[Arc 1] Round 2 Critiques
Mod's Choice and GM comments are all by atelierjoh


[+2] Great use of the image (watering can > life > related to text, it's perfect)! I love the colouring too, it's slightly muted by the texture, but the contrast is still high enough that the image is clear. The border at the top is kind of random and probably shouldn't cut off the guy's head so much (lol I forget his name) but that's okay, still a great icon! ♥


[-2] I love the colors and how the background matches Feb. But the Feb image looks choppy around the edges.
[-1] The image doesn't blend into the background as well as it could.
[-1] Unlike with the other icons, I don't really see how this fits with the music theme besides the treble clef and lines of music in the background;;; Maybe some text would be good to explain it? I like the colours, but the extraction around the edges (especially on her right shoulder) looks a little pixelly.


[+1] I love the way the background fits with both pictures while not making the icon look cluttered. o/
[-2] Although the icon has a good layout, the pink/dark-red background is distracting. This may have served better as a greyscale or a monochrome icon.
[+2] no comment
[+2] I love the border, the text, and the focus on Sakura's hands. :)


No critiques.


[-1] The saturation makes it look odd, and doesn't seem to blend too well with the the bottom right corner.
[-1] The coloring on KOS-MOS is excellent; however, the dark overlay dampens it greatly.


[+1] There's a dissonance in the colors which I found attractive and fitting for the theme. It forces me to observe the image more closely, but in this case, it points to an exceptional icon.
[+1] no comment
[+2] The composition of this icon is very lovely. Good use of coloring and the sheet music in the background gives it a nice touch.
[+1] I'm actually not a huge fan of the color scheme, but otherwise I really like KOS-MOS over the music, and the crop of "Give me a pain," looks great! :D
[+1] Gorgeous colouring and nice rotated crop; it really feels airy and light, as if KOS-MOS is concentrating on listening to the music~ The text on the music sheets in the background is kind of random and I don't know if you intended for it to say exactly that phrase (as opposed to using something else from the song), but I guess it does fit in a way~ Good job!

[GM] This icon struck out to me right away when I posted the voting table, as it creates a very tranquil atmosphere as if you weren't sure what was there and what wasn't. KOS-MOS also blends perfectly into the background, giving the icon a very unified look which isn't sloppy.


No critiques.

[♫] I love how the notes on the icon are actually what Sakura plays during that scene. Very nice job, and I also like the butterflies as they bring balance to the icon.


[+2] I love the coloring and the text. It just stands out so much more than the one I made. XD
[+2] I love the nostalgic atmosphere of this icon; there is an emotional quality to it that not many icons can pull off. Well done.
[-1] It's difficult to determine what exactly is in the image. I can see that Rubedo and Sakura are in there because of their hair, but other than that I don't know what they're doing or where they are. I do like the background though; it frames the image nicely.
[-2] It's actually very pretty, but I don't think it really follows the theme of this round.


[+1] Very good use of coloring. The image is vibrant and eye-popping.


[-2] The saturation is a little over the top.
[-2] The image looks grainy. Also, the icon has a lot going on picture-wise. I think a more simple-looking font would have complimented the icon better.
[-1] I love the text, but the picture of Jr. is kind of choppy and blurry, I'm not sure what's going on there, but I think it would look better if he were more in focus.
[-2] The image is really grainy, probably from upping the saturation so much. I can tell it's Jr. only because of the red D: The text is nice, but the outlines on it make the icon feel a bit crowded, and I feel like it would've been more appropriate to either put the text on two lines and space it out more, or make the capital letters a little smaller in order to fit. I like the composition, but those technical things really threw me off, sorry;;;