The travelling companions contest winners

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Sheharzad-Arshad's avatar
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How the winners were selected:
The goal of this contest was to be able to determine three distinct personalities from a single image (could be done in any style as long as the personalities were obvious). Everyone has a different style and the contest was open to use any style, so the judging is based on the key factor - how easy it was to determine three distinct personalities. The three personalities needed to be the ones from the travelling companion story. The characters needed to be portrayed must be an explorer, a chef and an annoying storyteller. Easiest way to portray personality of a character without relying on words, symbols or costumes is by carefully selecting their pose, the posture of their body and facial expressions. For example an explorers pose and posture might look more daring and heroic compared to a chef. A chef might have a big belly, slouched posture or hunch back because he's always carrying food around. Someone that needs to be portrayed as annoying may have a more clumsy posture. But there are just a few examples and there are many ways to portray character personalities from a single drawing. Since the viewer needs to be able to determine a lot from a single picture sometimes going with common stereotypes works wonders.

Winners:
First place prize $200
 by PillowRabbit
Why?
I don't even need to look at the full image (Although I did). I can determine three completely distinct personalities just by looking at the thumbnail. That's because the silhouette of their poses are very nicely selected. They seem well spaced out so that each pose can be read extremely easily. Very obvious to tell who the explorer is because of his heroic pose with his chest out and throwing one arm out to point towards new adventures. Even without a sword and cape you would be able to tell this guy was really excited about adventures just from his pose. Also he is put higher in the scene than the other characters so that the viewer is forced to look up at him and get a sense of his awesome power. The lowest head level in the scene is the chef. If I looked at only the silhouette of these three characters I would have no doubt about which one loves food the most. Even without the apple in his hand you could tell from his lazy expression, plump belly and slouched posture that he simply enjoys to sit and eat. Not as much into exploring but still his face is looking up at the explorer showing that he has an interest in following the leader and is content with being a follower as long as he gets to enjoy eating a nice apple every few minutes. For the third character if I had to decide who was the most inexperienced travel companion in the group, it would definitely have to be the one that is the most shocked and surprised at everything. There is nothing more annoying than an inexperienced travel buddy. He is also the only one drawn with his mouth wide open. If I had to look at this drawing and decide which one of the three talks non-stop I would pick the only one with his mouth wide open. Even their ears add to their personalities. The explorer's ears are the most straight as if they are tensed up and ready for adventure. The chef's ears are slouched down and chubby just like the rest of him and the annoying one's ears are the only ones that are the most bendy and curvy as if there is no order to them. Or as if they were too clumsy to decide what shape they should take. Congratulations!

Second place prize $100
 by Ritualist
Why?
Now here is a scene completely different from the previous piece in that they are all sitting yet I can determine their personalities just by looking at the silhouette of their body shapes. The explorer has a strong build with mostly straight lines. Even though they are all sitting down for the night, his posture is still more attentive than the others. As if he's ready for trouble. Nothing can surprise him. Even his ears are stiff and straight as if they are anticipating trouble. Even if he wasn't sharpening his sword I would be able to tell who the most attentive one in the group is. His posture and pose make him the most prepared for anything that could happen. Like an experienced explorer. The chef is making good use of cartoon stereotypes. Not only does he have a fun plump belly even his ears and knees are bigger than the rest of the group. He is more relaxed than the explorer since his face is looking down. He seems to have an unimpressed expression as if he cooks so often that he remembers all the recipes without having to put too much attention into the food. At the same time he is not as concerned about his surroundings as the explorer since his eyes are not squinting as much as the explorer and looking down at the food in the pot. The annoying storyteller once again is the only one with his mouth wide open as if he's spinning some crazy tales. The unimpressed expressions of the other two add to the fact that his story might not be very interesting at all. Everything about this guys silhouette says he's the clumsy one in the group. His ears are the most clumsy. His whiskers are in irregular shapes. His teeth are not normal like the other two. His hands are waving about like a crazy person in comparison to the other two. Even his shirt looks the most torn and unpleasant although even without the shirt you would know who is who. Although the silhouettes of their body shapes and poses could still be improved by exaggerating them more, if you stood these three in a lineup it would be very easy to determine their personalities without having to rely on the costumes or their belongings. Congratulations!

Third place prize $50
 by Chocolace
Why?
I feel the shapes of these characters were selected very wisely. The explorer is the most stiff and straight as if he's ready to go explore at any moment. His expression is very confident and even his ears stand tall and straight. In comparison the chef has nice round chubby ears. She looks the most fluffy and friendly out of the three as if she finds great pleasure in making food for the whole group. Her body posture is also more hunched. She almost looks like a big ball of fur. Easy to determine that she's the one in the group that enjoys eating the most. The storyteller's ears are curvy but not necessary floppy. Not attentive like the explorer and not short and friendly looking like the chef. His posture looks like he's not sure where he's going. His expression looks like he's confused. Doesn't look as friendly as the chef or as daring as the explorer. Also he's the only one with his mouth open. Makes it look like he's usually the one that's doing all the talking. At the same time his confused expression and pose give us an insight that none of that talk might be helpful to the group. I still feel that the pose of the chef and storyteller could be made a little different from each other. Also even though they all have very distinct personalities I don't necessarily get the sense that the storyteller might have an annoying personality. Congratulations!

Why wasn't my work selected?
Although I received some really beautiful submissions, I wasn't able to determine three completely distinct personalities by looking at the silhouettes of their poses, body shapes, postures and expressions without having to rely on costumes and other items.

Congratulations to the winners! I'll contact you individually about your prizes.
© 2016 - 2024 Sheharzad-Arshad
Comments7
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@Chocolace's artwork, reminded me of the Fantastic Mr.Fox film's art style.