Round 3 Theme: Cosplay
Winner: Gangly and #TeamTy
Critiques
Marik
Caimura Rathe of Balmung:
Pretty impressive, as far as your cosplay you definitely captured the essence of your character. Now for everything else, again just another amazing job this week! Everything just seems to be on point, from your lighting, to your angles, to your background. I greatly appreciate every little detail that’s going on in this shot, yet… you always remain the sole focus! That’s how it’s done for ENTM! You are the star and this is your time to show me how bright you can shine! Just be mindful of your lightning cause it could have easily just been too dark, but thankfully was just that right brightness to make you pop easily from your background. Again beautiful job, I’m always excited to see what you’ll bring each time!
Katarh Mest of Lamia:
Very nice on the cosplay, feeling the outfit and look, but boy if we just had capes in here (Ednanocapes.gif). Your background, glamour, and lighting are phenomenal! Just really amazing job! You have such a command of the foreground while your background still shines through as if you’re jumping right out at me! Very impressive, but my one concern is definitely your pose or even the angle. The pose itself is great, works perfectly for your shot; the angle is amazing as well! But both of them together? I’m not sure it honestly works as a whole, I feel like maybe you should have been facing the camera or the angle be different with that pose and looking in that direction. It just feels slightly off to me, but regardless everything else is just amazing! Electrifying work this week! (Ruh-roh puns!)
Kimberlynne Highwind of Malboro:
Great job on the cosplay, definitely get the feel of the character. As for your shot as a whole, I absolutely love it! Setting is on point, lighting, angles and even your pose is just beautiful. To be honest though, I’m not entirely sure your extra was needed. They are very close to upstaging you, and you never want that as a model. You are the focus and need to be the focus always. As I tell others be the star you are and shine brightly! Your saving grace for you is you are looking at the camera and he is not, as well as his face is very shadowed. But when I first look at the pic I almost want to look at him first, rather than you. I get why the extra is there, just make sure in future shots you are always the star! Beautiful work this week though, loving it!
Lior Xanthos of Gilgamesh:
Lovely work on the cosplay, very spot on. The overall composition of the shot is really good, focus to you is on point, I love the angle of you and your extra very well. Glamours are definitely on point and lighting is fantastic! I’m not really understanding your background that much thought to be honest. It’s very flat and not very inspiring or works that well honestly. I get why the background is the way it is because of your angle, but just as making sure you are the star that shines in your photos, you should always be aware of your surroundings as well. The angle works very nicely, and I love everything else about the shot! Just all around a good job, just be weary of your surroundings and you can make for some amazing photos!
Poppy Milkweed of Cactuar:
Great job on the cosplay, really love the playfulness of your character. Now, everything else I really love the area, your background, you, the glamours, and just all of it! But the lighting is a bit difficult and I feel like you aren’t the center of attention for this shot. Everything is so well placed, but I don’t immediately hone in to you when I first look at the shot. I see the bees first, and then I see you. You always need to be center stage in your shots as a model, and never let anyone or anything upstage you. Aside from that you’re easily the very next focus and honestly everything else really does work for you, just be sure to always stand out and shine! Be brighter than the northern star itself! Still loved the shot overall!
Sangriah Valere of Excalibur:
You yourself on the cosplay is really great! The overall shot is just simply superb! I really love your background, and your pose as well as lighting and your look on your character! Just amazing job. I’m not entirely sure the glamours really work though, just… it’s a little off putting and not sure it meshes well. I feel like there is just a lil’ too much going on and I’m not entirely sure it fits with what you are going for. You are amazing and the shot is amazing as well! I honestly love it, and one of my favorite backgrounds this round!
Flare
So I wanted to start off by saying I didn’t have a clue who some of the characters some of you chose to cosplay. I looked up and judged based on likeness. Please bear with me…. 😛
Caimura Rathe: This is a very accurate cosplay! I think you captured the essence of Fortune very nicely. That background is beautiful and brings a Metal Gear feel to your picture. The only issue I have is the lighting. The sun minion would have given you a bit of light while still giving your background that dark feeling.
Katarh Mest: I love risk takers and you did just that this week and made it work! I know when a lot of people think of Storm, they always picture her flying and such. Since we can’t actually fly, you brought us a stunning background that complements your character a little too well. This is what I would picture Storm if she time traveled and were stuck in Eorzea.
Kimberlynne Highwind: First off, I wanted to say that this was a welcome surprise. I love Spirited Away and I think you did a very nice job. The background works, but for me I could have done without Haku in this. There are some wonderful pictures of Chihiro that would have worked better while still staying true to the cosplay. Still a wonderful job for giving us something different.
Lior Xanthos: This was a character who I had no idea who or what they were from. While googling, I came across a picture with this character and the princess so props for getting the actual cosplay looking great! Background is a little underwhelming but overall a nice picture.
Poppy Milkweed: This is a cute picture, but I wouldn’t have noticed that it was Isabelle without the text at the bottom. This is a hard one to judge. I like the creativity and effort you put forth as this is a hard cosplay to do in FFXIV as well as thinking outside the box and giving us something new. But with the shot being a little far away from your character and nothing really screams Animal Crossing to me. I would have tried to do something else. Also, this picture would have benefited from the sun minion as well.
Sangriah Valere: It’s the battle of the Storms this week and I have to say, I enjoyed your photo as well! Both you and Katarh gave us something different. It looks like your hoovering and almost approving of your work in the background. Everything in this picture works together to take you and this shot to the next level. Nicely done!
Masha
Preface:
I love cosplays but at the same time I actually dislike them in competitions. It’s very hard to judge unbiased when one is familiar with some characters and completely unfamiliar with others. Yes, I can pull up reference pictures, see if costume and setting kind of match, but really good shots can bring in nuances and details of characters that people unfamiliar with them cannot pick up. Ultimately I am sure we judges end up nit-picking things that are based on personal preference every round, but the added layer of familiarity and unfamiliarity in cosplay intensifies that in my opinion. I’m sure everyone put a lot of thought in their work and I’m sorry if I lack the ability to sometimes appreciate that in this round. :3
Bastien Felicieux of Balmung
And right at the start I have to point to my preface. I am not familiar with this character and a short research for references revealed to me that this character is from a book series without any official visual references. This makes the cosplay part of the picture rather hard to judge. In terms of framing and background, the picture feels a bit unbalanced. You have 3 different light sources on the left, and only barrels on the right, with you fairly centered, the eyes will inevitably be drawn to the right after focussing on you. Always keep in mind how light sources can draw focus, how the picture should be filled and focus points should lead the eye through the entire picture.
Gangly Zilla of Cactuar
The colour scheme alone serves to make Sakura instantly recognizable. The crisp blues of the background balance greatly with your colours and I love how you used your pose to fill the frame and bring motion into the picture. Some might see this a more minimalist picture but I think it does well representing Sakura both in looks and character! Well done!
Iris Dawnshade of Hyperion
Another character I am not familiar with, but from the references I found, the cosplay is very on point, even down to the fierce facial expression. I really like the gradual lighting and how it naturally brings you into focus, but it sadly does not detract from the fact that aside from you the image is rather blank. To me this picture stood in stark contrast to Gangly’s because both of you chose minimalist backgrounds to focus on your characters, but she pulled it off better by filling the entire screen.
Jester Ehrenfeld of Balmung
The thing I liked about this picture is that everything seems so well thought out. We have the iconic look, the robes, the broom… then there is Hedwig and Ishgard/Hogwarts in the background. Everything we look at underlines aspects of your cosplay and that’s amazingly well done! The only nitpick I might have is that the lighting feels a tad bit staged, in that I am 95% sure I can pinpoint where there is a sun minion in the picture. But otherwise this is just great.
Mackayla Lane of Balmung
This here is the other side of the spectrum that I am concerned about in my preface. I grew up with The Last Airbender and of course watched Korra. People that have watched this will know the scene and what it means instantly and that has a great impact. Frankly I freaked a bit going “Oh wooow!”. You did so well choosing Korra, because her character play perfectly into yours, the Highlander bodytype and the skin colour match perfectly, and while those should not matter in cosplay, one cannot deny the effect a well matched look achieves. The outfit and hairstyle are just on point and the scene and effect is just so well done and well timed. The only minor complaint I might have is that the picture is very balanced to the left. The background is great on the right side, but the flashiness and action is all on the left, leaving me wanting to have something that draws my eye right.
Nadede Lasalle of Hyperion
Even when I know a character, I always pull up a bunch of pictures for reference and try to see which iteration the person cosplaying went for. I had a bit of trouble really pinpointing why this felt a bit off… it might be the colour palette – Katniss’ outfits most of the time are very tone in tone dark – but it might actually be the boots. I love those boots, use them myself, but I feel it throws me off because I know Katniss in combat boots or leather boots reaching just below the knee. It’s a weird thing to get hung up on, but details like that are sometimes what make me think “this is a perfect cosplay”. Alexander in the background is pretty, but at the same time I wonder what it has to do with the character. Our most common association with Katniss is her in the forest. I think that could have helped underline her character more.
Shayera Tano of Faerie
The costume is very on point, making the character recognizable with one glance. You chose a very busy background (watch for that crafter in the bottom right 😮 ) though you manage to remain the focus thanks to lighting. Be careful though, the brightness is almost too much, threatening to wash parts of you out. I think a little more zoom might have helped as well, because you are ultimately the focus here and not the scene, so the less cluttered the picture seems the better. With fighting game characters, I always remember the picture a friend took, cosplaying Chun Li. They went with a very steady camera, aligning the ground horizontally, and giving the background a very symmetrical fighting screen look. I almost wish you’d have gone a similar route, since I’m not sure if the current angle really adds to the picture. Overall still a great cosplay though, well done!
Eldaena
Jester Ehrenfeld – So cool! Great attention to detail here! There isn’t much I would change (if only a realistic owl minion was in game!) Good lighting, great use of mount and minion, amazing background, and you look like the character you are attempting to portray. Great work!
Gangly Zilla – It feels like FFXIV is having a Naruto crossover right now! This is an uncanny rendition of Sakura, even the kick! I don’t mind there not being a focus on the background here because you are trying to show not only how much you look like Sakura, but how much you can replicate her completely! Really cool!
Nadede Lasalle – I liked your pose, the lighting, and the epic feel of your background. I do feel like your look isn’t exactly “Katniss.” If I didn’t read the title I wouldn’t have thought of Katniss even though I am familiar with that character. However, I did see your effort and it’s still a nice shot! Good job!
Mackayla Lane – You have me a bit torn here. I think you do look like Korra, but I don’t know what’s going on in this shot. Probably because I’m not familiar with this series. The lighting, shadows, and background are pretty. Just unsure as to the big picture. Still a nice shot, so keep it up!
Shayera Tano – Your outfit is really great here! I instantly knew who you were, however…I found your facial expression and pose distracting. It was definitely heading in the right direction, but it ended up looking a bit awkward and out of place with your background. I think the lighting is also a bit harsh on the upper body. Still a great cosplay though, so, Nice job!
Iris Dawnshade – Let me start by saying you did well in choosing your attire and hairstyle. Your lighting here is soft and not too harsh either. What I have a problem with is how empty your shot feels. It’s not the same kind of empty like Gangly’s shot this week. She’s filling it up with action relating to her character. I’m just not drawn into this image that feels rather empty. Also, since the costume is simple, it does distract me slightly that you didn’t dye the set to jet black. Not fully sure how to feel about this one, but I’m looking forward to next week.
Bastien Felicieux – Unfortunately, you were towards the bottom for me this week. Obscurity sometimes can be really cool, or it can land kind of flat. I tried looking up references to the character you are trying to cosplay, but nothing really looked like your character that I found. You don’t look bad, and the pose is okay, I just don’t think it was cosplay-y enough, I guess. I hope to see some new work next week!