Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the August Contest entries here. This is also a great place to share your techniques or ask others about theirs.

Most members are eager to hear comments/suggestions about their entries, so please take the time to help each other out.

Contest FAQs (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13446)

Contest Entries (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14184)

Contest Votes (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14186)

excellent Racc! i give. cant compete with that :)

craig

excellent Racc! i give. cant compete with that :)

craig
I gotta agree.. thats gonna be a tough one to match

Yup........:D

Thanks, guys. You're all very kind.

Believe it or not, I actually had trouble on deciding what to do. Even with the selected elements the possibilites of arrangement are endless.

--Racc

racc, well, you're welcome and all i can say is that i hope you have trouble deciding in the future as well :)

racc, well, you're welcome and all i can say is that i hope you have trouble deciding in the future as well
Thanks, Craig. No doubt I will. :)

Even when I have a good idea or inspiration and have settled on a theme or look, I can very easily get lost in all the different variations and possible combinations. But then as I keep at it, rearranging things and changing my mind, I notice that I start to keep coming back to a particular arrangement, and so it starts to take on more weight as an idea. And, that's when I know I'm heading in the right direction.

--Racc

thanks for that, racc. i notice this in my own work but slightly different in that mine comes in the form of 100 undos :)

craig

...gonna have to get mine in quick before someone does my idea

Gary... Warning

"Incorporate the title “Deco Hi-Life” but no other text"

Great stuff folks!

Thanks for the heads up Swampy, missed that one, I'll edit at once. :bigthmb:

EDIT: Balance doesn't look quite right now, may have to play with this some more if I get the time (Grrr......) :D :D

Now that's what I like to see...members complimenting each other and helping each other out! :D

Now that's what I like to see...members complimenting each other and helping each other out! :D

Yeh! Lets hope this month's contest doesn't get too competitive.

Helpfulness has always been the norm at RetouchPRO, and long may it remain so.

(In that spirit, I think Racc Iria should withdraw his entry so that we mere mortals can have a hope of competing :wink: :D :D :D )

(In that spirit, I think Racc Iria should withdraw his entry so that we mere mortals can have a hope of competing :wink::D:D:D)
:happy: Now that is a compliment, Gary. Thanks.

--Racc

(In that spirit, I think Racc Iria should withdraw his entry so that we mere mortals can have a hope of competing ) rofl.

irishgirl, i like what you've got, but would love to see a few more elements in it; something to show more about the musical or manhatten or something.

swampy, very cool :) the two main elements work well together.

i did a little research to refresh my memory of this time period. 'flappers' were primarily in the 20's. prohibition ended in 1933. jazz, swing and big bands were still somewhat in their infancy but catching on. speakeasys ended with prohibition and those clubs simply came out from the underground. 1934 was a great depression year. the dust bowl was going on out west. roosevelt was president and 'the new deal' was in there somewhere. money was tight and unemployment was high. the clubs were often escapes from the realities of the day. manhatten clubs were for the social elite and those that had money. it was a rough time for most.

craig

Thank you, Craig! :-)

I love the Deco period art. Although "Deco" has a definite location on the artistic style timeline, it is really timeless. We see a lot of it in today's "Retro" look, but I always felt that as a style, it was very "modern" even in today's terms.

Am glad to see that many are using a "Broadway" type style. Very typical of the era.

dee dee, you're welcome :)

Am glad to see that many are using a "Broadway" type style. Very typical of the era. i agree. i think the mood and style is being captured quite nicely.

the one thing i keep thinking about is, however, the harlem clubs where jazz really took off. a shame this is only about manhattan.

craig

I didn't see anything in the rules restricting it to just Manhattan? Did I miss something?

* Remove the man from the beach photo in the above file
* Create a vertical orientation poster to advertise the musical play "Deco Hi-Life"
* Incorporate the title “Deco Hi-Life” but no other text
* Add various other (non-copyrighted or public domain) components to complete the image
* Final image must be exactly 450 px wide and 600 px high

(followed by the usual 1 entry per person etc.)

dee dee, ah, had to look at the original posting again. i guess this is where i got the manhattan bit from: August Challenge –create an Advertisement Poster for "Deco Hi-Life", a musical play about Manhattan sophisticates in 1934 so, you're right; it's about the manhattan sophisticates and not necessarily about manhattan itself.

craig

Now that is a compliment, Gary. Thanks.

You're welcome, I love your entry.

Swampy, just seen yours, great concept. Not too sure about dark line around jacket, makes it look like a bad extraction, I can understand the necessity to isolate it from the white BG, but think it lets down a little an otherwise excellent entry.

I understand, Gary. The lady with the smoking gun was an Illustrator file and I originally had it as all red, but that lacked something so I outlined portions of it in black. Kind of hard to selectivly stroke only portions of a vector element.

Appreciate the comments though. :-)

After an extrememly long day and even longer commute home I was thrilled to read the latest posts to this thread!

I had so hoped that the discussion thread would be used to offer suggestions to each other, so that entries could be improved throughout the month.

KUDOS, and keep up the great work!! :)

I understand, Gary. The lady with the smoking gun was an Illustrator file and I originally had it as all red, but that lacked something so I outlined portions of it in black. Kind of hard to selectivly stroke only portions of a vector element.

Appreciate the comments though. :-)
Try creating two versions of your illustrator file layer, one that is all red and one that is red with the black stroke. Place the red & black stroke layer above the solid red layer. Now add a layer mask to the top layer (red & black file) and selectively paint out the areas using the mask that you just want to be red.

Posted my entry, though there are already some really great ones! What a fun contest this month.

I think peter_s should be disqualified for distracting use of long legs in high heels and fishnets ;)

I'm sorry, Nancy. I was just looking at that entry... what were you saying? :happy:

I think peter_s should be disqualified for distracting use of long legs in high heels and fishnets ;)


Hang on surely its required in Manhattan isn't it???? :blush: :kisses:

A question for Doug really. Having read your addition to the site FAQ's about nekkidness. would you like me to remove my contest post.
I know she's not unclothed but if it is going to cause any fuss, no prob I will remove it.

peter

Can't speak for Doug of course, but from my point of view your picture contains nothing that would offend anyone (I presume we've all overcome the prudity of the Victorian age when seeing a woman's ankle was a thing of note).

Any comments made were surely meant in a spirit of fun and friendly nobble.

I for one would be greatly suprised (and disappointed) if you were asked to even alter your entry in any way.

I doubt anybody would take offence to seeing some legs. In fact I would be in the same boat as Gary if anybody asked it to be removed.
Lets face it, mini skirts have now turned in to nothing but a belt in the UK :eek: You see MUCH more than that while walking round the supermarket, never mind what you see in photos :lol:
Doubt I will have time to enter this month, due to amount of work I have on. But from what I've seen so far, I have to take my hat off to Racc :bow: :bow: :bow: . Cracking example of a VERY good artists at work :bow: :bow: :bow: .

But from what I've seen so far, I have to take my hat off to Racc. Cracking example of a VERY good artists at work.
Wow! Thanks for that, Chrishoggy. That's high praise, indeed.

--Racc

I thought we would have more entries on this contest by now, but perhaps the rest are waiting until the last moment to post. :)

I thought we would have more entries on this contest by now, but perhaps the rest are waiting until the last moment to post. :)
I think the rest of us gave up after seeing the first post ;)

I think the rest of us gave up after seeing the first post

That's not the way, you should be thinking "I can beat that". :wink:

Cmon, give it a go, you know you want to. :D

I know Nancy was kidding, but Gary's right.

No one should let my entry stop them from entering. I've seen the work of many of you on this forum. I know a lot of you could do better than I did. Besides... it's interesting to see everyone's take on it. And who knows... your idea may inspire someone else's.

Come on... there's still time.

--Racc

Hi I posted a new version for this contest, let me know if you think it looks more like a musical poster?

I think everyone has done a great job, and it is fun to see what you can learn by doing one of these contest. To me it is very inspiring.

I did some research and looked up old musical posters and I think that would be a fun way to go with this contest too.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Just looked at your entry, love the skeletal skyline.

I've also noticed that most of the entries have a B&W theme, am I missing something?

Gary I don't think you are missing anything, when you think 1934 you think Black & White.

As I mentioned about doing some research the old posters do have color but also a lot of text on them.

Yes, I'd looked at a few myself, and many have the same sort of format as the one you've posted. But with the rules only allowing us to put Deco Hi-Life, it kinda cut out the option of creating an "old time" matinee poster (for me at least).

Black and white was very basic to the deco art style. Mostly used with very stylized geometric patterns, tiles and flourishes. A great mix of curves and straight lines. Very bold and simple (perhaps sleek is a better word). I still use elements of the deco period in some display advertising today.

I reposted my first version. I liked it better. Especially the sneer.

"I used to be uncertain, now I'm not so sure." :D :D :D

Never mind CathyH, its a woman's prerogative to change her mind (least thats what my wife always tells me). :D :D :D

Both are good!

Congratulations Racc, It's obvious that you are going to win!
Great entry, looks realy professional! You do this for a living I assume?

I am curious for the next contest.
I personaly hope that it is going to be an image manipulation challenge!
This was more like desktop publishing. And I don't like working with text!
I am not familiar with the DECO style either, probably before my generation I guess!

Congratulations Racc, It's obvious that you are going to win!
Great entry, looks realy professional! You do this for a living I assume?
Well, thanks, HannibalVector. That's nice of you to say, but I never count my chickens before they hatch. You never know. Voting isn't over... anything can happen.

I do do this kind of design for a living... sometimes. My job involves various types of graphic projects. Anything from print/web design to interactive multimedia to 3D animation and motion graphics for TV/video. I've actually done a couple of full size posters... though, not for anything as interesting as a musical.

My current big project at work is integrating an animated 3D toy stuffed dog so that it talks to and interacts with real kids in a video about safety procedures at school during emergencies like the sniper incident we had here in DC a few years ago. The target audience are kids in Kindergarten to second grade.

--Racc

Congratulations, Racc! Well deserving.

Your current project sounds very interesting and I'm sure beneficial to children.

I want going to enter until I saw Racc's effort - and that is not to say that everyone else's isnt also very good, but it was almost identical to what I would have done - but executed so much better. The only thing I dont like is the clarinet (i think) it just looks wrong to me, floating

Thanks, Swampy.

Nancy... You're right. That's the weakest part of the image. At first I had nothing in that area, but it felt unbalanced and unfinished. It needed something. I tried all sorts of things there... an art deco style chaise longue, a couple of silhouetted line danders, and other stuff. I didn't like any of it. Plus, it all tended to clutter the image and overpower what I wanted to be the main focus--the guy.

I finally came across that clarinet and it fit the black/white/musical theme well enough, but then I struggled all over again with size, placement, rotation, etc. Finally I just had to make a decision or drive myself nuts, and that's what I setteled on. I positioned and angled it so that it would at least be more dynamic and draw the eye from the title to the guy. But, like you, I'm not all that happy with that element.

If I had it to do over again, I probably would have modelled some musical notes or something in 3D and put them in there. Didn't think of that until just now. :ditsy: Oh, well. I do like the way the image came out overall, though.

--Racc

Congratulations Racc!

I showed your entry to my son and he used it as an inspiration for his poster project. :wavey:

Congratulations Racc!

I showed your entry to my son and he used it as an inspiration for his poster project.
Wow, soleah, thanks! To have inspired others is truly amazing, and humbling. I think that's about the highest compliment any artist can recieve.

If his project was for school I just hope I'm not responsible for him getting a poor grade. :classic:

Seriously, though, it would be interesting to see his poster when it's done... to see where the inspiration led him.

--Racc

Beautiful work Racc. Congratulations. I am very impressed by all of the entries, and I wish that I had been able to jump in this month too. Nice work everyone.

Cathy :bow:

Congratulations, Racc, on your outstanding work.

Even though I couldn't participate this month, I still enjoyed looking at all of the great entries. Good work everyone.

Lorraine

Thanks, Cathy. Thanks, Lorraine. You're both very kind. :happy:

--Racc

I see everyone has figured out this month's winner. :)
I've been out of town and will post the official results later today.

I see everyone has figured out this month's winner.

Welcome back T.

Yeah, it was the closest one yet, but a few hours calculating the close spread of votes and we got there. :D

Good job to everyone, but the prize this month goes to Racc Iria!!

The Prize:
55mm, donated by Digital Film Tools (http://www.digitalfilmtools.com/55mm/index.htm)

Top 5
Racc Iria - 53
Swampy - 21
Makeovermagic - 17
Peter S - 16
KR1156 - 15

Congratulations Racc Iria for your winning entry. I'm still shocked that such a shoddy piece of work could win (wait a minute you gave it first place too you fool), but there's no accounting for taste. :D :D :D

Congratulations to all the other finalists, and indeed to all the other entrants, all of the entries were good.

Congratulations Racc! A very deserving win.

Congrats Racc and to all that entered! It was fun participating in this one.

Marsha

congrats, racc :)

see how prophetic i am ;) hehe, it didnt take a prophet to know that entry was going to rank up in the top. i find it interesting that this contest had one of the fewest number of entries in recent history. seems you blew us all out of the water at the get-go, racc. i think we'll have to ask you to post your entry last next time ;)

craig

Sorry I didn't respond sooner guys... was visiting family over the holiday weekend.

Gary, Doug, Marsha, and Craig... thanks for those kind words. It was a fun contest. Everybody did great!

Craig, you're right. There weren't that many entries this time, which is probably why I won. :wink: I would have liked to see some entries from more of the regulars. Nancy said her idea was similar to mine. It would have been interesting to see her interpretation along with the others.

There's a lot of talented people here at RetouchPRO. I've entered quite a few of the contests and have never even come close to winning before. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying how skilled and talented a lot of you are. I think this particular contest was just closer to the type of work I do.

It has been fun and everyone has been great! I want to thank everybody for your kind words and compliments, and of course... your vote. :happy:

--Racc

Nancy said her idea was similar to mine. It would have been interesting to see her interpretation along with the others.

It would have been almost identical (but not as good - but without the clarinet ;))
My idea was the guy standing on a curved keyboard with a manhatten skyline backdrop and the same damn font for the lettering ;) They would have been freakishly similar - and you got yours in first ;)

Craig, you're right. There weren't that many entries this time, which is probably why I won. lol. i dont think so :)

craig

Nancy... I like it! Sounded like a great concept! ;)

Craig... I meant that a little tongue-in-cheek, but there is some truth to it. Still, I thank you for the vote of confidence and the moral support.

--Racc