The People Have Spoken! (CD 1528)

[Chibasa]

Nyaaa !

Grats to all winners ! :3

[Reverend]

We have too many cats here...

[Lulu]

Congratulations to all the winners~ Great thanks to all poster makers, judges and voters. Thank you for your participation~

[niwa87]

Gratz to the winner, especially to purple.
[size]Now we can have another slave candidate for staff on art department...[/size]

[kukimunstir]

congrats y'all

[Kiwigiwi]

Conglatsssssssss

[Rupy]

Congrats to the winners!!

[kurogaga]

Congratz to all the winners.

Nyaa...... :3

[maglor]

"Why do we not even get a proper intro CD?" -- Kyon

Council Directive 1528

Proposal: The newly elected Seitokai Office (Third Term) will introduce the winners of the 2016 Divine Circlet Poster Contest.
Proposed by: Kyon
Consent: Sanzen'in Nagi, Nakamura Yuri, Yato, Kyon
Dissent: None
Abstain: Tokisaki Kurumi, Itsuka Kotori

---

Comments

Kyon: ... What is this place?

Yuri: Welcome, people, to the ISML Seitokai Office! I, Nakamura Yuri, the Vice-President of Operations, am proud to announce that you three have been elected to the Third and final term of the ISML Seitokai 2016!

Kyon: ... I didn't ask for this.

Yuri: It's not a matter of whether you asked for it or not, my friend, you were chosen by the will of the public.

Kyon: Good grief... Why am I always dragged into some things that I didn't ask for? First by that girl who's so-called 'God'...

Yato: Did I hear someone calling for me? Yup, it's me, your friendly neighborhood God! Satisfy any of your demands, for just 5 yen...



Yuri: OK enough of this, let's meet the other members of the Seitokai, we'll be working together for the rest of the year. That gold-haired twintail with a flat chest sitting at the desk busy going through different pieces of artwork is our President, Sanzen'in Nagi.

Nagi: U...Urusai! Who are you calling a flat chest!

Yuri: And that other black-haired twintail playing with her gun is...

Kotori: I know who she is.

Kurumi: Ara ara, Kotori-san, we meet again. What a joyful reunion this is, how joyful indeed!

Yuri: Kurumi, we made a promise there won't be any nonsense.

Kurumi: My my, Nakamura-san, we did, indeed, we did! But being able to see Kotori-san's face again is making hot blood flow through my whole body. You see, our last encounter was nothing but pleasure. Ah... Ah! I can't hold it in any longer!

Kotori: I see you are still the same pervert as you always have been, Tokisaki Kurumi. You shall not escape my flame of rage this time. Efreet!

Kurumi: Ara ara, Kotori-san, I can see you are almost as hungry as I am! Hee hee, how exciting, how exciting indeed! Will you be able to satisfy me this time? Zafkiel!

*Before anyone could react, the windows of the Office blew open, and the two Spirits were outside exchanging blows midair.*



Yuri: *facepalm* I should have seen this coming...

Kyon: Isn't it too late to say that now?

Nagi: What's with the noise, can't I even work in peace? Hey Yuri, I'm almost done giving scores to all those pieces of art you gave me!

Yuri: Good to hear, at least we'll finally be getting something done. So Yato, can you start off by helping me sum up the scores?

Yato: Is that a request? If it is, that will be 5 yen.

Yuri: Money isn't a problem for our President.

Nagi: What? I don't use petty cash. Here, take this.

Yato: 5... 500 yen? No problem, miss! Your wish shall be granted!

*15 minutes later*

Yato: So, I have added up all the scores for this '2016 Divine Circlet Poster Contest', and in the name of Yato, the God of Calamity, I assure that the results are correct!

Kyon: That does not sound very reassuring...

Yuri: Thanks, Yato. Let's start off by announcing the Honourable Mentions!

Yato: Sure, Madam!

---

Yato: We have two Honourable Mentions. The first one goes to...

Honourable Mention 1Show

SE11 - by XxPurple-CrystalxX (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa~

Yato: A solid poster, with no major flaws. Colors are pleasing, effects and background lend subtle support. Leg sticking out looks a bit weird, but what can you do?

Yuri: I really like the vibrant feeling of this poster! Her glow is nice and everything fills the space well in the poster.

Kyon: Good balance of colors and contrast. The picture chosen has a very dynamic pose, which brings more personality to the poster. The background also fits well with the picture. I would prefer if the poster was softened a little.

Nagi: As a fellow mangaka, I love the dynamics of Eriri here. But the background seems to be a bit... unfitting, and rather is there to give more attention to Eriri. It isn't a bad thing but as a poster, we need everywhere to be focused, not too much but not too little.

---

Yato: Now, moving on to the second winner of the Honourable Mention...

Honourable Mention 2Show

SH03 - by MiranFroaude (柠檬※豆 from Baidu ISML Tieba)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa nyaa nyaa~

Yato: Impressive usage of a slightly purplish sky here and great render of Hitagi.

Yuri: It's like this source was made to be in a poster. The sakura background is well-matched.

Kyon: The composition is fine, but somehow lacks that 'oomph'. Some rendering flaws.

Nagi: I like this picture but her eyes feel like it's too much of the focus of the poster due to how dark they are. The colors and effects are really nice though!

---

Yato: In view of the high overall standard of the entries submitted, the judges have decided to hand out one extra Honourable Mention! And that will be going to...

Honourable Mention 3Show

SE05 - by kukimunstir (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa~

Yato: The warm, bright feeling is nice.

Kyon: Somehow I find that cat distracting...

Yuri: Amazing overall. The painting-esque sort of Eriri really fits the background immensely and could be used as a portrait even.

Nagi: I almost couldn't find the source because I didn't expect this to be a render - the background is blended so well that it looks like part of the original art, down to the style and lighting. It's very fitting too, considering she's part of the art club. I don't know if submitter rendered it themselves, but many points for the seamless blending alone, as well as good choice of art base altogether.

---

Yato: Now, to announce the winner of each group! Starting off with the Hirasawa Yui group...

Winner of Hirasawa YuiShow

HY03 - by kukimunstir (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa?

Yato: The colors are nice and clean and it has a nice bright theme like her expression!

Yuri: Loving this as it shows Yui's music playing- free-spirited, fun and cheerful.

Nagi: A very vibrant poster that captures the energetic and lively energy of Yui very well. Good use of effects to make it seem like the sun is shining down on Yui and reflecting on her guitar. The background fits well with the picture too.

Kyon: Natural integration of character and background. Competent use of effects. I think it might look a little better if character's placement is lowered slightly, so her face is more centered.

---

Yato: Next up is the Sawamura Eriri group! And the winner is...

Winner of Sawamura EririShow

SE10 - by ARGYI12 (僕偶 from Baidu ISML Tieba)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa nyaa nyaa!

Yato: Please be noted that this entry also earned the highest total score among all posters, and is the overall winner! Congrats!

Kyon: Well-balanced colors, very pretty. Frames and highlights the character well.

Nagi: She looks really elegant in this poster! I really like the close-up with her face, but the render feels a little fuzzy to me.

Yuri: Still, very impressive work. Very gorgeous, and really love that background.

---

Yato: Now on to the Senjōgahara Hitagi group!

Winner of Senjōgahara HitagiShow

SH05 - by XxPurple-CrystalxX (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Wan!

Yato: Nice, clean render and a background that's subtly well-blended.

Kyon: This poster shows Hitagi's elegant and intriguing side. There is a good use of subtle effects that are not too overbearing to blend the picture with the background.

Yuri: I really love the winter feeling of this poster! It's really calming and soothing.

Nagi: Bold to use Hitagi's short hair and combined with a winter theme makes a really nice poster. I kind of question the placement of the background, as it makes it look like she's holding the pole in her palm, which I find a little distracting. Other than that nitpick, a solid job overall, with a cozy winter mood.

---

Yato: Last but not least, Yūki Mikan group!

Winner of Yūki MikanShow

YM01 - by XxPurple-CrystalxX (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Poi?

Yuri: I like this picture of her, and I like the autumn colors too. It fits really well!

Kyon: Just a very solid, beautiful poster overall. Distinctive mood, competent photoshopping. No complaints here.

Nagi: Nice usage of fall background that goes well with her hair and complexion.

---

Yato: And finally, we have a Popular Choice Award for the poster which received the most votes among the others!

Popular ChoiceShow

YM03 - by IGNITE (ISML Forums)

Judges' Comments:

Nyaa...

Kyon: Awkward positioning, but makes up for it with a beautiful background and lovely Mikan used.

Nagi: This could have been a good image choice, but someone else is clearly visible in the corner. I think the creator will be great with more practice and effort! Ganbatte!

---

Yuri: So that sums up the winners of the Poster Contest! Congratulations to all!

Nagi: I must say I am impressed! Well done to everyone! Image choices are quite nice, and nice use of effects on most. Top scoring posters were the ones that I felt had the best overall composition, good balance and looked great, with the effects emphasizing the subject of the poster (as opposed just to make it look pretty/just to use effects). There are several things that I would advise to look out for, though:

(1) Artifact and extraction - a lot of the time, a good extraction requires redrawing, so bear that in mind. It affects how good the end result looks, and whether it blends well with the background. Voters might not notice, but judges will.

(2) Watch for use of effect filters - in terms of overkill, this was largely well done this time, but remember to make sure that if you're using an effect, it's for a reason and that it makes the character stand out. Don't just chuck in sparklies because sparklies are pretty.

(3) Also consider background choice, color balance, and make sure your image is recognizable as that character and is centered/the focus.

Good job to everyone who participated!



Yuri: There we have it, guess we can call it a day. Yato, can you please help sum it up and publish the results?

Yato: That will be another 5 yen please.

Yuri: ... Kyon, you do it.

Kyon: Don't force people into doing stuff as if they don't have the choice of refusing!

_____

Kyon
Reporter
ISML Seitokai