IDW Publishing Forums

[Beachcomber]

[Jeysie]

[wordmongerer]

I actually HATE the cover contest at the moment - it was hard to choose in round one, but round 2 is just too hard. I wish I could cast 5 votes!
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[polystyleneman]

[Jeysie]

[Shazta]

Hmmm, I really enjoy the art and mystery behind Aiden's, Andrew's, Peter's, and Ryan's pieces... Damn this is a hard decision...

I choose you Andrew Griffith, final answer.
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[Urzu Seven]

I went with Christie Majors in this one.
It was good to see Beachcomber actually given a redesign that looks like it could fit in the IDW-verse, and Bluestreak's vehicle mode is just the sweetest of eye candy here.
And Marrisa looks every bit the professional, the clear focus is her and what she can do, and not the fact that she's a kickass sexy chick.

[Poptimus]

Wow - ANDREW GRIFFITH's entry is incredible. A little Terry Dodson-esque. Just really crisp linework, i could absolutley see this being an actual cover, and what a fun concept too! Canadians say: Autobots out!

[uftaki]

Whoot for being set in Vancouver! *cheers* Again, so many fantastic entries in this! Thoughts on my faves:

Aiden O'Carrol's is interesting -- two Marissas!? Time travel? Cloning? How'd this all come about? Makes in interested in finding out.

I just have to laugh at the thought of a Decepticon-enamoured Vancouver in Andrew Griffith's cover. *lol* (I could see chaos like this happening. ^^; ) The background and people look fantastic. Agreeing with the 'Lara Croft' feel!

Love the graphical design on Christie Majors' work! Bluestreak would have to be pressed to his limit, in navigating the seawall's path. xD Nice redesign/concept on Beachcomber! Nice focus on Marissa, too... especially up on the top corner (and showing some mad skillz! in hanging onto Bluestreak's hood! ^^)

The sense of mystery in David Ayling's piece is very neat. Nice technical work on all of the buildings!

Nice, interesting angle on Peter Istyle's piece! The bar code is a neat touch... and the pouring rain definately fits! xD

Nice dynamic action on Ryan Wilton's entry! You did a good job on the library!

So tough to choose... going to have to mull over this for a while. Great job, everyone!
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[polystyleneman]

[DCAyling]

[bloodandsteel]

Continuing my disclaimer : None of this is meant to offend. Just my observations and personal opinions. No biting, please?

AIDAN O’CARROLL - I really really love the style here, on the ladies as well as the bots, but I can't help but agree that Marissa's peril seems less important due to the two giant robots strolling along while she's being attacked. I love the amount of detail Marissa and her assailant have. (Why does she remind me of the Baroness from COBRA???)
Final words: Aaawww, Bluestreak's talking and Beachcomber doesn't look annoyed! XD *HUGS them both*

ANDREW GRIFFITH - Love the style, love the setting, love the subtle inclusion of a certain couple of Mods ( heehee ), and Marissa is SMOKING hot. *laughs* I guess I'd better move to Vancouver *twirls a little in her Decepticon t-shirt* and start kissing some steel toes. Beachcomber's got a very Roche chin and Bluestreak is just godly....but Bluestreak is always godly to me

ANTHONY BRIAN CRUZ - You've got a neat layout here for the characters, and the MISSING flyers are a nice touch. I think the bots looks a little too Bay and less IDW, though. Setting is a little vague, and I think this would really benefit from more varying line widths and some black fill areas here and there. The idea behind it, however, it very cool. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what the story was like.

CHRISTIE MAJORS - Adore the style and the action! And Bluestreak's plate? PRICELESS. Love Beachcomber's redesign, the setting and layout look great, and the inking is stellar. My only real crit would have to be that, being unfamiliar with Vancouver as a whole, I wouldn't know where they are. I'm having trouble pinpointing any defining landmarks. But PRIMUS, woman, you've got talent

CHRISTOPHER HOLMES - I love the extreme angle used here for the background, although the setting isn't clearly defined. What I think is really the issue here is that the extreme angle isn't taken advantage of. There's no real action and lots of empty space. Also, there's no clear way of knowing that Beachcomber and Bluestreak are sitting there.

DAVID C AYLING - Seriously eating up the setting here. Beachcomber looks great and pretty freaked out XD Bluestreak has a very young-looking face, whic to me fits his character rather well. His overall design is very nice Marissa, however, looks a little awkward. Her left arm and leg both make her seem unbalanced, yet she doesn't look like she's falling over.

EDWARD SCOTT - I really like the layout idea with the folder and photos, but the overall drawing style used just leaves them looking like a mish-mash of random photos. I have no idea what is going on in the top photo. The only indication I'm getting that this is anywhere near Canada or British Coloumbia is the leaf in the corner of the postcard that kind of looks like Beachcomer carved into a mountain.....Does Marissa have hairy pits?
I dunno, just not working for me.

JAMES KINGSELLER - Another layout that I like, well done on the setting, as well. Bluestreak looks really, really good; the only problem I see is that his cannons are a bit weak in comparison to the rest of him. Beachcomber looks cool, too. Marissa looks pretty awesome with her gear and all, but her face and right wrist don't look quite right to me. That wrist looks like it's broken or is about it break. A few more varying line widths would've gone a long way here.

JAMES LYNCH - I really like this one. It's simple, effective, the lineart is very nice (especially on Marissa), there is a recognizeable landmark for the setting, and she's clearly investigating something. She has a nice expression of shock and/or surprise going, which leads me to believe they found something possibly a little gruesome. I think the bots could have done with a tiny bit more detailing, but it's not exactly necessary considering the focus is Marissa and not them. Overall, VERY nice.
I'm a minimalist at heart, I suppose.

MICHAEL JOE DILLON - I really REALLY like how the bots look here. The level of detailing and "chrome" work on them is amazing. I love the detail on Marissa's outfit, but her weapon seems to blend in with Bluestreak's own gun a bit. Her expression threw me a little. She seems to be shouting at someone, but there's little to no definition around her eyes and eyebrows, so the gesture comes off as a little bland. A crease in the brow to make her look either angry or worried, and a little creasing around her lower eyelid might have given her more impact. Loving the overall style though

PETER ISTYLE - WICKED perspective, man! Loving the bots, nice balance of simple and detailed, and Marissa looks quite interesting. Good use of landmarks to place the setting, and that creepy hand with the barcode just gives me chills There's an Autobot insignia on it! I know from talking to Beachcomber that Vancouver is rainy, but I almost think the black raindrops are a bit too tightly packed in places. A few details on the bots went unnoticed by me until I gave it another look-over. Definitely fits the theme, though, and that's a massive plus. Love it!

RYAN WILTON - Amazing style, detail, action, and SEXY CAR BLUESTREAK *flail!* Everything's very dynamic and very beautifully inked. Although I think Marissa's position is a little awkward. She may fall over trying to stand like that, turn, AND aim. Hehe. Excellent work! XD

STAVROS KUNDROMICHALIS - A much different take on things here. Like AIDAN's entry, we see the two bots just strolling along, only this time it looks like Marissa's about to try and ambush the two giant bots. Nice setting, looks like heavy "night" inking, Beachcomber looks pretty cool, as does what we can see of Bluestreak. Marissa has a very commando sort of look, and for some reason brings to mind images of Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 O_o Pretty cool, overall.

There were quite a few really excellent ones here. I have four top picks, and narrowing it down from there took some SERIOUS doing.

I don't know what it is about me, but I really like it when there is less heavy inking going on. Simple, clean, and an image that effectively get the point across without the need for lots of flash and kibble When it comes down to it, I went with James Lynch. Focus is strictly on Marissa, there's a recognizeable landmark, effective designs for the bots that don't draw attention away from the Spotlight character, and it follows the theme of an investigation in a simple yet understandable way. Here's rooting for the underdog!
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Commissions - OPEN 01.17.2012

[bairdduvessa]

i had a hard time between dillon and griffift but i decided with the latter

[Armamentfactory]

[Rossum]

This is hard...there's too much quality and not enought votes to go around! I narrowed it down to three:

Peter Istyle's--great perspective, and the rain is a very good touch for the location! It looks like the story would be a nice, sci-fi noir dramatic mystery.

Christies Majors--awesome action; you can't beat a helicopter chasing a car! I really like the helicopter's beam being used to divide the page; I'd love to see how it looks in color. The only criticism I'd have is that the top image is great, but a little lacking in excitement to be such a large part of the cover.

Andrew Griffith--holy cow, I love everything about this! The angry Canadians, a Decepticon-ruled Vancouver, and the familiar faces in the crowd--I want to read this book! Marissa looks amazing, and Bluestreak and Beachcomber are really well posed and placed. The whole scene looks very natural, part of a really great story.

Lots of great ideas, and it was tough just to narrow it down to these three. I went with Andrew's in the end just because it had the strongest effect-I laughed when first saw it, and now I just keep noticing awesome details. Like I said, this is a story I want to see. Hop to it, guys!