Made of Plastic » Worth1000

Regrettable Tattoos 7

bStro — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 06:45:11 +0000

Sweet. My first Worth1000 entry in over a year got me first bronze (aka, third place) in an advanced Photoshop content. The instructions for the Regrettable Tattoo 7 contest reads:

You’ve seen them– the hula girl on your baby-blue sweater wearing grandpa’s bicep… your uncle’s ex-wife’s name emblazened across his chest in a circle of hearts and flowers… that tweetie bird on your butt.. In this contest, your task is to show us a tattoo on someone’s skin (not just the design– it must look like it’s been tattooed onto a person) that the owner subsequently regretted. The reason for the regret must be obvious.

The rules of this game are thus: Create a believable, regrettable tattoo.

Yeah, my entry is a bit immature, but that just makes the tattoo that much more regrettable, as required by the theme. And it got me my highest placement ever in one of Worth1000’s advanced contests, so there.

Super Shakers

bStro — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 16:34:51 +0000

Now and then, I’ll post links to Worth1000 entries I’ve done in the past. Today’s feature was the first time I won a contest there — first prize in a beginner’s contest (have to start somewhere). It was a “Back to Basics” contest, which mean they give you a picture, and you Photoshop it however you want. We were given a picture of a pair of torso-shaped salt and pepper shakers, and I turned them into Super Shakers.

A Couple of Clowns

bStro — Fri, 26 May 2006 04:57:40 +0000

Just got my highest score / rank / grade for an entry in one of Worth1000’s advanced Photoshop contests. The contest was to Photoshop a photo of a celebrity so that they look like a clown. (Meaning, a circus performer with makeup, rubber nose, that sort of thing…not just to make them look silly. Although that’s obvoiusly part of it, too.) Still not close to winning, but my Halle Berry entry is ranked #13 out of 58.

I’ve gotten into the habit of doing two entries per contest just to improve my odds, though I should maybe concentrate on doing one really well instead. Just the same, still in the game is my other entry:

J Edgar Hoover

I’d wanted to do more with the Halle photo, maybe hang something from the rings, decorate the hat more, or put something in the background. But I spent a lot of time trying out different things, none of which was really working to my liking. Sometimes, simpler is better…whether this was on of those times or not, I don’t know. The Hoover one definitely needed more. Because it was black and white, the makeup just wasn’t nearly enough to hold interest. The flower and hat were a good start, and I like the painting (might’ve been too subtle), but again, I tried a few things with nothing really coming together.

Maybe if I’d turned Hoover’s office into a circus tent?

Ron Jeremy

bStro — Mon, 01 May 2006 05:24:56 +0000

Earlier this week (wait…it’s 1:15AM Monday morning, so I guess I mean early last week), I submitted my first Worth1000 entry in about three months. I should enter more often — it’s good practice.

The contest was titled “Where Are They Now?”

As per the instructions:

The rules of the game are thus: Show what the has-beens of the world are doing now. You can do this however you choose; give them a new job (Father Guido selling cars), show them auditioning for a new show (Louie Anderson trying for a spot on Baywatch), whatever.

Technically, I don’t know if Ron Jeremy qualifies as a has-been; the man still gets work, I’m just not sure how much is actually doing what he used to do. And anyhow, half the entries in these kind of contests end up riffing off people who are actually quite active in the public eye; it’s just that the artists wanted to make fun of them for some reason. I chose Ron Jeremy just ’cause I had (in my mind) a good idea.

Without further babbling, I present to you: Ron Jeremy – Hot Dog Vendor

Real Boy

bStro — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 06:05:30 +0000

Worth1000 is a fun place to visit and also to participate in. They hold contests every day for photo manipulations, photography, writing, and animation / multimedia. Other than the coporate contests, the only prize is “points” which you can use to enter more contests, but winning is also a bit of an ego boost. I must admit, I thought it was pretty cool when I got first place once — and that was just in one of their Training Ground competition, which are essentially for beginners. (Have to start somewhere.)

At any rate, I figured that every now and then I’d post a link to one of my entries there. I was originally going to upload all my entries to this site, but then I figured that they’re already up at Worth1000, so why use up my own bandwidth? (I plan on linking to the site, not hotlinking directly to my images there, by the way, if that’s what you’re thinking.)

But first, I thought I’d share an image that I created for Worth1000 but that was never submitted because I missed the deadline. By two minutes. A shame, ’cause I think it might’ve won…or at least scored well. The contest was to take the given picture of a plastic doll and manipulate it however we wanted. (The picture, not the doll.) I actually did get one entry in to the same contest, but it didn’t do as well as I think my late entry would’ve. Oh well.

The image is called Real Boy, and just to warn you — it’s kind of creepy. Think Pinocchio, mid-transformation.