53 replies to this topic

[Artizan]

thanks for the comments again:)

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With regards to putting it on Cuusoo my gut feeling is that Lego won't be making any sets of overtly religious buildings any time soon! Although maybe the fact that it's now a museum means that that wouldn't be an issue.

I know religious things are not on Lego's list to do, but since this building had been both a church and a mosque, and is a museum now, there is a chance that Lego will consider making it a set.

[Niku]

At first your LDD design was great, but it really improves completely on the actual bricks. Another level totally.
This is my favorite construction, I would love to buy it.  

[Brickmaestro]

Really nice work - wonderful interpretation of the unique shapes of this magnificent structure. Perhaps the only consideration to something I might tweak would be making the spires more individual and different since that is one of the unusual defining traits of the complex. Just a thought.

[Slick Willie]

I'm glad the screwdriver idea worked out for you.  The cone spires by themselves definitely left the model with an unfinished look, but now they look complete.

Kudos on your final choice of colors.  I don't think you could have done anything else to your model to make it any better.

Congratulations!  Best of luck in the Competition.

[jojojo]

beautiful work

[Artizan]

Slick Willie, on 06 April 2012 - 08:32 PM, said:

I'm glad the screwdriver idea worked out for you.  The cone spires by themselves definitely left the model with an unfinished look, but now they look complete.

Kudos on your final choice of colors.  I don't think you could have done anything else to your model to make it any better.

Congratulations!  Best of luck in the Competition.

Yeah, screwdrivers really worked for me, thanks for the suggestion:)

[brick god]

One of my favorite entries. Its amazing how much detail you were able to include at such a small scale. Id buy it! Good luck in the contest!

[Artizan]

Hello fellow Eurobricks members, 2 days ago staff contacted me for the reason that my entry looked like a digital render instead of real buildings, and has asked me to send another photo against a more "real" background such as a window, so I took this picture and sent it:
http://farm8.staticf..._fd0b91ff14.jpg

But the staff is not convinced enough and asking me to send more pictures, for the REASON I AM DOING WELL IN THE VOTING THREAD, which means I wouldn't be forced to take pictures if my entry did not get much votes. I find this very frustrating and I have decided to ask the opinions of other members, especially contestants instead of sending more pictures. What do you think? Isn't the photo real enough? Is anyone else being asked to do such thing? Should I be removed from the contest? Please share your honest thoughts.

-artizan

[L@go]

I'd love to see some more pictures. To me, your pics could just as well be high-quality renderings - there's something a bit 'unreal' about them, regarding the shadows, the reflections, and the colours. I'm completely open to that being down to chance, and it's entirely possible that they're totally legitimate, so I absolutely don't want to accuse you of cheating. But then again, I don't understand why it would be a problem for you to submit some additional pictures (it's not hard to take pictures of poorer quality)...

[kciR]

I go with L@go, I also though it were hd- renders (if it's true, they are excellent), but who am I to judge you on that topic.
If your build is real, it's not that much work to take it, for example, outside and shoot some pictures.
And otherwise, order the bricks and build it :) As you're chances are that high in winning the competition.
But I think the rules are clear, saying that only brick build entries allowed.

(I hope I don't cut myself in my fingers by giving my opinion)

[Hinckley]

Artizan, on 13 April 2012 - 11:58 AM, said:

Hello fellow Eurobricks members, 2 days ago staff contacted me for the reason that my entry looked like a digital render instead of real buildings, and has asked me to send another photo against a more "real" background such as a window, so I took this picture and sent it:
http://farm8.staticf..._fd0b91ff14.jpg

But the staff is not convinced enough and asking me to send more pictures, for the REASON I AM DOING WELL IN THE VOTING THREAD, which means I wouldn't be forced to take pictures if my entry did not get much votes. I find this very frustrating and I have decided to ask the opinions of other members, especially contestants instead of sending more pictures. What do you think? Isn't the photo real enough? Is anyone else being asked to do such thing? Should I be removed from the contest? Please share your honest thoughts.

-artizan

You could've continued the polite conversation our staff had started with you. Rufus, who is running this contest, and doing a very good job at it, simply brought forward the concerns and asked you to prove that your entry doesn't violate the rules. If it's a render, it's an excellent creation, but it is against the rules that clearly state "no digital entries." Plain and simple. I'm not sure why you needed to bring this to the public instead of continuing an amicable discussion with Rufus. I think this is very clearly a render. Sorry to say, I think you've violated the rules of the competition and am not sure why you are taking this attitude towards it. Yes, you are close to winning in votes. The contest organizer's job is to make sure that your entry is valid. The reason it has been brought to our attention is because you are doing well in the voting thread, but the reasons for the question is the violation of the rules, which falls on you. Perhaps nobody would've noticed or it wouldn't have become an issue if you weren't doing well, but you are and now it's been brought to our attention and you don't seem able to prove that it is not a rendering. It's a beautiful model, though. You are truly creative and talented. I would love for you to build the actual model and enter the contest validly. But, please don't get angry with us or try to make us look unfair because you violated the rules and got caught. That is very disrespectful to us.

[Artizan]

If you are expecting me to confess that it is a digital entry, then no, I will not, but I have decided that I will not be accepting any prizes if I make it to the top 5, because I did not enter the contest for the prizes. However I ask you not to disqualify my entry and let people vote for it as long as the voting continues, and if I get a place you can give the prize to whoever gets the most votes after me.

[Matija]

Ok, you wanted our honest thoughts, so here are mine.

First of all - if the model is indeed real, it definitely deserves the first place and prize.

However, if it is not, no matter how good it is, it just doesn't deserve it (neither the prize, nor the place!) and should never have been in the voting thread in the first place (pun intended). I do understand that there are concerns, especially since it is getting so many points - these points could have gone to other people whose models DO comply with the rules (assuming that yours is a digital rendering).

I have to agree with the others - your pictures do look like very good renderings (and there are many details pointing to that conclusion), and the dark picture didn't really help (on the contrary). If it is not a rendering, it would have been very simple for you to just send a good non-photoshopped picture to Rufus privately, and everything would have been solved nicely and quitely. With such an attitude, no matter what the truth is, I just can't force myself to believe you.

[caperberry]

You've asked opinions from other EBers, and both replies have suggested you simply take some more pics. I agree with them.


I'm a contestant and also I gave your model two votes, whereas I gave 5 other people one, i.e. I made the point that yours was the best, because it is an excellent design at small scale that was well presented. Right now I feel angry and stupid at the prospect of POSSIBLY having voted for an entry that broke the rules, when I could have given votes to two other entrants who followed the rules.


If it is real, simply send some more pics of it to the mods. If it is a render, please just do the right thing and withdraw. It will still be an excellent design that has received a lot of attention which many people would like to build or own.

[Hinckley]

Artizan, on 13 April 2012 - 06:36 PM, said:

If you are expecting me to confess that it is a digital entry, then no, I will not, but I have decided that I will not be accepting any prizes if I make it to the top 5, because I did not enter the contest for the prizes. However I ask you not to disqualify my entry and let people vote for it as long as the voting continues, and if I get a place you can give the prize to whoever gets the most votes after me.

Sounds like a very fair compromise and what Rufus was suggesting in our discussions. Thank you.

And thanks to Rufus for taking his time to host the contest and iron out all the little details. You've displayed an excellent example of diplomacy, fairness and patience throughout and I'm glad you're on staff. Artizan, it's a very beautiful design. The tops, really.

[caperberry]

Hinckley, on 14 April 2012 - 02:31 AM, said:

Sounds like a very fair compromise and what Rufus was suggesting in our discussions. Thank you.

To be honest, I'm surprised at this compromise but if that is what was offered to Artizan then I respect the decision and especially the hard work of Rufus and admins. I didn't understand Artizan's point about only being asked because he was doing well, but it now makes sense. Yes, now that time has passed and convincing photos not supplied, I am certainly in agreement that he should not get a prize.
I don't wish to stir the hornet's nest now a resolution has been reached, but seeing as this all made me angry, I need to get off my chest that for me as a contestant and supporter of Artizan's entry it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth about the competition, as the moral question of whether his votes should be reallocated will be left unanswered. But I'll just have to compromise too. Like Artizan, I did not enter for the prizes (damned nice as they are!!) - otherwise I'd have chosen a well-known building. So when I get a vote I just feel wonderful. When I see Artizan listed in the final results I know I will wonder where those votes could have gone and how happy it would have made contestants feel to have that support, especially lower-scoring ones.

[Spencer_R]

caperberry, on 14 April 2012 - 02:19 PM, said:

I don't wish to stir the hornet's nest now a resolution has been reached, but seeing as this all made me angry, I need to get off my chest that for me as a contestant and supporter of Artizan's entry it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth about the competition, as the moral question of whether his votes should be reallocated will be left unanswered.

I agree that the images have a render-like appearance to them, but are they actually renders? If you zoom in closely, some of the parts - especially the small elements like the cheese slopes and 1x1 tiles - display alignment imperfections. It seems to me that is a sign of a real brick built model. So if that is the case, then I am having a difficult time understanding why a compromise was needed rather than an outright resolution.

I don't like the idea that this great contest is drawing to a close with this question not really being answered or that the winners list may end up with some sort of asterisk.

Edited by Spencer_R, 14 April 2012 - 06:50 PM.

[CarsonBrick]

I've been reading up on the conversation and I think I have found something that might prove it's a render. I honestly have nothing against you "Artizan" and I think the build is really terrific but I have to do what's fair. The screwdriver piece used on top of the cone appears to be light bley, although it only comes in dark bley, dark grey, and black. I'm not sure if I'm right or not but it just appears to be light bley. Again, I just wanted to point that out. Also, I just found that there is no 6x8 plate in dark green.

Here's the Bricklink: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=6246a
Dark Green Plate: http://www.bricklink...=P&catString=26

Edited by CarsonBrick, 16 April 2012 - 07:23 AM.

[L@go]

CarsonBrick, on 16 April 2012 - 07:20 AM, said:

I've been reading up on the conversation and I think I have found something that might prove it's a render. I honestly have nothing against you "Artizan" and I think the build is really terrific but I have to do what's fair. The screwdriver piece used on top of the cone appears to be light bley, although it only comes in dark bley, dark grey, and black. I'm not sure if I'm right or not but it just appears to be light bley. Again, I just wanted to point that out. Also, I just found that there is no 6x8 plate in dark green.

Here's the Bricklink: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=6246a
Dark Green Plate: http://www.bricklink...=P&catString=26

While I still think the images look rendered, I don't think you're proving anything. The screwdrivers could just as well be dark bley, and the plates are clearly 6x10, not 6x8. The 6x10 plates exist in dark green.

Edited by L@go, 16 April 2012 - 10:33 AM.

[caperberry]

I think Carson is right that they are intended to be light blay, but L@go is right that it won’t prove anything; in fact discussion of ‘real or rendered’ may just feed Artizan’s self-justification of entering a digital model. They say a picture tells a thousand words, but they also say actions speak louder than words. Artizan’s actions last week left me in no doubt of his guilt. I’m not normally one to judge, but as a contestant and (humiliated) voter for his model, I feel qualified to.

I’m interested in thoughts on this hypothetical situation; the winners are announced, Artizan gets a place but no prize, and he then announces it is a render which is justified because some people have larger brick collections (or money to spend on BrickLink) than others, which gives them a better chance of winning. Would any of you support Artizan in terms of having remained in this competition to make his point?

Edited by caperberry, 16 April 2012 - 12:00 PM.

[CarsonBrick]

I apoligize for the false accusation. I just though that they appeared to be light bley. And for the dark green plate, I just miscounted it, and it's a 6x10, not a 6x8. Sorry, I'll try not to get into situations like this again  

[Sinner]

....let's just drop the whole issue please. To me it's been resolved.

[Rufus]

This entry is in violation of the rules, and therefore ineligible for the contest.  Please refer to the Official Statement.  

Please use this thread to comment on the MOC itself, but no further discussion regarding eligibility will be tolerated.

Thanks.

[Artizan]

I was not going to reply again in this forum, but knowing that many people voted for me and supported my creation I thought I should share this with the community.
So today I received a mail from the Lego Company , stating that they have removed my project because it is not following guidelines. This is the second injustice done to me after my project was disqualified from the contest.

Let's have a look at what the guidelines say:
-Content that is intended to advertise, campaign, or promote a political/religious viewpoint as well as content intended to put down a political/religious belief held by another person or group of people will be removed.

My project obviously doesn't do such thing. I have never tried to promote any religious belief, but just because the landmark I chose to make has domes and minarets, and is used to be a mosque/church, Lego decided it is not appropriate. I have stated very clearly that it is not used for worshipping anymore, and it is a museum now. TLC itself has produced a set which can be considered a religious structure,  Taj Mahal, so their point is invalid.
I want you to support my case on Cuusoo:
https://getsatisfact...project_removal
Thank you very much for reading.

[Ricecracker]

Have a look at what was said in the Winchester announcement:

Quote

Understand that we will not produce products that are related to these topics:

...

Religious references including symbols, buildings, or people