243 replies to this topic

[Akreis]

Well, my apologies for not choosing the best of the best as some expected, and I apologize for going a slightly different path by trying to encourage and inspire people who are "not as good" to keep practicing and keep doing their best, as well as being told many times that "you're the host, it's your choice," without receiving any guidelines or answers, after asking multiple times.

I also apologize to those "less skilled" who may feel they are indirectly reprimanded, I don't think that is anyone's intention. But we can't make everyone happy. And Kokeshicat is correct, not everyone is under the same level of skill even with the same amount of dedication and practice put into this creative hobby.

 

Kokeshicat is also correct about the "impact to the viewer, a story to tell and uniqueness," I've spent the last 2 weeks looking at each work of art and thinking about how it affects me and personality put in that I felt were unique, and I've summarized it for each winner, while waiting for a response/opinion. I was originally under the impression that the Oda would do the (main, for a lack of a better term) judging since he's the one who handles the screenloaders, so he has the final word, because that's what I kept saying and no one cared to correct me.

 

When people came to me about the controversies and negative things, I felt pressured by all sides. So I felt like I didn't have anyone to go to for help anymore after being left in the dark almost all month, or feeling pressured by people; even if there were other people who may have been willing to help. But I still felt like no one wanted to help me at that point already.

 

So I broke down under pressure and just jumped in blindly, trying to refer using the old contests since I got no clear answers all month. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, trying to come up with winners while considering these things and more, and making other adjustments to the contest via people talking/asking me to do so. Even though we can't make everyone happy, but I tried. I'm not blaming anyone. I was looking forward to doing this for a few months once I had time. I know this isn't a good response, but it's still an honest one.

 

Edited by Akreis, 02 February 2016 - 12:24 AM.

[Demeris]

You enter a contest, you should allow the judges to decide on how and who they want to win.

Take this from a guy who lost to fried chicken.

Sure we might not agree on everything, but that's part of winning and losing. I had fun and I'm thankful for Akreis for hosting such a lovely (valentines day pun) event! I think SailorMoon should've been one of the winners too, but the other entries were just as good!

I look forward to more of these contests that I can participate in!

Edited by Demeris, 01 February 2016 - 11:56 PM.

[Abdee]

I think u do good on judging Akreis

 

And grat for all the winners!

 

 

[SpecialTurtle]

Wow. Art contests are supposed to be fun @_@

 

I'm sure a few of us were disappointed that we didn't win, but it's something we get over. Many of us still enter the next loading screen contests so losing doesn't really deter us. (I like dem participation prizes lmao)

It sucks that you didn't have anyone to turn to. I wouldn't wanna make the decisions by myself LOL (unless it was my own small art contest/prizes). There was no one irl that you could have turned to? :c If I was stuck in your position, I would have probably ask the opinions of my artist friends. Like "Hey, help me judge these. These are the four categories that we need to think about while choosing too." And then ask why they think so-and-so should be chosen so that you can have the final say while at the same time, having like your own group of judges. You know, just so you don't get stressed or pressured. ><

 

Also, I've never judged an art contest before, but I think effort should be discluded from a judging? ._. I can see that 95% of these entries had a lot of effort (maybe even 100%? Who knows.), but how much effort is enough to win? How does one judge 'effort' without knowing the estimated time it took per work, the conditions that they artist was under (free time vs. barely any free time), sacrifices that the artist had to make (pushing back some commissions), etc? <- the two latter are probably too detailed/pushing it, but I hope you get what I mean. XD

[KamiKali]

There are plenty of people that Myzery gets in the judging process. Fier had judges as well. Unsure how you couldn't do the same. Fier was going to run this one initially as well. If you didn't know what to do you could have asked prior event hosts for help and guidance.

 

But if these aren't going to be art contests, then let people know before hand that skill isn't required to win if you wanted to encourage more participants.

[Demeris]

There are plenty of people that Myzery gets in the judging process. Fier had judges as well. Unsure how you couldn't do the same. Fier was going to run this one initially as well. If you didn't know what to do you could have asked prior event hosts for help and guidance.

 

But if these aren't going to be art contests, then let people know before hand that skill isn't required to win if you wanted to encourage more participants.

Not requiring a high level of skill to participate can encourage just as many participants. But you know, people can believe whatever they want.

And can you be done being a bully? "What ifs, could haves, this should've been done instead" leads to nothing but venting out your own anger. This contest was meant to be fun and open for everyone to participate in. It just happened that this was Akreis first time doing a contest like this and that's not exactly a fair reason to get upset with her. Even then, I think how she determined the winners was fine and that's how contests works right? You need winners and losers. I mean, she even stretched out the winners to allow for more prizes to be earned.

Akreis did nothing wrong and this is her contest that she was brave enough to host. So stop picking on her and stop thinking about everything that you think about is right.

Edited by Demeris, 02 February 2016 - 12:53 AM.

[KamiKali]

Not requiring a high level of skill to participate can encourage just as many participants. But you know, people can believe whatever they want.

And can you be done being a bully? "What ifs, could haves, this should've been done instead" leads to nothing but venting out your own anger. This contest was meant to be fun and open for everyone to participate in. It just happened that this was Akreis first time doing a contest like this and that's not exactly a fair reason to get upset with her. Even though, I think how she determined the winners was fine and that's how contests works right? I mean, she even stretched out the winners to allow for more prizes to be earned.

Akreis did nothing wrong and this is her contest that she was brave enough to host. So stop picking on her and stop thinking about everything that you think about is right.

 

Please stop assuming things, you just make yourself sound pathetic, thanks.

[MikaKuchiki]

Urmm... I don't know what should i say. But thank you very much!
I was go with Goldleaf in game, take so many SS. Then i try to be non-mainstream, so i draw that pic (and yes, it happened in game. We double omg and i take the SS XD) I have other -more romantic- scenes,and i will keep it. I will use that to learn moreee. My vector art still lack of manythings XD
Once again, thank you!!

[aralee73]

What's the main prize? And do we get participation prize too? btw I Love Myzery's simple art, makes me smile. (a little laugh too).

[hotel]

Art is an inherently subjective and fluid medium, so it's difficult to quantify 'skill'. Especially given that these artists are all unique in terms of their style. It's why, like music, the value of art isn't always based on just how well it's drawn or the intricacies of the detail. Music contests aren't judged by how mechanically perfect the musician plays the notes, and art contests are similar. I'm no artist but I can see that there's often a lot more to consider than simply the realistic quality of the piece.

 

Those things - like expression, tone - are purely subjective and is why we have judges. The judge has come to a decision in this contest, and like anything subjective there will be dissenters. But that's reality, not everyone will agree. Doesn't make it any less of an art contest though, just not your art contest.

Edited by hotel, 02 February 2016 - 01:27 AM.

[Anaestasha]

Congrats everyone esp to - Kylie - !!

[kokeshicat]

i agree contests should be fun >.< IMO, there's always room for improvement guys. @_@ 

 

suggestion: next time maybe we could include in the mechanics the basis for the judging. You could add there what matters most to  you so you wouldn't have a problem judging. Also it doesn't hurt to ask. we've got the creative contraptions lounge and your fellow event creators are there for a reason . If you need examples of art contest mechanics i still have a couple of documents from my previous forums handled which i just keep for future use, I could send you the link to it if you want. Maybe you could get a couple of ideas on how to construct the mechanics there-- so as to avoid arguments like these in the future. 

 

I hope this issue won't deter you from making events like these. I still believe you did a pretty good job with this event.   

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by kokeshicat, 02 February 2016 - 01:42 AM.

[MikaKuchiki]

Oh yes, almost forget. Grats for everyone!! All participants are greats! We gain and learn manythings here. Skills, concept, thinking out of the box, and many others. And the fact we already draw something great.
Lets participate again in other contest! And lets fight again with our ideas, lines and colors!

[lumnia223]

First off, congratulations to the winners and their amazing works!

I'm really taken by surprise by some of the negative comments on here. Akreis dear, I think you did an amazing job hosting this contest! You should have more confidence in yourself and your abilities :]. Thank you for taking your time and your hard work. I look forward to you hosting more events in the future <3.

Oh my goodness some of the negativity on here 0.0. To argue that the winning artist's works weren't a reflection of "skill" is to belittle and bully them unjustly!! Their works are all high quality, creative and relevant to the contest theme. Id bet the winners must have felt so proud of themselves for winning, and now seeing some of these berating and put down comments by their peers must be devastating. We should be more supportive as a community.

I know for a fact that some of the winners have put in 12-24+++ hours, and a lot of hard work into their art and it shows. Not everyone who participates is an experienced, 10 year artist and pro at photoshop and digital art. If anything it's gotten old knowing that with art contests the same small group of highly experienced community artists will likely win, with such a sole emphasis on "skill". Appreciating other relevant factors such as applicable to the actual contest's theme, creativity and different media themes of art (traditional, etc) is more diverse and accepting to the community.

When I first saw the winners, nothing of the sort being discussed here came to mind. I was very impressed by everyone's contribution and the winner's selection. Again, congratulations to all and I do hope no one gets discouraged or turned off by the sour comments on here. You all did an amazing job and deserve your winning. I look forward to seeing everyone participate again in fun, future community events :].

[vegeir]

I wish there were any lgbtqia honeymoon screens. I'll learn how to draw asap!

Congratulations to all the winners, loving your work.

Edited by vegeir, 02 February 2016 - 02:20 AM.

[kokeshicat]

^there was! i think it was Sailormoon's  

[SailorMoon]

Yeah mine was two female ABs (; huehue

[rodezja]

The level of saltiness and butthurt in this thread :|

 

I really like how this contest was judged, for once we didn't see the same few people winning, and everybody was given a chance. I really feel this is how the contests should look like - if we have the same people winning over and over again what's even the point of calling it a "contest" and accepting entries from other people?

[SpecialTurtle]

The level of saltiness and butthurt in this thread :|

 

I really like how this contest was judged, for once we didn't see the same few people winning, and everybody was given a chance. I really feel this is how the contests should look like - if we have the same people winning over and over again what's even the point of calling it a "contest" and accepting entries from other people?

 

Lol. To be honest, the same people win over and over because their art are really good. People can improve over time and some of the previous winners may not decide to join the next contests, which can help give other people who haven't won a chance. But I don't think it's also fair (for the ones who won the previous contests) to have their art "looked over" just because they did win other contests.

 

But another suggestion to give other people a chance could be that previous winners can't enter the next upcoming contest, but after that, they can join the next next one. Like, give a little gap in between. They can still enter for the participation prize though. Idk, just a suggestion XD

Or maybe they can have more detailed categories LOL.

Liiiiik.....

"Overall Winner" - art that meets all categories in terms of creativity, uniqueness, skill, use of media, etc.

"Best Theme" - art that portrayed the theme the best

"Best Use of Media-Traditional/Digital"

 

......lol. Idk. It might be too much though..

Edited by SpecialTurtle, 02 February 2016 - 04:47 AM.

[r1r1]

congrats to the winners~! <3

 

Looking forward the next drawing event :3

[CharAznable]

Well, my apologies for not choosing the best of the best as some expected, and I apologize for going a slightly different path by trying to encourage and inspire people who are "not as good" to keep practicing and keep doing their best, as well as being told many times that "you're the host, it's your choice," without receiving any guidelines or answers, after asking multiple times.

I also apologize to those "less skilled" who may feel they are indirectly reprimanded, I don't think that is anyone's intention. But we can't make everyone happy. And Kokeshicat is correct, not everyone is under the same level of skill even with the same amount of dedication and practice put into this creative hobby.

 

While Fan Art Contest can be fun, people have to realize that there are quite a lot of people who took it serious enough to work on it more than being a "hobby." It doesn't mean that merits of the judging process should only based on "skill." There is nothing wrong with encouraging wider participant with different skill level. Its entirely up to judge on who to pick. So you have nothing to be sorry about on that regard. But, you could've listed in the detail that what merit will be weighted. For example, you could say something like "I will be judging based on 1) Skill 2) Story Telling 3) Effort. And to encourage raising artist, I will give more merit on effort they put." Then it would've been more acceptable for participants. 

Edited by CharAznable, 02 February 2016 - 05:32 AM.

[ganymedez]

I'm so glad the ice cream loader one, cause I was rooting for that one ^^
 

The criticism given to this contest is worth looking at for future reference. It doesn't mean you HAVE to embrace all of it, you can choose what works for you, people are basically giving you means to improve, and granted most of them are somewhat biased there are some solid objective judgements and the managers themselves can be objective about how they interpret that criticism. Someone might suggest something out of "salt", but if it happens to be a valid point, it can't just be ignored because of that, well... if you're interested in criticism at all, anyway.

[EveGenesis]

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week. 

 

Thank you all for your patience! It was very difficult to pick out each winner. 

 

6 winners have been chosen, 3 winners for the Jawaii Theme, and 3 for the Lunar New Year Theme.

I wish I could choose more winners >_<

 

Winners were chosen (mostly) based on:

Originality

Creativity

Effort

Theme Correspondence

 

I will be adding comments to each of the 6 artworks that are chosen. There will be no critiques given, and the comments are focused solely on that artwork alone; meaning that I'm not trying to low-key criticize other works that have been submitted if anyone gets that idea.

 

Jawaii Winners: (no particular order)

Lillies

Spoiler

What I like about this one is the media that was used to create the artwork, I normally don't see watercolor being used in screenloaders and I felt that this deserved a highlight. The amount of detail that's put into this is definitely noteworthy, especially since watercolor isn't easy to work with. 

 

I like how she used one of the rooms in Jawaii as well, especially since it corresponded with the Lunar New Year; which I felt was a good idea. It definitely caught my eye. Another thing I thought was great was that how she did her best to recreate the room and the sprites as it appeared in the game.

 

MikaKuchiki

Spoiler

This one is almost a no brainer for me to explain, humor is one thing I always enjoy in artwork. I absolutely love the freezing ice cream idea, with not only the emotes, but their faces at the same time. I thought it was hilarious. ESPECIALLY THE SLEEPING CATS OMG. Honestly, when I first saw this, I instantly knew this was going to be a winner. 

 

Larasayas

Spoiler

What I like about this is that it's very simple, but also very detailed at the same time. I like how the details are quite subtle, but they're noticeable enough to make the work look dynamic altogether. There are various features to look at, but none of them are overpowering each other and pulling my eyes all over the screen. It's a fairly balanced artwork. It's not overwhelming to look at, yet there isn't just one thing to look at either. The choices of color are great too.

 

Lunar New Year Winners: (no particular order)

Minyi

Spoiler

This one really caught my eye, mainly because of the fact that it's dark, yet the characters popped out, without it looking unnatural. It's very well balanced, and easy on the eyes at the same time with the amount of contrast and detail put into the work. The usage of a firecracker burning like that is a really nice touch, alongside the monkey hanging off of a lantern above.

 

Inori

Spoiler

I love the overall simplicity of this, especially the choices of color and the way the artist made the bride practically fly out of her own world. I thought that was really unique idea to use. Soft colors are also another thing I like, soft, pastel colors that popped out in this work of art; and it definitely made up for the amount of white space that remains on the rest of the art.

 

Of course, there's the humor coming from the poor husband, I thought this was really cute and funny; especially the way he was drawn. Everything about this is simply cute!

 

Miaowlee

Spoiler

What I like about this is the different types of media used (Koi Water Color, Koi Pen, and FaberCastell Pencil Color). There is definitely a lot of detail put into this, and it's all fairly balanced in the end. I love how the monkey on the tree doesn't realize that his/her tail is starting to get burned by the monkey below, especially with a firecracker nearby! I thought that was hilarious!

 

Though there were definitely some people who had absolutely amazing artwork, I don't choose winners solely on level of skill (that would be pretty unfair and discouraging for those who aren't as skillful). Remember, it's already been pretty difficult to pick out just 6 winners QQ

 

Thanks everyone for participating!

congrats to the winners.

 

I'm just gonna say, the way you judge is fine using that 4 points, but if you were really gonna use that 4 points do post it in the first post or edit it so they would at least know how you would judge it.

 

I know you guys like to say that, well.. we want people of different skill level to participate and get a chance to win, sure you could do that but do make a separate category maybe like "new artist category"?(lols) 

 

I mean "if" you're just gonna choose new artist cause skillful people keep winning over and over again. Then the skillful artist don't even need to join right? cause you know they're gonna lose cause they win over and over again.

 

What if those artist that win over and over again knows that it would be like that for next few contest? they're not gonna join in, cause it's really unfair for them, they put the same amount of effort like new artist, they have their originality too. We can have all the new artist now and no need the skillful artist to join, without those artist that "win over and over" we'll be missing some nice and cute art.

 

Well just saying that i just wish the way judging will be more fair as in fair for everyone not just fair to those new one? Being fair to everyone is still fair but being fair to new people but not the old winner is fair? so yeah if you really want to make it so that new artist can join, make a new or different catergory(a lot of people has suggested)

 

Also basing it on effort, i'm pretty sure a lot of artist or all of the artist did put in all their effort. If you really wanna judge art not cause of skill please do say so in the first post, at least people wouldn't rant like now if they see that you already post it.(like me)

 

Overall i guess it's fine cause it's your first time doing an art event? But well this is just some rant if you want to think it that way~

Edited by EveGenesis, 02 February 2016 - 08:15 AM.

[Toxn]

I wouldn't say any of the winners aren't skillful or are unworthy of winning.

 

But with how controversial contests can be, all contests in the community should really be judged by multiple people from within the community. Ones that haven't made a submission for said contest of course. That was one of my main issues with contests held and judged by only Oda.

[1392140604170018137]

I think that a panel should be used to judge in all contests, just from the fact that art is so subjective and peoples tastes can be so varied. My 2 cents