SOTM 2009 - March (Half Face Portrait) - Entry Thread
 

The Signature Of The Month contest is open to all members of the Animesuki Forums. The goal of the contest is to provide a fun and competitive way of showing off and improving the signatures and personal skills of contestants. The winner of each months contest is given the privilege of choosing the theme for the next month.

The contest begins on the first of each month and consists of roughly two weeks of entry creation/submission, one week of voting, and one week off. The entry and voting periods may be extended or shortened slightly as needed.

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Each month prospective contestants are given a theme to base their entries on. This theme is decided by the winner of the previous contest. The theme can be anything, as long as it does not break forum rules regarding inappropriate material. At the end of the month, voters choose which entries they liked best out of all submitted entries and a new winner is decided. Themes cannot be used twice in a row.

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1. Contestants are allowed to create, work on, and submit their entry from the start of the contest until two weeks from the start date. This period of time is specified by the organizer every month. Once the entry period expires, all submitted entries are gathered up and sent to the Voting Thread.

2. Contestants must submit original works. This means you cannot simply cut a picture out, slap your name on it, and call it your own. Claiming someone else's work as your own is also not allowed. Anyone caught doing this will have their entries removed from the contest.

To further expand on this rule:

2A. Unless proven otherwise, all entries made by contestants are derivatives of works made by someone else. Thus, no claim of "ownership" shall be made in reference to the image(s) used in the signature entry.

2B. Misrepresenting someone else's signature work for your own is prohibited and will result in an immediate expulsion of the entry and disqualify the contestant from the current month's contest.

2C. In the spirit of originality, "crop" sigs are frowned upon, but not discouraged; however, the contest organizer can call upon all contestants to show the source of their entry(ies) at any time.

2D. Also in the spirit of originality, new signatures are encouraged. However, if you feel one of your older signatures is perfect for the theme and wish to enter it, you may. Just remember that the signature still has to follow the rules stated above.

3. Contestants are allowed to create as many entries as they wish, but are only allowed to enter one. To submit an entry officially, the contestant must mark the post in the Offical Entry Thread containing that entry with the words "Final Entry", or they can submit the signature to the contest organizer using the private message function.

4. Contestants who wish to keep their entries private until after the submission period can private message the contest organizer with their entry. The entry will not be displayed until submissions are closed, unless the contestant displays that entry publicly.

5. Entries must comply with Animesuki rules regarding signature size. This means each entry can be no larger than 500 x 160, and must be less than 50,000 bytes. They must also comply with forum decency rules. If you think your entry will be offensive or reported to the moderators, don't post it, even as a joke.

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Every month, a new entry thread is created. Each month's entry thread is a central spot meant to give contestants a chance to create and improve their entries as well as their skills, in addition to providing them a place to post their official submissions.

The thread is solely about helping contestants with entries, and as such these things will not be tolerated:

1. Nonconstructive and negative criticism (if you truly dislike something about an entry, be polite and helpful)

2. Comments, questions, or complaints about General SOTM affairs

3. Flaming, trolling, and other uncivil behavior that breaks Forum Rules

Anyone disrupting the thread will be asked to take it privately, to the SOTM Generic Discussion Thread, or if the offense is severe enough - reported to the moderators.

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This months entry period officially starts Monday, March 1st, 2008 and lasts until Friday, March 20th, 2008. Entries will be gathered and put up for voting on Sunday, March 22nd, 2008. Voting will end on the following Sunday.

The due date ends at 11:59 (midnight basically) UTC/GMT. The polling will be up one day later after 11:59 (again, midnight). I will try to be as lenient as I can with last minute submissions but only slightly.

It is up to you as a contestant to know what your time zone is in relation to UTC/GMT. I cannot do this for you.

Here is a site that can help you figure that out: http://www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx

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First attempt:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...mMarch2009.jpg

Please make sure the face is your focal point.. not something of a BG.. For example, the Yuki signature in my description is disqualified as its only a BG, not the focus of the sig.

@ Kagari, yes, that BunBun signature is accepted as her face is covered XD

And I'll assure you, making the face as focus is gonna bring some headache if you understand sig composition. ;)

his face. Ok good to know. So they stock has to atleast be the focal point but doesnt have to be looking at you right? Could you have someone turning around or turned around? Like Nagato in that sig but a closer vers of it?

Basically this is gonna be who can pull off the best dramatic crop :heh:

First attempt. (Ever!)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...dreams0201.jpg

Do the faces qualify? If so, then C&C would be appreciated.

BunBun, I posted the rejected examples, no?
LKK, yes.
Cyz, yes.. if its cover most of his/her face..

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...arch2009v2.jpg

How's this?

It would be better IMHO if the mask isnt erased into the BG tho.

And the area behind oo is a bit too bright.

Try without the tex ;)

I think it would look better withou the smudge the mask's border.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just wondering, does a sideview of a character is allowed? Is the half of his face after all.

Example of what do I mean

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3005/...8ca8cd0.th.jpg

Ok, next version:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...h2009v3jpg.jpg

And original for comparison:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...arch2009v2.jpg

does two-face from Batman count?
LOL
just joking :heh:
nice theme
kinda hard to look for a render XD

How hard actually to find a full face picture? Then place the render so only half of the face shown.. I really dont get it when peoples complicates easy stuff.

I went the mask route. It seemed logical that a half covered face is usually because someone is wearing something over it, like a blanket, a ninja mask, a scarf, a gas mask, that kind of thing. Half covered can also include hands, signs....you name it. And if you can't find a good stock that you like with those elements already included, make your own. You can cover up part of the face using blending of other elements such as another stock or c4d, brushes, or by simply leaving half the face out of the signature (like my current Mariya avatar). So don't shrug off a good stock just because the face isn't already covered. Be creative!

Composition is more important for this theme than the stock though (stock is important because it's not fun to work with something you don't like of course, but the key is in how you make it work). Get at least a third of the face covered up and then focus on keeping the face the main element of the signature while still making the whole signature appealing to look at.

Start with an idea, and find elements to support it. The signature will pretty much build itself. ^^

Don't be afraid to use this thread for help. Even "failed" ideas could be one step away from turning into successes with the right piece of advice. ;)

well
sometimes, a cut full face pic doesn't really work
that's what makes it hard I think :heh:

thanks for the tip anyway ^^

The real aim for this easy theme is to see how well peoples compose their sig.. :)

You just have to think more into it, there is no impossible and doesnt really work with this theme; you are just not used to it. If you stop using that formula you find in 99.99% of signatures: [ random abstract BG ] + [ copy/paste character(s) in the middle ] + [ random abstract BG again ] ...you may end up with something that isnt just a different color theme of the generic *coughsimpletoncough* composition I have seen since god knows when on this forum.


Briliant idea KiNA, gratz to you! (and rep as soon as I get around to spreading some) Unfortunetly I can see contestants just searching for a render that cheats/"solve" the theme and apply the boring formula as always.

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2385/reioana.jpg

is something like this allowed?