1104 comments given:
avatar DanLundberg

Yes, it is better (although I would eliminate the foreground lamp's underside glow and raise the underside's far edge).

The foreground lamp and leaves are a good way to add depth to the image. The brightness of the foreground lamp makes it the focus, however. I would move it to the left so only half of it at best is visible in the frame.

(5 years and 2832 days ago)

The Park: Day Into Night
avatar DanLundberg

Terrific indeed. The burnt-out bulbs are a nice touch.

I'm afraid I have to give my allegiance to the 'less moon' crowd, however. The moon distracts rather than adds IMO. A just-out-of-frame moon could still illuminate the clouds elemare likes (although I would soften them a tad).

The reflection of the sign in the window is nice except a reflection needs to be the same distance from the reflective surface as the original is — so the reflection is much too close to the window pane. A little bit of the arrowhead would be reflected at best.

(5 years and 2832 days ago)

Diner at Night
avatar DanLundberg

Lovely up through about Step 15, but the introduction of the foreground lamp with a vanishing point much lower than that of the background makes it look simply like a lamp in front of a painted backdrop.

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

The Park: Day Into Night
avatar DanLundberg

Nice combination of romantic and spooky. I think a brighter moon and young woman would add more drama and create a stronger focus. If the moon is the primary light source, this side of the central chimney and balcony walkway should be in shadow and should cast shadows. You haven't provided a source for the moon which has a distracting edge glow.

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

lost
avatar DanLundberg

Very nice. I do feel the stand's light might extend out a bit farther, however. The background picnic table seems to be brighter lit than than the foreground table. The back of the foreground guy's T-shirt seems rather brightly lit yet there's not even a hint of a shadow on the ground. The right-side guy could also cast more of a shadow. (Might the Ferris wheel have more lights on it?)

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

Fair Night
avatar DanLundberg

Interesting. I think moving the moon to the left would balance the compositon more and add more drama as more branches would block it. I would expect the torches to cast an oranger light.

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

nameless
avatar DanLundberg

Needs to be seen in hi-res to be fully appreciated. This is a very good start, but the spread of the various lights needs work. The left and right windows should allow a lot more light on to the left and right sides of the lawn. The right exterior porch light doesn't seem to provide much illumination on the lawn at all. The very bright and very white foreground post lamp is illuminating very little.

I suspect the post lamp has a solid top and bottom so it can only spew light out its sides. Ergo, it can't illuminate the post it sits atop. (I recommend a nighttime stroll around your neighborhood to see how different lighting-fixture configurations cast light.)

Some sort of over-exposed interior inside the windows would be more realistic as well. And why not throw in some stars to make the sky more interesting?

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

Family night
avatar DanLundberg

Very arresting but this does strike me more as using a daytime pic to create a dramatic, fantastic night scene rather than transforming the day scene to a night version.

(5 years and 2833 days ago)

Tree of life at night
avatar DanLundberg

If you don't have any sources, then it's not unreasonable for you to demonstrate that you created it yourself. Erring on the side of caution, i.e., posting an SBS just in case, would seem to be the better part of valor, as it were.

I really like this logo but I'm not going to try to recreate my explanation as to why. I was probably foolish to waste my time commenting on a sourceless entry with no SBS—we all live and learn.

(5 years and 2837 days ago)

Rainforest Rescue
avatar DanLundberg

Too simple, IMO, but the underlying concept is creative. If I didn't know the theme of this contest, I'm not sure I would have noticed the owl faces. I would delete the little owl (just distracting) and make the big owl's gray portions a different color. The tag line on the bottom right doesn't add anything IMO and its font is totally at odds with the rest of the image.

(5 years and 2837 days ago)

...the Visual World
avatar DanLundberg

I totally agree with wazowski. This looks like dusk at best. A snowy background is a good choice for maximum reflection of moonlight—except I see the (half) moon is in the background, so let me change my observation to 'mountains make for a dramatic silhouette with heightened star-light shadows thanks to the snow.' I think the rear vehicle's headlights could be stronger. And the angle on the front vehicle's headlights should be higher. More white in the headlight light would also be warranted IMO as would more feathering of the edge along the mountain ridge.

I think your source pic has a lot of potential and there's still lots of time to realize it. Note that the pole thing in the foreground needs to cast a shadow consistent with the primary light source.

(5 years and 2837 days ago)

Mountain Road
avatar DanLundberg

I see a plane reflection has been added to the front round thing which is an excellent (and necessary IMO) enhancement. Only one plane's propeller is blurred, however, which seems unrealistic. Bumping up the contrast of the planes a tad might add to the drama. [BTW the front round thing seems pointy rather than spherical which is totally irrelevant to the image but apparently contrary to your intent.]

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

They
avatar DanLundberg

Associating "rebate" with a frog is genius!

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

Re-bate
avatar DanLundberg

Dramatic, but I don't get what "mouse hunter" is. The graphic unexpectedly emphasizes the mouse and not the hunter, plus the word 'mouse' is in a bigger font size than 'hunter.' And what's the point of the glowing ball off the end of the mouse's tail?

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

Mouse Hunter
avatar DanLundberg

I'm sorry, but I would never have realized that the caterpillar on wheels is a word. I admit I did feel "by Nature" seemed incomplete so I suspected the caterpillar spelled something, but that something was pretty obtuse (perhaps even less obvious to me who uses American spellings). I think the reflection just adds distraction to what is already a complicated logo.

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

Colour by Nature
avatar DanLundberg

To add to pearlie's palette observation, I think the black background captures the notion of 'adventure,' a slightly ominous feel of not knowing what to expect. This is butressed by the slightly edgy font of the main text.

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

Underwater Adventure
avatar DanLundberg

Interesting. To me it seems too abstract for its intended purpose, however. Squares implying a sea turtle could be cool for a nightclub called the Sea Turtle, but I think engaging the public to be concerned about real sea turtles should use a more-recognizable image. BTW, the text reads as "The Sea Exhibit Turtle" which confuses me. A different font for each word suggests frivolity when your goal is very serious.

(5 years and 2838 days ago)

Sea Turtle Exhibit
avatar DanLundberg

Simple and straightforward is good, except I think you wimped out on that with the pale gray instead of text-white for the bull silhouette and border which reduces the overall impact as a result IMO.

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

N. Bull Breeding Association
avatar DanLundberg

Very fun and colorful. I do find the ghost/shadow "ANT" distracting, however, especially when it runs into "Railways." I also confess I don't get what ants have to do with railways and the "Always Ahead" tag line doesn't give me any clues.

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

Ant Railways Welcome you !
avatar DanLundberg

Goofy company name, but its logo would have to look something like this. I don't know what happened when you cut out the giraffe, but its front-legs knees got too notched.

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

Gir-Have A Nice Day Tie Co.
avatar DanLundberg

Very fun and amusing—and the red, puffy lips are clearly begging for a kiss. I admit the underline doesn't work for me. (Maybe if it were lower so it looked like the floor the frog is sitting on?) The copyright symbol is usually a superscript with no space before it and I think it would be OK if it went of bounds as it were in order for "frog" and "wear" to share the same right margin (which IMO would make it clearer that all the text and not just "Childrens Wear" is copyrighted). [BTW "Children's" should have an apostrophe.]

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

Kiss the Frog
avatar DanLundberg

Cool logo. I wish the SBS showed the before and middle and not just the after of the warping and liquifying you did so the SBS would be more instructive for the rest of us.

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

tribal elephant god
avatar DanLundberg

I like the simplicity. The lack of color is kind of blah, however, which doesn't really entice me to visit the park. I also think "AQUARIUM PARK" should be a bit more prominent and I might consider adjusting its kerning to make that text as wide as the fish above it.

(5 years and 2840 days ago)

Fish Aquarium Park
avatar DanLundberg

I think logos need to be more compressed so they fit on business cards and at the top of correspondence as letterheads. I confess I don't get how the apparent business name relates to travel..

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

In a while crocodile!
avatar DanLundberg

Refreshing, but that's not a martini glass and why is the foreground lemon shadowed instead of casting a shadow?

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

martini beach
avatar DanLundberg

Very fun distortion. The squiggly bike coming down from his crotch is disturbing, however. I think more shadow on his crotch and on the ground is warranted.

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

Le Roi du Desert
avatar DanLundberg

I admit I had somewhat of the same reaction as happyme27 but I convinced myself that maybe Algernon Worm, for example, was the founder of Worm Industries. And it's a lioness—which might have a greater interest in diapers than a male lion but whose use here perhaps could be lacking in political correctness.

UPDATE: A male (adult) lion, of course, would have a mane.

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

Grouping
avatar DanLundberg

Rule of Thirds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

BTW Photoshop CS5 has a Rule-of-Thirds cropping-grid-lines option.

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

Flying Home
avatar DanLundberg

Lots of cute and certainly colorful. But to paraphrase: less crowded is more. The chick and the bear don't seem to be associated with any particular product. The outer edges of "Diaper Company" seem to exceed the boundaries of its logo. "Mouse Cheese" could stand out more from its background. These would be fun presented as billboards/signs/whatever on a cartoon street and would seem more 'realistic' in that environment. [BTW I think "TM" is supposed to go at the end of the text that has been trademarked.]

(5 years and 2843 days ago)

Grouping
avatar DanLundberg

Very dramatic and compelling but I wonder if that would be more so if the mothership were centered above the crater and the moon-planet moved along with it.

(5 years and 2845 days ago)

Mothership
avatar DanLundberg

Lots of cool stuff, but some problems as well: The space-suit guys are WAY too big. The stars wouldn't shine through the moon, neither the lit nor dark portions.

(5 years and 2845 days ago)

code red
avatar DanLundberg

I support the necessariness of a little green guy! And this is cute. I confess I don't understand the cross-shaped reflection thing at 9 o'clock on the flying saucer's body. Looking at the backside of the guy is kind of boring, however, but would be more interesting if we could see what he's heading toward--and then think about the Rule of Thirds in constructing the composition.

(5 years and 2845 days ago)

Flying Home
avatar DanLundberg

Interesting. The squid appear to be synchronized swimmers, however—but maybe that was part of your dream

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

Squidish Red
avatar DanLundberg

My immediate reaction is 'less is more.' The star with the spiral around it is particularly distracting. The moon has a white outline and I'm disturbed by its crispness against the blurry planet (or is that the result of the planet's atmosphere?) A greater color contrast between the moon and planet would be nice IMO.

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

The Maker
avatar DanLundberg

Very dramatic. Would make a great cover for a 1950's sci-fi paperback but not quite as realistic as today's Hollywood blockbusters [my re-interpretation of Lukas's comment].

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

Solaris V
avatar DanLundberg

Multiple cool effects, but my eyes don't know what to focus on. A more extreme huge/modest/tiny ordering might help capture the 'space' notion better. The stars shining through the planet's rings seem out of place.

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

Infinite Dimensions
avatar DanLundberg

The start pic for the planet surface is a brilliant choice. I would adjust the sky and the ground differently (as the sky result is great while the ground is washed out and kind of flat). The cartoon spaceship and aliens on a realistic background is a valid artistic choice. I think the shadows should be stronger, however, especially where the cartoon elements touch the ground so they don't look like they're floating. The spaceship landing struts should cast shadows plus the underside of the spaceship should be shadowed as well as the aliens' crotches and wheel tops.

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

Out on another planet
avatar DanLundberg

Fun idea. I, too, find the Step 4 color stage to have more compelling potential. More contrast to the 'hairy things' in this black & white version would add drama IMO.

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

hairy things)
avatar DanLundberg

Cool dude. A blue background, for example, would make him stand out more. He looks like he's floating above his shadow which is much too big and doesn't include his arms. I think obvious eyes would be nice and his shades should cast a shadow on his face. [FYI to paint a straight line, click at the start point and then shift-click at the end point.]

(5 years and 2849 days ago)

Comedy House
avatar DanLundberg

Makes me chuckle! Love the eyes (which I notice are not explained in the SBS).

(5 years and 2851 days ago)

Captain America
avatar DanLundberg

Very fun (and I hope one of the things you love about him is his sense of humor ). These reflect one's own artistic choices, of course. For me, the hair doesn't quite work (but admittedly I have never seen him in 3D): the back is too bushy for the sides or the sides aren't bushy enough for the back. [I would be more entertained by a front-hair emphasis.] His widow's peak seems worthy of further exaggeration and I would consider puffing up his chest some. (Caricatures are not just about the face.)

(5 years and 2851 days ago)

oh, i love this man!!!!
avatar DanLundberg

Very clever and fun with a great color palette. More shadows would enhance the feeling of depth. Somehow all the straight-line text seems kind of stiff to me. (BTW I don't think the description really adds much.)

(5 years and 2854 days ago)

THE MOD !
avatar DanLundberg

Very fun creature that doesn't fall into the 'perfectly symmetrical' trap. I wish it stood out from the background a bit more, however. (Too much blue?) And the white edges on the creature suggest more feathering is needed.

(5 years and 2854 days ago)

Dr. Burple Blue Purple
avatar DanLundberg

My immediate reaction to this image was "Oh, look, a reflection of Mt. Fuji!" (just a guess). It turns out that I was right on, but then you must be right off (as Alan2641 noted) unless the point of the image is to portray a mountain with delusions of grandeur--but that's not what's indicated by the bland title. And where's the source (to echo happyme27)?

(5 years and 2854 days ago)

hill and lake
avatar DanLundberg

Creative and fun. The gray (silver?) orbs are kind of downers from the overall joyfulness, however. The bottom fourth (i.e., the wall supporting the dome, the lower half of which is remarkably flat) is interesting but totally at odds with the mysticality of the rest of the image IMO—delete it.

(5 years and 2858 days ago)

A Roosting Place for the Night
avatar DanLundberg

Creative and cool. The subtlety of all of the text is extremely unusual for a movie poster, however. And I would clone out the distracting/confusing shadows on the highway (and maybe add an alien shadow?).

(5 years and 2858 days ago)

Alien movie poster
avatar DanLundberg

Stark, threatening, and dramatic. The landscape appears to be lit from the back while the buck skulls seem to be lit from the front, however.

(5 years and 2859 days ago)

desert
avatar DanLundberg

The narrow color palette is dramatic. I don't see any shadow at all, however, but I agree with MossyB that it would be a weak one. The skull in the precise middle of the path—not to mention near the center of the image—is kind of boring. The Rule of Thirds could help amp up the impact.

(5 years and 2860 days ago)

skull
avatar DanLundberg

Interesting/moody/dramatic but I think the near-perfect symmetry of virtually every element is excessive (i.e., too mirror-like) and ends up detracting from the potential impact of the central figure. The contrast of a largely-symmetric central figure situated within a somewhat chaotic environment would be more compelling IMO.

(5 years and 2860 days ago)

bull angel
avatar DanLundberg

Cool guy and flag but not particularly 'pink' or 'Floyd' (not withstanding the overlaid text) for me. I think if he were wearing on his suit coat a "Hello my name is" name tag with the name 'Floyd' written on it and had an even pinker (bordering on magenta) complexion, this would be more compellingly on theme.

(5 years and 2865 days ago)

Pink Floyd