May 06 Contest Votes

[T Paul]

Voting will run from 25 May to 31 May 2006. Deadline for votes is 6pm EDT 31 May 2006.

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 May 06 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!

[T Paul]

Quick Links

May 06 Contest Entries

May 06 Contest Discussion

Viewing Album provided by makeovermagic (temporary link)

If you jump to the end photo #69 -- this is the original image.

NOTE: photo #15 is entry by "familytreephoto" -- there was an error in uploading

[Kraellin]

this is by far the most maddening bit of voting i've ever had to do on this site. there were no entries that i could just automatically throw out. NONE! in the end, i had to go by which entries truly convinced me they were pencil and that if i saw these printed out on paper and was asked, solely based on the prints, 'which of these were done in pencil?', and which, if done in pencil did a good job of capturing the image from the photograph, this is what i came up with:

1. Twinbnj (oddly, i knew this one was my first place from almost the beginning. it just looks pencil and it looks like the girl in the photo.)

2. Soleah. i'm really not sure why this is 2nd place to me and not first. i look at it again and again and it looks pencil and it certainly looks like the girl and all i can say is, 'something about the hair and perfect shading strokes.

3. Bob Down. again, i'm not really sure why 3rd place and not higher, but when i look at it compared to 1 and 2, this is where it ends up.

4. Ajava. the perfect cross-hatching bothered me a little bit here. i would have preferred to see more varied strokes. it certainly looks pencil and it certainly looks like the girl, but i just liked the cleaner look of the other top 3 bmore.

5. byRo. i loved the varied strokes in this one, but something about the smudging in the hair just wasnt quite as convincing of pencil as some of the others. if it had just been the face and not the hair, this one would have moved up to a higher slot.

i said it in the discussion thread and i'll say it again here, my exposure to pencil sketches is limited. i studied the images in the link provided by soleah and ken and even my own pencil sketch rendition and that's all i can go by, what i've seen and what i know. i've never felt like apologizing before in one of these votes, but i sort of do in this one. so many excellent entries that anyone having commisioned such a work would have been proud to own regardless of if it were 'pencil' or not. so, if my vote eliminated your entry chalk it up to my limited knowledge of digital pencil sketches.

craig

[Peth]

I was privileged to go to art school with some very talented artists when I was younger, each one had their own style, their own techniques, their own vision for their finished pieces. I saw pencil art that varied from very loose pencil drawings through to highly finished, highly detailed. almost photographic pieces.

So my votes reflect that diversity. No one piece looks anything like another/ so in a way each of my finalists scored 5 points in that they convinced me that they could have been pencil drawings or sketches. In fact there were a few others that I could have included but alas there's only room for 5.

Elimination of the others for me was dead easy. Anything that looked like filters had been applied automatically dropped off my list. Sorry guys, full marks for participating but art comes from the soul - not from a drop-down menu. Tell-tale signs were things like cross-hatching going against the flow of the hair or all the strokes going in one direction.

Lastly there were some very nice entries that were superb artistically but looked more like paintings than pencil.

Righto then to the votes. This became quite subjective.

1.mseydel2
3.Nancy J
3.TPaul
4.Kraellin
5.Goose443

[Nanls]

First: thank you to Marsha for putting up the gallery...

1. Northernshawdow... it stuck out for me the first time I saw it.
2. Bob Down... a little soft and could use more contrast but I like the overall image.
3. CJSwartz - very well done
4. Doug Colwell - really different, like it.
5. Kr1156.. works
There were so many wonderful entrie... honorable mentions: chrishoggy, JanetPetty, Lorraine, allen, NancyJ, and auroraskye... geez, what a contest!
~Nancy~


____________________________________
www.photoart123.com

[NancyJ]

This was very difficult to judge, especially with so many entries. I've got a list of about 15 names and putting them in order was excruciating.

#1 T Paul - stunning, last minute entry, would have liked to have seen a few sharper strokes adn I dont like the vignette but overall it was the strongest combination of artistry and sketch style
#2 Soleah - very emotive, however some of the darker strokes are a bit too contrasty and a little splotchy, would have like to have seen them blend better with the rest of the image
#3 twinbnj - gets 3rd place because its nice but theres something not quite right about it - like a piece of tracing paper has been put over the top (possible a high-pass side effect) and if you took it away you'd have a perfect winner
#4 Cazubi - very believable, though it looks more like a rubbing than a sketch, just lacking a little sometihng artistically
#5 msydel - hands down the most 'sketchy' but the style isnt to my taste, it would be more suited to fantasy drawings or wildlife, I think it lacks the delicacy and sensitivity of a portrait, particularly for the girls mother. I dont think it is flattering to the subject and the heavy, separated lines make her face look hairy

other names on my list that didnt quite make it into the top 5, though on a different day they might have, terivon, 1stlite, Janet Petty, byRo, 226, KR1156

and honerable mentions to Peth and Cathy H for stunning peices of artistry that just lost out in the sketch department, I've no doubt that a real client would have been thrilled with your entries and not at all bothered about your choice of medium.

[PhotoB]

Okay. Not an easy choice. But here are my favorites (it's hard enough PICKING a favorite- let alone ORDERING them!!- but one has to comply to the rules). I had a list of about a dozen names, but I finally choose my final 5 for ones that rlooked like a pencil drawing- and not just endless photoshop filters (which I was guilty of myself) ...

1. bobdown- LOVE the high key!!
2. northern shadow
3. Tpage
4. Janet Petty
5. twinbnj

[OnAir]

It wasn't easy to understand, what technique will be right for the photo: 'sketchy' look gives feeling of something incomplete, that is obviously not in a character of the girl on the photo. Smudging technique gave perfect results, so my preferences are:

1.NancyJ - I like finishing touch, good work on details, absolutely nothing distracting, great job.
2.Infinite Monkey - good definition in skin tones, good overall contrast.
3.Ikroll - Unusual interpretation. I love contrast between dark strokes and soft, almost watercolor tones on skin and in background. Interesting just to look at the technique, but still a well thought-out and intelligent portrait.
4.Peth - Soft, well-taken portrait. I would love to see more job on the background and hair.
5. mseydel2 - It really looks like a pencil! Also I like pragmatical primitivism as a style.

[Swampy]

This was really tough! Probably the hardest contest to judge since I've been here. So many wonderful versions. I pretty much got down to 5 and then threw darts.. LOL

1. Chiroka
2. Solea
3. Kraelin
4. Terivon
5. Naburi_blast

[mseydel]

Though I loved many of the solutions as finished pieces, I didn't find them entirely convincing as pencil sketches. My own interpretation is that the piece would be a '1st submit' to the client, where they would indicate personal taste to inform the final. By let's end my editorial, and get to the voting:

1. soleah. soft approach overall which really brought out the eyes; felt like a lot of care had been taken with this, and it was an approach that I appreciated.
2. northernshadow. a touch too 'noisy overal'l, as if it were done with a sharp pencil on coarse paper. I expected to see more texture in the hl's though.
3. goose 443. very loose, playful style that felt more like a sketch and less like a filter; this added personality.
4. Infinite monkey. very nice work here, great contour of the face. If the contest had been charcoal sketch, this would be #1.
5. nancyJ. Great overall look; aesthetically this one appealed to me the most, but I found it hard to believe as a 'pencil sketch'. Those small details and deep darks would be very difficult to achieve with a graphite pencil.

[soleah]

I’ve read through my sons handbook on sketching using different media i.e. graphite, charcoal, conte crayon, black wax, ink wash. Honestly, I’m still not an expert on spotting which is which. I also came across some samples of photorealistic sketch. So to me (and my untrained eye), all the entries here met the requirement. My congratulations to everybody!

This is the toughest contest to judge. How I came up with the ranking, I don’t know.

My favorite:

1. Danny Raphael – Not a hint that it was converted from a picture. The cross-hatching effect was applied very well. The gray is just right for a graphite pencil and the whiteness of paper still shows where it was not drawn. The shadows are subtle and clean.
2. ajava – A skillful combination of filters. Very artistic. The darkened teeth distracted from her beautiful smile. I wish that the whole image is a little brighter.
3. goose443 – I love this one for its artistic rendition. The sheen on the teeth and on the pearls betrays it a little bit. It’s too smooth for a sketch. But then, using the right paper and proper technique, this could be achieved with a hand-sketch.
4. cazubi – A lot of smudging done on this one. The likeness to the subject suffered a little bit. Just like #1, not an indication that it came from a photo. The shadows especially on the face, not too aggressive, just right.
5. twinbnj – It’s probably the hair that did it for me.

The comments above are just base on my personal preference. Mind you, I’d be proud to show these works to the client. The mother would be very delighted.

[lkroll]

I had a hard time picking; won't give a reason, just my vote.

1.InfiniteMonkey
2.Drach
3.mseydel
4.Lorraine
5.T Paul

[CJ Swartz]

I chose a dozen or so that appealed most to me, looked at those to see if I thought they looked like photoshop versions of a pencil drawing (as the mother requested), and then chose these as versions that I would most want to receive if I were the mother.

1 - Nanls -- lovely, looks delicate, but complete and finished
2 - northernshadow
3 - Janet Petty
4 - Bart Hickman
5 - Peth

[ajava]

So many fantastic entries! I tried to follow the criteria when picking my top five...needed to look like the original picture and needed to make me believe it was done in pencil. So, here goes...

1. Soleah - just beautiful; very convincing. Nothing distracts the eye; it all flows together perfectly and really looks like a pencil sketch. Great.

2. TPage - Kept coming back to this one. Very nice job.

3. Bart Hickman - Was my first place choice early on; really looks like a sketch to me...maybe just a little too harsh in the transition from black to white, a litte too black.

4. Terivon - basically tied with Cazubi...tough call

5. Cazubi - nice job, so hard to rank them.

Now, there were some other entries that didn't necessarily look like sketches to me, but that I loved and would be proud to own (if the subject were my daughter) - NancyJ, just LOVE that one...beautiful, probably my favorite overall, just doesn't convince me it was done in pencil. And byRo - again, great job, but looks more like dry brush and paint to me.

And Drach - Yours REALLY looks like pencil to me, just strayed too far from the original look of the subject in the photo. Nice, though.

[Janet Petty]

Anyone want to join me for a game of darts with the five names we hit the most to be the winners? I got it down to about 12 names and then had a terrible time paring it down to just five.

This is what did it for me: Those that were very skillful but entirely too dark for pencil, being IMHO more suited to charcoal, sadly had to be disqualified. The challenge was graphite pencil, which depending on the softness of the pencil and the paper type will look a lot of different ways. Therefore, after I looked at technique, etc., it all boiled down to whether or not I liked the piece. Not very analytical or scientific, but quite subjective huh?

1. TPaul
2. byRo
3. DannyRaphael
4. NorthernShadow
5. Krll56

Honorable mention goes to a myriad of others including but not limited to AllanJ (charcoaled); Ajava (looked really like pencil); LaradFreder; Cazubi; Peth; Lonk; CJSwartz; Terivon; BobDown; and mseydel (pencil for sure; but too rough around the edges for my taste).

GREAT CONTEST. GREAT PARTICIPATION ALL.

Janet

[InfiniteMonkey]

It was interesting to see how many variations on a theme were created within the scope of this brief, yet I was dissapointed to see quite how many people seemed to rely soley on filters to create the desired effect.

I have to agree with Peth on this one, 'art comes from the soul - not from a drop-down menu'. The depressing thing is, most clients would probably not be able to tell the difference, or at least would accept the enterpretation and would walk away half-heartedly wishing they hadn't bothered.

Photoshop et al are just tools. Never forget that. It's how we use these tools that defines our creativity. Personally I'm dreading the day that adobe creates a drop down menu that, in one click, converts photographs into realistic natural media. I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry to become obsolete.

Positioning myself as an informed client, it was simply a task of selecting entrants that I believed had truely entered into the spirit of the event. From the 7 I identified, these are my top 5.

1: Peth - very effective. One of only a few that chose to crop the image. Nice. Would have benefitted from a bit more detail and contrast in the hair.

2. Tpaul - again very effective. Really didn't like the crop, sorry. Didn't see the reasoning or the need. Detracted from an otherwise stellar creation.

3. Alllan - Absolutely loved this one. Very striking, but unfortunately as I'm finding to my detriment, more of a charcoal effect than graphite pencil. I had to include it though, as it really was one of my favourites, hang the rules...!

4. CathyH - Loved the natural media feel to this one. again, not convinced as to the graphite pencil feel, but as the client I am convinced I would not be dissapointed. Liked the balance from light to dark, with my only criticism being the crop, again detracting from what would otherwise have been a very competent piece.

5. dkcoats - loved the natural media feel to this one. Loved the tilt and crop, though I think it would have looked better rotated counterclockwise to the same degree, but then I would say that...
Would have liked to have seen a bit more detail in the face, but otherwise a very convincing piece.

Remember, we're here to test our abilities, not the softwares'

It's 3.50am, so please excuse my incomprehensible ramblings, back to dreaming about jammy dodgers ...

[bart_hickman]

Went through the initial batch and eliminated any that didn't look enough like pencil or that looked too much like a photograph. Then I simply sorted out the five I liked the most and would have wanted to pay money and hang on my wall. I gave less weight to images that looked exactly like a genuine pencil sketch--although I was impressed by them, I prefer the images that strike a balance between preserving the subjects likeness while not looking like a photo.

1. nancyJ_may06 -- very smooth pencil-like drawing and yet somehow avoids looking like a photograph--nice work!
2. CJSwartz -- very good pencil simulation and good likeness, but I don't care for the spots of texture in the hair
3. alllan -- I bit overly-textured, but I love the eyes--would be a striking picture hanging on the wall.
4. retouchpix -- I like the contrast and just liked it even though real pencil might not be so contrasty.
5. Peth -- Very nice rendition. The crop is a nice idea. It's a bit smooth and tilted a bit too much.

Bart

[chiroka]

1- cazubi
2 - Legacy~Art
3 - Retouchpix
4 - Drach
5 - alllan

[Drach]

Woah, lot's of interesting entries. After first sort-out there were 15 names on my list.

Everything that looked too much like filter or photocopy got sorted out first.

After that there were a lot entries that looked great, but (at least imho) not like a pencil sketch, prime example being CathyH. A pity this contest was not all-style cause this one would have had a high ranking.

Some entries really used an interesting technique, but had something that disturbed me somehow. Prime examples here being byro (can't decide if it's pencil or not), chiroka (would have loved more detail, especially for the eyes), bobdown (too pale imho) and mseydel (she looks ..umm.. old on the picture.. kinda).

Here we go:

1. mseydel (I hate it and I love it. She looks kinda old, but the whole picture looks sooo cool, I can't take my eyes of it)

2. cazubi (reminds me of the style of my old art-teacher at school )

3. byro (I still can't decide if it's pencil or not, but some voice in my head tells me it is. Now if you could just fix that one tooth )

4. bobdown (mmmh.. just a bit darker, but I guess it's a matter of preference)

5. ikroll (It's not what I woud call a traditional sketch, but it looks like pencil. A bit too dark in some areas maybe, but overall good work)


Honorable mentions:

Soleah (This one gave me a hard time. Some areas for some reason remind me of watercolor, really no clue why)
Chiroka (As mentioned above )
MargaretM (Looks like you tried to work on a free-hand sketch (not sure if that is the correct english translation). Definately on the right track )
Naburi (Hey, she is my wife.. I have to do it )

[TwinbNJ]

Wow these are getting harder and harder to judge!
narrowing this down to just 5 took some time.

1 - Soleah - overall treatment and effect was number one for me.

2 - Tpaul - love the crop and softness while keeping a pencil look.

3 - Janet Petty - I knew this would make my top 5 the minute it was posted. Very nice lines and the end product looks like a pencil sketch.

4 - Perth - soft with a pencil look.

5 - CJ Swartz - very nicely done good lines.

[blue dog]

I didn't let myself read the voting until I had my top 5. But, the previous explainations did help be verbalize some of my feelings.

I down-selected to 18 entries that ended up being based on just being consistent with the subject's character and its overall appeal to me.

The really hard part! I eliminated those with obvious filter effects, sketchy skin when it should have been soft, getting the relationship of the "whites" right (eyes, skin highlights, and pearls). I felt that the high-key entries were inconsistent with the subject's character which is warm and soft.

1. Peth. Love the crop and head tilt. Could have been more delicate under her eyes. Really get's the whites right. Nice hair texture. Wow!

2. InfinteMonkey. Really like the crop and tilt - I would have called it perfect except that Peth's is more perfect. Nice blending, skin tones, whites. Eyes a bit heavy. Edge problem stage left on her face.

3. kr1156. Nice shading. Nice soft texture to skin, good range of skin tones. I don't like the overall soft focus, I think it takes away from looking like a real pencil piece.

4. Twinbnj. I loved it all until I looked closely at the skin texture which is too artificial. Don't care for soft focus. Love the overall feel, especially facial tones - at a distance.

5. Vlkilee. I really like it. I felt the skin texture was too sketchy and needed the smudge-stick. Eyes are a bit dark. Stage left looks blown out and could have been fixed with a little smudging.

As a beginner, this was very helpful to me. Naturally, I really liked my entry when I submitted it, but now I see it a lot differently. I seem to have a strong relationship with that smudge-stick and a reluctance to leaving white-space. Its amazing, now I recall having the same problem when I was 9 or 10 and taking art lessons.

[Northernshadow]

WOW!!! got home from a camping holiday yesterday and thought I could vote quick... easier said than done! This was tough. I got it down to my 11 favorites last night, then made the final picks this morning.

1. Peth -I love the soft, blended look of the pencil on a very smooth paper.
2. T Paul -lovely effect, I think the light vignette takes away from the girls face and a medium grey blended look would have been better to bring the focus completely on her face.
3. Drach - a duller pencil on a textured paper works great but I thought the pencil strokes looked a little too regular and while the shorter hair suits her I think her mother would want it the same length as the photo.
4. myseydel -marvelous technique!!! but just not flattering to the girl, maybe lightening and blending the skin would soften it.
5. Janet Petty -a smudgier look that's soft too. just a bit more detail like using a sharper pencil would add some intensity to her left eye and hair.

There were a few more that I really liked, Nanls, CJSwartz, Soleah, Danny, Chiroka and Cazubi were in my favorites.

GREAT WORK EVERONE!!!

[barbara]

after carefully reading the rules of this challenge, my criterias are:
- pencil-sketch-look
(no matter what pencil used, hard or soft, no matter smudged with finger or not)
- clients satisfaction
(the client was girl's mom ,not a professor of Fine Arts Academy ; the sketched
face should remain girl from photo, not a hmm velociraptor althrough sketched in
the maestrial artistic style).
Enough theory.
Now results:
1. nothernshadow
2. allan
3. tpaul
4. dkcoats
5. soleah

[oltenius]

Romanian jury decided:
1. soleah
2. dannyraphael
3. philbach
4. tpaul
5. nancyJ
Good luck all of you!

[Tpage]

Very difficult judging some excellent work. I remember seeing pencil sketches as a youngster that I couldn't believe were made with pencil, so it's hard for me to know what is and isn't possible with the 'real' thing. I tried to think from the moms perspective and after getting a shortlist of 12 finally settled on the following five - although if I were the mom I'd be happy with any of the 12 in any order.

1. Peth - Love the contrast and the crop.
2. Nancy J - How do you manage to get that smudge look without smearing ??
3. Janet Petty Good use of texture.
4. Cathy H Just picking out the essentials - great simplification.
5. retouchpix Not convinced you'd ever get pencil that black, but very decisive pencil strokes giving excellent skin tone.

Trevor

[CathyH]

What a learning experience. I looked at each of the entries and like all the different styles that were achieved it is amazing how they can vary. I too went with the entries that looked less like they were just filtered. My first try was strictly using different filter, but there is a lot more to a portrait then that.

1. Peth - very much like a drawing and soft and pretty
2. Infinitemonkey - nice contrast and good detail
3. soleah - good sketchieness, I would like to see some more contrast
4. NancyJ - very delicate
5. mseydel2 - very stylized

I really liked the sketchyness of byRo's but there are a few things that bothered me, I liked her longer hair and the front tooth isn't quite right.
alllan - did a nice job, soft and dreamy

[palms]

Phew and i thought entering was hard ! I have managed to whittle it down to five eventualy. There have been some excellent entries and i think everyone deserves a pat on the back.

1. Byro
2. Infinite monkey
3. Bart Hickman
4. Janet Petty
5. Danny Raphael

Palms

[corel]

I think mom would just be so proud to show any of these.

1. Tpaul
2. Infinitemonkey
3. cathyH
4. NancyJ
5. soleah

[MargaretM]

I voted "blind". Did not look at other votes. First I eliminated all the entries that remained too photographic and detailed for a sketch. Many very attractive renderings bit the dust. Then eliminated those that did not resemble a graphite pencil sketch. After that I was not left with too many. So here's my vote.
1.#30 Danny R - liked the pencil look of mouth and eyes.
2. #51 Peth - Very nice but found the hair not absolutly convincing.
3.#28 Janet Petty - nicely done, just found mouth a little photographic.
4.#45 dkcoats- a good sketch but a bit like a charcoal.
5.#63 Bob Down - a nice light look but hints of a photograph.

[palomino]

tough one this time...I also went against anything that looked like a filter or like a canvas-like texture was used...as I have never known graphite to be used on such a medium. I do love to see all the different interpretation. I also voted blind (not looking at any others until I had a top 5).

1. Tpaul- lovely, very muck like graphite, soft and tasteul.
2. peth- also nice, just liked the crop of the 1st a little better
3. soleah- very minimalist, nice.
4. lorraine- great, but a little too much black in spots for graphite
5. mseydel- I also thought it was original amd definitely looks like a drawing, but does lack the portrait "prettiness"

honorable mention to: ajava- best crosshatching, cjswartz- very nice but background was lacking for me, kr115- eyes got a little blurry and a bit too grey on the face, goose443 very close to top 5 also, drach- looks authentic but not pretty enough to be a proud mama's portrait of her daughter.

Good job everyone-- Kate