Final Entry Feedback

[Munin]

This used to be a regular thing we did, and I think it was great. I know I certainly learned a lot from it. So without further ado:

Abandoned Caravan (extraevildave): I love this entry, from a thematic, an execution, and a creativity standpoint. I love the use of the Luigi toy (my sons have several Cars toys, and I'm definitely eyeing them covetously now). I also really like the color and texture of the rust, but the one critique I would offer is that the rust needs more blending/streaking; the edges between the rusted and non-rusted portions are maybe too sharply defined. Finally, the desert plants are a nice touch, and really give the whole piece a very evocative "middle of nowhere" feel.

Ruined Tower (Alabastero): Full confession - Hirst Arts stuff generally leaves me cold. I don't know what it is, maybe the sameness of texture of the blocks, or the way they fit almost too precisely, I'm not sure. That said, I really like the composition of this piece. The double columns, the fact that it's two levels (great from a playability standpoint, which I rate highly in terrain projects), and the fact that the side gallery is modular are all really neat. I also love the way you've done the ruined bits; the masonry actually looks broken and crumbling rather than just scored or cut, and this really contributes to the ambience of the piece. I'd have liked to have seen a bit more variability in color to the stonework, but I like the way you've turfed the piece, and I feel like all of the greenery (brownery?) is in the right places.

Devastated Room of Devastation (Blocky): This one just makes me smile. It is clear that something "Very Bad ™" happened here. I love the little details like the staining on the floor near the potted plants and the bloody knife on the table. The only part of this piece I'm less enthused about is the giant spider-web. It almost looks like an afterthought, and doesn't really match the rest of the piece all that well. I think the really outstanding parts of this piece are the floor (I like both the mosaic tile and the tattered, rotten carpet) and the wainscoting. The carpet could maybe have been hit with something to lessen its "fuzziness" (as it's just slightly out of scale), but the overall effect is very cool.

Great entries from everyone!

[SethDrallitoc]

Abandoned Caravan (extraevildave): Another great little abandoned/desert piece from the master of abandoned/desert pieces. The weathering is phenominal as always and once again - plant choices and placement leave me so very envious of your skills. The car looks a little too cartoony - I think the Pixarness still shows through in the lines somehow. It's especially jarring given the lifelike quality of everything else.

Ruined Tower (Alabastero): I don't mean for this to sound rude or nasty but I have a couple of issues with this entry.
1. It's basically a kit. I don't think enough was done to really make it your own.
2. The WIP thread is basically non-existant. I understand that it was started and finished in a short time, but some insight into the casting process (especially for those of us who have never used any Hirst Arts products) would have been really useful. These competitions are meant to highlight the work and create useful guides that show your creative problem solving.
While the finished piece looks great - I can't help but feel that it cheated.

Devastated Room of Devastation (Blocky): I loved Blocky's idea of creating a table-top game based on the "Thief" world. This room certainly fits the bill. I love the wainscotting and the tiled floor. The shelves and the stains on the floor. I feel the cobwebs and carpet spoil it a little. The scale is off in both cases and again like EED's entry the realism around them makes it especially jarring.

Well done all those who managed to get their entries finished in time.

[Blocky]

Abandoned Caravan (extraevildave): I like this a lot. Very simple but heaps of detail. Reminds me (yet again...) that maybe I should do something smaller. Plants are fanstastic. I could potentially have seen this being a tiny bit more successful without the car (maybe have the van up on blocks or something). Great entry.

Ruined Tower (Alabastero): It's a nice piece and would be good to game on, but I feel like you could have done a little more "from scratch" to make it your own. Maybe sub out the stone staircase and build a rotten wooden one? Just some little details to add some excitement.

Devastated Room of Devastation (Blocky): Clearly the best thing that's ever been built since the dawn of time.... /kidding. It didn't turn out quite as good as I was hoping. What's worse is the webs were always going to be there and they weren't an afterthought. I was going to include a big spider and completely forgot and now I can see that the scale is off. Which is a shame because I enjoyed making them. Also agreed on the carpet... I did what I could but it was a fairly thick piece of felt and to be fair I was too busy/lazy to go fabric shopping...

[Alabastero]

Abandoned Caravan (extraevildave):
This looks so cool. Everything is either done from scratch or perfectly converted. The overall look is very thematic, I can nearly hear the desert wind howling

Ruined Tower (Alabastero): This is my own piece and I just entered it to bring a bit of life to the whole competition thing, not with the intention to actually win. As it was finished in three days from pre-cast blocks and was basically just glued, painted and flocked it's indeed more like a kit than real terrain building. Perhaps I can spice this thing up in the future, and I hope I can enter something more evolved in the next competition.

Devastated Room of Devastation (Blocky):
I can't help, but I'm very intrigued by the whole set-up. First of all it's something different than the usual piece of terrain. Second it tells a story with all the little details. I like that very much. Looking at the room you can still here the victim scream, it feels like diving straight into a horror movie scene. Very well done!

[BlueMeander]

I'm a bit late in commenting here, but who doesn't like feedback/compliments (even late feedback/compliments?)

Abandoned Caravan (extraevildave): I have to say that I used to curl my nose at deserts. Deserts in general, desert art, even retro desert-y stuff was totally unappealing. But you've taught me how to like it. (Well, that and my fondness for Night Vale.) This is another wonderful addition. I wanted to read that you'd made that cactus because it's a real selling point here for me, but your rust technique won me over in an instant. The inclusion of sand is what really makes it, although I would have liked to see it trail off into thinner lines in some places. Most of the rust edges stop pretty abruptly after a wide section of rust, but I feel like where I see wide rusted areas, I also see little nooks and crannies of rust that continue in all the cracks around it. I'd like to pay more attention to your car and other details, but I'm just too engaged in enjoying your trailer. I think a little something around the windows as seals would give it just that little bit of finish, but overall the whole thing is great.

Ruined Tower (Alabastero): Admittedly, I've never heard of Hirstarts. I'm not really well-educated on the dungeon/gaming terrain scene beyond what I pick up from people here. Though it does explain how you were able to make such a big piece with such bold shapes in such a short period of time. Overall, I did feel that the scene was dramatic and the paint job was pretty cool with an almost metallic feel, but I'd wished there was more variety or detail to the flocking/mossiness you did. But, considering your motivation with the piece-- with the idea of just adding to the diversity of the competition, I can understand the lack of detail. I think if you do continue to tweak it in the future it will be an amazing finished piece!

Devastated Room of Devastation (Blocky): I love a good room scene! So it was from a game you're working on? It must be really cool to see something digital that you're a part of manifested in a physical form. I see a lot of things in here that I like such as the broken glass, the stains on the tile, and the moss growing from the cracks on the floor. I feel like the moss in the cracks of the floor suggest that the room may have been open to moisture and the elements and so it makes me feel like maybe the wainscoting could do with some discoloration to match some of the watery patches and drips on the walls. What's best about this piece though is that I feel like there's a story here and one that I could possibly trace if I started inspecting the details. It definitely inspires you to want to look more and figure out what went on. Or maybe just to leave because whatever made a web that big is probably scary.