UPN 1st Annual Visual Art Contest

[Talon87]

I've decided -- on a complete whim 5 seconds ago -- that it would be pretty fun if we held an art contest. Here are the rules:

1 - You may submit up to one picture per category (officially) but may post links to as many pictures as you would like. By the deadline, however, you must select one (and only one) image for each contest category.

2 - All submissions must be your own creation. PhotoShopping an existing image not created by yourself does not constitute "your own creation." This rule applies recursively (i.e. a PhotoShop of a PhotoShop of an image is not your creation, either, unless that original image is yours and so are both Photoshops).

3 - The winner(s) will be decided by a vote. Whoever gets the most votes will win.

4 - The people voting will be whoever wishes to vote from the entire community of UPN.

5 - You do not have to make a submission in order to vote.

6 - You may only vote once per image per category and up to two times for the entire category. (e.g. you could vote once for Doppel and once for Kuno in "Drawings" and once for Doppel in "Modeling / Cosplay" and once for Kuno and once for Namek in "Photographs")

7 - Even if you have no drawing skills, IT DON'T MATTER! Submit something anyway. Let's make this as fun(ny) as possible! I sure as hell can't draw, but I'll be submitting something! ^_-

8 - No pornography or sexually suggestive imagery. If you should have any questions what this means, ask.

9 - Furniture pr0n will be accepted but must be funny. lol (It is a part of our heritage, so how could I refuse?)

10 - The deadline is 12:01AM (EST) Sunday, March 9, 2008 That's a little under seven and a half days from now. Voting will not commence until the deadline has been reached. Entries made after the deadline will not be accepted. (Stragglers posting at 12:02 AM will be scolded but permitted. :P)

11 - Submit your image(s) in this thread. Vote in this thread.

12 - This rule should have been higher up, but I forgot to mention ... what does constitute "art"? Lots of things:
- drawings
- pictures of sculptures you did
- photographs you took (please submit non or minimally-shopped photos and prove that you took the original photo if the submission is clearly shopped)
- pictures of you or a friend modeling, in cosplay, etc. (costumes = art, too!)
- paintings

I have changed the title to "Visual Art contest" to reflect that we will not accept music at this time. If the demand is high, maybe we'll hold a music contest? O.o

13 - Regarding #12, I have modified rules above to allow for categories such that we may have multiple winners, i.e. the Drawing winner, the Photograph winner, etc. So feel free to submit as many drawings, pictures, etc. as you can! But be sure to select only one per category by March 9 to be voted on.

[Lady Kuno]

Can't do shoops? Darn because I'm only really good at those. ;;

[Doppleganger]

Yeah I have no art skills at all. But a while back I did make something so I'll submit it - two MS Paint sprites, one of Anonymous the other of Anti-Spiral.

[Talon87]

By popular request we have added a new category: Just PhotoShops. The "Just PhotoShops" category is where all images not of your own creation (e.g. a photo taken by National Geographic, an anime screencap, etc.) but which you yourself have PhotoShopped, Image Macro'd, etc. shall go. Please be sure to differentiate:

- pictures you took --> Pictures
- pictures you took but used PhotoShop on to spruce up --> still Pictures, but provide proof of the original photograph
- pictures you only PhotoShopped --> Just PhotoShops

[Doppleganger]

A Tonegawa bump in the style of those from Baccano!:

[Lunar Delta]

OK then, here is my submission:

[Doppleganger]

There's no way anyone could beat Namek and his oxy-acetylene torch. :P

[Lady Kuno]

We have a winner.

[Talon87]

I think that while the winner for Photographs has been decided (although who knows? What if someone rises to the challenge!?), don't forget that there are plenty of other categories! I'm looking forward to seeing just what sort of image macros UPNers have invented, not to mention some pretty awesome(ly bad) sketches.

[Demoonica]

Comments: I did it all with one of those click pencils. (and a piece of rolled up paper to do the shading)

[deoxys]

I have several art pieces. However, all are drawings. Can we seperate categories into different media, like paint, charcoal, and drawings

[Lady Kuno]

I think you over-estimate how many people and entries there will be.

[Talon87]

Agreed. There's not much point to "competition" if "EVERONE ARE WINNAR". =\ We need to at least have some semblance of categories. As it is, we're already going to have too many 1st places with no opposition.

Think you can beat Demoonica? Enter into the drawing contest.
Think you can beat Namek? Enter into the photograph contest.
Etc.

The last thing we need to do (based on the demand right now) is to subdivide this into a Graphite, Charcoal, Blood, etc. array of drawing contests. One "Drawing" category ought to suffice.

I added "Just PhotoShops" because Kuno couldn't even enter otherwise. But you're saying you can enter, and that you just don't want to have "Drawings" be one over-arching category.

... meh, I'll consider it. But I'm very very very much leaning against it right now. =\

[Hanatori2]

Eh, why not. This is for the Drawing category.

[The Morg]

How about getting rid of categories altogether? The diversity of talents in the UPN community would result in almost everyone being a winner in their own field. Instead you could just say the goal of this contest is to create something visually impressive in whatever way you can, and maybe vote for the top 3 or something.

After all we can't really say the artists of UPN truly are good unless there are people like me to look bad in comparison! w

[Talon87]

Maybe we can do both: keep the categories, but also have a "Grand Prize winner" who fits what you described, a winner who transcends the categories completely.

[quilava plush]

Photograph submission:
http://pics.livejournal.com/norkia/pic/0001k102

I took this at the Ft. Worth Zoo in 2006; basically there's a huge wall of glass in the white tiger exhibit that's next to the walkway and one of the tigers hangs out next to it often. It took me a few tries to get a pic that wasn't completely motion blurred or covered by an awful flash glare, but this is (IMO) one of the best pics I've taken. The flash along with the reflection in the glass overlapping the backdrop of the tiger exhibit made for a neato background effect.

I'm in the middle doing an entry for the drawing category, so hopefully I can get it completed in time.

[Talon87]

There are literally tons of (mock) drawings I want to submit before the deadline, but a snowstorm threatens to prevent me from going home tomorrow evening, i.e. I would probably not have access to a scanner until just after the deadline. We will see, though. Look forward to my (mock) drawings! ;D

As for image macros, this is my one and only that comes to mind. A friend uploaded it on 4chan what would have been years (plural) ago at this point, some time in very early Spring 2006, so I doubt that Doppel will remember it; but my understanding is that it was well-loved by many.

Before you give me too much credit for originating this brilliant idea, recognize that it's a spoof of a much older image macro. I will provide links to both below:

Talon87's submission for the Image Macros category
Talon87's inspiration -- please forgive the unsightly 'EBaums' logo on it

[quilava plush]

Drawing submission!



Done entirely in Photoshop Elements 3.0 at this exact resolution. Additional commentary is at my deviantART entry.

EDIT: Adjusted some lighting details.

[Talon87]

Voting is now open. Entries will no longer be permitted after the first vote is cast.