Once Upon a Time: The Top 3 and the Bottom 3

Challenge 5, sponsored by Ugly Duckling, asked the Top 8 to bring their favorite nursery rhymes to life on five nails.

In alphabetical order, the Top 3 are:

Ally: The judges loved your detailed hand painting on the background of your nails as well as the moving pieces. We believe you succeeded in your quest to tell a story with these nails! A small critique: more detail on the dish and spoon would have made them stand out more against the white background. Beautifully done!

Kadee: Your use of extreme shape was extremely impactful this week. Your cat, fiddle, lettering, and overall presentation won the judges over. More shading on the clouds would help them from getting lost on the edges. In your video, show us the products and colors being used for even more points in this category. Overall, very well done!

Stella: You dreamed up another gorgeous set and then engineered it to near perfection. You once again blew the judges’ minds with your instrument-making abilities! Apart from the genius instrument and gorgeous girl, the judges felt there weren’t as many other special elements this week. We know you took your time on perfecting the star pieces of this set, and we congratulate you on proving once again that you’re a star indeed!

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

Giselle: The judges agree that your entry this week was absolutely adorable! The quilt was a heavy favorite, as was the movement showed by the monkeys. Matte top coat on the monkeys would have minimized the shine in the final photo. Your video skills are so greatly improved — we applaud you — now up your video-making by offering even more pro tips that teach us how to do the great art that you do!

Helen: Redemption was yours this week! The judges unanimously loved your set, full of fun detail and beautiful technique! Your video, while humorous as always, is where some points were lost. Your background is too distracting at times (a clean, white background is best). Aside from that, this set was wonderful — to a tea!

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

April: The colors on your piece and use of the magnets to trade out the main characters made this set well-balanced, cohesive, and pleasing to the eye. While your artwork this week was beloved, your video is where you need to improve. Your intro is too long. The judges want to see a quicker transition into teaching and want to fully absorb your technique by seeing the artwork centered and in-frame.

Becca: You chose a darker and unexpected theme, which the judges commend you for. We know you are an exceptionally talented hand painter, and were glad that once again, you showed us this skill through your brick making, underside work, and in your figurines. Some of the judges think that the characters could have used more dimension or been bigger in scale to stand out more. All the judges devoured your pie! When it comes to video, consider making the subtitles smaller or using a different font. Other than that, this was a feast for the eyes!

Kelsey: Each nail in your set tells a part of the story in a fun and cute fashion. However, when put together as a whole, the set looks bulky and a bit chaotic. More base detail and a cleaner style of painting could have helped. Remember to dust off bottles or any product when showing them in a video to improve quality. The blending of the colors for the pigs was a huge highlight, as was the movement you incorporated into your design.