Hey everyone! I'm in with the contest results! Yes, I know I am pretty late with this announcement, BUT, now that I am here with the results, here goes.

Oh, and by the way, I have decided that, since there were a lot of great entries, that I evaluated them. That is, I will provide my opinions, including my praise and critique. Yes, critique. We're all rising artists and believe it or not, we all need advice now and again. If you don't like what my critique is for your work, ask me to remooove it.

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Ok, here goes, starting with the 3rd place winner:

#3

drew a total of four entries actually, however I felt that this was her best, so I will specifically focus on this one. Now, she has a particularly different brand of humor and artwork. It very often tends to lean into the mature side, however it's also quite funny at the same time. Her artwork, typically consisting of pencil work, shows things at a more simple, comic sort of way. This work is no exception, as she has quite a humorous joke with my personal favorite character of hers: Horseradish. The picture is actually really hilarious, and well designed too! Her dialog's right on the mark I believe. The drawing itself is pretty well done overall, though at the same time I recommend being perhaps a bit more neat with the lines and division between frames: for example some of the background lines in the first panel dip rightwards into the second. Other then that though, this is a really awesome entry! Congrats on making 3rd place, well deserved!

YOU WON:
You received the prize of: A black and white request of your choice or a stationary DA avatar. Be sure to specify which you want so I can get to work on it!

#2

's entry is just plain COOL. This is an artist who specializes in a different brand of design: Crochet and Yarn. Thus, many of her entries are these really awesome looking real-life designs, models and tangible objects. These are really tough to make I hear, which makes it all the more impressive. She creates using both famous fictional characters and her own designs, the results being nice and varied, and this one is no exception. It caught me off surprise, but it's a pretty nice reference to a very classic movie “Nightmare before Christmas”. It's short, simple, and sweet in my opinion, so quite frankly I am left very impressed! I am not very good at critiquing a field out of my expertise, buuuut... the ears to feel a little asymmetrical. Maybe it's just the angle from how we are looking at this however, and that one appears to be flopped over a bit. Perhaps it's just he quality of the picture. It certainly does not take away from the design, so perhaps if anything I'd recommend being a bit more creative with your picture. Perhaps take a different angle, be creative with lighting: perhaps colored lights or dynamic lights, just to show off your works to make 'em look more appealing. Seriously though, you did a pretty sweet job here! Congrats on making 2nd, this totally deserves it!

YOU WON!
You received the prize of: A colored request of your choice or an animated DA avatar. Be sure to specify which you want so I can get to work on it!

#1

's work is seriously impressive. He has a lot of characters, a lot of different plots, a different style and approach to each “universe” he works on, and he manages to update nearly daily. Not very often you'll find someone so dedicated to their work honestly! He's funny, but at the same time he doesn't have to resort to crude humor, which is definitely refreshing from the typical mindset you see in a lot of cartoons which seem to be that “gross” or “mature” is the only way to be funny. His particular entry comes from his “A Monster Thing” story, abbreviated AMT (Or as I have mistakingly called it in the past, ATM ). His characters appear in costume, and since some of them already are monsters, they take on a scarier form. I particularly like how he handled his human character however: the lighting and style is really well pulled off for a character that visually looks like a mess, as he should be seeing that he is a zombie. I would like to note however, this the lower character in the bat suit blends in with the big green monster's suit. I would suggest just a little more contrast between the two monsters. In all honesty though, it still works nicely: the characters are pretty well drawn indeed! Congrats on making 1st, a job well done sir!

YOU WON!
You received the prize of: A colored in simple animation or a full colored and shaded request of your choice. Do let me know which you want so I can get started!


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Sorry for those of you who didn't win. Your entries were all really cool though, I have to say I am very pleased with the turnout. Now to honor those who did not make the cut:

Honorable Mentions


draws in a much more simple style. His character style usually consists of small, big eyed characters who are usually drawn very cutely regardless of personality. It actually feels very much like the garfield style overall. His works are very often short comics, with short and simple plots, but it's this simplicity, coupled together with light-hearted humor and a fun cast of characters that makes it worth reading if you are into basic cartooning. His entry was no exception to this, as it has the simple plot with the small and cute characters. It's also very pleasant and has a nostalgic feel to it, reminding anyone back to the days of trick or treating as a kid. The only particularly noticeable thing I'd like to critique on, putting aside character style and marker-work, is perhaps the fact that the text up top is digital vs. your traditional drawing. And yes, I know I am guilty of it, I do it all the time with my comics, however it does seem to be very noticeable: it stands out and distracts me a bit. But, that aside, I do like the feel of the picture: it's warm and friendly and nostalgic. Thumbs up to you good sir!


's style feels akin to more modern cartoons actually. The characters are well drawn and hilarious when it comes to their unique personalities. Even his non-colored works really, really rock. He also likes to draw automobiles, doing so with pretty nice detail and style I might add, so if any of you are fans of cars or anything with wheels, this man's your artist! In a way, I feel he combines techniques from both Chandraraj and JimmyCartoonist, in that his style is both simple and cartoony while also having some more mature humor, albeit much more subtlety. This reflects into his entry, which is pretty hilarious, actually feeling like it's a clip from a newspaper's comic section. The characters are pretty funnily done, and you really have to appreciate the pac-man reference in the back, it's subtle yet quirkily well done. If I were to give any critical analysis on this, I would have to point at the background. Like me, he draws using pencils, and at times it can lead us to be overconfident because we can fix our mistakes, the result being that some mistakes are overlooked and unchecked. While not exactly mistakes mind you, the fence on the hill looks a little varying in height, and the action lines may have faired a bit better if perhaps traced via a ruler. But, since this is the background, they are not very big issues. A pretty nice entry!


's style is also quite different, perhaps even more-so then most of the contestants. He specializes in fan-art most of the time, specifically the ever-popular fan-art of the pokemon series. Yes, and I am certain everyone knows that it is. He, like everyone else here, has a lot of characters, many of them on the rather “big” side, and anyone can tell what that means if you know him well enough. His main character, unlike some of the entrants who do not have “main” characters, is a griffin (or gryphon, as many people seem to call them for some reason) named Dobie Takahama, who appears in his entry along with his other main-most characters named Dana, who I... think is a wolf. Anyway, his entry is relatively simple, carving out a pumpkin. It invokes a special nostalgic feel to it that brings that usual fuzzy feeling to those who enjoy the holiday. I would like to provide a suggestion, however, concerning the shading. I am not very certain where the light source is in this one, since the characters are shaded very basically and the background doesn't seem to have any shading. Also, if those two lights outside are stars, they may do well to be a lit less strong as far as lights go. Aside from these couple issues however, I do believe this is a pretty nice piece: the work has a lot of heart to it, plus it's not often we see the ritual of pumpkin carving in pictures. We usually see the aftermath, but almost never are we allowed at a rather “behind the scenes” look. Nicely done!


is not a visual artist: rather he is a writer. He follows many different fandom by the looks of things, and admittedly I haven't read that many of your works because properly reading, reviewing, and then critically analyzing them takes a lot of time. What I do gather however is that he has a huge variety of styles, ranging from light and innocent to darker toned and downright nasty works some times, in the good way that is. His work today is a story about, what else: zombies. It's very dark-tones, so it's a mature read (sorry if you fellows cannot read it by the way). Basically, a group of characters attempt to stop an evil fellow who is controlling a hoard of zombies. Drama here and there, progress, a story climax, and an ultimate conclusion. A nice read, though as for everyone else, I do have my critique. The characters felt like they were very good at fighting the zombies, almost effortlessly, except for one particular point where they fail to save a group of people. It's not terribly noticeable, though it provides too clear that they will succeed in their goals. Secondly, the main villain's motivates were a little unclear. He's somewhat of a “mwa ha ha, take over the world” guy with a zombie speciality. I do think that a little bit of focus onto him and his character, as well as further character development would have made the story a tad bit more compelling. Nonetheless, this is a pretty thrilling read with action and horror. He placed a lot of effort into this work, so if you enjoy a strong read, I recommend his work.


's style leans towards the anime approach. He does have some cartoon qualities to his work, in a way that I can describe best as a sonic approach, taking anime and cartoons and combining them (and yes, I'll temporarily halt my sonic biases for this). His picture, which he provided, has some of these examples, with the more cartoonish animal creature and anime-esque human character. A picture considerably typical to the halloween approach, taking a rather “mischievous” story to the drawing. Overall it's not that bad indeed, the detail in the pumpkin vines is pretty impressive for one. I also have to say he handled the coloring quite well, I know how it can be very difficult to keep your drawing patterns consistent for long periods of time, which he did well enough I believe. The only think I would recommend, perhaps, is to try less rigid postures. The characters may per chance look more believable if they aren't quite as still while they stand. Not a big issue, though I would recommend stronger variety. Not a bad entry indeed!


takes a more realistic approach. I'll be honest and say I don't check his work too often (sorry about that), but that aside I noticed a semi-realistic approach to his worm, such as a nice amount of detail when it comes to character anatomy and style. However, on the other hand, they also still have a nice amount of a cartoon feel to them, which actually provides a pretty unique resulting contrast that works well for his work. As for his work itself, it's actually pretty pleasant! It reminds me a bit of the work one would expect to find in a children's book. Lighthearted while staying to the theme of the holiday, I really appreciate that approach! Some of the characters in it feel like a homage towards mario characters, such as the ghost that resembles a boo a bit. The only major thing I have to critique on is the background. The coloring job does feel just a tad bit disorganized, so I'd recommend taking more of a consistent approach towards how you brush or draw or however it may be. It's not a bad thing though, and in some ways it actually provides the work with a bit of charm in it's own way. Really nice stuff I think!


is a relatively newly known artist so me, so my knowledge of his work is somewhat limited. However, I do think that is work is pretty nice. It definitely has a cartoony feel to it, in a 80's, 90's kind of style which is pretty nice as far as a nostalgic design goes. His works are a bit simple, akin somewhat to the simple yet effective approach JimmyCartoonist has. However, his works are really quite hilarious, in some rather subtle ways, so if you are in the mood for simple yet fun work, I'd recommend it. Anyway, his particular entry has three characters of his in various costumes. The scene is simple enough, showing a laboratory with a igor possum, mad scientist cat, and a frankenstein duck (YES). I do like it overall, it's really creative and fancy. I would however, as a recommendation, say perhaps to add a more shading, especially since's it low-key lighting. Perhaps just on the ground where the fellows stand. Hm, well, it's not too grand of an issue to be frank. I really like the other things you had, such as the character expressions, and that really, really well done title graphic. Really nice work sir!


took a different approach as he posted his costume itself as the entry! Now, he is not known for his drawing, but he is a pretty talented writer. He mostly writes fan-works, such as his recently project for a forum called Yoshi's Corner, or YC. If you are a Yoshi fan of any sort, I recommend a read. Anyway, he decided to have a reference to the popular DS game, so he went as Phoenix Right, a really excellent way to take on the holiday. He pulls off the character really well, both physically and even expression-ally, which had me laughing in some of his panels. I bet anyone who got the reference had a huge kick out of the costume. Well, now honestly... I don't think I can critique this one. I don't see any visual flaws, but this is maybe because I have not played the games, nor am I good at judging based on costumes alone. Sorry dude... but heh, I like this a lot. Well done I think!

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Now then everyone, I am not sure when I can get these prizes in. I have a lot to do these next few weeks, so I will be busy for a long time to come. However, I will work on them diligently and to the best of my effort. Thanks for participating everyone, I hope to do this again next year!