Moving her to the right a bit to conform with the Rule of Thirds compositional strategy might be more compelling as well as yield more of a dramatic 'halo' around the top of her head.

Very creative! But what is the word (words?) between "new" and "pair" obscured by the structural element between the two windows? [I would note that the image shows only one new wing is needed.] The near edge of the broken-off piece is 2D with no thickness even though I suspect most passengers think the wing is 3D.

Fun with an extremely informative SBS. I like that you modified her expression. I think it could be a bit more exaggerated, however (arched eyebrows, more sneer?). The drooping-knife element seemed weak, but then it occurred to me that an extremely pointy knife with perhaps an almost cartoony glint at the point would better fit your theme and balance the aggressiveness of the fork. The hand and forearm cutouts could use more feathering of the edges. The forearm shadows should get stronger the more under the forearm they are. Same for the food's shadow. But the more fundamental problem with the food is why would it make the diner angry? The notion of 'hungy' in your title suggests a large plate with a very small (but elegant as a commentary on the pretentiousness of fine-dining chefs [despite the lack of a white tablecloth on your table]?) portion might be more appropriate.

Intriguing concept, but even surrealism has a realistic component and these doors are clearly two-demensional. I think if all the door edges defined a box (not merely fit inside an imaginary box as the SBS suggests), this would be more dramatic. The open central door seems especially fake. The blob things don't work for me. Retaining, resizing, and repositioning (Rule of Thirds would be my first incination) the blob with glasses might be interesting as a clear foreground element.

Very fun concept. (I love Rio.) Yet I'm not sure this is on theme. Also, the stadium would be more Oreo-like if the filling and bottom layer extended into the '7-o'clock' area.

Kind of fun, BUT: The theme specifically requires 'buildings.' I find the Top Dog trailer in source 1 more convincing as a trailer than this low-contrast (but admittedly much more realistic) verson.

Striking and perhaps a bit disturbing, so it's certainly surrealistic to me. The intense
yellow lamp light on the wall seems jarringly fake, however

Very cool! The window in the far stone thing in the water seems too short, however

Very thought-provoking. (I alert viewers that the dove is crisper in the hi-res.) I'm not sure I understand why the barbed wire doesn't cast any shadows on the egg shell. But I'm willing to accept lack of ground shadow as artistic license.

Very fun. Graphic and simple—and thus dramatic. The gradient of the face is a nice subtlety. (BTW Step 4 of the SBS looks interesting but this final face appears to be identical to that in Step 3 to me.) This seems particularly perfect for a Mixed Media entry as it's hard to imagine a theme that would prompt this.

Very clever. The shadows on the axe handle and axe head seem the opposite of all the other elements, however. Also, the shadow of the funnel hat seems totally fake.

Using just light and dark (not color) is dramatic but also challlenging. I agree totally with the previous commenters. I further suggest employing the Rule of Thirds and moving the fairy to the left so she doesn't blend into the trees while creating a more-compelling and balanced composition.

Dramatic. I love the saturated color. However, the boat's shadow seems too strong on the far left side of the image and the edges of the shadow seem too crisp . A gradient shadow with a Gaussian blur to soften the edges might be more convincing. The background trees are odd in that they don't seem to be casting shadows despite the intense boat shadow (which I admit is consistent with the source image which also has a foreground element casting a shadow [albeit not quite as strong and in the opposite direction as here] with no apparent tree shadows). Also, the cloud at 10 o'clock that precisely matches the moon's upper edge makes it look like it's on the moon.

Intriguing and disturbing. I don't get the title or why her green chest hair blends into the neckline of her dress while not extending down to the holes in the dress's front. Not sure what her neck is without an SBS.

Cool, but the contest theme seems like an afterthought.

No quibbles about the fun and convincing hair coloring, but the still-brown tresses seem odd to me. The Rule of Thirds would suggest cropping out much of the empty top portion of the image and a bit of the left side. I do find the background bland (with the model blending into it). I think a stark/dramatic ivory background or an out-of-focus environment where this look would shine would give this more oomph.

I really like image+text entries. A black-and-white tabloid newspaper front page is a fun idea. But using the Asian Kid contest as an inspiration for Yellow Journalism might be a little dubious. That aside, the largest baby's hair makes him look much older than his older sister (and I'm not sure where the hairy hand is coming from). I think "Back Page" and "Page 2" should come after the headline/description. I would use initial caps and commas differently, i.e, "Older Sister, Sick of Being Sat On in Front of Her Friends, Rebels. Slowly turning to a life of crime and butterscotch and loose-fitting clothes."

Lovely with the constrained palette and fin de siecle [circa 1900] feel. I do think some stronger shadows to anchor the figures (especially the fawn) to the ground are needed. That does get complicated given the bright background light yet the figures are front lit.

Cool concept. But there are some shadow issues: shell on bird body, steering poles on shell and bird body.

Cool idea. I admit I don't get the boy-in-outer-space thing unless this is supposed to be an ad for a sci-fi movie or something. As an alternative, I think if the boy's original hedge and tree-trunk background were retained and then augmented by the intense stars-and-Mars [or more-appropriately moon?} sky, this would be more understandably dramatic. [BTW what is the light source for the jar lid and his fingers holding it?]

Needs fine-tuning. The hi-res barely hints as 3D for me while the smaller version above has a slightly stronger effect. Kid apparently has stronger eyes or more imagination than I do. Nevertheless, the message he found (that you largely confirmed) is witty for the flat image so I hope you can resolve the technical difficulties.

Very fun! I counted an awesome six levels. It was interesting how the far Earths ended up bigger than the near Earths contrary to the usual rules of perspective.

For me, the 3D effect is more important than any mystery about what the image is.

Very fun! I think a pixel or two of shadow at the neckline plus some inward curvature of his cactus suit on his right hip and smoothing the disturbing wriggle on his left hip would seem more realistic. A tad more curvature in the upper crotch region wouldn't hurt, either.

Fashionable, perhaps, but I'm not sure if this quite satisfies the theme's objective as it seems more like a print on fabric rather than actually bark (which you seem to admit in your description). The highlights seem extreme even if the tank top were shiny—which would not be very bark-like IMO but would be cool for all those shiny-tank-top occasions [disco revival!].

Lovely. Great reorientation of the daisy source. I think the exterior edges of the daisy tutu could benefit from more feathering/softening, however. And where the daisy meets her torso is perhaps too soft.

Quite amusing accentuated by the guy asleep in the background.

I obviously like the rebalancing of the major elements (both of which dramatically extend beyond the frame of the image). But I don't get why only the second portal produces a tunneling effect. I think the uvula conceit requires a throat-like/tunnel impression from the front/first portal.

Scrutinizing the hi-res, I'm disturbed by the milk frother's apparent transparency in its southwest quadrant plus at 4 o'clock where the background stars seem to be shining through.

All except the fishnets and shoes. What is the source for the star?

Very cute, but she blends into the background.

Make it strapless.

Cute. The face of the PXLeyes character on the balloon seems flat rather than following the rounded contours of the balloon, however.

Fun idea. The uvula-thing is both creepy and amusing. The unadulterated [purely normal] stars within the wormhole opening deviate from my (naive perhaps) expectation that a wormhole would look more like a tunnel. I also find the composition top heavy. Would vertical-flipping the flying-saucer in the upper right and moving it to the lower right yield a more-compelling diagonal composition?

Dramatic result—and a demonstration that it helps to start with a picture with dramatic elements if you're not going to be adding elements from other photos.

The idea of (egg-clutch producing) Mrs. Foofenburger having an affair with the electric repair man is a rather disturbing image, but this picture is very fun. The fuzzy edges on the cute bird seem out of place with the crisp edges of the other elements, however. I confess I don't get the grass blades between the floating paint splat and the "Still Only..". BTW less explication and more tease in the text might sell more copies.

I commend you for providing an SBS. Making the guys card players is creative, but the blank backs of their cards seems odd. The five-of-hearts card in the foreground is a nice touch but I think it should be whole (no ragged edge) and a bit bigger as it's nearer the viewer. Changing the snow in the contest start pic to a lilac texture doesn't make any sense to me.

To me, the horse seems more like it's trying to escape the fire rather than being on fire as required by the theme.

Uninspiring title for a dramatic image. The recoloring of the sources is well done (an SBS would be nice) but I wonder if a lighter-colored horse wouldn't create more of an impact. The nostril flames are too broad/unfocused and in the end unnecessary/distracting IMO. Also the whitish edge on the horse's outline calls for more feathering.

Very cool. Love the dramatic layout with the constrained background cityscape. Wish there was an SBS. The white edges on the left-side background elements are disturbing, however.

The concept in the description is a very creative take on the theme and the glowing circuit board is cool, but I have to admit I find the overall image disappointing (a pensive young woman with a circuit-board forehead just says 'weird' to me). On the other hand, a distraught figure in a circuit-board straitjacket would be very compelling as an alternative representation of the theme IMO. Or maybe some sort of technological zombie. A title such as 'Slave to Technology' might be more inspirational for your vision.

Appealing, but the slightly colorful background, particularly the pink roses, grabs my eye before the water maiden's muted tones.

Impressive work with a great SBS detailing the effort required. The feathers are especially cool. I would have horizontally centered the dream catcher, however, given the symmetry of the underlying dream catcher frame. Also, I think the shadows cast by the dream catcher ribs look more like smudges (and are missing at places, especially at 4 o'clock). If the ribs are touching, the shadow should be small and should largely match the curve of the rib casting the shadow.

Very creative. Love the color palette which still links back to the source. Knowing what the text says might add a further level of appreciation (which might also suggest a more interesting title for this entry).

The identical heads on all the fireballs also seem unrealistic, especially given the variety of tails they create.

Not a particularly "fantastic world" (contest requirement) beyond the unusual coloring. As an interesting image, I wish the the peacock's head and beak didn't blend so much into the background. Making the head and beak a silhouette (but perhaps with features still just barely discernable?) like the neck would be more dramatic IMO.

Disturbing, which I suppose is kind of the point of the theme. The duotone image is cool and dramatic with the blue tinge appropriate for a robot. Hi-res makes it clear that the big bright spot is the end of the dog's tail which should create more shadow on the dog's
shoulder. (I personnally would reduce the tail's brightness so it's not the center of attention.). I do find the robot hindquarters to be rather low-tech, however.

I think this is on theme. The black & white is dramatic. The mirroring of the round condom with the round belly is very creative.

However, the ribbon bow thing distracts rather than adds.

And I wish the black bar at the bottom had a break where the upper images have a border. Perhaps making the right half a 'negative' [white background, black text] would make the two halves more distinct.

I agree with wazowski that not much is happening on the left side and that balance is a good thing, but the Rule of Thirds is about the drama/tension of assymetry/imbalance which I think is captured here (to echo solkee).

Very fun and very striking HDR [high dynamic range]! I feel like the flamingo is en pointe, however, which is disturbing as I think the floor is well below the bottom of the window. Step 5 of the SBS has a flamingo with no 'feet' visible which works better for me although that flamingo is admittedly perhaps a bit too large. Nevertheless, shrinking the flamingo need not require revealing its 'feet.'

Intriguing with the odd elements, very constrained color palette, and dramatic brightness difference between the left and right sides, but in the end I just don't get it. While I see a 'path' (the railroad tracks, I assume), the 'sink(ing)' element seems disconnected from those tracks. The window thing encompassing the sink seems nearer than the far end of the tracks so I would expect some shadow from that window onto the tracks. The cut off corner on the window is weird.

Maybe shortening the title to just "Sinking" and making the window/sink element vertical and complete plus positioning it a bit more towards the left side of the image with a ground shadow would be a dramatic contrast against the left-side background and have a surrealistic appeal overall.

So many elements to create the style/personality and then positioned in an appropriate background clearly warrents an AWESOME!