Make sure you see it full size:

http://www.crestock.com/images/contest2008/8542-org-santa_out_of_business_laurentiu_bontea.jpg

if You won't win...................

great.

wonderful!

conceptfull:)
awesome execution as well!

foarte frumos, felicitari!

This has everything going for it. Perfect theme and execution. If this doesn't win, I will be totally surprised. Good Luck!

You should win! Perfect!

I viewed this in full size and was mesmerized! From the glowing contrast of the fire & the moon against the icy blue night, to the imaginative idea of the homeless elf & reindeer sale, the perfect touches such as the swaying white firs, the factories' smoke in the background, and the snow-covered house - I was drawn into this scene much as if I were in a dark theater watching an animated Christmas film. In my opinion, this is a masterpiece, and it is my favorite. Not only that, but it definitely works in the Christmas part of the theme, which is lacking in many entries; it also gets in the Apocalyptic element without making me want to go hang myself:)

AMAZING!!

I love the colours! In fact I love everything about this one! Congratulations and good luck!

"
Magnifico!
By DecemberBorn on Monday, 17 November 2008 4:43 AM
I viewed this in full size and was mesmerized! From the glowing contrast of the fire & the moon against the icy blue night, to the imaginative idea of the homeless elf & reindeer sale, the perfect touches such as the swaying white firs, the factories' smoke in the background, and the snow-covered house - I was drawn into this scene much as if I were in a dark theater watching an animated Christmas film. In my opinion, this is a masterpiece, and it is my favorite. Not only that, but it definitely works in the Christmas part of the theme, which is lacking in many entries; it also gets in the Apocalyptic element without making me want to go hang myself:)
"

great review by yourself Bontea , specially on the closing happy face ... :) , shure is a nice work man but this comment was kind of unnecessary as everybody can see all that and im shure everybody will like it but theres other very impressive works and they keep coming ,

Thanks everyone, this sure was a back-breaker but I also enjoyed creating it a lot. I just went to sleep and when I came back - bam, all of your comments! Thanks, I'm very glad to see that the effort is appreciated.

jopepo, trust me, that comment is genuine. DecemberBorn is a real user and I don't know who he or she is but I want to thank him/her for such a great comment.

I gave everything I had into creating the image why would I go so low to use cheap tricks and risk my entry? You can check the country flag in the profile, we're on different continents, and feel free to email the webmaster and ask for IP details. I know that there are other people in the contest who probably have multiple accounts and I understand your suspicions.

Yay, it wasn't me, look carefully at the comment authors :)

That was probably was a comment from an envious dude with no talent whatsoever... just ignore people like that ( they are sad sad people ).

Again, nice work!

Sorry Jopepo! Obviously the reply was directed at grinch - my bad, I apologize. Thanks for your nice comment ;)

WOW!! that's creativity and talent to the max!! a perfect piece for this theme. followed it and destroyed it completely!

yup you definetly got this
good job

Great image for sure, enjoy your computer!

I'm not worthy.

First vote man!

got my vote, brilliant stuff

This should be a runaway winner. It is close enough to perfect, and I am positive the judges will agree. Congrats!

The last few rounds people created multiple accounts, voted for themselves, all their "friends" and commented on their own work and they were not even in the top 50 finalists. So people should not waste their time as it would be pointless.
I don't think you are one of these people and I like to congratulate you on your work. Very nice I must say. Good Luck.

Bro..this is awesome. By turning it into cartoon..wew..great
vote for you...hope you vote for me too
http://www.crestock.com/blog/photoshop/contest2008/entry.aspx?id=8430

Don't worry jooseddesign, it is very important to me that my entry stays totally clean - I am also against these "friends" schemes.
Luckily, the rules seem to have changed this year and the official jury will have the final word.

But above all that, your votes mean very much nonetheless and I feel very honored to receive them. Thank you all!

this is really professional animator hard to find!!

I totally agree with jooseddesign. I strongly believe this is a genuine entry that deserves to win.

I submitted my own work. I really wanted to win this thing. But, I have to bow down to this. Amazing work.

I love your entry. Very, very well done, artistically and technically

amazing piece! no doubt, this gonna win for sure... congrats!

got my vote!!

but the idea of the image is so sad... =/

Rocks!

Yes, DecemberBorn is a real user. I'm not a PhotoShop pro, just a newbie. (Old, but new). It's the writer in me who often can't stop with a simple line or two, especially if I really love and/or are impressed with an artist's work. I don't know Bontea. I just appreciate the whimsical beauty of his/her entry and the creative talent that went into it - and it's in my nature to be expressive. Grinch, you jumped to conclusions.

amazing contrast, the light versus darkness, the expressions in their eyes, the resources to overcome what we all know is happening i won't comment on it anymore... Superb composition, superb colors, superb details, super story, superbly narrated...

Thanks for your input DecemberBorn and don't worry, your comment above was very well received. And a BIG THANKS again to everyone who voted or commented, your support means very much to me!

Thank you Chuy!

great work Bontea!
its a winner!

Am I the only one who finds this public voting amusing? Because from what I read in the rules there is no need for a voting fight; yet some participants seem to take it a bit too seriously :)

yeah... like me.
i havent realized till some minutes ago that public voting is not gonna be taken in count. hahahah...
but when i submited the piece there was a text like ''now go tell your friends...'' and i thought 'ok! its not inmoral then'! ... ironic

I think it's because there are 363 entries, and for each judge to look at every single one of them is a bit unlikely! Where as they will take notice and actual look and consider designs that have quite a lot of comments, also the public most likely look at designs that have been commented/voted on considerably more then others.

Just my 2c. Everyone knows this, so don't pretend it means nothing.

Really awesome work.

You're probably right redwoods. Thanks velann3!

WOW! Nice work, well done!

Wow
This image is so funny and so sad at the same time! Poor, poor Rudolph :)
And you really nailed the economic crisis part of the brief. I wonder what happened to Santa...

.......now THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT - you win dude .. honestly, and get that smirk off your face cuz YOU KNOW YOU WON =P

Yes this will take me months to learn and make this kind image :)

This is pretty cool!!! Great colors and concept =)... I need to start learning how to do this kind of art, my entry is just layered images :P

Exceptional. Hope you win.

Very nice concept and execution. Good Job!

not only smirk BARRYOBAMA...

To those who don't know, the comments that don't have the poster's name in orange are annonymous - I don't know who posted above using my username.
I know there's little action in the contest right now and maybe you are bored but next time grow up and post comments using your real ID.

HOW can this artwork on place 2 even get in the mentions? Can you explain that Crestock??? I do not know how deep you looked over the piece but look at the rabbits in the right corner, first one in the front okay, but than this artist placed the same one also behind the other trees, simply duplicated bunnies that are so misplaced a few times after another, like a beginner does. Second of all, a reindeer does not feel cold in the winter time and would never, not even in a cartoon, need a fire to warm itself. Third of all, when having a car, one would not sit outside the car with a fire but get the fire inside or near to the car to keep the warmth in a closed place...Also when an elf would sell her shoes, it would still wear them until they are sold. ;-)

"Second of all, a reindeer does not feel cold in the winter time and would never, not even in a cartoon, need a fire to warm itself. Third of all, when having a car, one would not sit outside the car with a fire but get the fire inside or near to the car to keep the warmth in a closed place...Also when an elf would sell her shoes, it would still wear them until they are sold. ;-)"


what a duchbag comment , please say sorry and never write again around here man ,

(o;

Congrats on placing second. This still is a winner in my opinion :)

Jesus, what's with the twisted comment? ever heard of personification, imagination, anything? Any bells...No bells?
You should write a letter to Walt Disney and ask him why Mickey Mouse walks on two feet and wears red pants because it doesn't correspond to reality at all. I have responded to your questions twice already but you keep pasting them in different places. I can answer all of your questions, just have the balls to use your real id or your email address. Or you prefer to stay annonymous because this status describes you best.

Thanks Heinlein.

You were robbed.
How can any judge get so far down the process as placing yours second without it trumping the current winner?

Your image was wonderfully executed with a fresh colour palette and a strong idea. It was charming and sat perfectly within the spirit of christmas...all while keeping to brief.

I can only imagine your frustration.
Sincere congratulations regardless.

Bontea - it's not closed with your last entry because you STILL want an ANSWER from the judges. you are not over it. and i 100% agree with jellybeen, you just ruined your reputation. sooo many ppl respect and admired your entry, but in the end, it wasn't what the judges wanted. you lost. so accept it! but with all the support that was given to you.... you could have CHANGED your loss into a WIN!!
how??? you could have commented with "i really wanted to win!! but oh well, maybe next year! for now, thx for all the support and comments.. if you want to keep in touch and see what i've done and what ill be up to.. viist my site ...... "

NETWORK!!! you could have made A LOT of new CONTACTS!! doors could have been open to you !! but your attitude about the outcome clearly shows you're very immature and that you still have a LOT of "training" left to do. no one in the industry will want to work with someone who's a sore loser. sure TALENT matters, but when the attitude sucks! no one is gonna want to work with you.

i certainly hope that with all your complaining, it wont effect next years contest! cuz i surely would love to participate next year!

but seriously.. bontea, take these words and the whole outcome as a LESSON LEARNED!! GROW from this and you'll be successful!

kaboom! congratulations!! well deserved!
crestock, good job with the contest!

Yes, it was closed, in his last comment Bontea didn't say ANYTHING about wanting an answer. It seems to me that you like to maintain this atmosphere of complaining with your comment. You basically rewrite the comment of jellybeans again, after Bontea gave him a short answer and said that he already walked away from this.

I know that the last part of the discussion seems bitter, but if you read the comments more carefully, not just assuming things, you would see that the problem never was that HIS work didn't win, but that there are many OTHER works that are better than the winner's.

People just assumed that he was complaining, and never understood what the problem was truly about.

I think his last comments, before he walked away, were bitter because he repeteadly asked for a specific answer, "why this won and not ANOTHER one" (he never said "why this won and not MINE" please see the difference) . When he didn't get this simple answer, after a few tries, I guess the frustration built up, understandably, I say.

So, to wrap this up, please, next time read and listen more carefully to what someone says.

Anyway, none of this matters anymore, so let's all move on, and good luck next year.