All Fun & Games: The Top 3 and the Bottom 3

 

Challenge 2 sponsored by Akzentz challenged our players to recreate a favorite board game on a set of 10 nail tips. They also had to show us their strategy by uploading a tutorial to Nail Art Gallery.

 

This week’s guest judge was Gina Silvestro, Akzentz Professional International Certified Educator. Permanent judges include CND’s Jan Arnold, NAILS NTNA season 2 winner Lavette Cephus, NAILS editor Erika Kotite, NAILS senior editor Beth Livesay, and the rest of the team at NAILS Magazine.

In alphabetical order, the top 3 are:

 

Halley

The judges praise you for picking a very original and creative theme. Your recreation had gorgeous bright colors and a nice flow. The combination of classic and contemporary Monopoly is unexpected and it works. The realistic likeness of Monopoly as the background was a judge favorite. Bender’s monocle was another element that delighted the judges. Your 3-D work could have had a little more depth and height to make it pop even more, but all in all this is fabulous work. You may go on to the next challenge (and collect $200).

 

Sarah

It looks like these nails actually were taken from the Jumanji box, they were so spot on. You certainly didn’t take a gamble on the dice, as they were beautifully crafted and antiqued to perfection. Fantastic sculpting techniques and a great balance of small and large details made the judges want to sit down and play this game. More intricate details such as precise script for the lettering or even some hand painted vines to fill in the gaps on the background nails would have made the design pop even more, but the judges were impressed nevertheless.

 

Torie

Your Ouija board is very impressive and possesses beautiful detail. The sun and the moon are outstanding. Your step-by-step was excellent, very informative, and professional. Rules are such an important part of board games, so we love that the rules actually make a cameo in the finished look. The judges loved the undulating scroll and the tiny hint of crystal embellishment in the corner.

 

The following techs can breathe again. They are in the middle of this week’s pack and are safe. Congratulations to:

 

Alecia:

The judges love your fun and dynamic interpretation of Monopoly. The nails have very clean lines and the demo photos are excellent as well. They agree that the metallic background is super cool, but think more details could have been present on it. The hole punch was a great idea as well. We weren’t sure if the middle nails were individual or not, but your overall your 3-D sculpting blew us away.

 

Celina:

Adding a Tim Burton twist made your chess piece all the more fabulous . The details like the wire and color choices were excellent additions, and the step-by-step was thorough. A couple more pawns would have given this look a touch more dimension. You followed the guidelines to a T and the judges love you for that.

 

Lauren

Your nails look like a real board game! The finished design is neat, playful, and soft. We were impressed with how you used gel for your details. The spinner was a crowd favorite, but even more dynamic design elements and action in your demos would take it up a notch. Your tutorial also seemed to end abruptly. The unconventional use of the people in the car was cute, but we suspect with your skills you could have made them rather than using actual game pieces. At the end of the day, you really made this game come to life, and we love the results.

 

Sherri

Adding you and your son’s likenesses to your player pieces warmed the judges’ hearts. Everyone agreed that your workmanship was as clean and precise as they come. Although some of your 3-D pieces are very flat and 2-dimensional, they are an excellent likeness of the actual game pieces, so it works. Your idea for creating a mold out of WED clay was very clever, as was the barcode and toothpicks. The lettering on your game pieces was particularly superb. It would have been good to demonstrate how the 3-D pieces were attached in your tutorial, but the overall feel of the nails was fun, playful, and sweet.

 

Winnie

Homer’s nose lighting up really lit up our faces! Thank you for sculpting your 3-D with gel, rather than using a mold. Your step-by-step was very thorough, informative, and professional. The flocking on the nails was especially fun. The overall design and demo were both a tad overwhelming, but entertainment is what board games are really all about and this does not disappoint.

 

 

Unfortunately, there always has to be a bottom group. The bottom 3, in alphabetical order, are:

 

April:

Your work takes us on a fun and colorful journey. It’s a cute design that pays attention to detail. The judges wish the 3-D aspect has been a bit more prominent in your finished tips. Use of unconventional items might also have helped. You did super work, but in the future remember to take the time to tidy up all of the small painted details.

 

Tan

This concept is inventive, but more hand painted expressions could have added more character. The judges were impressed with your sculpting techniques in gel. However, the tutorial left us wanting more. The background of the nails was a missed opportunity. More details from the board itself could have been present on the nail tips.

 

Victoria

Your interpretation of the 1970s edition of Candyland brought the judges back. It truly resembles the actual game! It’s impressive that you used all gel to paint your details even though acrylic paint was allowed. You wrote your demo so that anyone could attempt this on their own, and the judges appreciated it. The pictures in your tutorial were a bit too dark, however. More prominent 3-D sculpting would have also been more eye candy for the judges.