this is the voting thread for chow #51 gaia/mother nature

voting rules
- only 1 vote per person, good luck
- vote for your favourite/who you want to win
- you cannot vote for yourself
- no alt voting

the entries
Lockesmythe
Flowers10 [Art Portal]
CypressDahlia
ZaneZansorrow [Art Portal]
Aigis
ImpendingRiot
Pixel Pocket [Art Portal]
Kamikaye [Art Portal]

chow 49 results instead
3rd - Billzter/Kinsei01
2nd - Cosmicdeath - 2 votes
1st - Monsterparty - 14 votes

I vote Kamikaye.

Tough decision, but I vote for Kamikaye.

Some really entries, good job everyone who submitted.

I vote kamikaye, I'm a sucker for pretty colors :3

Yeah, throw one more vote for Kamikaye

Flowers10!

At 5/3/12 08:50 PM, Ashman wrote: this is the voting thread for chow #51 gaia/mother nature

LockeSmith

I'd like to change my if I may ... While aigies (sort of hard to find a plural for guys name here) is not exactly one of the more attractive characters made for this week it atleast stands out as least human looking which is sort of the problem some of the others.
Kamikaye's and Cypressdallia were good too.
But aigis

Definitely zane,
tieing for second place are aigis' one, which is a bit too minimal for my taste, and Kamikaye's, which is, not unlike zane's once, a bit rough & undefined, I just like zane's one better.

At 5/4/12 01:25 AM, CypressDahlia wrote: Oh, I didn't actually post a full entry. Could you pull mine? haha. That was just a concept rough.

i know it was a wip, but it was good enough in my opinion to be entered as it was, if you want it pulled though then it is

Flowers10
I really like this piece; it is the only submission that incorporated a âEUoetransformative power of NatureâEU theme. It adds a dynamic element to the piece. I think that the photo compositing works pretty well, but it could use some refinement. The lens flare might be a little too much.

The swaddled body of the baby is a little disturbing. It has large baby head and then a withered cocoon of a body. The baby just needs to be fleshed out a bit more.

CypressDahlia
I know it's just a WIP, but it is very promising. The âEUoebeasts of NatureâEU pouring out of her robes is a cool concept. Nature is generally very color driven. I know that I would have been much happier with my own piece if I had given myself enough time to color it. If CypressDahlia's had been colorized, it would have been a strong contender.

ZaneZansorrow
CypressDahlia, and Flowers10 went with characters in motion, which makes their submissions more dynamic; everyone else went static figures. Zane's is an interesting compromise; it has an unmoving character with flowing, swirling movement around her. It reflects the duality of nature as a collection of ancient, static entities and young, dynamic forces. Also, the high contrast composition is excellently executed.

I don't quite understand the bulbous thing floating-over/growing-out-of her head. It that a cultural/mythological reference that I'm just missing?

Aigis
I agree with everything CypressDahlia said: solid (bottom-heavy like a mountain), older, motherly figure. If nothing else, Ageis' submission stands out as the only one that went the Earth/stone/soil direction and not the leaf/plant/tree direction. I like the minimalist take; it has a kind of "Saturday Morning Cartoon" straightforwardness. I think that it works well as a character design, with after all, is the point of the CHOW. My only criticism is that it seems a little generic as far as being a design of a âEUoewoman made of stone.âEU It could use a few more elements to connect it to the âEUoeGaia/Mother EarthâEU concept.

ImpendingRiot
I think that this one is a little under-cooked. It has cool nymph/Earth-spirit quality, but I feel that same way about it as I do about Aigis' piece, it just seems a little too generic. I prefer the ancient, earthy Mother Nature interpretation over the young, nubile, âEUoeSpirit of SpringâEU interpretation (but that is completely a personal opinion).

Pixel Pocket
It has an âEUoeEarth MotherâEU vibe in a kind of hippie/bohemian sense, but it doesn't quite resonate with the âEUoeGaia/Mother NatureâEU as well as it could. With that said, I am a total sucker for elaborate pixel art and Pixel Pocket's Pixel-Kung-Fu is amazing. Beautifully rendered.

Kamikaye
The textures and concept are very solid; I like the abstract tree-face-creature-thing. My only issue is that whole piece is a little muddy (pardon the pun). The low-contrast rendering gives the piece a great misty, soft glow quality, but it makes some of the composition hard to âEUoeread.âEU For example, what it that protuberance in front of the character's face? Gaia's fist? Leg? Random stump? It looks like there are red sparks coruscating from the top. What's that about? I just feel like stump and a few other elements could be a little sharper.

A lot of great submissions; it was difficult to make a decision, but I vote for Kamikaye
(ZaneZansorrow and Flowers10 tied for my 2nd).

Hmmm. . . Ooops. . . I didn't realize that the NG BBS re-interprets quotation marks as âEUoe and âEU. Sorry about that.

At 5/4/12 01:25 AM, CypressDahlia wrote: Oh, I didn't actually post a full entry. Could you pull mine? haha. That was just a concept rough.

Huh. And I was gonna vote for you :c

I vote Pixelpocket.

I vote for Zane, luv you man :3

I vote for Zane.

Hard choice, but i broke it down and had to go for ZaneZansorrow