usual, my pile of sketches and poses are horribly ugly,. But you're not only spot on on anatomy and posture, you definately communicate a feeling through this. As for the rendering, I can only reffer you to my first statement. :)

some other pieces that really caught my attention were

laterDays : Stunning work, the only thing that spoils it for me is that the mermaid "costume", looks more like a vessel, something like an exosceleton... I think that if the angle between the torso and the hips was the opposite, it would make a lot of difference, as now, she actually looks seated.

Slash : well, titties!!! And i thank you for that! I'd say that since you went for "hotness" on this, you should go full on pinup babe or softporn queen, well, maybe without all the fake sex and whatnot...!

VampireHungerStrike : Beautifull illustration!!!! It's a very rare thing to see a well prsented, top quality traditional piece in CHOW!!! I was only a bit confused about the mermaid's tail... I had to look closely to really understand what's going on...