This was a very difficult vote for me. CAP art is always so good, they are always tough to choose a favorite, but this one took me a long time to decide on.
Through the art thread, I always thought Atyroki had the best general design. Atyroki has been involved in almost every CAP art and sprite thread, and I think this design is his best so far. I love the paddle, the tortoise shell armor, the coloring -- it's all just so good. And, IMO, it's better than all his past designs. Atyroki really hit a home run on this design.
I didn't like Cartoons design initially, but that was before I realized he was playing up the whole luchador angle. Once I saw that, I was hooked. His design took on new life for me. As always, Cartoons is the king of supporting material -- with wonderful sketches, animations, and other art.
Wyverii has the most daring design, and I love that she decided to push the envelope with her battle stork. She single-handedly got flying moves added to the movepool, just on the possiblity that her design might win. I think her design made many of us reconsider our preconceived notions about "water/fighting". As an artist, that's got to feel pretty good -- whether she wins or not.
Aragornbird's design ultimately got my vote. The pirate theme was a great inspiration. It is a completely unexpected twist on water/fighting. From a pure design standpoint, I felt it was the most innovative design. But the tipping point for me was the inherent "bulk" in Abird's design. Since this pokemon tips in with 105 HP, I wanted a design with some bulk. That was what swung my vote to Abird. Something needed to break a virtual tie with the other designs I mentioned above.
Congrats to all the artists. Your work is superb!
