Another day at the office. Cool! Scalp ropes seem flat, however, plus they should extend above the top of the head (like the side-of-the-head ropes). Green rope on right needs to extend above AND below. The rope left of the eye is extremely unrealistic. I have to agree with skeletor about the black outline. Light source appears to be upper left, except for the right-side-edge elements.

Fun. But I wish there were consistency in the sizes of the windows and door — what is the size of the inhabitant? Some accessorizing to enhance curb appeal would up the ante.

Like the concept, the filling up of all the empty space, the colorfulness. But I have to agree with the previous comments.

Like the concept, the filling up of the empty space, the colorfulness. But I have to agree with the previous comments.

Lovely. Reflections don't shrink, however, so the reduction in heights to 30% in SBS Step 11 was unnecessary. (See the reflection in this week's 'Shore' contest or stack stuff on a mirror.)

A lot to like, but the contest rules do require a guitar or violin somewhere in the piece.

Extremely cool! I'll admit I personally prefer the girl in SBS Step 14; I find this one too washed out and inexplicable, plus I think the focal point of the picture gets lost as a result..

Very cool!

Nice, but I wish you had done the mirror image as well from your businessman source.

Creative and fun. I'm not so sure about the orange rays that turn white half way to the ground, however.

Interesting, but without the SBS I don't see how this couldn't be done with any random image.

Creepy indeed, but erikuri is correct that the fangs do look fake. Also, I'm not so sure about the 'little' in your title. She actually looks like she may have been gorging. Vampirism and anorexia go together in my mind.

There's some potential here. Your SBS doesn't describe the gauzy overlay with the cross [anathema to vampires?], let alone why it's perspective is different from that of the girl. I think the red blood is too bright and thus looks fake. Having her holding a dead baby instead of a doll would be more compelling (disturbing) as would a title that referred to her as a bride.

Interesting kick-off entry. The face and hand seem too 3D, however, as I think of cubism as really flat -- and likewise all the black creates very distinct background and foreground levels which isn't particularly flat either. I believe the texture in the tutorial was merely meant to reflect the canvas the image is supposedly painted upon. Thus I feel the multiple, non-canvas textures here say 'collage' more than 'cubism' (or maybe this is nouveau cubism?). Also, I don't see the guitar shape, so until I saw your title, I was thinking lute.

Nice moody feel and pleasant enough, but I don't know what I should be focusing on. Also, the landscape seems pretty realistic to me (aside from the miniature foreground tower [or giant background pagoda]), so I don't get the reference to 'surrealism' in your title.

Nice idea, but if he's supposed to be surfing out of the vertical picture (with maybe the tail of his surfboard still inside that picture), then all of the frothy wake behind him should be inside the vertical picture's frame (which would leave the entire top and left edges of the frame completely visible). As for the background, it's totally irrelevant so the darker the better so it doesn't distract from the two pictures and the guy surfing between them.

It seems to me that without either fangs or glowing eyes, you just have a drug addict, not a vampire. While I agree with James that the teeth are not convincing, removing them would thus necessitate adding eye glow. Also, the cane seems to be floating above (not resting on) the cushion corner. In hi-res, the hat has a white outline and appears to be floating just above the bench seat. (If floating accessories are meant to be a vampire trick, then the floating should be made more obvious.)

Awesome! The assymetric hat (top edge and brim) really adds character. (More contrast between the two frame levels might be warranted, however.)

I love all the vampire subtlety, but CMYK46 raises an interesting point. Changing the lighting to dusk or later could be more compelling.

Very cool but the rules are the rules: "One last restriction is that only one person [and that person is the one you're transforming into a vampire] is allowed in your entry...." To my mind, cropping out a second person's face but leaving his/her arms would violate those rules. Creativity is about overcoming constraints, not ignoring them. {Propose a different contest if you don't like this one.}

I like the title/concept, but the "oozing black eye" that CMYK46 references bothers me, too. And I think some shadows on her face might be more dramatic.

While I think it's very creative to ask what the difference is between vampirism and a long night of partying, I feel this seems more like the latter when the contest is about the former. I'm getting a 'wasted' more than a 'vampire' vibe I'm afraid. Perhaps a hint of fang or glowing eyes (maybe coupled with a more disturbing title) would help push it over the edge.

Cool idea BUT: The spider has a white-edge residue around it (see hi-res; need to refine edge). All of the spider is 'out of bounds' which makes it look like it's just crawling on (not out of) the picture of a cobweb and thus this image is not on theme. The spider does not stand out even though it is supposed to be the focus per the title.

Love the image's retro charm to express an eternal truth, although the thought bubbles should be closer to the guy's head IMO.

Cool head, Nevertheless,I think Step 5 of your SBS is better (albeit not great). The darkness here merely obscures everything without adding anything. Glowing eyes (and lollipop perhaps) would at least be creepy, and moonlight illuminating the background might add unsettling drama.

Very cool face which is slightly cartoonish (especially the hair) but that is perfectly OK, except then the extremely realistic, unusually warm-colored, not-very-blood-like moon doesn't fit the rest of the image or title. [Desaturate the moon and add a vague blue tint?]

Cool idea, and post-prandial vampires would seem to be the ultimate in drama IMO. Necertheless, the fried-face portion seems more on top of than into the skin in the eye/nose portion—but maybe that's somewhat of a misread on my part because the smoke edges are just too strong.

Very disturbing, but appropriately so. The head is outstanding, but I'm guessing the little notch on the left side is an extraction error and not a deformity. Quibbles: I appreciate that the hat and collar are just kitschy add-ons, but I think the bottom edge of the hat should either be a totally straight line or else curved at both sides (not curved on one side and straight on the other). [BTW choosing two curved sides would also suggest some curve in the middle would be appropriate to convey a further hint of realism.] Finally, a Victorian picture frame around it all accompanied by a title such as "Our Little Darling" would convey a more complete and compelling story IMO.

Cool! The view of the bottom photo's white border through the waterfall is more realistic (although still a tad too clear) than the view of the top photo's white border which is way too clear. This would be more compelling if the bottom photo seemed flat on the ground rather than tilted up.

Nicely creepy. Not sure how big bird would fit inside the frame if it stayed in bounds. I think stronger big-bird beak shadow is warranted and little bird has virtually no shadow at all which makes it appear fake and floating.

Good concept, but I agree with erikuri.

Not clear if it's on theme without a clear demonstration that there's an in-bounds alternative. Nevertheless, the thick shadows at the arm/page boundaries make the arms look unrelated to the book, especially the left-side hand which seems to be coming out of the spine/between pages of the book—what's that all about?

Kudos to Keiley22 for seeing some OOB in this. I'm afraid I'm not so generous (put me in erathion and Tuckinator's camp). It looks only like a goofy mountain-top rec room to me.

Interesting. I guess the elephant is the out of bounds (OOB) part. But everything is so unusual that it doesn't seem all that weird that a pygmy elephant lives in a hole in the right-side wall, drastically minimizing the OOB effect.

I agree with Keilley22. Furthermore, I don't see how you could ever make your source fit this contest, but maybe that's my own lack of imagination. My personal recommendation would be to forget this entry and create a wholly new one if you're so motivated.

Very nice, but I think it could use more drama. The shadows on her face could be stronger. The upper right corner could hold a full moon coming through some clouds. (Obviously, some other light is illuminating her face.) Playing with the eyebrow and mouth shapes might make her more sinister.

Very threatening. The skin tone could be a more ashen (less red). The tiny tatoos don't add anything IMO.

Very cool idea, but I think the entire edge of her face directly facing the sun should be cracking—and why not have her hair on that side disintegrating as well?

Excellent source for this contest with some great ideas about how to use it (coupled with a creative title). But the final result lacks drama because the lighting is so uniform. The shadow on the right (face and then onto hair) suggests moonlight could be coming from the left, thereby providing a cold light to illuminate the left while emphasizing the darkness of the right. Maybe the eyes could even glow a bit. I would be tempted to cheat and darken the back wall even if it is in the moonlight in order to focus attention on the face. Additionally, I think the bite marks on the neck are too big (go for subtle pinpricks noticeable only to those among us in the know about vampires) and the tatoo looks fake (a little more blue, a tad less opacity, slightly softer edges, a Google search—I don't know what the solution is).

Skin should be pale/ashen, not blue. More dramatic shadows and maybe some liquify to harshen the mouth expression might give a greater vampire feel.

This could be done with any "Photoshop this"-type contest. Plus the illumination from the floor lamp/torchére is a bit strange (too constrained). I personally would like an image that tells a more coherent and compelling story driven by the contest pic itself.

Vertical is great. IMO more pelican conrtast (given the title) is needed , however, to make it truly the focus

Cool!

Nice, except I wouldn't have known what to focus on without your title. And the earthbound elements appear to be lit from the front even though the half moon is in the background.

Very nice, but her torso and head don't seem to have as much contrast as the rest of the image and thus get kind of lost.

I still think your face needs even/same-horizontal-line pupils in order to not look weird/freaky/disconcerting [and which would be consistent with the underlying skull BTW]. As someone with an asymmetric physique, I'm guessing that people don't really notice because my eyes are level (and I have my clothes on )

Very appealing image, but I don't see the 'revenge' part (critical to the 'nightmarish' requirement of the contest). [Maybe noxious CO2 emissions out the tail pipes? ]

Very nice -- and symmetrical enough.

Very nice! [But I do think the SBS could be clearer as to whose facial feature went where to flesh out the skull.]

Nice, but the (our) left eye socket of the skull seems slightly lower than its mate, yet your reconstructed image has [oddly] a (our) left eye higher relative to its mate [even eyes might be good enough to not look slightly weird]. Also the (our) left side of your reconstructed face is fuller than the other while the skull seems pretty balanced.