Voting will run from 25 Jan to 31 Jan 2008. Deadline for votes is 5pm EST.

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 in the Jan 08 Contest Discussion thread.

Vote for the 5 best entries in order.

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 based my decisions on what I understand the technique should include. The elements I looked for were: dry brush strokes, black in the image, the image often hangs in the air, chinese symbols representing the name and/or date of the artist, a seal that describes the meaning of the painting, and a silk canvas.

Based on those criteria, I cast the following votes.

1. lcramer53 (First Place)
2. byRo (Second Place)
3. Out of Focus (Third Place)
4. Ziaphra (Fourth Place)
5. Lorraine (Fifth Place)

Here are my 5 votes.

1. byRo
2. Icramer53
3. DameLinda
4 Mining Art
5. Lorraine

Carb

1. CBeller
2. Frank Lopes
3. pixiecho
4. DameLinda
5. gadam1975

I think CBeller really stayed true to the art form--or at least as true as you can stay to a two thousand-year-old tradition while working on a computer. His (her?) composition reflects the sponaneity that makes Chinese brushwork so unique. I also looked at how relistic the black ink was. pixiecho, in particular, managed to create a wash I'd swear was authentic.

I've had a lot of fun working on what was my first contest, and it's always interesting to see everyone's interpretations. Can't wait till next month!

Mining Art votes:

1. Lorraine
2. Cassidy
3. Carb
4. lvhoover
5. cBeller

It was very difficult to choose the final five. My votes are based on the entries that best resemble the styles of samples provided. I looked for ink details over water brush strokes. Also, I voted for those that retained the look of the lotus being in water.

My votes:

1. byRo
2. CBeller
3. allieok
4. Ziaphra
5. carb

Lorraine

1. KGimini M
2. CBellar
3. Garazon
4. Lorraine
5. Dame Linda

1. ByRo
2. Lorraine
3. Ziaphra
4. gadam1975
5. Damelinda

1. Gadam1975
2. Frank Lopes
3. Mining Art
4. DameLinda
5. CBeller

1. CBeller
2. pixiecho
3. byRo
4. PeterS
5. KGimini M

I've picked the ones that evoked the feeling of the brush art for me:

1. Lorraine
2. allieok
3. gARAZON
4. byRo
5. cBellar

my votes for the January contest are

1. ByRo
2. Out of Focus
3. Maroon
4.Pixiecho
5.lcramer53

And a round of applause for everyone who entered they are great but i liked these for their "hand painted look"

Palms

1. ByRo
2. CBeller
3. PeterS
4. Lorraine
5. allieok

1 Lorraine
2 LotusDone
3 Gadam
4 Peter
5 Out_of_Focus

I started by eliminating those which didn't use, or at least remind me of, ink and wash technique - which by luck left only five. :bigthmb:

1: Lorraine, simple and pleasing to the eye - as a Chinese painting should be;
2: pixiecho, the black lines were perfect - shame the rest didn't quite match up;
3: allieok, not exactly Chinese - but did make a nicely composed image;
4: Mining Art: a nice take on the image, but hardly ink and wash;
5: garazon: in the right direction, just not quite the technique required here.

Rô

1 - Pixiecho
2 - Lorraine
3 - Garazon
4 - Swampy
5 - ByRo

Maroon
DameLinda
byRo
OlBaldy
PhotoB

I wish some else could do my voting for me - this was hard.

1 Lorraine

2 Out of Focus

3 Mining Art

4 K Gimini M

5 Garazon




Peter

Just made it. Very difficult deciding on this one. Well done all. Shame a few were disqualified.

1. Pixiecho
2. Lorraine
3. CBeller
4. Dame Linda
5. Ziaphra

First I must say I really enjoyed reviewing all the entries this month. You all did a wonderful job! :)

Sadly, I had to discount the votes for entries that did not meet the rules (file size, filename...)

Now for the winner.....


Congratulations go to Lorraine!


Prize: Exposure 2 donated by Alien Skin (http://www.alienskin.com/exposure/index.html)

Description Exposure 2 is the new, even more feature-packed version of our award-winning Photoshop plug-in that gives digital photographs the look and feel of film. Whether you’re a fashion or wedding photographer, a designer or art director, with Exposure 2 you’ll have one-click access to the broadest range of film stocks and special effects settings available in any software package. That’s why Exposure 2 is the closest thing to film since film.


Top 5:
Lorraine - 44
byRo - 39
Cbeller - 30
pixiecho - 22
DameLinda - 16