In my comments area on the winning entry for Tribute Day I wrote...

"Thank you all, your support and kind comments are very welcome. I could not have planned this first win to happen any better. I'm glad my other work was not so good."

I really was not trying to cheat or get away with anything with the mage I posted. It was just the coolest thing and fit my brother. I did do all the work although the idea was not mine. It was alot of work. This was not a paint by numbers tutorial.

I won't use go that route again. I didn't feel comfortable entering this because it was not my original idea. I worked on this for learning and I thought the final product, after much work, was worthy of my brother. He is the one I relied on to "teach" me what I needed to know in photoshop.

I get the humor here and think you are all great choppers. S o go ahead and rip me up on this forum.

i don't know why you'd ever think you were cheating. so you used a tutorial. great! that's not cheating, that's learning. We all get our ideas from somewhere, if you got yours from a tutorial. that's fine.

cheating is taking a ready made image and putting a little of the source in it and then telling everyone how you used this brush or that to achieve the look of the whole image... taking credit for something you didn't do. that is cheating. you showed us all your externals and we can see all the work it took to get that -looked like steampunk or hg wells time machine-sort of look to the finished product. I don't care what tutorial or book you got the idea from... you did the work.

relax. you did a fantastic job! it was a lot of hard work and you deserved the win.

Amen.

.

Ditto!

glad to get opinions. don't want to get kicked off the site.

Tpsimer, I can’t imagine a more appropriate image for a tribute contest, well done! I’m sorry I did not get a chance to vote for it, but I can assure you I have the utmost admiration for your work (this tribute in particular) and of course, your brother.

I had a similar debate recently while discussing video composting with a colleague. I contend that just because someone has undergone intensive training, or may have the best tools at their disposal; it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be good at what they do. Ultimately, good art will always mirror the talent, passion and hard work put forth by the artist – and perhaps a little luck.

Clearly there is nothing dubious going on with your entry, and it was a well deserved win. Your brother was a true inspiration to me and a good friend…no doubt you posses the same character and personality that made Jerry such a well respected artist and individual.

Agree 110%!
Like I said "FANTASTIC WORK" Be proud of your win. More to come.... I'm sure. You have a Angle on your side.

Angel, Tj. Angel!

architects have angles! ;-b

Wiz.... I need another shot of that ' Wild Turkey'

If you really want to 'cheat', Check out some of Rey Rey's tutorials. I've learned some particularly cool stuff especially the flames.

The202 said it well.
Your entry, your involvement, and your presence here
is an unexpected tug on the heart strings of a lot of folk.
Thanks for the blessing.

Like I said:
• Oh yes! You can be proud too!!!
• Good to see you win this Tribute! Congrats tpsimer

OK, here is another feather in your cap.

I had read your comment, during the contest, but could not open the link at the time. Then, with the competition over, I did see the linked page and I was blown away with all the extra images you used around your brothers head to create that wonderful image. No, show me the link to the tutorial, because I want to learn how to make such a crazy like image myself.

We learn here every day, and we like to learn from the best tpsimer, you only did what you needed to make that image. And I love looking at it.

here is the link to the tutorial.

http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photo-effects-tutorials/how-to-create-a-steampunk-style-illustration-in-photoshop/

If you have not been to PSD Tuts, it's worth the trip to improve skills and learn interesting techniques.

I'm just a beginner and joined as a way of learning new things so absolutely I would use tutorials to try and recreate something I liked. If you had taken the finished picture in the tutorial and just put a new face on it then that would have been cheating I think. I think what you did was follow a decent tutorial to create a great tribute. Well Done