2016 Paint.NET Forum Awards Ballot

[BoltBait]

So yeah, as you can tell, it's about that time -- you get to decide the best of 2016, the worst of 2016, and everything in between. Welcome to the 2016 Paint.NET Forum Awards!

 

It is quite simple. You are given ~29 categories in which you can vote for your fellow PdNers. There are a variety of statements to be made here, and as a regular of the Off-Topic Forum, you get to have your say on who deserves what. Any member of the PdN forum is eligible to vote, so Joe Random's opinion counts for just as much as mine, or even Rick's! You may vote ONCE only. If you vote twice, I will only count the first one. So, put some thought into it before clicking the send button!

 

How to vote:

For the awards, I'm leaving a blank template at the bottom of this post. Select / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V that into Notepad or your personally preferred prose processor, and fill in the ballot with your choice of who should win each award. Then, Select / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V your completed ballot into a PM to me. It’d be great if you could title it "Paint.NET Forum Awards Ballot 2016" or something like that in the subject. I'll still accept it if it's not titled that and I catch it in my inbox, but it'll be much easier to discern if it has an appropriate subject. As stated above, any Paint.NET forum member gets to vote on every award. I'll ask that you make your best effort to fill out the ballot where you can to ensure complete results. If you want to leave some blank because you don't know who to vote for, that's fine as well -- just try to vote where you feel your knowledge is apt.

 

Feel free to discuss one or two of your picks and thoughts on this post, through IM, etc. I just ask that you don't post your entire vote for all to see--Let's keep the results a surprise. This isn't a staunch & serious activity -- it's here for fun. Just be sure that you get your votes to me on time!

 

In any case, I'll save all of my standard rambling for the post where people actually get the awards, and let you guys get to your thinking & voting.

 

A couple quick notes:

1) The little puns relating to the names of each award are bolded in the descriptions. There's a method to my madness, I swear it!

2) It's OK to vote for yourself in some categories if you think you deserve it. Ballots with your own name for EVERY category will be discarded.

3) As I said above, incomplete ballots are accepted, so if you can't think of someone for an award, that's fine, just leave that one blank. Please use exact user names. I'm not familiar with everyone's nick names. Copy-and-paste works best here.

4) Voting closes at 8 AM PDT, on January 3th, 2017. That's first thing Tuesday morning.

5) Winners in each category will receive a custom Rank to display under their user name on the forum.

6) Have fun! Remember, if you get voted on as a forum troll, it is all in fun! We still love you.

 

And, without further delay...

 

The 2016 Awards!

 

First, a few awards for forum performance:

 

The Mimi Bobeck Award: This one's for the biggest forum troll of 2016 on the Paint.NET forum. As I'm sure you're aware, a forum troll is someone who posts a lot, whose posts don't always have an overflow of useful content, and who's posts are typically contrarian in nature. Not to say that they never have relevant posts, but -- ah hell, it's 2016, you guys know what a forum troll on the Internet is by now.

 

The Real Estate Award: This one's for the mod who tends to close posts the most – they are always there, just waiting for someone to break the rules or post something useless. Decide that you're gonna make a post wrong forum? BAM! This guy moves it before you even get a reply. Some n00b spamming the forums with Viagra ads? BAM! Bant! Not only does this guy close posts, but he/she wields the banhammer in a way which would make Thor proud. (To assist you, a full list of moderators can be found here.)

 

The "Wrong End of A Massive Pwnage" Award: You have seen it before… a member posts their unsupported opinion as fact and you just watch and wait for an intelligent member to come in and fry them. This award is, as the title suggests, for the member who has been on the wrong end of a massive pwnage, or has one coming their way sooner than later.

 

The Proton Award: This one is for the member who, overall, has the most positive input to the Paint.NET forum. Whether it's through modship, Paint.NET help, organizing UBB games, valuable input in the suggestions threads, etc; this member is always there to give something back to the community.

 

The Big Bird Award: This one is for the friendliest soul on the boards. Thoughts toward the vernacular aside, the winner of The Big Bird Award is someone who's always warm, friendly and fuzzy to the other members.

 

The Howard Hughes Award: This one goes out to the most eccentric member of the boards. Whether it's stem cell research, abortion, or what they had for lunch yesterday; this member always seems to be on the other side of a debate. Of course, this award doesn't go to just any argumentative soul, this one's for someone who does it well.

 

The Radiance Award: This award goes out to the most brilliant Paint.NET forumer. This person always has something to say, and sure enough, they're usually right. They know everything about some things, and seemingly something about everything. If someone strikes you as a smart cookie, this is where you can acknowledge that.

 

Rookie of the Year Award: This award goes out to the new member who made the biggest impact on the community. To be eligible for this award, the user must have joined after January 1, 2016.

 

The Homer Simpson Award: Who doesn't find Homer Simpson funny? Well, if you don't, maybe you should read this award description before you vote. This award goes out to the funniest forum member. Whether it be wit, shock value, clever writing, or some other form of humor which I'm invariably forgetting, this member is always on top of it.

 

The Pauly Shore Award: This one goes to the unfunniest member. Maybe their wit isn't witty, or their shock value is too much. Whatever the case, here's your chance to recognize someone who specifically doesn't make you laugh. Oh, sure, they try... but always seem to come up short.

 

The Hit & Miss Award: This one's for the member who we miss -- for whatever reason (work, real life, bannination, death by meteor, etc.) they've left the discussion, and the Paint.NET forum members want them back.

 

The Spool Awards: This category recognizes members who are big names in certain threads or certain types of threads for their knowledge or help:

 

1) Captain N: (The UBB gamer)

2) The MVP: (The sports expert)

3) Siskel & Ebert: (The movie expert)

4) Rolling Stone: (The music expert)

5) 101010: (The computer expert)

 

Next, on to the awards for Paint.NET prowess!

 

The Picasso Award: This one goes to the member who consistently creates the weirdest art (in a good way) using Paint.NET.

 

The Monet Award: This one goes to the member who consistently creates the most beautiful art using Paint.NET.

 

The GE Award: This one goes to the author who creates the best plugin of 2015. Be sure to mention which plugin you are using and why you love it. Plugins released in 2015 or having a major update this year are valid for this award. If you're not sure which plugins this includes, check the plugin index.

 

The Marilyn Monroe Award: Starting with Paint.NET version 4.0.6, users can add custom shapes to the shape tool. This award goes to the member who has created the best shape or the most useful shape of the year.

 

The Marlboro Award: Ever see one of those sigs and thought "Wow, that really makes me think!", or "Gee, that's awesome!"? Well, here's the category where you get the chance to recognize the member with that sig. This award is for the best signature of 2016.

 

Paint.NET's Rabbi: This one goes to the best teacher of 2016. Authors of tutorials newly written this year are eligible.

 

Now, a few things thrown in just for fun!

 

The ______ in the ______ Awards: Possibly the most fun and lighthearted of those presented in the Paint.NET awards, these are some specific situations where you get to fill the name of a fellow forumer in a blank that suits them. Try not to pick the obvious -- don't pick banned members in the blank for members about to be banned, or pro artists for the professional artist blank. That said;

 

1) "And your newest mod for the Paint.NET forum is ________!"

2) "Wow, look, _________ is showing their art in the Louvre!"

3) "Hey, __________ has his own TV show!"

4) "Hello, I’m _________, and I’m an alcoholic."

5) "In local news, police have finally gunned down ________ from his murderous rampage."

6) "OMGWTFLOLBBQ, _________ just got bant good!"

 

And, finally, the award you've all been waiting for...

 

The Kings/Queens of Paint.NET: This award is plainly & simply the popularity contest you know you all want. You select 4 of this year's most popular forum members -- be they friendly, smart, interesting, funny, some of the above, none of the above, or what -- this award is for your favorite posters.

 

With that, I'm off into the darkness! (And by "into the darkness", I mean "to sit silently refreshing my inbox waiting for your votes".)

 

Good luck! And, let the campaigning begin!

 

P.S. These awards were based on forum awards from MOTL. All credit goes to GLE for his humor and creativity.

 

Please use the ballot template. Do not delete lines, if you wish not to vote on a category, just leave it blank.

 

Do not post your completed ballot to the forum. PM it to me! Let's keep the results a surprise, OK? (If you want to suggest people vote a certain way on ONE or TWO categories, that's fine, just don't post the whole thing.)

Ballot Template: (Enter one official user name on each line after the colon. Do not delete lines or titles.)

==================================================

Your User Name (Please, this helps me):

The Mimi Bobeck Award:

The Real Estate Award:

The "Wrong End of A Massive Pwnage" Award:

The Proton Award:

The Big Bird Award:

The Howard Hughes Award:

The Radiance Award:

Rookie of the Year:

The Homer Simpson Award:

The Pauly Shore Award:

The Hit & Miss Award:

UBB gamer:

Sports:

Movie:

Music:

Computer:

The Picasso Award:

The Monet Award:

The GE Award (author-plugin):

The Marilyn Monroe Award:

The Marlboro Award:

Rabbi:

Newest mod:

Showing in the Louvre:

TV show:

Alcoholic:

Gunned down:

Banned:

The Kings/Queens of Paint.NET (vote for up to 4)

1:

2:

3:

4:

==================================================

[BoltBait]

Here is a list of plugins to consider for plugin of the year:

Spoiler

Blend Seams - @DataDink. Attempt to smooth out the edges of a texture in order to make the texture seamlessly tileable.

CalculPatron - book folding pattern - @roro69. Plugin to assist with the creation of book folding patterns. Output is saved to an Excel workbook. Controls are in French. 

Color Cut - @DataDink. Removes the secondary color to create a cut out with blended, non-jagged edges. Color Threshold alters the color, Shade Threshold alters shade and Alpha Falloff controls the "hardness" of the effect.

Isometric Cuboid - @toe_head2001. Generates a Rectangular Cuboid and shows it using Isometric projection

Two-point Perspective - @toe_head2001. Generates a Rectangular Cuboid and shows it using two-point (vanishing point) projection

 

Edge Expander - @MJW. Finds edges in the image or selection (edges are defined as pixels above an opacity threshold which border pixels below the threshold) and expands the edge by a specified distance (from trhe original). Each expanded edge pixel is set to the color of the nearest edge pixel. The transparency depends on the distance from the edge.

Gaussian Blur Clamped - @toe_head2001. Much like the regular Gaussian Blur effect, except this effect gets clamped to the active selection. This effectively stops colors (and transparency) from bleeding through from outside of the selection.

Graph Paper - @toe_head2001. Generates graph paper with adjustable Cell Size & grouping. Options include square or isometric grids, and colorization.

QuickBASIC BSAVE Graphics - @Ham62. Adds support for Screen 13 QuickBASIC BSAVE'd graphics with the file extensions *.BSV or *.VGA. Limitations: maximum image size 320x200px, file size of 64kb, 8bpp & standard VGA color palette.

Soft Proofing Tools - @null54. Simulates how the current layer would look when printed with a specified color profile. The layer can then be exported as a JPEG or TIFF with the target color profile embedded. Note: Visual C++ 2010 SP1 runtime is required.

 

ArtyThing - @Red ochre. Imitates various artistic media by using the 'tone gradient' (i.e. edges) of an image to generate extra artistic strokes. Output can range from oil painting effects to pencil sketches, crayons, pastels watercolors and more.

 

Color Sketch - @ReMake. Reinterprets an image as if it had been sketched with color pencils. Plugin is the result of a full CodeLab tutorial. Available in Russian.

 

Fuzzy Edge Detector - @AnthonyScoffler. Detects edges using random angles to find neighboring pixels and determine their difference. Configurable with many options. Useful to create outlines. CodeLab source provided. See second post for 3.5.11 version.

 

Inset Box Shadow - @toe_head2001. Uses inner shadowing to create photo type frame of varying transparency. Imagine a square vignette which can be placed inside the edge of an image by a given margin. Source available.

 

Radical Image Optimization Tool (RIOT) - @null54. Heavily optimizes then exports the current layer in a format suitable for web use.

 

Spoked Wheel - @toe_head2001. Creates a circular wheels with options to specify size, spoke number, axle size, rim thickness, color and more. CodeLab source provided.

 

TR's Morpher - @TechnoRobbo. Morph one image into another using a control grid to define 'like' areas. Once defined, generates the between images. Also creates warps (self morphs). Outputs a number of successively numbered images for animating.

 

Color Range effect - @ReMake. This plugin allows you to create a mask by isolating a color subset of the original image. Colors outside of the target range will be set to transparent. Useful for selecting objects in the image by color. Also available in Russian. Based in part on the Color Target plugin by rwp80.

Copy Selection Coords - @toe_head2001. Copies the current selection coordinates to the clipboard in the format: left, top, width, height. NB plugin link is in post #3 of the thread.

Icon, Cursor, and Animated Cursor Format - Updated - @TechnoRobbo. An updated version of the Icon, Cursor, and Animated Cursor Filetype plugin. This version adds support for Icon & cursor filetypes, including animated cursors to paint.net 4.0.9+

Ruler - @toe_head2001. Renders a ruler using the specified units & sub units. This will NOT measure anything and will NOT convert pixel length to another unit of length.

 

Arduino NeoPixel Sketch Exporter - @Makuna. Export an image to a .h file that can be included into Arduino Sketch. The image is exported as a PROGMEM data structure for use with the NeoPixelBus Arduino library.

TR's Monolithic (3D Text Generator) - @TechnoRobbo. Creates monolithic (slab-like) text using an installed font as a base. Think word-art for paint.net. Many options include a range of color options, lighting, pitch, yaw and roll, size, zoom, etc...

 

Hot Metal Glow - @MJW. Transforms a pixel's color to mimic incandescent heated metal. The color range goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, and finally to white. The color transition is approximate: no attempt is made to imitate actual physics.

 

Postage Stamp - @toe_head2001. Creates an edge like a modern postage stamp (i.e. wave like perforations) around the image.

 

StickMan - @Ego Eram Reputo. A plugin which helps position & pose predefined stick figures using a simple click-n-drag interface.

 

Color Clearer - @MJW. Makes the target color to transparent and alters remaining colors to remove the target color so that Normal Blending a layer filled with the target color reproduces the original image. For 3.5.11 compatible version see post #7 in the thread.

Offset Alternating Stripes - @MJW. Creates alternating stripes of pixels with configurable horizontal offset, width and separation. Angle, Edge Behavior and Quality options are also available. See post #9 for 3.5.11 version.

RAWFile LAB - @operamint. A dcraw based RAWFile plugin with an advanced GUI. Requires 64-bit dcraw.exe to be downloaded, renamed and placed in Filetypes folder.

 

Aardvark Tiling Effect - @Red ochre. Tiles an image with choices for reflected and brick tiling, rotation and perspective distortions

 

Bulletin Board Trim - @toe_head2001. Surrounds the image with an edging selected from a number of patterns, spacing & color. Part of toe_head2001's Plugin Pack

 

Oil Painting+ - @BoltBait. Updated Oil Painting artistic effect which produces a more natural looking oil painting. Part of BoltBait's Plugin Pack

 

BoltBait's Meme Maker BoltBait Quickly and easily make internet memes by overlayng text with the correct styling. Separate DLL available (3.5.11) or found in BoltBait's plugin pack (4.0.6+)

 

Otsu's Thresholding Rei Turns an image black and white keying off brightness distribution. An implementation of Otsu's Method.

 

Quadrilateral Correction toe_head2001 Remaps a defined quadrilateral to a rectangular image.

 

View Framer MJW Overlays a frame/guidelines to serve as a guides to further editing. Note: should be applied to a blank layer above the target image.

 

Coordinate Plane Points toe_head2001 Writes multiple pixel coordinates onto the active layer from the center outwards. Spacing is controlled by Step value. Overlay dictiates opacity of white background. No separate topic, only found in Toe-Head2001's plugin pack.

 

Texture Smoother MJW Attempts to smooth black-and-white height maps into 24-bit height maps using "Laplacian smoothing," which amounts to repeatedly replacing each depth with a weighted average of the depths in the immediate neighborhood.

 

Dragan Effect ReMake Simulates the photographic effect made famous by Polish physicist and photographer Andrzej Dragan. The effect enhances the depth of the person and their character by enhancing facial features.

 

Plugin Browser (updated) toe_head2001 Official re-release of the Dwarf Horde's Plugin Browser following a significant rewrite by toe_head2001. Locate, search and run effects from within the Plugin Browser. List installed plugins by Menu, Author, Alphabetically or by Keyword(s). Bookmark and add comments to your favourite plugins. Find information on plugins and see an effect preview image (where available).

 

Poster Red Ochre Analyzes the BGR values within a selection, sorts them into bands by Hue, saturation and Tone. Averages these values, then recolors the image.

 

Render Sphere Height Map MJW Renders a configurable 24-bit height map for a sphere.

 

Scratch Art ReMake Mimics scratching lines through black paint overlaying colored paper.

 

Texture Merger MJW Combines two height maps, one on the canvas and the other in the clipboard. Each height map consists of an 8-bit alpha channel and a 24-bit depth, formed by combining the RGB channels into a single 24-bit unsigned integer.

 

Angled Gradient MJW Draws a gradient in the active layer / selection at the specified angle

 

BoxFitting NomBot Recomposes an image by reassembling it from squares in many sizes which take their color from the original image.

 

Compo Grids Red Ochre Renders a range of geometrical grids as an optical aid in design and proportion.

 

Unselected Rectangle Keeper MJW Erases the background surrounding an unselected region, but keeps the rectangular area which minimally bounds the unselected area. NB: no user interface.

 

Vanishing point Red Ochre Renders a pair of triangles as an optical aid to determining the vanishing point in a composition.

 

For the paint.net prowess awards, be sure to check:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/16-the-pictorium/

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/32-the-archives/

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/48-shapes/

For music:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/5156-what-music-are-you-listening-to/

For movies:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/7563-the-paintnet-users-filmmovies-club/

For computer expert:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/17-plugin-developers-central/

For gamer:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/15250-video-gaming-thread

For real estate award:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/staff/

[BoltBait]

I've received a handful of votes so far.

 

If you've voted, awesome!

 

If you haven't, it is time to get your vote in. Then, once you've voted, encourage everyone else to vote. 

 

Remember, you don't have to be a popular or regular poster in order to vote. Voting is open to everyone!

 

I want to hear from you!

[Red ochre]

Quote

The GE Award: This one goes to the author who creates the best plugin of 2015. Be sure to mention which plugin you are using and why you love it. Plugins released in 2015 or having a major update this year are valid for this award. If you're not sure which plugins this includes, check the plugin index.

2016?

I believe ShapeMaker (previously DHShapemaker) qualifies as a major update by Toe_Head and the Horde. Also, my own Object Bevel (previously Bevel Object) was rewritten in 2016.

 

Downloading the template now - thanks BoltBait

[BoltBait]

This is the least number of ballots I've ever received... 

 

Come on! If this is going to work YOU need to vote right now.

[Red ochre]

Yes - please do vote and prove democracy is not quite dead
... or do I send my crown straight to Donald!

 

As BoltBait is taking the time to run this show the least we can do is complete some (or most) of the categories and return the template.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

'Cmon guys & gals. Please don't waste BoltBaits hard work. VOTE NOW!

[sashwilko]

Template copy / pasted to notepad. Will vote and submit on new years day 

 

Voted and submitted form

Edited December 31, 2016 by sashwilko

[ReMake]

I have voted too.  

[Woodsy]

 

1 hour ago, ReMake said:

I have voted too.  

Likewise!

[LionsDragon]

Voted! This was a tough one.

[Pixey]

 

Done!

[DrewDale]

Voted here too. Thanks BoltBait for running this each year. 

[Seerose]

Voted! 

 

 to all PAINT User.      

[BoltBait]

I haven't forgotten about this. I've just been super busy.  I will be counting up the votes on Sunday.  So, that means, for everyone that "forgot" to vote, do it now!