I am happy to show you the Finalists for Character Contest 52: Sagittarius! There were some great entries this time around; I hope you have as much fun browsing through them as I did.
Airia's "Murasaki" features a great costume design and setting.
Asder's "White Sagittarius" also has a nicely-rendered background and an intriguing main character, plus a custom-built bow for good measure!
I'm a sucker for a good pun, particularly when it features one of the titans of jazz, which explains Atomic Punk's "Sajmo".
Blue Blazer's version has a lot of great elements, particularly the cyclopian targeting goggles and the forearm-mounted repeating crossbows.
All of domhellsing's entries were good, but I picked out "Chiron" for the nice pose, the tight integration of the human and equine portions, the armor choices, and especially the very well-done head. The look is intense, the feature choices spot-on, and the coloring perfect.
I love that Fishsticks went with a Western theme in his "Jessie". The sepia-tone treatment really sells the whole effect, not to mention the great item choices.
Frevoli's concept of centauroid powered armor was brilliant, as was the use of that neck piece to create the opening on the horse body. Really clever.
Gene did a great job on this portrait integrating the various facial elements into a believable whole:
I liked Jason's hand-crafted bow here, it's a cool effect.
Kaldath's technique of creating in essence a saddle blanket for his Huntress works great.
I can't imagine the amount of work Kingslaughter put into this battle scene. I encourage you to go read his backstory as well, it's all very good.
Lime's composition, titled "From the Mist", has a ton to recommend it. I love the way the background is all faded out and how the figure breaks the outline of it. That's great composition. I also like the slightly feral look of her, it makes the animal and human parts seem a lot more in harmony. A wonderful image all the way around.
MLS is committed to continuing his GI Joe inspired line of Zodiac Commandos, so I'll keep doing this theme!
Rhinoman's use of a non-equine human-animal hybrid caught my eye. I love the wheel in the background, particularly with the added element of the center lion sigil. Tight colors and clever item choices also make this one sing.
I liked Sutter Kaine's super-hero themed Sagittarius a lot. The subtle gradient on her legs is a nice touch.
TheRandomHERO made good use of armor and other tack on the equine portion of his archer for a convincing and cool looking character.
Watson Bradshaw's steampunk take on the idea of a centauroid was brilliant, and very well executed as well. I really loved this whole idea, well done, Watson!
Those are all great submissions, and I congratulate everyone on making it as a Finalist. But as they say in the movies, there can be only one, and that one for this week is ... Lime's "From the Mist!" It had by far the best composition, and easily one of the best character designs. Just a great illustration, I love everything about it. Congratulations, Lime! Let me know what you'd like for your prize, and if you can't think of anything you can just wave your hand royally and say "Do the next one on the Replacement Prize list!"
Thanks again to everyone who entered, I appreciate your creativity very much.
