C.O.W. #134 Colossus from Hell! - VOTING!!!

[Michael Jaecks]

ROUND #134 VOTING

Topic: Colossus from Hell!!


Deadline for the voting: Sunday, 8 March 2009

Posting thread (closed): C.O.W. - #134: Colossus from Hell! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151006)


------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK - before voting/posting read this!!!

1. Please give c&c or a reason why you voted for the image!

2. Feel free to comment on any or all entries, the artists will appreciate it!

3. No voting for your own entry!!! If a participants votes for his own entry, every member has the right to call him a stupid lame moron in this thread! And i will delete his/her vote anyway...
4. The poll is private. Your vote is confidential this time, but can be seen and changed by the mod. No self-votes.
(its a little experiment)

599497

[Bralt Hannicart]

Artist: Bralt Hannicart

Concept: Throne Colossus

A Throne Colossus rides his master through the Black Fog Planes.

[Pierropod]

Artist: Pierropod

Concept: Hell-ephant

It comes when hell's master doesn't have another choice to fight against the good side. With each step the Hell-ephant kills all life within 0,5 miles around it. It eats bones and calcined flesh. It uses his tusks to kill angels and other flying good warriors.


604254

[Cloister]

Artist: CLOISTER

Concept: Ghartharian Rox

No one could say there hadn’t been signs of warning.
Ever since the new skyscraper was raised the city had changed.
The vast increase in reports of missing persons should by itself have been
enough for the authorities to take action.
The Dagherion Tower – instantly nicknamed the Devil’s Building,
and later The Dark Cloister - had not only been the centre of many weird
events and extraordinary sounds, but had also literally emptied every block
surrounding it, causing shops to close and firms to look for office space
elsewhere.

As usual though, the cases were sloppily investigated, and the forces put in
place to uphold order were too busy elsewhere. But then again, what could
they have done? After all, the last department with knowledge enough to
deal with the matter closed down in 1890. Necromancy and Demonology
simply did not exist in contemporary consciousness.
Not until right now.

They had managed to summon an Ancient One. A Ghartharian Rox, the most
massive of furies in the nine levels of Hell had arrived. Everyone beheld it
with utter presence. Fear was the name of the day. We all stood still and
stared at what was left of reality, and we all knew; there would be no
memories of this day.

[Mr.Wittmann]

Rejected from poll for reasons discussed in the WIP thread. Please flesh out your designs for COW.

Artist: Mr.Wittmann

Concept: Demon of O'frin

The Demon of O'frin,
protecting the gate to hell itself,
guarding its eggs of evil and destruction,
living in the lands of the underworld,
searching for the life of immortality.

this cold blodded beast is living on flying demons (gargoyles) and heat
from the mighty volcano O'frin, in the darkest parts of the underworld.
the eggs from the demon need the heat from lava to grow and live and is protected by the male demon of the volcano.

[blobs]

Blobs

Colossus From Hell!


An engine burning with the power of hell, the Colossus crushes AAALLLLLLL in it's path!!! RAAAAWR!!!!!

[TMG]

Rejected from poll for reasons discussed in the WIP thread. Please spend more time on your entries for COW.

^_^

Artist: Enrique Antonio Esperanza

Concept: Nelson the Monster
Just a big dude from hell.

http://www.tgarbarini.com/dump/cow-hellbeast-small.jpg

[Irish_Jim]

Artist: Irish_Jim

Concept: Goyer's Giant

"When finally the source of the cacophony was located, our plight turned from miserable to catastrophic. We had located one of the 'colossi' the guides had been so anxious to avoid.

It stood on six muscular legs, easily 15 meters tall and nearly as wide. It was situated in one of the main caverns where the heat was not so suffocating. Four enormous, eyeless heads writhed purposefully at the end of tortured, misshapen necks, and blisters filled with some sort of greenish phosphor bulged sickly from most of its thin, vein-riddled flesh, with the odd one burst and dripping the viscous fluid onto the rocks, where it hissed and evaporated. Wriggling cilia coated the beast's undercarriage, radiating massive heat that we could feel even at the other side of the cave. Lithe, bony, rib-like protrusions on its sides appeared at first to be static, but as we watched one of its heads homed in on a small flock of the large bats we had encountered in the cave mouth (see pg. 57); to our amazement the concealed lower end of this 'rib' wrenched free and its barbed tip flashed outward with a speed we hadn't expected. A bat was speared and, shrieking horribly, stuffed into the multi-hinged jaw of the attendant head.

From a scientific standpoint I wanted to further observe the creature, but [our sole remaining guide] Orthos insisted we move on before the giant caught our scent. Remembering the uncanny speed of the bat's demise, I didn't argue."

-excerpted from page 127 of the expedition journal of naturalist Stanislaus Goyer; charred partial pages recovered in the Cueva del Milodón cave system in Chile after his exploration party disappeared, August 1906.

[grey]

Artist: Grey

Concept: Whiplash
known by the lesser fiends of hell as Satan's pitbulls, these infernal colossi romp about the planes in a perpetual state of frenzy, much like hyperactive murderous puppies. The sonic crack of their whiplike tentacles as they rip through hapless groups of the damned can be heard for hellmiles, and never fail to bring a smile to the crooked lips of their master

[Wixxi]

Close to rejection. Perspective issues on the building and anatomy issues on the creature (beyond skirting the humanoid rule) . The overall composition is nice, but it needs more work.

Artist: Wixxi

Concept: Fire demon
One of the few survants of the mighty ruler of Hell has come to destroy the one weak leagacy of them who stand upon the dark ruler. Hes mission is simple. Search and destroy them who prey and preach for the weaker God. Everything that opposes to it or even dears to stand in its way shall face that same destiny.

[David79]

Artist: David79

Concept: Colosslime!!

Mad from lava and rock is come from hell slowly emerge to the surface greating the volcanos and a path of destruction!! Some ppl say is cute some ppl dies trying to hug him...

[John Bridges]

Artist: John Bridges

Concept: Wyrmcrow


The Wyrmcrow, last of it's murder, is roused from its infernal slumber. Hell minions prepare to release it's Tartaran iron-forged chains, loosing the colossal beast to flap and slither from the blackend landscapes of the Pit to the Realm Above.

[TRog]

Artist: TRog

Concept: The Colossal Strider

Feeding on the Essence of the Void, the Colossal Strider roams the eternal plains of Hell.

[dwinbotp]

Artist: dwinbotp
Concept: The Sin Eater
"They came just before the Apocalypse, these creatures first appeared in droves of a dozen or so, most of them no larger than a man. But after gorging upon their victims, these monsters grew in size and their shapes changed. Each more grotesque than the other. The survivors have called it the Sin-Eaters. It is not known for whatever purpose they have been sent from our Gods here on our world but they have been efficiently killing every man, woman and child that it deems not worthy of saving. Now they have dominated civilization as it is, only picking up what's left of their wake...I'm afraid I shall write no more and it's far too late to repent..."

[Joey-b]

Artist: Joey-B

Concept: Madhorn
This creature helps the big dudes in Hell move around, kinda like Hells horse. Most of them carry small houses on their backs to carry their masters around

[Kin]

Artist: Kin

Concept: Chellken
A Chellken is a giant hellbent chicken that roams around looking for stuff to do. Even though they're gigantic, they are very agile and can outrun almost every creature in hell. It's prey is mainly small creatures and little devils. Even when it's not particularly hungry, the Chellkens will find some prey and just peck around at it just for fun. They're known for being mischevious and crafty.

[Penumbra]

Artist:Penumbra
Concept:The Maul...a beast bred for the purposes of leveling cities.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s136/penumbra_photo/Penumbra_cow_134.jpg

Thanks for the encouragement.

[Michael Morisse]

Artist: Michael Morisse
Concept: The Greater Striped Hell Grazer
These Gentile lumbering eyeless, and brainless (literally) creatures, traverse the plains of hell using their fringed tongues to lap up human souls like so many leaves of grass.
The souls are then passed through a hundred miles of tight winding intestines.
This generates a lot of white-hot panic and fear energy from the souls that the Hell Grazer lives on.
The souls are not destroyed but unceremoniously ejected at the other end, to be consumed again in the future.
Rumor has it that Satan created them from a box of Laughing Cow Cheese.
Mr. Charles Darwin serving time here for his blasphemous theory of evolution, keeps telling everyone that they “evolved” from a heard of Swiss heifers, that fell through a crack in the Alps ( that guy is so never getting out of here ).
605972

[Hexism]

Artist:Hexism

Concept : Portal roamers


Guardians of the portals to hell created by ancients magis

[MoHog]

Close to rejection. Please spend more time on rendering, detail and finish for your COW entries.

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q429/LouAy/tyranta.jpg

Artist: MoHog

Concept: Tyranta Shrike
The Tyranta Shrike is a greater tormenter of the seventh ring of hell. This gargantuan beast produces a fog that brings despair to all souls in this region, on its back are spines that carry impaled souls; doomed to suffer an eternity of unbearable pain driving them insane, only to deepen the suffering by writhing on the barbs.

[xgabo]

Artist: XGABO

Concept: HELL

No, you're not going to Hell. Hell is not somewhere you can travel to. When you die, you are not plucked from the cozy darkness of your grave and thrown into a fiery pit to suffer your well-deserved eternal punishment. Hell is right here, right now. Haven't you noticed?

All right, I forgive you. You have been busy following the road along with the rest of the cattle, looking forward to that deserved vacation, that promotion, that new whatever you cattle aspire to have or to be. Look up, then. open those thin meat curtains covering your blood-shot eyes. See the Leviathan. Are you going to say you have never noticed him before? he has been there all along, grazing over your head, feeding off your drone soul, digesting your misery, excreting the foul mass which will consolidate our dominion over this Earth. What's that? your neck hurts? you have never looked up all your life, that is why.

What? you are scared? You can go now. I know you have deadlines. Look ahead, and don't worry about things that don't concern you. We'll take care of everything. Just make sure you do your part. Keep the Colossus well-fed and happy and he won't bother you. The wheels are spinning at full speed. Everything will be all right, right here and now. In Paradise.

[Wacky Wackowski]

Artist: Wacky Wackowski

Concept: False Idols

The False Idols roam in the empty dreamscapes between Heaven and Hell where the souls of the dead start their journey. These gigantic beasts are covered with mouths. Coming forth deep from within these mouths are a cacophony of voices, from the slightest of whispers to the most deafening of screams, all preaching the sermons of Satan. The sermons are a subtle weaving of lies that appeal to our greatest conceits, manifest our darkest fears, and confirm our deepest despairs. The force of the voices shatters the shields of faith of all but the most devout. Once the spiritual defenses are stripped away, the souls follow the beasts willingly on the path of Damnation. Above, the Eyes of God watch closely, making note of the results of His experiments in free will.

[matthewAllen]

Artist: Matthew Allen

Concept: Hell Maggot - Queen

500 tons of decaying flesh shivering across the landscape. Its stench nauseating any who come within miles of it. Leaving a trench of puss and despair behind it.


Plus its gots a bunch of eyes and a gross tongue!!!!

606074

[Peanut Brittle]

Artist: Peanut Brittle

Concept: Gehennoth
Myself and the other acolytes waited at what he had deemed a safe distance. As we watched him stride towards it we couldn't help but think that the old man was an ill matched opponent for this....Gehennoth as he had called it. The beast sat, its arms resting on two great obsidian pillars, he assured us that for the moment it was dormant even though the simulacrum embedded in its chest continue to jerk and twist. "Merely a trick to ward off attacks while it sleeps". He claimed it was a scavenger, that it fed on refuse and the leavings of its greater kin, by the gods may I never face one of them. He now seemed less than twenty paces from it and still there was no reaction. The beast aside from the wretched thing on its chest seemed so docile now we half expected him to dismiss it with a wave of his hand. He raised his staff, the simulacrum jerked back as if in surprise. The motion was almost comical for something so large......and then the world as we could see it was lit ablaze.

[Mydrim]

Close to rejection. I'm not sure how well it fits the topic. After reading your description I understand why you picked white. I like quirky entries as much as the next guy, but this one is missing a bit. Please focus more on design, anatomy and working from reference.

Artist: Mydrim

Concept: colossus from hell
Hi, it's a colossus from hell. Eats souls and angels and stuff and fears none but the colossus from heaven.

[kosmo975]

Artist: kosmo975
Concept: Felbull Colossus

Felbull colossus enraging on the land of the living, its apocaliptic path will burn to ashes everything...until he goes back to the hell where it comes from

[benu]

606200


Artist: benu

Concept: Leviathan

The Leviathan, a creature from the acherusian sea, rises from the deepest abyss to feed on the souls of the damned, who where tossed into the boiling waves. It grabs them with it's tentacles to pull them down into the darkness below to drown them. It plays with them for a while and let them swim back to the surface in the false hope of rescue, only to drag them down again. When it gets bored with them, it mauls them with it's teeth and eats them.

[Homeless Horde]

Rejected from poll for reasons discussed in the WIP thread. Keep working hard in your sketchbook and improve your skills.

Artist: Homeless Horde

Concept: Soul Hoarder

This behemoth of a hell spawn roams the land in search of humans to feed on their souls. Using its tentacles, the Soul Hoarder is able to grab its victims and proceed to eat them. Once inside its body, the helpless person travels to creatures sac, where the soul is extracted from the body.

[darkly]

606334

Artist: darkly

Concept: Gall ra'mon (Translated: The virgins' Wrath Demon, or The bane of Men)

The oldest manuscripts state that only the most powerful of warlocks, Wizard Damon Lessuikt Kolltruegk has ever been able to summon the Gall ra'mon. It is said that it took Kolltruegk 18 days of reciting incantations, mantras and fasting before the beast could even begin to shrug off the fetishes and blessed instruments of bondage that held it under the sacred ground of Bayloron. Powered by a demon possessed virgin female who's soul has been dammed for eternity, the Gall ra'mon is a Colossus juggernaut from hell, releasing fury on all in its' path. Making both earth and sky open in flames with its' very footsteps it again stride amongst our lands after all these thousands of years. Who will stop it?

[Tydar]

Rejected from Poll. Anatomy and design issues. Both 'hands' off the page. You should try to draw them. Look at reference, draw from life, and come back to COW to show us your progress...

Artist: Tydar

Concept: Bowels of Hell
Since Hell was formed and the sinners of the world have been sent there, many titans have been growing. Over time, through feeding on evil souls, these creatures have gained an immense size. With a crown of teeth and the seven faces of sin, they shall roam the Earth in its final hours of apocalypse, again devouring the souls of the sinful.

[Kasteyrn]

Rejected from poll. Please focus on working from anatomical reference, etc.

Artist: Kasteyrn

Concept: Colossal Furnace

The Colossal Furnaces or Furni have spent so much time underground that they have adapted a 'molten core' to help them survive in the extreme heat and pressure. It pretty much works in the same way as osmosis. The 'furnace' on their back will absorb lava and spread it throughout it's body to relieve the pressure.

[Marco Mazzoni]

Artist: Marco Mazzoni

Concept: Obliterax
As our star fades from the sky and humanity is but a distant memory, the Obliterax will rise from the depths of the earth to consume all remaining traces of our existence.

[Michael Jaecks]

All righty. Here we are. I was kinder perhaps with rejections than I should have been, but the poll will cut what I did not, I suspect. Now that I am a fully deflowered poll-making COW-mod, I will be a lot more strict in the future.

Vote!

Also: the new round is on!:http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151728

[Wixxi]

Ok before i start with felicitating my favorite, i want to say the following. This is the first time i joined in on this and it's most likely been the most fun art thing i've ever been part of. I'm already looking forward to the next one.
Now, for all the others wich i couldn't vote on, sadly enough this is. But, we can only have one favorite. There are SOOOO MANY nice entries made, that it was VERY difficult for me to pick my favorite from. But i managed to do it. After some thinking i decided to place my vote not on the nicest painting, but on the most original concept.

And so i voted for Wacky Wackowski. Congratz son. That is one original idea!

I really love the mood in the whole thing, it is the exact representation of the world between heaven and hell as i can bring it in front of my eyes. And the big coloussuses walking the land is just a very COOL sight! the souls that are wandering around the giant creatures gives the whole scene a nice touch. I know some little stuff could have been better, like the eyes in the clouds for example. But i don't see any reason why i shouldn't vote fur sucha nice painting only because of these minor points.
Personally i think you nailed the subject extremly well, the colossus is well designed, but most of all i love the whole scene itself (colossus,landscape and lost souls)

[Mr.Wittmann]

Mydrim got my vote,
because the style is so different in a good way and the creature design is unik, but maybe more cute then evil XD

Michael Jaecks - a little to hard on the judging (compared to fozzybar), but i try to increase my skills :)

[Bralt Hannicart]

John Bridges got my vote. Birds are evil creatures. Death himself is often depicted as a bird if I remember correctly. Plus I like the painteresque strokes, the colors and the whole atmosphere. Close calls were Marco, Penumbra, Blobs and Cloister. I like the great range of creatures this COW has birthed so good job to everyone and to those who didn't make the poll: never give up, you can only get better if you keep drawing!

[waranghira]

woohoo! looks like im not the only one who voted Mydrim.
Its suitable for a mythological or fantasy novel illustration which wants a little twist of classic taste.
Mazzoni's rendering is epic but its just another monster on the thread hence my choice.

[Michael Jaecks]

Mr Whittman: Yes, I am. I looked back at COW 126 and saw the previous warning, which factored into my decision. Sometimes things make it to the poll when a mod doesn't have the time to research the decision making process. But I have all the time in the world.

I'm not trying to single any one person out with any cut I make now or in the future. There's nothing personal to the decision. I have personal friends on here, and I can assure you, if I thought any one of them were phoning in an entry below their abilities, they could get cut as well. I'm trying to raise the bar and elevate the entire thread.

That said, I also took a look at your deviantArt folio and think there's a lot to like about your work in general. You have an interesting style and design sense. I'd just like to see entries that are more fleshed out, rendered and detailed in COW. Personally, I think you're completely capable of bringing it to COW in the future.

[Peanut Brittle]

Voted for Wacky Wackowski, I think XBago had the strongest composition, and Penumbra rendered his amazingly well, but Wacky really nailed the concept. Looking at his entry there is no mistaking its origins, while a lot of the submission (my own included) could probably be taken as something more generally monstrous than hellish.

[Penumbra]

I went with Marco Mazzoni, for his excellent lighting and atmospheric mood. The creature was cool and well rendered.

[grey]

my vote was totally split between xgabo and michael morisse -- I went with xgabo because that image just knocks my hat off, but I think mm deserves a nod for all the work he put into making that a solid piece

[matthewAllen]

I went with dwinbotp, a really great render, design is fun, and the colors just worked for me. Great job everyone! I would have voted for Marco, but he is going to own this COW, so I went with an underdog! They were both strong pieces, dwinbotp just spoke to me more.

[SirJohanna]

Penumbra got my vote, it's one of my favourite cow entries ever made. :)

[Joey-b]

Voted Cloister - With runnerup MatthewAllen, Love that one, but the story on Cloister's won the vote

Ow and MJ.. This poll aint an open one? i cant tell who voted who

[zimfin]

dwinbotp got my vote. Nice work. Marco Mazzoni might have got it, (loved the style) but there was no evidence of the creature being from a species.

[SOUTHERN]

Went for Bralts beast as it gave me the other worldly feel. It reminds me of pans Labyrinth for some reaosn and that gives it my vote.

Penumbra second as I love your work man. So different. Great shapes in a form.

Also likes Blob, Trog and Dwinbotp

[Kasteyrn]

Haha, oh no.
I got rejected.
Eh, I'm not surprised.

blobs, nice one, you got my vote! I love the way you have it coming out of the ground with the little house right there. I wonder what it would have looked like if you kept fiddling with it. My second favorite would have to be xgabo's. That thing is frickin' epic. I wish I were that talented.

[Michael Jaecks]

Joey-B: We're doing a little experiment with a private poll this time. However, I can still see the votes so

Do NOT try voting for yourselves!

[Wacky Wackowski]

Bralt Hannicart- I think you had a really cool design and combined the body parts well. The hanged figures in the front were a really nice touch. However, the legs in the back almost seem a bit cartoony or comical.

Pierropod- Nice work. I really like the tusk and trunk designs as well as the pose that you chose. It works well with your description. I think you're just a bit short of a finished work. I would like to see a bit more clarity in the cracks where it is stomping the ground. If that is lava or fire coming up from the ground, the light from that should be illuminating some of the creature. Also, the creature itself seems a bit sketchy.

Cloister- This is a fantastic picture. I think you really captured the sense of scale as well as handled lighting/atmospheric perspective well. The Dark Cloister (nice job working your nickname in there :D) seems a bit unfinished though. Since it is that close I would think it should be a bit more clear especially at the top portion.

Blobs- This is a really good image. The creature is rendered well, and I really like the way the light is coming out from inside it. The upper arm region is especially interesting to me in how it is reminiscent of the way lava looks when it starts hardening. For a creature from hell it seems a bit cute... and I'm not sure if it was purposeful or not (but there's no rule saying that creatures from hell can't be cute). The house is a little weird... bad piece o real estate. Funny description :D

Irish Jim- Nice work on the details (pus, flagella, etc). The human figure is a bit of a visual dilemma for me. It's a nondescript figure meant to show scale, but at the same time it seems to be looking up at the creature which suggests a form of engagement. At that point, I would want the figure and the creature to be a part of a scene. Does this make sense? Cool design, but the way the spine is kinda reminds me of a picket fence.

grey- Great job. I really like the way you handle your rendering... very illustrative. Fun description. (how long is a hellmile in miles/km!?!?!) Background sky seems less hellish than I would imagine, though the color palette is nice.

Wixxi- Like MJ said. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing you push away from that iconic demon look (batwings, horns, etc)

David79- This is a fun image. Good job with the lighting. The cuteness is definitely purposeful here and adds to the quirkiness given by your description.

John Bridges- Great image. I like your treatment of the wings - feathered but alse kinda membrane-ish. Also, the composition works well. The wyrmcrow seems both terrifying as well as awe-inspiring.

TRog- Very original take on the hell-theme. You are really approaching that 'otherness' that is terrifying. I really like that cobwebby kinda dealy along its spine as well as the lighting. The main issue I see with this one is that it is hard to tell the scale of it. It does not feel colossal. I would have actually guessed that it was a bit bigger than a human.

dwinbotp- Another really good image. I like the multitude of appendages and the expression on the creature's face. It's that kind of scariness I associate with clowns...

Joey-b Cool pic. I like the illustrative quality of it and especially the look of the face. I would have liked to have seen a bit more refinement on the devil passenger- the arm looks weird on him. I also think the lighting from below could be refined a bit.

Kin- Fun creature. I think you did a pretty good job capturing its nature in the image. I would, however, like to see a bit more refinement in the shadow as well as background details. The third foot in the back seems off too... too small i think as well as awkwardly angled. Also, not really getting the impression that this is hell.

Penumbra- Fantastic image. I love the design- the inclusion of the geometric parts plays well into it. Very good rendering of textures! However, even with the inclusion of the details in the bottom corners, it still doesn't read 'colossus' with me.

Michael Morisse- Very neat design. I really like the way you rendered the body of the creature. You can really see the light coming from inside. Cool texture for the tongue as well. I would like to see a bit more refinement on some of the details- the veins in the arm, the souls, and the ground.

Hexism- Cool design. I like the choice of using kinda antler-y horns as well as the light fissure/tattoo thingies on the shoulder and neck. I think you should keep working on this one and really refine some of the details such as the creature's anatomy, the portals, and the figure coming out of one of the portals.

MoHog- Like MJ said. A bit more specifically- work on getting that fog to read as fog and throw out more shading. I'm a bit of a wuss about that at times and have had to really work on paying attention to where light and shadow actually fall instead of relying on my assumptions.

xgabo- Nice image. Great use of atmospheric perspective and viewpoint to show size. I like mouth... kinda drooly. The back leg looks like it might be at a funny angle.

Wacky Wackowski- do more and work faster!

matthewAllen- Awesome job with the lighting. I really like the creature and the way you rendered it. I also like the setting you chose, but in some ways it makes it so you have to work harder to give the right impression. I dunno if this feels more hellish or more alien/extraterrestrial-ish. Love the bunch of eyes and gross tongue!

Peanut Brittle- Cool creature design. I would like to see more clarity in this image- really show off those details in its form. Also, this kinda feels more like an individual thing instead of an example of a species.

Mydrim- Like MJ said. Also, fun image... kinda folky. Be careful about anatomy. The back arm is longer than the one in front. Also, the tail... is it a nubbin or does it extend below the clouds(?) and end up being that snakey thing. If it's the nubbin, notice how it extends out beyond the feet that are hidden in the clouds. That would mean its turned to the side but it doesn't feel entirely purposeful.

kosmo975- Cool design. Another one that has a neat illustrative quality. Perhaps go back and add a bit more detail to it- like where its blowing fire out downward and the buildings.

benu- Nice take on the theme. I like the design of the creature with the tentacles by the face. Think about playing up some of the atmospheric perspective with the tail. It's in 'water' so I would think the tail would lose clarity a lot faster than if in air. Also, you can probably tweak the humans' anatomy a bit.

darkly- Cool design. Glad the vagina mouth still made the cut :D This reads more as a character than a creature to me. The description as well as the loincloth thingie kinda lean it that way. As far as who will stop it?!?!?!... It's up to the voters to decide!

Marco Mazzoni- Great image. The scale really works and I love the textures- it looks like it would feel so... cockroachy?

All this being said, the person who gets my vote is... John Bridges. I think you captured a sense of power for the creature which really shows the feel/behavior of the creature and not just its anatomy.

[Joey-b]

Ahh okey, well that what worried me :) not that i mind it a lot.. its just not a nice thing to do hehe.. although i do like to see IF i get a vote.. who voted for me (not that ill get any with all these aweseom entries) ow and btw.. will we ever get multi vote here or maybe a set number of votes?? its so hard

[Mydrim]

Thanks for votes! Me votes for Cloister although we cannot see the creature properly except the head and legs. Marco Mazzoni and John Bridges ftw too

As for the crits and "close to rejection". Well, I can see that it's left arm is logically longer, etc, though, sigh, it is the stylization, it was intentional. You know, thought it haven't all to looks the same style and we got enough of freedom if not said otherwise, as there are particpating guys like Bluefooted and so, or like in the Cephalopod round GAX (that i like very much) wasn't disqualified (although the creature pretty much was not visible enough.
Anyway, if it is not readable it was intentional, it sure can be my error and well, just can say I will try better next time

[Ryan DeMita]

Cloister Very cool piece. You got my vote because it really felt "colossal" in scale. Nice job with the atmosphere and repetition of shapes going back in space which I think helps sell the concept. One small suggestion. If the building is what is summoning this demon, it might work a little better if you placed it somewhere towards the center to make it more of a focal point:) Awesome work!

-Ryan

[Kin]

Voted for Wacky Wackowski's entry. This was a really hard decision with so many great entries, but I thought Wacky Wackowski's design was the most unique and it's something that creeps me out. John Bridges' entry came in a close second.

[Michael Jaecks]

Joey-b: it's probably temporary. We thought we'd give people more of a choice in revealing who they voted for. Most of the time they want to anyway.

Mydrim: I am extremely familliar with Bluefooted's stylization. Her work also reveals a deep understanding of human and animal anatomy as well as how to graphically design the page. There is I think a big difference between stylization used to highten or augment that kind of understanding and stylization used to conceal a lack of understanding. If you have to tell us that the stylization was intentional, then I don't think it's working. I'm sorry, but that's the call I made.

I've taken a look at your sketchbook and it's pretty clear to me you have some drawing skill as well as a love for stylization. The trick is to put them together so they work to your advantage. I have no doubt in the future you can make it work in another round of COW.

[darkly]

Bralt: Nice concept! I don't know why, but I really like those little noose men. It doesn't seem like it's as polished as your other pieces.

Cloister: Very rad! Almost had to vote for yours. Overall, a great piece.

blobs: Good work! I kind of second the whole "goggle eye" thing, but your painting skills are very nice.

grey: Not bad! I like its' rock-like legs. I think it's a bit flat, but a decent paint job.

John Bridges: Wow, man! Very cool! I love that painterly look.

dwinbotp: Really cool! I love the eyes and that tongue pickin' up that guy. I always see your work either here on COW, or in CHOW and it's always good. Damn your consistency :P . It seems to me that you're improving with each one and that's what we should all be doing, so you got my vote. BTW good job on your CHOW this week too. It turned out real nice!

Joey-b: Nice, man! Hey congrats on that new tablet! It seems to have helped. I think this was one of your better pieces.

Penumbra: What can I say?! It's gorgeous! I really love the construction of that front leg. Definitely one of my faves.

Michael Morisse: Nice! I really like the veins in the neck. I think it lost something in the color version though.

xgabo: Very cool! definitely one of the better ones this round.

Wacky Wackowski. Very good! I can tell that you're improving. Keep it up.

benu: Wow! Really good job! I can definitely tell you're getting better. I really like the fins.

Marco Mazzoni: Awesome! If i would have voted on pure skill alone, I think I would have voted on yours. You've got that whole painterly thing just dialed in. How do you guys do that?

Cheers to the rest of you! Keep up the good work!

[fughi from yuggoth]

voted for john bridges!

if i get crits to my unfinished entry, which is of course not in the poll,
i will write crits to every entry. if not, than not :)

[Pierropod]

Blobs got my vote. I like the details and the light

[OTTA]

I Vote for Xgabo, Your HELL is exactly what I already have in my mind :)

Bratt - Your design is very awesome, I love your design most but for overall Xgabo is more smooth than you.

dwinmotp - Your work is always very cool. I'm looking forward to see your work next time.

Marco - Your work is pretty cool, but overall seems to be dull. It hard to read overall for me :)

[TomCardin]

Grats to Michael Jaecks for doing such a bang-up job already as cow ringleader! Great cow topic to bring all the kids to the yard! Its nice to see the turnout increase.

I really like a lot of what everyone has done. Many entries don't feel collossal. Sure they are big, we can tell from the human references, but they don't feel big due to straight on perspectives, lack of atmosphere, no depth of field, etc. These are all very important tools to keep at an artists disposal and to USE for these types of illustrations.

My favorites - pardon my harsh critique but I still love you all!

John Bridges - great creature and rendering, suffers mostfrom just a one point perspective midway up the creatures skyscraper sized body. Oh that chain is so sweet but would be even sweeter in perspective making that wyrmcrow freaking HUGE.

Michael Morisse - great wormseye view, great depth of field. Creature is haunting yet humorous to me. Could use better, more finished rendering. To me it suffers most from just not feeling that scary - I mean people getting lapped up into a flaming inferno of hellish digestion and spurting out the end as flaming remains - sounds scary, but I think with just a large bovine creature I feel like just standing around and watching, not running.

xgabo - great use of perspective to show the monstrous hugeness, great rendering of detail and use of atmosphere. Lacking in the use of color and lacking in creature design except of the gaping maw of a head which I really like. Something about it doesn't feel heavy enough, but its damn sweet.

Wacky Wackowski - Lacking in finsihed rendering, also just using a one point perspective midway up the creatures height. Atmosphere and depth of frield are good. What really really wins me over though is the creature design. It feels very familiar, like a horrifying image from the dredges of the collective conciousness. Though the creature doesn't look too dangerous there is something about the scene that makes me afraid, it feels very hellish to me. You get my vote.

Marco Mazzoni - very nice rendering, lighting and surface texure superb. Your choice of perspective is hurting this the most for me. Even with all the scale details in the image, being at creature shoulder height just doesn't make the creature feel collossal. Creature also feels a bit too alien rather than hellish and a lot of its gory details are lost in blackness or hidden.

[kosmo975]

It had been a very interesting week, you are all so good. so i'm going write comments to the one whose entrigued me the most.

My vote goes to Wacky Wackowski Your concept is very strong, and so your image, it makes me have sort of flashing memories of bad dreams that you forget as soon as awake. for some reason also reminds me of Hieronymus Bosch paintings. it ia very original and also your choise of perspective it works very well.

Bralt Hannicart Very interesting and suggestive creature, i'd say bit too alienish then hellish, really liked how you used the throne to give the sense of scale, but it lacks of a drammatic point of view. Nice rendering.

Blobs Nice colors and light effects, love the rendering. Still not very hellish, need of perspective for scale rappresentation.

Grey love the colors: violent contrast and thick painting render. But i find really hard to understand the actual anatomy of the creature


John Bridges One of my favorite, (you know it looks good! :) )that illustrative style, I'm so much in to it, and the so nealrly monocromatis composition of color, so much evocative. one bad thing it doesnt feel that huge as it looks.

TRog cool original creature, very good composition and color, maybe a bit static

Penumbra I love it, it is a very fashinating painting, strong and heavy, very stilish brings up mithological memories. bit hard to get anatomical shape

Michael Morisse very nice composition, definetly good POV, nice light effects, love that spine. just need more rendering

XGABO it was hard to not vote for you. when i saw it i said: cool that is a colossus from hell! best POV, very extreme and drammatic perspective, feels massive and heavy, hellish burning fire color. and with that horns it could anly come from hell...maybe from that hot volcano. the rendering is"pro". maybe some little anatomy issue but everything flows fine.

Marco Mazzoni nice job, orrifing very scary, fantastic rendering and details. not very good POV, and looks more alien that demon from my point of view

[HareTrinity]

I'd still like to see more small critter competitions, but big is better hm?

Bralt Hannicart: This looks so cool! If it wasn't for the mixture of limbs (most of which are human, making the hooves look out of place) and the general feeling of "mutilated humanoids" rather than "creature" this might well have got my vote. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that it seems to be filling in for Death's horse.

Pierropod: Love the pun, but not sure about the way you implicated the demonic elephant concept. I also think the lack of detail on the lower torso and landscape takes away from the detail on the face, below the eye in particular.

Cloister: It's pretty difficult to make out that this is more than a demonic eel; the legs are quite well hidden. It's a great scene (though the red pentagram looks out of place), but not so much about the creature, which is a shame since, from what I can see, it's pretty cool.

Mr.Wittmann: I like the creature's structure, especially the head and expression. It's a nice style, but the eggs look very flat and some more texture would be good.

Blobs: Heehee, like the description. Demon dino! Not sure why this one hasn't got my vote, I think it's because your critter seems to be just standing there whilst the destruction happens of its own accord. I think calling it an "engine" took away from it for me too.

TMG/Enrique Antonio Esperanza: I like where you're going with the mask and confinement gloves/(deliberate) limb confusion, but it seems too humanoid. Your texture could do with more time spent on it too, but otherwise have you thought about entering the next macabre ChOW?

Irish_Jim: Very cool hydra doggy, but the heads look very much like Tremor worms to me. I like the style of the description, but maybe a darker background could have given this cool thing the more foreboding look I think it deserves? I also think this would work better as a smaller creature (I know that's not the subject, but maybe this design could have waited).

Grey: I like the description, but the beast itself looks rather humanoid. Generally the style in consistent but the face is a bit difficult to make out (which may be deliberate I suppose). The mouth in particular seems to be understated considering how cool demon mouths can be. Wider open, maybe with some drool and/or tongue, and with more detail on the teeth, could have made it a much hungrier looking hell puppy.

Wixxi: I don't think the perspective issues are really very major here (I assume the building on the left is being pushed over), and I rather expect unusual anatomy in demons, but it is very humanoid. The markings look very out of place, which is a shame since the face is so well done. Remember; dog and worm bodies are generally a big hit.

David79: FINNED WORM! HE LOOKS SO HAPPY!!! It's a shame his body lacks texture, but that's a great face. Happy hell-maggot.

John Bridges: The human chest is offputting to me (birds have such wacky chests under the feathers after all). I also can't help but think that the wings would be better off as different types of limb, since it's clearly not about to fly anywhere. This said, the face is gorgeous, the style works and I like the description. I guess the late bird is the wyrm.

TRog: Very cool, I like the webbing effect, but it looks unbalanced and I'm not sure where the face is. Is that it's brain around the neck? Does it move like it has a head that we just can't see? The texture/style of the hind parts in particular is great, but I have trouble visualising this creature in action.

Dwinbotp: Very interesting design and description, if it weren't for the somewhat humanoid face this would almost certainly be taking my vote... It's nice that someone went for a dark, grizzly, look instead of all fire and brimstone. I kinda want to caption it with "om nom nom" but that take away from its badass-ness.

Okay, taking a break. No vote yet.

[TRog]

Marco Mazzoni gets my vote because the painting conveys the apocalyptic nature of the beast very well. The colour palette also works a treat, since there is a strong feeling of unwholesomeness and decay present in the image.

[Ironhead]

I voted for xgabo because of the really colossus size. I like the choice of the perspective and the colour sheme.

[Michael Morisse]

I had a great time in my first COW, this forum is everything I had hoped it would be.
voting was hard because of all the great entries.
I was a deer in the headlights between:
john Bridges with great design color and painterly look.
Penumbra wonderful design, great color and texture.
Wacky Wackowski wonderful surreal feeling.
Marco Mazzoni great design, color and a beautiful painterly look.

In the end I voted for Marco Mazzoni because his beastie just scared me a little more than the others.

[David79]

great jobs guys :D alot of diferente styles ^^

[UCT]

I voted for John Bridges - Pure brutality and 'hellish'. The creature design is evil as foook, scares me, should call it the 'dream raper'.


Big admirer of both
Mydrim's - Very sensitive rendering and stylisation with a very dream like quality, I look forward to seeing more of your work,
&
Marco - Brilliant atmosphere and cityscape, ghoulish antenea (sp?) really impressed.

[Mr. P Show.]

All righty. Here we are. I was kinder perhaps with rejections than I should have been, but the poll will cut what I did not, I suspect. Now that I am a fully deflowered poll-making COW-mod, I will be a lot more strict in the future.

Vote!

Also: the new round is on!:http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151728

What I like is you gave specific reasons why an artist's work was rejected and gave balanced critiques. I respect that and I think that's cool compared to the folks at CHOW who seem to just generalize rejections (probably because the the large amounts of participants I guess). Anyways; great job:).

[Mr. P Show.]

I had a real hard time deciding this one because I had one choice. Especially between Bralt Hannicart, John Brigdes and Marco Mazzoni.

I voted for John Bridges.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bralt Hannicart - It's a subtle and nightmarish piece that totally immersed me.

John Bridges - Your design looks awesome as well as the dynamic theatre of your composition. Nicely done, John.

Penumbra - I don't know why; but it looks very "artsy". It's as if I can look at it for hours and find something else.

xgabo - If the end of the world was coming; this would be something I want.

Peanut Brittle - Your piece makes me wonder what you're colossus would smell like.

Marco Mazzoni - If the end of the world was coming; this wouldn't be something I want because it does feel like hell. Wow.

[Michael Jaecks]

Mr. P Show: Thanks. I will always try to communicate those sorts of things clearly. I think it's fair.

[HareTrinity]

Joey-B: Interesting choice of digit number, but the leech-mouth seems out of place on the otherwise snouty face (but maybe that's because the armour hides some of it). I like the general creature design, but that he carries around a dude in a hut takes away from his danger level for me; if he was swarming with hellish imps like some sort of parasites that'd be different, but that it takes 1 guy to control him makes his teeth/claws seem mostly for show. The simple use of textures works though, and it's nice to see some effort's been put into the tail!

Kin: Hee, awesome idea. Good use of colour and the foreground works, though the background's detail doesn't show unless you look at it specifically. My only real problem with the chellkin itself is that the mouth is quite unpronounced (maybe different coloured feathers around the facial features would have brought it out more). And the 3 leg and tail confuse me, but it is a hell beast, so what would a human like me be able to comprehend about it? Ambiguous limbs work fine on freaks and demons.

Penumbra: Gorgeous use of texture , though it's hard to work out where the smooth, almost slimy, head joins onto the metalic upper body. Also, the creature looks small; not sure why, might be the way the limbs are folded, or the lack of scale, but I have trouble imagining it's larger than a dog. The hole in its foreleg seems a bit large too, but it is a hell beast, and a very distinctive one at that.

Michael Morisse: Hee, hell beast udders! A very interesting creature, with a lot to look at, and mostly my problems come with the description. Literally brainless creatures wouldn't really be creatures, so unless they're possessed by some hellish force I don't know how they move. The legs look like they have muscles afterall. Also, the random shot at Darwin seems out of place; he's not the only one supporting the theory and I'm not sure, strictly speaking, it is blasphemous more than various other things (despite what some political groups suggest). Either way, I do like your giant hell bovines, they have a nice feel to the design and look like they could take part in some rather odd Harvest-Moon-meets-Dungeon-Keeper game.

Hexism: This picture looks rather unfinished, the blank ground in front of the critter in particular could do with something; a victim maybe, or more landscape detail? This is a shame since the creature looks pretty epic, I especially like the fantasy skull used as a fiery head. The background hind leg looks to be at a weird angle to me, but then I might be looking at it wrong. This is still one of those creatures from these competitions that I'll be sad not to see more of.

MoHog: I think mostly it's the fog from the base of the creature that really stands out as rushed. Also, some long limbs, even just one tentacle, would be nice with explaining how those victims get up there. Are the little legs stretchy? It's nice to see another giant slug in this competition, but I think the upright posture of its somewhat humanoid upper torso takes away from its impression of size. It's a generally nice concept, and I like the simplicity in the armour (I imagine it'd have been easy to go over the top and cover it, but that might have taken away from the "I'm slimy and huge and don't need it" feel). It's also interesting someone went with a cold theme! Very Viking-Hel, I like it.

XGABO: Lovely texture and striking colour, definitely feels big and fierce, nice description and the contrast of styles between the creature and foreground works. Looks too humanoid to get my vote, but it really is a great piece, and I love how you just skipped the face entirely. Philosophical interpretations (relating to the anonymous society of today and such) aside, it looks badass and other-worldly. One of my favourite pieces here, which is surprising for me considering how humanoid it is.

Wacky Wackowski: Woo, more hell bovines! Three sets of forelimbs (including wings) and no hindquarters, and a subtle use of colour that succeeds in bringing the bleakness of the scenario forward. It would be nice if the background cow had a second leg showing (sort of looks like he's standing there like a wading bird). The head design, with extra mouths that turn into a tower, is very bizarre but I think it works. I get the feeling you could have made more use of the eyes, but it's still good. It seems like the detail from the left side is lacking on the right side but I do like the trippy creature design.

Matthew Allen: Ha, short and simple description. Interesting to see a grub here, and though I could point out how it's not really a maggot I'm aware that some descriptions of Hell had a continuous source of maggots without parents (from when people believed they came from badness within meat, not from flies) so I'll put it down to that. The background and creature are both well done, though it would have been nice to see more detail on its mouth.

Peanut Brittle: Really very humanoid... The general structure and the skeleton in its chest... Also, only the middle section of the picture seems to have much detail. This said, I love how you've done the feet; splitting off the digits into 2 sets of cloven hooves, that's awesome! That tail's great too, and I like how the head looks, with a spine (apparently) going diagonally up to the giant "eye" in its head. This could make a great end boss, especially in a sprite game (but then I just doubt the 3D engines at the moment could do it justice).

Mydrim: I think the words "and stuff" in your description take away from it. I like the art style and the creature, it reminds me of a giant sea cucumber. However, a bit more structure would have improved it; generally people go with rib cages/etc, but in this case just making it longer could have given it an edge. It is a very nice picture, but looks like the illustration from the middle of a book rather than something to put on the front cover? Trying to think of a good way to put it... The border and use of colour work, but it would be nice for the creature, simple as it is, to be doing something in order to help it stick out among the other entries. In terms of design and art style this is one of my favourite entries, but the angle/scene shown in the picture could have been more exciting.

Right. 7 more left, I'm taking a break. Still no vote given.

Again, don't go thinking I dislike your piece just because I give negative criticisms, I just try to say why it didn't get my vote as well as what I like about it! And I try to be constructive about it rather than just straight out put-downs. A lot of the work here is better than what I currently draw like anyway.

If I didn't like the entries so much I wouldn't spend so long writing up these reviews.

[CCThrom]

Dangit... Locks you to only 1 vote, curse you technology!

Ok there were too many good ones, but my vote went to Penumbra... the concept seems very original and I love the colors and textures.

My close seconds (the ones I would have voted for -also- if this poll were set up like ChOW) were:
Cloister - great sense of scale and story
Blobs - beautiful rendering and color
John Bridges - an awesome painting and an awesome creature, this was truly my "bronze medal"
Benu - again, just awesome all the way around... my "silver medal"
dwinbotp - aww, your gigantic ravening destroyer of worlds is just so cute! I want to pinch his widdle cheeks...
TRog - a VERY interesting creature, and terrific paint-job
Marco Mazzoni - excellent atmosphere and brooding color... he's super-icky, the only thing that detracted for me was the big meaty arms sticking out of his head... I would have preferred they look more like mandibles or some thinner freaky bug-arms... just me though
Wacky wackowski - honorable mention for pure surreality!

[HareTrinity]

Kosmo975: This really makes me think of the Red Bull from The Last Unicorn, but now he has tusks! Hardcore. The detail on the face is great, but I'm not sure how he eats anything with those tusks. Still, maybe he doesn't need to. The horns from the top of his head lack texture, especially with the one on the right, which is a shame considering the awesomeness of the face brings attention to it. The large protruding spikes work. This is definitely a creature I'd consider using if I were causing an apocalypse!

Benu: Aquatic tentacle monster from the depths of Hell, I like. This could easily pass auditions for being a McFarlane figure I'm sure; the spikes, fins and lights seem well placed and the victims are simple but add to the image. The upper jaw looks a little odd to me and the fins tearing, although giving a hint of age also imply it's somewhat frail. Other than that it's a great concept and picture.

Homeless Horde: Doesn't look finished and I'm sure it was covered in the poll, so I'll focus on the general look of it; I like the idea of a demonic sac-holder, reminds me of an arthropod parasite's abdomen, and the use of bright colours is something I like where appropriate. Not sure about the shape of the top of the head, but I like the mouth type chosen. Be nice to see your art style progress with these sorts of ideas.

Darkly: Again, this looks pretty humanoid to me... Apart from that; interesting feet and choice of limbs, also an intriguing mouth (though I'm not sure how those tentacles work). The spikes on its shoulders are good and make me really wonder what type of back it has, but maybe I'm missing the point. That a loin cloth or a blurred tail? Either way; it's a good concept, good picture, well coloured and an interesting scene, just too humanoid for my liking.

Tydar: I actually really like this concept, though due to the image size it's hard to make out. Next time make sure it fits in an explorer window? The head is very interesting, maybe next time you should go for tentacles if hands are giving you troubles? It also would take away from the humanoid aspect, though this one (due to the lack of chest) reminds me more of one of the other great apes. I like the stomach design, not just because I imagine it's REALLY entertaining to watch all those trapped souls zip round, but because that's very original. The background goes well with the creature too. Next time keep your picture smaller and spend more time with the texture maybe? And get some more practice of limbs in (start doodling boring people you're meant to be listening to, I find it improved my faces at least).

Kasteyrn: My worry for this creature is that someone could run underneathe it and be safe. I can see that your defining of the limb joints and neck/head meeting could benefit from some more detail, and that the back legs in particular look rushed, but otherwise I don't think it's all too bad (again this might be my lack of art school). The scene's a little blank and the best detail is on the tail of the critter, which I assume means you could do with more time spent experimenting to build up your confidence on what works. Nice attention to the problem of heat, and the general shape of the creature is interesting, were you thinking giant salamander? Generally there's a lot of potential that I think just general practice will bring out.

Marco Mazzoni: ROACHZILLA! Very cool scene of destruction, it's a shame the legs/etc look a little distant from being fully finished, but given the scale of this pic I can understand why. A grim choice of colours reflects the creature and its purpose quite well, and in many ways I think I'd prefer this as the Clover in Cloverfield. And a faint sign of a second one in the background? Subtle and awesome. The anatomy of the jaw-limbs seems pretty original too. I like this piece a lot but the lack of detail and any colour (even though the description backs this) puts me off somewhat.

Okay. In the end I chose Blobs, but it was a tight competition this time! A lot of really imaginative entries.

[corza334]

I personally like Benu's the best, It's what I imagine as the most nightmarish creature out of the bunch...

[Michael Jaecks]

Looks like we have a winner. Congrats to John Bridges!

[blobs]

I've been meaning to add my comments but I always seem to be really tight for time at the moment.. but here we go....

Bralt Hannicart I really love this almost alien design, it's totally hellish too. The hands are really well rendered, my eyes keep going back to those. I would've loved to have seen more texture on the creature, you've been really subtle with it on your beastie, and all credit to you, but for me (as a personal taste) the more rough texture for a hellish creature the better :)
Pierropod Great idea and cool head design on the beast. I love the pose, but his tusks seem to be pointing down and to the left at an uncomfortable angle. :)
Cloister Well, not much to say, you were one of my front runners for sure, but you were just pipped at the post :)
Mr.Wittmann Good solid design, but not enough rendering for my tastes, I'd love to see you push yourself a bit more next time! :)
Blobs Oh forget that muppet!
TMG Ahh I really like the design on this too, but totally see the reasons why you were rejected. Nice lighting going on here and there and a nice angle too... more rendering next time plz! :)
Irish_Jim Quality solid design, nothing to crit at all :)
Grey Good work Grey, I thought his mouth was a furnace? Nice movement on the whip/arms, and I love the spread of figures getting crushed! :)
Wixxi I think it's a good angle, he's definitely colossal! And great face! :)
David79 I just love this guy, great Warcraft'sih colours, and he's full of character to him, another close one for my vote :)
John Bridges Class!! Joint second in line for my vote. :)
TRog Another almost alien looking guy, nice lighting on the underbelly. I would have loved to have seen more detail on him though :)
Dwinbotp Eyes, mouths, legs, loverly! What's not to like? :) Is this a different way of painting than you normally do? :)
Joey-B Cool solid design, I love the lighting on this guys underbelly too, his master looks like he's worried his beast will eat him :)
Kim Nice work on the beast, although I think you probably could've done without the background which doesn't work for me and detracts from the monster. :)
Penumbra This got my vote, it screams twisted hell and cthulhu styleeee. I absolutely love this piece.
Michael Morisse Ahh Michael, you almost got my vote from your very first sketch of this guy, the design is brilliant. I'm loving the spine, tongue, angle of view, I just think it could've done with another wave of rendering.. T'is an excellent piece! :)
Hexism Nice painterly style, but it's just a bit too loose for my tastes. More detail next time please! :)
Mohog Nice work, but needs more rendering. :)
Xgabo Massive and beautiful.. that mouth.. it reminds me of my wife when she's in a mood ;)
Wacky Wackowski What a great concept!
MatthewAllen Some nice lighting on the left there, and I do like the caterpillar'ish design.:)
Peanut Brittle Very weird and hellish. :)
Mydrim I'm going to disagree with Michael, I think this is excellent, it's not a typical hell beast design, it's part of your world, your style and would fit in nicely. Love it :)
Kosmo975 Nice and solid, I love the blast from his nostrils. :)
Benu Nothing to crit, works a treat for me :)
Homeless Horde Yep, there's not much to read from this guy, work on the sketching some more before putting the paint on, I'd take a look at how Jaecks does his work. :)
Darkly I always like what you put out, this is no exception :)
Tydar Needs more work, keep at it Tydar! :)
Kasteyrn I quite like it actually but do agree there are some anatomy issues. For example the two front legs are slightly different thickness. But keep going on the sketching a bit more before you lay those colours down :)
Marco Mazzoni Well what to say here too. The final one on the list and again you're a joint second vote for me. It is a shame the voting doesn't work like it does in the Chow. It's a beautiful piece indeedy! :)

Hey, and thanks for the votes people! :)