Voting will run from 23 June to 30 June 2005. Deadline for votes is 5pm EDT 30 June 2005.

Only those that entered the contest may vote. All other votes will be deleted.

Vote for the 5 best entries in order.

Note you cannot vote for your own image. If you do, your votes will be deleted.

Example Vote:
Pick the top five contest entries and list in order...

1. Entry X (First Place)
2. Entry A (Second Place and so on)
3. Entry Q
4. Entry S
5. Entry P

This thread will remain closed until it's time to vote.

Voting is now open!

As always, when you vote try to include some things you especially liked about your choices…what made them stand out, what impressed you, etc. This is a learning experience!

Also don't forget that all participants must vote in order to avoid being disqualified.

THE RULES:

1. You must VOTE for the top 5 entries. Participants that do not submit their top 5 will be disqualified.

#10 - First Place - Cazubi
#15 - Second Place - Marthig
#12 - Third Place - Ms Bay
#18 - Fourth Place - Pictureman33
#7 - Fifth Place - Doug Colwell

But I could use Photoshop CS. Oh well. :happy:

Please use names when voting to make it easier to tally.

1st -- Cazubi
Beautiful!! Done in illustration style, characters are large and easily identified, bright, clear colors, creative introduction of new characters and environment.
(I would love to know how you created this illustrated style of your characters.) Beautiful artwork.

2nd -- Pictureman33 (This was my hardest decision -- both are beautiful, imaginative images and would be publishable in my mind. I decided that Cazubi's would possibly be more appealing to younger kids because of the primary colors, and Pictureman's would appeal more to older children and adults -- not sure how that translated into making this image 2nd, but they are both tied for first in my mind -- very different styles that would capture a child's imagination (and mine). Pictureman33's image has more subtle coloration, but a beautiful illustrative style, creative introduction of characters/environment. The subjects are a large part of the image and grab my attention. Beautiful artwork.

3rd -- Jaykita
Bright colors, illustrative style, creative introduction of characters/environment, but subjects are smaller and don't grab my attention as much as the first two images.

4th -- Chrishoggy
Illustrative style, bright color, large characters that are easy to identify, creative addition of character/environment.

5th -- MargaretM
Lovely artful look to the overall image, illustrative style, creative introduction of characters/environment. It seems a bit too busy for my eye, even though the bright colors bring my eye to the central characters, there is so much to look at that I get a bit lost in the details. Very lovely details -- the leaves, the little bugs, etc., but just a bit too much (in my mind) to use as a story illustration.

There are a number of other entries that came close to the top 5, but I felt that these were the closest to meeting the mission of the contest.

here are my choices:

1 Margaret
2 Doug colwell
3 Shalford
4 Jaykita
5 Freddieanne

As I indicated earlier, i found Margarets to be a fantastic piece with the butterfly eggs, delicate leaf veins and grasshopper. while it is a little busy, the piece is well blended and worked over - superb!

Doug and Shalford. Both excellent pieces, clear, sharp, evocative and fun. I think these would quickly grab the imagination of the curious, questing child

Jaykita, very nice. Soft without being excessively so

Nice job Freddieanne!. You are doing very well indeed .

I liked the variety in the majority of the pictures. While i liked Cazubi's simple and primary color driven effort, it seemed too much like many of the new books out today (spiders/caterpillars etc..), and for me it lacked that interest trigger. Unfortunately, it wouldn't compel me to pick it up from the shelf, but for the brightness and sharpness of the figures, to leaf through. Beside that "factor", it was an impressive piece and certainly up there.

The other cover pages just created an expectation, for me, about what might be in the story.

Phil - great job. this was a contender from the outset. Beautiful rich blues and a great balancing act. I just needed to see more in the picture, but still an outstanding piece of work and fast man, fast .

Sean
:bow:

what a marvelous collection and what talented people. and like i said in the discussion early on, this was tough.

#1 Cazubi absolutely hit the mark for a children's book illustration. bright, fun colors, great form, simple, and easy to look at. finish the book and publish it!

#2 Pictureman33 i remember books like this from my childhood! marvelous :)

#3 Doug Colwell great colors and loved the flying ladybug with the overhead wings and the underneath. daring, but you pulled it off.

#4 Jaykita wonderful. a tiny bit busy and a bit bright, but wonderful. captures the feel of a children's book nicely. lovely, fanciful critters :)

#5. CJSwartz i also remember seeing books like this, either when reading to children or looking in the bookstore. these are more contemporary than my own childhood, but certainly valid and very well done!

#6 everyone else. it was really hard to leave some of these out.

Craig

1...cazubi - This is lovely i would imagine this on a kids bedroom as wallpaper with a border of little ladybirds its my number one choice.

2...Jaykita - Wow Judy that is out there on the bookshelves booming up to no.1 it reminded me of the books we use to read as children. Love the bright colours!!!

3...pictureman33 - I like this reminds me of the old signs for milk and cheese and tea that use to be advertisements for food etc, so it would be aimed at children this as a olde worlde book.


4...Marthig - Love the outlay for a children's story i have to mention that you chose improvised which i thought was a hard word to be put into a story for children, as the picture looks like it would be aimed at the under 5's but other than that word i think its a lovely picture.

5...chrishoggy - I like the twist on the title, it reminds me of an already design for a childrens book, i think the one i am thinking of is james and the giant peach, it probably isn't it just reminds me of it.

Well done everyone!!!

Ok, here are my votes; if I voted tomorrow, they might be different choices or different order. Everyone did an awesome job!
1st Pictureman33
2nd Janet Petty
3rd Twinbnj
4th Jaykita
5th Sean

Here are my votes:

1. Pictureman, who employed a technique used on books in the early 1900's to such a real degree that it astounded me.

2. Jaykita, whose bright and bold colors and style continue to cheer and uplift.

3. Cazubi, who has a happy, colorful illlustration.

4. Raniday, whose Van Gogh work shows both humor and would also teach a child at the same time.

5. MargaretM, whose illustration was rather dark for my tastes but showed exceptional work with a creative flair.

This was a very difficult vote. I seesawed back and forth on several, several times before finally saying enough. Great job all!!!

Janet

1. Cabuzi
No contest here, my child aged 7 picked this one. Need I say more?
2. Pictureman33
I picked this one out! I love your old world illustration, very beautifully done, I grew up on magical books with stories of fairy princesses.
3. Freddieanne
Conjures up another mysterious world deep in the forests where a totally different world from ours exists. Would be fascinating to a child’s imagination I would think.
4. MargeretM
Could be gorgeous if the background wasn’t so dark and overpowering. The little creatures pictured are so interesting.
5. Raniday
For her fabulous Van Gogh lookalike, she deserves a mention though i'm not sure a child would fully understand the value of this little peice of art.

1. Pictureman - really captured the period - very cohesive-charming.
2. Cazubi - lovely illustration. Second only because I thought it could have had a little more depth(perspective) to it.
3. Jaykita - colorful, good detail.
4. Doug Colwell - nicely done.
5.Chrishoggy - very nicely pulled together.

Applause and honorable mention for everyone!

Congratulations to everyone that entered. What fun it has been watching the entries come in and seeing the wonderful efforts that everyone made. It was really hard to choose.
I was looking for continuity in style, that is that a piece did not have a “cut and paste” look. Composition, and a good focal point were important to me as well.

Here are my choices:

1st: jaykita
Illustrated with nice bright color and shapes, and a good flowing composition. All of the images are integrated so that they keep the same artistic style throughout the illustration.

2nd: pictureman33
Very nicely done vintage style illustration where the ladybug and all other elements are integrated very naturally into the whole picture.

3rd: Sean2
A nice composition that flows well and has a good artistic style to it. All of the images are nicely blended to create a nice illustration.

4th: freddieanne
It has good composition with a strong focal point. The images fit well in their environment, and the artistic style is consistent throughout the illustration.

5th: Doug colwell
A good concept as well as a good composition. I think a little more color enhancement as well as some artistic filters might have given it a more illustrated feel, but overall it has a good, consistent look to it.

I was back forth on MargaretM’s piece. I like it a lot, but I think that it might be a little to busy, and dark.

Cathy





:bow: :bow: :nod:

This was a really hard contest to judge with such lovely and imaginitive illustrations from everyone. So I really dug deep down and chose the photos that I thought a little child would like. Some of these seemed as if they would be better for older children, lovely as they are. But I gravitated toward the pint sizers likelihood of just running up and choosing a picture.

1. Cazubi - As usual, this is so beautiful. The colors are so bright and the scene is so friendly, just what a little person would be interested in.

2. Jayita - Bright colors again! Pintsters like colors that catch their attention and can easily understand the story even if there are no words.

3. Marthig - I love this. Another friendly picture with the colors pulled together charmingly for a child's eye.

4. Freddieanne - A very nice ladybug community and I love the way you changed the "lady" in your illustrations. The scene in this one brings back a "feel" for me when I was little.

5. Pictureman33 - This is total nostalgia! I remember my mom and dad getting me books illustrated like this when I was younger. The colors are blended nicely.

This one was the hardest to judge yet! But so much fun to do and see all the RetouchPRO talent. Congrats to all!

This was sooooo hard! But 5 we must pick.

1 - Picturemann - perfect blend, colors, texture and theme.

2 - cazubi - illistration was the contest, this is a wonderful representation.

3 - freddieanne - wonderful concept and executed very well.

4 - Doug Colwell - also great concept and perspective.

5 - shalford - I like the combination of illistration and using the lady bug in the original format - great manipulations with the ladybug.

This is the first time I participate in a 5th of the month contest, it was great fun and now, like most of us I find that this is the hardest part; how can one pick just 5 when you like all of them ?!
I am just an enthusiast of image manipulation, illustrations and webdesign so my vote is based mainly on how I can visualize a young child reacting to the images submitted here:

1st place for Cazubi #10 - The colors most surely would attract the attention of a child and the 3d effect of the flowers and naive-looking sky gives it the typical look of a child story book. I would definitely buy it for my grand daughter !

2nd place for Ms Bay #12- This is a beautiful display of the typical family outing with everyone busy enjoying the landscape and exploring the terrain. The nice coloring and all the little details are just the things that a child would look at and ask, what is it? or what is it doing ? and the endless whys from a child looking at the illustration.

3rd place for Jaykita #22- Lovely and bright colors, a truly busy "hood" with nice little houses and "peopled" with cute little bugs. Another one to catch a child's attention.

4th place for FreddieAnne #9 - Nicely achieved mood of another family outing on a bright and sunny day, one could almost hear the "kids" laughing and shouting in the background. Any child could relate to this scene.

5th place for Doug Colwell #7 - I like this scene because I can truly see the Mommy LadyBug flying happy after rescuing the little one and the detail of the litle ones with true ladybugs and the way mommy's wings are spread to fly is very realistic as well as the background.

Like I explain above my selection is based on how I imagine a child would see those illustrations. I am sorry we could not pick two or three for each position because all of the postings are beautiful and deserve a place among the best.

Cheers and congratulations to all - Martha :wavey:

This is way too hard to narrow down to just 5 choices, all of the entries were extremely creative, but here goes:

#1 - Pictureman 33 - I'm probably showing my age, but this just struck a chord with me. It is so reminiscent of books I remember from my childhood. It almost took my breath away when I first opened it.

#2 - Cazubi - Simply brilliant, Cathie. Just exactly what children would like.

#3 - Sean2 - I'm not familiar with "Dune" but yours is so imaginative and beautifully executed. The text would probably appeal to older children, (sort of poetic).

#4 - Twin NJ - I've liked this one from the very start. I want to know more of the story.

#5 - Ryan M - I don't know, this just made me laugh. I think little boys would get a kick out of it.

Nicely done, everyone!!!!!!

Annabel

1. pictureman33 - Wonderful artwork and colouring. Very authentic looking early 20th century illustration, and nicely aged too. Pen and ink rendering of the bug might integrate better with bg.

2. cazubi - bright, colourful, and expertly done. Great composition.

3. freddieanne - vibrant colours, lots going on. Can't imagine a kid not wishing he/she could join the fun. Liked your super-saturated first submission a little more.

4. Janet Petty - very nice watercolour, simple and effective depiction of a bug's solitary journey.

5. chrisshoggy - like the older look, great texture and muted colours. The characters and title make for a good hook.

Keep the votes coming in...only seven more voters to go. Please don't forget that you have to vote or your entry will be disqualified!

~T

#1 Doug Colwell

Great animated characters and a whole lot of interest.

#2 Marthig

Just so appealing, wonderful colours, I’d buy it.

#3 Freddieanne

A very busy picture, kids would love this!

#4 Cazubi

Lovely bright colours, a magnet for children.

#5 Ms Bay

A lot of work has gone into this, lots of characters and
the potential for a great storyline.


Like everyone else who has voted, I hated having to choose 5.
All entries were skilful, absorbing and talented.

1 - pictureman33
2 - Marthig
3 - Ms Bay
4 - freddieanne
5 - raniday

This turned out to be a harder contest to judge than I thought it would. A lot of very good works of art, coming from an old picture of a yard ornament. I thought about it awhile and decided that most children’s books that I have read have some kind of text on each page to teach the children to read. So after taking out all the ones without text this is what I came up with.

1.jaykita
2.Shalford
3.marthig
4.chrishoggy1
5.Sean2

Lots of great ones but below are my favourite:

1)Freddieanne (Really liked this one, everything fits together perfectly, busy but that makes it more interesting to look at. Well done for using the log from the original picture, most of us left it out but you integrated it seamlessly.)
2)Marthig
3)Cazubi
4)Doug Colwell
5)Shalford

Well done everybody.

1/ Pictureman33. Very well blended in to an old style picture. Gr8 job

2/ Janet Petty. Liked the water colour look. Only thing I would change would be to make the bug a bit sharper

3/ Doug Colwell. Nice picture and loved the addition of the wings, they fitted in very well.

4/ freddieanne. Little bit busy for me, but I liked the setting and use of many adaptations of the original picture

5/ philbach. I liked the 3D look, but it needed more colours in the composition for me.

This contest is now closed.

Great job to everyone, but the win goes to (and it was very close)…

Congratulations Pictureman33

Prize: Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Photographers (http://books.elsevier.com/us//focalbooks/us/subindex.asp?maintarget=&isbn=&country=United+States&srccode=&ref=&subcode=&head=&pdf=&basiccode=&txtSearch=&SearchField=&operator=&order=&community=focalbooks), by Martin Evening. Donated by Focal Press

This goes for all the participants! Now that the contest is over, please feel free to add your steps/techniques to the June 05 Discussion thread (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10691)!

The starting image and winning image are attached....

Top 5:
Pictureman33 – 62 points
Cazubi -59 points
Jakita – 37 points
Freddieanne – 28 points
Doug Colwell & Marthig - 24 points

To view all the entries click here (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10715)