Oct 05 Contest Discussion

[T Paul]

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

[Caitlin]

This one looks like it's going to be fun T Paul! I've got some ideas scooting through my head already!

Now... time for thee inevitable nit-picky question. When you say ""The goal is realism, so try to make your creation as realistic looking as possible", I'm assuming you mean the people, not the overal picture? Because I have some collage ideas, that in themselves are obviously not 'realistic' photos. And the Holoween theme seems to lend itself to photographic effects that you wouldn't descibe as realistic.

[T Paul]

When I say "realistic" I mean the people. Since some may choose to add parts to create their "monsters", I want to make sure that the "cut-n-paste" isn't obvious. So if you add features you will want to make sure you match the lighting, perspective and so on.

[chrishoggy]

I know this isn't part of the contest, but thought it was fun.
Click here to see

[Kraellin]

been looking at the new contest entries.... you people are just warped i love it

Craig

[grafx]

I reserve the right to use my powers both for good and evil

[Marthig]

Originally Posted by chrishoggy

I know this isn't part of the contest, but thought it was fun.Click here to see

scary !! and very well done Chris !!
I am having a hard time ghoul-ing those two they are so nice looking I hate to disfigure pictures all the contrary, but well ... its all in the way of learning

Regards - Martha

[Kraellin]

chris,

nice morph!

i think we shld have a contest in the not too distant future on animations.

Craig

[Marthig]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

chris,
nice morph!
i think we shld have a contest in the not too distant future on animations.
Craig

Great idea Craig ! I second that
Though I know who is going to win

Regards - Martha

[chrishoggy]

Animated or interactive images in a contest would be gr8 fun. The problem is the file sizes. I suppose we could use one of the many free image hosts to upload the files to instead Not too bad for those of us with webspace to use/link to and on broadband, but may be a problem for those on dialup
Still think it would be a fun contest though
Would also give good ideas/teachings on using tweening/animation in photoshop and other programs.

[Kraellin]

Though I know who is going to win

i dont know, martha; look at chris's recent post in this thread. i like doing them, but i'd be hard pressed to beat that... or did you mean yourself?

yup, file size and file space is a big limiter on anims. i've had to cut some of mine so badly as to be hardly recognizable at times. luckily, i have a good friend who gives me web space to post some of my stuff.

still, you might be surprised what you can fit in a 100k file space. though i think the normal 800 x 600 pic size requirement might have to be waived

Craig

[chrishoggy]

You can get quite a bit in to a .gif file. Something like this Here as an example

[Marthig]

Craig wrote:
... i dont know, martha; look at chris's recent post in this thread.
i like doing them, but i'd be hard pressed to beat that 
... or did you mean yourself?

No ! was thinking about you and your fish in the pond and "The Rose" gift. Of course there must be many talented animation experts in the forum and there is no sure winner. Mine was just a joke

The animation you posted Chris is a movie type right ? And must be within the 100 kb limitation since you placed it as an example.

Obviously if this idea is taken for a contest there will have to be some revision of the file sizes and download times. Pity though.

OK I think we are waaayy off topic here no ?

Regards - Martha

[Marthig]

To all of the posters so far, your work is excellent ! They all look awful and scary too !!

Mrtam, I could not see the larger image, all I got was the hateful little red X

Welll now, will continue trying to disfigure the poor fellows

Regards - Martha

[Kraellin]

mrtam,

like martha, i cannot view your attachment. i get a message saying 'attachment cannot be displayed because it contains errors.'

not sure what file format you posted in or if the file got corrupted when you uploaded it, but you'll need to post another.

Craig

[T Paul]

MrTam has been notifed about his image.

On that note, here are some tips for newbies on saving images for the web:

"Save for Web" Option When Saving Images

[Marthig]

Well people I am sure will have nightmares with snakes and worms and ghouls, I am satisfied --so far-- with the result so I posted my contribution. I am not sure if I will modify or replace it but there it is for now.

Regards - Martha

[Caitlin]

Hi Guys - I've posted a photo album of all the entries here: http://www.tv83.net/retouchpro/October/ if it's helpful in assessing entries.

There are some damn scary ones in there!

[Gary Richardson]

Thanks Caitlin, didn't realise it was voting time already (have been a bit tied up with other things recently) so haven't downloaded all the images as I usually do.

Your site is a godsend.

Gary

[NancyJ]

A couple of comments in the voting about none of it being 'realistic' therefore impossible to take that infto consideration when voting.... This is what we mean when we say realistic:

T Paul: When I say "realistic" I mean the people. Since some may choose to add parts to create their "monsters", I want to make sure that the "cut-n-paste" isn't obvious. So if you add features you will want to make sure you match the lighting, perspective and so on.

Obiously fangs and green skin or whatever arent 'realistic' (well actually you can get some fabulous prosthetic fangs) the point is that its believable and doesnt look like a photochop job. Theres a big difference between 'real' and realistic.

[Legacy~Art]

NancyJ - Thank you no one ever picked me before, so thanks for adding me, what i saw when i did that picture, was a woman's scorn on halloween, her eyes being green, so she was jealous, and the face it was scarred due to acid, i let you work out the rest. I guess my imagination is alittle deep LOL!

My research was acne scared skin, i overlayed it LOL

Thanks too for the honorable mention!!!

[NancyJ]

Acid... lovely *shudder*. Great pic

[Lorraine]

Thanks so much, Catilin. That's a lot of work for you. I appreciate it.

Lorraine

[Peth]

Just to clarify my comments on the realism thing.

I was looking at compositing that could have looked like a makeup artist actually did the make-up and then the subject was photographed. This is 'real' in my terms. I agree that this is achieved by blending, shading etc...

A successful composite in my opinion is one where you can't pick the techniques used to get the final result... this gives it the appearance of being real. This applies to any job we do whether it be a restoration, manipulation or retouching.

The only exception is if we are asked to create a piece of art, which is then completely subjective and the techniques play a more important role - just as watercolour, oils or montage for example create different looks in conventional art.

Phew! With that said and done, we're no doubt all here because we love what we do whether it be in a professional sense or not and I'd guess that we all do it because it's loads of fun, so sorry if I got too serious on you all.

Have a great week.

Peth

[Caitlin]

Seriously, everyone has to be less serious! I asked for clarification from T Paul at the start of the competition about this term 'realism' because I could just tell it was going to turn into a debate again. Her reply was:

"When I say "realistic" I mean the people. Since some may choose to add parts to create their "monsters", I want to make sure that the "cut-n-paste" isn't obvious. So if you add features you will want to make sure you match the lighting, perspective and so on"

Now this still leaves stuff very open, as far as I was concerned it meant I could do what I liked to the overall picture - including effects, textures etc. But I was well aware with my entry I was taking a big risk in people's interpretation of the rules, but as I was happy with my results I decided it wasn't a concern for me.

When it comes down to it I think that the MAIN part of the challenge was to create a cool looking ghoul, and the 'realism' is secondary. Just vote for the ones you like guys and have fun!

[NancyJ]

Originally Posted by Caitlin

Now this still leaves stuff very open, as far as I was concerned it meant I could do what I liked to the overall picture - including effects, textures etc. But I was well aware with my entry I was taking a big risk in people's interpretation of the rules, but as I was happy with my results I decided it wasn't a concern for me.

It shouldnt have been a risk though, there was nothing wrong with your entry - it was in my list till you added the canvas texture - really must learn to leave it alone
Your entry was wonderful and shouldnt be penalised because it was the only 'composition', it was well within the required level of 'realism'. Perhaps the original rules should have been updated with the clarification.

[kschulz]

Caitlin - my ghoul was done by blending various parts together (mountain goat skull, jawbone, brain, teeth, tongue, large eye, etc.) together in layers, then drawing the capillaries, veins, blood, brain fluids, small eye. The rest was color and lighting matching.

Once I started with the layers, I couldn't stop. I agree the result suffers from rampant monsteritis, leaving little of the original.

Thanks for asking, and thanks for the photo album setup - sure makes for easy viewing!

- Kurt

[chrishoggy]

I think everybody needs to chill out. There should be another rule that states, "If you are go on and on about the rules, don't enter".
This is supposed to be a bit of fun between members, and so far it has started conflict over opinions/interpretations of the rules in nearly every contest. I think it's now a good idea to keep opinions on the rules out of the discussion, and let other members/voters decide for themselves if an image is within the rules or not.
Sorry if this upsets any members, but discussing rules and restrictions really put me off entering this contest. It was one of the reasons I didn't enter the last contest. But as this contest was open and creative, I thought there would be no problems. I came back off holiday a few days ago to find the same thing happening again.
With that in mind, I will cast my vote in this contest, but will not enter another.
It's a shame that a friendly contest can't be exactly that.

[NancyJ]

@Bob:
Yeah, I dont like the eyes either, I actually came back to change them when I found out it was voting time already

[raniday]

Hey guys, I'm hoping my comment when I voted isn't one of those that's causing a stir. To say I don't see much realism, isn't meant as a condemnation, just my reasoning behind my votes. Some folks can go on for half a page about why they did or did not vote for this or that. I'm economical, so a sentence or two does it for me. I've enjoyed entering these contests, though I never expect to get many votes because I lean towards artsy-fartsy, and a majority of the votes is always cast for the more objective, so a disclaimer seemed in order. It's easy to get your feathers ruffled in a forum; by nature, I'm a peacemaker, not a feather ruffler. If I ever inadvertently ruffle yours, I hope you'll PM me; I'll 'splain what I meant, give you a virtual hug, and we'll go on our way. Ok, that's a lot of rambling for a Raniday; I'll hush now..............