Pixel Pliancy • Season 5 • Congratulations!

Are you gonna join the All-Stars?

Yes! I've been waiting for it for x seasons!	56.5%	[ 13 ]
No, I needy a breaky break.	13.0%	[ 3 ]
No, it would be my first time to join.	30.4%	[ 7 ]
Total Votes:			[ 23 ]

[Bryan Seaturtle]

season five

This is a tektek tournament that will run for two months or so, to determine AT's Pixel King (or Queen. 8D) Yeah, we made that up. Lots of prizes and goodies are up for grabs, so read on and try to enter! Make sure you have the time and commitment though! This will be a faster paced contest, with a new challenge each week.
To make sure the contest will be fair and the contestants will stand a chance against one another, PM Bryan Seaturtle a short resume. (See How to Enter in this post) This will help us determine the level of your league.

● The winner will get 70k!
● Runner up gets 30k!
● Second runner up gets 20k!
● The challenge winner every week may also get a small prize!
(Donateplz? biggrin Donations will go straight to the winner's prize money, or for future seasons.)

Many thanks for our donators!
Remedy Forgotten 15k
weirdokun 20k
Raccoon Red Love 5k
marwolfer 50k
diet cider 15k
Syrshamiel 100k





● Send this mule a PM with your resume: two samples of your best avatars.
● When we reply and confirm that you have been accepted, send a trade with 1000 gold.
● When the trade is confirmed, we will give you a slot in the contest.
● Registration will be in a selection + first-come-first-serve basis.
● Subscribe to the thread, and be sure to actually participate in the contest. Srsly. If you're just gonna withdraw or quit mid-tourney, we think of the others that could have been given the opportunity instead.

To make life easier for everyone, we've
added a clock so you won't have to keep
wondering what day/time it is in the contest.

[Bryan Seaturtle]

● Every week, the hosts will post a challenge for the contestants to follow.
● The contestants must then Tektek an avatar (Dream Free is awesome and highly recommended), based on the challenge.
● They are given approximately five days to create an avatar. Number of days may vary according to the challenge.
● Final Entries are to be PM'ed to this mule, Bryan Seaturtle. Once an entry is PM'ed, it may not be changed.
● The judges will judge the entries for one to two days.
● Contestants may still send in a late entry after the deadline, but before the official judgings have been posted. Late entries will have an automatic penalty of -1 Pixel Point (see The Pixel Point System in this post).
● The highest scorer wins the challenge and may get a small prize.
● A bottom two will be declared, and the judges will look at their previous weeks of work to judge the contestant who is eliminated. (To learn more about this system, please read about The Pixel Point System in this post)
● You may decide whatever base you'd like to use from round to round, unless specified in the challenge.




● Every week, the top three highest scorers will be labeled HIGH, while the bottom three scorers will be labeled LOW. The rest are labeled IN.
● Every time a person is labeled HIGH, he will receive a +1 in his Pixel Score. Every time he is labeled LOW, he receives a -1.
● When two people are in the bottom two, their Pixel Score will be added to their original score, and whoever has the lower score will be eliminated.
● This system is to ensure that consistently high scorers don't get eliminated after a single bad week, while consistently low scorers don't stay longer than they should have.
● In the top 5 onwards, there will be two HIGH scorers and two LOW scorers.
● In the case of a tie, more people will given a HIGH/LOW score, as long as the "minimum" number of HIGH/LOW scorers are attained. (For example, Poo and Bara were tied for third to bottom. They are both given a LOW score, giving the week a total of four LOW scorers.)
● This system will NOT be used in the top 3. Contestants will have to do their best for the win.





● Contestants must submit their entries on time, or they will be disqualified.
● Contestants may post a draft avi in the thread to get comments from fellow competitors and/or visitors.
● However, only avatars that are sent via PM will be taken into consideration. Drafts posted in the thread will not be considered for judging.
● If you have your desired entry as your own avatar, you may use Photobucket or another image host for your entry.
● To avoid consistently high-scoring contestants from getting eliminated after a single bad week, this contest has adopted the Pixel Point System.
● In the event that you will be away and cannot join a challenge, please PM this mule and inform us ASAP. We may extend the challenge for you, but take too long and we'll go ahead with judging.
● Subscribe to the thread. Updates and announcements will be edited onto the thread title, and this will help you to avoid disqualification.

[Bryan Seaturtle]

She's the pink judge. This is mostly because she tends to prefer making pretty, dainty and cute avvies whilst attempting to adhere to the demands of matching and theme...and also because some people say she reminds them of cotton candy. >u<; She tends to appreciate the overall appeal of a tektek when it's all put together a little bit more than the other judges but will also pay attention to, and give credit for, neat, precise layering, matching, theme, and character. She's also sometimes known as the TL;DR judge. She apologizes in advance for this. >x<;;






Poojuice is the blue judge. Just 'cause. He prefers a mix of theme and matching, and appreciates clean and neat layers. He also enjoys seeing thought, concept, and risk-taking in avatars. Poojuice has also competed many a contest himself, and keeps a portfolio in his journal.






Imma darkred judge. Also known as the "contra-judge", my opinions may sharply differ from the others from time to time. My feedbacks tend to be very concise but I'm working on trying to explain my opinions better. I highly value the flow of colors, shape, and a balance between theme and matching. Don't be surprised if you see me give out 1s or 2s. When I judge, I base it on how good a contestant is compared to the other contestants of the current round in my own opinion--not based on the general AT standards. It goes on until the end of the competition. So if there are like only 5 awesome people left, a 2/10 does not necessarily mean you're awful. It just means that you didn't do as well as the other 4. I feel that this is more helpful than giving a bunch of 8s and 9s and making the numbers 6 and below useless.

[Bryan Seaturtle]

Challenge 13: Multidimensional
Deadline: September 8th, 11:59pm
Please check the clock in the first post to find out the time at +8 GMT.

Congratulations kaschieka, -My Litlle Shadow- and `April!
It’s been a long journey through the competition, but now, 17 contestants have been narrowed down to three!
It’s time for the big finale!

Previous finale rounds usually involve drawing upon outside sources for inspiration.
For this challenge, we want you to look into yourselves.
Your challenge is to create three avatars that each represented an aspect of your personality or life.
We are not looking for realism/cosplays, portraying how you look. The judges are looking for creative and artistic interpretations of these different dimensions to yourself.
While these three dimensions need to be different, cohesion still needs to be clear.

Remember, this is your last chance to impress us! The PP scores DOES NOT count this round, so the prize is still anybody’s game!
Work hard! The judges are looking forward to your creations!
Good luck! May the best tekteker win!
You all have 10 days to turn in your entry.

• Create three avatars that represent three different aspects of your life or personality.
• The three avatars, while different, needs to show cohesion.
• The judges are not looking for realism/cosplay. Let your imagination run wild!

[Bryan Seaturtle]

"kaschieka"

"-My Litlle Shadow-"

"`April"

[Bryan Seaturtle]

Challenge 13: Multidimensional
Deadline: September 8th, 11:59pm
Please check the clock in the first post to find out the time at +8 GMT.

Congratulations kaschieka, -My Litlle Shadow- and `April!
It’s been a long journey through the competition, but now, 17 contestants have been narrowed down to three!
It’s time for the big finale!

Previous finale rounds usually involve drawing upon outside sources for inspiration.
For this challenge, we want you to look into yourselves.
Your challenge is to create three avatars that each represented an aspect of your personality or life.
We are not looking for realism/cosplays, portraying how you look. The judges are looking for creative and artistic interpretations of these different dimensions to yourself.
While these three dimensions need to be different, cohesion still needs to be clear.

Remember, this is your last chance to impress us! The PP scores DOES NOT count this round, so the prize is still anybody’s game!
Work hard! The judges are looking forward to your creations!
Good luck! May the best tekteker win!
You all have 10 days to turn in your entry.

• Create three avatars that represent three different aspects of your life or personality.
• The three avatars, while different, needs to show cohesion.
• The judges are not looking for realism/cosplay. Let your imagination run wild!






kaschieka


the sisters of fate.
lachesis, clotho, atropos
paranoia, introversion, aggression
(a partly blob, insideatar, & pixel textured avatars)


You were the clear front-runner, coming into this final round. You got the most challenge wins, and constantly impressed the judges with your high-impact avatars. But YOWZA. Ok. This is pretty much an exemplification of your weakness as a tekteker - orgasmic avatars, visually. But thematically, they're wonky. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But in this instance, you completely bombed. First: The Moirae is a theme that, to me, doesn't fit with the theme at all. While I do see the "weaving," "measuring" and "cutting," the key items are all lost under ********. They seemed like afterthoughts. Secondly, cohesion. There's a difference between unity among avatars and doing the same thing over and over again. Unfortunately, this is a form of the latter. By doing the same ******** over and over again, it gets less and less impressive.

The first avatar is ok. I kinda see the hint of a face. Kinda. And maybe paranoia could work, but only if you used crazier colors. Like I said, your theme is pretty much dead at this point, but this avatar is weak, even as a ********. The whites are really making the whole thing choppy.

The second avatar is... great, visually. But for the challenge, it's just ok. I see chains. Now what? I would have liked darker colors, or even backgrounds to set the introverted mood, if you really had your heart set for ********.

Hands down the most successful piece of your collection. It's the strongest, aesthetically. The textures are masterfully done (moreso than the first two), and I can *kinda* see the theme. But what I love most about this is the amazing use of color. Those purples and green work amazing well together. And the neon-ness against the blacks? Orgasmic. I could have liked more shape here, though. The silhouette seems too "straight." Maybe some horns?

Overall, it's an impressive set of avatars for perhaps the first few rounds. But at this late in the game, you won't be getting any free passes for muddy themes. Perhaps you could have kept the third tektek, and redid the first two with varying degrees of ********. It would have made the third one seem much more interesting, and you could have made more room for theme in the first two.

4.5/10 + 5.7/10 + 8.4/10 = 18.6/30


You could have won and you threw it away with amazing gusto. What about these is themed? How on earth do they even begin to relate to the challenge? You frustrate me so much sometimes Kasch. Your skills are top level and from a purely aesthetic point-of-view I at least like these avis, but you don’t listen and you rarely step outside your comfort zone and those weaknesses just killed you this time around. I’m reminded of three seasons ago to an almost painful degree. I am so disappointed and like Jam I wish you had started over like you said you might.

It’s a ********. Not sure how it has anything to do with paranoia or anything to do with the first sister of fate so there you have it. I think this is the weakest of the bunch on aesthetics.

I love the shape of this one and I think it is the one that comes closest to representing any kind of theme. I like the trapped/hidden aspect of it but the colours do not say introversion to me at all and the eye choice gives you these awful blue blobs on the face.

This one was the best from the pure aesthetics side. I do like that the silhouette played into the vaguest possible theme you could think of.

3/10+5/10+4/10 = 12/30


You have a knack for dark and detailed though so I think I would have liked to see you challenge yourself a little more. Please keep that in mind next round?" Did you even read my request to you from last round? I basically challenged you NOT to do a bunch of dark texture-tars...and instead that's exactly what you did. It's like you saw the challenge got a vague inspiration and then started piling on items until your barely correlated theme of the three fates all but disappeared.

The first one barely has a face, has a wonky shape...and is that a coco the cat I see peeking out from the back? It's not even living up to your normal standard of texture...which we were already getting tired of anyways. I will say that this is the only one I see even a semblance of theme in...
Second, has a really interesting shape...I'll give you that. Aesthetically it's my fave. However, I don't see the theme AT ALL...and it's just another texture-tar out of you. We know you can do that. It's not a wow moment to see you do it again.
Finally, the third looks far too much like the first to me. That's the problem you run into eventually when all you do is texture explosions. The shape here is just blah too...so that hurts your chance of an impact as well. And once again I don't see the theme.

Overall I'm really disappointed that you didn't listen to us. We were really hoping that you would step out of your box and wow us with theme heavy, less ******** show stoppers! Quite frankly...when you said you might be starting over in the thread I was secretly hoping you would.
6/10 + 5/10 + 3/10 = 14/30

44.6/90








`April


The Evil Within~~The Fading Ice Queen~~Raw, Unrestrained Anger


Well holy crap. I was actually expecting the least out of you, in this finale. Not because you're not a great tekteker, but judging by past performance, kasch and shadow seemed more attuned to the challenges here and PP. You were consistently doing well, but none of your avatars stood out as the best of the round (except for the team challenge). You were much more quiet compared to the other two. Boy, was I wrong. This set of avatars is my clear fave for the round. It actually reminds me a lot of Jammy's finale avatars for season 3. And you know that's a good thing. These are all really cool and badass. Very April warrior-lady, but with a twist. I also love how you maintained cohesion with the silhouettes, but still made them very different. Awesome. (And the swirly things were a clever touch.)

The first one's pretty great. At first I was confused by the facial expression, but then I figured it was supposed to look like an 'innocent' person consumed by the evil. The textures are distributed beautifully. The shape is great too. I do have a few nitpicks, though. I would have liked a teeeeeny bit more purple by the head.

The second one is great too. This one's much more clothed, but thanks to the heels, the swirly thing, the wisps and the monochrome, it doesn't stick out from your set. You did a great job of matching those weird green-blues. And she really does look like she's fading. However, as I look at it closer, there's this wonderful detail for me to see. This didn't stick out to me when I first saw it, but now it's my fave of your set.

The final avatar has the best initial impact, but I think it also has the most flaws as I look at it closer. I think the face sticks out too much. If you're trying to do one of those galax-c transition-tars but with the flames instead of the chains, I think you failed. The color for the bottom part could have been more contrasting. But I think the biggest sin here is that green. I mean, c'mon. This is the final round, dude. I didn't think you should have let something as petty as that squeak by.

Now, while they're all three great avatars, my fear for you is that they're all great avatars, but not fantastic avatars. None of them have that POW. But what's great here is the consistency, the clear vision and the execution. Good job.

8.6/10 + 9.2/10 + 7.8/10 = 25.6/10


Wow. Just wow. Thank you for giving me something pretty to look at. I love the silhouette cohesion with the minimal but key use of the magic tattoos and BG items. Really lovely collection. I have my problems with these but I’ll get to that in a moment. For now, I want to just bask in not-disappointment.

This is my favourite of the bunch. It looks like she’s coming apart and being remade into something darker than she was and it looks damn cool. Not sure about the face (it’s kind of dur-y) but other than that I have no complaints.

This one is very pretty and has a great use of sometimes difficult colours. The fade effect is pulled off well and the face works for me this time around. There is a strange dark spot at the hip that I see you tried to balance with the mouth but it doesn’t quite work. I definitely love what the collar does for your theme.

My least favourite and I am about to get sooo nitpicky up in here. Why the green if you weren’t going to distribute it? Why the lack of an orange skin to merge the face with the rest? Why the not-so-unrestrained expression? It’s pretty but it fails on all my other counts and is sort of a sad end to your collection.

9/10+8/10+5/10 = 22/30

You stole the show hun!! I knew you had it in you to really impress us and you did it! You combined your talent in making strong female types with your knack for interesting shapes, layering, and colors and really created a strong cohesive collection. I really love how you tied them all together with the flowy clothes as well as the swirls around them and on their foreheads.

First is what initially caught my eye in this collection. The purple just really makes this pop. I also really love the look of debris coming off of her. I wouldn't change a damn thing.
Second didn't seem like much at first, but now that I took the time to really look at it, it's gorgeous. The teals really just put this above and beyond. The fading effect is done really well also. And the expression is really statuesque which makes me think cold so kudos.
Unfortunately, the third is your weakest. Which, given my affinity for orange, was really disappointing. The shades are all over the place, the layering is not to the standard of the other two, and the face does not read unrestrained anger. It's too clean and "pretty".

Despite the weak third avi, the collection as a whole was fantastic. You really seem to have thought about every little piece. Your theme is strong and I'm just really pleased!
9.5/10 + 9.8/10 + 5.7/10 = 25/30

72.6/90








-My Litlle Shadow-


Along with being based off my personality, my entries were also loosely inspired by Sanzaru, the 3 Wise Monkeys.
1]Kikazaru, the monkey who hears no evil. Represents my love of music and bright colors.
2]Iwazaru, the monkey who speaks no evil. Represents my lack of communication skills and edgy side.
3]Mizaru, the monkey who sees no evil. Represents my general coldness towards most people and subdued side.


*sigh.* This is disappointing, coming from you. All season long, I was waiting for your tendency for choppy layering to surface, as you demonstrated in LMAL Challenge 2. But you completely dominated the season with your consistent performance. You weren't getting as many challenge wins as Kasch, but you gave him a run for his money. But then you lapsed to your choppy layering. On the final round. Yikes.

The first is okay. The colors are distributed. The textures are distributed. The theme is apparent enough, etc etc. There are no glaring mistakes, theoretically. However, what's wrong with this entry is that I do not think the elements to this are harmonious. This is pretty much how my avatar looks like when I'm already tired of making each item "look good" with the avatar, and just settle with going for color distribution, etc. This is by no means a bad avatar. It's actually quite good. But it lacks the thought and the wow-factor to be amazing or win-worthy. (I do think the white washed out the "loud colors" that you wanted to portray too. Like I said, it seems as if you made this while you were tired. White is normally a crutch, for us.)

The second one is my fave of your set. (But not necessarily the highest scoring.) Not exactly as smooth in the layering as I would have liked, but at least all the colors and textures go together to form a clear idea. And it captures the mood you were going for really well. Love the pinks, man. The textures are inconsistent, though. You've got those zipper things, and then circle things, then straight lines, etc. Like I said, these avatars look wonky.

Aaand you ended with a clunker. This is my least fave of your set. The layering is just so, so forced. You really could have removed a color or two here. For one, it would have probably given you more freedom with layering. Secondly, it would have helped the darker mood you were trying to go for. Very haphazard.

All in all, they're ok avatars. In a different round, you could have squeaked by in the middle. Hey, maybe in the bottom. But you would have escaped elimination. But this is the final round, Shadow. I thought there just weren't enough wow, here. And in unfortunately, the three of them weren't all that cohesive a set either.

8.5/10 + 8/10 + 4.2/10 = 20.7/30


Uuuugh. Okay girl. I love you but I do not love these avis. I’m not as righteously pissed off at you as I was at Kasch but I’m still disappointed. You at least gave us a clear theme and while you tied it to another arbitrary archetypal three they were still clearly about you and I like that. I dislike that your collection relies so much on neutrals though and the whole things is definitely a stalling or step back in terms of your progression as a competitor.

The first one is my favourite just to look at. It would definitely have been better with another colour rather than the heavy use of white and there are some very strange layering choices. There is also the issue of the gold bracelets and tiny bit on the hair pin and then… no other gold? It feels unfinished.

Continuing our slow progression down… theme is clear but I don’t love the colour and the layering gets more painful. This also has another instance of forgotten colour distribution with the yellow (and red if I’m being picky) from the goggles.

Okay this is a clunky mess BUT there are no forgotten colours so is equals out?

6/10+5/10+3/10 = 14/30

I was so impressed with you this season. Especially the last two rounds with your crazy cool layering and shapes and colors...and then you conclude with these three clunkers. They're not horrible, but they are not the standard that you have been producing. These are weak color schemes, weak layering and matching 101... They might have squeaked you by in earlier rounds, but in the final round...they are extremely disappointing.

First is probably your cleanest construction wise. And is the most innovative for the color scheme and theme. However, the bright colors are rather muted paired with the white and black, and the music aspect is only seen in the headphones.
Second, could have been better if you hadn't gone so over the top with the colors. The pink especially stands out. It would have been much better if the pink had only been a subtle accent color. The textures on this are also all over the place. Especially that dotty texture on the chest.
And, the third just continues the trend of going down hill. You went from decent, to eh, to bad. This barely represents your theme and is a mess when it comes to layering. Very matching-101 and you made the cardinal mistake in blending a theme with matching. When accompanying a matching avatar with a theme you really need to think of how each item you add connects with the theme as well as the color scheme. Ritzy beads on the head, cute little slippers, lacey textures...these things do not read as cold. They say, matching for matching's sake.

After what I've seen from you I was prepared to be impressed and I was let down by what you produced. These are all very beginner tekteker, except for possibly the first one, and are not finale worthy. (As a side note: the reversible hair clips, while great for getting that little bit of color on the head where you need it, really look silly and stand out when plopped on top of the head. Layering them beneath other things really helps them not to read as "hairclips on top of hats".)
7.5/10 + 5/10 + 2/10 = 14.5/30

49.2/90






none


`April


none


none


-My Litlle Shadow- and kaschieka

[Bryan Seaturtle]

Ranking based chart.
Score based chart.



+7 - My Litlle Shadow -
+6 kaschieka
+2 `April



Nezerro
iymcool
Evolu
I-sapphira-I
Black_Daisys
PolarMints
Kitt Koneko
Teh Knightmare
weirdokun
Alexzandera
Remedy Forgotten
diet cider
marwolfer
Raccoon Red Love

[Bryan Seaturtle]

"4th • Nezerro • Eliminated Round 12"

I just think that while you did so-so on your own, you kinda failed the team aspect of the challenge.
The sheer amount of orange-gold really throws you off from the group so I wish you could have tempered that with softer pinks.
It seems like you focused too much on the torso and then threw something on last minute for the head.

"5th • iymcool • Eliminated Round 11"

Are you TRYING to get yourself eliminated? It became clear that you didn't have the range to pull off clutter.
I don't think you quite understood the challenge and rather than making the same avi's in two ways (direct translation) you made 'cohesive' avis (getting the gist across).

6th • Evolu • Eliminated Round 10

I can see how each individual item could work, or maybe even pairs of items, but when they all add up together, it's not harmonious.
I was disappointed when you said this wasn’t your serious WIP back at the beginning of the round since I was actually quite a fan. However, I do not think you edited enough from that.
It's difficult to look at. I say difficult because my eyes are taken in so many different directions due to all the busy items. Flowers, ribbons, staff, head gold thing...they just don't flow.

7th • I-sapphira-I • Disqualified Round 9/10

"8th • Black_Daisys • Eliminated Round 8"

You say you only worked on this for 30 minutes. I can't say I'm not surprised. This is where your simpler avatars border on boring.
It definitely looks unfinished.
I'm bored and feel as though I've seen this exact design many times over. You took the safe route in many ways.

"9th • PolarMints • Eliminated Round 7"

This is the instance where your ******** didn't work. It's obviously rushed.
This one's a miss. This is messy and clunky and over the price limit to boot!
This has potential...it really does. The torso has some interesting layering, but then I get to the waist and it's literally down hill from there.

"10th • Kitt Koneko • Eliminated Round 6"

Yes, you thought about what kinds of textures to add, but I don't see much thought in how you placed them or utilized them.
I think this was the most... bland avvie you could do considering the editorial you got. I don't think you really tried, honestly.
It comes off as incredibly messy and rushed. I think you would have been better off to try and echo one of the more structured dresses that was featured.

"11th/12th • Teh Knightmare • Eliminated Round 5"

You did not pull off that body mod AT ALL. I was hoping for more graceful layering up top, but you went with blockier items that just made this avatar clumsy.
I'm disappointed at the too-obvious way you chose to show cohesion.
On top of the convoluted theme, the flow and matching here really just makes these unappealing to look at overall.

"11th/12th • weirdokun • Eliminated Round 5"

I would have liked it had you gone with a very risky strategy and epically failed, but you went with a very go-to strategy and epically failed.
I feel like you guys didn't really work much on this at all.
He's got a ginormous head and big blocky layering. She's got bright blotches of color in random places.

"13th • Alexzandera • Eliminated Round 4"

You seem to view all the challenges only from a matching perspective. There’s no sense of personality, depth, or any interesting ideas in it.
Uughh... Very nooby looking here.
This is boring both in theme and in matching. I'm not really sure what you were thinking.

"14th • Remedy Forgotten • Quit Round 3"

i prob wont enter anything, id be out anyways

"15th/16th • diet cider • Disqualified Round 2"

"15th/16th • marwolfer • Disqualified Round 2"

"17th • Raccoon Red Love • Eliminated Round 1"

It's red-black-gold, but it's not done in a unique way. The themed items are very predictable.
I can't find anything visually appealing about this. If this had been sent in as part of your resume, believe me, you wouldn't have made the cut.
Black/red is difficult to do without looking nooby. I wish there was a bit more artistic approach here in the sense of color or item usage.

[Bryan Seaturtle]

THE WINNERS.

• Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5
Sher!ock • phosphOrlyescence • Catanaition N. D. • Jamais Changeant • `April •

[Bryan Seaturtle]

I was bored, so I made a FAQ:


1. Why is the contest a strictly matching contest? Why not welcome other styles of avatar-making?

The judges appreciate other styles of avatars. However, the judges do not believe in their credibility to judge such avatars. Also, the judges believe that in a competition setting, a strict guideline for avatars must be upheld. Allowing different styles to a competition will subject different avatars in completely different rubrics, which the judges find unfair. This does not allow an objective comparison of avatars, in their view.




2. Why can’t the judges comment on drafts?

The judges feel that giving a contestant a comment on their draft will give him or her an unfair advantage over the rest of his or her competition. Obviously, the judges cannot give a comment on the drafts of ALL competitors. And even if it can be done, comments have varying degrees of helpfulness (thus unfairness) that is immeasurable and therefore cannot be regulated. Hence, the judges feel it would be much simpler to just withhold any comments before the official judging can commence.



3. Why a have Pixel Point system?

The judges find it unfair in some cases where consistently impressive contestants are eliminated by a single bad round, while some contestants who are always making unimpressive avatars outlast those who were doing better throughout the competition. To remedy this, the judges wanted to “choose” the eliminee once a bottom two was declared, picking out consistent high scorers to save or bottom scorers to eliminate. However, this approach would pose some problems. Contestants might criticize the method as being too biased. Thus, the judges devised a system that was quantifiable, objective, and fair. And this later came in the form of the PP system.



4. Why does the contest use x/10 rates, instead of using a rubric?

The judges acknowledge the effectiveness of judging rubrics. However, the judges agree that rubrics are not effective in Pixel Pliancy, in particular.

First, rubrics point out aspects of a tektek to be graded separately. Avatars getting a perfect score in all these aspects are the only avatars deserving of a perfect score. In PP, the judges believe otherwise. Rubrics dictate these aspects of a tektek as if they were necessities to an avatar. The judges all agree that some aspects of an avatar may be sacrificed, if it meant making up for other aspects in return. For example, an avatar can be unoriginal (a factor in most rubrics) yet be executed very well.

Secondly, Pixel Pliancy has much diversity when it comes to its challenges. Some challenges call for precise matching, some call for strong theme, the use of a base, tell a story, create a character, be cohesive, etc. A rubric would not acknowledge the different requirements that these individual challenges would ask for.

Third, the judges feel that there are a lot of unacknowledged factors in rubrics (that do not warrant acknowledgement, because they are rarely present in avatars), but should affect scores just as much as matching, theme and the like. For example, judges may find that an avatar has “much thought put into its creation.” Innovation and persona are also some aspects that the judges find must be rewarded.



5. How come you don’t post entries in the front page as soon as you receive them?

The judges feel that doing so will give an unfair advantage to those that still have not submitted their entries. Entries in the front page will serve as a benchmark for other competitors to try and top.

Although it is true that most competitors opt to post a draft for comments in the thread, the judges acknowledge that not everyone wants to do so and may want to keep his or her drafts private until being sent to the judges.

[Bryan Seaturtle]

[Bryan Seaturtle]

[Bryan Seaturtle]

[Bryan Seaturtle]

[Bryan Seaturtle]