Footman16
Community Manager
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2012
- Messages
- 4,230
(Icon Credit: "CRAZYRUSSIAN")
Create 4 unique looking icons that gradually get better with each upgrade.
(Can be a sword,shield,helm.. or, even a spell that gradually gets more crazier)
Contestants were to re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version.
 | |
@Vinz - Second Place Winner
@PrinceYaser - Third Place Winner
| CONTESTANT | ENTRY |
@Villagerino | |
@Panda | |
@Vinz | |
@Marchombre | |
@PrinceYaser |
- 1st place: 850 experience points
- 2nd place: 650 experience points
- 3rd place: 450 experience points
- Entry: 150 experience points
- Judge: 30 experience points per entrant
Winning a contest also unlocks Demon Rank icons (at least two wins is required).
- @Footman16
- Note: Whilst judging requires a minimum of 2 judges, in this case the contestants decided by general consensus to allow a single judge with an appropriate re-weighting of the poll to 50/50 Judging/Poll.
Villagerino
Technical Notes
Ok so first off, all the icons are drawn well, the shapes are all clear and distinct and the beetles are easily identifiable and visually acute. We also see how the wings open up between each tier which is a nice touch as well as the legs developing into talons and the pincers become more and more ornate as well as a third one appearing. Shading has all been done to good degree with shadows falling where expected and highlights being applied where appropriate. The glows have also been done well with a nice “smudginess” to them that gives a nice haze around the silhouette. Speaking of silhouette, you’ve managed to achieve a nice contrast between the glow and the object to prevent them from blurring into each other. Whilst there is nothing artistically groundbreaking, it achieves the style and look aimed for (which will be touched on in the other section). From that perspective there’s nothing negative about the artistic quality, although areas like the purple parts or the teal parts on the later tiers would be an area that could benefit from a more defined texture work and attention, for example in tier 4 the purple segments look quite dull and matte whereas a sheen might have worked better and also been in line with the progression of each tier. I also think the golden rims are done slightly better in tier 3 than 4. The composition is also good in terms of using the space effectively. 8/10
Creativity
Beetle’s as an attack or armour upgrade for Nerubian’s? It’s definitely not been done before and is a creative spin on the basic claws or hide or weapon icons we see elsewhere, in that vein the creativity is high. Beetles and Nerubians isn’t the most unique link, but it is an appropriate one and the uniqueness is there in terms of the application. 8/10
Blizzard Style
This is almost a textbook example of Blizzard style. We have the progression from a very basic simple, no glow icon to glows and ornamentation through each icon. The colour profile is also varied in line with the blizzard style and even the shading and colouration evokes that early blizzard feel with the nice strong shading and bold colouration. The directionality of the icons is also very bliz-like in terms of the angle of the beetles. 5/5
Theme
The icons follow the contest theme, they are icons that show a four tier’d progression of upgrades. 5/5
26/30
Panda
Technical Notes
The art here is simply sublime, the crackling purple void energies have been done really well, the highlight on the edge of the metal is sharp. The arrows all look phenomenal. I’m not entirely convinced on the blending between the shaft and the arrowhead in tiers 1 and 2 and it looks a bit weird like perhaps the shaft should either be entirely metal or connected a little differently to the metal sections. I like some of the subtle differences such as the cool, icy blue tones added in tier 4 as well as how the air around the arrows start as a fog in tier 1 and progress into that sharp, lightning we see at the end. The shading is also appropriate and the arrows almost look like you could see your reflection in them. The icons also make good use of the space in terms of composition with the arrowhead being in the focus and the shaft being in the top left which naturally draws the eye along the direction of the object. One thing I can’t make my mind up on is the shape of the arrowhead, whether it’s asymmetry and angle is good and unique or if it looks “off”… I can’t decide on it so it’ll not affect the score. Also, I think the curvature of the arrow in tier 4 and the tip in tier 1 and 3 would look better if it were straight. To summarise, artistically the quality is phenomenal, but I can’t help but feel there’s little things here and there in the choices of shape and blending that I’m not sure work as well. Finally, I think the random brown bit in the top left of tier 4 is a little out of place. All very nit-picky critiques however. 9/10
Creativity
Unfortunately, this is somewhere where I think these icons play it safe, void arrows aren’t the most basic of ideas but they’re not exactly unique or groundbreaking either. There’s little unexpected here or new. That said, they’re not inappropriate either and the idea has been pulled off in terms of concept and it’s communicated well. 6/10
Blizzard Style
This criteria feels rough for this entry and others in terms of its requirements. However, in this case I think these icons would work well as blizzard ability icons whilst not working as well as upgrades. In terms of the angle and composition we do see a progression that fits, however the colouration is consistent across all 4 and there isn’t the same breadth of difference we see in blizzard upgrade icons. However, I feel like these icons could work very well if abilities had tiers of upgrades. 3/5
Theme
The icons follow the contest theme, they are icons that show a four tier’d progression of upgrades. However, one point is deducted simply as these icons would potentially be more fitting for an ability series than an upgrade series. 4/5
22/30
Vinz
Technical Notes
The artwork here has been done to a high level, we have lots of good things to point out from the highlights and shading, to the material work of the metals. The shapes are all nice and well defined and we also have a nice glow progression from zero glow to what can only be described as a cosmic background. The composition looks good in terms of shaping and angle, however, I’m not sure if it’s just me but the perspective seems weirder the longer I look at it, but I’m not sure if it’s just me. There’s not much to criticise here, all the icons look great from an artistic perspective besides some minor nitpicks and subjective critiques. I think the last two icons are maybe slightly too busy? But again, it’s a minor nitpick. I also think perhaps maybe some stronger borders or edges on some parts might help define the shapes a little better and also put it closer to a blizzard style which will be touched on later. Other than that, very impressive work. 9/10
Creativity
Goblin self-repair is definitely cool and new as far as tech upgrades go. Goblin icons aren’t unheard of and Goblin tech is also not unheard of, but the execution is a nice fresh direction. My only point would be how well the idea of “self-repair” is communicated however. I’m not sure the idea stands without having the title to describe it which suggests the icons aren’t communicating the chosen idea. A more generic “engineering” or “metalworking” or something would definitely work but especially as we get to tier 4 we turn into something far more cosmic and less hodgepodge Goblin-y. 7/10
Blizzard Style
As stated in other judgements, this criteria definitely hits some entries to greater and lesser degrees. In this case we have the nice change in colour across each tier as well as the glow progression. The composition is also very Blizzard-y. The glows are also something a bit beyond what you would expect for upgrades and I wonder if the 2 later tiers would be better as abilities than upgrades but I think tiers 1 to 3 get away with it. In terms of style there’s a few stylistic choices here that don’t quite align with the blizz-style like the light bloom and the sharpness of the material work which doesn’t evoke the same “hand-drawn-i-ness” of blizzard icons. In that regard I think there’s definitely points for and against when it comes to this criteria. 3/5
Theme
The icons show a four tier’d progression of upgrades in line with the theme of the contest and are pretty fitting thematically. I’m on the fence about tier 4 but I don’t think it’s enough to dock a point. 5/5
24/30
Marchombre
Technical Notes
This is Marchombre’s first upload to the icons section and I’m glad to see someone getting involved and trying their hand at icon making. We’ve got some good stuff here, the glow and it’s progression is nice, the angle and shape of the bow is good, as well as the change from tier to tier. The feathers are neat and the increasing intricacy is good. However there’s definitely some areas that require improvement. The texturing on the bow whether it’s the metal or wood needs much more work to sell the material being shown whether it’s grain on the wood or the sharp shadows and highlights that metals tend to have. The feathers could also maybe use some lines to imply each of the different hair strands on each feather. I think if the material work can be improved these icons will very quickly jump up in terms of look and quality. I’d recommend Mr Goblin’s tutorial on material work on the Hive. Which is good, as it suggests that you have a good handle on the basics such as the composition, angle, ideas etc and just need a bit of practice on the execution of the finer detail and material work. 4/10
Creativity
Bow upgrades aren’t the most creative in terms of they’ve been done before in vanilla with the long bow’s upgrade and also on the Hive. Within that remit, the progression makes sense from wood to an engraved more metal bow. All in all, it’s not “bad” creatively, but it’s also by no means unique or a twist on the idea. Unfortunately even if the technical details were perfect I still think there’s a hard cap on the creativity inherent to the idea of bow upgrades. 3/10
Blizzard Style
In terms of blizzard style we have some good points here, the angle, shape and composition all seem very fitting in terms of the blizzard formula which is nice. We also have the colour change and the natural progression from each tier. However, artistically we lack that blizzard look, that hand-drawn art style with strong shading and blocky colouring whilst maintaining shading and highlights to maintain shape. 2/5
Theme
We have four icons showing a bow that gets upgraded across four different tiers with a progression between them. It does exactly what it says on the tin and fits the theme of the contest. 5/5
14/30
PrinceYaser
Technical Notes
Beautifully made icons, the artwork here looks amazingly good! The shading is great with the highlights on the left section of the icon with the shading as we move across from left to right and from the top to the bottom. The glow also looks good with the reflections off the hood and armour as well as well as the glow itself growing and changing in colour. There’s a tons of detail packed in and I wonder if perhaps there’s a little too much and some might be lost in 64x64 size but that’s a side comment. The feathering in tier 4 and 5 looks good and we see the details of the individual strands of hair on it. We also have nice fire effects on tier 4 for the burning sigil in the chest. The hood fabric looks good and falls in a nice believable way. The wrappings on the arms in tier 1 and 2 also looks good and the art is consistent across all 4 in terms of quality and style. It’s very hard to find any technical details to criticise, even nitpicks. Very strong in this category which I think is a shame as the other categories will be quite tough. 10/10
Creativity
The icons are titled “Arcane Sentinel” which is a little vague, and we have a set of robes that get progressively more detailed and upgraded. In that regard it’s not particularly unique, but not particularly unoriginal either. Overall it’s quite vague in terms of what the Arcane Sentinel is? Is it a unit? Is it the robes? Is it an item? I do like the creativity in how the icons develop from the feathers to the leather turning into the metal etc and all the little additions but I also feel like there isn’t much difference between all the tiers they all have the same shape to perhaps too great a degree, the silhouette doesn’t change much and I feel like there definitely could be more differences across the set to make each one more distinct. 6/10
Blizzard Style
Oooh boy, this isn’t a fun category to come too especially for such well made icons. The composition and shape of the icons overall feels fairly blizz-like but that’s where the blizzard style mostly ends. There is also some colour changes between the 4 which is good, but it’s minor. The glow is quite muted compared to blizzard icons and I think there definitely could’ve been more room to take advantage here, with tier 1 no glow and a green/brown focus; tier 2 having a blue/yellow pallete; tier 3 being the red/orange/teals and then tier 4 having the purple/gold perhaps a combination of all the previous colours coming together. There’s also a glow present on tier 1 which isn’t very blizzard-y. I feel like these wouldn’t look out of place as items of even a unit icon but as upgrade icons there’s so much detailing and work put in that the icons almost feel too detailed for blizzard upgrades. As pointed out in other judgements I think this is a criteria that punishes entries who don’t take a particular focus on achieving that blizzard look and can really hurt the score. 2/5
Theme
We have four icons showing robes that get progressively upgraded. They look great and fit the theme of the contest. However they would maybe look better as either a unit or item set of icons. 4/5
22/30
Final Thoughts
Well it's my first time judging icons and I've got to say it's a little different to textures, you've got such a small canvas to try and pack in so much detail and effort. Also in terms of how icons are used and applied is also a little different to textures and so the different judging criteria was something I had to think about in terms of where to put particular bits of feedback. I always like to try and be specific where possible when judging textures and I'm not going to lie I actually struggled a little with that when looking at these icons, I don't know if it was just the general high standard of the work (very possible) or if perhaps I'm not quite as suited to judging icons as textures. I always try and make the judgements and opinions things that either A) people can agree with and is unobjectionable or B) a comment that highlights how subjective the issue is and whether or not it affected the score. I don't know if I've managed that but hopefully it's been useful.
A big thing I noticed was that on average the Technical Details score was high, Marchombre had a great attempt for a first icon entry to the Hive and a contest which is very much jumping into the fire head first but his entry was a great thing to watch in terms of WiPs and I sincerely hope he develops and grows his skills. In terms of the other entries it was a stacked field at the top and the deciding factor was very much the other criteria. Creativity is a worthy category but it can severely punish icons that play it safe in terms of content or ideas. Sadly, we've seen tons of icons across a broad range of subjects and designs so creating something unique can be a struggle. We also saw this with the Blizzard style criteria where Villagerino nailed it through a concerted effort to try and learn that blizzard art style and apply it. Is this fair on other entries? I don't know, I personally like having icons that fit alongside the OG blizzard icons but I think the results weren't decided by this single criteria and it's only being 5 points total helps alleviate it. It's definitely an interesting criteria in terms of how other people feel. For the theme criteria I see it as a very simple one, either it fits the theme or it doesn't with maybe a little leeway for other factors as shown in the judgement.
In terms of the final results, well... polls are always interesting and they rarely go as I expected them too (for the better and the worse) what I think I should stress is that every entry was incredibly strong and no one should feel bad about the results, they instead should feel satisfaction at being able to produce such great icons for the community and there's every chance in a future contest that the poll might swing another way. Either way I was surprised when I finally looked at the poll after finishing my own write ups and I don't think it affected the final results at all but I think overall it's been a great competition with some great competitors.
Technical Notes
Ok so first off, all the icons are drawn well, the shapes are all clear and distinct and the beetles are easily identifiable and visually acute. We also see how the wings open up between each tier which is a nice touch as well as the legs developing into talons and the pincers become more and more ornate as well as a third one appearing. Shading has all been done to good degree with shadows falling where expected and highlights being applied where appropriate. The glows have also been done well with a nice “smudginess” to them that gives a nice haze around the silhouette. Speaking of silhouette, you’ve managed to achieve a nice contrast between the glow and the object to prevent them from blurring into each other. Whilst there is nothing artistically groundbreaking, it achieves the style and look aimed for (which will be touched on in the other section). From that perspective there’s nothing negative about the artistic quality, although areas like the purple parts or the teal parts on the later tiers would be an area that could benefit from a more defined texture work and attention, for example in tier 4 the purple segments look quite dull and matte whereas a sheen might have worked better and also been in line with the progression of each tier. I also think the golden rims are done slightly better in tier 3 than 4. The composition is also good in terms of using the space effectively. 8/10
Creativity
Beetle’s as an attack or armour upgrade for Nerubian’s? It’s definitely not been done before and is a creative spin on the basic claws or hide or weapon icons we see elsewhere, in that vein the creativity is high. Beetles and Nerubians isn’t the most unique link, but it is an appropriate one and the uniqueness is there in terms of the application. 8/10
Blizzard Style
This is almost a textbook example of Blizzard style. We have the progression from a very basic simple, no glow icon to glows and ornamentation through each icon. The colour profile is also varied in line with the blizzard style and even the shading and colouration evokes that early blizzard feel with the nice strong shading and bold colouration. The directionality of the icons is also very bliz-like in terms of the angle of the beetles. 5/5
Theme
The icons follow the contest theme, they are icons that show a four tier’d progression of upgrades. 5/5
26/30
Panda
Technical Notes
The art here is simply sublime, the crackling purple void energies have been done really well, the highlight on the edge of the metal is sharp. The arrows all look phenomenal. I’m not entirely convinced on the blending between the shaft and the arrowhead in tiers 1 and 2 and it looks a bit weird like perhaps the shaft should either be entirely metal or connected a little differently to the metal sections. I like some of the subtle differences such as the cool, icy blue tones added in tier 4 as well as how the air around the arrows start as a fog in tier 1 and progress into that sharp, lightning we see at the end. The shading is also appropriate and the arrows almost look like you could see your reflection in them. The icons also make good use of the space in terms of composition with the arrowhead being in the focus and the shaft being in the top left which naturally draws the eye along the direction of the object. One thing I can’t make my mind up on is the shape of the arrowhead, whether it’s asymmetry and angle is good and unique or if it looks “off”… I can’t decide on it so it’ll not affect the score. Also, I think the curvature of the arrow in tier 4 and the tip in tier 1 and 3 would look better if it were straight. To summarise, artistically the quality is phenomenal, but I can’t help but feel there’s little things here and there in the choices of shape and blending that I’m not sure work as well. Finally, I think the random brown bit in the top left of tier 4 is a little out of place. All very nit-picky critiques however. 9/10
Creativity
Unfortunately, this is somewhere where I think these icons play it safe, void arrows aren’t the most basic of ideas but they’re not exactly unique or groundbreaking either. There’s little unexpected here or new. That said, they’re not inappropriate either and the idea has been pulled off in terms of concept and it’s communicated well. 6/10
Blizzard Style
This criteria feels rough for this entry and others in terms of its requirements. However, in this case I think these icons would work well as blizzard ability icons whilst not working as well as upgrades. In terms of the angle and composition we do see a progression that fits, however the colouration is consistent across all 4 and there isn’t the same breadth of difference we see in blizzard upgrade icons. However, I feel like these icons could work very well if abilities had tiers of upgrades. 3/5
Theme
The icons follow the contest theme, they are icons that show a four tier’d progression of upgrades. However, one point is deducted simply as these icons would potentially be more fitting for an ability series than an upgrade series. 4/5
22/30
Vinz
Technical Notes
The artwork here has been done to a high level, we have lots of good things to point out from the highlights and shading, to the material work of the metals. The shapes are all nice and well defined and we also have a nice glow progression from zero glow to what can only be described as a cosmic background. The composition looks good in terms of shaping and angle, however, I’m not sure if it’s just me but the perspective seems weirder the longer I look at it, but I’m not sure if it’s just me. There’s not much to criticise here, all the icons look great from an artistic perspective besides some minor nitpicks and subjective critiques. I think the last two icons are maybe slightly too busy? But again, it’s a minor nitpick. I also think perhaps maybe some stronger borders or edges on some parts might help define the shapes a little better and also put it closer to a blizzard style which will be touched on later. Other than that, very impressive work. 9/10
Creativity
Goblin self-repair is definitely cool and new as far as tech upgrades go. Goblin icons aren’t unheard of and Goblin tech is also not unheard of, but the execution is a nice fresh direction. My only point would be how well the idea of “self-repair” is communicated however. I’m not sure the idea stands without having the title to describe it which suggests the icons aren’t communicating the chosen idea. A more generic “engineering” or “metalworking” or something would definitely work but especially as we get to tier 4 we turn into something far more cosmic and less hodgepodge Goblin-y. 7/10
Blizzard Style
As stated in other judgements, this criteria definitely hits some entries to greater and lesser degrees. In this case we have the nice change in colour across each tier as well as the glow progression. The composition is also very Blizzard-y. The glows are also something a bit beyond what you would expect for upgrades and I wonder if the 2 later tiers would be better as abilities than upgrades but I think tiers 1 to 3 get away with it. In terms of style there’s a few stylistic choices here that don’t quite align with the blizz-style like the light bloom and the sharpness of the material work which doesn’t evoke the same “hand-drawn-i-ness” of blizzard icons. In that regard I think there’s definitely points for and against when it comes to this criteria. 3/5
Theme
The icons show a four tier’d progression of upgrades in line with the theme of the contest and are pretty fitting thematically. I’m on the fence about tier 4 but I don’t think it’s enough to dock a point. 5/5
24/30
Marchombre
Technical Notes
This is Marchombre’s first upload to the icons section and I’m glad to see someone getting involved and trying their hand at icon making. We’ve got some good stuff here, the glow and it’s progression is nice, the angle and shape of the bow is good, as well as the change from tier to tier. The feathers are neat and the increasing intricacy is good. However there’s definitely some areas that require improvement. The texturing on the bow whether it’s the metal or wood needs much more work to sell the material being shown whether it’s grain on the wood or the sharp shadows and highlights that metals tend to have. The feathers could also maybe use some lines to imply each of the different hair strands on each feather. I think if the material work can be improved these icons will very quickly jump up in terms of look and quality. I’d recommend Mr Goblin’s tutorial on material work on the Hive. Which is good, as it suggests that you have a good handle on the basics such as the composition, angle, ideas etc and just need a bit of practice on the execution of the finer detail and material work. 4/10
Creativity
Bow upgrades aren’t the most creative in terms of they’ve been done before in vanilla with the long bow’s upgrade and also on the Hive. Within that remit, the progression makes sense from wood to an engraved more metal bow. All in all, it’s not “bad” creatively, but it’s also by no means unique or a twist on the idea. Unfortunately even if the technical details were perfect I still think there’s a hard cap on the creativity inherent to the idea of bow upgrades. 3/10
Blizzard Style
In terms of blizzard style we have some good points here, the angle, shape and composition all seem very fitting in terms of the blizzard formula which is nice. We also have the colour change and the natural progression from each tier. However, artistically we lack that blizzard look, that hand-drawn art style with strong shading and blocky colouring whilst maintaining shading and highlights to maintain shape. 2/5
Theme
We have four icons showing a bow that gets upgraded across four different tiers with a progression between them. It does exactly what it says on the tin and fits the theme of the contest. 5/5
14/30
PrinceYaser
Technical Notes
Beautifully made icons, the artwork here looks amazingly good! The shading is great with the highlights on the left section of the icon with the shading as we move across from left to right and from the top to the bottom. The glow also looks good with the reflections off the hood and armour as well as well as the glow itself growing and changing in colour. There’s a tons of detail packed in and I wonder if perhaps there’s a little too much and some might be lost in 64x64 size but that’s a side comment. The feathering in tier 4 and 5 looks good and we see the details of the individual strands of hair on it. We also have nice fire effects on tier 4 for the burning sigil in the chest. The hood fabric looks good and falls in a nice believable way. The wrappings on the arms in tier 1 and 2 also looks good and the art is consistent across all 4 in terms of quality and style. It’s very hard to find any technical details to criticise, even nitpicks. Very strong in this category which I think is a shame as the other categories will be quite tough. 10/10
Creativity
The icons are titled “Arcane Sentinel” which is a little vague, and we have a set of robes that get progressively more detailed and upgraded. In that regard it’s not particularly unique, but not particularly unoriginal either. Overall it’s quite vague in terms of what the Arcane Sentinel is? Is it a unit? Is it the robes? Is it an item? I do like the creativity in how the icons develop from the feathers to the leather turning into the metal etc and all the little additions but I also feel like there isn’t much difference between all the tiers they all have the same shape to perhaps too great a degree, the silhouette doesn’t change much and I feel like there definitely could be more differences across the set to make each one more distinct. 6/10
Blizzard Style
Oooh boy, this isn’t a fun category to come too especially for such well made icons. The composition and shape of the icons overall feels fairly blizz-like but that’s where the blizzard style mostly ends. There is also some colour changes between the 4 which is good, but it’s minor. The glow is quite muted compared to blizzard icons and I think there definitely could’ve been more room to take advantage here, with tier 1 no glow and a green/brown focus; tier 2 having a blue/yellow pallete; tier 3 being the red/orange/teals and then tier 4 having the purple/gold perhaps a combination of all the previous colours coming together. There’s also a glow present on tier 1 which isn’t very blizzard-y. I feel like these wouldn’t look out of place as items of even a unit icon but as upgrade icons there’s so much detailing and work put in that the icons almost feel too detailed for blizzard upgrades. As pointed out in other judgements I think this is a criteria that punishes entries who don’t take a particular focus on achieving that blizzard look and can really hurt the score. 2/5
Theme
We have four icons showing robes that get progressively upgraded. They look great and fit the theme of the contest. However they would maybe look better as either a unit or item set of icons. 4/5
22/30
Final Thoughts
Well it's my first time judging icons and I've got to say it's a little different to textures, you've got such a small canvas to try and pack in so much detail and effort. Also in terms of how icons are used and applied is also a little different to textures and so the different judging criteria was something I had to think about in terms of where to put particular bits of feedback. I always like to try and be specific where possible when judging textures and I'm not going to lie I actually struggled a little with that when looking at these icons, I don't know if it was just the general high standard of the work (very possible) or if perhaps I'm not quite as suited to judging icons as textures. I always try and make the judgements and opinions things that either A) people can agree with and is unobjectionable or B) a comment that highlights how subjective the issue is and whether or not it affected the score. I don't know if I've managed that but hopefully it's been useful.
A big thing I noticed was that on average the Technical Details score was high, Marchombre had a great attempt for a first icon entry to the Hive and a contest which is very much jumping into the fire head first but his entry was a great thing to watch in terms of WiPs and I sincerely hope he develops and grows his skills. In terms of the other entries it was a stacked field at the top and the deciding factor was very much the other criteria. Creativity is a worthy category but it can severely punish icons that play it safe in terms of content or ideas. Sadly, we've seen tons of icons across a broad range of subjects and designs so creating something unique can be a struggle. We also saw this with the Blizzard style criteria where Villagerino nailed it through a concerted effort to try and learn that blizzard art style and apply it. Is this fair on other entries? I don't know, I personally like having icons that fit alongside the OG blizzard icons but I think the results weren't decided by this single criteria and it's only being 5 points total helps alleviate it. It's definitely an interesting criteria in terms of how other people feel. For the theme criteria I see it as a very simple one, either it fits the theme or it doesn't with maybe a little leeway for other factors as shown in the judgement.
In terms of the final results, well... polls are always interesting and they rarely go as I expected them too (for the better and the worse) what I think I should stress is that every entry was incredibly strong and no one should feel bad about the results, they instead should feel satisfaction at being able to produce such great icons for the community and there's every chance in a future contest that the poll might swing another way. Either way I was surprised when I finally looked at the poll after finishing my own write ups and I don't think it affected the final results at all but I think overall it's been a great competition with some great competitors.
FinalScore = (50*Reached_Votes/POSSIBLE_VOTES) + (50*Average_Judge_Score/POSSIBLE_SCORE)
Assigned Staff: @Footman16
Previous Contest | Contest | Poll
I got your point and agree to some extent. Indeed, there's not much in change of their shape except a bit bigger detail and visible wings but besides gilding, color and glow I decided to cover it up by showing that the beetles evolved according to their status in the lore: worker beetle, soldier, vizier and spiderlord, only in miniature, hoping that this was a good argument.
. your style reminds me of PeeKay from many moons ago, which I intend to mean as a high complement. if the Hive ever does a concept art contest again, you'd kill in that 
