Total Testosterone II - Galleries and Voting

[Contest]

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The time for entry submission is over and now we move forward with the viewing and voting for the Total Testosterone II Wyrd Painting Contest.

Entries have been edited, placed in their proper categories and are now up for you to view and leave comments on. There was, unfortunately, quite a bit more work involved with the editing process this time around due to either size limits, multiple views as single pictures, and a few other issues to solve. A large thank you to Valloa, one of the Wyrd Moderators, for essentially spending her free day yesterday doing all this on my behalf.

Now, in the past, we have launched into the polls at the same time that we have posted the galleries, but this time around we are going to place the galleries up for view a full day before opening the polls so that if there are any mistakes or discrepancies, you can let us know before the voting begins. Hopefully there are none, but if you see something that needs to be rectified or if you have a question upon, please contact me privately.

When 24 hours has passed, we'll place the voting polls up and you will be able to vote for your favorite three in their respective categories. Keep in mind, in order to vote and/or comment in the galleries, you MUST have a user account here on Wyrd.

When leaving comments in the galleries, please remember to be constructive in any critique, good or bad, and remember your manners. Everything has been set to moderation which means your comments will be viewed by a moderator or myself before being approved for the general public viewing. When you post a comment, it will appear as nothing has happened, only showing you back to the gallery again - rest assured that your comments have been posted and are only awaiting approval.

When the polls are placed, they will be open for seven days. In that time, please take a moment to vote for your favorite three in each category. The top three in each category will win, respectively 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place. Best of Show and Best Base or Diorama naturally only have one winner.

In order to encourage participation in the voting and commenting on the galleries, we will choose five RANDOM SCHMUCKS to win prizes for voting on all the categories and commenting on atleast HALF of the entries. I'll choose out two COMPLETELY WYRD SCHMUCKS from those that take the time to comment on ever entry in the galleries and send random prizes out as well.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you once again to our very generous contest sponsors. All of them have been very generous with their time, product, support and encouragement and it is very well appreciated. Please take a moment to contact them and let them know your appreciation if you enjoy these contests.

-
Nathan Caroland
Wyrd Miniatures

[Frustrated Father]

BTW, please feel free to advertise the galleries and the voting around as I've got more than a full plate here for the foreseable and there are lots of websites out there that I haven't managed to sign up on, but information is posted on. Many thanks to those of you who have already taken this initiative.

[Ritual]

How come there's one Bishop in Sci-fi and one in Alternative?

[Jabberwocky]

Great job on the painting, everyone...there is going to be some stiff competition in the categories this year!

[Frustrated Father]

I've stated early on that with the Wyrd line I wanted to be able to cash in on different genre's depending on the paint jobs, basing and the atmosphere that is given to the miniature by the painter. Atleast until I get the proper fluff and story put out about the miniatures.

In this case, the painters decided where they wanted them and in a haze of 'crap I've got to get this all posted' it stayed that way. Valloa took care of it course, but I decided to allow it in the end.

[Skya]

The fantasy category in particular has some tough competition.

[cdukino]

Commented on every entry, yep ALL of them. Man that took quite while. Some very nice paintjobs in the galleries for sure. Will be hard picking favorites. Luckily I don't have to say 1th 2th and 3th and just point out the 3 I like most each time... or it would have been very very hard.

[Mack1]

Are we supposed to say which ones we like 1st, 2nd and 3rd in our comments? I thought we had to wait until the polls were up for that - sorry.

I've only commented on one so far, so if I'm supposed to say 1st, 2nd etc etc I'll do so .

[Valloa]

Are we supposed to say which ones we like 1st, 2nd and 3rd in our comments? I thought we had to wait until the polls were up for that - sorry.

I've only commented on one so far, so if I'm supposed to say 1st, 2nd etc etc I'll do so .


You don't need to mention it in your posts, just vote in the polls that'll be up tomorrow. :)

Maya~

[Mack1]

Ok, thanks for confirming that.

[Valloa]

No problem. :)

Maya~

[Thryth]

I would like to give a big thanks to Nathan for running this contest. I think that he does a great job, and puts in a considerable amount of effort without expecting much in return.

This is the second Wyrd contest that I entered, and is the only thing that gives me enough incentive to paint miniatures with my very busy schedule.

Unfortunately my clumsiness with the image for my entry will problem keep my miniature out of contention :( . There is always next quarter, though... :)

Thanks again Nathan!

[Malebolgia]

Okay, I have just finished commenting on ALL pieces. And by commenting I mean more than just saying "that looks nice" or something.
As I did not enter this time, I promised myself to give proper feedback and constructive criticism for points of improvement. At the time I am VERY happy that there are less entries than last time, because this took a LOT OF TIME. I hope everybody can appreciate it.

I really hope the glitch in the forum doesn't *beep* up my posts or something, because that would make me sad.

There are a lot of good entries in this competition and I had some chuckles looking at some as there was good humor in it. I have a couple of favorites and can't wait to vote.

[mahon]

Yep, I also hope that the glitch gets fixed soon as I'd like to comment on a few minis now, and a few later :) And I wouldn't like to see my work would be in vain...

[cdukino]

I commented in the same manner as Malebolgia. So I hope the posts show up eventually. And hopefully without Nathan/Valloa having to spend ages on it.

Edit: well maybe not in the same matter as Malebolgia... man that's a lot of text to write. Good thought out helpfull comments too. Kudos to Malebolgia for that.

[Frustrated Father]

Working on it, scouts honor, even if I have to hire out the work. I'm delaying the actual voting till it is taken care of, hopefully soon (believe me, this has caused me more aggrivation than you can believe).

Thank you for your patience.

[Mclimbin]

Ok, great, I'm happy to hear it, as I also left comments for almost all of the submissions in the fantasy category.

By the way, should I comment on my own submission? I don't want people to guess which one is mine because I don't have a comment, but if I'm going to do all of the submissions, I don't want to lose my chance at swag because of that.

Actually, I'm sure I can come up with 10 or 20 suggestions for myself to improve next time...lol. As always, my own worse critic. ;)

[Valloa]

Commenting on your own mini is just fine! As long as you don't reveal who you are, etc.

Maya~

[vincegamer]

Yeah, the conspicuous absence of a comment would be a dead giveaway.

[cdukino]

So reading the first post well, this time round best of show will be just one winner just like best diorama... instead of a nr 1, 2 and 3 place like previous times? Sounds logical really. I know last time I was lucky there were 3 places as I won due to that, comming joined 3th. But best of show really calls for just one winner... it's the best of show/base afterall, not the nearly best and the nearly best runner up ;) So I think i prefer just 1 winner here... gives it more weight.

[mahon]

Voted in all the categories, commented in two (so far)... will add more comments later :)

[gi6ers]

Voted and commented on everything where possible - if anyone wants to throw abuse at me afterwards then feel free.

[LeadAsbestos]

I'm all done w/ comments too. Gave myself a good beating too!

[Sergeant_Crunch]

Done voting, still working on comments though.

[Frustrated Father]

Very cool. Hell, make it easier for me when ya'll are after the schmuck prizes and just holler out here if you've managed to vote and comment on everything - I'll still have to check it all, but it certainly makes it easier. :D

And yea Cindy, Best of Show and Best Base or Diorama will only have one winner this time around as they do carry a bit more weight, and accordingly, get larger prizes.

[Thryth]

As per your request, I finally finished commenting and voting.

There were some really nice entries (and someone even voting for my miniature! Thanks whoever you are. :) )

BTW, are there only schmuck prizes for commenting this time around, or are there still prizes for those that entered miniature(s), but didn't place?

Thanks again for holding the contest (and to Valloa and anyone else that helped).

[Frustrated Father]

There is and always will be Random Schmucks for voting as well as entering the contest as way of saying thank you for participating, as well as encouraging it to be honest.

And your welcome - but a large part of the thanks this time about goes to Valloa who has been putting in some serious time this time about. I'll have to be extra nice to her now. :D

[Jabberwocky]

Commented on 'em all. Voted on 'em all.
There are some real standouts this round! I look forward to the next contest--if you are doing the Rotten Harvest, I have a couple of ideas...although actually completing them on time is another matter entirely :)

[Frustrated Father]

Femme Fatale, Total Testostereone and The Rotten Harvest will remain constants for Wyrd Painting Contests. Have a couple others that we're working out, but that'll be in the future in its own time as we're still working on everything (heck, still have to get through this one first! :D ).

Thank you for the participation.

[LeadAsbestos]

I've done comments and votes on the lot as well. Seems quantity went down, quality up. Nicely done!
I swear that this year my Rotten Harvest entry that I've been trying to finish the last 2 years will finally be done!

[Wren]

I'll have to double-check once all the comments are approved, but I think I commented on every entry and I've voted in every category. Great job by all the entrants and organizers. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to enter this time around. Good luck to everyone!

[Valloa]

I'll have to double-check once all the comments are approved, but I think I commented on every entry and I've voted in every category. Great job by all the entrants and organizers. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to enter this time around. Good luck to everyone!


All comments as of this post are up and visiable. :)

Maya~

[wiccanpony]

I've commented on all........and my fingers, eyes and brain hurt!

[Wren]

All comments as of this post are up and visiable. :)

Cool, thanks for the notification. I went back through and checked that I had indeed commented on everything. Looks like one of my comments went astray, but since I had taken the precaution of writing them up in a text file on my computer and pasting them in, that was easy enough to fix. (And I guess the pasting is why the font on my comments looks a bit different than other people's, oops.)

[Valloa]

Cool, thanks for the notification.


Certainly. :)

Maya~

[Ritual]

I did my last comments a few days ago. I think I commented on every entry. Voting was rather difficult this time. Several categories were very even.

[Frustrated Father]

Due to some small voter irregularities where individuals created multiple dummy accounts in order to pad votes, we have had to do some editing and those accounts will be contacted and banned from voting ever again.

Don't worry if you are a married couple or roomates, we've taken that into consideration, but when mulitple accounts are created one after another and then all vote for practically the same miniatures, then that does create a pattern and an issue. My apologies for anyone affected by this.

Maya will be editing names into the gallery here over the next day or so I expect and then announcements will be officially made.

Please take a moment to say thanks to Maya (Valloa) who has gone WAY above and beyond with the whole editing and moderating bit and now I'm putting upon her once more as she finishes up here while I'm on vacation (heh, I'm a bastard I know). I'll be off for the next five days.

-
Nathan

[vincegamer]

Nathan, have fun storming the castle!

Maya, thanks so much for all the work. Sickens me to hear that people tried to cheat, and all it does is make more work for you.

[Ritual]

Good work Maya! I'm quite sure Nathan would have gone insane over this contest without your help.

Sorry to hear about the cheaters... But, there always seem to be a couple of them...

[Thryth]

Thank you Maya! :)

Really, great job. A lot of work went into this contest, and I greatly enjoyed it.

As far as cheating. Pretty obvious I didn't. I only got 3 votes! :)

- Thryth

[Thryth]

BTW...

When can we post our entries elsewhere and start discussing them?

Thanks,
Thryth

[LeadAsbestos]

Maya- Thank you! It really is a fun contest, even if I do never win!

FF- Have a swell vacation. You certainly have earned one!

Cheaters- Pathetic. Really pathetic.

[Valloa]

BTW...

When can we post our entries elsewhere and start discussing them?

Thanks,
Thryth


Since I'm in the process of getting the winners announcements up, feel free to post, discuss, show-off, etc as of this point. I'll get names attached to the entries when I can. Hopefully today, but if not then over the weekend.

You folks are welcome for the work and thank you for the understanding as I'm working on this around a very active toddler today and so might take a little longer to get stuff posted than I'd like.

Maya~

[Jabberwocky]

Thank you again for all the hard work, everyone! I really appreciate it!

[cdukino]

As far as cheating. I did not cheat either. in fact if I need to win by cheating I rather not win at all. Where is the fun and honor in that? I like to win for my painting, not becouse I can cheat the best. But apparently someone cheated for me unknowing which was rectified recently as I lost a vote there. But atleast it got Nathan out of a tricky pickle, as now he doesn't need to think off what to do with a joined first place.

I do hope I don't loose more votes due to other people false voting. But I do feel better knowing I didn't win due to shady circumstances.

I have to admit that the higher ranking paintjobs are pretty much at the same level in some cases. It doesn't suprice me that they all ended so close together in their categories. So it was a bit of a gamble who got where in the top 3. Can't say I always had a clear view on who i thought should be 1st, 2th or 3th.

I wonder if people have reconised my 3 entries as being mine.

[Valloa]

All up and announced on the front page. I'll be starting to add names back to the galleries this afternoon. If for some reason I booboo someone's name, spelling or such, let me know!

@Cindy I agree with you completely! Sadly, there are always some folks that feel the need to "help" entries along for many reasons, even if they don't know who's it was. The votes are pretty much set as they are and the winners announced, so you won't be losing any more than were already removed.

Maya~

[Frustrated Father]

Back from vacation, relaxed and completely sunburned and enjoyed getting it every moment of it (well, except for that night of put-put golf and itching to high hell and practically doing the bear back scrub on every obstacle on the course).

As you can see, Maya has gone about and done a whole lot of editing for the contest and frankly, if it wasn't for Maya, I don't think I would ever have the time to run these anymore as things get busier with Wyrd and one thing or another falls to her shoulders while she's balancing a toddler.

Huge public thanks once again Maya, you're a treat!

As for the cheating, I'll be dealing with that now that I'm back from vacation, basically banning accounts, contacting individuals, etc. Before I left for vacation I actually delayed leaving by an hour and edited votes and tracked down accounts that Maya and I had been watching over the course of the contest and took care of that.

Some of the voting was simply trying to get an entry up which had no real chance of winning and in some cases they went in and purposely searched out any entries that were close and voted simply to make them tie in the polls and IMO, become royal pain in the arses and making more work for us here.

With every contest I feel that things move along for the better, and although we did have software troubles (sorry about that), they are fixed and now allow for use to do a better job in moderating and tracking cheaters (gotta love that last part) and hopefully by the time we get the next one going, we'll have all the quirks out. My goal, eventually, is to have the polls completely anonymous until the results are published, but that requires some code rewriting which I'll have to hire out. We'll see.

Anyhow, a very large thank you to everyone for participating, and I'll take the time to get e-mails and responses back out to everyone that has contacted me over the last few days.

-
Nathan