CHOW #008 - VOTING: Battle Angel

[S.C. Watson]

Battle Angel
* female
* EXTRA BROWNIE POINTS: NO cliche wings allowed (like feathers). Must create your own type of wings that you think no one has ever done before.

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Hjalli
http://fjandinn.brinkster.net/hjalli/CHOW%20Battle%20angle.jpg

rustylynn
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/rustylynn70/badark.jpg

Phaethon
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a44/Phaethon/BattleAngel.jpg

StenP
http://www.canterburydream.com/bright/battle_angel_5.jpg

werezoo
http://www.brandonhford.com/Concept/WebCopy.jpg

ParkerD
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/ParkerD/chow_battleange4.jpg

Zeitwolf
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/odinsregen/sketches/chow8.jpg

Nike
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/artofnike/battleangel3.jpg

Alday.J
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y181/Jujubox/Chow8-02.jpg

romance
http://www.artofromance.ca/ca/projects/CHOW/battle_angel.jpg

csteingart
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/cstein74/speed_dec12_2.jpg

crazy3dman
http://www.crazy3dman.com/CA_Sketchbook/chow8final2.jpg

Chuck,mate
http://images5.theimagehosting.com/battle_angel_small_2.jpg

Infinitum
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/Infinitum1/InfinitumBattleAngel.jpg

cgfuller64
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c188/cgfuller64/desat8.jpg

AmishCommy
http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/ChoW/ChoW008cIdea04.jpg

Interceptor
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/Gatery941/chow008.jpg

nephilim
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c312/sirfrancisdrake_/battleangel-copy.jpg

Lohan
http://www.krauselabs.net/thombook/battleangel800.jpg

evildisco
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/discovolant3/chowfin.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

OtterFrenzy
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d59/OtterFrenzy/Fantasy/67_Gazardialsmall.jpg

Poshspice
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/824/littleangel013zw.jpg

Vix
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/5512/battleangeld3yx.jpg

Jska
http://www.jskaconcepts.com/badaboom/battleangel.jpg

Eriboss
http://www.reelfilms.co.uk/images/chowda5.jpg

Trollboy
http://www.stosiak.com/images/art/stuf/ch_battle_angel_web.jpg

englishduke
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/9a9433b6b2.jpg

JakkaS
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/JakkaS/JakkaS-chow008_e.jpg

Sundance
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/Sundance5000/battleangel.jpg

walnut
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a117/walberg/battle_angel1.jpg

Fellah.
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/basmall.jpg

brianl
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/artbybrian/forums/bal_battleAngel.jpg

DesignGuy
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c216/_alan_atwood/angel2.jpg

max1975
http://elseworld.com/max/sketchbook/sarahiel2.jpg

casec11
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/casec11/Art/Blue-Batttle-angel.jpg

ogar555
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/ogar555/Battle-Angel_CHERUBIM.jpg

neoknocker
http://cf.geocities.com/emailjfhoule/chow_011.jpg

masque
http://www.metrocast.net/~chipartist/ImagePost/DragonAngelCHOWweb.jpg

fes
http://www.fionasansom.com/assets/dsg/battleangel.jpg

bumskee
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/chow_8_1.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

young paddy1
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/youngpaddy1/battleangel2.jpg

kurdt
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/kurdticus/AngleFinal.jpg

Evil_Sloth
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Evil_Sloth/chow_8_3.jpg

loomer
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/saltmann/Leafangel_CHOW.jpg

Makk
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rowanfamily/chow8_battle_angel.jpg

stephen
http://www.seriks.com/gallery/albums/speedpainting/battleangel_v2.jpg

conundrum
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7489/battleangel39ti.jpg

Dan.v.D.
http://www.vilestyle.com/ca/chowbattleangel4.jpg

solorpower
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/solorpower/chow8_web.jpg

Nutter
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/Lechy/archangelnut.jpg

Carnifex
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b363/siansaar/x-battleangelfinal.jpg

Standing
http://www.jonathanstanding.com/ca_folder/angel.jpg

Teigrob
http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/CHOW_008.jpg

Chingwa
http://www.popgirl.net/public/chow_008.jpg

VampireHungerStrike
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/larriva/angel.jpg

Panagos
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/Panagos/WEBBattleAngel-Panagos.jpg

Main Loop
http://www.remtek.net/0/mainloop/default/images/19/120.jpg

princeofhappiness
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9629/battleangelcopy2wj.jpg

depleteD
http://people.uleth.ca/~andrew.melnychukosee/portolio/battleangle.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Prehistoric
https://home.comcast.net/~zackrubin/battleangel.jpg

Charles Wadey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ChuckWadey/BattleAngel.jpg

Saremu
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/4919/angel0ij.jpg

artdwx
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/artdw2000/battleangel2.jpg

morbidhumor
http://home.comcast.net/~bcrart/bangelfin.jpg

timpaatkins
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/timoat05460/battle/klar.jpg

Helium Macaroni
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/mmaurino/angel11b.jpg

armando
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a152/_armando_navarro/battleangel1.jpg

Commander Obvious
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/Russell_Collins/DailySketchBook/Chow_008_small.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

I *think* I got everybody and their correct image.

Entries not taken to poll:
los
Dragonspit
erisreg
flatliner – not complete at time of collection
central – not complete at time of collection
unknown_epiphany – image too large and not completed at time of collection

I think there were a couple of others not taken as well for the same reason as above. If you are not in the poll and not shown here, pm me and I'll check to see if I missed you or if you were not taken to poll for a reason. Please include a link to the image in question in your pm to me.

As always, if there's a typo or something amiss, just let me know.

Cheers, and great round folks.
~Oreg.

[evildisco]

I saw Helium's and it really struck a chord, but ultimately morbidhumor's took my vote, the great execution and sheer simplicity was a win.

[Trollboy]

I'm gonna have to really think about this one. There are a few that i just can't decide between yet...

[CaptainInsano]

Everyone had great entries. It was tough to decide. Ultimately went with Mainloop.

[Trollboy]

I kept coming back to werezoo's... so thats how i voted.

[Commander Obvious]

Definitely a vote for JakkaS from me! Gotta love those rich red tones contrasted with the white and blacks. Very simple palette but man it worked for me. Great job!

[CRØW]

WOW! Great job guys!

It was really tough deciding who to vote for and it came down to Csteingart & Bumskee. Both were awesome, but I picked Bumskee's because it I liked his style a tiny bit better. No offense!:^^;:

I really loved Nutter's and Intercepter's pieces, but I felt that they were still in the sketch stage. Seriously though, Chainsaw wings friggin' rock:skull:
And I absolutley loved your rendering Nutter. I never would have thought of the spiderweb/tree branch wings.

I was also strongly leaning toward Neph's piece, but while I got angel, I didn't feel battle out of it. Regardless it is an amazing piece and your color usage just floored me. I also give you kudo's for straying so far from the typical thought process for this kind of character.

I wish I'd have got my entry finished on time, but my in-laws decided to make an unscheduled visit. No biggie though. After seeing the entries I probably would have got pantsed anyway:[

I'm definitely gonna try to enter CHOW#9 on time. :teeth:

Keep up the goodwork guys!

[morbidhumor]

Thanks for the comments and vote evildisco. :teeth:

My vote went to Helium Macaroni- Great idea and I love the face.
Other favorites-
romance- Great retro style.
Lohan- Love the line work.
Poshspice- One of the most origional of the bunch. It almost got my vote but the overly adult face is a little too odd.
JakkaS- Beautiful comp and great colors.
masque- I really dig the backlighting on this.
fes- Nicely done. The coloring is a little muddied though.
young paddy1- Nice design and colors.
stephen- I wish you'd finished this one. Lovely design.
Nutter- Yowza. I'm so tempted to vote for this one. Great design and I'm a sucker for tight drawings like this.
Charles Wadey- Exellent. You might have been better off cutting the background. It's a little too rough to tell what's going on.

[Panagos]

My vote went to Standing. A great image that communicates volumes through a very small amount of expressive detail. I tend to overwork my images... so I have a great deal of respect for someone that can produce something so loose and effective.

[nephilim]

there were a ton of great entries this round. Sadly, many of them were what i expected, but overall i think people did a good job of coming up with interesting ideas.

honorable mentions:

Werezoo- cool idea, wings are cool but the costume could have been more unique.

Trollboy- very nice, i like the wings, although the contrast could use some oomph, and the pose reminds me too much of "fallen angel" by Matt Wilson.

Walnut- im digging the wings. definitely has battle angel feel.

Fes- its a bit blurry, but a great pose nonetheless

Standing- very uncoventional, and creepy too!

Helium Macaroni- cool concept, im not feeling the text though, and i think some kind of cast shadow on the ground would look cool.

Main Loop- a bit indistinct, but it gives a battle angel feeling, thats for sure!!

PoshSpice- well done as usual, and full of character. I was sort of hoping we would see something vastly different from your normal stuff though.

But after mch deliberation, i had to chose...... Jakkas.
his piece is crisp, clean, with rich colors, and the wings are handled very subtely. Nice job!!


Mike

[bumskee]

great work everyone, top stuff. :)

I ended up tossing up between, standing, loomer and Posh. Standing had an excellent concept, a little simplified but worked sweeet. Loomer had extra points for the wings, a little typical but nicely done and it was white! Posh for unique approach and execution, and constantly pulling out the standards. :) My vote went to loomer in the end, for the wings and being white.

Some of my other favourites were

nephilim, strange yet interesting,loved the colours.

Interceptor, nice entry, though you know you can push it a little further. :)

AmishCommy, nice sense of motion and colours.

Chuck,mate, that's hardcore stuff, nicely executed.

romance, really tight entry, if only it had more angel theme I think i would have voted for you, but it's such a beautiful piece as is!

fes, nice use of colours and figure!

masque, nice entry, though u could say she looks more like a demon! enjoyed your piece.

JakkaS, really solid work and nice use of colours!

Main Loop, overall it was really striking, but I think it was little undefined in some areas.

Teigrob, nice concept, though you know you want to colour it. :)

Nutter, I thought u said german saussages!! :)

young paddy1, I really enjoyed your piece, nice concept and the lighting is superb, the legs look a little wonky though, but really striking entry.

Helium Macaroni, very nice entry. :)

morbidhumor, nice intepretation and beautifully executed though the wings do get a lost a bit.

Sweeeet stuff, :yayca: to oregano for organising this.. that must have taken some time..

[romance]

I went with Helium Macaroni. The wings and clothes stood out above all the rest. Unique and well rendered. Congrats.

It was a real tough pick this week. Not only were there tons of entries, but there were tons of GREAT entries.

Others I thought stood out from the crowd:

werezoo
nephilim
young paddy1
loomer
posh spice
jakkas
morbidhumor
fes
bumskee

the list goes on... and on... and on...

[Prehistoric]

i'm going to vote for loomer this round. i love the leaf wings.

close second was bumskee, but there wasn't enough "angel" there.

posh's was great as usual.

sorry to see that dixon didn't post his, though that one was hilarious.

[darth massacre]

Wow..shit....its hard to vote.....I'll need a few more days.

[armando]

Two favorites were Artdwx and Jakkas, both great concepts. Jakkas, really liked the idea of hands of vanqiushed enemies becoming wings, and a superb picture too by the way. After some deliberation I chose Artdwx, because the back story made me laugh, it's very clever. Although not the most finished piece, it was the most unique.

[AmishCommy]

oh man, this was a tough one. it was conflicted between PoshSpice, bumskee, and nephilim. had to go with my stupid default meathod for liking things: the Bright red colors in nephilim's piece. this was hard guys, next time i'll use a hat. Good job everyone else

[Chuck,mate.]

alright.
dudes and dudetts went crazy this time around...
:)
good art all the way down the thread,
but concept-wise none really pops out as new or fresh,
except maybe the works of
stephen , standing and nephilim.

trollboy`s just looked TOO like Humberto Ramos`s cover
for "crimson:once an angel". a bit TOO MUCH like it, if you ask me, dunno.(look it up in google).

eventually went with nephilim. the colors, the rendering, the feel and vibe - friggin` mind blowing.
good work everybody.

[trev]

Hmm, this was tough, I was tempted to vote for Posh (sorry mate!) but in the end I really enjoyed Chucks colouring job.

Umm, if Im not being cheeky -

I was going to enter, thinking PST was 9 hours behind GMT when its 8. Smart huh? I missed the deadline, but please go here:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=57774

and let me know what you think. 6/7 hours straight work, since I decided to enter at the last minute.

[walnut]

The three main candidates for me were Standing (such a haunting image), Jakkas (for being plain beautiful) and Poshspice. Though next to them there were a bunch of great pictures and ideas, so i had a tough time picking one out. In the end it had to be Poshspice, mainly because of the attitude of the character and the attention for detail. Well, and the wooden sword sort of did it for me too.

[stephen]

awesome work everyone. standing, you get my vote.

[Evil_Sloth]

Too hawt fellas, my vote went for bumskee. Impressive work as always man. :)

[Zergaloth]

Some of the designs just weren't Angel (nephilim) or Battle (Lohan, Jakkas) enough for me.
Anyway, superb round, great entries.... we should have more of those.

Oh, my vote went to Chuck, because it's so visually appealing...

[neoknocker]

Helium Macaroni got my vote. Great work. Really in subject. Great talent.

Chuck Mate was close second.

Have a great one!

[Chuck,mate.]

Some of the designs just weren't Angel (nephilim) or Battle (Lohan, Jakkas) enough for me.
Anyway, superb round, great entries.... we should have more of those.

Oh, my vote went to Chuck, because it's so visually appealing...

thank you zergaloth.
means alot to me.

[abase]

So many great entries, Young Paddy1, Interceptor, Stephen, and Chingwa were all really appealing, well executed pieces.

I voted morbidhumor because when I first saw the topic a similar concept occurred to me: a beautiful creature lying broken on the ground with 'wings' of blood spreading out around her. Morbid's execution, I think, is much simpler and nicer than I could ever have managed.

[csteingart]

JakkaS - all the way

Wicked turnout peeps!

c

[Lohan]

stephen > my soul. its so creepy and has an uneasy feeling, i love it. u got my vote u mong.

[Hjalli]

Posh got my vote for a wonderful take on the concept. Great work everyone!

Seems pretty much like a 5-6 man race ;)

[Rascar Capac]

Posh by a mile - glad to see you chose the second one as your entry...

[crazy3dman]

trollboy`s just looked TOO like Humberto Ramos`s cover
for "crimson:once an angel". a bit TOO MUCH like it, if you ask me, dunno.(look it up in google).


Alright, I looked it up. click here if you want to see it. (http://www.crazy3dman.com/CA_Sketchbook/c13of.jpg)

Similar? Very. Inspired by? Yeah maybe.(probably)
But NOT a copy.
Different pose. Different costume and gear. The fact that she's bald is what really makes them seem so similar.
There were plenty of ACTUAL copycats to worry about this round.

[masque]

some C&C on the work i found most appealing. please remember this is all just my opinion, which may not be worth a hoot ;). apologies in advance if anyone takes offense.

werezoo: solid pose, good composition, well-balanced tonal & color pallettes. kinky concept with subtly humorous touches (kneepads = grin :) ). the proportions of the limbs look to me somewhat inconsistent, and the head seems a rather grotesque implant rather than a headgear/costume element as with the rest of her accoutrements. this is perhaps intentional but for me it's also too jarring.

romance: great sense of freefall, lots of charm in the ultra-retro approach, nicely done tonal and color pallettes (those hues can be hard to manage but you've tamed them very handily). your painting technique shows the usual strong control of strokes and blends. the somewhat distorted anatomy could benefit from a more naturalistic treatment, i think, and the hair, backpack/parachute, and clouds seem much less finished and communicate little sense of form or mass to me.

chuck,mate: damn, your control over your medium is so tight!<-*admiration* lots & lots to like in this piece, too much to list & a lot is obvious: great color management, strong composition and linear dynamics, elegant and rich surfaces. but i have a few nigglings about the details: her right arm's placement seems odd, and i'm having some difficulty "attaching" it to her shoulder, it seems to project from directly behind her face. this is reinforced, i think, by the placement of her right-side wings, which do not seem to grow from the same place on her back as the left-side wings; her hands seem ill-proportioned and overly large, with the left having too few and rather blockish fingers; the reflections of the trouser piping in the sword is simply not possible given the positions and angles involved (a mirror can't reflect something postioned behind it), making the sword seem sort of translucent; the wings are gorgeous but seem a bit too delicate for the aggressive latter-day buccaneer persona i see in the rest of the character; the right hand's glow is also ambiguous in terms of character, though it works well as a source for the nice edge-lighting of the figure.

interceptor: i love the overwhelmingly human appeal of this character, so much so that i'm having trouble seeing any angel-ness. a strong and delightful character study, but a step (or maybe two) away from the brief, i think.

nephilim: strange in a very good way, highly intriguing, and an absolutely incredible use of color and painted form. looking close i see that there are very few depth-cues in the general and formal composition of the piece, and some are nearly contradictory, but your control over the surreal lighting and color have created a sort of "supernatural" space and depth for your angel to occupy. i also love the way some of the forms of the wings seem to be evolving even as i look at the pic. as far as her angelic character (and yes, she is unambiguously female to me despite having very few of the usual overt gender cues), i don't need a label to recognize the "other-than-mortal" aspect of your character. she moves with determination, angelic grace and majesty through a non-human celestial plane, weapon in hand, ready to do battle. try as i might, i can't find any cons. you have my vote.

poshspice: i've already mentioned the direct personal appeal this piece has for me, and i disagree with the comment that the face is too "adult." i've seen this kind of sullen calculation all too often in some kids' faces. if nephilim's work hadn't completely blown me away, you or Standing would have had my vote. this is a great portrayal of the brief.

JakkaS: another marvelous painting from you, and a very intriguing wings concept. i do have trouble reconciling the armor-like aspects of her helmet and bustiere with the threadbare look of the rest of her garments -- both are well handled, they just seem in conflict to me. way up among my favorites, though.

walnut: i like the pose and general "majesty" of what you've done, but the placement of the wings is out of kilter with the perspective of the figure, so they don't connect well to her. the colors are very appealing. overall i think the piece could have used more polish.

fes: very nicely done, good color and lighting, the strong contrast between the treatment of the wings and the figure and garments is well-handled and appealing (could've been overdone but wasn't). but her wings' placement seems a bit off, like they originate at her right shoulder rather than center of back. one compositional note -- the sword is a strong element and acts a visual "stop" in the flow of the wings, not a bad thing but almost too strong, perhaps having it parallel the line of the torso more (tilt to right) might have brought it into the composition with more unity. the interaction between the shape of the sword's guard and the right forearm/hand is also a bit awkward, creating some spatial ambiguity.

bumskee: love the pose, love the pensive expression, love the handling of detail and texture within the silhouetted figure,but i'm still seeing warrior and not angel. other than that, this is a beautiful piece, i admire (among many other traits of your work) your command of textural paint effects.

young paddy1: a strong and intriguing piece from the knees up, with appealing color and lighting, but it's hard to see if you meant to portray flaming booster calves, or the angel standing on a luminous cloud of some sort. the hands could have used a level of treatment equal to the rest of the figure, they seem sort of out of focus. i like the face and tiara/halo. i also notice that the lower end of her staff seems to pull an Escher.

loomer: a beautiful glowing light to this piece, works well with your character. good flesh tones with lots of pleasing, subtle color shifts. the hair very well-painted and has just the right luminous quality to the color. wings concept is nice & well-executed, but something i might associate more with a fairy than an angel, fairies being more tied to the natural world. the corset & pendant seem a bit too much like mortal affectations, maybe a bit out of place for an angel. the figure has some issues with anatomical structure and proportion -- right shoulder & upper arm, curvature of the R forearm, ratio between length of thighs and calves. improving these would strengthen the piece a lot, i think. for me the axe is just too big and is really the only thing about this piece that just doesn't fit. perhaps if it were scaled more to the somewhat petite (though voluptuous) stature of the figure it wouldn't seem so out of place.

stephen: this is a very intriguing and mystery-shrouded concept (pardon the pun), and very appealing. the confidence of the underlying drawing and painted strokes is very evident. however, rather than a feeling of levitation, i have a sense that the figure is standing en pointe on some invisible platform, possibly due to the set of the shoulders, which seem to be drawn down by the weight of the staff, and the apparent curve of the spine, which looks quite natural for a standing human but that means it's responding to gravity. i love the contrasty yet pastel greyish hues of your palette, you've done a great deal within a tightly limited range.

conundrum: good color and composition, lighting well-executed for the most part, good paint strokes though a bit inconsistent among similar surfaces or spatial areas.the wings (and armor to a lesser degree) seem way too massive to me, though, conflicting with the rising lines of the figure. treament of the torso, right arm & hand, and head & face, could have been continued more in the other limbs -- left arm & legs look abstractly attenuated and almost emaciated. the face is well-done, has good expression and character despite its being heavily shadowed, but there's a slight angle to the gaze that isn't carried into the helmet, which looks dead-on face-front symmetrical -- the misalignment keeps the helmet and hair from solidy enclosing the head and face.

Dan.v.D: striking dynamics and good use of tonal structure, though a bit more distinction between hair and wing shadow to the left of the head might have strengthened the sense of spatial division. two anatomical comments -- the breasts seem too disparate in size (i know they do vary some), and the waist just above the left hip seems too thin for such an otherwise robust figure. the range of hues used in the BG greys is good and i think more such variation could benefit the figure & wings as well, they seem much more strictly monochromatic.

nutter: i put down my thoughts on your wings portrayal in the posting thread. i really want to know more about this character's story, this is a beautiful and evocative drawing, very high on my list of favorites.

Standing: despite their almost polar differences, yours and Poshpice's angels were among my three most favorite. concept, technique, composition, lighting, pallette, all just seem to work together so very well to tell your angel's haunting story. i really wish i had two votes to cast. actually i wish i had about a half-dozen!

Teigrob: this piece is very appealing and well-executed, and i think you stand well among all the submissions. the linework is very strong and looks quite confident. the classic ink-on-paper look needs no color in my opinion, it works very well on its own. my only crits are the slight disparity in eye size of the character, and the way the horizon line interacts with the lower muzzle and mouth of the dog at picture right, causing a bit of BG-FG ambiguity. this is also among my favorites -- the "wings" are a charming take on the idea and quite appropo for your angel. well done.

Panagos: there are some issues with how different elements in this piece interact in picture space that create some ambiguity and confusion between depth planes, but i gotta say you have a very appealing painting style and very good control over your palette and brushes. individual passages of this piece are very beautiful, but as a whole i don't think they knit together well, perhaps because because the lighting is fairly evenly distributed top to bottom in the FG space, creating a diffusion of focus on the main subject.

Main Loop: the ethereal lighting and textural diffusion of the top half of your piece is a very strong positive, contrasting well with the slight edginess of the armor and her classic, sculptural facial features. upper body proportions are well handled if a bit ambiguous in places. the color is rich and tones well-balanced in this fairly high-key light. but this all seems much weaker in the lower half of the pic, where the diffusion is replaced by a less interesting mistiness and the anatomy and proportions of the legs appear to me kind of awkward. the sword also loses its edge in places, with how it is painted resembling the way the cloth is rendered.

morbid humor: a lovely nude (yes, always good to have a reason for them :) ), but so very human i have a hard time seeing the (defeated?) angel. it's good to see some of your color and painting work, i quite like the drawings you've shown in these 'OW threads. i should search out other stuff of yours on the site.

Helium Macaroni: what a great character! like others in this thread, i really want to know more about her story. her expression has great depth (affable but takes no BS, forthright but not uptight about it, capable of both warmth and steely devotion to duty), very Ms. M. Lisa in some ways. i like the rocketeer aspect, quite in line with the character. but there's an issue with the jetpack that keeps niggling at me. i know the device has two nacelles, and that "formally" it is properly placed on her back. but the hidden nacelle is so much less noticeable than the strongly delineated one, my eye keeps trying to make it an off-center, single-nacelled item. sorry if that sounds too picky. it's definitely not enough to keep this pic from being very high on my list of favorites.

i wish i had time to comment on all the pics, there's a lot of good work shown here. props to all who contributed!

[Panagos]

Masque - thanks for the comments, I really appreciate the critique. I see your point and I'll definitely keep that in mind in the future. Thanks!

[romance]

Wow, Masque. Great C&C. Thanks for taking the time to put it up. It's much appreciated.

[Jska]

I'm gonna have to vote for Posh... I'm really glad the second image went to poll, it has awesome character and the cardboard wings are awesome.

I will comment on more pics later, this was a tough round with lots of excellent artwork.

[masque]

There were plenty of ACTUAL copycats to worry about this round.and an outright thief, now banished (though not banned -- Oregano, you ol' softy :P)

[ogar555]

There are around 6 entries i absolutely love, but i couldn't decide which one to vote for. So i took a dice and rolled. It landed on Nephilim. Lovely colors, and the most bizarre char-design imho. But everyone contributed with inspiring, original, funny and interesting pics.
Congrats!

[max1975]

mainloop--classic, execution could have been better though

jakkaS--beautiful rendering

fellah--very cool, not exactly angelly

werezoo--great work, love the mask, got my vote

morbidhumor--love the idea, pose, and atmosphere

stephen--elegant

young paddy1--love the dali hypercross

charles wadey--very cool

fes--i like yours a lot

bumskee--beautiful drawing, don't think those wings would take her very far...

romance--cool idea

nephilim--great idea, might have gotten my vote if the execution had been a little better

[loomer]

Very tough..I may not vote, unless I can decide a clear winner.

Tops for me:
Posh - I guess the face is a lil' 'hard' for a child...but the idea is adorable, and as always the technique is very pro ;)

romance - agree with bumskee...it just needs to read "angel" a lil bit more...but it is an excellent piece and could go right in your portfolio. You win either way ;) She looks like she has a nice,round juicy ass too. Very nice piece

bumskee - you are a fuckn' asshole, but I like your entry :)
Probably the most "quiet" entry out of the entire bunch...The strength of this work relies all on subtlety....something I could learn from! cheers mate :)
standing - I love this piece. The colors and rendering are right up my alley, and the design is killer. You almost got my vote right away but I dislike the glaring white. It seems it is overpowering the rest of the piece...it's just TOO white (the sword & halo) . Perhaps some more light earth tones or yellows...I dunno. Even so, I love this battle angel. Just sick.

other hot entries:
trollboy - I see the Humberto Ramos thing..but I don't think it's even an issue . This is a great great design and character. Lots of expression and unique design on clothing and weapon. Beautifully done..The flame wings are a great touch too. My big problem with this just falls back on anatomy...If she were to stand up her torso would be like 4 feet long..her torso looks longer than her legs. Still lovely

Jakkas - very striking image, and cool wing design. The overall look reminds me a bit of Brom, but that's a good thing. Nice work.

nutter - awesome sketch...just a killer drawing, and great idea. I am left wanting more though :( I'd love to see something like this taken to the next level

young paddy- strong colors and nice face on the angel. I have problems with the lower half ...I'd just crop her jet-legs off. The top is done so well and is quite striking.

Fellah - like everything you do...the technique is just SO seductive. You could render a Battle Pig for this , and I would still think it amazing. yeah Yeah...I guess it isn't a typical angel..but in Fellah's world , the angels probably look just like this! You got skillz bro ;)


Shit..great work all around....everyone really did some great designs.
I could sit here and write a bit about every single one, but screw that..i gotta draw . Cheers all!

[sve]

Hello, I voted for bumskee, I just can't resist the lovely mood and story he created. I'm amazed how many things in this piece talk to me about state of mind and all lead me to one harmonic unified interpretation of the character. I love how you, Min, don't disregard anything for the most expressive and deep reading into this character. I read this character as the angel who bound to kill, but restless and in mental tortures every time she did the deed. The pose, her face and colors led me to this conclusion. I especially like this golden glowing behind her figure and pearl-like sky in front of her. It tells me about her angelic lovable nature. The darkness, greenish waves and nervous dots tells me about not calm state of her mind, like she is locked in one persistent thought circle.
Her black outfit and and elaborated hair tell me about her reserved serious nature. She is going through suffering because of her conscience, as I see it.

The other entries I love:

Alday.J I really like your interpretation. I repeat here I like the contrast of her fragile childlike body and brave fearless face. I like her squinted with contempt eyes, the challenge in her pose and the hints on the hardship on her way (chain. halo of prickly wire, rough background).

loomer
I love your character. She looks like every man dream, like last resort for suffering soul. I really think she should be sent to ease the grief or trouble, to comfort, like Merilyn Monro arrived to soldiers to cheer them up with her sweetness. She is too beautiful and soft to kill. She could charm to death though. I love the lovely execution, beautiful wings, all the erotic waves that coming from her. I really don't think it will be a battle. I think it will be quite the opposite :). I can't take my eyes from her breasts and I'm not supposed to :). I love this feeling of illustrations from my childhood books, the history spirit from the time of dragons, knights and beautiful divas, and this mother-of- pearl amazing background. Her cold blue/green eyes kind of confused me though. But my interpretation is she is sensual, nut spiritual.


Standing Wonderful illustration to the story of this character. I love how laconic and effective your interpretation. And the story is amazing, such a noble character, losing her advantage in the battle by letting the enemy face her. Great execution with the minimum means. Awesome!


Fellah I love those surreal wings. They are spreading Fear and Death in front of this cruel character. And they create the illusion of the flight with very complex trajectory. She is Spirit of the battle more for me, because she looks like having the best of the time.

Jska I like your idea very much. Well, those would be real, with no looking back battles ending with total utilisation of defeated :). Colors, pose and expression o the face add so much to cruel, cannibalistic character, in my opinion. I love those smoky wings, like burning incense to honor Gods.

JakkaS I love this caught by you expression of her face. The whole painting creates an atmosphere of ecstasy, overwhelming emotion. Execution is so beautiful, like works of old masters.

Nutter Idea of those wings is awesome and i love how you did it. I read this character as defeated in her last battle. Pose and dead wings with spider net on them suggest that for me.

Posh I love idea with those wings. beautiful execution.

armando I really like your interpretation of the character, very sensual and mysterious, I have strong association with Robert Zelazny books or Krishna's battles. I like the idea of the wings.

fes beautiful energetic pose and amazing execution.

crazy3dman I love this strange interpretation, I read her like a soldier angel going without thinking twice to the worse places on the earth to fight for her Lord.

werezoo She is so gorgeous and confident in her irresistibility.

cgfuller64 I like the strange mood of this angel.

Thank you all so much for great art celebration.
Sveta dudetta

[Standing]

Thanks to everyone who paid me such nice compliments in the posting thread - I left it rather late to post and so didn't get to say thanks, so a belated thank you. In this thread too you have been too kind-
Panagos - Thanks! That is quite a compliment - I tend to paint things to death, so I am trying to use the time restraints of the 'of the week' format to break my habit of overworking. I'm trying to say more with less, if you will and make each brushstroke matter rather than painting away endlessly for a really 'finished' piece.
Nephilim - thank you - I was trying to go for sad more than anything else, but she did end up looking a bit scary
Bumskee - Thanks! It's an honour to have been considered as a top three with Posh and loomer - not sure I deserve that accolade.
Chuck,mate - Thanks, there were a lot of strong entries in this round, so if mine 'popped out' at all, then I feel pretty proud.
Walnut - Thanks - that's really what I was trying for.
stephen - Cheers!
masque - Thank you very much - I think that you are putting me in company that I don't really deserve as well, but I'm chuffed that you liked mine.
loomer - thank you. Agreed, the white is a bit harsh - it was supposed to satnd out from teh rest of the pic, but it is a bit too simple. Even though I was trying for a 'painterly' and non-busy feel, I guess I have to be careful of under-painting things too!
sve - thanks! Glad you like the backstory - I thought it might be a bit too sentimental but it seems to work with the image.

Great round chaps - too bad about the thievery

I voted for Helium Macaroni in the end - it was a tough choice but I thought that the idea and execution were top notch and that the face was the cherry on the icing, so to speak.
Oreg - thanks for another great round.

[Interceptor]

This week's chow warmed my heart :) TOO MANY great entries. Everyone helping eachother. It's wonderful.
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Thanks for the CHOW, Oregano.

[redehlert]

chuck,mate! sweeeeeet! ya got my vote.

[redehlert]

helium macaroni - did you vote for yourself?

[Zergaloth]

thank you zergaloth.
means alot to me.

lol. that sounds a bit sad :S .
now excuse me for using minimum words but my english vocab isn't that big so I can't really express myself here in the way Masque does, though I'd love to. Anyways, sad or not, I loved your entry, don't get me wrong.

[Alday.J]

Okay, here my C+C for everyone. But first, I wanna congrats all of you for the high level of entries for that CHOW. Tons of great entries, bravo !

@ Hjalli: Nice stuff with textures. Good idea to translate the subject to a "tribal" side.

@ rustylynn: Remember me some ol' greek drawing. Color could be a plus in your stuff. But maybe you don't have the time for it.

@ Phaethon: Nice idea with the treatment, but I think you could focus on a more dynamic stance, in my opinion.

@ StenP: Nice concept, colors are fine. If I can made a suggest, play more with darker values. Cheers !

@ werezoo: You wrotte that it was your first post, if I remember ! And for a first participation to the CHOW, it's very good ! Nice colors and good idea with the wings ! Good stuff.

@ ParkerD: Hey ! The greek version here ! I dig a lot the wings, very poetic. Nice stuff, man !

@ Zeitwolf: And the alien version ! The stance is a bit difficult to read with her second right arm/wing. I like the tone you used.

@ Nike: I see that you made some update with the presentation of your entrie. As I sdaid before, I dig the wings concept.

@ Alday.J: As Fellah PM you: Her left leg is shorter than the right one ! Pay attention to your anatomy next time ! [lol !]

@ romance: Glad to see ya pushing your pic so far. I dig the concept, the situation and your colors. Close to have my vote ! Congrats !

@ csteingart: I like the graphic mood of this one. Very efficient, bravo !

@ crazy3dman: Hey, man ! Glad to see you here. Your entrie is sweet. See her completly is the only crit that I can made to you. Nice effort with tones and value ! Cheers !

@ Chuck,mate: Hi, dude ! Superb job with the character, the stance and the colors. Close to have my vote, but I'm sure that you'll get a solid collection of it ! Peace !

@ Infinitum: Very cute one, dig the tones !

@ cgfuller64: Be carefull with your effects. If you made too much it will kill the visibility of your pic. Cheers !

@ AmishCommy: I checked your stuff since a couple of weeks and I see all the improvement you made since your firsts posts. The design is excellent. It remind me some Japanese designers like Shinkawa (for the wings). If it's all digi, congrats to ya. Good entrie, man !

@ Interceptor: Hi, Inty ! I love your entrie and the pattern of your textured background. Presentation is good. The only crit that I can made to you is that I wanna see a complete character. Cheers man !

@ nephilim: Remember me a lot of great artist (like Simon BISLEY and so many overs). I dig a lot that strange entrie, tones are simply great ! Close to have my vote ! Bravo, it's superb !

@ Lohan: Nice stuff with the lines. A colored version ? But maybe don't you have time for it ?

@ evildisco: Great stuff with the values ! What software did you used ?

@ OtterFrenzy: Your pic is a bit confused to read for me. Pay attention to that point. It's difficult with such tones.

@ Poshspice: YOU GOT MY VOTE, MAN ! It's a great entrie (plus it's one of yours two greats ! Wow !). Very refreshing, breaking with all the "warrior stuff". Funny original and cute. I love the tones and the graphic treatment. And the fact thet you can draw in so many style simply amazed me ! You're the man ! Cheers !

@ Vix: I know that's one of your first post here. The stance is dynamic. As I told you before: textures will be a little extra for your stuff. Cheers !

@ Jska: Hi Jessica (hope I don't made mistakes with your name this time !). As said before, your Voodoo version is very original. Great entrie here !

@ Eriboss: Well started, good brushstrokes ! Maybe if you had some more time... Anyway, the concept is interesting.

@ Trollboy: Glad to see that you pushed your sketch further. Just a suggest, but think about working with dark values.

@ englishduke: Nice sketch. The render of your graphite is clean-it's rare. Maybe with Colors and a full character ?

@ JakkaS: Great tones, great stance, great entry ! I like the textures a lot !

@ Sundance: Remember me the ol' comic book feeling, he ! he !

@ walnut: You did it again ? I'm not sure but your pic seems different from my memory.

@ Fellah: Rhaaaaaaa ! The danish-badass is back ! Not a crit at all, on a technical side. But a full character will be appreciate. Not really angel, but no doubt it's build for battle (ouch !). Your personal touch is really appreciate. Close to have my vote ! Cheers !

@ brianl: Be carefull with your tones and values. Good idea with the wings but I can't see clearly HOW it can made her flying... but maybe it acts more like a weapon, he ! he !

@ DesignGuy: Same crit that brianl. Plus: your big white area don't help us to focus on your character.

@max1975: Hi, Max ! Same crit that the one I post in your SB but it's nice to see how far you pushed it. Congrats !

@ casec11: Remeber me some ol' french comic book. Don't remember exactly wich one and why.

@ ogar555: Remember me some nihei stuff for the general mood of your pic.

@ neoknocker: Brrrrr... She's really build for BATTLE, isn't she ? A full character will be fine.

@ masque: It's hard to made a visible pic with such tones. You don't fall into that trap and made a very good job. Bravo.

@ fes: Wow ! GREAT ENTRIE HERE ! Can't crit on a technical side. Bravo and congrats !

@ bumskee: Man, thank you for your comment about my stuff, your CHOW was very VERY close to have my vote. I dig your brush pattern and the attitude of your character. Nice shot, man !

@ young paddy1: Very good stuff with the tones and the stance ! Bravo !

@ kurdt: Be carefull with your lines ! More clean and more variations !

@ Evil_Sloth: Great responce to the topic. Lovely face ! I dig it.

@ loomer: Great entrie, very poetic ! I dig the tones and the conept. Another great entrie and again, close to have my vote !

@ Makk: But why all the badass decided to post when I made one ? Great stuff, man. i like the mood of your pic. cheers !

@ stephen: Simple, effective, elegant and precise ! Bravo, you're a superb artist.

@ conundrum: Man, I'm so sorry ! My little 56ko connection won't download your pic ! I'll edit my post or pm ya if I can do something to check your stuff, swear !

@Dan.v.D: Your angel is hot like hell, man ! Great render and values !

@ solorpower: Superb job ! Remind me some Buichi Terasawa work. Cheers !

@ Nutter: Cool concept, very good stance, clear lines ! Congrats !

@ Carnifex: Cool stance, very energic stuff !

@ Standing: Cant see your pic with my 56k... But I remember your ! He ! he ! Good atmosphear. Need a little something but I can't say exactly what.

Teigrob: The lines are superb, really ! And I dig the concept (probably one of the most wonderfull response to the topic !). Even if the thread is closed, I hope see ya put colors in it... later ? In your SB ? Close to have my vote !

Chingwa: Goddam ! Another great entrie, here ! Can't crit you, it's just superb ! VERY CLOSE TO HAVE MY VOTE !

@ VampireHungerStrike: Good idea with that one. In my opinion, you can play more with dark values.

@ Panagos: Powerfull !!! Great composition, good tones. Another great entrie !

@ Main Loop: Wow ! It's all traditional media ? Poetic, I think.

@ princeofhappiness: Great facial expression. Colors are a bit too "flashy" for my personal taste. Good wings !

@ depleteD: And another great entrie ! I like your design, man !

@ prehistoric: Be carefull with the stance, something more dynamic will be a plus.

@ Charles Wadey: Rhaaaaa ! Another killer piece, here ! It's a pleasure for my eyes ! Can't crit you man. Very close to have my vote (again !).

@ Saremu: Sorry, but that fu##### browser can't show your pic. I'll edit this comment as soon as possible !

@ artdwx: I love those tiny creatures above her. It was a real pain for me to draw chains. Did you have the same problem ? Character is good, even if I suggest you to work anatomy. Don't worry, it still good. Cheers !

@ morbidhumor: Great execution, remeber me David Mack's stuff ! Impressive ! I love the way you suggest the wings, very original !

@ timpaatkins: This one is ready for battle ! Be carefull with your tones, pay a little more attention to the anatomy. My two cents.

@ Helium Macaroni: Wonderfull job, man ! Can't crit you, I'm simply speechless !!! A great kickass to my own skills and my second choice after Posh'. Good point to the presentation. And I love your textures (according to the important place that I according to textures in my stuff). I discover today another great artist here on CA. Bien joué, monsieur/Well Done, sir !

@ armando: The Kali version, he ! he ! Good idea, it fits to the topic !

@ Commander Obvious: Well done with the tones and the shadows. It's not easy to play with it like you did ! Bravo !

Okay, I think I check everyone ! Again, congrats to you all, it was a pleasure. I wanna apologies myself if it seems to you that my comments is hard to understand. I'm french and my english is not perfect. Plus I was using a "simple" 56 k connection and it was hard for my nerves. But I really enjoy check all your stuff, people ! This round is really great !
Cheers, Folks !
Julien.

[iAn]

voted nutter. something about it just had me bought. might have been the face, might have been the wings. most likely the wings.

awesome pieces guys.

[fes]

Firstly thankee to anyone who mentioned me! :^^: Chuffed or what to just get a 'I liked your stuff' eh! Thanks Masque for your crit, some valid points there.... should have fiddled about with the wings and sword more, and I did kinda just bung them in without really thinking enough! dang!

So many good'uns to chose from ... but finally I went for bumskee because I loved the attitude/mood and sutle colours (which I find hard to do). But you almost lost me on the legs because I felt they just disappeared somewhat (although I assume that what you wanted but it almost put me off).

The other runners up etc for me (based on my personal taste) were:

romance - (I was gonna vote for you.... it was close) loved the colours and idea and you get a real sense of falling if not flying.

chuck,mate - very polished, simply that when push comes to shove I favour a more painterly look.

Nephilim - loved the colours, but I guess it was just a little too busy for me and my eyes got confused and couldn't settle

Poshspice - very different idea (which I liked) and beautifully done - don't ask why I didn't vote for you.... it was tricky.

Trollboy - loved the wings and costume, but something about her face put me off - dunno what

Panagos - Well painted but her right arm lost it for me perspective wise, and her feet looked a bit to clog like (looked like a boot with no creases)

Main Loop - Beautiful delicate style- loved it - but the perspective in her legs seemed off - you choose a really difficult-to-get-just-right straight on bent knee to do!

Charles Wadey - Great scene but would've liked to see the main character closer up.

Helium Macaroni - Great character - but the colours just didn't grab me at. However the more I looked at it the more I liked it!

Standing - just a bit too scary for me.

[Main Loop]

great entries, some really creative chices for the "wings", posh's really hit the spot for me.. i find myself voting a lot for him, step it up folks! heh

Main Loop: the ethereal lighting and textural diffusion of the top half of your piece is a very strong positive, contrasting well with the slight edginess of the armor and her classic, sculptural facial features. upper body proportions are well handled if a bit ambiguous in places. the color is rich and tones well-balanced in this fairly high-key light. but this all seems much weaker in the lower half of the pic, where the diffusion is replaced by a less interesting mistiness and the anatomy and proportions of the legs appear to me kind of awkward. the sword also loses its edge in places, with how it is painted resembling the way the cloth is rendered.

Main Loop - Beautiful delicate style- loved it - but the perspective in her legs seemed off - you choose a really difficult-to-get-just-right straight on bent knee to do!


great crits, i dunno why i chose that knee angle, you're right, proportions are wacky, great observation on the sword.. i should get more ref for this stuff, dunno how you guys do it without ref at all..

[Carnifex]

standing got my vote.cool concept and execution.
trollboy was close second. beautiful colours and mood.
oreg,maybe you could include the descriptions aswell?
alday thanx for the comment.

[Trollboy]

Thanks for the comments so far.
@nephilim: bluefooted also mentioned that magic card in the forum. I just looked it up (didnt know the artist before) you guys are right... the pose IS similar, but that image is way way better then mine... I agree about the contrast. I need to try and push that more.



trollboy`s just looked TOO like Humberto Ramos`s cover
for "crimson:once an angel". a bit TOO MUCH like it, if you ask me, dunno.(look it up in google).


i dont want to start any arguements here... i mentioned in the posting forum that i had read the crimson graphic novels, and that inspired the baldness of my angel. I can see similarities to the image you mentioned, but i find your wording insulting. :er:

@crazyman: thanks for posting that link to the crimson cover. i could only find a tiny image. I appreciate it. :)

@loomer: your right about the anatomy being off... I need to work harder on that.

@Alday.J: Thanks for taking the time to comment on everyones! Even your own :D thats awesome. Your right about needing darker values i think. goes back to the contrast thing...

@fes: thanks for the comment. not sure what to say about the face... I tried to make her look depressed, but also have glowing blue eyes... i dunno...

@carnifex: thanks for the silver medal! ;)

[Teigrob]

Thanks Alday and Masque for your crits and comments! And you're right about the background, Masque - I thought at the time I inked it that it was a little 'off'...should've followed my instincts, eh? ;)

Nutter, you got my vote! Beautiful piece, I love the trees and cobweb wings. First time I saw it I didn't quite clue in - thought she was just leaning up against a tree. :) Lovely.

Posh, too cute for words. Close second.

Carnifex - you are improving by leaps and bounds man! Very well done. What, no colour? :P (I should talk..)

[OtterFrenzy]

Alday.J-

Thanks for the crit, and for taking the time to comment on everyone's piece. Looking back on the picture I think you are definitely right that mine is fairly hard to read. I'll try to simplify my next few compositions and keep them clean and easily read.

[Beastmaster Fred]

Lots and lots of great work here, guys! My vote went to Helium Macaroni because it just stood out from the rest (and that´s impressive as hell!).

[Hjalli]

Merci for the comment Alday.J, good effort to comment on everyone :)
It was getting a little one sided, if you know what I mean ;)

About my entry, I really just wanted to make a really earthbound angel that was not really an angel, but was one to the tribe, someone that had tribal/shamanistic powers and was in the eyes of the tribe, a protector, a symbol of their power and their little angel.

Anyway, I learned a whole lot by painting this, but mostly I learned that after painting with a mouse for a while, your wrist starts to bleed. :Þ

[Phaethon]

Man, this one was difficult... Don't know why I even bothered to finish an entry, with all this talent :)

I guess I'll just go down the list for everyone's, seeing as there are a number of people who are getting a lot more feedback than others (and its always the people with the least feedback that need it the most [me!]). A bunch of great concepts, though only a few of them really said "Battle Angel" a lot of them felt like Fight Angels or Skirmish Angels; they look great and you wouldn't want to mess with them in a fight, but putting them in a battle would be like throwing a small-time street thug into a war. And, of course, there's the usual issue of clothing. I've got nothing against nudity, certainly, and some of these are really beautiful figures. I suppose if we could assume that an angel might be so incredibly powerful that she'd never need armor, but I didn't really get that vibe from anyone's. So!

Hjalli - Cool concept; I like the idea of a "tribal" angel. However, work on your female anatomy. There is a definite difference between a muscular woman and a man that's missing here.

rustylynn - Interesting, but underdeveloped. There's shading on the body, but none on the hair or the sword! And if the fire's supposed to not be shaded as a stylistic device then why doesn't it brighten the bottoms of the feet the same way it does her hand? The idea made me think of a weird cross between Greek gods Apollo and Hermes.

StenP - I like the idea but its a bit hard to read. The face is confusing;very well-developed around the eyes, but then it just fades off. And it took me quite a while to figure out the shield. I like the wings, though.

werezoo - The first of the "Fight Angels". No way I'd mess with her on the street, but doesn't strike me as battle-ready. Interesting idea with the gas mask and jets.

ParkerD - I like the idea of a Greco-Roman Battle Angel, and the butterfly wings are nice. However, why a helmet and no breastplate? Doesn't make sense. And what's that sword attached to? Check your proportions, her upper half is longer than her lower half, and they should be the same. Nice use of light on the halo.

Zeitwolf - Interesting idea with the hand-wings. Sort of sinister, but doesn't strike the fear of god into me that I'd need to believe the outfit :)

Nike - Getting closer to the idea of a viable armor-less battle angel. The sword, armor, and wing designs are all very nice, but there's a tiny bit of a length difference between her upper and lower halves you might want to watch out for.

Alday.J - Well-painted, but if I were her I'd want to be as far away from that hook as possible. More demonic than angelic, really, though still very nicely done.

romance - Love the retro-future style. Definitely a more viable outfit with a raygun than similar ones with swords, and the "wings" are definitely cool.

csteingart - Neat, but this strikes me as more of a covert-spy angel. Its the heels. I like the style you used for her body more than the style you used for her face.

crazy3dman - The anatomy is very confusing in this. Her face and shoulders are awfully mannish, and I've got no clue what that right arm is doing. Is it in front, behind? It's too bad, because the head, shoulders, and left arm would look very nice were it an angel of the male persuasion (The shadows on the upper lip read as 5-o'clock shadow, but maybe its just me?)

Chuck,mate - Really excellent, a close contender for my vote. Great style, but it makes me think of a sort of Crimson Skies 1930s air pirate fairy (which rocks, incidentally) as opposed to a battle angel.

Infinitum - Cardboard tubes rock. Her mouth is sort of creepy, though; its off just-so.

cgfuller64 - You need a broader range of values. The highlights seem very dull; brigthening them would enhance the already ethereal feel of the piece. The face is interesting, but I'm not sure how well it reads. Also: stomach wounds can be especially fatal.

AmishCommy - Another really close contender for the vote. The motion and the painterly style in this are great. But she's definitely more of a one-on-one versus a war angel. Great use of red and blue.

Interceptor - Great sense of character in this one, and awesome idea with the chainsaws. Your line work is excellent. It just doesn't quite say "battle angel" for me, though it was in the running.

nephilim - Really striking piece, though whatever's behind the head is a little tough to place. The detail and going with a non-human design are great!

Lohan - Very nice black and white work, but it doesn't feel particularly female or angelic. You do a good job of separating background from foreground elements with just the black and white.

evildisco - Man, one slip of that badass chainsaw and she'll lose one of her three heads! I mean breasts, one of her two breasts... I can't help but think Nazi rogue agent here.

OtterFrenzy - Very confusing image, it took me a while to actually make out the angel. While the red-blue contrast is nice, you really need to separate out the different elements of the image.

Poshspice - This just screams character; its a superb image. I guess I just wasn't feeling playful, though I definitely considered voting for it. :)

Vix - Cool. I like the color scheme and the pose. Close to a viable scantily-clad battle angel, but not quite. More a guard of some sort, maybe?

Jska - Very nice. Great overall idea, and the skull-smoke wings are excellent. She seems a bit short in the legs, that's my only complaint. Otherwise, it was definitely in the running.

Eriboss - Love the idea, sort of an Indian goddess take. But the face is confusing and the arm-wings don't quite seem connected to her body, which is incidentally rendered very well.

Trollboy - Another close one. This one feels a lot more battle-ready than some of the others, though I'm not sure why. But, great work overall.

englishduke - A little too spare. If you wanted to concentrate on line you could have darkened it up a little for an image with more punch. The drawing itself is pretty nice, though the dragon idea is definitely on the demon side of the spectrum, and she gives off more of a Fight Angel feel.

JakkaS - Another Fight Angel, I should think from the way she's dressed. Nice idea with the pendants, and the red to white gradation from bottom to top suggests heaven and hell without being too heavy-handed.

Sundance - Interesting and well drawn, but I thought superhero before I thought battle. Nice pencil work, though, and the idea that we're not really sure if the wings are there or not is cool.

walnut - Another one I considered voting for. The wings are excellent, and she comes close to be a scantily-clad and war-ready. Really strong angelic feel to it without being cliche.

Fellah - Very cool, but there's no way that thing came from on high! Nice movement here.

brianl - Cool, steampunk almost. The style works well but I just don't know how well the wings fit with everything else.

DesignGuy - Morbidly funny, but doesn't make sense. Why carry a medieval axe if you've got an atomic jetpack? Why dress in vinyl if you've got a medieval axe? And why wear heels into battle? Its not exaggerated enough for the logical incosistencies to work.

max1975 - Not a badly done image, but bat wings are just too mcuh associated with the demonic. At least the swords she's carrying are a bit more reasonable, considering that she's wearing no protection.

casec11 - Eh, I just don't like the style. It's more a personal thing than anything else, the image is rendered well enough. Just don't like those big blocks.

ogar555 - Interesting, but this is another one that shouts "demon!" I like the armor, faces, and sword, though she does look like she's about to fall forward.

neoknocker - A bit too rough around the edges. The armor is kind of interesting, but check your proportions.

masque - Cool one, and definitely close to a viable clothes-less battle angel. Nice colors (What's with this blue and red color scheme that keeps popping up?) and movement, but its another one that feels more demonic than angelic.

fes - Another one I considered voting for, and one that could almost work with the lack of clothing. The wings are excellent, as is the costume, but the sword just doesn't fit. Good pose and movement, and I'm glad you realize she'd get all cut up!

bumskee - Also in the running, but in the end I decided she was more of a fight angel. There's a really nice moodiness to this pieace, and the idea of the wings is subtle.

young paddy1 - Well-painted, but I just don't care for those rocket-feet. Good use of light.

kurdt - I did consider this, though its pretty sparse. I like how the wings fade into the background. More of a fight angel in that outfit, I decided.

Evil_Sloth - This was my final choice! I love the armor design, and the pose has really great movement potential. She's not the fiercest, but she's clearly outfitted for a war (maybe I've just been thinking too much along the lines of Knights of the Old Republic battle armor). Great use of light as it glows from the halo, and excellent job with the understated wings. The painterly style works well, though the very top of the piece is confusing. In any event, Bravo!

loomer - Another well-painted fighting fairy, I think. I wouldn't want to carry around an axe in that corset, or fight anyone else with an axe for that matter. Nicely done, but doesn't feel like a "Battle Angel".

Makk - The birds are interesting, especially in the way they draw the eye diagonally across the page, but check your female anatomy on this one. I'm not sure what's going on with her feet.

stephen - Nice idea, and almost in the running. There's a nice sinister vibe from this one.

Ok! I am not finishing this now. More comments for everyone else later.

[Digisaur]

Poshspice's angel frickin rules! The little details are great (bandaids, red knees, skuffs, that defiant look). Some playground bully is gonna get his ass beat! ;)

[sve]

Hello, Phaethon, I'm looking forward to read Part 2, I'm enjoying reading your thoughts a lot, no less than the contest itself. Very interesting comments.
Sveta

[Lohan]

I also wanted to point out that standing had the best concept ever :)

[J.Willis]

Well, I went with Poshspice as it depicts the way I want my future daughters to be. Angels that the boys are frightened of.

I was also torn between Nutter's and Teigrob's. Nutter's for the wings and expression.

Teigrob's because it has an original take on the whole angel idea men have. I just wish the dogs were hounds, but that's just a citybilly thing.

[aweshux]

I really liked trollboy's entry.

The flame wings work ,if combustion works for jets ,why not angels? And thats why she has no hair !
The bird with wings on the sword is like an homage to her avian nature although she is not a birdwoman but flight is the common factor here.
Nice facial expression, looks like she has seen her share of battles.
The sword looks very important as if it protects a kingdom of some sort.
Eyes,cloth and pose get good points as well. Maybe push the darks a little but then maybe it wouldnt seem so heavenly.

Good work trollboy
_shux

[englishduke]

Thanks for the crits Phaethon and Alday.J. I really appreciate you taken the time to look and critique my peice.

[max1975]

Must second what englishduke says, Phaethon and Alday.J, you guys rock. That was a LOT of entries to give a thoughtful crit for every one :)

(Phaethon: Those aren't bat wings, but obviously it's my fault if you can't tell :))
(and actually they're creepier than bat wings, freakin' out my sister and girlfriend, not too angelic i guess)

[magicgoo]

Wow, everyone!!

So many badass entries!

I'm just sorry I missed this Chow, being that it was my suggestion and it actually got used. Damn!

Anyway, I'll really have to think about my vote. The non-traditional wing ideas are absolutely awesome!

[Chuck,mate.]

thanks for all the great crits everyone,
most appreciated.

one thing that kinda got my eye-brows raisd:

helium macaroni voted for his own piece?

i mean - to be honest - on some rounds, i liked my work best too but i would never vote for myself.
it`s somewhat... self-absorbed.
so i vote for the next best thing.
but if it doesn`t bother anyone else, and there`s no rule against it - so be it.

intense round this one has been!
you nuts kick ass. (or you asses kick nuts, you choose.)
:)

[CaptainInsano]

helium macaroni voted for his own piece?

i mean - to be honest - on some rounds, i liked my work best too but i would never vote for myself.
it`s somewhat... self-absorbed.
so i vote for the next best thing.

:)



i don't think there's anything wrong with voting yourself if you honestly believe you were the best entry.

Imagine you're running for president and believe your ideas are the best for the country and the world. Would you vote for the other dude just to be "humble" (who has ideas that are dangerous to the country... and the world)? No one benefits from that sort of mind-set except those who don't deserve (or who you believe who don't deserve) to win. If it boils down to the good and bad, no one benefits from a "compromise/neutral vote" except the bad.

It's like telling the girl you love to dump you and date the jerk who'll treat her bad because it'll make you look "humble," even though you know that YOU were the perfect man for her. No one benefits for this except the jerk.

I voted for Mainloop, because I think he/she had the best entry. I didn't vote for myself because there are at least 30 entires here who are far more deserving of my vote. I voted for who should win, not who I think should win because it makes me look "humble."

Anyway, sorry to get preachy. But IMO there's nothing good about moral grey-ness. Choose who think is the best choice. Don't purposely vote against it. that's all.

[Commander Obvious]

I don't see it as voting for "the next best thing" I see it more like "voting for yourself is lame so don't count yours when voting". Seriously, this isn't a presidency and even if you were to follow that analogy, if a candidate voted for the other guy, his vote wouldn't matter. If it did, the courts would spend the next year wasting everyone's time in endless re-counts.

I'm not anybody's mother here so I won't chide a person for voting for themself. I'll just say that I won't do it on principle alone out of respect for the "competition". When I vote, I don't consider mine. In this group, that's pretty redundant but that's not the point. :P

Anyhoo, good round. Let's see this kind of enthusiasm on more topics, eh!
:ab: :aa: :at: :at: :al: :ae: :angel:

[m@.]

Posh <3

Cool entries.
I wish I entered, but I'm in a damn end-of-the-year-laziness mood atm.. I need vacations.

[Sundance]

I went with Nutters, to me it was the best combination of originality and execution. Beautiful pencil work, wonderful expression, fantastic rendering of the cape, and the wings...perfect.

[masque]

lordy, this thread has it all, eh? art theft, paintover v. refs, now self-voting. FWIW, here's a few ponderings to masticate (feeling particularly pedantic this a.m., i guess).

why is this a "competition" that someone must "win?" a poll expresses opinion, not objective merit, nor even techical proficiency. there is no "prize" such as a term in office or the Golden Fleece that once achieved indicates victory. lose the head-to-head, winner-take-all attitude and things look a lot diff, i think. even the idea that the biggest vote getter is "best" is weak -- best by what standards? the pool of potential voters is too disparate to make "best" a valid descriptor. maybe the most accurate statement is that the work getting the most votes is the "most appreciated" among those willing to put forth an opinion via a vote. that's reward aplenty.

from this perspective there's nothing wrong with a vote for one's self, but it's completely redundant. of course you appreciate your own work -- if not, it would not have been displayed.

we all want to be fair, i think, and give everyone who contributes the benefit of assuming that their contributions to the thread (not "entries in the contest") are sincere efforts, maybe even the best they have to offer at the moment. this is part of leveling the playing field, an important step because this is not a peer group. all pretentions of warmth & fuzziness aside, the talent and skill range displayed in these threads and on this site is vast, and the 'OW activities are open to all within that range. but the levelness of the field gets disturbed when considering one's own work.

such old chestnuts as "1 picture = 1000 words" and "every picture tells a story" are uber cliche, but very relevant to most of the work on CA and particularly the 'OW threads where a defined theme connects all the work. it's pretty apparent that when voters view the work they are "reading the story" in each piece. each pic is a new visual story to be enjoyed, unforeshadowed by anything but the brief.

but when viewing one's own work, i doubt it's possible to discard the influence of all the effort that went into its creation. it's not just 1000 words, it's a 937-page trilogy bound in leather with gold leaf edging, because the artist will "read" it through a filter of blood, sweat and tears. the artist's passionate involvement in the creative process warps the "playing field" with regard to his or her own work. it's impossible to approach it with the same sense of newness as all the others.

this unavoidable bias makes a self-vote ultimately rather shallow, more a statement that "i know a lot more about what i was trying to say than anyone else." kind of a duh.

more could be said but perhaps you get the point: nothing really "wrong" with voting for one's own work, but doing so is somewhat pointless because it expresses the obvious and to some degree ignores (what i perceive as) the intent of the ChOW activity.

[Carnifex]

what the hey...?i got a vote.
thanx alot embee.

[Cique]

Dammit, basically what I like to draw best, I missed it thanks to the tonne of school work I was given to do last week, didn't have a single break!
Anyway I voted Interceptor, altough I liked Artdwx alot also, and liked alot of the others.
I will have to draw one for the hell of it soon...

[Nike]

I gave my vote to Standing, because I really like the concept, I also tought the colors and execution of the piece very appealing. I was trn between Standing's and bumskee's entry, bumskee's has wonderful textures, colors, mood, but finally I decided to vote for Standing, maybe because there is more motion in his piece.

Thank you for the crits, Phaethon and Alday.J, highly apperciated!

I hope I find some time to comment the other entries, too, this week :)

[S.C. Watson]

Okay, I missed the self vote. I'm looking into it now. I'm going to assume for the moment Mr. H was voting for Armando or Timpaatkins. It's easy enough to click on the wrong name, and if the name you wanted to vote for happens to be right next to yours, then you're screwed if you click the wrong thing.

And yes, this has been an interesting round with all the side show stuff going on.

[EDIT] there's no effective way for me to remove Helium's name from his list of voters, but I did drop his count by one.

Now, on voting for yourself, there's really no rule stating that you can't. I think this falls into that grey area. Hell, politicians do it all the time, even adding a few votes here and there to spice things up. *however*, we're not in politics, so I'm going to say let's not do it as it's considered bad taste around these parts, kind of like an off color joke. And you don't want to be the butt of one of those.

~Oreg.

[Chuck,mate.]

Okay, I missed the self vote. I'm looking into it now. I'm going to assume for the moment Mr. H was voting for Armando or Timpaatkins. It's easy enough to click on the wrong name, and if the name you wanted to vote for happens to be right next to yours, then you're screwed if you click the wrong thing.

And yes, this has been an interesting round with all the side show stuff going on.

so IT IS forbidden? people here were discussing it as if it`s a Legitimate thing.

weird...

[S.C. Watson]

No, it's not forbidden. That's what I was saying. I was saying it's easy to click the wrong name, espeically if your name is next to the one you wanted to vote for.

But we're going to consider it a no-no from here on out. No one is to be drawn and quartered tho if they do it. Seriously ribbed and noogied, but not drawn and quartered.

[Dragonspit]

Yeah sorry about that Oregano, my system crased when I was about 80perc done. Its rare I dont save multiple times, but this once I had not. I was so aggrevated, I didnt log on all weekend. Next time I dont think I will do a wip.

a lot of really good entries on this one.

[S.C. Watson]

Yeah sorry about that Oregano, my system crased when I was about 80perc done. Its rare I dont save multiple times, but this once I had not. I was so aggrevated, I didnt log on all weekend. Next time I dont think I will do a wip.

a lot of really good entries on this one.
No worries, mate. Stuff happens.

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[asoir]

Best CHow ever.
Went for nephilim, kept dragging my eye back to it.

[Phaytfool]

Charles Wadey's piece is really the only one that i felt really portrays the idea of a "battle" angel. Good pallette, good composition and attention to detail... Well done

[romance]

Phaethon & Alday.J - I can't believe you two had the time to comment on every entry. It's greatly appreciated. Thank you for your effort and kind comments as well.

Fes - She is falling... er... skydiving...um... flydiving.... that's not right, dammit! ok, i guess she is just falling. Thanks.

Loomer - Thanks perv :P

Max1975 - Thanks!

Masque - I've already thanked you, but I'll thank you again. The effort you've put forth in your critique is astounding and very helpful. Keep up the great work. You are a huge asset to this community.

Bumskee - Thanks man. I strayed a bit didn't I?

MorbidHumor - Thanks!

I hope I managed to get all who commented on my entry. If I didn't, MERCI!

For those of you who voted. Even more thanks.

-Rob

[Aly Fell]

Good grief! I've been away for a couple of days and haven't had time to really check the thread, but this is the most awesome (shit, I used 'that' word) ChOW of them all! And if ever there was a reason for multiple placings, this is it! So good idea Oregano!

Too many to list as favs, however honourable mentions to, well, everyone really! But if I was to do a 1, 2 and 3: third place would go to Young_Paddy 1. This shows a real maturity in your work man. The best thing I've seen from you by far! Second place goes to Fes, jointly with Helium Macaroni (Girls in flying jackets! :D ) But first to Nephilim! I really dig the colours, the design and the overall image, so you get my vote! :)

Thanks for the crits too! :) I didn't think her face was too mature, but I'll have another look at it! :) Kids are really difficult to get right!

[Jska]

Alday, sve, and Phaethon- thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them!

And on a side note I'm rather glad that voting for yourself is considered a no-no, as I've always viewed it as such. Masque has put it a bit more eloquently than I :)

[Phaethon]

Well I'm glad you guys appreciate it so far... I just need to distract myself to avoid doing all the work I need to do... And I really and strongly believe that everyone needs a comment; its just too often that the same really good ones get talked about and the ones that need some work, the ones that really need comments, are ignored. Just trying to be even-handed :)

But, moving onwardly...

conundrum - Nice design, very clean. I'm gonna be a jerk about the bare stomach again :)

Dan.v.D. - Another close call for an angel that looks like she wouldn't need armor in a battle. These almost-demons keep coming up as well, which is interesting. Overall very nicely painted, good pose and sense of character.

solorpower - This one is interesting, if a bit confusing. I'm not certain where that shadow is coming from; the light source is on the opposite side of the page from the on-page light source of the sword, which is puzzling. The fire on the wings and sword is nicely rendered, but this girl needs protection!

Nutter - My second place runner-up, I'd say. Brilliant idea with the tree/web wings. The shading is bold but not too heavy-handed, and the pose and facial expression are excellent. Definitely a battle angel too; armed and ready!

Carnifex - Everyone probably knows what I'm going to say at this point, namely that she's going to get a breast sliced off, not that I'd want to try it myself for fear of losing life and limb. I would darken the shadows a bit to give them more differentiation from the midtones.

Standing - Yours won't load on my computer! It was the rags and patches, right? Good idea.

Teigrob - Very clever, and a nice take on the notion of a battle angel as something other than a warrior. Very solid black and white and line work in this.

Chingwa - Well-painted and good use of light and dark in the background. The cloth wings work nicely, but its another Fight Angel.

VampireHungerStrike - Alright, some decent armor! I like the armor/wing design, but the piece looks very flat. I'd guess this is because of the red detailing, which doesn't vary in shade with the rest of the armor. The red is very distracting, and work on your foreshortening (left foot).

Panagos - Great action and design! The mask and chains are especially striking, but she's far and away a quick-strike Skirmish Angel.

Main Loop - The style is interesting but difficult to read. Too many little spots... The design looks nice enough, but she's oddly selective in where she choses to put armor :) Nice halo.

princeofhappiness - Very bold and stylistic. Good use of light and nice design. She's a scrapper, this one.

depleteD - I'm calling you on the heels, and I've no idea what those things in the foreground and background are supposed to be. If I had to guess I'd say bells, maybe, judging from the similar structures on her hat. The Far-East angel idea is a good one, though.

Prehistoric - I considered this for a vote, but she's a fight angel through and through. The Western/Da Vinci combination works very well, and her face adds some interesting character. I considered a pose almost exactly like this, so it caught my eye right away.

Charles Wadey - Cool design, definitely an all out Battle Angel here. I like the fact that its a squad, it really emphasizes the idea that a whole slew of these angels could be in a full battle. Nice halo, wing, and armor design. The background is also really beautiful.

Saremu - Ah, see? Now she's totally allowed to get away with swords sans armor, because of the type of weapon. Great idea with the fans and a nice, if not terribly interesting, pose, but its still too much of a sketch.

artdwx - Go watercolor and ink! Another I definitely considered voting for. Awesome armor design, and the "wings" are really clever. The way she has her arms positioned also really make this piece; it would loose its entire dynamic were they at her sides, for example. A bonifide Battle Angel!

morbidhumor - Another damn clever one, and excellently painted. You can almost see the blood spreading as you look at it.

timpaatkins - Just too rough around the edges for me. It needs to be sharper and the form needs to be more fleshed out. The armor and wing design are nice enough, though.

Helium Macaroni - Yet another close contender for the vote; a second or third. I almost couldn't resist the retro- 30s style. Very well-painted and a great sense of character; she looks so self-possessed. Maybe a little on the dark side, but that barely counts as a complaint.

armando - Nice idea with the Hindu multiple arms, but its still in a sketch stage here. She might be able to make it without armor. Maybe.

Commander Obvious - Good use of the blue/red contrast and the fire-feather wings. The gun just seems out of place, though, as theres no real pretext for it in the image. And if she uses a gun in a battle, there's no way she's not recieving some sort of fatal wound like that.

Replies and such:

Alday.J - Thanks for the comments!

max1975 - Ah, yeah. I see it now; the hands and feet. Good idea. When I said "bat wings", though, I just meant that there were bony bits connected by leathery bits.

Helium Macaroni - If I painted something that awesome, I would sure as hell vote for myself.

This concludes my ill-informed, pretentious comments.

[Carnifex]

aight i fail to see why she would cut herself,but ok.
thanx for the pointers.:)

[Nutter]

ARghh, this is so hard, it is quite interesting to see all the different variations on the subject matter, should i vote for originality or quality. I like Jakkas take on the subject, nice colouring and it has a real gritty feel. Poshspice has a great concept but the face is a bit too mature looking, it needs more baby fat. I think Teigrob has the most original of the angels, I think that if it was cell shaded then it would be sweet. Bumskee, great work as usual, but I think you were being a bit lazy with the pose. Chuck, great rendering on your piece. Standing, scarey looking character, rendering could be a bit tighter though. Well, those were my favourite pieces. :^^: But I love looking at everybodys artwork.:yayca:

cheers.

[Standing]

Lohan - whoa dude, thanks for the compliment! I don't think that I can claim that title - there have been some badass concepts in chow and looking at the poll results would suggest that popular opinion isn't the same as yours :^^: but thanks for the vote of confidence all the same - I'm glad you liked it!
Nike - thanks dude - means a lot to get your vote
Phatheon - too bad, I would have liked one of your comprehensive (and well considered crits) oh well - yes, she is the one clad in value village rejects.
Nutter - thanks. I'm always caught in the 'to render/not to render' battle - hopefully I'll figure it out one of these decades.

and Masque - I enjoyed reading what you had to say about the thread.

For what it's worth, I'd never vote for myself, but then again I think that it's all a matter of personal preference and that there isn't anything wrong with it in principle. If you think that yours is the best in your heart of hearts, then vote away.
For me, if anyone decides to vote for me, it's really just the icing on the cake. It's the motivation to push oneself and to seek to be better and all of the great input from others that makes it worthwhile.
I can't speak for everyone else, but if I make stuff and no-one ever sees it, then it feels a bit silly. Ca is an unbelievable outlet for us all and gives me what I feel is a far more relevant peer group than I had in school. Or anywhere else for that matter. :yayca:

[Chingwa]

OK, after much deliberation (man there were some great entries here) I ended up casting my vote for poshspice. When I first saw it I was just floored by how original and playful his/her entry was, and also of course painted very well with a lot of attention to detail despite being a relatively "simple" design. Great Job!

Phaethon Thanks for the crit! I put a lot of work into the rendering, and am a bit surprised I haven't garnered any votes. But It's all good, there are so many other great entries here!

As far as Helium Macaroni voting for himself.... I say SO WHAT!? I almost voted for his entry as I find it very original, stretching the Battle Angel concept into a direction others have not thought of. And If I thought mine was better than the others here I would have voted for my own as well.

Oregano If there's going to be animosity toward someone voting for their own piece then you should just make it a rule that you can't do it. Otherwise we should cut HM some slack. And I am a bit taken back by you editing his vote count. you basically nullified his vote. If my vote was ever nullified I would probably stop participating in these weekly projects.

[Trollboy]

woo votes! aweshux, solorpower, thanks :)

@young paddy1: If there was a vote for cooloest weapon in this round i would give it to you. I see alot of swords, some axes, a few guns (and a cardboard tube!) but you took another route with that giant blunt 'Holy Mace / Hammer of God' thing. looks like it would deal out some serious blunt trauma

[S.C. Watson]

Oregano If there's going to be animosity toward someone voting for their own piece then you should just make it a rule that you can't do it. Otherwise we should cut HM some slack. And I am a bit taken back by you editing his vote count. you basically nullified his vote. If my vote was ever nullified I would probably stop participating in these weekly projects.

Chingwa (and Helium, and whomever else) - I've spent the better part of the day thinking about this. I've been away from the computer since around 11 am my time, and have spent the time reflecting on this issue while attending to other matters.

I handled it the way I did because of two primary factors: 1 - this was how it was handled in the COW some time back. I used that as my basis. 2 - this is the second time we've had such an incident in CHOW, with someone voting for themselves and their vote being removed. The first time, no one batted an eyelash. I handled this instance with the established precedent (removed the vote).

My own personal take on the matter is I really don't give a rip. And, frankly, have better things to do than worry about whether or not someone votes for themselves.

The last thing I want to be is unfair. The very idea mortifies me (seriously).

Therefore, my final say on this matter is this: I don't give a damn if someone votes for themselves. It's their vote, they may caste it where they may.

Helium has his vote back. End of subject, except for the following:

Helium, I sincerely apologize. I should not have removed a vote count from your tally in the first place. I do hope that this hasn't soured things for you too much and that you will see fit to participate in CHOW again. If not, I understand, and don't blame for you for pursueing other interests.

Sincerely,
~Shane

[StenP]

Phaethon and Alday.J -- critiques much appreciated, and thank you for the kind words!

This is an extremely hard round to pick a favourite! So many great submissions, and only one vote... (actually, even three won't be enough in this case)

Great job, everyone!

[Helium Macaroni]

Wow, so I step off the plane from LA to Buffalo, check this thread, and am greeted by some drama. Actually, having had to wrap up school and prepare for Christmas break I haven't explored the depth of crits or the kafuffle that apparently ensued.

The funniest thing is that I actually never voted... technically.

Indeed you'll see my name underneath the vote breakdown. That vote however was not in fact cast by me, but by a certain girl I live with... a certain girl that happens to be the one I moddled the jetpack girl after! After completing the thing, my girlfriend was delighted with the result, and happy with her role as a muse. She is familiar with the site and visits from time to time, often under my name as I hardly ever log myself out. She however does not possess a membership, so while browsing the CHOW section right after I posted the piece, she came upon the voting thread and checked out the competition. Not really aware or concerned that she was logged in under my username, she did what most devoted (and smarmy) girlfriends would do and voted for the thing that looked like her, and that was done by me.

So I guess the moral of the story is don't show your girlfriend things that she will become giddily attached to, causing her to be compelled to unwittingly usurp your username and vote for the piece that utilized her image... that’s a long ass moral.

Either way, I was going to vote for bumskee. If you care to retract a vote from my numbers and put it in his pile, so be it.

In regards to the deeper philosophical reflections of whether or not one should vote for oneself, I guess it all depends. I don't have the moral authority to dictate whether or not such behavior should be prohibited or tolerated, but regardless, like Chingwa said, if such behavior is frowned upon, maybe a limitation should be embedded in the rules or the mechanism of voting itself... at least to correct for any possible proud girlfriends.

Pride is both a sin for reasons of egotism and conversely an inherent result of feeling accomplished and comfortable in your achievement. It’s skating a thin edge. Some would see choosing ones own piece as self-absorption, while others would see it as simply feeling ones piece is truly worthy. Personally, I liked my piece a lot. I am proud of it whether it comes in first or last. I however also think it has a ways to go especially compared to how some of the finer pieces in here were executed. With that in mind I'll learn from everything I can glean here and look forward to the next competition!

kay.. I'm done being a scholarly jackass for now.

Oregano, don't worry at all. This silly mishap was terribly confusing. Ultimately I don't think it really matters in any meaningful capacity seeing how the votes seem to be lining up currently :)

Welp, its 3:48am Eastern, and I'm looking forward to unconsciousness.. sorry about all the confusion.

Kathryn.. if you're reading this, go to bed!

[timpaatkins]

Phaethon, thanks for taking the time to give EVERY ONE OF US some crit, it is muck appreciated, and quite impressive, I must say!

Cheers TIm

[ANARKY]

Poshspice got it.

For me it was the lateral thinking, almost everyone else did a Sexy Babe of some sort or another, which was the obvious route to take. But Aly clearly put some thought into this, and came up with an image that filled the brief completly and filled it with his usual style and Character. And this one REALLY OOZES Character! Its the stannd out image of the lot because of the way its different to the rest. Technicly it may not be the best, but its the way Aly tackled the brief here that wins it for him!

[Chuck,mate.]

Helium - thanks for taking the time to step up to the plate
and explaining. all things considered it`s nice to know people here are honest and civilized.

i do apologize for bringing the whole thing up.
there wasn`t any bad intention , only a query about something that bothered me.

cheers.
:yayca:

[Hideyoshi]

bumskee gets it, just damn cool style and expression!
But really kicka$$ stuff from everyone!
Props to:
romance, chuckmate, nephilim, lohan, Posh, eriboss, JakkaS, fellah, youngpaddy1, standing, maccaroni!

[grey]

massive entries all around, impressive turnout!

my vote's Fellah for good linework and a nice evil solution without a hint of cheesecake (not that there's anything wrong with 'cake)

young paddy a close second; other great submissions that made the choice difficult: chuck mate; interceptor; nephilim; poshspice; trollboy; stephen; nutter (great wings); and helium

[S.C. Watson]

Okay. Helium, Chuck,mate, Chingwa, ParkerD; Group hug guys. Group hug! That's it! REALLY squeeze! UUUURRRrrruuuUURGH!















Wait. that sounded... wrong.

We cool? I'm cool. You cool? good. Go draw. MANLY stuff. yeah.

[Phaethon]

Carnifex - I'm just joking! I'm sure she's perfectly competent. My point with all of the bare-chested ones is not that they look bad or not that they couldn't survive a fight like that, its just that if you could have armor there, why wouldn't you?

Chingwa - I'm also surprised at your vote total. It's a very nice piece; I hope my previous comments didn't convey anything otherwise.

Standing - Aha! It loads now, and, as I said, very cool idea, even if it doesn't scream "Battle". I like the style; very loose, though a bit more developed in the body. But it works well, as sharpening the detail on the sword and wings, for example, would have ruined what they imply as looser shapes.

Now I have you all.

[armando]

[QUOTE=Chingwa]

As far as Helium Macaroni voting for himself.... I say SO WHAT!? I almost voted for his entry as I find it very original, stretching the Battle Angel concept into a direction others have not thought of. And If I thought mine was better than the others here I would have voted for my own as well.
[QUOTE]

Alright, I must respond to this. "original, stretching the battle angle concept into a direction others have not thought of", I cannot agree with this, a jetpack is the second most obvious choice after feathered wings, Helium himself admitted it was derivative.

I'll give props to Casec11 for putting a cute twist on the old jetpack idea, would have liked to have seen 5 of them in formation.

[crazy3dman]

helium - ROTFLMAO - That is so funny that that's how this whole thing started.

I'm really having trouble figuring out who to vote for. So many nice entries.

[Helium Macaroni]

Alright, I must respond to this. "original, stretching the battle angle concept into a direction others have not thought of", I cannot agree with this, a jetpack is the second most obvious choice after feathered wings, Helium himself admitted it was derivative.



Ah yes, such a close and obvious choice that a scant 2 out of the 68 of us chose it instead of wings of other sorts.. guess thats just my unoriginality =/

I'm not saying a jetpack is any more inventive than the countless other creative ways that wings have been portrayed in here, I notoriously cling to familiar ideas.. but cripes, cut me a little slack.

[CaptainInsano]

We cool? I'm cool. You cool? good. Go draw. MANLY stuff. yeah.

LOL!

btw... I got no beef with anyone. all these guys are way more talented than I am. I was just trying to get my point across. Sorry for starting shit.

we cool G's?

[Helium Macaroni]

LOL!

btw... I got no beef with anyone. all these guys are way more talented than I am. I was just trying to get my point across. Sorry for starting shit.

we cool G's?


I'm coo.. except for just being called unoriginal.. that cuts.. deep *sniff*

Think I'll go have a good long cry now.

[armando]

Ah yes, such a close and obvious choice that a scant 2 out of the 68 of us chose it instead of wings of other sorts.. guess thats just my unoriginality =/

I'm not saying a jetpack is any more inventive than the countless other creative ways that wings have been portrayed in here, I notoriously cling to familiar ideas.. but cripes, cut me a little slack.

You did mention "The Rocketeer" in the WIP thread. I disagreed with his wording, and there were more than 2 jetpack angels, can't check right now as I'm on dial up, but there were at least 5.

[Commander Obvious]

Hey, don't anyone worry about it. We're ALL just as original as the language we're speaking....

(*runs away as a heavy irony falls over the crowd, injuring the bystanders*)

[darth massacre]

Having a hard time with this one. Pondering between Poshspice's and Romance's but I thought Poshspice would have a lot more votes so I gave Romance a nod.

Great work everyone.

[bluefooted]

Trollboy I still think your pic looks a lot like the Fallen Angel magic card. Sorry, this is the biggest version I could find online:

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4999/fallenangel2fp.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I'm not saying you copied it or anything, it just looks pretty similar. Maybe you saw it once and forgot. Or it could be a total coincidence - the only similar things really are the bald head and the pose...

[Nutter]

Trollboy I still think your pic looks a lot like the Fallen Angel magic card. Sorry, this is the biggest version I could find online:

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4999/fallenangel2fp.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I'm not saying you copied it or anything, it just looks pretty similar. Maybe you saw it once and forgot. Or it could be a total coincidence - the only similar things really are the bald head and the pose...

Why? coz of the bald head? big deal

[armando]

I'm not saying you copied it or anything, it just looks pretty similar. Maybe you saw it once and forgot.

I've done that many times with music. I'll be thinking,"this is a bitchin riff", then about thirty minutes later realize where I got it from. Not too big a deal, it's different in enough ways. Legitimate observation bluefooted.

[JeffZNY]

Here's a bigger image: http://www.cabalcity.com/angels/artwork/Matthew_D_Wilson/Fallen_Angel_Matt_Wilson.jpg

Not all that similar IMHO...nice work Trollboy. I think I'll vote for Posh however...most original and beautifully rendered as usual. I always wondered what a "Posh girl" would look like as a wee lass...now I know. I'm not 100% decided yet however, so if anyone wants to offer me a bribe, I'm willing to listen...

[bluefooted]

Why? coz of the bald head? big deal

Well, they're also both angels :P

I didn't mean for my post to be controversial - I was just sort of thinking about how people can come up with similar things for similar topics. And also just posting the card for Trollboy, cause in the locked submission thread he said he hadn't seen it. I like Trollboy's pic - the coloring really works well and I like the wing-stump.

They still look similar to me - something about the face, really - but I can also see they're different. Also, if none of my posts make sense, it's because I'm sick and not thinking clearly :dur:

[Trollboy]

bluefooted i dont know if i ever saw it before i did mine or not... its very possible. Im glad to have seem matt wilsons site now tho. he's very gooood.

i actually found another image of his i find more like mine than the magic card! :vodkamachine:

http://www.cabalcity.com/angels/artwork/Matthew_D_Wilson/Selenia_cover_matt_wilson.jpg

similar again, better again... oh well.

this is what made me want to try a crouching pose
http://hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/08/hm88_0_1_34_0.html
theres 2 big pics in a michelangelo book i bought.

[DStevens]

There were a half a dozen that deserved my votes but I finally voted for Chuck who's delivered some cool characters week in and week out. Cool concept and presentation with a recognizable style. Nutter I wish that yours could have been colored. Such a great concept and delivery. Even in graphite it caught my attention as I was scrolling through. Great piece/character regardless, IMO.
I cheer for the new month-long contest that will hopefully let some of the busier artists turn out some fully-finished pieces.

[Sundance]

*Hops on soapbox*

Just a side note on behalf of all of us pencil pushers out there...contrary to popular belief... color does not equal finished. I voted for Nutter's piece because it was excellent in concept and execution. Color would not necessarily make it any better than it already is, and could in-fact make it worse. I beg of you not to only consider the painted pieces as the finished entries...there are some excellent artists on this site <cough-Marko-cough> that complete the majority of their work in pencil, and constantly out preform the painters.

Just somethin' to think about...:yayca:

[masque]

just a quick moment between holiday prep tasks to thank erisreg for the vote, and morbidhumor, bumskee, Alday .J, and Phaethon for their comments/crits, pleased you all enjoyed seeing my angel/demon -- fine line there, i think -- hope others did as well. and thanks also to Romance for his comment on my crits; i can be a wordy SOB if allowed too long a leash, so if it gets dreary let me know & i'll try to be more to the point. Phaethon and Alday J. get big props for including everyone -- i was kinda chicken, sticking to those i liked more, though i like all the work i see here, really.

Standing -- you got it 100%, CA as an outlet for our work is of major importance, 'specially if one is not yet at the practicing pro level. :yayca:

best holiday/holy day wishes to one and all!

[Alday.J]

To you all who participated in that CHOW: it was a pleasure to spend time to check all your stuff, really ! I enjoy it a lot, it was a really high quality session ! Thanks also to Oregano, the gentleman-moderator and to Magicgoo, who got this topic idea !
Merry X-mass to you all (I'm a bit late, but with time lag, it will work for americans buddies, he ! he !).
J.

[Chuck,mate.]

[QUOTE=DStevens]There were a half a dozen that deserved my votes but I finally voted for Chuck who's delivered some cool characters week in and week out. Cool concept and presentation with a recognizable style. QUOTE]

thanks for the kind words DStevens. :)