Backdrops R Us

Each month, Club Amiga Magazine will spotlight the community inspired backdrop competition by allowing members of the community to choose and comment on their 5 favorite backdrops as uploaded to the "AmigaOS 4 Artist Competition" category of the Amiga Community Exchange site at http://os.amiga.com/community.

Next month (and in the following months), we want to hear your thoughts on which are your favorite 5 contributions to the AmigaOS4 Artist Competition. So, write us at cam@amiga.com and let us know what are your favorites and order them from 1 to 5 with 1 being your most favorite and 5 being your least favorite.

Since this is a new column and we have no reader votes at this time, Ray Akey will take the lead and choose 5 from the existing contributions and comment on why he chose them.

The Amiga community is full of talented artists, so it is not an easy thing for me to pick 5 out of so many great entries. However, I will give you my opinion and allow you to give yours in future CAM issues.

Of the currently existing contributions, here are my favorites:

5. Amiga Future - I like the concept here and the way the lines encompass both the Amiga logo and the Boing ball. Also, I like dark backgrounds.

4. Waitin4 - The flow of the swish here draws my attention from the AmigaOS text to the ultimate destination - the Boing ball sitting in what appears to be the text "0" in the text 4.0 which symbolizes AmigaOS 4.0. I look at this contribution and think of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz traveling from her starting point to her final destination -- Oz -- which takes her home. To me AmigaOS 4.0 is that home.

3. Countdown - great abstract concept representing the motions from AmigaOS 1.x to 4.x. This backdrop looks like it would be a winner for icons with a shadow effect once AmigaOS gains alpha blending support in its icons (yes, I'm making an assumption here).

2. Amiga Art - Great use of color here. To me, this symbolizes Amiga sitting atop a firestorm (of controversy, past and present), which is a good statement of where AmigaOS is today.

1. Red Skies - This one says it all. The concept is absolutely fantastic, cries out technology and represents a polished and energized future. The artist behind this one has obviously put a lot of work into it. As I look at the download count, I can't figure out why it hasn't been downloaded more. Perhaps because it was just uploaded recently.

There they are. Feel free to agree or disagree. You don't have to state why or how you came to your choices but it would be nice to hear how you arrive at your choices. Don't forget to vote for your favorite backdrop by sending us the titles of your favorites ranked from 1 to 5, to cam@amiga.com.