Eorzea's Next Top Model Cycle 4 - Round 2

[MissBrunHilda]

This was an insanely challenging round! Everyone turned in some terrifyingly stellar work. *_* I'm absolutely in awe.

[-Jono-]

1. Tinsley Tr'uhart
2. Brun Hilda
3. Hopelle Losstoam
4. Sunny Day
5. Alexion Skylark
6. Aeon Rakshasa
7. Katarh Mest
8. Stephen Fairbrook
9. Arrelaine Fashonti
10. Nozomi Kei
11. Epsil Ion
12. Kaya Solimar

[Yamimarik]

Wow! such an amazing round this time! I'm so proud of all you guys! New and Veterans! /cheer /cheer I love cosplay, I was so scared of it when I did it in cycle 3, but then when I found out who I wanted to do, I got all happy and excited about it! It's really a fun shot to be super creative with, and you all were! I want to say, I fail as a nerd for not recognizing all the cosplays, that despite me not knowing'em all even after looking up the ones I didn't, you all hit the nail on the head so well!!! Seriously, I don't think anyone really was too off the marker when doing it. I don't have critiques atm, but I may come back in an edit b4 voting is over if I have the time. Welp, on to voting! It was so close for me XD.

1. Tinsley Tr'uhart
2. Sunny Day
3. Brun Hilda
4. Hopelle Losstoam
5. Nozomi Kei
6. Katarh Mest
7. Epsil Ion
8. Stephen Fairbrook
9. Alexion Skylark
10. Aeon Rakshasa
11. Arrelaine Fashonti
12. Kaya Solimar

Just a note real quick, I didn't hate anyone's pic at all! They were all so good, votes reflect tiny details some had over the others, again very tiny too. GL to you all! <3

[Tinsley]

shameless bump just because people should see the cool cosplay screenshots

[Shini_Neko]

1. Brun Hilda -- I love the battle effects you used here! Really sets you apart from the others.
2. Stephen -- I agree! That MUST be his worst nightmare and it made me crack up!
3. Tinsley -- Cinderella was one of the three Disney movies I had growing up, so I tried to be very critical and I can't! You made a perfect setting and I love the rat that's included.
4. Alexion -- I love that you pulled in the lion on this one, even though Jaime uses two swords. Good job!
5. Hopelle -- I'm not sure what skill was being used, but for that attack, I might have gone with the ball of Fluid Aura (I'm aware this is a very hard shot to try to take)
6. Kaya -- Another Sailor Moon character! Random question...are you married? If so, I might have suggest the ringport action to pull hearts into a shot for her, just because they're in most of her attacks (Piiiink, sugar, heart..... ATTACK! .... or whatever the Japanese equivalent is -- after so long I don't remember!)
7. Epsil -- First off, I'm so sorry you're so far down! I just saw this as a very easy shot...
8. Arrelaine -- Like Epsil's, I just thought this was easy as well
9. Katarh -- I'm not sure it's a real cosplay! But it's very cute!
10. Nozomi -- As much as I love Genesis, I think something other than a back profile would have been better for this. My love of Genesis comes from his looks, after all :3
11. Sunny -- A smidge more lighting and perhaps another pose would have put you higher in the ranks!
12. Aeon -- Like Sunny, I think more lighting would have benefited you

[Tyriont]

I forgot to mention the round closing time.

11:59pm EST, Tuesday May 12th

[MissBrunHilda]

Minor bump - Vote while the maintenance is happening!

[Bramble]

1. Brun
2. Tinsley
3. Nozomi
4. Alexion
5. Epsil
6. Hopelle
7. Stephen
8. Sunny
9. Kaya
10. Aeon
11. Katarh
12. Arrelaine

Sorry for lack of crits again - it's really late but i wanted to make sure i got my votes in in time! This was sooo, so difficult. Picking between the first 6 and trying to order them was almost impossible, i wanted to put everyone in first! q.q Great work again guys. I'm so glad i'm not in this round up against you lot - the standard has been so high!

[Tyriont]

Only 10 hours left to vote!

[Maleha]

I always find cosplay rounds a bit polarizing. Some people like the characters more - or even don't recognize some - and that has a big influence on some votes, since one of course wants to look at the accuracy of the cosplay.
Some are kind of staple characters, like the 2 Sailor Moon entries, but some are a bit more obscure, and those were a bit troublesome, because while a reference pic is only a google search away, it'd be probably easier to see them in a side by side fashion (kinda like so http://k35.kn3.net/taringa/6/7/4/1/9...f/8DA.jpg?9369).
I have to say, it was very hard to put anyone at the bottom. With most pictures I found a nitpick or more, so by no means does it mean your pictures were super bad compared to ones higher up. For some, like for example with Epsil’s, I was just so conflicted… All of your pictures had things I liked, there were none where I said: “Ugh, No!” Just, some pictures made more of an impact on me than others. It has to be stressed that in hard choices like these it comes down to personal taste more than quality. For me at least.
On to the pictures!

1) Nozomi Kei - Never played Crisis Core but I do know the character. Seems pretty on point. Your picture shows, there is ambient empty space and dead empty space. Perfect use of the first. A risky backshot but in my opinion totally woth it. No words. Except: I love it! XD

2) Trinsley Tr’uhart - A classic, therefore easily recognizable. Check. Simple, but on point costume. Check. Great setting and framing. Check. Getting a friggin minion to pose perfectly for you. Doublecheck that for the patience of a saint!
Only nitpick I have here is that the picture is overall a touch dark, but given the concept it does make sense. Just very tone in tone, which makes it a bit unexiting to look at.

3) Stephen Fairbrook - I love this one! I can definitly see the character and the mutliple Hildys are a nice touch. I do get why you chose that location, but the framing could be nicer (eg either have that building on the right more in the picture or completely out) and the upper third of the shot is a bit empty. Also, despite clear weather there seems to be a bit of a grey overlay, it doesn't look as vibrant as I expected it to be. Could be the sun - I found around high noon in certain angles the lighting becomes quite strange...

4) Brun Hilda - I don’t know this character. ._. Though, signature scarf aside, google tells me the costume is quite spot on. The framing is interesting, using two npcs to show yourself off in the center. An interesting effect as well, makes it feel like crackling anger. Maybe a touuuuch too far from the camera. If you maybe had stepped 2 steps forward, zoomed back in to get the framing back, we could see more details of you.

5) Hopelle Losstoam - Great use of water effects! The sailor outfit definitly asks to be used by the sailor moon characters as well. Small nitpick: should the gloves not be white? Also maybe you could have experimented a bit more with the effect of the lighting and water on your hair, it’s more greenish (Almost like Nepune’s dress colour) than dark blue. :/
But very nice expression and pose as well as lighting. Despite the effect your features are clearly visible.

6) Katarh Mest - Oh my, this is a different one! And a reference right there, praise be! (Damn you, I want that cat) Seriously though, this is quite creative and I can definitly see the resemblance. Cute expression and pose and nice touch with the pink cheeks! But… the framing T_T I wish the camera would shift more to the left, putting you right of the center and the cat less squished into the edge. As is we have a big boulder on the right, not much more.

7) Sunny Day - I never played/watched .//hack but I do recognize the character from pictures I have seen over the years. So your cosplay is definitly spot on. The angle and framing is nice and you have an interesting expression, plus the effect intrigues me. This is one of the ones where I wish I knew a bit more about the franchise, because this seems very well thought through, but I probably cannot appreciate it fully because of the lack in knowledge.

8) Epsil Ion - This was one of the difficult ones. In itself the picture is great, though maaaybe a bit more zoom could not hurt. Again, the lighting is out of this world and I stared quite a while wondering if you snuck in some SweetFX. Brun pointed me to the location though and made me realize it is indeed genuine. As is, still an impressive picture. But as a cosplay? I don’t know honestly. I never played Tactics, so again the characters and lore are kinda foreign to me. I googled the name and this was the most frequent image: http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...7/7a/Ramza.jpg
I just feel while you do get close with the colour scheme, there are several gear choices that might have been a closer fit - if indeed this is the correct reference. Same goes for the pose/blurb. Not sure what to make of it.


9) Alexion Skylark - I have only watched the 1st season of GoT, but I DO know this guy. And his sister. Creepy people. The outfit seems to fit quite well, my more GoT watching bf tells me the lion shield is a nice touch. Not sure I like the grey sky, as it likes to do, it gives so much greyness to the entire setting - except you and the lady, who quite shine, so that was maybe the intent. What really freaks me with you is your eyes. They are already this super light blue and then you’re looking somewhere off camera pushing the pupils in the corner. You look like you have those possesed no-pupil-eyes… Also would it not make more sense if the eyes look toward Circe?

10) Arrelaine Fashonti - Hahaa! Finally one I recognize well! Good outfit choice and pose. However, you are quiiite zoomed out, making the outer edges of the screen look very empty. It might have sufficed to zoom in to a medium shot, maybe put you a touch off center, with a dinner table next to you. That way we’d have a better look at you and your expression. Might be the emote as well, but I am not sure you’re facing the camera here, doing that might make a bigger impact.

11) Aeon Rakshasa - Another one that is a bit obscure to me, since I played IV once and that was ages ago. XD This character also has a bunch of different iterations, so finding a good reference on my own was a touch tricky. From what I can see you do fit the basic feel of him though as well as the colour scheme. Also very good use of your song animation!
As for setting and lighting, ther could be improvements. You have a massive lightsource in the center, which draws the eye, but especially your left side is quite shadowed over. A well placed sun minion might be a fix for that, or different weather.

12) Kaya Solimar - Ooh another Senshi! I can see why you chose this outfit over the sailor one, it does emphasize the small statue of Chibi compared to the others. Since I nitpicked it before, this time I have to point out I really like your choice of gloves! Great pose as well!
The setting is a touch confusing though. I hoped to see something that helps underline the character but this seems rather random. Since you do have an evening shot, maybe holding out a bit longer and capturing the moon with your character might have been a better choice.