Yes, but first they were "attemptuous". They were actually making the effort to make something of value. As more bands found that a miss good be as good as a hit without all the work, it got very "pretentious" in a Spinal Tap kind of way. Out of reaction, Punk and New Wave became the pride of being, well, lets just say "unpolished". Perhaps looped displacement might be more accurate since it is being tiled. Yes, why not?

Get closer and use a wider lens. Just a suggestion. ; )

Beautiful kitchen scene, like the cover of a Cookbook. I think your fruit might be floating a bit. Way to go on a very homey atmosphere by texture juggling. deci6el

Congratulations to the winners...and the rest.! : ) It was a lot of fun.

Yeah, nice work, Cookienose! This challenge has a lot of Fun potential and if the numbers are there in entries could look very good edited together.

I didn't want to skip over your well thought out comments so belatedly here is my response: Zhann, I agree and disagree with your reply. To be sure, I have delighted in how people have had new interps of my work or enjoyed the way that others' work could be seen from different angles so clearly there, we agree, subjectivity flows freely and there's no stopping it. But on the other hand, if you're an artist that at one moment wants to communicate something specific then the choices have to be less ambiguous if you don't want to create ambiguity. Or FW, if you're an illustrator and there is a client and a product, like a book or a cereal box, there will be definite goals that need to be conveyed. As an illustrator, you won't choose a style that will conflict with the message. You wil always be more than an objective organic camera. So Zhann, where I disagree is that the story isn't subjective. If it is the story of Tristan und Isolde then you have definite requirements to adhere to. Subjectively you could choose to represent that story of True Love with Lima beans and cigarette butts, however I don't think the Art Director is going to approve it for print. You never know. Where am I going with this? I think, originally, I just wanted to be clear that I love pictures that live on their own visual merit, no title, no explanation, no alterior motive other than to be seen and appreciated or not. They have a welcome right to exist in my universe. But, if one is asked to tell a story, then there are criteria that must be satisfied just like any other challenge that occurs in the Forums. So, FW, the question was what makes a picture tell a story. And it seems that Everyone agrees that any and every picture can tell a story if the viewer wants to see one or make it up themselves. And it's my belief and I think, Brendan, agrees with me, that if you're trying to tell a specific story, like a movie condensed into one frame, you need dramatic action described by a visual lexicon. Hey, how 'bout that Deep Texture Editor, eh?

Brendan, you scare me for a minute! I thought that someone had gone back on their word and instead of declaring the winner on July 16.... I think what you're seeing at the top of the contest page are the previous 6 covers for Renderosity. Those aren't the winners of the "Story" contest.

Join with me now as we read from page 328 in the Book of Poser. It's a good place to start.

I agree with Zhann. You've got a lot of foreground that's not doing you any favors. Getting closer and lower will emphasize the contrast between the Big Dragon and the little guy. Who, btw, maybe eating sand very soon if I am reading the position of his right foot, correctly.

Ah, measurement, how does something so clinical carry such an emotional price-tag? Going along with what has already been said above, I'll add that two aspects need to be adressed when leaving comments. One, what is that person's commitment to developing. Impossible to know if you don't know who posted. I think there are a lot of people who enjoy spending the time to make a picture and just enjoy someone saying something nice about it. Technical suggestions about ambient light and noise filters kill their enthusiasm for what, to them, is just an amusing hobby. Others are totally psycho about absorbing it all and want the whole naked brutal truth. Which brings me to the second point. Some people just want the truth in plain english without the emotional ambiguity of "this Sucks" or even "this Rocks!" If you are into learning and improving, having a clear criticism, pro or con is better than an emotional outburst. And I understand that sometimes that's all the reviewer has to offer.

Brendan, I liked your response or at least I think it addresses what I was trying to come to grips with yesterday. A Rosity Judge could come along and say, "No, deci6el, you got it so wrong. We just meant that EVERY picture tells a story so cough up what you'd like to do and we'll interpret it for you and if it makes the magazine look good we'll put it on the cover." I don't think they meant that. There are some great images submitted that would make attractive magazine covers. Attractive as in pulling someone closer to the newsstand to get a better look at the magazine. But I don't think they tell a story. Yes, I could make a story out of it, you could, and on but that doesn't make Them a good storyteller. It might make them good "emotion synthesizers" . I think there is value in evoking mood but one isn't neccesarily the other. A story needs a beginning, middle and end. What's happening here? What happened before and as Claymor said way back up top of this thread, "What will happen next?" And to give that kind of information you have to use the tools that Brendan was talking about, imo. And since this thread sort of developed into an informal survey of our experiences with the educational system, I'll add: I had few good teachers but the ones that were Great changed my life forever but only because I was willing to get it.

geez, catlin, you threw that rock in another thread. Are you going to explain yourself or are you just gonna ring everybodies doorbell and run? Seriously, what's up?

Oh, boy! Here we go. And yet, Zhann, there is the idea that my Art is created as my own self expression. It exists because I. by my time and effort brought it from an idea into the world of form. It does not cease to be Art any more or any less if you like it or hate it. For my work to evolve it only requires that I continue to live. If by "evolve" you mean that I change my work based on the pos/neg votes by the majority then it sounds like "design by commitee". I believe that Art is a stand one takes by displaying choices, my choices. Others can vote all they want but I have no agreement with them to change my work to please anyone but myself. Now, if I want to communicate with another person, like telling a story, just for example : ) my signal must be clear enough to be understood. I paint "Lonliness" and someone sees "Happiness". Clearly communication has not been established. It's ok if they want my picture to mean "Happiness" but they didn't get me. And if asked to tell a story with a picture and by looking, one doesn't get the story being told, who do you hold accountable? The transmitter or the receiver? Thanks for the reply, Zhann. And Claymor, I agree with you (which is why I asked the question) there are some OutStanding! pictures submitted but I believe to tell a story certain elemental requirements must be satisfied.

When you're on the net you're talking to the world (you know that) Unless the question is about fast upload times you will always be posting at a time when people are looking at the galleries. Or are you only are interested in comments from people in the United States? : ) Australia

I have only run into that problem since I bought Sanctum Arts "Legion" character. I thought I didn't have enough memory, but perhaps there is an internal call to a missing file... or both. I'm in a similar mystery right now. It's not a commen problem (for me) and my question for you would be: What character(s) are you using when you get the message? Is it a big load or could it be calling for a missing/corrupted file? deci6el mac 733mhz running ProPack with 800 meg RAM