Challenge #16 Results!

[kerravonsen]

The results of Challenge #16: "Ring in the Changes" are:

Embodiment of style
First:
by vilakins

Second:
by kerravonsen

Third: (a tie)
by sallymn
by siluria

I Just Like It
First:
by taibhrigh

Second:
by sallymn

Third: (a multi-tie!)
by sallymn
by sallymn
by sallymn
by vilakins

Mod's choice
by sallymn


Thank you, everyone!

I've also revealed the entries in the challenge entry post.

Now, discuss!
And please, please tell us how you did it!

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

:) Thankee!

Most of my were simple (mine usually involve easy techniques, I'm not good at layers and complex colourings and masks).

The bridge one was a b/w picture I duplicated, overlaid the gradient then masked part of it out; the heartdrop was a resized picture I found, all in browns, and I found using a pastel gradient map and GIMPS's 'colour' layer did this rather different colouring; the flower was simply swirled onto a desaturated poppy, and the background used an pink gradient edge fill. The cat was the simplest (and I loved vilakins's take on the same picture!!) a swirly gold gradient overlaid and then I used the 'darken only' layer to do the masking for me :)

There were some gorgeous entries this time, weren't there?

[kerravonsen]

It was a gradient map? Cool!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I love gradient map (even though I only discovered it when I stumbled over a page telling me how to turn people gold), and another little program I have which has 'gradient colourize'. More obvious (like this icon) but fun.

[siluria]

Congratulations to everyone :) I have to be honest and admit that I really didn't find this challenge easy at all. I'm a bit out of practice with graphics after a long break and to come back with something that doesn't match up with what limited skills and experience I have was hard. Normally I have an idea of what to do from the moment I read the challenge, this one I floundered about a bit :) I don't find working with gradients and textures very easy at all, I'm more a colouring person than a layers person, but it's definitely good to be challenged!

What I did really like was the variety of icons and styles that the challenge produced, and I had to admit saying to myself I wish I'd thought of that quite often ;)

[kerravonsen]

What I did really like was the variety of icons and styles that the challenge produced, and I had to admit saying to myself I wish I'd thought of that quite often
Seconded!

[kerravonsen]

With my glass ball, I basically followed this tutorial:
http://www.gimptalk.com/forum/topic/Glass-Ball-Creation-Using-Gimp-20533-1.html

The main difference was that, in the step where one makes the background, I had three layers; one was a rainbow gradient, and the other two were textures.

The border was
1. rainbow gradient
2. layer mask to make the middle transparent
3. 50% transparency on the layer as a whole

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The only one of mine that people liked was the simplest to make: putting a grey background behind a silhouette and a gradient over it set to "colour".

I can't believe that I chose the same cat picture as sallymn, and of course hers was much better. I just greyed the background of mine and played with swirly gradients until I got a result I liked.

The B7 one was simple too: a colour gradient over a B&W picture, then text in grey with a colour gradient.

This one was the most difficult and the only reason I'm bothering to post a comment as others may find the technique useful for something else.

I found a black silhouette of flowers and leaves, made it grey (or you could use a B&W photo), then selected parts of it and applied circular "colour" gradients to the flowers and straight one to the leaves, then added a grey gradient to the background to bring out the leaves.

[kerravonsen]

The only one of mine that people liked was the simplest to make
Simple, but effective.

This one was the most difficult and the only reason I'm bothering to post a comment as others may find the technique useful for something else.
Yes, I'd wondered how that one was done.

[jthijsen.livejournal.com]

May I please nab the slinkie one? Cause it's funny as anything and pretty as well.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

The slink was brilliant, wasn't it?

[jthijsen.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I'm sure I've heard or read the quote somewhere before, but I can't for the life of me remember where. It sounds very much like something either some of the discworld characters or Alan B'Stard would say. Or maybe someone in a Dirk Gently novel...

This is going to be at the back of my mind all day now.