As was announced a few times before already, it is finally here. I am doing the Draw my OC contest I have been planning to do for a while! 

        Deadline: 15 January 2014 (15/01/2015). All entries must be in before or at that date.

It will be your regular old 'Pick one or more characters of mine and draw them' type of contest because I believe that they give a lot more freedom to the contestants. This journal will contain information on the characters to choose from as well as prizes, rules and tips. Please, PLEASE, read everything before you enter. Just so that the rules are clear and no misunderstandings can happen c:

                Prizes

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    ~1st place~

Main prize: $25 or 2500 

Art prizes: 
  2 shaded detailed chibies from ElithianFox 
  1 fullbody, coloured and shaded, with simple background from ElithianFox 
  1 waist-up, coloured and shaded from ElithianFox
  3 coloured and shaded digital headshots from ElithianFox 
  1 free choice of this commission list from ElithianFox
  1 coloured fullbody with simple background from L1M1TL3SS 
  1 fully coloured fullbody from Tori-34
  1 fully coloured and shaded fullbody from Skoryx
  1 fully shaded fullbody from ImLookingForTime

    ~2nd place~

Main prize: $10 or 1000

Art prizes: 
  1 shaded simple chibi from ElithianFox
  1 waist-up, coloured and shaded, from ElithianFox 
  2 coloured and shaded headshots from ElithianFox 
  1 traditional shaded waist-up sketch from ElithianFox
  1 chibi with transparent BG from L1M1TL3SS
  1 fully coloured knee-up from Tori-34
  1 flat colour fullbody from ImLookingForTime
  1 mini dress-up game OR 1 chibi from Cardenia

    ~3rd place~

Main prize: $5 or 500

Art prizes: 
  1 flat colour simple chibi from ElithianFox 
  1 coloured and shaded headshot from ElithianFox 
  1 headshot from L1M1TL3SS
  1 fully coloured bust from Tori-34
  1 headshot from ImLookingForTime
  1 chibi from CannibalHarpy
  1 chibi from Cardenia

    ~Other prizes~

Follow-ups:
  There will be a total of 20% of the follow-ups that will get an extra prize of 300 or $3. This means that at 10 participants, 2 people will get 300 or $3; at 40, 8 people will get 300 or $3.
  Another 10% of the follow-ups will get a flat coloured simple chibi. If there are 10 participants, 1 will get a chibi; if there are 40, 4 will get one.

Advertising:
  Anyone who makes a journal or a poll advertising this contest will get 5. Proof of an active account is required.

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                Rules

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- Anyone can enter, regardless of skill or whether you're a watcher or not. 
- You have to draw at least one of these characters, but there is no limit on how many you draw.
- No bases, dollmakers, and traced pieces. Referencing poses is allowed.
- No crack ship drawings, only established couples can be drawn together as a romantic couple (but they don't have to be drawn as a romantic couple!). No erotic or NSFW entries, no genital nudity.
- Maximum of three entries is allowed. 

Pieces breaking these rules will not be considered for judging. You are still allowed to alter the piece and it will be allowed afterwards, as I will tell you when a rule wasn't followed. You can edit your entry after submitting it, as long as I get the final version before the deadline.

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                How will the entries be judged?

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There are a few important points that will be looked at when judging the entries that were submitted. The order of these is very important, what is on 1 is more important than what is on 3. Of course, all points are important. The more points you maxed out, the better your entry will be and the higher a score it will get! Every piece will get a score on the three points below.


        1. Concept. Is the concept creative and original? Have the characters been depicted being in character or are they out of character? Which things has the artist added to make the entry interesting?

        2. Effort. Is the work of quality? Regardless of skill, is there visibly a lot of effort put into the entry? Is it rough or are there details painted? Is it a sketch or is it a fully coloured entry with a background? Was it rushed or was it carefully made?

        3. Skill. How well were shadow and lighting used? How's the anatomy? What is the skill level used in the entry? How's the perspective, the scenery, the technical details?

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                The characters you can choose from (and the world)

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First off, most of my characters are demons. I want to clarify that this does not mean that you get green lights on drawing whichever anatomy you want, they are not the mutant type of demons, but a more human type. It would be best that if you choose a demon character to draw, you drop all the stereotypes you know and just read the character's description.

Second, it is important to mention the type of world they all live in. The setting is an original world named Life. This place can be compared to a mid medieval earth, only with other species and another timeline. So this means that there is no modern day technology, no electricity to be used, etc. You can find more info on the world here and I suggest reading the small amount of text written there (it's really short and can help you interpret the setting better).

Now as for the characters, here's your choice.

    Don't go to my profile and dig up characters. There is a complete list especially for this contest located here, use it.

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                Some tips that could help you

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 Follow the characters' colour schemes. It is okay to place a gradient over them or to stylize them if your style or the environment calls for it, but don't make light brown into blond or related changes. Also, pay attention to the skin colours. Some people think there's only one type of red. You wouldn't draw an African American as a Caucasian person, so pay attention not to draw a Northerner as a Westerner. 
 Pieces showing the character's personality, relationships and correct usage of the world's environment are very likely to catch my attention. 
 Just drawing a character standing there is nice, but a part of their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses or backstory can be drawn. Pieces that do this are immensely likely to get a good score. 
 Every character has an entire profile devoted to them, which should help you get an idea how they are best portrayed in character. Use them if possible! 
 It is advised to read the physical description. Some characters have something special there (missing limbs, additional anatomy, etc.) that can easily be looked past in the description. 
 If traditional, try scanning the work instead of photographing it. Work that has been poorly photographed is very unlikely to get a high score, even if it is an awesome drawing. 
 If you have the time, read the info I added about the world and species. That way, it is a lot easier to situate the characters. 
 Just pick a character you want to draw, not one you see is popular/unpopular among the other contestants. How often a character is picked to be drawn isn't important in the judging process and shouldn't influence your choice. 
 Any medium is allowed. Can be digital, traditional, crafts... No medium is superior to the other. 
 Style can be cartoon, chibi, anime, any original style, etc. and style doesn't influence chance to win. No literature, though. 
The more effort you put in your entry, the more likely you are to win. 5 minute sketches, for example, are allowed but are very unlikely to win. 


Entries can be found here.


Good luck to everyone! I am looking forward to seeing all of your lovely entries ^^