Contest #2 - Abel Vannay

[Daghain]

This one is pretty much wide open to interpretation, so I can't wait to see what you all come up with. All we really know about Abel Vannay is that he was a gentle man who taught Roland and his friends the "non-violent" side of gunslinging, and he walked with a limp.

Tear it up, people! :D

Artwork should be posted in this thread. The contest will remain open until December 18, 2007. If you need more time, PM or email me at daghain@thedarktower.org and I will extend it two more weeks.

Please read the posting guidelines before submitting artwork, and have fun!

[Kevin]

Wow, this is going to blow my mind. I wsh I could draw.

Really looking forward to what everyone comes up with. :thumbsup:

[Letti]

Hmmmm. Great one.
I might give it a try. :)


(How did he look like? Do we have any details?)

[Jimmy]

I'm drawing him with boobs, because I was promised a boob contest.

[Randall Flagg]

Hmmmm. Great one.
I might give it a try. :)


(How did he look like? Do we have any details?)

A lot like me.:thumbsup:
There are no physical descriptions of him that I'm aware of.

[Storyslinger]

I think I might give this one a go?

[Steve]

Me, too.

[Daghain]

Yep, I decided to give you guys one you could go crazy with. All we really know is he had a limp - other than that, it's whatever you see in your mind's eye. Have fun! :D

[Letti]

I think I might give this one a go?


Me, too.

Ammmazing, I cannot wait to see your works, guys.



Hmmmm. Great one.
I might give it a try. :)


(How did he look like? Do we have any details?)

A lot like me.:thumbsup:
There are no physical descriptions of him that I'm aware of.


Yep, I decided to give you guys one you could go crazy with. All we really know is he had a limp - other than that, it's whatever you see in your mind's eye. Have fun! :D

Sorry Randall but if he had a limp it means he was much more similar to me. :lol:

[Matt]

:lol:

I didn't know you had a limp Letti

I am going to ask my brother to sign up for the site and try these, he is a great artist.

[Aaron]

I maaaay give this one a shot. I'll make him look like Donald Pleasance in Halloween. :D

[Letti]

:lol:

I didn't know you had a limp Letti

I have had one for 3 weeks. I had a roller-blade accident and I have had it so far. Now it's hardly visible but people still notice it.
I hope it will vanish totally in some days. :rolleyes:

[Darkthoughts]

I'm in for this one too - have to step up my game after seeing the quality of work in the last round :thumbsup:

[Daghain]

OOOH, I can't wait! If you guys need more time, don't be afraid to let me know. :D

[Darkthoughts]

I work better if I have deadlines ;)

I love what Douglas Adams said about them:

I love deadlines. I love that whooshing noise they make as they fly past.
:lol:

[Daghain]

Nice! :lol:

You can only get one two week extension, anyway. I'm not that nice. :D

[Letti]

OOOH, I can't wait! If you guys need more time, don't be afraid to let me know. :D

For my part...

I am sure...






I need moret time. :D

[Daghain]

Well, the first deadline is December 4. If it gets close and you still need more time, let me know. I'll extend it then. :D

And I'll be asking a day or two before, just to be sure. :D

[Letti]

Thank you. :wub:

[Daghain]

You're welcome. :D

[Darkthoughts]

Letti! Get your butt in action girl :D I'm greedy for these challenges...I'd love to have the whole list NOW!!! :lol:

[Daghain]

Even I don't know the whole list. :lol:

[Grillslinger]

I'm in!

[Matt]

:rock:

This one is going to be HUGE

[Daghain]

I know. *SQUEE!!!*

[Letti]

Letti! Get your butt in action girl :D I'm greedy for these challenges...I'd love to have the whole list NOW!!! :lol:

When a beautiful woman is greedy... I can't say no. :wub:

[Daghain]

*bump*

Anyone going to need an extension on this? The current deadline is December 4.

[Mike Beck]

holy crap. i like this, but i'm also afraid of it. i have no image in my head for this old feller.

i'm gonna try though.

[Daghain]

Cool!

[Letti]

I have drawn something... but I wouldn't like to be the first one to show. Yeah.

[Daghain]

Well, someone has to be first! :D

[Kevin]

I have drawn something... but I wouldn't like to be the first one to show. Yeah.


:scared:


......


:cry:

[Darkthoughts]

I'm halfway done with mine...I'm trying something a bit different with it, but I think the 4th is still cool for me :)

[Spencer]

I kinda picture an Aldaesque aura about him.

[Daghain]

Just let me know if any of you need more time - I can give one two week extension, but I have to know before December 4. :D

[Darkthoughts]

I got quite a bit done this afternoon. I'm hoping to be ready to post some time tomorrow afternoon.

[Matt]

I can't wait to see these, and also the first contest for a "thing". I might be able to draw a thing :lol:

[Daghain]

Hmmm. A thing, huh? I kinda sorta have one of those in the works. :lol:

[Darkthoughts]

Not too sure about this - I did the background as a collage - I liked it IRL, but on the scan it came out a bit weird, so I've mucked about with it on Paint...which is the only program I have...

I purposely wanted Vannay in black and white, because I imagined him to be quite an austere man to look at - his passion only really being alive in his mind (which is supposed to be represented by the background).
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c39/towerjunkie19/art/Vannay-1.jpg

[Mike Beck]

that's awesome. i love your idea behind it, as well. :)
he captures the wisdom and peacefulness behind Vannay's character.

[Daghain]

Holy cow! That's awesome, Lisa!

You know we English majors like imagery. :D

[Letti]

Lisa, this piece of work is awesome. So are you. So... unique and nice. Wow.

[boehmke]

Once again....I shouldn't be painting so late. Work will now come way too soon. :panic:

[Darkthoughts]

Boehmke, thats cool that we both pictured Vannay wearing that mandarin collar style...and in black too :thumbsup:
I love your style - do you have a web page, or a devart page?

And thanks for the comments guys :wub: I had very definate ideas about how I would portray Vannay the moment I read about him.

Totally stunk the house out, burning all those bits of paper for the background though :lol:

[Grillslinger]

I may need an extension. Hopefully, I can be done by tommorrow.

[Letti]

I may need an extension. Hopefully, I can be done by tommorrow.

I cannot wait. :panic:

[Hannah]

Lisa, I love how you worked the quotes in on there. And the background seems very fitting as well.

Boeh, I like the extras you added for Vannay, the markings on his face. He has a red alcoholic's nose too. Sweet.

[Randall Flagg]

Both pictures are stunning. Just an absolute WOW!

[Daghain]

That's a cool pic, boehmke. Not at all what I expected!

Grillslinger, if you need more time just PM me. I can add on another two weeks. :D

[Letti]

I know he is too mild... and things like that but... that's it. Forgive me. :rolleyes:
I know we have never read that he song to his students... but... :D


Sometimes words are not enough... sometimes you need a song to teach.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p237/Lettike/vannay2x.jpg

[Grillslinger]

I love how different from one another these have all been!

[Matt]

Me too, I am really loving Letti's :wub:

[Darkthoughts]

Letti - I love the way you draw a straightforward picture, and then do something abstract with it - like the frame you've put Vannay in. :thumbsup:

[Daghain]

I like it, Letti - a very different take on it, for sure. :D

[Aaron]

Okay, so I was drawing and totally planned on drawing Vannay, but then as I drew it started to look more like what I think Arthur Eld would look like. But we already have an image for Arthur Eld, and though it is thought that Vannay was an old man, he could have been a bit younger.

No?

Meh.

Here is my Eldish Vannay. :P

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/423/vannayhu5.th.jpg (http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vannayhu5.jpg)

[Daghain]

I like it.

But yeah, it does kind of remind me of Arthur Eld. :lol:

[Kevin]

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/image.php?u=4&dateline=1195675320
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/423/vannayhu5.th.jpg

Anyone?

[Daghain]

:lol:

[Hannah]

I think he looks more like Will Ferrell, personally. But that's just me.

[Randall Flagg]

All four entries are great.
Thanks to those submitting so far.

[Matt]

This idea for member artwork to populate these articles is cool as shit!

[Daghain]

This idea for member artwork to populate these articles is cool as shit!

:D

Heads up, people - the contest will be closing around 7pm this evening if no one asks for an extension, so if you need more time, let me know! :D

[Storyslinger]

All four are great

[Hannah]

I have something to submit. I just have to scan it in when I get home from work.

[Daghain]

I won't close the contest before 7pm. It'll probably actually be closer to 8. :D

I'll keep an eye out for yours, Hannah.

[Grillslinger]

I need an extension after all, friend!

[Aaron]

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/image.php?u=4&dateline=1195675320
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/423/vannayhu5.th.jpg

Anyone?

I don't know. I see Swearengen as more of a Wayne D. Overholser type.

:cowboy:

[Matt]

I agree--just from the pic since I haven't had a chance to catch Deadwood. :(

[Hannah]

Matt, you and Dora have got to watch it.

Then we can all be heng dai. :grouphug:

[Jimmy]

My entry.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8677/vannay1la7.jpg

[Hannah]

I like his necklace.

[Rjeso]

Oh, yeah, that's TOTALLY Vannay. :P

[Storyslinger]

No doubt,thats him

[Daghain]

I need an extension after all, friend!

You got it! Contest will be open until December 18, 2007. No more extensions will be available. :D

[Jimmy]

Thanks guys!

Just remember to cast your vote wisely once voting begins!

[Jimmy]

Oh, yeah, that's TOTALLY Vannay. :P

Your sarcasm is noted Sunshine. :P

[Darkthoughts]

Just remember to cast your vote wisely once voting begins!

:lol: Mr T gets my vote!!

[Matt]

This thing is going to end up like letting a kid name the dog right?

You get something like..."3" :lol:

[Jimmy]

King never gave a description for Abel so blame him. :lol:

[Grillslinger]

I need an extension after all, friend!

You got it! Contest will be open until December 18, 2007. No more extensions will be available. :D

Thank you Hain of Dag!

[Daghain]

You are most welcome, Slinger of the Grill. :lol:

And just remember, the Content Manager (meaning ME :lol:) gets final say if the art goes in or not. :P

[Jimmy]

Well I hope my entry isn't removed from the contest. I worked very hard on it and it took me several hours to complete. I did it entirely in ms paint and if you've ever used that program you'd know that sometimes to get what you want you need to do each pixel individually.

Just because my depiction of Abel isn't what most of you had in your head please don't discount it. There was no character description and I chose to do something that would be different from every other entry.

Thank you.

[Matt]

That's exactly what this contest is about Jimmy. I personally consider it as legitimate as any of the other entries.

[Mike Beck]

these are all awesome. :D

i do love the VAN NAY knuckles. :lol:

[Jimmy]

That's awesome to hear Matt. Thank you.

It is merely the artist's goal to interpret as they see fit without fear of censorship. If the members don't like it, they won't vote for it. But at least it will be counted.

[Randall Flagg]

I am sure Jimmy's will get due consideration, and I echo Matt's appreciation of the effort. I know it is far better than what I could produce.

[Daghain]

I can't draw for shit, so I'm impressed when anyone can do anything. And I'm sure you did put a lot of work into that, Jimmy.

I'm just saying, Towerpedia! is supposed to be a serious effort, kind of like an online encyclopedia of DT info. If you intended the drawing in that manner, great. Personally, I didn't quite take it that way. I seriously doubt Vannay was a Mr. T lookalike with lots of bling. :D

While I would never remove it from the contest, I will reserve the right to make the choice as to whether or not it goes into the article if it does win.

[Jimmy]

I can't draw for shit, so I'm impressed when anyone can do anything. And I'm sure you did put a lot of work into that, Jimmy.

I'm just saying, Towerpedia! is supposed to be a serious effort, kind of like an online encyclopedia of DT info. If you intended the drawing in that manner, great. Personally, I didn't quite take it that way. I seriously doubt Vannay was a Mr. T lookalike with lots of bling. :D

While I would never remove it from the contest, I will reserve the right to make the choice as to whether or not it goes into the article if it does win.

Then I would like it removed from the contest. If I don't have a chance to win, then I would rather not compete.

My choice of persepective versus your vetoing due to "serious doubt" and "seriousness of the piece" negates the idea of having the contest be open to submissions and voting in the first place.

What if this had one the first contest :

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/544/Hannah1.jpg

Would you have vetoed it, called it silly and then chose another?

[Randall Flagg]

Before any feelings get hurt here, can we all take a deep breath and calm down?
Perhaps Daghain, Matt, Patrick, myself, etc. can have a chance to talk about this before matters go any further.

[Daghain]

Would you have vetoed it, called it silly and then chose another?

My concern here is that people will vote to be silly, and that's not what I'm after. I'm sorry If I've upset you, and I'm not sure how to fix that. If you want it removed from the contest, that is certainly your perogative. I still stand by my original statement that I want Towerpedia! to be an online encyclopedia of DT knowledge, and as such should at least try to be accurate to the general feel of the books. I doubt Sai King would agree with your depiction of Vannay. Hannah at least tried to keep to the general feel of the books, I think, but if I felt it was inappropriate, then yes, I would have chosen not to use it.

[Jimmy]

Would you have vetoed it, called it silly and then chose another?

My concern here is that people will vote to be silly, and that's not what I'm after. I'm sorry If I've upset you, and I'm not sure how to fix that. If you want it removed from the contest, that is certainly your perogative. I still stand by my original statement that I want Towerpedia! to be an online encyclopedia of DT knowledge, and as such should at least try to be accurate to the general feel of the books. I doubt Sai King would agree with your depiction of Vannay. Hannah at least tried to keep to the general feel of the books, I think, but if I felt it was inappropriate, then yes, I would have chosen not to use it.

I don't believe members would vote for it to be silly. I expected no more than 2 votes in total. I just wanted a chance to show my idea for Vannay and have it be counted.

If you want towerpedia to adhere to what you expect then you shouldn't have opened a contest to see our interpretations of the characters. You could've just as easily chosen one person to create the pictures for the site.

Vannay could've been 3 plaid chickens stacked on top of one another, King never said. Doubting my interpretation of Vannay's appearance and suggesting you know King's thoughts on an undescribed character based on your own feelings and opinions make the points moot.

Hannah did exactly what the description of Tick Tock said he was. Mike Beck didn't sling one of this legs over the side of the arm of the throne. Darkthoughts only drew a portion of Tick Tock. Hannah gave him a beard while the others didn't. Darkthoughts and boehmke had Tick Tock's opposite legs slung over the side. Each chose their own color schemes, positioning and lighting.

I did the same thing. I saw Vannay as I saw Vannay and I made it something you could see. Whether or not you like it because of your opinions should not be a factor here, it's what the other members think.

[Letti]

Jimmy, may I ask a question? I wouldn't like to hurt anybody I am just really interested in it.
How could you imagine him so modern? You know. I mean the rings on his fingers. His clothes. I have no problems with them but it's so damn different from the guy who is on my mind that I had to ask it. I am just keen on it.

[Jimmy]

Jimmy, may I ask a question? I wouldn't like to hurt anybody I am just really interested in it.
How could you imagine him so modern? You know. I mean the rings on his fingers. His clothes. I have no problems with them but it's so damn different from the guy who is on my mind that I had to ask it. I am just keen on it.

Vannay lived in Gilead thousands if not millions or billions of years ago before the world moved on and before Roland began his journey. Also we don't know his origins and in a literary world where people have a tendency to cross over into other times and plains of reality everything about the characters and their places of origin could be in doubt.

[Jimmy]

Rather than have this continue on, I'm going to redo my submission more in line to what I believe the readers' consensus of Vannay's appearance is.

I'm sorry to have upset any apple carts.

[Aaron]

If Daghain hadn't vetoed Hannah's likeness of the Tick-Tock Man had it won, then I certainly would have. The Towerpedia is the nexus of our informational content on the series, King, and his other works. The images used are representative of our site, and we do take that seriously.

Daghain never removed the image from the contest, and we will still keep it in for voting should you decide you want it included. You want it counted and voted on, so let that happen. But you know as well as I do that if it did win, that it would likely be because some members were being silly. You said you only expect two votes and that members won't vote for it to be silly, and I agree on that. So let it stay in the contest, allow the votes to be tallied, and we shouldn't have a problem. Daghain was just qualifying you that your image isn't exactly what we were shooting for, so the likelihood of us using it for the page is small. You would, however, still receive the prize for winning.

Seriously, man, no one here is trying to be mean or rude to you. We should have been more clear in the contest guidelines that site management has the final say on any image that is to be representative of an area of the site. I apologize for that. But really, keep your picture in the contest. It's a damn good picture, whether serious or not, and I am sure you spent a great deal of time on it. There's no sense in wasting that effort at all.

[Jimmy]

I'm resubmitting.

That is all I'm saying on the subject.

[Aaron]

Your choice, but I don't see it as necessary. But if you insist, then I look forward to seeing what you come up with. You obviously have artistic talent, so I imagine it will look great.

[OchrisO]

Vannay is never outright described in the story, but everyone around him is. Gilead very much has the period feel of the Old West with bits of Arthurian Legend thrown in. Given that, I find it hard to believe that anyone would seriously interpret him as looking like an urban street thug with hip-hop sensabilities(bling, very much modern era hip-hop rings). I like him being interpreted as black, but I can't see how anyone would get the getup from reaidng teh story and condsidering how everyone around him dresses. I assumed from the get-go that you were just trying to be funny and interpreting him vastly different that you probably actually see him to make a point. I also thought that Hannah's picture in the first contest was just her trying to be funny.

Can you honestly say that that was how you saw Vannay when you read the book?

[Hannah]

Jimmy, I just want to point out that you can always put your Vannay into the Fan Art gallery so people can view it along with the other fan art. :D

[Patrick]

I'm impressed by the variety of interpretations that Darkthoughts, Boehmke, Letti, Aaron, and Jimmy have created, and the work that must have gone into each of them. Great job, everyone! :thumbsup:

I look forward to whatever this two-week extension brings from other artists as well. :dance:

[Jimmy]

... and interpreting him vastly different that you probably actually see him to make a point.

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

During the first contest I didn't post a picture of Ticky for the specific reason that I didn't think that my interpretation would be good enough to be placed among the other works. I wasn't the only one who posted saying, "I would've submitted something but..."

The biggest killer of creativity is self doubt. Not believing in yourself or your skills, or even fearing mockery holds too many artists back. I thought that by submitting a downright ridiculous version of Vannay that members would have that excuse of the "but..." taken away.

"Normally I'd have never posted one of my pictures because I'm not a good enough artist but that Vannay picture was strange and it still got people talking and it got votes so I should try."

Unfortunately, the admins here are too nice and they messed it all up. :P

Regardless I would hope some of our more self doubting artists won't be so afraid because they have nothing to fear and they should submit anyway because the only true judge of art, is time.

[Jimmy]

I hope that the admins will take what I've said seriously though. Creating a message board contest where submissions can be vetoed by admin after a memberwide voting process negates the need for voting in the first place.

If you're afraid that the members won't vote for what you want, fixing it to how you see fit, reflects not only a flaw in the system, but in you, the admins as well.

We all love the Dark Tower and wish the towerpedia well. Have a little more faith in us please. We wouldn't want this site's legacy to be a joke. We may all be different people with different backgrounds, but we all share this commonality.

We've given our time, effort and money for the Dark Tower. We love it and we want it taken seriously.

[Aaron]

I think you make an extremely valid point, Jimmy. I think what everyone was thinking is just that we do take the Towerpedia seriously, since it is our only informational content on the series. I agree that we should give the members some credit, and I really don't think that a joke image would be voted in. The right to veto images is merely a safeguard, and I seriously don't think it is one that we would ever need to use, because the majority are going to vote for the image that they feel best represents the character.

I applaud you for making an effort to try to open up other artists on the site, and make them feel comfortable participating. I also apologize that it was kind of ruined by the staff reaction. I love the funny images. This should be fun; we should be able to laugh. And we want to see any piece of art that any member wants to produce. We want to encourage, and I know that this has turned more toward discouragement. :(

The Directors are going to discuss the matter more thoroughly. More later...

[Daghain]

*bump*

Remember, the contest ends Monday! :D

[Letti]

I think I should change mine... but I can't so... I am ready. :rolleyes:

[boehmke]

HANNAH POST YOURS NOW!!!!!

I don't care of the drama it may cause! I WANT TO SEE!

:pullhair:

[Letti]

Next time I won't send mine and I hope from the bottom of my heart that boehmke will write me something like this... :D

[Grillslinger]

I need an extension after all, friend!

You got it! Contest will be open until December 18, 2007. No more extensions will be available. :D

Thank you Hain of Dag!

The 18 is Tuesday! I'll have my entry on time!

[Daghain]

You are correct - apparently my calendar reading skills are questionable. You still have until tomorrow. :D

[Grillslinger]

Okay....getting to a scanner. I'll have it up in the next couple of hours.

[Daghain]

Okay, I'm just waiting for you! :D

[Randall Flagg]

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3338/clockpk0.gif

[Daghain]

Oh, nice - it even ticks! :lol:

[Grillslinger]

Okay, here it is...I wanted to do a lot more with it, but I waited until the last moment.

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/vannay.jpg

[Randall Flagg]

Very, very cool.
Thanks so much for the contribution.

[Daghain]

Yay!

I'll keep it open for another 1/2 hour, just to be sure. So at 7:45 it's all over, folks. :D

[Daghain]

Contest is now closed. Voting to begin soon! :D