Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Welcome to the 5th PPT Top Graphician! (PPTTG for short.) Knives ran it way back during the first PPTTG, and I've run every one since then. This is a contest almost as literal as the title sounds, but not quite. At the end of the contest, one person shall win. But contestants will also receive advice and comments on their graphics from the judges as they move through the various rounds.

PPTTG is set up in rounds in which the contestants make sets/blogs/whatever is decided you are to make. I will sometimes give very specific requirements, or barely any at all. But all requirements must be followed.


An example of how a round works is below.
-The requirement I give for the round is for contestants to make a set. (4-5 days will be given for you to complete a round.)
-When finished with the set, you post it, as well as the original image(s) used to make the set as well as what program(s) you have used.
-Once all sets have been entered by contestants, I put them all into one post.
-The judges rate the sets. (Contestants are NOT permitted to change their sets once I have put them all into this post. )
-At the end of their ratings, the judges will pick a specified number of contestants they think didn't 'qualify' for the next round. The contestants with the most votes when all the judges have posted will not be permitted to enter the next round.


How your graphics will be rated:
-They will be rated on the creativity, use of color, use off effects, and their overall appearance and quality.
- The judges will give you a thought out rating with opinions and suggestions on how to improve. The rules for rating graphics are the same as those used on the Ratings Board in The Workshop.
-To put it simply: The 'best' graphics will stay, the 'worst' will go.

Additional RULES
-Graphic must be entered within the time limit.
-All requirements for your entry that are given each round much be followed.
-You are not permitted to ask for ratings on the Ratings Board in The Workshop for any graphic you are entering in this contest.
-You will not be notified if you seemingly forget about this contest. You don't submit anything = disqualification. (But make a note that if you don't have the time to make a new graphic, you may submit something older you've made as long as it still follows requirements.)
- Do not say you are going to lose/statement along the lines of you not winning. You'll find out eventually if you win or lose...but there is no use in stating it before it may or may not actually happen.
-Have fun with this, everyone.
- If for some reason you are going away for an extended period of time, then please PM me with how long you will be gone. If you PM me soon enough, I can give you the requirements for future rounds and you can complete them before you leave.

Feel free to PM me or post here with any questions you may have.

Top Graphicians
Starchaser - PPTTG 2
Optimus - PPTTG 3
Marissa - PPTTG 4
Paola - PPTTG 5


Judges
Flame
vkceankraz
Marissa
Silja
mazil

Judges are to choose 2.



Starchaser
SIDEBAR
Program Used: PS 7
Images: All Neopets books. (Too many for me to bother coding. If judges need to look, go to page
8 of this thread.)

Darklegendary
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS CS

hellyer
SIDEBAR
Images: All neopets items. (Judges check page 9 if you need to see images.)
Program Used: PS 7

meowth1982
SIDEBAR
Images: All Neopets images. (Can be found on page 9 of this thread.)
Program Used: PSP 9

paola
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS 7

ScottNak
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PSP 7

Neko
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program USed: PS CS

moogie
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS 7

Optimus
SIDEBAR
Images: 1 2 3
Program Used: PSP
Judges can go here if they want to see the toolbar in use.

shadowfare
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS Elements

Amethyst
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS Elements

Koku
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PS 7

Apricus
SIDEBAR
Original Image
Program Used: PSP 8

Kyra
SIDEBAR
Images: 1 2
Program: PS 7

Contestants: again with the practicality, eh? Do remember how the sidebar works... you can't move the links around and expect it to function properly. Plus, if you have any significant images at the bottom, the search bar, the ad, and the language menu are going to cover it up.

<b>Starchaser</b> -- Nice work! I absolutely love the classy rustic look. The background kind of reminds me of Harry Potter diamonds =P . I like that the words are bold and legible. The placement of the books could have been varied a little bit, but overall it's not a terrible problem. Just remember that you have to place the links over the actual ones so that it would work. Yours are all too close to the top.

<b>Darklengendary</b> -- Ohh! Pretty. Very creative. It's a nice change to see something not overloaded with Neopets (even if it's a Neopets sidebar =P). My only complaint is that there isn't a real distinction between the links, so one would have to work harder to figure out what to click... but that's just my laziness talking, haha. See note at the top.

<b>Hellyer</b> -- Kind of plain, but decent. Cute theme, but there's nothing really special about it. I like that you varied the text/image placement, but the background is just too plain.

<b>Meowth1982</b> -- It's all right. I think it's cute. I'm glad the words are bold enough to stand out, but other than that... nothing really does stand out. Even the border is just... there. I would've liked a darker border to frame things better. You need to leave a space at the top so that your links will work.

<b>Paola</b> -- I love it! The background is pretty, even if it is slightly on the busy side. That's my only complaint, because the words don't stand out enough. Other than that, you did a fantastic job.

<b>Scottnak</b> -- Eh. Meh. The stars are pushing it a bit, because it's really too busy. It's hard to distinguish the words from the rest of the image. I also don't like how there is no unifying theme other than "pink". I think if you were to choose to work with pink objects, you should have chosen something that goes along with the links. Like pink mail for neomail or something. The orange Arrow also looks really out of place, especially with the random Arrow smilie face imprinted in his body. You need to leave a space at the top so that your links will work.

<b>Neko</b> -- Hot =P. I love how you manipulated the original image. The smooth colors look great. I only have a few technical complaints. First, I don't like how "create a neopet" is squished into one line. It makes it scrunched up and it's harder to read than the other links. I also don't like how the stroke around the text is choppy. Maybe it's the font, but it just looks messy. Lastly, the random dots are too strong; they stand out more than the rest of the objects in the image. See note at the top.

<b>moogie</b> -- The color scheme is great. I just don't like how the random white arrows behind the links are so vivid; it's distracting. Also, see note at the top.

<b>Optimus</b> -- Decent work. I'm glad you entered an actual toolbar that functions well. Other than that, it's a bit on the plain side, but hey, it looks nice when used.

<b>shadowfare</b> -- I like how you were able to take different parts of the original image and make it into one seamless one. Although that looks like all you did. You get points for creativity, but take a look at the note at the top.

<b>Amethyst</b> -- Eh. Did you do the moon/silhouette of the woods yourself? At first glance it looks all right, except that I still see the guys' yellow hairband thing. I also think that it'll be funny if you were ever to use this as a real sidebar (which you couldn't; see note at the top), seeing as the search bar and tiny ad at the bottom would cover his face.

<b>Koku</b> -- Cute picture! I love your vivid style. It's very distinct. The only problem is that this time, text is a critical part of the image... and you can't distinguish any of the text from the background image. Also, see the note at the top.

<b>Apricus</b> -- It's unique, I'll give it that. Your text is too big to actually work though. And remember the search bar and the ad at the bottom will cover the cute desert scene.

<b>Kyra</b> -- Eeee! Very cute! Good job for making it functional. The only problem is that the text is too small/thin; it's a bit hard to read.

My votes go to Shadowfare and Amethyst.

Not my favorite round, considering these custom sidebars are evil because they don’t work for all browsers. Also, though not stated in the rules but mentioning it still, I was sort of disappointed that some of you made sidebars that wouldn’t work even with IE as the placement of the texts for the links are messed up (only personal opinion, which you will not be judged by).

Starchaser – Overall this is a very good creation. Great choice of font and colors + borders and even images, giving it that little extra medieval look. I do not like that the books are all aligned to the left though, you could have varied their placement a bit.

Darklegendary – The sidebar has a nice spacy-ish feeling to it and you’ve done a great job with colors as well as the image that you used. The text would have needed more emphasis though. I can read it, but still it’s sort of tiring looking at it.

hellyer – Looking at this I get the feeling that you haven’t done that much to it really. Pasted images onto a grey background with just minor image effects. The font does not really fit in and the arrows at “login” and “logout” just look plain tacky. The Ixi should have been more centered at the bottom of the sidebar.

meowth1982 – Very cute I must say. Still after a while of looking at it the sidebar starts to seem really dull with no eye-catching element. You should have made the image, borders or text more extravagant giving the sidebar some personality

paola – Sassy, though there are a couple of details you could have worked more on: first of all the text, it’s too weak and would really need some more strength. Then a really small detail which bugs me, the logout text touching the image at the bottom. Something should have been moved to separate the two.

ScottNak – Sorry to say but this is not the best sidebar of all time. It is very messy with too many colors and images that don’t match well together. I understand you chose all those things as this has a PinkPT theme to it, but still. What more can I say really? This just isn’t good in my eyes.

Neko – To be honest I’m not too fond of this sidebar. What I do like in it is the image effects, they’re quite good actually. Still, it looks like just threw the text onto it without consideration and what is up with the small visible dots over the whole thing? The border is too strong against the lower part of the image.

moogie – Artistically this is very nice, however if you think of putting it to use I think the viewer would appreciate a bigger text being used for the links. Otherwise I would just change some small details, like move the upper Neopets text a bit more to the right and things like that.

Optimus – The image effects and background is really nice and soothing for the viewers eyes. Nevertheless, this is a sidebar where the text is almost too strong, you could have matched it with the rest of the image a bit better. Also, the arrows at “login” and “logout” don’t work at all.

shadowfare – I know that small fonts and such are sort of your thing, but for a sidebar they will not be good as link-texts. This is a big flaw in the work itself, as well as the placing. The rule was “Just make sure you include all the links (explore, logout, world, etc.) in the order that they go.” which I don’t think you managed to do. Looking only at the image you did some really nice work with it.

Amethyst – Yet again an example of nice image effects, The sidebar has a rather plain look though, I don’t know why exactly, maybe the monotone colors. The text put onto it would have needed more strength.

Koku – Aww how pretty, I like this sidebar a lot. Great job with the colors I must say (and image effects as well, not to forget). Giving the rather strong image the text would even her need something more, for now it is hard to see it properly, letting the image get too much attention.

Apricus – I feel like I’m trapped in a sandstorm when looking at this one, you’ve manage to get a good feeling into it, so to say. Maybe a bit more emphasis on the text would have been needed, yet again, but that’s all.

Kyra – Makes me want to swim around in some tropical…place. Moving on, I need to point out that the fonts are too weak even in this entry. A border around them would probably not have been the best option, but a lighter glow perhaps. The Kau and the Moehog look a bit crammed together at the top.

My votes go to ScottNak and hellyer.

Nearly 80% of you have made a serious mistake. Graphics are supposed to add style to function, not hinder it. Would you choose a BMW with no engine over a good Honda? I hope not, but your entries suggest to me that you might.
Since this is such a big problem this round, I will not mention it every time, but know that I did take it into account when figuring your score.

Amethyst: The sky you made strikes me as very fake-looking. The brushes you used for the stars are very recognizable as such, and the cloud filter you used to make the texture in the moon is very unconvincing. I don't particularly like how you placed the text, it looks very awkward with one side lined up and the other totally ragged. 6/10

Apricus: A very interesting background you created. The solid text looks a little odd against the fluidy background, I would have tried to add some subtle color variation to them. I especially like the way you blended in the picture and dot overlay at the bottom. 8/10

Darklegendary: The edges around the dog are cut out a bit rough. The way you faded out the grid overlay is very interesting and helps frame other parts of the image nicely. 8.5/10

hellyer: This looks very plain. The images next to the text are very cute, but they don't mix with the font well. I actually don't like the font at all, it's meant to simulate handwriting, but the various repeated letters (and the ff in "stuff") make it very obvious that it's just a font. The arrows next to login/logout also don't match at all, they look totalle mechanical next to the would-be handwritten words. 6.5/10

Koku: The colorizing effects you used on the original image look very very nice. The busy background really makes the text difficult to read, especially since the words are dak enough to be confused with the lines of the drawing. 7/10

Kyra: The background you created is very nice and it matches with the pictures very well. I do not like the font you used. It's very small and mixed up inconsistently, which is almost always a problem with fonts that are modeled after logos or something. The white is hard to read against the cyan part of the background, and the light drop shadow around it doesn't do much to help it. 7/10

meowth1982: It's very cute. The easter theme is very nice, but this is very simple. The pastel colors in the background look a little dirty to me, like you desaturated them a little bit too much. 8/10

moogie: The way you recolored the image is very nice, a very stylish looking duotone. The arrows along the left are a nice detail, but they really help frame the empty space around the middle. 7/10

Neko: You really like Magna Carta, hm? I like the painterly effects you made over the original image, it's very pretty. I think the contrasting noise you added over it would look a lot nicer if they weren't as strong, they really just make it look like you started off with a bad quality image and didn't fix it. The borders around your text are very grainy, which doesn't look quite right against the soft background. 7/10

Optimus: Congratulations, you are one of the only people this round who made a usable sidebar. I really like the way you arranged the text around the pictures, it's not perfectly patterned, but it's not totally random either. I think the picture at the top would have looked nicer if you'd let it run all the way to the edges rather than feathering it off just before them. 8.5/10

paola: Yahoo, another functional one! The background you made is very nice, but I think the flower petals make it really busy and distracting. It would have looked very nice if you'd put a dark border on the text, rather than a light one. The dark border helps the flower petals really pop, and the light border on the text makes it look fuzzy. 8.5/10

ScottNak: Alas, the last of the functional sidebars. This one is very busy and varied. All the different colors of make it look layered, which kind of gives me a headache. The arrows next to login/logout look very out of place because they have a lot of flat bold color, and they're pixelly around the edges. 6.5/10

Shadowfare: I can see you recomposed the image a little bit, it still looks very natural since you kept the dark to light gradient in the sky. However, besides that (which I don't consider much of a challenge), you have done almost nothing to the image but add some VERY hard to read text at the top. 4/10

Starchaser: This is very nice, the gold embossed look on the text and border reminds me of leatherbound books. I actually think the books look very nice lined up all to the left, but maybe they should have been a little more straight, the one next to "Explore" looks especially off. 7.5/10

I vote out Amethyst and Shadowfare.

Some of yours obviously wouldn't work on Neopets. It wasn't stated in requirements, but these things do have to function. (A few of you should remember getting yelled at for having blogs that were impossible to code.) However, I'm not really going to rate you on having ones that don't work, so don't worry about that.


Starchaser
The theme is very library-ish. The 'Create a Neopet' and 'Pet Central' and 'Neomail' get a bit too close to the border. The alignment of all the bookks in this are a little off. There's a pattern for the top four, but then for the rest it's sort of just straight down. It probably would have looked better if you continued alternating them in, out, in, out, etc. Also, the book that's the second from the bottom looks out of place. It's far too bright in color and smooth looking compared to all the other books.

Darklegendary
It's pretty looking. I love the slant you've used. However, the font choose you've used is sort of plain. Some stars should probably be put in the bottom dark area to balance off the top. The image you've chosen is cute, however it has slanted, unsmooth edges and that makes it sort of unnatractive.

hellyer
Not bad. The grey them you've done is very nice. However, it's still very plain looking. I think Neopets maybe needs a stronger glower around it. The ixi at the bottom of the page looks weird because you cut off the one part of it's tail...What I'm thinking what really would improve this though would be if you added some detail into the gret background. There could be a very light grid in some places, or some sort of design, just to add interest.

meowth1982
It's cute! First off, you probably should have stuck with easter negg images the whole way through. Het rid of the plushies. Second off, I think the border around the whole thing needs to be a bolder color to contrast the grey. And that said, I don't actually like the sort of greyish tint the background has....It doesn't really compliment the bright colors off the easter neggs. I'm thinking maybe a pale pink or something would have looked better.

paola
The image at the bottom really stands out against the pale purple/pink background and text you've used. The girl at the bottom is what really makes this blog look good. I'm thinking there maybe needs to be some small text saying Neopets at the top of sidebar, or something, because that empty area looks sort of....odd. Also, the text blends a bit too much with the background.

ScottNak
Okay. First let's start with the fact that...colors really should match. =P You should've picked a color scheme and stuck with it. First off, get rid of all the stars, as the really don't go. You should probably get rid of arrow too...since the orange clashes with the pink. The pink background you have is sort of bland looking. And the text colors you have don't go together...Find a pink and a blue that do. The cake and pink poogle images you have shouldn't be cut off the edges either. (Yes, I'll admit, this rating sort of butchers your sidebar.)

Neko
I'm not overly font of you image choice....I'd chance the border color, as well as the font colors you've used. The random dots I think are supposed to make this look aged or something maybe...but in actuality it makes it seem like you used an image of poor quality.

moogie
I love your image choice. However, it would probably be more functional if all the text was larger/less close to together. The bottom of this also looks a bit on the empty side.

Optimus
Hm...I like the background you've used. However, the black test is too much of a sharp contrast against everything else in this. You could probably just change that and it would look fine.

Shadowfare
Visually, it's pretty. But it's far from functional, even if it was possible to code it. There's no real order to where all the links are, and they are small, faded, therefore very hard to see. Neopets is barely visible, so maybe even put it in a black font so you could see it. Also, you haven't really done much too this image, besides a bit of rearranging.

Amethyst
You really like this anime series, don't you? Okay then...It's not bad, but still nothing all that impressive. The sky needs more detail. The text would have looked better if there was a bit more space between it and the blue was a lighter color. (Maybe a shade similar to the moon.)

Koku
You did a beautiful job with the colors in this. But your font choice really kills this. The edges of it are too hard. A softer/scriptier font would have definitely looked better. Also, the Neopets you have written at the bottom is almost innoticeable.

Apricus
This reminds me of...something. Amber, maybe, when you look through it. The motion you have in this really looks like some sort of sand storm (like a chocolate and caramel one actually...) and I like that you added the images at the bottom. Something is off with the text, I'm tempted to say it doesn't stand out enough...but I'm not quite sure.

Kyra
This is going to be a bad sort of pun...but it almost makes my head swim. ^_^;; Okay. The main reason for the head swimming aspect is trying to read the font you've chosen. It's too small and jumbled against the background you've used (which is very cool looking.) I'd maybe give this sidebar a stronger border, and obviously, change your font choice. ^_~


My votes go to ScottNak and Shadowfare.

to judges: you all basically saw a common thing wrong with my image: Tthe text size. In retrospect, I agree. It is hard to read, but not unreadable. I made the choice because i wanted there to be a sort of tech feel to the piece, and also because my main goal in the piece was to accentuate the image, I tried larger text and didn't like it. I would have liked to make a functional sidebar, but it didn't look as good when I tried it.

I'm going to assume you meant that you tried a functional sidebar with the particular image you chose. If not, might I point out that half of the contestants managed to make a sidebar that works?
Also, and this is to everyone in general, if you picked an image that's hard to make a sidebar out of, why stick with it? If you were to really upload your sidebar to Neopets, wouldn't you <i>have</i> to have one that works?

not really, loads of people take away the option to click on neo's links from the userlook up...whatprivacy is an example...it's pretty...but you can't use it to get anywhere.

I did mean with the image. it wasn't that I couldn't use this image in a functional sidebar, it was that I chose to make is non-functional. like I said, coming into this project, i wanted to focus on the image. I wanted the image to be a focal point, not a background, that is the reasno why the text is placed where it was. I dont play neopets, and wasn't planning on using the sidebar, before this, I didn't even know you could use custom sidebars. I didn't actually think about function until after I had made the one I submitted, if I had been able to make something that was functional as well as being equal to my entry in style, i would have used it.

Actually, the colors in the background are the colors off of pastal postit notes. Heh I didn't desaturate them or anything, and they look like the colors they are supposed to be on my monitor...maybe it's my monitor's too bright?

I guess that if we're talking about functional sidebars, I should mention the reasoning behind mine - I decided to make mine in the style of the "old" sidebar, before the language, clock, etc. were added.

I also took "custom" sidebar to mean a Neo-released sidebar, i.e. one that would be released to the whole site, rather than one to stick on my lookup, and figured that in that sense, the sidebar would be coded itself, rather than simply put to "fit" over the normal sidebar, and that therefore, keeping the proportions exactly correct wouldn't matter.

Not to sound defensive or anything, just my reasoning. And other than that, thanks to all the judges for the commentary. Mine does look a little unbalanced and oddly placed, now that I think about it (that's why you should never do things in a rush, I suppose).

Still the idea was to make a Neopets sidebar. By not placing the text and all in a style like neopets has it in, you've basically not even made a sidebar to Neopets but a sidebar that is mostly meant for a private webpage.

Hopefully you understood what I just meant there, I woke up recently

Seeing as I didn't specify that they actually needed to be able to function, them not functioning is okay.

Here's my random little thoughts.

If you had to have a sidebar on Neopets that you had to use often (not just in your userlookup), what would it look like? I'll use moogie's as an example. The image you chose was gorgeous, and indeed, the focus was set on it. However, if you're cruising around the Neopets website constantly, and you had to use that constantly...I'd say it'd be a pain making sure you clicked the right link. Also, because your focus was solely on the image, and little on background, the lower portion of the sidebar was somewhat empty.

Whether a judge decided to rate them on function or not was left up to them.

Starchaser - Very nice medieval theme, I love the use of the diamond pattern in the background. The metallic border and matching writing is a nice touch too. I think you've got a good balance between appearance and functionality... the links are a nice size and well spaced out, which is great! The only suggestion I have is (as the other judges have mentioned) to add some variation in the positions of the books.

Darklegendary - This sidebar has a very nice feel - those diagonal lines really catch the eye! The large link text is very good, functionality-wise... but the "Pet Central" and "Create a Pet" links look a bit cramped up there! They look a bit out of place, being a different size as well as being out of line (I think if it were just one or the other, it mightn't be as noticeable). The only other thing I noticed is that the links don't stand out from the background that much, which could cause some problems for a user who wants to navigate quickly. Maybe a slightly brighter/whiter text colour would have been good there.

hellyer - Aww, poor sad little pets! Nice theme, but I feel you could have added something a bit extra to it... Since the bar is mostly made of shades of gray, I think a bit more contrast would really add some more"interest to it. I think you've used a subtle gradient (from lighter to darker gray) in the background there? That looks good, I think that would have looked great if it were a bit darker. The font and image placement is good, though I find that the brown on the paintbrush seems a bit out of place since the rest is all gray.

meowth1982 - Cute (and timely) theme! I like that the font you've used is large and clear... that helps make a sidebar much more functional. I find the background a bit distracting from the links, though, since the neggs in the background are so similar to those you've used for the link icons. It helps that you've made them slightly bigger, though. Maybe using one of those easter negg patterns as a background might have been a cool idea? And a big easter quiggle! That guy is really cute.

paola - Very cool! I like the way you placed the picture of the girl at the bottom... it really creates a nice bottom border. The background is nice, but I do find it rather busy. The link text seems to get a bit "lost" in it, so maybe a bit more contrast there would have been good. (Edit: Realised this was a bit short!) Again, this could just be my screen. Overall, though, I like it a lot... I'd rather like to use it on neopets ^_~

Scottnak - Hmm, patrioticness! Great idea there, but... I think that maybe it doesn't quite come together as well as it could. Although the pictures you've chosen are great, it's unfortunate that they have a handful of different shades of pink and another few of red, which don't really match each other that well. Maybe it might have been a good idea to play around with colourising these images, so that the pinks were more similar in hue (the top poogle is quite a fluoro pink, whereas the cake is more pastel). The layout is nice and functional, but the stars in the background are a bit confusing since they lie inbetween and in line with the links. Using a random pattern in the background wouldn't draw the eye as much, so the links would stand out more clearly.

Neko - What a great image... the texture you've added is really lovely. I'm not such a fan of the random pixels though... it makes me think my screen's got dead pixels on it! I think they look a bit "sharp" against the otherwise soft/warm feel. Link positioning is great and the font looks nice, though I find the swirls a bit overpowering/distracting in some places, especially the "f"s in "stuff" (since they have double swirls).

moogie - Very cool picture! The placement of text with the lines and arrows is very creative... and reasonably functional! The only two things I don't quite like as much is the main text font (at the top), which I think doesn't quite give the "tech" feel you said you were going for? Maybe something a little less cursive would have gone well there. Also, since the "login" and "logout" links are black, they don't match the other links, and also merge into the background a bit. The arrows are great though!

Optimus - Ooh... a clean and functional sidebar! The links are nice and large, and well positioned around the pictures. The grid pattern overlay you've used is nice too, though something a bit extra in the background would have been really good (maybe the big pic of that egyptian dude?). The faded-edged picture for the top bar is a good idea... though I think maybe a smaller and/or wider picture might have worked a bit better.

Shadowfare - This is very creative and visually impressive, though unfortunately it does lose a few points in functionality... I love the way you've reconstructed the image, the clouds and sky look wonderful. The idea of placing the links inside the clouds is great, but it's unfortunate that the overall cloud-space is a bit too small for that number of links... maybe some of them (eg "games" and "boards") could have been moved onto the sky, without disrupting it too much. I love the login/logout text, though!

Amethyst - Hmm, nice image composition. Overall it looks quite nice... though since the two main focus points are the moon and the guy's shirt (being the brightest), and the lines on the shirt are more intricate/detailed than the moon, the top half of the sidebar looks rather plain compared the bottom half. Maybe a more "rocky"-looking moon or some stronger, starker outlines for the tree silhouettes would have remedied this.

Koku - Wow, you really changed the feel of that picture! Very bright and colourful! I like all the contrast, it makes it very interesting... but it does make it a bit difficult to pick out the link text. Lowering the contrast behind the main links somehow (maybe in a similar style to blog textareas?) would have improved this. The font you used for the "neopets" text is very cool, by the way!

Apricus - Heh, that poor little tent caught in a sandstorm! I find this sidebar a little bit busy for my tastes, I'm afraid... the links get a bit lost in the background, partly because the text is a similar colour to the background and also because the font is quite tall and thin. The background has a lovely rich feel to it, though - the colours and contrast are very nice. And I do really like that tent... ^_^

Kyra - Ooh... maraquan pets are so cool! I like the background you've made, it has a very interesting mix of shapes and contrasting colours. It doesn't look extremely underwatery, though, so maybe some extra bubbles (to take inspiration from the font) going up the sides would have looked cool? Speaking of the font, the bubbles coming off it look great... though I find the floating "a"s and "o"s a bit distracting. Shifting them down a few pixels (which you can do in Photoshop through the "baseline shift" option in the "Character" palette (Menu > Window > Character)) would have made them look a bit neater.

This round my votes go to... ScottNak and hellyer.