Reply To: ONE PART, MANY CHARACTERS contest……

[Herr D]

Characterizing this week’s competition: genre portraiture. K=Keric, C=ChristieS
C’s background was sparse, but enough. K didn’t make one. For backstory, it was actually a lot closer. K made a minimalist blurb, though evocative. C went storybook dustjacket notes. While I DID want to see the clerk photographing Stroganar and hear about the licensing process, I wanted to know more about the tribe, its shaman, and how it stays hidden—do they just get shaggier every winter, or do they have tusk problems? She won the category. 

For Items-story, another tie. Both artists made the items important enough to the picture—one by mystique and drama, and the other by simply a sense of belonging.

The items: Every item was used for one point. Every item was well-placed and belonged for the second point. I’m all about the misuses. I am pleased to see there were no bare twosies this time around. Let’s start with the insignia: As C’s staff head, it actually looked slightly out of place. I had to interpret it as mystical paint and/or energy buildup, and it still looked cool, so it kept a 3. K’s use of an insignia as insignia plus tats – well, ordinarily that wouldn’t have struck me as a misuse. In THIS context, I’m reminded of the military’s practice of putting five glasses pockets on uniforms (one on each limb and one on the torso,) so that if all your limbs are blown off, you can still put your glasses on. It sounds like a joke, but isn’t. What I saw there was a demonstration of the dangers IBH personnel are going to be facing. A military-style protocol of labeling. That item tied.

The top item is where began to get interesting. C used it as a headdress. It’s a good one. Still a garment for a 3. K used it as a top – and then masked it on rather cleverly as legwear and bracer / glove / cuff layers. He used the whole thing once, and then used pieces as other items with a bridging mask. That is actually not the easiest thing to work out. That’s a 4.

Then there’s that braid. The implantation in the top was too good to pass up. C put it in as a ceremonial / magical gem, and K put it in as an Iron Man-style power source. Both of those would’ve gotten a 4. THEN K added another misuse, an ocular implant. Boosted him to a 5.

C edged out K in the Emotional category with a more complicated pose construction. He’s partially braced, be it against the wind or his age or magical pressure or his tribal responsibility. I can easily imagine it wasn’t easy for him.

Bells, the macro stuff—placement was great in both pics, C did some great work on shading and lighting, I’d have given her a 5 if I didn’t think she could do better with outline color on the limbs. K was uneven there, though that might have been the item’s shadow on the face. On top of that, K’s windswept and shredded lower cape looked wrong for an official document picture.

Whistles, the micro stuff—C’s tusk and toenail work was great, for her that didn’t get a 5 for the jar of stars in the snowflakes. That seems picky, now that I’m typing about it, but I had trouble with it. K’s placement of the sword is what drew my attention. It blocks the parallel circle of the legwear. It looks exactly like the kind of thing a bounty hunter would do, not thinking it would make the outfit designer cringe. Realistic touch.

Oh, I gotta say: C? I figured mammoths would go unreferenced here. That’s like the elimination of a few degrees of separation, there. Your extra point was well-earned.
Pick 3, ChristyS, set a deadline. You win the round.

Backstory score:….K3…….C4
Bkgd score:……….…..K0…….C3
Item TOP:…………....…K4…….C3
Item BRAID:. ……..…K5…….C4
Item LOGO: …..…..…K3……..C3
Bells: ……………....….K3…….C4
Whistles: …….…..….K3…….C4
Items-story:………..…K4……..C4
Emotional:………..…..K2…….C3
Bonus:………….....……K0……..C1
Total:………....……….K28……C33