Mysteries Untold WINNERS

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Mysteries Untold

Mysteries Untold STAMP 2 by Dhuaine
February 21st, 2009 - April 26th, 2009.
Rules and prize list: dhuaine.deviantart.com/journal… .
Contest closed with 47 entries.
dhuaine.deviantart.com/favouri…
Jury: Dhuaine, Mithgariel, wolfenchanter.


Contest Summary


The Theme
Endless possibilities, unlimited perspectives. No need for words, no need for storytellers; the visions speak for themselves. The point of this contest is to convey a complex vision without using a human/animal model and human references, resorting only to inanimate matter and flora.

The Overview
The contest lasted for 64 days. 47 entries were approved, there were no late entries and 1 early entry, 8 entries were rejected. There were 40 valid individual entrants, which means that 7 deviants entered the contest with two deviations.
:bulletred: 61 deviants declared their willingness to participate in the public poll posted before the contest started.
:bulletred: 0.8338 submission notes were received daily.
:bulletred: 127 contest-related notes were received.
:bulletred: 106 contest-related notes were sent.
:bulletred: 233 contest-related notes were exchanged. This means that 2.7734 notes were exchanged daily during the whole set-up, contest duration and voting period.
:bulletred: The last entry was submited 23 minutes and 19 seconds before the deadline.
:bulletred: Typing this journal took 4 hours and 8 minutes.
:bulletred: I'm not a maths freak.

Judging Process

The entries were rated in five categories:
:bulletred: idea / vision / compatibility with the theme - 24 points max
:bulletred: originality - 28 points max
:bulletred: technical prowess - 33 points max
:bulletred: impact - 12 points max
:bulletred: personal opinion - 3 points max
Total: 100.
The weights were chosen in order to balance the amount of points given for partial categories (where the ratings could overlap) and for qualities that are easier to judge fairly.
Every entry could score from 0 to 100 points (via arithmetic mean) in first round of voting.
Unfortunately, there were many ties in the upper part of the score table so second round for several entries was necessary. The secondary results were calculated in sandbox and thus can't be easily compared with the rest of the deviations.
The ties for entries 11-47 were left unresolved.
If anyone wants to know their entry's exact rating and/or position on the list, please note me with the deviation's title. :aww:

A Few Words

The contest is finally over! :D Or maybe I should say: "it's already over", since it all passed that quickly that it seems to me like I only posted the first contest journal only a couple of days ago. ;)
I would like to thank everyone who entered - you were all amazing :heart: I honestly didn't expect so many good entries. The overall quality is very high and we had some trouble with picking the winners.
Everyone who supported Mysteries Untold - thank you so much :heart: All this wouldn't have been possible if not for you! I would especially love to thank people who actually encouraged me to organize this contest. It's become quite a success!
Finally, thanks for everyone who donated and the judges - your help was invaluable :love:

OK, the end of this gibberish ;)

The Winners


First Place


Towards the Within by aegina
There was no doubt that Towards the Within will score the first place. The atmosphere in this incredible piece is so thick that one can almost feel it pressing against their skin. The whole image is enigmatic and cryptic, as if trying to speak up to the viewer but in a language that isn't quite apprehensive. This is truly the mystery untold.





Second Place

:thumb119828781:

Forlorn Hollow by PixelatedKiwi
A dark glade shimmering in the eerie, not quite natural but not disturbing either lighting holds many secrets that the viewer can only attempt to guess. The image has great, calming atmospheric quality.



Third Place


Tomorrow by Anacorreal
Puzzling, non-standard, weird and forcing the viewer to ponder what exactly they are seeing - Tomorrow is truly a complex mystery, one that cannot be easily explained and understood. The imagery is abstract, alien almost, and it does great job at spurring viewer's imagination into dreamlike speculations.






The Prizes


Current prize list: dhuaine.deviantart.com/journal… .
I will be noting all donators tomorrow. :D If you see this journal first, please contact the winners before donating subs / sending anything - they might want to give the prizes to someone else :)

The two-week journal feature from me will start in a few days (this journal doesn't count). I'm still thinking of a way to give everyone the best exposure. They deserve it :)
You are all encouraged to feature your own personal favorites instead of mine - they're purely subjective :aww:

All winners and the rest of top ten will be also featured in news article.

Honourable Mentions


Personal Favorites

:thumb120131189:

Carcosa by Petiboy
Unique representation of dark urban theme. Alien civilization, foreign city under foreign skies. This image is both disturbing and intriguing, it draws the viewer inside and doesn't let them go. The execution reminds me of illustrations in children's horror stories - though admittedly, this one looks more appropriate for adults' version, imaginative and a little morbid.



Where the sun goes down by Nerahye
Remains of an old building carved into a rock jutting out of the earth in the middle of nowhere - this powerful imagery undoubtedly has many stories to tell. The lighting plays tricks on the viewer: the ground itself seems to glow, disregarding the natural luminance of the sunset. The attention to detail is brilliant; every time I'm a looking at this image I'm finding something new, like the vegetation-covered stairs vanishing into the rock or delicate statue crowning the main entrance.


Top Ten
(or what remained of it)

:thumb114238819: never seen by Panicalex The Shire by CearaFinn





 
Design and coding by Dhuaine.
All images from sxc.hu. Brushes by Illyera.
© 2009 - 2024 Dhuaine
Comments24
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Panicalex's avatar
Huh pierwsza 10 to nie najgorzej co nie? :D