I can see why they chose the winners that they did.
The first place one shows a different style of art, as well as a different look at the character. Rather than a menacing or frightening combat-esque shot, it's a softer look, with a more twilight feel rather than a night/darkness feel.
the second place shot is more dynamic and shows a moving scene, the trees almost seem alive, the whole scene looks tense, as if sitting on the edge of something. The character's pose suggests that he is preparing or apprehensive of something, it just seems like a very dynamic and alive picture
and the third place is a more abstract style, again, a different view, and has a much softer, and almost contemplative feel, showing depth in the concept.
Garygill: as to why I believe yours wasn't selected. It's an amazing piece of artwork, that much is to be sure, but there were tons of other people just as good who submitted, so instead of looking at how technically sound it is, they had to look at teh character of it. And yours, unfortunately, is not very dynamic by comparison. the pose isn't very interesting, there's not much going on, and the atmosphere is exactly what most other people probably drew, bleak, dark, dark, etc...
I think they were looking for pieces that stood out against the rest, that portrayed things differently or dynamically, judging by their selections.
Also, lol at how his scar is on the left side in all the entries, but in the contest details, the pictures show the scar on the right side.
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