Voting will run from 23 Oct to 29 Oct 2005. Deadline for votes is 6pm EDT 29 Oct 2005.

Only those that entered the contest may vote. All other votes will be deleted. If you did not enter, but would like to comment on an entry, please post your comments to the Oct 05 Discussion Thread.

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.

And 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!

I guess I get to vote first as we're a day ahead of most others around the world here in little old New Zealand. Some very interesting entries, many of which deserved credit for creativity but not for sticking to the task at hand... Realism. Subjective I guess. Anyway this is how I saw it.

1st Nancyj - I liked the simplicity of the image and could see it working as a prosthetic in a hollywood sfx studio.

2nd Bobdown - tatoo work was a really original idea. Well executed.

3rd Grafx - There was something about the angle of the bone that didn't quite sit well with me but a very nice image.

4th Twinbnj - Would have quite liked to have done the textured skin thing myself but couldn't figure how to do it realistically. Nice try.

5th Gary Richardson - again, really nice in it's simplicity... sometimes the scariest things are the ones that take you by surprise because of their subtlety.

Everyone else - hopefully it's a full year before we're asked to show how twisted our minds are... now that's scary!

Look forward to the next test of our skills.

Wow, is it that time alrady? I was going to edit my entry this afternoon... oh well, here are my votes.

1. Cazubi - a little OTT for my tastes but brilliantly executed and I guess thats what really counts here ;) The blood drips were a little cartoony but thats a minor detail.

2. Bob Down - The blood on the chest looks more like its seeped into a shirt and spreading than on bare skin but the tattoos and some of the facial work are very well done.

3. Graphx - Not sure exactly what is supposed to be and in a way I kinda agree with preth about the 'bone' but, it could be its supposed to be like that, so benefit of the doubt vote since it is done well.

4. Mrtam - SOme bits I'm not sure about, really dont like the lettering or the additional photos but the facial work is very good.

5. Legacy ~ Art - Very subtle, not sure what the skin thing is about but I think someone else did something similar, so maybe its a reference to a film or something that I havent seen. Loved the way you got the guy into her eyes - I tried to do the same thing (but the other way around) with mine but I just couldnt get it right.

Honerable mentions:
Shalford - you shouldnt have changed it ;) I liked the other one much better, may not have made anyone cry but I really liked the artistry.

Caitlin - the texture spoiled it for me, there were a few things I wasnt happy with - the skull (top left) being the wrong angle and the 'blood' splatters but I could really see it as a glossy poster for a film in some teenagers bedroom - but the canvas texture just ruined that for me.

Hypogryphe - Very nice work with the photorealism, just lacked a little in the scare department for me.

Raniday - absolutely brillian piece of work, I discover something new each time a look at it - truely a marvel, BUT, impossible to judge any photorealism in the picture, also the same comment as with others, the blood drips are very cartoony.

Sean2 - Nice idea, and bonus points for being different but it lacks depth, the original photo has great atmospheric lighting and I feel that it was lost.

Roger_ele - Again, nice idea and points for doing something different, BUT I felt that you didnt make enough use of the photos provided. You entry would, IMO lose very little if they werent there.

I've probably forgotten something or someone I wanted to comment on so if I didnt mention yours, please dont be offended... I might add more comments later if I find someone I really need to comment about.

This one really let everyone's imagination rip, and as always was difficult to judge. In the end I just went with my own preferences.

1st NancyJ, Loved the concept and the execution on this one, kept to the theme of realism better than most, whilst still horrificating (made up word) the man's face wonderfully.

2nd Caitlin, Didn't quite keep to the brief, but loved the breadth of imagination and execution. Would make a great movie poster.

3rd Shalford. Execution not quite right (snake could do with a shadow to give depth), but thought the concept was fantastic.

4th Cazubi, Lost it a bit on realism, but again a really imaginative concept. Loved the teeth.

5th Smats, Another on the skull theme, not as well executed as NancyJ, but easily good enough to make my top 5.


Congratulations to everyone else, I really enjoyed looking at all your entries.
You're a very sick set of people (LOL).

Gary

Caitlin has been kind enough to organize a photo album of the contest entries for easy viewing. :classic:

You can view the entries here (http://www.tv83.net/retouchpro/October/)

This is a very imaginative group --- scary too!

1. Cazubi - Very clean manipulation, overall realistic look.

2. Delong72 - good use of shadows and blood. The expression, angle and eyes very well done.

3. Chrishoggy - also wonderful use of shadows, skin tone and overall look.

4. Lorraine - Wonderful job! perfect BG to compliment the image.

5. Nancy - simple and realistic, nice work.

1st - Cazubi ,very gory and realistic.

2nd - bobdown, wonderful composition and placement of blood.

3rd - Lorraine, A fan of the Wizard of Oz and this manipulation hits home.

4th - Perth, scary and beilevable.

5th Nancyj - realisic and great blending.

1. Shalford
2. Grafx
3. Nancyj_halloween
4. Kschulz Oct Ghoul
5. Raniday
:vampire:

1. NancyJ :)
2. Bob Down
3. Delong72
4. Grafx
5. Gary Richardson.

I didn't vote for realism 'cause I don't see much of that in any of them. I voted for creativity :)

1. Bobdown, gruesome
2. Cameraken, nice couple
3. Blueh20designs, looks like a candid shot of an unsuspecting vampire
4. Lorraine, ghastly
5. Kshultz, totally alien

Thank you Caitlin for making it easier to view the entries.

Congratulations everyone on your “chilling” renditions. My husband has been looking at me strangely ever since I showed him my entry, and I told him how much fun I had doing it. I had a very hard time choosing this time, and I had several favorites. Since the goal was “realism” I finally picked the ones that I felt fit that criteria.

1. Nancyj: the term “less is more” seems to apply here. It reminds me of an old B monster movie from the 1950’s or 60’s. Very nice blending work.
2. bobdown: Excellent blending of your composite elements, especially the tattoos.
3. Twinbnj: Scary and realistic.
4. grafx: Nice blending. Very creepy.
5. shalford: I like your grizzly concept. A few more snake shadows and blending would have put it higher for me.
Honorable mention goes to some very nice scary pictures: chrishoggy, delong72, legacyart and peth.

Raniday and Caitlin: I admire how artistic your entries are.

Cathy
:vampire:

I'm with raniday on this - realism?? As soon as a fang appears or the skin turns green, it's no longer realistic. Beyond that, is it a question of how far you go with it? The fact that anyone sees any of these as realistic is what scares me the most... :grin:

Based on creativity, technique and scary factor alone...

1) Grafx - Great blending, very well done artistically, and high on the fright scale. Great job.

2) Cazubi - Excellent! Scariest of them all. Only drawback, some skin (hide?) wounds look more like chipped stone.

3) Shalford - excellent effects on the skin and eyes, especially the torn cornea. Made me cry too, but only 'cause I felt compelled to abandon my original snake-based rendition after seeing this :bawling: Would've rated higher if the lighting on the snake matched the rest.

4) Caitlin - very occult-ish feel...which always gives me the creeps :cold:. I really like the composition. Makes a great poster.

5) Lorraine - guess I'm another Wizard of Oz fan. The faces in the flames is a fantastic idea and well done. Need shadowing under the hat.

Honorable mention to everyone else who participated - they're all very well done! Happy Halloween! :jacko:

- Kurt

Here are my votes:

1- NancyJ: I loved the realistic side of your entry. :thumbsup:
2- bobdown: Great tattoos/facial wound.
3- Chrishoggy: Talk about wrinkles...
4- Cazubi: Very creepy looking dude...if only he'd been more realistic. (I would not want to meet anything that looked like that!)
5- graphx: Another very creepy looking individual!

Congratulations to all the other participants... there sure are some twisted minds operating around here!!! :vampire:

1.Delong72 - That scared me when i enlarged it, i said out loud EWWW so as halloween goes that is a keeps!

2.Shalford - OH MY GOD it took me a 2nd look to realise where that snake was coming from this is what nightmares are made of!

3.bobdown - As you can see i was going for scary halloween, and that ewwww where do you get your imagination from?

4.nancyj_halloween - That is very realistic, looks like a man possessed!

5.CameraKen_Oct - Now that is clever, getting both of them in, and vampires too, well done!

1. Cazubi - Very gruesome and I love the blind eye.
2. delong72 - The "blood" looks very wet.
3. chrishoggy - Love the pruney look w/ that eyebrow ridge.
4. bobdown - Nice idea of tatoos.
5. nancyj - Good shadows for the concaved face.

No votes

Undeniably beautiful pictures, ideas, creativity and blending abilities exhibited in the group.. wish I had that flare.

Realism ...3
Creativity 100

Sean

Here's my top 5 pick:

1. Bob down - excellent! Love the tattoos (I tried very hard to get one on my guy but didn't like the result), and the blood and eye socket are really well done. It all melds together great, and I love the attention to detail (love the rolling eye).

2. Cazubi - Equally expert and effective as Bob's entry. Just a little more cartoonish.

3. Delong72 - without doubt the most gruesome of the lot. Yuck!

4. Shalford - The perspective on the snake is a flaw on this one, but the idea is terrific, and the snake skin brow, and the rest of his face a great. Love the 'greying' dead flesh around the holes in his face. The mouth looks a bit strange and not real though.

5. Raniday - lovely overall effect, though a but garish for my tastes.

Honourable mentions:

Liquidman (philbach) - I really like this one, specifically the green 'hulk' physique. The eyes and mouth could do with a bit of finessing though.

Lorraine - Some really good elements, but I didn't feel they all 'melded' or went together that well - the hat was a bit pasted on, and she had a rather blurry wart on her forehead!

kshultz - this was was quite brilliant, and I'd be interested to know if it was all drawn from scratch. My problem with it was there was no hint of the original picture left.

kayakbob - really inventive, if it wasn't for some serious focus problems this would have made the top 5.

1. nancyj - this guy needs a big hug. Really simple idea and it works well. Wonder if it would be even more "realistic" without the red eyes?
2. cazubi - wouldn't like to meet him on the way back from the pub! Would have placed this higher if the hair had blended better. It is almost too realistic when you compare it to the cartoon style of the other parts of the image. Great composition though.
3. caitlin - like the strong composition and layer blending.
4. shalford - no wonder this made your grandson cry!
5. delong72 - not the kind of guy I'd like my daughter (if I had one) to bring home for dinner. Nice idea and like the tight crop.

1) Cazubi
2) Lorraine
3) grafx
4) kschultz
5) bobdown

Lots of really good ones - It made voting as much work as doing it.
Congratualtions to everyone!

Hmm, too difficult for me to vote, but here goes, I got stuck on the definition of reality/realism and makeup artist

1. Lorraine
2. Chrishoggy
3. Kayakbob
4. Caitlin
5. Philbach

Many thanks to Caitlin for the easily digestible web page

Really difficult to vote as all entries are pretty good.
But heres my best 5 in my opinion.

1) bobdown
2) cazubi
3) Peth
4) nancyj
5) Shalford

Good job by everyone.

Here we go again. Each contest gets more difficult to narrow down to just 5. I tried to objectively judge the entries based upon photo realism, but my personal tastes have also affected my decisions.

1. Shalford – Just great work combining all elements.

2. LegacyArt – The blistered skin texture is wonderful. Superimposing his face in her eyes is extremely well done.

3. Grafx – Excellent work. Unbelievably believable. I though your iguana woman was excellent as well.

4. NancyJ – Everything looks real and really scary.

5. twinbnj -- Love the texture, hair color (or non-color) and fangs. She gives me a creepy feeling.

Honorable mention to: Cazubi, chrishoggy, kayakbob, kschultz, Bob Down (great work on the tattoos) and everyone else.

Lorraine

My votes:

1) Chrishoggy
2) Lorriane
3) NancyJ
4) twinbnj
5) garyrichardson

Chrishoggy
Cazubi
Cameraken
Lorraine
NancyJ


I am sorry for the lack of comments - I will try and post later.
I am desperately trying to get the central heating working !!!! Yuuck

Hi Everyone.
I guess my Interpretation of ‘Keep it real’ was a little different to others. I’ve Chosen my favourite Pictures

Here are my Votes.


1) kayakbob
2) Caitlin
3) Cassidy
4) Peth
5) Raniday



Some really great entries here. Well done Everyone.

Thanks for the Album Caitlin


Ken

nancyJ
bobdown
criss hoggy
Gary richardson
twinbnj

So these are the most horrid looking submissions IMHO :cool: ;)

Caitlin (thanks for the album, a great help ! :) )
Cazubi
Delong 72
Kschulz
Peth

Congratulations to the rest of the authors of the other horrible looking guys and gals . :wavey: Martha

1/ cazubi
2/ Shalford
3/ Kayakbob
4/ Caitlin
5/ Nancy J

Sorry for the lack of comments. Will add some once I have a bit more time :nod:

Hope to have the results up tomorrow night..although you guys and gals can add them up if the suspense is killing you. ;)

This month’s contest winner is Cazubi! Congrats on your ghoulish entry. Enjoy your well earned prize! Please take the time to share your steps with us.

THE PRIZE for this month’s contest is donated by Sams Publishing, a copy of How to Use Photoshop CS2 by Daniel Giordan (updated by our very own Doug Nelson).

Correction
The top 10:
Cazubi - 58
NancyJ - 52
Bob Down - 49
Shalford - 30
Tie - Grafx & Chrishoggy - 26
Tie - Delong72 & Lorraine - 23
Caitlin - 22
KayakBob - 11

You can view all the entries in the Oct 05 Contest Thread (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11688)


Photo of Man with permission by henri from Stock.Xchng

Photo of Woman with permission by jenzel from Stock.Xchng