Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Reference > General Archive > EoFF's Top Artist

[Zeromus_X]

I guess I'll add this to my work:

Well, this definitely isn't my best work, but I hope it conveys Envy well enough. Green is obviously for 'green with envy' (and an excuse to use my favorite color), and I put a bunch of things to 'envy' down below him. I put clouds over the faces of the people below to symbolize how envy can start to cloud the way you view people, all caught up in envy and what-not (but I do like putting random things in pictures besides).

[ValkyrieWing]

Explanation time!

To represent greed, I chose the image of a red dragon and his hoard. I chose this for the simple fact that dragons are quite possibly the most beautiful, deadly...and GREEDY creatures in literature or games. There has rarely been a dragon that was not wallowing in treasure. Smaug, the Nidhogg Serpent...greed drove them to evil, and to their ultimate demise.

The dragons' face holds an expression of threat and disdain. He's sneering, clutching a human skull, offering death to any who dares to claim HIS treasure. To me, this is the ultimate representation of greed.

Also, great work so far! Best of luck to everyone!

[Clone 01]

sorry everyone,i havnt got a chance to draw anything matching the quality of these pics!i just dont have time anymore!i hate dropping out of things but my schedule is just too busy!ive been really run down lately!if u want me to i can do a stick man because thats how lazy a sloth wud be to draw something but anything i draw now i probably wouldnt make it to the next round anyway!

Again,sorry for dropping out,i hate to do it!!!

[tan]

There will be no elimination for this challenge, since Clone#01 dropped out. It is not necessary if you turn in your entry by tomorrow, unless you want the chance to win (because you can't win if you don't submit anything.) If you do not turn anything in by tomorrow you will simply be passed on technicality.

[ValkyrieWing]

It's getting to the point that whoever dosen't drop out wins.

Noest time, we need rules stating commitment, no matter what

[41-Inches-Wide]

I'm sorry but i don't i'll be able to pass my piece on lust on time. And even if i would ask for an extention i still don't think i'll be able to complete it. I cant offer any excuses as to why i can't finish the piece but i am deeply sorry that up until now the unfinished sketch is still in my sketchpad. Thank you and i'm sorry tan.

[tan]

41-inches-wide, you have immunity from last challenge. You don't need to turn in a piece. Besides, clone#01 is already erased for dropping out, so it's not necessary that you have to turn one in.

EDIT: I guess that's all the entries I'll be getting for this challenge. One judge has not completed their reviews yet, so those of you who have not finished (Phil and Nominus Experse), you can still turn yours in, if you wish. And, by the way Phil, I'd like to talk to you. Please PM me ASAP...

The reviews are in from 3 of the 4 judges. Before I post them, let me introduce them:
Carny, a very skilled artist who often hangs out in #eoff.
Agent Proto, a former contestant.
Lackshmana, who is the only judge who hasn't turned their reviews in.
And the guest judge was... me! I decided to be it this week because I would be the only judge among the other three familiar with your styles, therefore having more insight in your pictures.

1. Mum
Sin: Pride
Carny- "The use of a blind fold over the Eagles eyes is a good indication as to how America is actually blind to the true reasons of the war in Iraq. It seems to be saying that they are using the pride of the nation to be fighting an unjust war and getting rewarded for it. I could rant on for hous about this, but I won't."
Agent Proto- "This is a very beautiful piece of art. I really enjoy the details that you included from the smoke of fire down to the feathers of the blindfolded bald eagle. However, I must say that this art doesn't suit the sin of pride. If I'm wrong, I do believe that the sin of pride is defined as "Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness." I feel that this art features none of that, and that is going to lower your score a bit. I do not believe pride for your country equals to haughty pride for one's self. Nonetheless, this is a very great artwork."
Mine- First off, Mum, I'd like to tell you that I am extremely amazed at how you always turn your entries in early, yet they look so good and sort of seem as though you did them for months on end. I'm not accusing you , however, I'm just commending you on the kind of work you do in this sort of time frame =P
I think the picture is very well-drawn (as your style always is) and I really like the colors you used and how you paid attention to detail. This is ultimately your stlye, and it is very mature. You've been sort of lacking in these last challenges dealing with more of the modern young sort of drawing (I mean no offense saying that, by the way), but in this challenge, you nailed it.
The symbolism is genius. When I thought of pride, I never thought of America, but you conveyed the sin very well. However, it seemed a bit too subtle to me. If the flag had not been there, I would've understood what you were going for in your picture perfectly and would've scored you higher. You put a lot of thought into this challenge that it amazes me. It's extremely good.

2. ValkyrieWing
Sin: Greed
Carny- "Not sure what they are trying to represent with this piece of work. Are they implying that the dragon is greedy or that the person who is going to slay the dragon is greedy as they are after it's wealth in gold. It's a nice peice for any folklore fan, the proportions are a little out but other than that it is reletivly good. If only it would have depicted exactly who was the greedy party in the picture I would have given it a higher mark."
Agent Proto- "Very nice. I like the usage of color in this. The red dragon representing greed is a greaqt idea. This artwork clearly represents that and shows it off with a greedy dragon protecting his wealth of gold. The detail is very good Sadly, I don't have much to say for your work, but I will say it did represent the sin of greed well."
Mine- I remember telling you about this whole dragon thing- it's not something I believe really fits in with greed. It really did not make sense to me. I see dragons all the time and don't suddenly envision them as being greedy. Your thought process in this was well-thought, but, overall, it seemed not to be very cohesive in the end. I mean, yes, I get the whole gold thing, but you could put any sort of monster on top of gold and say it was greedy. There's just not much thought into it.
I do believe, however, that your saving factor in this is that you did it very well. It may not have been the right idea to convey, yes, but you drew it really well. I like the variety of color and the meticulousness of your work. The scales on the dragon look like it took you forever, which is something that I think looks good. I don't like the shiny kind of color, though, because it just stands out too much. Yes, it's gold, but it might've been better just to keep it sort of toned down by not adding that.
Overall, I find your piece strong in the execution area, but lacking in symbolicism.
EDIT: I read your description of your piece and I sort of understand what you were going for. I did not notice the skull, which is a very nice touch to it. I finally see what you were going for- not as symbolic and thought-provoking as Mum's, but still, very good.

3. Zeromus-X
Sin: Envy
Carny- I'm probably not the best to review this picture as I am colour blind with red and green. So I am very happy to have gotten a brief description from the artist. I like the fact they used green in the picture, because like the artist says, it is immediately thuought of to be envy. The one thing I didn't like was the people below. Even though the artist said that they are covered with clouds as to depict a clouded point of veiw, it doesn't really come across as such. Could be to do with the detail in them caused by the time frame given, but either way it just doesn't fit for me.
Agent Proto- "It's a nice piece of art. However, it would help if you included more color, or had more details with what's going on down on the bottom of the drawing. From your explanations, I do believe that is an envious crowd, jealous of the magician in the center. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's very hard to interpret, even with the explanations. From what I believe, the sin of envy is defined as "Jealousy and dislike felt toward another because they have a position, possession or quality one desires." However, I fail to see any sort of jealousy in this work, and because of that, it will lower your score a bit."
Mine- Your style is very light, very soft in colors and drawing. This is something I wished you would've strayed from in this picture, because I believe envy is a very strong emotion. There is a lot of blank space in this picture (unless there's something wrong with my browser) on the top. Maybe something could've been done about this? It looks rushed, in some aspects.
The cape and clothes are very well done, and I like the sort of way that you made this out to be a real person.
Basically, I believe your thought was in this piece looked like it was getting there, but it seemed to need more time. As for your drawing: it looks like your style, and I think your style does sort of look like a "cleanly rush." (if that makes sense) I do like your style, and I do like the colors you use, but this piece looks unfinished. You could've done so much more with two days.
EDIT: I liked your description of how you used green, but it was not a theme prevalent throughout your entry, and I would've rather to seen more green. The clouds were a good idea, and I liked your thought behind them.

And so... onto the scores.
However... I will not be posting the scores. Not now, at least. I am going to give you 24 artists for a rebuttle to what the judges said. Why? So you can tell us what you were really aiming for, and possibly change your score. Be sure your description makes sense though; they may even lower your score if your response to their reviews doesn't make sense. If you do not want to give a rebuttle, simply post saying that you do not want to.

I'll post the other reviews and scores tomorrow. Remember, for those of you who have not turned them in, you still have one day!

[Mum]

Paintings like this are supposed to be challenging and thought provoking, and for the viewer to make up their own minds on what its all supposed to mean. The 3 judges have all gleaned something from it, so thats good.
However, my explanation is that I wasn't actually aiming it towards having a dig at the war, beacuse thats not a pride issue I feel. Nor was it a slur on being proud of your country.
In a nutshell:
Its that blind patriotism is a form of pride.
I have entitled the painting "At what cost?" and it depicts winning being ultimate, despite what it may cost.
Pride is the opposite of humility, where you are encouraged to always put others ahead of and above ones self. The symbolism of the eagle is not humble.

I'm glad you thought it was well executed - thank you. VW's was also very well executed, and good on you ZX with your watercolour(?) - it was especially clever that you showed the figure pointing to something 'off screen' that he wanted.