Best Overall Visual Style Finalists

Last, but certainly not least, here are the finalists for Best Overall Visual Style.  Some really high quality skins here.  I've got a few of them loaded up on my work and home machines at the moment.  These represent the best of the best we received this year.

Acrylic Ares
   
Azenis 2 Evolution
   
Edisso Fett
   
G-Pod V2 Jitter
   
System Force Vectra RC2
22,246 views 40 replies
Reply #1 Top
Yeah....that's my problem!!

Only one desktop I use the most often, and so many kickass themes to choose from.

Looks like I'll be rotating them out more often...


Good Luck everyone...to me, though..there isn't just one winner.
Reply #3 Top
Yes John! Vectra is definitely going to win this one for sure, I cannot imagine any of these other submissions even coming close to being 'The Best'!  
Reply #4 Top
Thanks guys, Id like to wish everyone congratulations on being nominated and best of luck to all, regardless of the outcome.. KEEP ON SKINNING!!

I know i will.
Reply #6 Top
nvm... I'll censor myself.
Reply #7 Top
Based on the winning results it seems it's the skinners that are being judged, but not the skins. The well known skinners always win regardless.

But some of the skins above are worth winning it. They had to sacrifice great skinners such as Dexter to give chance to some of the well known one.

JJ Y, VS, S F   

  to all who took part
Reply #8 Top
My fav since I laid my eyes on it, is Azenis 2, but any of these skins would be a worthy winner! Godd luck to you all!
Reply #9 Top
Elsius Saint, look at the quality of the skins chosen. Just because the well knowns made the best skins doesn't mean they are the ones being judged. They became well knowns in the first place due to the quality of their other skins. This isn't "the pretty girl got the job," this is due to their exceptional skills and those specific skins they created.
Reply #10 Top
Every one a top-notch entry. Incredible event here. Best. Ever.
winners? me! look at what I can have for free!! what a feast!
Thank You, one and all, for making this happen!
Here's to many more   
Reply #11 Top
A skinner becomes well known for doing high-quality work.  The same sort of high-quality work they submit to this competition. Saying that these guys made it to the finals just because their well-known names is basically punishing them for being successful.

If "big names" had been a factor in this competition, we would have seen some of the more prominent skinners walk all over the previous events, which didn't happen. 
Reply #12 Top
Clearly the reason a bunch of first-time Chinese skinners are dominating the competition is because the judging is based on the author and rather than the content...
Reply #13 Top
Looks to me pretty evenly distributed between the established and newer WB'ers.. even more so to newer skinners in IP section and walls, I think theres been enough controversy, as the Beatles so aptly said... Let it be.

  
Reply #14 Top
Azenis 2 is beyond this competition...it is the best blind ever created to date. Period.

well thats my opinion congrats to all
Reply #15 Top
I've used 'em all these past couple of weeks, looked 'em over in SkinStudio then PS and IMHO, it's Azenis 2 by a mile! Just my opinion though...best of luck to ALL!
Reply #16 Top
My vote: Azenis 2 for useability and just cause it's so damned slick. My runner-up is fett for it's grungy industrial/military look... and it does that and still ends up MOSTLY usable. Excellent go by all however, and I use several of these regularly since downloading.

(Right now, tho, I have Azenis 2 up.)
Reply #17 Top

I wonder how many people have actually used some of these skins as opposed to merely going by screenshots?

I'm going to be taking screenshots of some of these skins and icons IN USE.  I really like all the finalists a lot. But they definitely tend to look better in screenshots than they do in actual use.

Reply #18 Top
I've tried all the themes in this category and the only one that I (and several other users, judging by the posts) had major issues with was Evolution, due to font and background issues in several big name applications. The author was duly made aware of the problems but seems to have ignored them. Thus, he will probably win.
Reply #19 Top

I wonder how many people have actually used some of these skins as opposed to merely going by screenshots?

I'm going to be taking screenshots of some of these skins and icons IN USE. I really like all the finalists a lot. But they definitely tend to look better in screenshots than they do in actual use.


That certainly can't be said about Acrylic. I cannot find one theme in either WB or MSStyle that comes close to replacing it on my system.
Reply #20 Top
It looks as if JJ Ying was in his happiest mood when making these skins.

I must say for the record that I have an everlasting respect for the well known skinners. I have learned so much from them. Some of the greatest could have done better in this Gui, but they felt they would win anyway. The reason the Chinese won so much is only because they are mostly the only one who took the time to build those masterpieces IconPackagers. They only competed against each other. They did not win the gold in the Windowblinds judgment.

See what happened to Dexter, the architect who created Acrylic - One of the best skin ever created in skinning history. He's not even up there.

For the record, I’m not Asian. I’m just the French guy I think
Reply #21 Top
Actually, danilloOc created Acrylic and he is very much "up there"!
Reply #22 Top
Oh yeah, Acrylic is a remarkable skin! Just wondering though, did someone mention it was based on an existing skin? I don't have a clue about it is why I'm asking in general terms because no matter how much I may love a skin, I can't bring myself to vote for one that existed before the contest.
Reply #23 Top
I think Elsius Saint is referring to Dexter's 'Aqualix' theme, not danilloOc's Acrylic theme, which is a nice theme but evidently did not make the cut in user votes. He must have just got the name worng is all.   
Reply #24 Top
Thanks Tom,
Didn't think that was the case but just wanted to be sure is all...