Non-HP LIMS: FINAL WEEK!

[Klio]

Well, just like in the other LIMS, I think some chocolate may come in handy...

http://www.godiva.com/welcome.aspx

[flimseycauldron]

Yum...The wait is agonizing. I submit mine early, the week flies by, and then the interminable wait. Oh MY!

[xnataliex]

Do Do Do Doooooo I am looking forward to seeing thisss

[Kimagine]

We are still missing some entries... Get 'em in, people, if you haven't done so already!!

[_LoonyLovegood_]

The other LIMS table just went up, and my heart is actually pounding right now - that's how nervous I am. This table is the one I'm most excited about, though, with all the pretty colors.

[griffiegrrl]

Me too. ^_^

[flimseycauldron]

Are we waiting til tomorrow for the table? To give people a little extra time?

[Klio]

Ohhhh... I got up early (because I'll be away all day) just to see this..... just like everybody else, I am really hyped about this!

People!! Get in your entries!!! *paces up and down impatiently*

Still, Kim - I think it's really nice of you to wait. I know that if I hadn't managed to get my entry ready this week I'd really appreciate that.

[Kimagine]

VOTING FOR THE FIRST-EVER (yay!) CoS Non-HP LIMS is open!!

NHP-LIMS TABLE AND LINKS WEEK I THEME: The Four Seasons/Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall; You choose the image(s) and the supporting elements in your icon. It just needs to reflect your view of a season or seasons, and it needs to contain the colors in your swatch. For additional colors, black and white is acceptable, and you may change the tint and shade of the colors in your swatch for variety, if you like. Image size: Avatar Technique/Restrictions: must have one of the 4 seasons or a combination of the above; must use one of the provided color combinations LINK TO TABLE Vote for the two icons you two icons you least like. Give constructive criticism for at least those two icons. GOOD LUCK!!

*******************************

Week II WEEK II THEME: Sky. Size: Avatar. Technique/Restrictions: You must use one of the images on this page. You may use these as a base, and add images, brushes, textures, text, etc. or you may use the image alone. You may color or crop in any way that the sky is still the focus. All Images Courtesy of bigfoto.com.

...But wait! There's More!!!
There is a bonus challenge for next week, open to everyone who remains in the contest after the first round!

NHP-LIMS BANNER CONTEST TOPIC: Design a Banner for the Cos Non-HP LIMS Contest Thread. Size: Banner Technique/ Restrictions: NO Harry Potter references. It should be in keeping with the family-friendly rules of CoS Forums. No animations, please. The name of the contest should appear in the banner. WINNING BANNER MAKER WILL HAVE HIS/HER BANNER DISPLAYED IN THE FIRST POST OF THE THREAD AND WILL RECEIVE AN EXTRA "GET OUT OF LIMS FREE" PASS FOR USE ON THIS CURRENT ROUND OF NHP-LIMS ONLY.

Because of the two challenges, you will have two weeks to submit your entries to me via owl. Please let me know if you have any questions.

ALL ENTRIES ARE DUE SATURDAY, AUGUST 2.

[Rell]

egads, the table is gorgeous and mine is totally going to get voted out. I will be back to vote later.

kim, could we possibly get the next challenge now? If I don't get voted out, i like to work on my icons on sunday, cuz i have the most time then. edit never mind, it's there, but in white. i can't see white with this skin

[Kimagine]

Originally Posted by Rell

egads, the table is gorgeous and mine is totally going to get voted out. I will be back to vote later.

kim, could we possibly get the next challenge now? If I don't get voted out, i like to work on my icons on sunday, cuz i have the most time then.

AHEM! Tsk-tsk... (points up to the two challenges already posted)

[Rell]

Originally Posted by Kimagine

AHEM! Tsk-tsk... (points up to the two challenges already posted)

yep, see my edit

[_LoonyLovegood_]

The table is so pretty! Mine pales in comparison to the rest, but that's okay. I'm really blown away by all the amazing entries - and only the first week. Will be back with comments and votes when I'm not going on three hours of sleep.

[flimseycauldron]

Originally Posted by _LoonyLovegood_

The table is so pretty! Mine pales in comparison to the rest, but that's okay. I'm really blown away by all the amazing entries - and only the first week. Will be back with comments and votes when I'm not going on three hours of sleep.

Yep,it is great! I totally get where you're coming from. It is the wee hours of the morning where I am and I'm about falling asleep over my pc; Will be back later with proper enthusiasm and votes!

[wimblemimble]

It's 3 a.m. here-- and I'm afraid that if I post now it will end up being a string of incoherent phrases that may or may not actually be English. XD I'll post in the morning, but I really love everyones entries!

And two for next week looks like it is going to be a lot of fun! My only thing is that the banner sizes for CoS are much different from what I'm used to. When I make banners, I think of them as being long and thin-- but the ones here are always sort of boxy, so it really throws me off when I try to make them. >.>

[xnataliex]

Originally Posted by wimblemimble

It's 3 a.m. here-- and I'm afraid that if I post now it will end up being a string of incoherent phrases that may or may not actually be English. XD I'll post in the morning, but I really love everyones entries!

And two for next week looks like it is going to be a lot of fun! My only thing is that the banner sizes for CoS are much different from what I'm used to. When I make banners, I think of them as being long and thin-- but the ones here are always sort of boxy, so it really throws me off when I try to make them. >.>

Im totally the same lol, same with signatures, 300 pixel width is ever so small for a signature, and when i try and resize things they always look terrible!
Loving the table will get back to it assap!

[leah49]

Wow, looks like I shall be the first to vote. Here goes. Don't be offended or upset, these are all great icons and it took some major thinking to choose two (the two I chose are not bad icons and still show great style).

13: Text hard to read. Cursive text is a good idea, but don't pick such an outlandish one. I also find it hard to focus on the picture above.

16: At first glance the leaves don't look like leaves. It's not until I stare at the picture I realize those are leaves.

18: This icon reminds me of an illustration for a book, like something you'd put at the top of a page to start off a paragraph or something. It's really nice.

Vote off: 13 & 16

[flimseycauldron]

Good Morning! Armed with a cup of coffee I am now ready to imaprt my dubious critiques. I would liketo say that this is my first non-hp LIMS. I love it and you all did an incredible job!

001: This icon is fun and sassy. The color usage is splendid without being overbearing. My only critique is that it might be weensy (very weensy) bit cluttered.

002: The spring image is so lovely and bright that I'm afraid the other seasons get the short end of the shrift by looking darker--especially autumn. The animation is a little too fast contributing to the dark effect. Did you use two swatches?

003: Google image search is a great thing. I almost went with this picture. I love the modern classic look here. The text is lovely. Personally I might have put a one pixel border around the entire thing for more pop, probably green since the icon is rather more bluey. The white sets it of nicely,

004: This icon does a good job creating two separate seasons. The color swatch is immediately recognizable and soft. I like the simplicity.

005: I like nearly everything about this icon except the text. It's so light against the snow I had a hard time reading it.

006: This reminds me of my hubby and son! I like the font but the black is a little dark. I'm not sure I like the glow around the people it makes everything look blurry. Was this a result of a gradient overlay?

007: I love this icon! The color usage perfect! The composition perfect. My only critique is that the shoes could be a very weensy bit smaller. Great Job.

008: Very pretty and autumny. The blend of colors is really well done. I might have lost the sparklies and used that color as a border but that might be personal preference rather than a critique

009: I really like the main picture. The color swatch you used was readily apparent. The flowers so bright and pretty. The sparklies great. The notebook and text--no so much imo.

010: Nice icon. I like how you worked the color palette in the glasses. A less scripty font would have worked better.

011: Great use of the color palette. Unique border. I just wish I could see more of the chair.

012: Again great use of the color swatch. But I think the text is unnecessary, it clutters up the icon.

013: Really nice concept. Great use of color. A less scripty font would have worked better. This one is a might hard to read.

014: This swatch wasn't used often but you really worked it out. I really like the modern feel. A little more contrast might have given it a little extra punch.

015: A very subtle use of the color palette. I love the contrast of spring and winter. Very delicate. Definately a fave.

016: I love how the tips of the leaves a colored. The font is great but I am unsure of the glow effect.

017: Again a subtle use of the color palette. The tulip is just the right size to work the colors without being over bearing. Not sure I like the b&w background but it grows on me the more I look at it.

018: Lovely Icon. Great contrast and use of the swatch. Might have worked even better as a slightly smaller icon.

Faves: 15 and 7 and 1

Voting off: 2 and 6 Sorry!

[Mrs_D_Malfoy]

the table looks awesome by the way.

1: i like the use to colours and the animatedness off it, although it looks slightly cluttered...

2: great idea! good use of colour palettes too! although the animation moves too fast for some. it's hard to really look at them all.

3: hmmm, interesting, i don't the the colours are very wintery but they could work, the overall icon is nice, it just seems like it should have darker colours.

4: love it, i love the use to the one palette to make represent two seasons. great idea!

5: i really like the contrast of the leaf against the snow. the text is a little hard to read though.

6: i really like the colours in this icon, however, the glow aroung the people and trees? is kind of a bit much. it seems like it was too saturated or somthing. the overall idea is cool, i just wouldn't have put the glow around the people.

7: i really like this one. (one of my favs) the colour usage is very good, but the shoes could have been smaller. they're sort of clogging the overall image. other than that great job!

8: this one is very unique. i love how the leaf appears to be burning slightly, like embers. it's also a huge contrast compared to most of the bright summer icons. great job! another favourite.

9: this one puzzled me a bit. i like it but there's just somthing about it that seems off. i don't think i would have put the spirals at the top, or at least not going through the picture. it seems odd. the image also seems sort of colourless, the yellow isn't really bright enough the hold my attention. overall it's nice though.

10: this one used grayscale on different level. i like that the reflection in the sunglasses uses the colour palette and provides some colour to the icon. the text could have been different though.

11: i don't know about this one. the colours seem too bright almost surreal, like the chair might have looked better not quite as...neon. the border sort of overpowers the icon also. overall it seems like it's lacking something, i'm just not quite sure what. good use of the colour palette though

12: i really like this one. the use of the colours is very good. it's seems a little cramped but other than that it's great. overall it's a wonderful icon. (a fav)

13: the picture in general is very interesting. however, the text seems to distract in a bad way from the good photo. the font itself could have been better, as could the positioning. also, the text blends into the border so it sort of gets cut off. it's rather hard to read.

14: i think i would like this icon better if the colours were swapped. the purple on the ice makes it seem warmer when it's supposed to be 'frozen'. maybe if the ice was shades of blue and the colour strip along the side was purple it might look better, or at least more wintery. the text is pretty good. i would have chosen a different font but the blur and fading on it makes it go with the icon very well.

15: i like the colours in this one, and how it seems to be breaking though but it seems a little empty. maybe it's too much white? i think if there were more texture in the snow (shown with gray even) it would have more depth and not seem so vacant.

16: this one it pretty good. the colours look awesome, it's just sort of hard to tell that those are leaves.

17: i like the colours in this one, it just sort of seems random. everything around it is gray, like the grass and stuff and then bam, this really bright array of colours. the colours look good, it just stands out a little too much against the gray. it also looks just a little choppy, like you cut and pasted it in. maybe if you blurred or smudged the edge a little it would look better. i like the photo used though, very pretty.

18: i like this one alot. it looks like the heading for children's book. the tree is a little overpowering but other than that it looks really good. did you draw it???

this was a very difficult decision, all of the icons look amazing it was hard to choose. good luck everyone

Favs: 7+8+12 great job!

Voting off 13 + 14, sorry

[wimblemimble]

1: I'm going out on a limb to assume that you drew this yourself? It is very pretty, and I really like the colors that were used. The only problem is that it is rather cluttered. The crest of the wave is just about the same height as the top of the palm tree and both of them take up about the same amount space length-wise. I would have made the palm tree taller and the wave slightly smaller.

2: I really like this one alot! I simply think it might have been better had you been able to get it to move in a loop. Put the spring image at both the beginning and end of the image to get it to transition continuously. Because, when the Spring and Winter images are up we see them for longer-- but the Summer and Fall images transition right away and it looks as if they are moving too fast because we saw the other two for more time. Also, the leaves move and are the only ones to do so, and that looks a little odd.

3: I really like this one. A pallet of colors that is normally associated with Summer, yet used for winter! (I tried this myself, when I was trying to color Snowmen scarves, but they simply wouldn't cooperate with me and the crops always looked too bad, so I gave it up. >.>) Anyway, I really like it. If I had to give a critique I would say that there is a little too much white space on the left of the icon.

4: This is another where I have to ask if you drew it. Because it looks really good, and the base fits together quite well! Again, just fishing for a critique to give you, I keep looking at the bottom of the icon and expecting something to be there, but it is empty. Perhaps a small light texture, or small text would balance out the icon.

5: A really nice image and nice crop. But I think the leaf is a bit too oversaturated-- you might want to tone down the color there. And the text is a little hard to read. Light text on a light background doesn't show up too well-- I would have gone with a lighter shade of orange, because it tends to be brighter and would show up better against the background-- and because it would match your leaf better. But I really like the font.

6: Some advice I would give to you is to experiment with font placement. Don't just always stick it in a straight line-- move it all around a little! Experiment! Also, there is a light pink glow around the father/son pair and the mountain that is rather distracting. I would have lowered the opacity of whatever filter you put on it, or I would have tried to erase it.

7: I really like this image. I had a cute 'scrap-booky' sort of feel to it. But it is a little crowded on that bench. The top of the shoe comes right up to the banner unerneath it leaving very little 'open space' for the eye to rest. I would have made the shoe layer smaller, giving you more room for space.

8: I think this is oversaturated-- I would tone that down. Also, the crop might have been better if the space around the leaf wasn't evenly dispersed-- putting the leaf in the center of the crop.

9: The text seems to be a bit too close to the flower-- I would move it over a little bit. And I go back and forth between liking the journal over the top. *muses*

10: I really like this, particularly the little palm tree. I do love that you have the color pallet coming from the lens of her glasses! The border is a little thick, and sort of intrudes on the faces space, but it is overall a very good icon.

11: The color on the chair is too dense. I would reduce the saturation slightly. Also, the border around the image, while nice, gets to be too much, particluarly down at the bottom of the icon where it cuts off the seat of the chair.

12: The main concern with this one is that the crop puts the focus of the image right in the center of the icon. I would have moved the crop off-center a little more. Also, your selective coloring of the umbrellas is good, but towards the end it looks as if you missed a few pixels. When getting towards the end on selective colors I tend to do three things. 1. If I wasn't using a 'fuzzy' brush before, I would be using it now. 2. I make the brush very, very small and zoom way in. 3. I lower the opacity of the brush.

13: You have the icon divided into two exact halfs. I would have made the text portion smaller than the image portion. Second, that font looks good lage, and may have been best used on an accent word, but it is hard to read when small and also hard to read when it is the only font used. I would have changed it up a little.

14: It tooke me a while to realize what this was a picture of. I think the border is unecessary and actually detracts from the rest of the icon. Particularly because the color is not anywhere on the rest of the icon anywhere, and it doesn't really complement the other colors either. Did you use Australian Sunrise for your font? /random

15: I like this, but perhaps the image of the flower could be more vibrant? The crop is nice, but you've left almost too much empty space, so it turns into dead space. Even just a small light texture or something of the sort might help. But you'd have to be creative because the light texture wouldn't easily show up against such a light background.

16: I like the background and the font and the crop, but the colors of the leaves are too bold and unnatural looking. When you color, do you put the color on a different, transparent layer? Play around with the layer modes and the opacities to get the color lower.

17: I really like the coloring. The only critique would be the crop, which puts the image towards the center.

My votes: 11 and 14

Also, because so many of my critiques involved the cropping of images, I went ahead and located some guided and tutorials on the subject.

Rule of Thirds: This is something to keep in mind both when actually taking pictures and when cropping your icons. It isn't something I would obsess over and take it to the point where you can't crop until everything is exactly on thirds-- but it is something you should keep in mind when cropping. Every rule is made to be broken, but only when you know what the rule is and why the rule works. This way, you know why the rule doesn't work in the specific case in which you break it.

Another: This one is focused on the rule of thirds and icon making-- but I would at least skim through the first link before this one, as that one gives more details

Examples: This tutorial gives image examples of good and bad crops-- fairly generic, but you'll get the overall idea.

I'll cross-post this to the HP LIMS as well. Hopefully this will be helpful.