Judges hands down. For something this serious, I think having more professional opinions would be best. Yes, it would be good to have the opinions of the masses be like "Ooh, this is pretty, I'd like to see ti every day!" Yet at the same time, those who commented before me have brought up some good points. Like:

+ What would look good at a smaller size?
+ Which ones work well with the site color scheme?
+ What's visually appealing and tells a story?

Things like this. So, we all look forward to whoever is chosen for this =D Good luck to everyone involved. And good judging to the judges X3

I may not know a lot about art or design, but I do believe it needs to not be a case of people voting. That just tends to tick people off and we really don't need that.

I think having judges would work best. Like so many of the staff could pick a few they think work the best and we could go from there to narrow it down. I already know I'm going to look at how they flow with the site vs who made it.

I did the same with the update icon for the news. I looked for one that not only represented the site well but also looked good at the required size.

So... long winded way of saying option one. :p

I think my highest concern is what will look right on that top banner. Some things probably mesh a whole lot better than others. I also noticed stuff like how intricate some of the submissions were, which would look indecipherable when shrunken down to the required size. The mascot of the site has a lot of weight in it. What it looks like will give people an instant read on what the site is, and if they don't like the reading they get from it, or feel they don't relate, they're not going to feel very comfortable with it.

I'd feel far more at-ease if it was a staff decision, since, like it or not, popularity is always going to be an issue. Sage also got it right - some artists have more exposure than others, which skews the votes. And for people who submitted later on, or just plain on a different date than someone else, they didn't have as much exposure time.

@The Mask:

Yeah but still, anonymity helps people to pick what they really want over their 'friend's' work, I think. xD It's annoying that everything is so dramatized.

@Support KIRA:

I don't think that solves the problem, since the names of the artists are already in the piece at the moment. They can always research on who made what, and it will still end up being a popularity contest once again.

I vote whatever drawing as most hugs, because most of the O would liked it best

I say... let the staff do it... XD

The second option might cause a ruckus... but... it could be interesting.

Option 2 could be interesting, while option 1 can be more objective to its cause.
Even if we would vote like the second option, I think that it wouldn't cause too much drama, because we wouldn't know who vote to who. And it could be an interesting little tournament, but it also means that some drawings might go down because they were put in a difficult position against someone in its round. Though staff would narrow it to 8, so it still wouldn't be too big of a problem.

Throw a coin? :P

I like the tournament idea. Keep the name of the artist off the piece and you can avoid the 'drama'. Though I honestly think people should be grown up enough here to vote unbiasedly....especially if it's an anonymous vote. It's not like anyone will know. =w=

I say avoid option 2. It could be interesting...but at the same time could explode in drama. The latter having damage that's not easily reversed.

I also think you should avoid taking favs and hugs into account. Some artists have more exposure than others so going off that would skew the results to seem like it was done by popularity rather than people liking the design. Plus artists who submit RIIIIGHT before the deadline wouldn't have as fair of a chance as someone who submitted early and had the time to collect them.

I think people on this site are a little more understanding, reasonable and mature than to let a silly competition cause any honest drama around here. However, it may turn out a little biased. I honestly feel most people would simply pick by which one the like best, though. My vote is option 1 in any case.

I agree with Angel Zakuro that a "tournament" would just add drama,. I think you should just let the staff decide on this. And since I know judging a lot of entries is tough, you can probably whip up a rubric or criteria for judging to help them decide on it quickly.

i think the staff should take all the likes and comments into account on each entry but the ultimate discussion is up to yall
:D but yall have some nice art to pick from!!

cant wait to see the new header!

Hmm. Option 2 is interesting...but I'm afraid the tournament idea would cause too much drama...or the choices would be made purely on the popularity of the artist. So I think just the staff should decide. >>'