March Madness Tournament 2006

[nordberg]

great post RUSH! kind of reminds me of my roll canvas review. and you hit the nail on the head with my volley...i just sort of pecked at it all week, and didn't come up with a good concept at all. i am always trying to learn stuff, and this time i was messing with illustrator for the last three days, but didn't get anything i liked out of it other than those lines. i was going to add a bunch more white accents, but couldn't quite execute. that's why i had totally resigned myself to losing, and was OK with that - NJP3's image is a great concept. the voting was neck and neck the whole time...i'm surprised i came out on top.

[RUSHVision]

great post RUSH! kind of reminds me of my roll canvas review.

Thanks, nords. Nice job on that roll canvas review. I know it takes a little bit of time, but I think the whole community benefits when people like yourself step up and put some effort into letting other artists know how their work is being perceived by others. Now go kick some butt in round 3!

Rush, you are a god. <slight joke> Now if only you could do that for Round 1 </slight joke>

I will go through the images this afternoon (or this morning if I procrastinate) and give my opinions.

Heheh...thanks, dude. You are way too kind. But thanks.

Great job on your cits, my man! Another shining example of giving back to the community. I'm sure everyone appreciates your feedback as much as I do.

Oddly enough I see your comments of something of a success on my part...one that led to ultimate failure...but a small victory nonetheless and I'll take what I can get at this point. You see I PM'd Dri at the beginning of the round and asked him if it was ok to use the other stock images as well as my own. It was actually my intention to throw people off a little bit as far as which stock got used, but I guess that ended up biting me in the ass.

I'd like to thank RUSHVision for being such a great sport, great opponent and amazing artist.

Thanks, g! I look forward to a rematch at some point in the future. Good match and you did a super job!

[NJP3]

NJP3's image is a great concept. the voting was neck and neck the whole time...i'm surprised i came out on top.

Yeah I liked my concept but the execution didnt come out quite as planned lol. I think alot of people don't take the time to really look at each image and therefore couldnt tell what was going on in mine (this being the cause for a few of the upsets IMO). But I loved your composition nords and best of luck the rest of the way.

Pairing G
Image 1 - NJP3
I wasn't sure what the stock was for this image, and I couldn't really tell wha the purpose of the hand was, but I liked the image. Sorry for being vague.

Thanks for the critque, but i noticed you said you didnt know what stock my opponent used either...little tip: Pairing G uses the stock that was assigned to pairing G in the thread for round 2 stocks...comparing both final images to this is very helpful in deciding who has created a better piece.

Im looking forward to watching the rest of this event guys, should be great!

[DaVulf]

Rush, you are a god. <slight joke> Now if only you could do that for Round 1 </slight joke>

I will go through the images this afternoon (or this morning if I procrastinate) and give my opinions.

Great stuff as always, and congrats to the winners.

[DaVulf]

March Madness 2006 Round 2 Critiques
I'm not as competent as Rush, so these are mostly my opinions. Take what you will.

Pairing A
Image 1 - EVPohovich
As the first image I saw of Round 2 MM, I was impressed. I thought this was probably within the top 3 images of the round. Simply fantastic E. I love the way you added purple shading to the girl in order for her to fit with the rest of the image, all of the textures and reflections were spot on. I just loved it.

Image 2 - Markp.com
Well now, you've come across some insane moves recently. We've never seen much from you before Mark, but I must say.. This image was something else. I really liked the feel of the image, but I feel that there is just too much darness around the book and I can't seem to figure out which type of light source would give that light. Either way, I'm rooting for you to win.

Pairing B
Image 1 - mr_malee
I thought this image was not too bad, but to be honest Malee, I voted for this image because I didn't want to vote for the other. I think that the splashed could have been blended better, as it is, I feel that the cups are sitting on a table, but then the splashes don't fit with that perspective. Nice use of pixel text.

Image 2 - squidlips
Nice concept, and I can only imagine how much time this took to do. Unfortunately, I didn't find it very interesting. I thought it was rather bland and the white was just too much. I still can't read what the darker cups say.

Pairing C
Image 1 - pointguard
Well, what can I say. I think the image had a good concept, but the execution didn't quite capture the intent. You've got some mountains which seems Narnia'esque to me, but I have to agree with Rush and say that it just doesn't look/feel like heaven to me. Additionally, I don't feel that the reaper was blended exceptionally well, as I can see some green in the far right corner. I'm not sure if it was meant to be there or not, but with all the blackness surrounding Grim, I figured it just should have been black.

Image 2 - TheWaste
I like the Bokeh you've got in here (dof), really works nicely for the image. I liked it, but not as much as other people, it seems. I liked the font, but I think the N gets overshadowed by the M and doesn't have as much emphasis, I think I would have prefered a lower-case N. The boy running towards the door seems to be cut out rather well in most places, but there is a little black line on his head that continues to draw my attention. The lighting is spot on, and I like the concept.

Pairing D
Image 1 - gesteves
I pegged this image for Gerbick, so there is a compliment right there. Great piece. It really has that 'feel' to it. Not overly complex, but the brushing and use of text just worked for me.

Image 2 - RUSHVision
Its unfortunate I didn't see how much work went into this image beforehand because it really does look like alot went into it. However, I really didn't feel the image. I think the canvas was too orange, and the eye too contrasting. That, coupled with the text gave it an amateur/novice look. Another thing I noticed was that because I thought the girl with the hands in his mask was the element, it threw me off ofwhat you had actually manipulated so much; the mask. I just thought you had found the image somewhere and did a simple mask, put the girl in the mask, add some text, and that's it. Sorry man.

Pairing E
Image 1 - gerbick
I liked the image, but not as much as I could have. I think the lighting on the chicks is slightly off, as there is a big truck with bright lights about to hit them. I just figured that they should be bathed in tat light. Other than that, I like the composition of the image, it fits nicely with the theme.

Image 2 - hightech
I just can't say that I liked this image. I chuckled at the concept, but it just didn't have that professional blending that is required to advance in this competition. I thought the explosion was creative, but it could have been better executed. I also would have liked to see the credits modified, it would have added a little more personality to the image.

Pairing F
Image 1 - Dave-O
This bracket was a tough choice for me, I was feeling your image, but I think the blood brush was a bit overdone. I could just pick it out too much, and she doesn't really have the attitude you'd expect to see on someone who was covered with blood.

Image 2 - Dricciotti
Wow.. I didn't really know what to think while looking at this image. Its really a medley of lots of different elements. I liked how everything blended together, so you got my vote.

Pairing G
Image 1 - NJP3
I wasn't sure what the stock was for this image, and I couldn't really tell wha the purpose of the hand was, but I liked the image. Sorry for being vague.

Image 2 - nordberg
I didn't understand the image Nords. I just couldn't see what you were trying to convey, what stock you were using, or how that circular thing fit into the image. I do like the use of text though, really spot on.

[gesteves]

Wow, I don't know what to say... I just can't believe I won! My poor english doesn't do justice to what I'd like to say, so I'm just gonna be brief. I'd like to thank RUSHVision for being such a great sport, great opponent and amazing artist. Thanks for that tutorial, man. That's going to help everyone improve. I'd like to thank gerbick, too, because as fearless said, he's such a great influence to everyone here. In fact, I used a tutorial he made months ago And finally, thanks everyone for your votes and your support

I also have to credit the stock artists, per the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: Lost Tulsa for the cabinet, and hjw223 for the domo-kun toy.

[DaVulf]

Pairing H
Image 1 - Fearless
Oh boy.. Where to start. I wouldn't have guessed this image was yours, but there was a voice in my head that kept telling me it was so. I didn't exactly think this image was bad, or even in the bottom half of the images in this contest. I just didn't like it though. I think there was too much going on, and although it is dark and gloomy, it just didn't work for me.

Image 2 - TheDevilRidesIn
Well, this was a surprise. I figure you drew all of those creatures, which was just phenomenal. Great work on that man, those are really good. I based my vote off the fact, so you got it.

Pairing I
Image 1 - Hybrid Inc
I wasn't even sure what stock you were using for a long while, but I just thought the image looked cool. Once I found out you used the escalator, it only increased my opinion. Great looking image, even if I don't know what it means.

Image 2 - lefteyewilly
Totally not your style man, but you still pulled it off nicely. I just wasn't feeling the image as a winner in this bracked though. Your image is nice, composition is good, typography is good, colours are good. I just am not a fan of vectors, so I think that swayed my vote. Sorry man.

Pairing J
Image 1 - clicky2
Nice image here. This was a tough bracked to choose from. I like the look of the girl, but I think the horns could have been better implemented. I think that the textures may also have been slightly overdone. Overall though, great image which made for a tough choice.

Image 2 - Natsia
Wow, I couldn't believe that this was you Nat. No offense. I never would have guessed it, this looks like something Ctranter would come up with. In my books, that is a huge compliment. This image is just stunning. I love the reflection on the ice, I love the way that some of the shoots stick through. Fantastic composition Nat. I can't even imagine how long it took to get the ice around the crack to look right.

Pairing K
Image 1 - nepzap2
Too bad you didn't have a competitor, because you would have blown them away. Great image, I really get the 'vampire' feel on this one. I think the hand feeding her is a little fat though, if he's a person, I'm sure she would eat him instead of the cherry, if he is dead, he should be gaunt. Great stuff all around though, I liked the sepia tones with the red accents.

Image 2 - No Image
Shame on you.

Pairing L
Image 1 - pea3698
To be honest, I wasn't sure what was going on with this one. I can sorta see where you're coming from, but I think the execution was off. I like the use of a wall as a texture on the guys face, but I think that overall, it isn't visually interesting.

Image 2 - creativeinsomnia
I liked this image Creative, great stuff. I loved how you have two different pictures in different moods instead of just a horizontal flip of one off them. Additionally, I like how you had the person cowering in the background, just adds to the overall feel of the image. Great work.

Pairing M
Image 1 - alty29
Boy, this image is great. I thought onine might have come up with this, but I was pleasantly surprised. Excellent image, I think it was one of the best this round. I love the use of vectors as well as real images. I also like how it looks like the dude is feeling that stream of pink. Great stuff.

Image 2 - onine
Well, I'm going to have to go with Rush on this one. The volleys you have put together for RollCanvas have been fantastic and I thought you would implement that style. This is a big change for you, and I really didn't like the image. I thought that the colours were too saturated, and that the typography was plain and boring. Sorry for being harsh.

Pairing N
Image 1 - kaco
Well, until Rush mentioned it, I didn't know there was any text here either. Barring that, great image. I like the textures on the door, I think it really gives it that old prison look. Awesome work.

Image 2 - No Image
For shame!

Pairing O
Image 1 - Ghostgirl705
Nice image Ghostgirl, I voted for this one and thought it was pretty good. I like the comic book style you've got going on there, really ties the image together.

Image 2 - silverx2
I'm not sure what's going on with this one to be honest. I thought the girls shoes should have been pointing the other direction for her to be kissing him. Maybe she's doing something else, but I just didn't see that. I think the stockings are coloured too blue and they miss detail, I think they could have been blended better with the red of the shoes, as I can see some bleeding. I also think the wallpaper could fit a little better with the rest of the image. The cracks were a nice touch, but too little, too late.

Pairing P
Image 1 - ctranter
I guess they saved the best for last. This image was AMAZING by far the best I've seen in a long time. The depth of the textures, the use of heaven and hell, the use of the mirror... This was a fantastic image, you should be really proud of yourself. I thought that ondraedan had come back from the abyss to create this masterpiece. Simply stunning man.

Image 2 - e-sharp
I liked the use of Bokeh (dof) in this image, but it just didn't do it for me. I think this image may have fared better in another bracket, but unfortunately you got paired up with the powerhouse of the round.

Everywhere I put a is where I voted. Great images all around. I'll look forward to what you guys come up with next round.

[TheDevilRidesIn]

Pairing H

Image 2 - TheDevilRidesIn
Well, this was a surprise. I figure you drew all of those creatures, which was just phenomenal. Great work on that man, those are really good. I based my vote off the fact, so you got it.

Thanks man. I can't take all the credit, though. Many of the foreground creatures were based off of various stock photography and then drawn over to alter lighting or coloration. Some of it was done entirely by hand, though.

I'm really kinda shocked that I won. Fearless, your image was much more polished. I kinda had to rush mine towards the end for the sake of time (and to avoid going completely insane) but I felt it showed.

Also, regarding kinda giving my image away yesterday... I apologize for that. Didn't occur to me until after the fact that it might be in poor judgement to answer the question for anonymity's sake.

Dri, once again, great stock for round 3. Looking forward to it.

[Dricciotti]

I made a few mistakes in the bracket graphic so I took it down until I get the chance to go home and fix it.

Stock images will be up shortly
http://www.flashkit.com/board/showthread.php?t=677217

[nepzap2]

RUSH AND DaVulf I appreciate the comments from both of you on my image. I'll try to take some time today while I'm at work to reciprocate with both of your images. RUSH that tut is instructive. It's good to post stuff up like that for the newbies(I included) to help step up their game.

I say it again The Arena is loaded, bring anyone in here even the organic driven DQS click, ha ha, don't want to satrt any beef, but fo shizzle to the nizzle let all those lurckers from other forums know we mean businnes over here.

HA HA ..... All in good fun mates.

Peace.

[silverx2]

i heard that businesses lose 3.4 billion dollars because of march madness, little do they know its flashkits march madness thats causing all the loss time.

[lefteyewilly]

i heard that businesses lose 3.4 billion dollars because of march madness, little do they know its flashkits march madness thats causing all the loss time.

Shhhhh

keep letting them think it's because of basketball

[Natsia]

*Jumps Around Happily!*
Wow, thanks so much for the crits and votes guys! (Oscar speech? I think so!)
Clicky2, its over now so I can say it! Nice boobs eh!

PM nevermind...

[JWin]

Nice boobs eh!

They wont be visible for an hour or two.

....PWAHAHAHAHAHHA

[Dricciotti]

They wont be visible for an hour or two.

[Dricciotti]

Ok. pairings and bracket are on first page again. I will send out PMs shortly

[Natsia]

Next round is going to be tough!
...The Waste....
*grimace of pain*

[pea3698]

Next round is going to be tough!
...The Waste....
*grimace of pain*

Natsia, I just want to say your image was beautiful. I din't vote for it just for some very technical reasons but I would have never thought you had put it together. If you step it up like that throughout you'll go far. So quit being so modest and get to work. Once again your image was in the top five favorites for round 2.

[EVPohovich]

Wow, lots of close images here. Nice to see that everyone really stepped up their game this round.

Congratulations MarkP, nicely done.

Damn.....#1 AND #2 seeds knocked out in this round.

[Natsia]

I just have to say it.
I've just had a chance to go through all the images and see who did what.
Damn guys!
I was so convinced I knew who did a few of them. SHOCKED! Amazing stuff from everyone, really. I feel players like EVP were robbed when compaired to mine.
*you'e number 1 in my book hun *
I'd have to say my all time fave (its hard to choose just one) from this round, Dri. That image was so insanely cool!