Curse

Hotel · Dec 27, 2007, 11:23 PM // 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tender Wolf

Cool shots everyone! Morag, your ele looks like a candy cane.

hehe And Hotel, I like that ele.

Contestants are now free to post their outtakes in this thread! Stay tuned for voting results either later today or tomorrow, with assignment 2 shortly afterward!

Thank you Tender. :]
I can't wait for assignment 2 where I hopefully will get the chance to redeem myself.

tidus yumemiru · Dec 28, 2007, 12:24 AM // 00:24

whoa that one was a bit tougher then i thought it would be

so looking forward to the next assignment plus i have more time to dedicate to it now seeing as Christmas is over

LOL @ chicken of the seas pics and go the reindeer!

CasterOfShame27 · Dec 28, 2007, 12:31 AM // 00:31

Haha, hopefully I'll post some outtakes later. Love everyone's shots! And Hotel, I'm hoping I can redeem myself also, if I get the chance! Best of luck to everyone for results!

Toutatis · Dec 28, 2007, 01:26 AM // 01:26

As the assignment writeups weren't included in the main thread with the submitted shots, I will be posting mine here. It is rather long, so please bear with me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toutatis' assignment 1 writeup

In this assignment, I have tried to retell part of an old Yuletide story told in my faith: the Tale of Rimen, the Wizard of Winter.

A long, long time ago, when the world was young, there was no winter. There was no great cold to balance the great heat of summer, and without this balance the earth was beginning to deteriorate; the spirits of the earth grew ever wearier of supporting life without having the opportunity to rest.

At this time, there lived a young hydromancer named Rimen. His astonishing affinity for water, the lifeblood of the world, alerted him to the earth's anguish; upon realisation that a new balance must be created he set out towards the northern mountains - the only place in the world where the cold ruled, and where the spirits of ice made their home.

Braving the bitter chill of the high peaks, Rimen spent many moons communing with the ice spirits. He learned the secrets of spreading cold; how to slow that which moves, how to call crystals from the clouds, how to force the very air itself to solidify into cold, hard ice. When Rimen returned to the lowlands, he was a changed man.

Sensing the spirits of earth still crying out for respite, Rimen gathered all of his new power and released it in a single titanic blast of pure cold. At his touch, the trees immediately grew heavy with hoar and icicles hung from their branches, shining like quartz knives. Beneath his hands the lakes froze to ice and the ground became covered with a carpet of white, glittering in the sunlight like diamond dust. In that instant the world was frozen, and under the blanket of snow the spirits of earth could finally slumber and regain their energies.

Thus was the first winter, and although Rimen's life was consumed by the cold he released on that day his spirit lives on. Every year, the spirit of Rimen returns to paint the world in crystalline white, putting the earth to sleep until the warmth of spring comes; a reminder to all of us that the balance of nature must be maintained whatever the cost.

In this screenshot, I have tried to capture the part of the story where Rimen unleashes his burst of frozen energy. Deus is dressed in blues and golds, which traditionally represent water, along with trimmings made from very fine white fur - reminiscent of frost - to show Rimen's new abilities with ice. In the background, the scenery has already started to change under his influence; the still green trees are being choked by the weight of ice that has formed on their leaves, snow is falling and coating the ground, the lake has frozen solid, and icicles can be seen forming in the nearby cave. His left hand is held up, as if to wave it over the bare ground he is standing on to summon more snow down from the sky to coat the rock with bright, feathery flakes; not wanting any piece of ground to remain untouched as he spreads the cold that the world needs to gain a new balance of nature.

CasterOfShame27 · Dec 28, 2007, 01:34 AM // 01:34

Here's my little write-up that explains what's going on:

Quote:

"Holiday cheer? I think not. Even the slightest scent of peppermint gives Scarlet a migraine the size of Grenth's left claw."

Hotel · Dec 28, 2007, 01:34 AM // 01:34

Wow, Toutatis. That story is full of imagery. Its numbing.

Quote:

My entries are tired into the holidays through stress. We all know how stressful holidays can be so I would like to try my hand at portraying that to the best of my abilities.

The inspiration for this idea came through me being stuck in new york because of some crappy roads and returning home the day before the due date upon where i was struggling to come up with an idea - and then it struck me.

o_o, I just noticed I had a typo.. -_-'

Queen Kitiara · Dec 28, 2007, 02:28 AM // 02:28

Ok guys thank you so much for taking the time to post what u wrote ^.^ - gave me a lot of insight and wow Toutatis >.> cool story!

Clever work Caster and Hotel...sometimes I get a creative spark and it's always good to go try to cap your idea, but I always copy/paste my assignment and highlight what the main objective is to make sure I hit my mark cuz I although it's good to think out of the box, you have to make sure you are meeting the main task of the assignment. With that being said, I do think there was some confusion about the whole "anti-cheer" approach and I hope the judges take that into consideration.

Your mesmer's face looked beautiful (lighting) in her shot Caster, and Hotel the timing with the hand on Rosary's face must have been hard to cap! Don't give up guys! I see some good stuff in there and I'm betting the judges will let ya know what they hope you improve on ^.^

Good luck guys! I just hate that someone has to go already

CasterOfShame27 · Dec 28, 2007, 02:34 AM // 02:34

Aww thanks Kitiara! I'm glad to know you're watching out for us. I'm sure it won't get in the way too much, and everyone did so well, so problems really aren't necissary. We did what we did, and that's that.

Now to wait for results.

Hotel · Dec 28, 2007, 03:00 AM // 03:00

@ Kit:
As a matter of fact, yes it did take quite a while. It was either too high or too low and looked ridiculous. I had about.. 300 something or other screenshots that weren't just right. D:

Lets not forget: Everyone loves a BLOOPER!

From carrying those lovely present everyday, you're bound too pull some kind of muscle. Poor Rosary.

Heavenly Messanger · Dec 28, 2007, 07:31 AM // 07:31

Here's what i should have sent it, a shot of Ambriel seeing the first snow fall in Lion's Arch (not cropped) :

And here she is trying to catch some snow in her hands as i falls:

This was my other sad one, which i think is better than what i sent in:

Thing that really frustrates me is, I took all of these before i did my assignment shot. I could still be in the running

.

Oh well. I might continue to post here, we'll see.
Good luck everyone

tidus yumemiru · Dec 28, 2007, 08:09 AM // 08:09

lol aww u changed ur sig heavenly

The Grumple · Dec 28, 2007, 09:38 AM // 09:38

That first picture would have definately kept you in the running i think Heavanly

Morag D · Dec 28, 2007, 11:32 AM // 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geishe

Your shot would have won this week's challenge if you were in this contest! Its stunning!!

wow, thank you

aw Heavenly, that's so sad, I was bound to cheer you because you made a paragon! it's very difficult to make dark-skinned chars look good, because they always seem to be slightly grumpy - remember, the lighting is very important, especially for dark-skinned chars I know what I'm talking about

read the assignments carefully, and then try a mix between doing exactly what the judges will expect and your own interpretation - there's no right or wrong with that, it can work out perfectly or it doesn't

Shizoku Jin · Dec 28, 2007, 02:20 PM // 14:20

Theres my festive shot ^^ clash of the festive colors!!! and far too many sweets

~nymph~ · Dec 28, 2007, 07:37 PM // 19:37

here are some of my outtakes:

hehe I just couldn't resist

Dwayna stop putting bunny ears on me!

Nymph's hair was glitching

Nymph moaning in despair because her snowman melted

faf · Dec 28, 2007, 09:15 PM // 21:15

Hi everyone!

I am going to send an application for tyria's most wanted male 2, but it is the first time I will enter such a contest and was looking for feedback. Here are the pictures I got so far :
For the "favorite armor" picture :

I think this one is quite good, although I wanted to know : do you think it matters if the feets aren't in the picture? Just to make sure it is as perfect as possible.

For the "guild hall" picture (I have many takes, I am unsure yet if I will take one of these, and if yes which one):

I was suspicious about this one : I think the tree is taking too much attention and that we don't see my face enough.

I liked this one, but not more than that. I think it was a good shot but could have been better.

I am pretty sure I wont pick this one because there is a big empty space at the right of the picture, although if you see potencial in the picture tell me

.

I think this one was really good and matching the theme of the task. Feedback on how to improve it would be appreciated

For the "why are you unique" picture, don't have it yet (need to find a scene).

I am here because I would like to have some opinions about these shots. I would greatly appreciate if some of you would take the time to help me find my strengths/weaknesses (more interested into knowing my weaknesses) in my screenshots (example: do I put my character not enough in the front of the picture, do I crop badly... what am I doing wrong!).

I would also like to know which one of my "guild hall pictures" you people prefer and why.

Also... I know I am asking a lot, but if someone would accept to be my mentor to help me take better pictures/screenshots, I would be eternaly grateful.

thanks in advance

Geishe · Dec 29, 2007, 05:17 AM // 05:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by faf

I would also like to know which one of my "guild hall pictures" you people prefer and why.

I prefer 2 the most because theres nothing much you need to crop. Every other one is currently unfinished, crop them... they're also too busy. As well, set Anti-aliasing to 4x when you take shots. It'll lag, but it'll look better. As well, lighting is your friend, make sure you face the direction in which you will be most visible. Unless you want to create a darker mood. In general though, lighting is your best friend... I mean look at Amergin's shots and you'll see what amazing effects you can get through good lighting!

Example: (TNTS):

I think for now, just learn to crop nicely. Like the first picture on the beach, right now, its just too wide and unfocused. Just a 2 second crop job:

Makes it more focused and not as busy.

I like that youre playing with poses. Keep it up!

faf · Dec 29, 2007, 03:56 PM // 15:56

thanks you alot for all the constructive comments! I will for sure take them into consideration and will try to practice more, considering these weaknesses you have identified. If more wants to comment, feel free

Hotel · Dec 29, 2007, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Well, I definately took a risk with this assignment; hope it pays off.

CasterOfShame27 · Dec 29, 2007, 09:49 PM // 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotel

Well, I definately took a risk with this assignment; hope it pays off.

Risks can be really good. I just always try to remember this is about fun, and taking great screenshots. If you're not having fun with it, there's no use.