The Smash Grand Festival Spriting Contest (Closed)

[Firus]

Sincerest apologies for the late judging, guys. I've got a lot of things going on at the moment and it completely slipped my mind yesterday.

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CrimsonFeint - ForeverAlOnix

F8AL: I like this sprite very much and you masterfully melded the 'Forever Alone' meme together with Onix. The way you blended the face with the sprite is very good and you can easily tell what face the sprite is supposed to be representing. I think you did the coloring and shading on the face very well as well and you caught the texture for the rock surface spot on.

Firus: I really like what you did with this sprite. The shading on the right side of the head is a little strange, but I love how you transformed Onix’s head into the “Forever Alone” face while maintaining his rocky texture, and doing so quite well, might I add. You blended the face well with Onix to the extent that it looks very natural, and that’s an accomplishment.

Neon Ness: I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to scale down Forever Alone to a few pixels in size. Some of the shading is a little confusing on the face, like that gray patch on the right side (possibly just missing an outline?), and a few more slight wrinkles/grooves might’ve contributed in terms of details. But mostly this is a well done fusion.

F8AL: 8/10
Firus: 9/10
Neon Ness: 8/10
FINAL: 8.33

Daddy Ash - FuRageFet

F8AL: When I first looked at the sprite I didn't like it very much but upon closer inspection I noticed that it didn't have to look uniform or anything and that the sprite wasn't meant to be taken seriously. While I think pulling off that face on a sprite would be almost impossisble for me, I think you did it quite nicely and found myself laughing at the sprite when I finished thinking about it. You made the eyes perfect but I think you could've done a bit more work on the mouth. Overall, I think you did a good job on the sprite and with a couple of tweaks it could be perfect.

Firus: You did a good job with this sprite. The “Fuuu” face was well-constructed and it blends in with Wobbuffet well; although the face is odd (just due to the fact that it’s a strange face), it looks natural on Wobbuffet. My one complaint about this sprite is that the face clashes with Wobbuffet’s body position a little bit; if you had moved his other arm up in the air instead of having it bent at his side, I think it would’ve lent itself better to the face and completed the sprite.

Neon Ness: I love the eyes/eyebrows lol. The face just fits really well on Wobbuffet, oddly enough. The shape of the mouth is slightly off (I think it’s a little more angled down near the sides as opposed to being rounded off) but it’s still easily recognizable. Nicely done.

F8AL: 9/10
Firus: 8/10
Neon Ness: 9/10
FINAL: 8.67/10

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Congratulations to Daddy Ash for being the winner of Round 11!

For the Round 12 Prompt, I'm going for something a little more involved, but I think this should be interesting to see, so bear with me:

Back in the early days of Pokémon, there were rumors of a "Pikablu" obtainable in Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow through various extreme methods. These rumors were false; however, there were various theories on what Pikablu was. Some believed Pikablu to be a Pikachu evolution, others believed it to be some secret legendary Pokémon. ("Pikablu" was also a nickname assigned to Marill once it was first seen.)

Create a sprite which represents your concept of "Pikablu". (You could just submit a Marril or blue-colored Pikachu, but keep in mind that entries like that won't be judged kindly. )

The deadline is Wednesday, June 29th at 11:59 PM EST.

Note that since the round is starting a bit late and this is a more involved prompt, I'm extending the deadline a few days.

 

[Purple]

Do i need to sprite again?

oki

 

[Kantrip]

Congrats Daddy Ash

This next prompt is... Interesting

 

[CT Chia]

Oh man I wish I remember what me and my friends drew back in the day for Pikablu

 

[Daddy Ash]

oh wow, am shocked that FuFet won, thought crim's ForeverAlOnix had it won for sure.
As for the new prompt, it looks interesting...better start having a play around with my pikablu design ideas

EDIT: Right I decided to quick sprite a possible idea for my pikablu submission, not perfect but a start...Seeing as blue pokes are normally water oriented, and marill was originally mistaken for pikablu, decided to make my pikablu water based

My Pikablu attempt :D (so far anyway)
Looks smaller than other sprites I did but that is base height of squirtle's body

 

[Kantrip]

When I saw Pikablu, I took a literal approach to the prompt. This is what I ended up with:

Pikachu + Swablu = Pikablu!

 

[Daddy Ash]

very good idea crim, and a nice sprite :D
May re-do mine before prompt end date, only quickly slapped pika's head and tail and vaporeon's fin onto squirtle's body, recoloured to squirtle's pallette and rejigged the outlines, hours work if that. Now if I have a spare 2 hoyrs again in time is another matter lol
EDIT: Had a little inspiration and came up with...

My final entry, looks more in keeping with pikachu imo, and colours are nice, it's basically dragonair and pikachu...Pikair Pikablu :D

 

[Kantrip]

Dang, nice sprite! Mine needs some more work I think. I'll probably revise it a bit and post again later.

 

[Daddy Ash]

Thanks crim, got the inspiration from your non water typed pikablu lol and love the colours dragonair uses, still not 100% happy with how head and tail look at like 900% magnification, seem choppy, but will try clean them up before end date if possible, if not they don't look too bad from normal sprite size. I look forward to seeing your revised pikablu, your current one looks amazing.

 

[Fuelbi]

This is my entry for Pikablu

No I'm being serious this is my entry

 

[Kantrip]

Winning. That is all.
/sheen

Seriously though lol marill

 

[Daddy Ash]

that sprite entry fuelbi is pure winning

Latest Pikablu entry.
Reworked the sprite very slightly, fixed up tail a little, not much but looks better imo, although no-one else may notice the changes.

 

[Pink Reaper]

Can i just point out that the prompt is "Create a sprite which represents your concept of 'Pikablu'" and yet everything that's been submitted so far seems like "Pikachu water type and Fuelbi being ********"?

 

[Kantrip]

Swachu pikablu isn't water type

 

[Daddy Ash]

My concept of pikablu was primarily water based, then it became part dragon with dragonair instead, My concept of a pokemon that doesn't exist is what I have created.
Asking for our concept on what a pokemon should look like is like asking for an opinion, none are wrong.

 

[Fuelbi]

Can i just point out that the prompt is "Create a sprite which represents your concept of 'Pikablu'" and yet everything that's been submitted so far seems like "Pikachu water type and Fuelbi being ********"?

Excuse me, but that's not the real sprite, I added one extra pixel so that people couldn't say that that wasn't my creation

 

[Kantrip]

The out of place white one near his arm or the three orange ones?

 

[Fuelbi]

Nono a tiny little off shaded blue by his ear

 

[Daddy Ash]

I see the pixel now, very nice touch fuelbi
On another note when did you recieve your postbit for winning a spriting round? still waiting on mine

 

[Fuelbi]

I see the pixel now, very nice touch fuelbi
On another note when did you recieve your postbit for winning a spriting round? still waiting on mine

Iunno a couple of days after I tied with MK for the first round

 

[Daddy Ash]

ahh ok thanks, sits and waits for my posbit...I can be patient, wonder if anymore people will post entries for this prompt though

 

[M.K]

Introducing: Pikablu!

I never really got into the whole "pre-release hype" until 4th Generation, so I hadn't really ever considered Pikablu to be somewhat viable. I understood that people had thought the blue creature was somehow related to Pikachu, but in actuality, Pikablu (who would later "evolve" into Marill) was just another prototype for the Rodent-esque creature that plagues is featured in every generation of games. Pikachu, Pichu (and by extension, Marill), Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu, and Emolga are all "Pikablus" in their own right, so I just imagined a slight combination of "a Pikachu relative" and what we know today as "Marill" to be the earliest Pikablu concept image.

 

[Daddy Ash]

meta, your pikablu is amazing, looks so cute and barely resembles a pikachu upon closer inspection. It looks so well put together as well, as if it were a real pokemon :D

 

[M.K]

Thank you, Daddy Ash!

 

[Daddy Ash]

your welcome, one last thing could you hack your pikablu into my Pokemon Black, I gotta catch one lol

 

[UltiMario]

If not ironically, making it Pink would actually match the earliest concept rather than Blue, but I guess this is called Pikablu for a reason.

 

[Mic_128]

Sorry bout the delay Daddy, missed seeing the last lot of winners. Stiff competition!

 

[Daddy Ash]

thanks for the postbit mic :D and looking forward to seeing judging of this week's prompt, my money is on meta at the moment

 

[Firus]

I forgot to clarify this earlier, but the judging for Round 12 will be posted tomorrow!

 

[Firus]

Damn, I'm sorry the judging slipped my mind. Between having a medical procedure yesterday morning and having last-minute-preparation panic for ConnectiCon, I totally forgot about it yesterday.

Regardless, here's the Round 12 judging.

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CrimsonFeint

F8AL: I found interesting how you took the literal approach to your Pikablu and made a splice of Swablu and Pikachu. The beak on Pikablu looks awkwardly attached and in my opinion, would've been better if you chose a slightly better angle for it and a way to seperate it from the rest of the body a bit. Besides that, the wings were nicely made and the overall scheme of the colors were chosen well.

Firus: Interesting approach to the prompt, and fairly well-executed for what it is. As far as the fusion goes, I think you could’ve been a little more creative, infusing Swablu a little more (although since Pikachu tends to be the focus of it, I can see why you’d not add as much Swablu). Conceptually, I wouldn’t have thought of it myself, but given the prompt I had something a little more out-of-the-box in mind than a fusion.

Neon Ness: It is essentially a blue rodent, but the idea was to incorporate what your idea of Pikablu was without actually knowing what it looked like. Swablu is a pre-existing Pokemon so I was hoping for more original elements that came from your own ideas of “Pikablu”. The fusion is not terrible but it seems most of Swablu’s elements were sort of tacked on to a simple recolor.

F8AL: 7.5/10
Firus: 5/10
Neon Ness: 4/10
FINAL: 5.5/10

Daddy Ash

F8AL: I think you chose the right colors for your Pikablu but the tail seems to look like it was just tacked on to the rest of the sprite. I think it would've been better if you just took out the outline seperating the tail completely or at least choosing an outline that ended up blending better with the rest of the tail. I also think it was odd how big the patches on Pikablu's cheeks are, but ultimately I realized it's just the color scheme that you used that made the cheeks stand out more. Overall, good job on this sprite, but I think the tail could've been melded together better.

Firus:I like what you did with this fusion. It maintains a Pikachu feel well, which fits along with the Pikachu focus that tends to come along with the concept of Pikablu. I also think you incorporated pieces of Dragonair well with the sprite, giving it a somewhat legendary feel; I especially like the infusion of Dragonair’s orb in the sprite. However, conceptually, as with CrimsonFeint’s sprite, I had something more than a fusion in mind with the prompt. Overall, you did a good job with the fusion, but it falls short a bit conceptually.

Neon Ness: First of all, I want to say that this is a decent fusion on its own, I really enjoy the colors you used. The body is also well done although the flow from the torso to the tail could have been more seamless (maybe just get rid of the feet altogether?), especially with that dark line along Pikachu’s left (our right) side. Again though, the non-Pikachu elements come from a Pokemon that already exists so the originality is somewhat lacking. Some elements that you had created on your own would have really pushed this idea further.

F8AL: 8.5/10
Firus: 6/10
Neon Ness: 6/10
FINAL: 6.83/10

Fuelbi

F8AL: No comments

Firus: I did say that you could submit entries like this…but I did also say that they wouldn’t be received well. =P

Neon Ness: I c what u did there

F8AL: 0/10
Firus: 0/10
Neon Ness: 1/10
FINAL: 0.33/10

M.K

F8AL: I feel like your sprite literally came to the closest depiction of Pikablu back in the day. The sprite almost looks as if someone working on a pokemon game had a hand on this and the design was just so cute. I honestly felt as if your Pikablu was part of the rodent family that seems to be plaguing us now. (i.e. Plusle, Minun, etc.) The colors felt right on it and his facial expression is pretty well done.

Firus:I love this sprite both in its artistic qualities and its concept. It’s a very well-created sprite that stands out in its own right, keeping from resembling any single pre-existing Pokémon such that it could be its own yet having that same rodent feel that each generation’s respective rodents have. I do like that, of any rodent, it most resembles Marril in such a way that it’s almost like a prototype of Marril, which is fitting given Pikablu’s origins and how that was the name given to Marril before any official name was given. If this sprite were made to be 8-bit, it would fit in perfectly with the old games and I could truly imagine it being Pikablu.

Neon Ness: I really like the design here. It’s not overly complicated, just the essential elements of a small, cute blue rodent but it really works. There’s something strangely familiar about it as I feel like this could have easily been the actual Pikablu. There’s not much for me to comment on, the only thing is the segments on the legs make it look somewhat robotic or doll-like and I’m not sure if that’s what you had in mind. Great colors and overall concept.

F8AL: 9.5/10
Firus: 9.5/10
Neon Ness: 9/10
FINAL: 9.33/10

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Congratulations to M.K for being the winner of Round 12 in his fourth Grand Festival victory, and for being the first contestant to earn a Luxury Ball postbit!

This next round's prompt:

Redesign a Trainer sprite to look like a famous historical figure, past or present, and include a Pokemon that best fits that figure's personality/reputation.

(For instance, I might redesign Crasher Wake to look like Al Capone and set him next to Honchkrow.)

The deadline is Friday, July 15th at 11:59 PM EST.

Thanks to Neon Ness for coming up with the prompt for this round! I'm interested to see what you guys come up with. (Bonus points to anyone who chooses Millard Fillmore

Spoiler

No not really, even though Millard Fillmore is amazing

.)

 

[Daddy Ash]

Gratz to M.K a very well deserved win imo. blew my sprite out of the water with his level of work and also gratz on the luxury ball postbit :D
And the new prompt...wow...gonna have to put some serious thought into this one, got a feeling it sounds easier than it will be.

 

[Kantrip]

Congrats M.K

I really like this next prompt, I'll start working now I guess.

EDIT: Alright, I'm finished. One small step for spriting, one giant leap for...

...

...spritekind?

Anyways, here's my submission: NASA Executive Armstrong!

 

[Daddy Ash]

nice entry crim :D might have to sit out this prompt, my soon to be wife is ill and on bedrest, between work and my 17 month old daughter, barely got time to get online let alone sprite, good luck to all entries this week, and I look forward to seeing the winner's sprite

 

[Wretched]

I have never sprited, but I have seen the prompt and I'm on my way to beginning :D.
Expect something out of me by the end of night

 

[CT Chia]

wooo it's been a while but I'm entering this

got a good idea

 

[Kantrip]

Thanks Ash, I hope your fiancé gets well soon!

Also looking forward to seeing the sprites that will be created. Mine is way too boring and not enough changed about it, for sure. I'm gonna' see if I can work on it a bit more. Maybe I'll try to get him in his astronaut's outfit rather than just a white suit thing.

 

[Wretched]

Introducing:
Mr. Ben Franklin, and his assistant, Rotom:Kite Form

The transparency is just smash BG colored, so if you need legitimate transparency, I can figure it out. This should do for now, though.

 

[CT Chia]

Here is my submission for now. Originally I was going to do a dual sprite, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony with like Cofagrigus and Escavalier or something. After making the Cleopatra sprite though I'm sprited out lol. If I have time before the deadline I'll finish my original idea, but I'll keep it at this for now.

 

[Kantrip]

Wow, great entries guys!

Wretched, here is your sprite with a transparent background:

Also, I'm going to try to do a different sprite concept. Mine just isn't working out well.





Ahh, none of my ideas are working and I'm getting frustrated. This one will be my last entry for this prompt. At least it involved a lot more work on my part than my last idea. Not much of a historical figure as far as importance to history goes, but:

Steve Irwin and Krokorok!


Also, in the future we should do this prompt but with fictional characters!

 

[Wretched]

Thanks, Crim.
Sorry you went through all of the trouble to make it transparent, but I just put some finishing touches on my sprite, so here is my final entry.