Fan Art Contest #1

[D'lo]

Finally! I've been planning this for a while and I finally put it into action! The rules are as follows:

1. No hentai - this is ALWAYS my first rule for anything!
2. Can be either colored or black and white.
3. Up to 5 entries per person. Pick your best!
4. As soon as a total of 30 people have entered, judging will begin.
5. Fan art can be of ANY series!

Now, for the judges. I need at least 4 other judges who are skilled at fan art or knows what to judge. Any member can PM me or post it here if they want to become a judge. PM or post what you look for in fan art. That will determine if you can be a judge or not. I'll be looking for how accurate you describe your ideal drawing, so audition well.

Judges
1. Sakura Fubuki (aka ME ^_^)
2. Neo Queen Serenity
3. Yaten Kou

We can have a maximum of 5 judges with the minimum of 3. Okay! Let the contest begin!

EDIT: A deadline has been set. No more judges will be chosen. If you want to submit something, please submit it quickly before the date of:

Friday, September 9, 2005

If any of the judges have a question or concern, please PM me and the date may be altered. I've PM'd the judges this entire post already.

[MaleMercury]

May i be a judge?

[D'lo]

What would you look for in a work of fan art? Describe your ideal fanart.

[Moon Princess]

Hi can I enter?

[D'lo]

Of course. Just e-mail your drawings to me and I'll post a list of people in the contest.

[D'lo]

Neo said:

Do you have any other guidelines? I mean, you should have at least something to base your judging on. I'm all for going at something 'gung-ho', but boundaries are needed.

So, you have a topic of 'anime series'. What are you going to be looking for? Best colouring? Best kiss? Best use of space? Best style?

I mean, I could draw Sailormoon and so could so-and-so, and so could another person? I guess what I'm trying to get at is... how are you going to judge whose is best and why?

Thank you for reminding me of these. Since this is the first contest, I'll just be looking for signs of time and effort. Please don't slack off and become a follower of those awful artists who drew some of the Sailor Moon episodes. The next contest will require a little more and so on and so on.

Neo said:

I'm not going to submit anything this time around... the categories are just too broad. However, I will volunteer to judge.

First off, I studied art throughout highschool. I received the art award in grade twelve for academic achievment. That being said, I'm not one to put a 'grade' on any sort of art.

Art is an expression of ones self. Who is anyone to say that what someone created is not 'art' or not worthy of a specific grade?

That being said... that is why I did not attend the awards ceremony to accept the award, nor did I pick up the certificate afterwards.

Secondly, why do I want to be a judge?

Well, I love art. I love drawing... and painting... and sketching, and photography, and sculpting, and art history, and architecture, and paper mache, and ... and... and.... Well, you get the point, I am a huge fan of art. In order to be able to 'judge' or critique someone effectively, one must at least like what they are looking at.

After being a fan of art in general, I do have some sort of background with the theory behind art. I know about composition, the use of colour and textures, shading, spacing, proportion, use of space, and lining. I will be able to use that to my advantage when looking at a piece of work and comparing it to other pieces.

Lastly, I want to 'judge' because, not only do I want to see the works of other people on this board... I also want to be able to pass along some constructive criticism to those who submit entries. Having a contest is all fine and dandy, but I want the people who have taken the time to enter to come away from this... no matter what sort of 'judging' goes on, with some ideas and hints to help them on their next project.

I am a big fan of helping other people out. If I submit a piece of work to someone... I *want* to know what they like or don't like about it. I am always looking for ways to improve my technique... tips and tricks of the trade are only useful if they are shared with other people. I want other people to improve on their skills.

No one is perfect; no one knows everything; there is always something to be learned or discovered. I want everyone who enters this contest to feel good that they submitted something, regardless of whether they won or not. I may pick a piece that looks like a winner to me, but I am going to state why I think so, and why I chose that one over the others... to show the other people how to demonstrate a specific skill accurately, or how to improve for the future.

What do I look for in fanart?

Well, for one, I look for originality. In my own work, with the exception of a few pieces that I really wanted to recreate because they were so beautiful, I may style my drawing to mimic anothers, but I make sure to add a little something of my own, whether it's a certain way of colouring, a certain style of colouring, the clothing design, the features... something that personalizes it.

So, originality, or personality is one thing that I keep an eye out for.

I also pay attention to colouring... or shading. Is the colouring correctly suited for the type of picture? I suppose colouring's not too much of a fuss for anime drawings, but shading is at least. Where is the light source coming from? Has the artist highlighted or shaded the correct areas?

Use of space is another thing I look at. Is the drawing centered? What is the focus of attention? How is the depth perception? Has the artist effectively conveyed a sense of space between objects, or a sense of balance within the picture?

Lastly (not the last thing I'd look for... the last thing that I'm going to mention at the moment), I would look for what image, or what message the artist is trying to convey. Is the picture one that inspires creativity? Does it provoke dark thoughts? Is it a happy, comical picture? How well has the artist (since we're talking anime here) relayed their emotions and feeling through their art?

And... what is my ideal fanart?

Well, besides what I have already mentioned... my ideal fanart would provoke emotion within me. Does it make me laugh? How hard does it make me laugh? Does it make me sad, depressed, or does it move me to tears? Am I inspired by the piece of work?

Afterall, the whole point of art... is to make someone feel something. What can I take away from this piece? What does this work bring to me that I did not have or see before looking at it?



*yawn* well, that's enough out of me.. it's 2AM! Gotta sleep! Ja~

Yes! That is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. You are a judge. Yes, these contests are mainly for the participants to walk out better than they walked in.

[D'lo]

I think I might just call this whole thing off. Only 2 judges with no entries since last year. I'll wait 48 hours if anyone wants to protest.

[yatenkou]

Mars Reiko- This is a fantastic idea. We need to do this.

Tell me what needs to be done. If we need more interest this is easily generated through word of mouth.

I'm secretary of my bellydancing club, I'm an agressive advertiser! XD

Plus I really think there is a better way to do this then have people e-mail your the drawings and stuff. If we can get just an image thread going where people post an appropriate fan art it'll be easier.

We only need about three judges. We've got some real rabid graphic artists around here. LouSMFAN would be a great judge. I can be one if you like. Making potential judges answer alot of questions is a good way to scare people off.

30 is a need for too much contestants. We should judge whoever wants to enter - that way people don't do fan art and then feel like it was a waste of time if not alot of people enter.

We need this to be FUN. So everyone who is thinking about submitting something, DO A STICK FIGURE IN PAINT. It's all about fun and humor. That's why people do fan art.

Whoever wins gets a nifty banner I make to wear under their sig proclaiming them as the NUMBER ONE SUPREMO MEGA FAN ART CHAMPEEN

[RAPTOR 9:48]

I just might make a fanart. it'll take a while though... difficult as hell to match the figure right.

[D'lo]

yatenkou said:

Mars Reiko- This is a fantastic idea. We need to do this.

Tell me what needs to be done. If we need more interest this is easily generated through word of mouth.

I'm secretary of my bellydancing club, I'm an agressive advertiser! XD

Plus I really think there is a better way to do this then have people e-mail your the drawings and stuff. If we can get just an image thread going where people post an appropriate fan art it'll be easier.

We only need about three judges. We've got some real rabid graphic artists around here. LouSMFAN would be a great judge. I can be one if you like. Making potential judges answer alot of questions is a good way to scare people off.

30 is a need for too much contestants. We should judge whoever wants to enter - that way people don't do fan art and then feel like it was a waste of time if not alot of people enter.

We need this to be FUN. So everyone who is thinking about submitting something, DO A STICK FIGURE IN PAINT. It's all about fun and humor. That's why people do fan art.

Whoever wins gets a nifty banner I make to wear under their sig proclaiming them as the NUMBER ONE SUPREMO MEGA FAN ART CHAMPEEN

The 48 hours were up, but I'll keep it going. Sure, I'll cut it down. Thanks for your help and I love the sig you made spreading the word.

Judge Applications

They don't need to be long at all. Even just a couple of sentences will do.

Contestant Submissions

A thread will be created especially for submitting fanart into the contest. However, that will be its ONLY purpose - no discussion whatsoever.

[yatenkou]

I want to be a judge.
Why you ask?
Well because i'm too lazy to draw a new fan-art and once I get the prize graphics made I probably won't want to tote them around myself. MUWAHAHAHAHH!!

You can go to my deviantart site if you want to see some work I've done. Most of it's hella old.

[D'lo]

Accepted! I went to your DeviantArt site and I love the first few images I had a chance to see. However, I'm at school, so I couldn't see them all. Welcome to the team! Now please submit your fanart!

[SuperSailorMercury]

Guys, I've got my first image up, so how do I enter it?

[yatenkou]

supersailormercury said:

Guys, I've got my first image up, so how do I enter it?

just post your submission in the submission thread that's stickied on this sub board.

[Sailor star healer]

Can I please please pllllease be the judge???