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2D Art Mini-Contests: Icons' Prison

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Jolly_jumper

Jolly_jumper

Jolly_jumper

Level 6
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Jan 22, 2012
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198
67chrome resigned as judge or smth? The results are way overdue :p
No poll for this contest? I feel this is a type of contest where a poll would fit well, also it would bring some more attention to it before the results get posted and by that building some suspense and maybe attract a new judge/inspire 67chrome to "get to work" :p
 

Jolly_jumper

Jolly_jumper

Jolly_jumper

Level 6
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
198
Oh okay sry :p
I didn't think anything were done since there were no update after Apheraz's *ahem* a week ago.
Looking forward to reading the review, i would have a really hard time picking a winner for sure! There are so many great entries!
I am truly impressed by how creative everyone was in this contest, didn't expect such spectacular and versatile borders, i'd definitely consider using some of these borders if i was making a map, it could successfully distinguish the map from other similar ones even if it's purely visual ;)
 

I3lackDeath

I3lackDeath

I3lackDeath

Level 29
Joined
Apr 11, 2009
Messages
1,456
Judging by: 67Chrome

For the sake of consistency I'm going to define the terms I'm scoring these on. I've cut out "theme" as a category as I'd give everyone the same score. It seems all the contest participants have grasped the concept well enough I'm not distributing points for it.

Creativity: The capacity to implement things that have never been seen before and are quite unique. To a lesser extent how rare the elements used are.

Utility: How well the resource functions in game, both concerning fulfilling the roll intended of it and how cohesive it is with other resources, including the default in-game ones.

Technical Note: How well artistic tools and fundamentals are used such as brush work and color theory. More or less an excuse for me to use artsy-fartsy lingo.




o Creativity: 5/5
These icons display a pretty admirable range of shapes and borders and utilize a good range of motifs to do so. They push the boundaries on what an icon border is and do it in an entertaining manner.

o Utility: 3.5/5
The best borders and backgrounds tend to complement the primary focus they are paired with without distracting from it, these borders tend to run into a few problems distraction-wise. The bloody heart on the upgrade icon is pretty cool, but blocks a lot of the underlying image and the shift in the border motif from a more inorganic metallic/bone frame to blood makes it a little more distracting. The golden foliage on the outside of the Autocast border is a little to bright and well-defined for my taste as well, as are the red clubs around the standard border. The passive border, despite being a little large, seems to work rather well though - it's monochromatic and dark enough in all the right places that it seems to function rather well. Changing the shape of the frame interior from a square to a circle for a class of abilities with differing functionality is a pretty solid move. I like that the autocast border is golden for the sake of fitting in with the in-game autocast sparkles, though the detail work doesn't seem quite as intricate as the other borders in the family, making it stand out a bit more than it should. Having the well-outlined details bright yellow doesn't help with that either.

o Technical Note: 5/5
Overall these display some pretty solid craftsmanship with solid shading and highlights, the detail quality is pretty solid and rather intricate considering the size to work with.

o Total: 13.5/15




o Creativity: 1.5/5
You turned 3D square frames into 2D square frames with notches and ware. That is somewhat different but not by much.

o Utility: 4.5/5
The detail and bright yellow of the standard borders makes them a little more distracting than they should ideally be, as does the slightly whiter than necessary components of the gray borders, but overall not shifting the border around to much means these function as they should.

o Technical Note: 1/5
These are a little sloppy and blurry, working on a much larger image size than shrinking it down could have helped these immensely, or so could using brushes with harder edges when doing so. The detail is a little hard to pin down as to what exactly the border is supposed to be.

o Total: 7/15



o Creativity: 3/5
The borders are a different shape with different shapes and highlights.

o Utility: 4.5/5
The highlights on the triangular corners are a tad bright, making the icon border stand out more than it really should and distract from the actual icon a bit, but for the most part this won't block anything that isn't already cut out of a WoW icon, and the little bits of image cut out from the edges can be easy enough to live without.

o Technical Note: 3/5
The shading and highlights on these isn't uniformly from one direction, giving these a somewhat awkward abstract feel, you basically took one edge and duplicated it for the other 3. That makes these a little distracting, especially considering the interface they will be placed in does have a specific direction were shading and highlights is determined from.

o Total: 10.5/15



o Creativity: 3.5/5
Placing a lot of skulls around the border for a lumpier feel is different, sort of reminds me of some of the busier borders you could switch to in Pokemon. It's different enough but I feel like I've seen something similar before.

o Utility: 2/5
These are way to high contrast to support the main icon image, especially considering they contain both a 255 saturated color placed right next to black. Overall they don't take up to much space, but these are incredibly distracting and busy. The bright MS Paint colors also don't fit with WC3 icon art that well, while WC3 is pretty bright and cartoony it's not quite that bright and cartoony overall. Also, WC3 has a lot of shading and highlights on everything, these icons only have 2 colors and no shading/highlight range outside of super bright or super dark - it would be nice to see more intermediary shades thrown in for these to fit with other WC3 art more cohesively.

o Technical Note: 2/5
The details themselves are pretty solid, but colors could use a lot more work, especially considering border/background art should serve more to support the main image over distracting from it. For the most part lower contrast, darker colors, and more desaturated colors are your friend. If these were less saturated and hazed out a bit with a little more tonal range (shading and highlights) these borders could be much more effective at doing their job. It's a good start, but these seem to appear rather unfinished.

o Total: 7.5/15



o Creativity: 4/5
You threw leaves, sticks, vines and other vegetation in around the border. These look quite different from the default icons while still maintaining a practical shape and size. They do look quite similar to the in-game night elf UI though.

o Utility: 5/5
Whatever few extra pixels these take up is hardly noticeable and in a pretty solid spot to do so, if anything it makes the image shape within a little more interesting. On top of that these fit very well with the Night Elf UI, so there's that extra level of fitting in with in-game content. The foliage seems a tad bright though, would be nice if it was a little darker and less saturated overall, it may not be lime green but it's pretty close on some of those borders. I really do like all the disabled borders though, the noticeable shift in coloration to appear a little less lively fits with the motif very well, and the colors, saturation, and tone are very appropriate for those.

o Technical Note: 5/5
The vines on the Passive border look a little messy, would be nice if they meshed with the background a little more and didn't stick out quite as much. The standard BTN you have in here is by far my favorite, and very well done. The color choice and detail work fits the purpose of the icon border very well, being quite interesting when looked at alone but serving to create and nice complementary atmosphere with what is placed within its bounds and directing attention to that image instead.

o Total: 14/15



o Creativity: 5/5
This is not something I'd come up with when thinking about an icon border. Different shape, interesting interior, and a glass shine to top it off.

o Utility: 4/5
The hands/foliage/splash at the bottom is a little distracting and pulls you out of the central image, these would work much better if you maintained the socketed gem look present on the top instead. The colors overall seem toned down enough that these aren't to distracting despite how much is going on, the repetition in the patterns helps a bit here, so does the white shine over the icon itself that really draws attention to that spot. Shiny stuff is hard to ignore in that sense. These cover up a bit much though.

o Technical Note: 4/5
Despite the hands on the bottom these are pretty well done, the shading on the metallic bits is especially well exacted, using layers to add shadows and highlights with a window-like look is pretty well done to. The whole cohesive look of the different elements within the icon border clashes a bit though, the organic-looking hands contrast with the inorganic metal and stone on the rest of it a bit much. At least the gems and hands are the same color, though there seems to be to many elements on the icon border to work together - it would be better if they were split into different icon border types.

o Total: 13/15



o Creativity: 3.5/5
It's nothing particularly wild and feels like I've seen it somewhere before, but it's a noticeable change from what it was previously, in shape, color, and motif.

o Utility: 4.5/5
It's a boarder made of rounded stone blocks with vines, adding a nice contrast of complementary organic and inorganic materials. The shape of the icon is changed to match the rugged interior. The elements on the outside give a pretty solid natural feel without getting to specific, I could see the same motifs on the walls of a haunted castle or in the middle of a forest. This reminds me of WC2's interface a lot actually without referencing it directly, I think you've got the WC3 style down pretty well with this. It's a solid attempt at being realistic with a hint of cartoony flare, I'd say it matches the overall WC3 feel quite well with that. On the aspect of displaying icons the frame doesn't obscure to much, though the little leaves protruding into it are mildly distracting. Overall a pretty solid in-game feel though.

o Technical Note: 4/5
Overall these are pretty solid with the right amount of detail, the only thing I don't like about them is the outer edge - There just isn't enough appropriate highlights on the icon's exterior to work well as a border on the exterior, especially when compared to the interior. Icons are susceptible to Alpha channels just like skins and Upgrade icons, you could have potentially solved the issue with adding a lumpier outside, you could have just shaded the blocks to mesh with the outside edges better as well.

o Total: 12/15



o Creativity: 2.5/5
These are more or less higher quality versions of what's in WC3 complete with a few new twists. Not particularly creative, but unique enough to get a few points here.

o Utility: 5/5
As more or less higher quality versions of the default WC3 icons these logically fit in with the game remarkably well, no icon art is hidden. The boarders are a little bright and shiny, but that seems to be remedied by the glassy highlights over the icon image itself which draws attention to were it should be. The different glare on the passive icon helps set it apart, can't say I like the rivets in the passive icon borders that much though.

o Technical Note: 5/5
The metallic bits look metallic, the glare over the icon image itself looks glass. Overall the techniques used in this are very clean and neatly executed.

o Total: 12.5/15



o Creativity: 5/5
That is not something that comes to my mind when I think about an icon border, the shape and layout is very unique and original.

o Utility: 3/5
The funky shape this creates is a little distracting and draws unnecessary attention to the border art itself over the actual icon. The white highlights around the edges draw some attention away from the centerpiece as well. Overall that's not to bad, but the exterior edges of this icon border are non-existent as well, which makes this look a little awkward when used in an in-game setting. Overall the style and coloration is similar to that of what I'd image WC3 in space. Despite WC3 being largely medieval, I could see these fit in with a more spacy mod while maintaining a similar feel to everything in WC3 that would be carried into it.

o Technical Note: 3/5
The details in this are executed well enough, some parts look a little uneven for the largely futuristic feel though. The biggest problem this has technically speaking is the overall organization of were those details are - there is a non-existent outer boarder of the icon to help it mesh with other elements of the UI without it floating within it, and the white highlights around the edges of the image serve as a pretty big draw to the outside of the icon. The detailing capacity is there, but an overarching order really isn't.

o Total: 11/15


  1. Sin'dorei - 14
  2. I3lackDeath - 13.5
  3. Apheraz Lucent - 13
  4. Static - 12.5
  5. Hemske - 12
  6. JollyD - 11
  7. grunt - 10.5
  8. Zyne - 7.5
  9. stonneash - 7

HegpAuGeI8.png

The winner is Sin'dorei300, who receives 25 reputation and a spot in the Victorious Sticky!


Congratulations and thank you EVERYONE for participating (along with the judge)! You will all receive your rewards as soon as possible.
 
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