2008 March Madness :: Discussion Thread

[silverx2]

for mine i had just spent so much time trying to get the people to work, then i too started something using the poles, and eventually tried clearing out the whole area, it got to the point that i just started adding a crapton of stuff/colors. The girl three times was intentional, not sure why, but i liked the way it looked, triplet sisters, two together holding hands, a third the third wheel walking behind, alone walking a path between pinks and greens, while some dude is just randomly catching a tire. just kinda throwing things together to see what worked. just thought about how have a whale jumping over the walkway might have really made it over the top. i might throw that on when i get home for fun.

[WannaBe_80z]

I was C1 as many of you have guessed. I did want the cows to pop out like that but I guess it was a wrong choice in that type of image. Seeing other peoples submissions really made me feel like mine was made in MS Paint. I just don't get how some of you get such detail and clarity in your images. I have much much more to learn with photoshop and composing images together.

This was my first take at it and looking back kind of like this one better.




Everyone did an AWESOME job and I can't wait for round 2. Now that I am out of the comp I say 24 hrs for turn around and voting

[sandyrivers]

Damn, thanks for the thoughful crit, Waste! I'll be sure to do yours later on tonight.

[lefteyewilly]

Round 2:
Flashlight v Zacaboo
Nordberg v Lefteyewilly
Fearless v Pointguard
TheWaste v Gerbick

Ctranter v thedarkness
Sandyrivers v Saint Benedetta
TheDevilridesin v herr_dada
Davulf v Ondraedan

[ctranter]

Hehe, I'm glad you guys are thinking my picture was actually alright. I was at the point where I wasn't exactly super pleased with it, but I couldn't think of anything else to do to make it better.

When I looked at the stock, I absolutely hated it. Ctranter took it a bit more creatively and cropped out most of it and used the bricks as some rubble. I didn't even think of doing anything like that, and if I had, I could have probably pulled out something a bit nicer and more creative.

Since I wasn't so super thrilled with my stock and in my idea, I spent a bit more time on some technical things. I played around a bit with the levels and desaturation of the background, then I added in the ambient blue/pink glow from the rainbow fountain almost as a last minute thing to make it look a bit more "real."

All in all, I think I executed my idea quite well, I just wish I had a much better stock to work with. It hit me, and I was completely stumped!

Thanks guys! I'll definitely have to pop in more often and practice things.

When I'm not super swamped with work!

Yeah I hated that stock too. I really liked your image, and it was certainly a lot more complex than mine. The way the colours are reflected off the surroundings is a really nice touch . Good job

[ctranter]

I'd just finished reading 'Matter' by Iain M Banks. and that largely inspired my picture (for the justification of a woman in a dress ). In the original I included a 'knife missile' but removed it cos it would confuse those that haven't experienced Banks' 'Culture'.

[jAQUAN]

I can only respond to the voting comments for now. When I have time I'll critique the images.

Lets face it, this is flashkit, not cgtalk.com. I'm blown away by the talent here but I'd venture to guess that not a lot of people have been trained in aesthetics. I kinda doubt everyone is going down the list of appropriate uses of balance, repetition, typefaces, color and light, not to mention emotion and message. For some it could be that they like safe feelings and thats it, others might just be drawn to shiny stuff.

MM is what it is. A community challenge decided by its members. Given that landscape, the only wrong thing to do is not participate or vote.

But you guys have been doing this a while and probably have good reasons for your feelings.

On a separate note, congrats to my own opponent, jaquan, for an excellent submission. This rant is not directed in any way toward you, man.

No worries mate. But just in case I sounded like I felt showing the stock would have helped me win that's not the case. I would have just felt a little better about the loss. It's really no big deal, I'm just competitive.

I voted for myself for the aforementioned reasons but I truly thought your image was superior. Looking at mine, it just screams motivational poster. Imagine it with the word "perseverance" set below it. I will say it's not your best work but that fact that mine had a monster/dragon and yours had a slain dragon just put it over the top for me. I'm just flattered you considered me enough xp to lvl off of. At first I was bumbed but this was fun and now that my feet are wet I might have to give this a shot more often.

[TheDevilRidesIn]

B1- A fantastic volley... the composition and balance is smooth, however I would have liked to have seen the book in front of the main book shopped' in a little better... and also, the text excerpt on the top-right side I feel is a bit of a cop-out... I understand you were trying to add to the literature theme of the image, but obscuring it with plain text on a white background could have been done a lot better. Still, fantastic volley.

Holy hell, thank's for that. I am amazed I didn't get lambasted for that image. I was incredibly embarrassed to submit it but didn't want to be a no-show (good thing, too, as that might have caused a bit of an issue). I started on Wednesday when we got our stocks and it took a while to come up with the idea and search for the right stock, and I got a solid START on the image, but then had to attend a weekend seminar from Friday night (after work) at 7PM - 12AM, Sat 9AM-10PM and Sun 9AM-10PM. I slept when I came home Sunday after eating some sushi, and then Monday had work and a business dinner afterwards that ran until 9PM. I got home at about 10PM (and was silently flipping out at this point) and threw together the rest of the image and, 5 minutes before it was due, slapped that white block with the text in just so the darn thing might make a little sense, since the rest of what I had hoped to tie the image together was not present at all. You can still see the part on the right side of the pop-up book where I didn't even finish removing the light background from around the cliff that was supposed to be a foreground element.

I said it before, but man, great work from everyone.

>Flashlight<, that image was absolutely killer. I'm still sitting here analyzing it, trying to decide how some of the bits were achieved. I guess I'm not familiar enough with your work because I hadn't pegged that one as yours, but I'm thinking I should probably get familiar quick.

Ctranter, yours I guessed, but that didn't diminish the quality. Awesome work, as always. Out of curiosity, what resolution is the source image?

Herr_dada, I promise I'll actually put some time into my image for next round. I'm actually going to get started as soon as we get our stocks tonight, and I have a free weekend for a change to put in some good hours on it.

[sandyrivers]

I maent to say this earlier, but >flashl!ght< your image was by far my fave of the round. Simply stunning! And you totally threw me, I just knew it was a ctranter image because it had a bunch of rainbows in it.

[lefteyewilly]

ROUND 2 STOCKS:
a- http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=2075&
b- http://www.sxc.hu/photo/939778
c- http://s92349618.onlinehome.us/image/Stock-C.jpg
d- http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=118086&
e- http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=154863&
f- http://www.sxc.hu/photo/955455
g- http://www.sxc.hu/photo/736832
h- http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=177450&

Round 2:
Start: Wednesday, March 12th
Images due: Monday, March 17, 11:59pm EST
Voting Starts: Tuesday, March 18 - after images are collected and posted
Voting ends: Wednesday, March 19, NOON EST


Good luck everyone!

[Dricciotti]

So far, the competition for this image has all the votes (except for 2....how the hell did you vote for an empty slot Dricciotti? you're a moderator ).

Clicked on the wrong one. Didnt double check any of my votes.

[DaVulf]

Davulf GREAT image! It was a pleasure losing to ya! I'll be cheering for ya in the coming rounds.

Thanks Pixel. I spent a lot of time working on it and trying to get it to look and fit right. My original idea was nothing like what turned out, as I made a couple of copies before submission.

[thedarkness]

Well this Next round has me drinking a Hieniken wiping my brow not to mention the stock image is not the friendliest, but I have an idea and will roll with it. My opponent is an accomplished artist with out question.

Now for those that like my image cause there was some stunning images with out question thank you and those that didn't thank you too, but winning out against NP didn't see it coming. I have to say though your image reminds me of Richard Corban the artist for DEN it had that soft fill to it that I liked a lot.

Well enough chit chat let me see what I can chef up with this image.

[2BaD4U]

sometimes a choice is so blatantly obvious that a choice should transcend taste.

Suggestion! Only like, don't take this seriously...

For next year, we have somebody create a "Qualify to vote Test" and in order to vote for the images in MM you must first pass this test which would involve selecting the obviously (and I say obvious because we would use images where the voting should be just about unanimous to the greater image) superior image.

Those who cannot select the greater image will not be allowed to participate in voting, and will be stripped naked and beaten in fifteen minute intervals...

nahh, I'm just kiddin, but seriously, we should do it.

I've said too much

[thedarkness]

I cant say that I agree with that 2BaD4U for the simple reason if you have too many trained eye so to speak there is no balance people choose for what the believe or perceive to be the better of the two images. If you do your image to the best of your ability why should it matter. It stung last year when I was eliminated in the 1st round but this year I wasn't all this is for is fun. you start putting in to many rules and variables then the fun is gone. Hell it would kind of be like the damn holidays now society has all of the holidays so commercial I could care less keep it as is do your image if you make it to the next bracket cool if you don't I say sit your ass on the side line until someone else joins you . Bottom line its just fun that all it is. Now let me finish stressing over my battle lol with Ctranter geeeez. oh and Ms Gerbick I really hate you took yourself out of the mm cause really a self vote is only one vote but the image your submitted was worth a whole lot more cause truth be told both images were whew but it came down to color and the technical work and that was still tight so I did a any miny minee me type deal I hate you left the comp.

[Saint Benedetta]

I'm so excited!

I just can't hide it!



I quiet like that revised return WannaBe_80z. The cows are so cute I also like the colorful lines. I'm not sure which I like most - when the 'ammo' was retrieving the cows in the previous version or in this version where the lines are much better executed.


I can't wait to see what everyone else will come up with!

[gerbick]

For next year, we have somebody create a "Qualify to vote Test" and in order to vote for the images in MM you must first pass this test which would involve selecting the obviously (and I say obvious because we would use images where the voting should be just about unanimous to the greater image) superior image.

Funny you'd say that. This time of year brings out people that vote only for certain people. Those votes are starting to look like they're being solicited.

And it's going to stop.

Those who cannot select the greater image will not be allowed to participate in voting, and will be stripped naked and beaten in fifteen minute intervals...

nahh, I'm just kiddin, but seriously, we should do it.

I've said too much

You can't say why a person would vote one way or the other. And to continue to hide behind vague opinion instead of just pointing out which you'd think was superior, you will invariably run into either rank opinion against opinion or nothing said at all.

I'm starting to truly dislike what's going on here. People like whatever the hell they like. And if I have to justify my vote any more - or any damn vote for that matter - it's starting to make itself clear that votes aren't what the whole of the Arena can handle and we'll pull in a third party that will make the decisions because as a community it's only bringing in sheer bickering and other issues.

I just want to have fun. Drama like this over opinion is really getting tiring.

[MyFriendIsATaco]

Hmm, I really don't understand what the problem is here. It's not like there is prize money, or any real prize other than bragging rights. But it seems like people are out for blood.

I put maybe 30 seconds tops into looking at each image for my vote. Either I liked it, or I didn't. There wasn't much going on for me. It was just a matter of which one appealed to my eye more.

I didn't care to put thought into who did what work Not that I could tell anyways because it didn't matter to me.

I'll be looking forward to trying this out again next year, I just hope this drama crap is sorted out. It just makes no sense at all. If you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. It's only a silly message board! 1.

1. Sarcasm. We all know FlashKit is our lives.

[gerbick]

I don't get it either.

[MyFriendIsATaco]

:shrug: