FEBRUARY CONTEST RESULTS: OCTOPUS

Lee White · 11 Mar 2018, 04:52

Ok guys, you really killed me with this one. I went back and forth on it and really struggled with narrowing this one down. We had our highest numbers of entries and they were freaking awesome!

But in order to not have 100 winners, I had to make some tough decisions. It's always hard to do because sometimes superior technique will push something into the winners circle, other times it's just a great concept. Most of the time now it's a good mix of those two things. Sometimes I like watching pro sports because the winner is always so clear cut: Whoever scored the most points wins, etc. But here it's not as clear, but we do the best we can.

So let's get to it, here's the results for this month:

Winner:

Carrie Copa @carriecopa
Carrie's wonderful octopus blimp thingy hits the number one spot this month. I just loved the palette and the overall concept. It has a very "Lovecraft" feeling and really sparked my interest to learn more about this world. Great job Carrie!

2nd place:
Johanna Kim @Johanna-Kim
This image looks so professional in terms of concept and technique. Very creative solution and focusing on emotion of the characters is always going to be an interesting and adds to the storytelling.

3rd Place:
Sarah LuAnn Perkins @Sarah-LuAnn
Very cool image. The style here is on point and the concept is hilarious. I'd buy this on a t-shirt any day. Note: PLEASE MAKE THIS INTO A T-SHIRT!

Again, this was super difficult and any of the following images could have made it into the top three spots as well.

Honorable Mention: (In no particular order)

**Braden Hallet @Art-of-B **
Love this concept and technique. Sort of reminds me of Jake Parker (which is a good thing!)

Simona Ceccarelli @smceccarelli
What a fun and unexpected concept. Amazing work Simona!

Megan Stringfellow @stringfellowart
I saw this one evolve on the forums here and knew it was a good one from the start.

Gary Wilkinson @Gary-Wilkinson
This would make a great kids book image. Really love the mark making and the composition!

Eunji Jung @EunJi-Jung
Eunji has been doing some great work and I'm starting to recognize the style each month. I wouldn't be surprised if one makes it into the winners circle soon...

Denise Cassano
Beautiful image and use of a spot color. Reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg. Anytime you get mentioned with a 3 time Caldecott winning illustrator you know you are doing solid work!

Jake Kalsbeek @jakekalsbeek
Awesome image with a very narrative setup. I'd like to see more of this story!

Leotine Gaasenbeek @Leontine
Charming concept and technique. Leotine really nailed the color balance here and the overall styling is very nice!

Thats it for now. Thanks to everyone who submitted. Keep up the hard work and I look forward to seeing what you guys do next! : )

-Lee

evilrobot · 11 Mar 2018, 00:53

Congrats to the winners really beautiful images.

Jon Anderson · 11 Mar 2018, 01:23

Congrats! These were all fantastic images!

lmrush · 11 Mar 2018, 01:37

Congratulations to all !!!

stringfellowart · 11 Mar 2018, 03:49

Two unknown images are (in order) by @smceccarelli and @Gary-Wilkinson
Congrats guys! I can't image judging this one. Brownie for @Lee-White for the job well done.

Gary Wilkinson · 11 Mar 2018, 03:55

@lee-white Sorry I forgot to add my name onto it. The octopuses attacking the pirates is mine (Gary Wilkinson)

Eli · 11 Mar 2018, 04:04

@Lee-White "How to Wear and Octopus" is from Simona Ceccarelli

Eli · 11 Mar 2018, 04:07

Yeah, I can't imagine trying to judge this one!! THese were all so great. Congratulations to EVERYONE who entered and was awesome!!

Lee White · 11 Mar 2018, 04:53

Thanks guys! Contest results have been updated with the names.

paulobordon · 11 Mar 2018, 14:39

Congrats to everyone! It was a great challenge!

holleywilliamson · 11 Mar 2018, 14:46

Congrats to the winners! There were so many great entries!

Jason Bowen · 11 Mar 2018, 18:25

I was robbed! Only joking! the standard is really high, but I am gunning for the next competition

braden H · 11 Mar 2018, 20:22

I got an honourable mention! Hooray! That's a lot more than I was expecting considering the other entries.

Thanks for hosting these monthly contests. They're pretty fun.

bnewman · 11 Mar 2018, 20:45

Great job everyone! Some really nice work here.

nasvikdraws · 11 Mar 2018, 20:49

Great job guys. Congrats for the high quality work!

Johanna Kim · 11 Mar 2018, 22:06

@lee-white Thanks for 2nd place and your positive feedback. Means the world to me, and is very encouraging. Has the critique component gone away?

P.S. Congrats to all the artists that were recognized. There were so many awesome submissions.

lindasilvestri · 12 Mar 2018, 01:20

Tough job judging all of these wonderful images! Congrats to everyone!

Sarah LuAnn · 12 Mar 2018, 02:58

Wow! Third place means a lot when there were so many amazing entries. I’m so flattered!

For the record, I do want to make a t shirt. I would like to make an actual linocut of this image and print it on various things (cards, shirts) someday. But first I need sleep .

stringfellowart · 12 Mar 2018, 03:48

@sarah-luann sleep with little ones? What is that?

artwithashley · 12 Mar 2018, 05:28

Loved all the submissions it was so fun to see all the styles and concepts! Congrats to all the winners.

@Sarah-LuAnn - I would love to see your lino after you are done! I really loved the beautiful lines in your work.

@stringfellowart - tired moms unite!!