Non-HP LIMS: FINAL WEEK!

[kala_way]

1. I really like the crop, but the coloring is a bit unnatural I think. Almost looks chocolatey.
2. I love the image and the coloring. The text is a tad hard to read though.
3. The image is good and clear, and I like the font. But it almost feels a bit too sharp with the high contrast image and the yellow accents.

Hard choice but I'm gonna vote for #1

[wickedwickedboy]

#1 - I think the coloring is great - incandescent and surreal, just like the moment in history, glaring in our minds; the smoke and sea highlight the licking yellow flames of fire from the buildings - and the varied browns help bring contrast and depth to the sea. The lettering in and of itself conveys the tragedy of the moment. Also, the coloring of the sky is subtle and quite well rendered. I feel like the smoke could disappate a bit more as it trails off to the left, but a minor point that doesn't detract from the overall powerful effect.

#2 - I love this - it is humorous and meaningful at the same time. The flag has a unique crop for its cutting and the stars appear to have hopped off into the sky (sort of like a celebration of fireworks...starworks) - the bit trailing away is a great addition. The coloring and lighting of the sky is very well done and the man on the pole is what cracked me up - he carries the day. The lettering colors are perfect. I couldn't make out the ground level background scene very well, due to the size of the photo. Land or sea? I think slightly different coloring would make that more evident.

#3 - This is another great shot of historical note. While the survivors are a little small to see, the foreground waving individual at once clarifies what is going on there and adds tons of relevance to the scene. I feel like the sky could use a little more contrast in coloring and the yellow is a bit bright. The lettering is very cool - sort of a doomsday feel to it.

Eliminating one is a hard decision, all of the icons are great. I would have to vote for #3.

[Lord Godric]

1. Obviously love the theme, do not like the overall brown of the photo, I think it could have done without the brown on the bottom. Love the font though - fits great!
2. Love the image, I also like how simple the font is, and the colors. Its very hard to see the end of 1776 though, because the blue blends in with the background.
3. I'm not a big fan of the image, I don't like the yellow, it sticks out way too much, and with the font also in yellow, it's a little overkill.

Voting off: 3. Sorry.

[Den_muggle]

They're all nice, well-done avatars. Tough choice.

1. I really like the subject matter and the buildings look good, but there is, as others have said, too much brown. I kind of like the larger skyline to give the contrast as to the size of the buildings. Having at least half the avatar in brown and then black letters just makes it too dark. I think it would have been better if you'd used white or some lighter colored lettering.
2. I like this one, but I can't tell what the guy on the flagpole is doing. Is he hammering it in place or trying to chop it down? What's in his hand? I like the background.
3. I actually think this is my favorite. The bright colors and childish lettering contrasting the tragedy. It was, after all, a pleasure boat that ending so badly. I think the contrasting colors highlight that.

Tough to choose because I prefer the date and the skyline from the first one but the brown-ness just ruins it for me, so I'm afraid I'll have to vote #1 off.

[gipro2003]

1. I love the topic chosen, but the coloring doesn't really work for me. It is too dark and really doesn't match the topic. IMO.
2. I love the image chosen, but the text is very diffiuclt to read.
3. My favorite! I love the crop, and the text matches the colors of the ship perfectly!

Voting off 1, sorry!

[leah49]

1. Too much brown. The font used is cool, but the darkness of it blends in too much with the brown background making it hard to focus on it. I like the placement of the text and the image used.

2. The year is almost impossible to read. Nice image used. I like the colors used for the font, but since the year ends up hard to read, maybe it should have been more centered. I like the bordr. It finishes off the icon.

3. Nice bright--contrasts the other two icons. I think a different font could be used for the numbers because the 1 and 5 in the day don't look good together, but I like the font for "april." Nice simple use of color.

Fav: 3
Vote off: 1

[Kimagine]

Results, Week 8
Plus FINAL TOPIC

This week, icon #1 got the most votes off. Congrats to making it to #3 -- awesome work throughout the competition!

FINAL WEEK!!!

This Date in History -- First Winter Olympics Size: Signature Special Technique/Restrictions: Read the article below. You must make a collage (using any techniques you wish, including text) that represents the first winter olympics. Entries are due to me no later than Next Saturday, January 31 at GMT -4/9 pm Us Eastern time.

EXPAND FOR ARTICLE

First Winter Olypics:    

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January 25, 1924 First Winter Olympics On January 25, 1924, the first Winter Olympics take off in style at Chamonix in the French Alps. Spectators were thrilled by the ski jump and bobsled as well as 12 other events involving a total of six sports. The "International Winter Sports Week," as it was known, was a great success, and in 1928 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially designated the Winter Games, staged in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as the second Winter Olympics. Five years after the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896, the first organized international competition involving winter sports was staged in Sweden. Called the Nordic Games, only Scandinavian countries competed. Like the Olympics, it was staged thereon every four years but always in Sweden. In 1908, figure skating made its way into the Summer Olympics in London, though it was not actually held until October, some three months after the other events were over. In 1911, the IOC proposed the staging of a separate winter competition for the 1912 Stockholm Games, but Sweden, wanting to protect the popularity of the Nordic Games, declined. Germany planned a Winter Olympics to precede the 1916 Berlin Summer Games, but World War I forced the cancellation of both. At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, ice hockey joined figure skating as an official Olympic event, and Canada took home the first of many hockey gold medals. Soon after, an agreement was reached with Scandinavians to stage the IOC-sanctioned International Winter Sports Week. It was so popular among the 16 participating nations that, in 1925, the IOC formally created the Winter Olympics, retroactively making Chamonix the first. In Chamonix, Scandinavians dominated the speed rinks and slopes, and Norway won the unofficial team competition with 17 medals. The United States came in third, winning its only gold medal with Charles Jewtraw's victory in the 500-meter speed-skating event. Canada won another hockey gold, scoring 110 goals and allowing just three goals in five games. Of the nearly 300 athletes, only 13 were women, and they only competed in the figure-skating events. Austrian Helene Engelmann won the pairs competition with Alfred Berger, and Austrian Herma Planck Szabo won the women's singles. The Olympics offered a particular boost to skiing, a sport that would make enormous strides within the next decade. At Chamonix, Norway won all but one of the nine skiing medals. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...rticle&id=6787

[Klio]

Gosh, am I lucky that I got voted out this time round.

I'd have nothing whatsoever to say on the next topic.

I am also unrepentant about the 'too brown' 9/11 icon. it's a matter of taste. But to me the almost monochromous grey/brown tones of the image reflect how surreal and bleak it felt to watch the events unfolding, and the darkness... well. I know rationally that it was a wondefully bright late summer day, no cloud in the sky. But emotionally, to me, the day 'looks' like that icon.

Thanks for letting me get to the last three, and good luck to the last two!!!

[leah49]

I'll explain my "too brown" comment. Maybe it's my computer, maybe it's my eyes, I don't know. The brown made it hard to focus on the icon. I'm not sure if it was the color brown itself or just the too much of one color in the way it was there. I don't know. It was just hard for me to look at. Although, the icon looks different/is easier to look at here on CoS with a different background (mine's black) than on Livejournal with the white background. That could have something to do with it.

[Vita]

Kim, you are evilness squared. *head in hands*

[Lord Godric]

Originally Posted by Klio

Gosh, am I lucky that I got voted out this time round.

I'd have nothing whatsoever to say on the next topic.

I am also unrepentant about the 'too brown' 9/11 icon. it's a matter of taste. But to me the almost monochromous grey/brown tones of the image reflect how surreal and bleak it felt to watch the events unfolding, and the darkness... well. I know rationally that it was a wondefully bright late summer day, no cloud in the sky. But emotionally, to me, the day 'looks' like that icon.

Thanks for letting me get to the last three, and good luck to the last two!!!

I think black could have done the same thing here and would have looked better.

[Kimagine]

Originally Posted by Vita

Kim, you are evilness squared. *head in hands*

I'm sorry... but, um, at least it's almost over?

Did I mention I used to teach? *evil laugh*

[Beatifically]

Originally Posted by Klio

Aren't we missing someone? There were five people in the last challenge, so shouldn't there be four now?

*raises hand guiltily* I didn't submit an entry.

I just assumed that it was due Saturday as usual. I don't think it made a difference if I had known anyway because there was no time for me to work on anything with all the homework assigned.

Good luck to Vita and RLF! (Especially with that evil challenge! )

[Kimagine]

It was not Evil!! It was... um... challenging.

[Vita]

So it's me and RLF left? *terrified* Im going to have to sabotage her Photoshop program if I want to win... *develop evil plan*

...nah I'm not as evil as Kim.

Good Luck!

[Den_muggle]

Originally Posted by Klio

Gosh, am I lucky that I got voted out this time round.

I'd have nothing whatsoever to say on the next topic.

I am also unrepentant about the 'too brown' 9/11 icon. it's a matter of taste. But to me the almost monochromous grey/brown tones of the image reflect how surreal and bleak it felt to watch the events unfolding, and the darkness... well. I know rationally that it was a wondefully bright late summer day, no cloud in the sky. But emotionally, to me, the day 'looks' like that icon.

Thanks for letting me get to the last three, and good luck to the last two!!!

You, of course, have to be true to your style. To me, the bright beauty of the day was part of what made it so surreal. It wasn't all bleak and cloudy and "brown" that day. The beauty of the sky, and water reflecting that sky AND the black smoke...that contrast was what made it so strange. It SHOULD have been all grey/brown, perhaps, but it wasn't. It was a great image of the skyline, though, Klio. Congrats for getting so far against such tough competitors.

And congrats to the other two. Can't wait to see the next ones.

[RemusLupinFan]

Originally Posted by Kimagine

Size: Signature
Special Technique/Restrictions: Read the article below. You must make a collage (using any techniques you wish, including text) that represents the first winter olympics.

*Falls apart and melts*

Umm yeah, I hope I have time to submit something with all the school work I have! Vita, you might become the winner by default lol. And even if I submit something, this topic is highly evil, err challenging.

Klio, as the third place winner you should go through a record of all your work!

[Klio]

Thanks, folks.... no need to explain the 'too brown' comments. Lots of people agreed - it's a matter of taste.... and emotion. I bet we all feel strongly about that day. I know I do.

There are sometimes criticisms in LIMS that make me go 'huh?!!' - but this wasn't one of them. It's merely a matter of taste, IMHO.




hmmmmm.... you know what it means to ask me for a walk-through? It means you are getting one, too....

Klio's Non-HP LIMS II walkthrough:    

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A mixed bag, really... I had no idea for that challenge (as much as I like maps).... this is actually a composite of three pictures (I think), but it doesn't look like one, and in a way that's not a good thing. I loved doing this, and I still rather like the result - especially the animated stars. Yes, one has to TELL people that it's animated, but I like it subtle like that, and it took a lot of time to get it looking like that. uhhhhh.... controversial, this one. Quite a few peope didn't like it. I guess you have to recognise the iconography (the winged boot identifies this as Hermes) for this to work at all. I am annoyed that even a lot of work didn't make the writing look like scratches, and so the whole thing never quite had the effect I wanted, although I love the font, and I was amused by the idea of Hermes 'signing' a priceless vase with his picture on it. Very pleased with this. I think I'll use it as an avatar sometime. It illustrates exactly what I think about libraries. Hmmm... I am so/so on this one. It was a bit of a last minute thing, to be honest. I liked doing the initial of the merry Christmas caption, and integrating the initial with the rest of the writing, as I'd do if I did it in ink and pen. I wish I had had more time on this icon, though, and a better idea.... I am pleased with this. I think using the tree picture as frame somehow suits Solzhenizyn, and I am pleased with the colours, too. Somehow he looks like the soprt of person whose picture should be in b&w/sepia. Hmmmm..... I wish I could have done something about that weird background pink - but this was the best colour palette of those on offer, and I so wanted to do Gutenberg and use a bit of his Bible. I have a Gutenberg font (the black captions) and I was amazed that is really exactly like the 'real thing' (the grey text is taken from a huge picture of an orignial Gutenberg page). I was rather proud of the initials - I got woodcut initials, cut out their images and photoshopped in the images of Gutenberg and of his printing press in action. It was fun to try to create this historical look with such a modern instrument as photoshop - when I had more time, years ago, I used to do this sort of thing by hand..... Well, I have commented on this. I'd like to show you the original picture I used as a base for this, because I thought that it was stunning!

[8m57w6]

Very impressive walkthrough, Klio!!! I really loved a lot of your stuff!! I'm amazed at the level of work you put into some of them, especially the Gutenberg one. Awesome stuff! Congrats on making it so far.

[gipro2003]

Agreed, your work is amazing Klio. I actually really liked the Hermes one. And I am impressed with the amount of work you put into some of them!