CGAN August 2014 Challenge - Ode to Banj

OK, nobody's cried for more time, though I see a couple of you voted after the end of the voting time. Since we've had login issues and not that many voted at all, I'll count all votes, though.

So here are the results:
SchizophreniaWolf 7
AngieA 8
microscopi 11
DigitalDave 6
oaktree 3
Kodabble 7

And the winner is, with his epic poster for the movie about the Hamster of the Round Table, is MICROSCOPI! Congrats micro!

Some feedback for everyone, from me:

SchizophreniaWolf
I think this is a great image. It's a little bit too close for comfort with regards to "overpainting", in my taste, but you've also openly showed how you worked with this. And it's clear you didn't copy or trace your references slavishly either. The end result might not be a fantasy type knight, but I like the idea of a modern secret hacker type hero as well. (Although in reality I don't really like hackers. Not if they mess up my 'puter, anyway!)

AngieA
I like how we get a glimpse of the throne room (and the scared cat queen er... king) while literally being shooed away by the ferocious hamster with his needle and button shield! I know I have a habit of over detailing everything to the same degree, but I think I would have liked the background to be at least a bit more crisp. Maybe.

microscopi
I like all the characters in this one from the steampunkey webmaster in the back and the cat queen, to the detailed armour of Banj the hamster knight. I do agree that it's a little too hard to tell the head and the helmet apart, and I have to admit that the rounded decor on his chest plate makes me think of boobies (not the bird type) but I do think the decor is very well painted. Perhaps the blending of the characters into the background could have been more subtle but that's something I often struggle with as well.

Digital Dave
I really like the repainted wall, it works much better than the yellow bricks I think! Banj doesn't look like much of a knight - yet - but I guess that's why King Cat looks so ready to give up. Lovely bit of story telling and humour.

oaktree
I like how you incorporated the wheel into the image - I was a bit nervous when you removed it and very happy when you put it back in! The previous, colourful, flags were a nice touch but as was said back then they drew the eye a bit much. Now the character's face is certainly the focal point. I have to admit I'm not sure who's who in this image, though - except I guess the cat is the king/queen (darn I should have just said regent in the brief). And I agree the cat's ears look a bit funny - cats' ears are translucent but I think the fur on the head should provide a bit of a smoother transition from opaque to translucent. Perhaps a stronger rimlight would have made it look more natural, as well? A final nitpick is that I'd have liked to see some atmospheric perspective on the four "foreground flags" - they seem to have the same values and colour both nearest to us and closer to the opening in the wall. They also seem rather detached from the world around them, with no cast shadows. I think they should perhaps have gone a bit paler towards the light.

Kodabble
This has a lovely storybook feel to it, like other have said! Judging from the difference in style/detail of the hamster and the background I think it would have benefitted from a bit more time, but I'm glad you had time to enter the finals. And I love the dodo