***2015 Annual Challenge Voting***

[arsheesh]

Greetings cartographers, the time has come to vote on the first ever Annual Challenge. It was decided that this year the challenge would run nearly a full year and the subject would be completely open-ended. Several contestants have accepted this challenge. Now it is up to you to decide who takes home the coveted new golden globe award.

You may vote for as may entries as you like, and please feel free to be generous in bestowing rep to the contestants. Voting shall last throughout the month of December and shall end on the first of the new year.

2015 Annual Challenge Thumbs

[Cuin]

Lot's of really good ideas here, but I ended up only giving one vote. I really liked "The New World" by Diamond, which is probably my favorite style of map, but ended up not voting for it b/c the lower half of the title block seemed like it was missing text. I really liked the spherical perspective in "The Lands of Crecia" by Goombac, this style looks like a great monthly challenge! "Nissyr Arcology" by Ilthanar, I commend you for employing sketchup unlimited potential with that tool. "City of Hills", however is pretty perfect. Awesome map Tainotim!!

Wish I could have finished mine. Next year

[Chashio]

Well, this was a doozy. I'm not sure how well it worked in the end; too much time for grand possibilities and then when do you find the time around work and exhaustion to make a start on it... and then finish.

I ended up spending about two days on this in the final week, and never did manage to replace that rough little placeholder sketch. But I learned quite a lot, and 2016 is going to see some changes in my work and project focus. Plus, I made a solid start on a new panoramic view of a region that even has some intriguing backstory to write about (which will be shelved for the next 10-18 months) and I have enough thumbnail sketches for maps to keep me occupied for the next two or three decades. Oh well.

Congratulations to everyone who attempted this challenge, and especially to those who finished. Well done. Also a big thanks to those who participated in comments and suggestions along the way. I've sent rep to all the contestants I can; if I missed you, I'll try to get back to it later but know that I like your entry.

Have a happy December, and get some rest.

[Diamond]

There were two maps that I really wanted to see finished: Diego Araujo's & Goombac's. Either one of those, with a little more work, would've had my vote. In the end, I had to give my votes to tainotim and Domino. Both were intricate, awesome, and showed a level of dedication that I think a lot of the rest of us missed.

I'm really disappointed in myself for not finishing my entry; I had BIG plans for that map! I guess if I don't get too depressed about it, I'll try and finish it up eventually.

Congrats to everyone that entered - although... why is Chick's entry not on here?

[J.Edward]

There were two maps that I really wanted to see finished: Diego Araujo's & Goombac's. Either one of those, with a little more work, would've had my vote. In the end, I had to give my votes to tainotim and Domino. Both were intricate, awesome, and showed a level of dedication that I think a lot of the rest of us missed.

I'm really disappointed in myself for not finishing my entry; I had BIG plans for that map! I guess if I don't get too depressed about it, I'll try and finish it up eventually.

Congrats to everyone that entered - although... why is Chick's entry not on here?

It is - Dalloria - by Chick, 4th one down.

[Diamond]

Durrrr. Don't know what I was smoking....

[Ilanthar]

By Diamond
I'm really disappointed in myself for not finishing my entry; I had BIG plans for that map!

Ha, I could have posted exactly that !
I'm not sure I'll try to finish mine though. What I'm certain of, is that I'm gonna use a lot more sketchup and have learn a lot already with that software thanks to the help during the challenge.

[Wingshaw]

Great entries in this year's challenge. Everybody did an amazing job. Pity there were so many that remained unfinished.

Tainotim's city map, as always, is brilliant. Diamond's style, which I've seen before, never fails to please, especially when plastered with details. They both got my votes.

For me, though, Goombac's style is just gorgeous. Pity you didn't finish it. I'd like to try something similar, sometime. Mind if I steal the style?

THW

[Jaxilon]

It's almost like having a year makes it harder to complete them or something.

I loved Goombac's style as well and would have loved to see it finished. I feel influenced.
Max's looks like candy you could eat. Is this missing some scale and so on?
Diamond's is great as usual but not quite finished.
I think Chick's looks good but perhaps a bit busy although to be expected when we go all out.
Diego's just boggles my mind but I'm not sure how much is generated and how much is drawn. I think some labels?
I really loved the rough painting of Cashio's but alas, not completed.
Cuin has some promise but a bit hard to see due to being a photograph? I think it's pretty cool and glad to see you continuing it in the other thread.
Ilanthar the architectural style is really nice. Looks like this could be a pretty incredible piece.
Domino44 that's just creepy
Ascanius shows potential but like others wasn't far enough along.
The rest are all various states of unfinished work but what a bunch of creative minds we have at the guild it's always a pleasure to see how things start and progress as the ideas take shape.

I'm not sure how this contest will evolve in the coming months but congratulations to everyone who put something up, at least you supported the guild in doing so which is more than I found time to do for this one. Without the many joining in these fun challenges would never happen.

Oh, and I didn't mention TainoTim because that's the one I voted for. Complete, and I felt the best of show.

[- Max -]

It's almost like having a year makes it harder to complete them or something.
Max's looks like candy you could eat. Is this missing some scale and so on?

This isn't a finished map, just a small part of what I planned at the start.