I confess I'm not sure I get how the violent-subjugation silhouettes relate to the sphinx face. It may in fact be apt political commentary, but I think the image would be more compelling if the subjugation elements were less transparent (i.e., a stronger presence) and positioned on the lower third (i.e., not overlapping the sphinx face).

It seems to me that any source could have been used to create the door; the contest title seems to have informed this image more than the source itself. The ghostly face might be more compelling if there were dramatic lighting.

Nice image, except the 'goddess' does not stand out. And if she's supposed to be a Muse, why not have the musical notes appear to surround her?

Interesting. To me, the crown seems too high, like its floating slightly above his head rather than resting upon his head. And in any event, the crown is facing in a slightly different direction than he is. Not sure what the horns add. The pendant appears to be floating -- no evidence of gravitational pull. I would darken the background a bit as the red tint is too uniform IMO.

Totally awesome idea, but I wish the image could exist alone as an odd collection of artifacts even if one didn''t know they actually represented band names. For example, the bomb looks like a flat thing on top of the pic rather than a 3D object sitting on the countertop. And what is the "blah blah blah" written on? Plus the uniform spacing of elements across the image is kind of boring.

I think a real (not a carved wood) mouse would be EEk-ier. And having it scurrying across her face (not merely in front of it) would be even more compelling.

Interesting. I don't get the black bar across the top, however. And to me, this seems more surreal (very intriguingly so) than Twilight Zone-y (which is more about creepy in an otherwise real context IMO).

Very cool disturbing mix of title and image. Spacing between phone booths 4 and 5 is too close, however, as it's not consistent with that between the first four booths. Thinking about the Rule of Thirds, I wonder if the impact would be even greater if the booths were shifted to left such that the big, front booth were centered on the left 'third' line.

I have to agree with erikuri. This looks more like 'green beauty' as the leaves dominate the white flowers.

Interesting, but I'm not quite getting the singing crotches (but I admit I'm not familiar with the band Skeletons).

Very cool, but I wish your title had used initial caps and had spelled "Chili" correctly [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hot_Chili_Peppers ].

Cool image. I do think a better title -- and an SBS -- would increase its impact, however.

The background is too noticeable and there's too much of it IMO. My suggestion: crop out the right third of the image, then drastically darken the background and add spooky moonlight lighting to the foreground elements.

Very cute and creative. This really grabbed my attention! Shadows are a concern, however. Aside from the fact that the body doesn't cast any shadow at all, it seems to me that the light is from the front and not the back as implied by the leg shadows. The feet and left side seem lit from the left. Also, the head has odd bulges and I think the red stripe should be parallel to the neck seam. And the floor cracks look fake -- on top of instead of into the floor.

Interesting. But I have to admit that if the background horse would just let go and fall into the water, this image would prompt more feelings from me -- but I confess to being somewhat insensitive in general and not especially moved by horses in particular.

I agree with CMYK46 that the colors are odd, but I'm guessing that merely recoloring a photo won't score that high in any event.

So who/what is "mku design" in SBS Step 4? Also, it's not clear to me why the horse and rider aren't standing in the center of the orb. Or what the glowing circle in the orb's base is. Let alone why the reflection looks so flat.

I'm guessing you're a lot younger than me.

Cool idea. Assymmetry of guy's torso is a little disturbing, however, at least to me. I wish the guy stood out more given that he's where you put all your work. Moving him to the right a tad to bring him in accordance with the Rule of Thirds might help. Placement of the elements seems random. The ticket dispensers are stranded with no apparent path to them from the guy and then no way to go anywhere once a ticket is purchased. I find it hard to evaluate the relative size and position of the medium-sized fighters since this is just 2D, plus they're not casting any ground shadows. I think either bigger (clearly closer) or smaller (clearly farther away) would be more effective. The very bright highlights on the left fighter do not seem justified by anything else in the image.

Good idea, but it does look more like a boombox head than a mere radio head IMO. An old-fashioned radio would work really well with the old-fashioned costume that evokes a radio-only era. I also think cropping off the guy's legs diminishes the retro charm.

Cool idea. Her small size does reduce the impact, however. Moving her to the right foreground so that her forelegs are almost standing on the blue dead guy she has just vanquished would be more compelling IMO. Doing something with the sky and the lighting might create more drama as well.

Disturbing. Nose is flat and 'hat' looks fake (not centered on scalp, needs more refined blending into hair, coloring should be more muted).

Some nice mood. Either the woman is huge or the horses are small. Horns and wings don't blend into horses convincingly. Everything in the composition seems to be equal so I don't know what to look at. Why not put the woman in the foreground at 4 o'clock, the two unicorns together in the background at 8 o'clock, and Pegasus at 1 o'clock (perhaps partially out of frame)? Except looking at light sources suggests that Pegasus could use a horizontal flip.

Now that I know that the name of the band is 'Blind Melon,' I retract my comment about the conductor's baton and instead note that the red part of a blind person's cane is at or near the ground-touching end. (BTW "watermelon" is one word and shows more variability than you describe according to Merriam-Webster: "a large oblong or roundish fruit with a hard green or white rind often striped or variegated, a sweet watery pink, yellowish, or red pulp, and usually many seeds."

Very cool, but I think the blown flame's edges should be wholly contained within the dragon's mouth -- and probably would be largely on the back side of the visible fang. I don't get the lower jaw which looks like it's 2D casting a shadow in the background. Eye glow would be more threatening if it were less flat looking. Outer edges of neck flare are a little bland.

Tropical pineapple as a building form in the desert is an interesting concept. I'm afraid I'm going have to disagree with erathion, however. The light in Source 1 seems to be coming from the front more or less and the pineapple is lit similarly (as is still evidenced in the highlights in the leafy crown of your current entry). SBS Step 5 has good lighting to my mind, but nevertheless has some other problems: Pineapple shadow needs to be sharp, not vague, consistent with harsh desert light. Doorway arch needs both right and left sides. Similarly, faux right-side window arches require faux left-side window arches. (My solution would be no faux window arches.) Make the lighting more dramatic like your current entry (but without letting the pineapple blend into the background and without the black border). I think the interior ladder should be moved to the right so it's only partially visible -- or maybe just delete it as it seems kind of unnecessary without more interior light.

Cool idea that brings to mind the gherkin in London. Nevertheless, a building (as opposed to an illuminated reflecting-pool sculpture, for example) would probably be truly vertical and would certainly have (human-scale) windows and an entrance..

Cool head thing with awesome tire-tread-like marks, one if which cleverly morphs into a wry smirk, and good band-name choice. But I wouldn't really know what the head thing was if I hadn't been told the band name -- and I think being able to figure out the band from the image would be more compelling. I'm guessing this is a watermelon. The eyes having pupils, however subtle, hints at seeing to my mind. I would note that 'fruit' can be plural, so adding an array of slightly stylized fruit (your interpretation of orange and banana would be very interesting, for example) with (varying number of, perhaps) glazed eyes might convey the band's name more clearly. And then I think the conductor's baton is unnecessary (unless "Band" is part of your band's name -- but then why not have the fruit playing instruments?).

Pretty. Maybe it's just me, but I had a hard time 'reading' the vase initially. The white looked like just negative space with some reddish blotches. The SBS description told me what it was. Perhaps shading on the vase to make it appear 3D like the flowers would be clearer. Or maybe eliminate all the decoration on the vase so it's just a shape. [BTW "Bouquets" is misspelled.]

Interesting, although I would personally find this more compelling if each photo were from a different horse to form a motley whole. The glow on the pins/tacks is kind of weird, but regardless, I think they should cast shadows of some sort. The light source is inconsistent, e.g., the upper left photo seems to be lit from the left while the bottom right photo seems to be lit from the right (with the frame around the pinboard apparently lit from the front).

Amusing and kind of cute in a creepy sort of way. While the reflection shape is appropriate for a shadow, true reflections in flat mirroring surfaces do not change size or shape, i.e., they are simple vertical flips. (At this close range with a very deep 3D object, I would vertically flip the trolley-front plane where it touches the surface and separately vertically flip the guy-front plane back where it touches the surface.)

The [contest] source gets lost because it's not as crisp/sharp as the other elements which diminishes the impact of the (otherwise intriguing) image overall IMO.

Interesting. Agree with beocity that the waterfall should cascade into some sort of pool. The sky looks like it's missing.

Cute. But I feel like the waves dominate when I think the duck should be the focus. (And why not a row of waves behind the duck?)

Like the concept. More emphasis on the patent-leather shine of the hat bill might help it stand out more against the background. I think the placement of the hat on the eagle is more jaunty than military. I agree with elficho that the font on the text may be too florid, but I wouldn't rule out serifs. The Rule of Thirds would prompt me to crop out the empty space on the right side.

Nice mood. I confess that I feel like the wimpy-edged crosses in the background look more vampirish than an homage to the fallen, however. I think crisp, military edges on the crosses would be more compelling.

I think there's some more depth now. BTW if you create a selection beforehand, that constrains where your burning occurs so you can easily get hard lines between burned and unburned areas..

The parade is indeed nice, but the shadows are weak (compared with shadows on right side of image) and the rear paraders seem oversized relative to the parade watchers.

Like the concept. The not-so-cubist extraterrestrial is not at all that clear without looking at the SBS. Cubism is largely suggestive in any event, so the alien needs to be much stronger IMO and readily identifiable as such as it's deconstructed. The guitar is merely split apart while I think of cubism as partial duplicates overlapping at differing angles.

This has a lot of potential, but I have to agree with elficho. A more dramatic arrangement of elements with greater contrast in lighting and something in crisp focus would help a lot. To be blunt, this is uniformly bland.

Very appealing colors and mood. Background pic is beautiful, but I confess I don't get the point of the additions and glows. Most questionable, what does skateboarding have to do with love?

Nice idyllic feel. Perspective on shack element is off, however. The surface of the deck in front should be pointing at the horizon [see the original source], not aimed toward the sky like a launching ramp. Lower the shack so the far edge of the deck is below the horizon. I would also be tempted to delete the boat tied to the deck. Not only does it add little more than clutter, there's a scale issue between that boat and the one with the fishermen.

Cute. Can't say I would call the interior light warm and inviting, however. The grass blades should cast (more) shadow, and indeed, a darker perimeter would enhance the feeling of isolation.

Very creative, but the butterflies/moths look flat, not three-dimensional. Some Burn Tool on the bodies and refinement of the shadows falling on the background (different parts of the moth would be different distances from the background and thus would cast a slightly different shadow) would help. A stick pin through each moth might add to the realism.

While I think this is very cute and probably on theme, I agree with gamemastertips that a mix incorporating a photo would be nice — but clearly not required by the contest description. Additionally, I think the description is overdone (and largely inexplicable relative to the image). Just like you shouldn't have to explain a joke, you shouldn't have to explain an image beyond its title.

Amusing concept. Title sucks. Pxleyes home page on one of the screens would up the humor quotient IMO.

SBS reveals that you properly used this contest's image to create the dragon and boat [cool!] which was then inserted into another contest image as the background. But the reflection is wrong (dragon is covering top two thirds of tower which should then be perfectly reflected in the water). Plus, what is illuminating the inside edges of the boat?

Lovely, but I see neither April nor Paris.

..and move the cave man to the left to conform with the Rule of Thirds and thereby fully reveal the urinal which I think is the most amusing element.

Interesting idea, but the smoke and steam don't look realistic. And out-of-bounds images are more compelling if the OOB element is more substantially out of the photo frame. Scrunch the left photo edge so the white frame seems to be parallel to the front of the train engine.