My sincerest apologies. I’ve been busy all day, no thanks to LOL-Mart. Let me get my choices out of the way first before I begin commenting on everyone else.
STILL
“Fire in her eyes”
Breathtaking. The beautiful flower patterns, the sensual look of the superimposed eye on the left, the diagonal composition, the vividness of the orange and the subtlety of the pale green textures, and the render on the right (is that really Mai Shiranui?) are very well placed. This avatar feels very complete, yet it is clearly mashed together. I am unaware of what the kanji beside the Mai sprite means, but placing it in the center along with the sprite is a stroke of inspiration, lending organization to an avatar which could have very easily appeared cluttered and disorienting. The sprite itself is an excellent choice - Mai’s posture in this frame lends well to fitting her within the composition. I can see a pixel border in here, but it’s very subtle, just like the avatar itself. I would compare the entire piece to a Japanese tea ceremony, only when you drink it, you realize just how hot your drink is when it scathes your tongue. Excellent work.
“Nippon Ichi”
I appreciate simplicity in art, especially when it is used to add depth to a barebones idea. This in itself is simple: we have a picture of Mai Shiranui rendered as monochrome pixel art. What I find intriguing is how cool the colors feel - while Mai wears red, and is a naturally arousing character, this avatar gives the sense of… distance. Like, this woman has no interest in you, the viewer at all, or anyone around her for that matter. This would have been better conveyed, for example, if Mai’s artwork weren’t so close, so personal. You can see the strands of her hair, and you can see her large shoulder and can make out her face - so the distance implied by the color scheme clashes with the artwork used. Perhaps this is the point. We look at Mai and with the voyeur’s eye, we learn that she would not otherwise permit us to look at her. To comment on the font used, it’s very rough. However, I think no other font could have been used but a rough one, to contrast with the very clear lineart we are presented with. I may have done without the pixel border, but regardless this isn’t hurt by it at all.
“Mai Profile”
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g226/glgaz/ABC15/MaiProfile.png
While a very busy avatar, all the pieces come together elegantly, not unlike the vibrant kimono Mai has donned. We seem to be playing with an illegible micro font, and the very sleek looking abstract patterns in the background, the technological-looking font used for the name “Mai” on the side, and the pattern of the sixteen squares at the bottom right hand corner give the avatar a very modern look. However, this clashes greatly with Mai Shiranui herself, who as mentioned before, is wearing a very traditional dress. The avatar itself looks energetic - Mai is glowing with what seems to be a bright yellow aura (added, of course, to actually make her distinguishable from the rest of the background), and her left shoulder is in the same diagonal that the white beams behind her are placed at. This is, if you will, a stark clash between the modern and the traditional, moving together in unison. Perhaps this is appropriate, as the description is also apt when discussing Japan, Mai’s home itself. Mai has always had a sense of Japanese nationalism (isn’t “Nippon Ichi” one of her win quotes?), and this avatar is an excellent articulation of that aspect of her character.
ANIMATED
“Heartbeat”
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g226/glgaz/ABC15/Heartbeat.gif
I wonder, is this a pre-existing rendered animation from the MI games or was the animation itself shopped? In either case, this is fairly compelling. The background pulses as Mai’s breasts do, and the avatar gains a personal gravitas as a result. Think about it: you are not only seeing Mai’s heart beat, you are seeing the world revolve around her, in rhythm with her soul. My only gripe is that the background itself is fairly abstract, and I think a different, contrasting color for the background would’ve been appropriate. On the other hand, the background has a flesh tone similar to Mai’s, so am I to imply that the world revolving around her is her body? In that case, this is a very personal piece. Mai’s sexuality and her identity are intertwined, and the avatar is all the more provocative as a result. Also, those are nice breasts.
“Midnight Run”
Excellent. I think what many people forget about Mai Shiranui is that despite her sexuality, she is a ninja. She’s a trained, lethal assassin who could probably kill most people in the SNK world, and this avatar captures this. The running Mai sprite is darkened to fit with the night scene, and I believe that’s the Ryu castle from CvS2’s Esaka stage? I think the large bright moon is a nice touch, giving us the bright contrast that a scene like this needs. The animation itself is very smooth, and I enjoy looking at it even as I’m typing this critique up. I also appreciate how Mai’s positioned in the avatar, adhering to the Golden Rule of rectangular composition. The eye is drawn to Mai’s head and her powerful legs, and positioning the moon right behind them makes it all the clearer for us to see.
“Surprise Mai Secks”
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g226/glgaz/ABC15/SurpriseMaisecks.gif
I chose this out of all the other “story” avs because I simply liked it the best. Krushnood’s expression at the end - upon realization that he had just been saddled with the responsibility of Mai’s child (who is apparently Ryo’s biological child if the split second frame is to be believed) - is absolutely priceless. Krushnood has just paid the ultimate price for tapping Mai Shiranui’s ass. I’m not very keen on the font used, and I think some of the frames (like Mai’s KOF '99 winpose) move a little too fast for me to digest the scene. I believe the added touch of the Ryo sprite makes this one of the “complex” stories of the avatars presented this time, which is why it nets the win.
Good luck to all entrants.
