Oddworld Forums Fan Art Competition 2012
 

What ho chums!

It's been quite a while since our last art competition but, by popular demand, it's back! And this time the theme is 'Industrialism vs Nature'! This is a major theme in Oddworld canon, and is open for wide interpretation, whether it's terrible battles and the grinding gears of progress chewing up the natural world, or crumbling facilities being reclaimed by recovering wildlife and shamanic natives.

So whaddaya gotta do?

1. Draw, paint, craft or in whatever way you choose create a piece of Oddworld-themed art incorporating the theme of 'Industrialism vs Nature'!
2. Give it a title. Titles are good! (The title may not be the same as the competition theme. I reserve the right to give a facetious title to any piece of art where the artist forgets this step).
3. Upload your creation (or a picture thereof) onto an image-hosting website (see rules below).
4. Send it in a PM to me, with it's title, before the competition deadline date (see below).
5. Sit back and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done! Aaaaaah.

I'm no longer as bothered about the anonymity of the author of each piece as I have been in past years. However, I still don't want any piece of work openly visible online before the competition has closed and the judges have made their decisions. To this end, the following rules apply:

1. Do not host your picture on Deviant Art, Oddworld Forums or any other site where it can easily be found by other forum members (my personal recommendation is Image Shack, mostly just because they seem to keep images for a very long time). You can upload it to dA or anywhere else you choose after the competition has been judged.
2. Do not post your picture on the forums or otherwise describe it or post its name online.

Additional rules:

1. You may not use any fan created species or any species that only appeared in concept art or in the art book. Only species that have appeared in the Oddworld games may be pictured. In addition, you may not include any characters that you've previously created and used in other art or fiction.
2. You may only submit art created specifically for this competition; you may not submit anything displayed online before.
3. You must incorporate the competition theme in some way, no matter how abstract it may be.
4. You must not plagiarise, copy or trace any existing art, Oddworld-related or not. Nor can you manipulate existing pictures or images to create your piece (excepting stock textures); your submission must be entirely your own work. If you use a stock texture or image, you must include a link to it when you PM me your piece.

Each judge will reward each piece 10 points for each of the following topics:

• Quality: How good is your piece generally, for what it is? (Note that you won't be compared with the other submissions for this, so don't worry about your pencil drawing being outclassed by someone else's digital image. However, this topic also covers how much evident effort you've gone to).
• Oddness: How well your piece captures the feel of Oddworld, and how well you depict its environments, creatures and themes of the Oddworld universe.
• Creativity: How original is your submission? Does it stand out from other art?
• Use of Theme: How imaginatively and successfully does your piece incorporate the competition theme, Industrialism vs Nature? (Note that creative interpretation of the theme has caused grief in previous years; judges will be encouraged to think broadly when considering this category).
• Overall Impression: Simply how your piece makes the judge feel. Does it evoke their emotions? Does it have the elusive 'wow factor'?

Each judge will give a total out of 50 points, and the numbers given by each judge will be totalled to make your overall score. The number of judges will be decided later on.


The closing date for the competition is 11:59PM on October the 31st, 2012. Please submit your finished piece before this date. If you submit your piece early you are free to edit it and resubmit it. If you submit it late, you will be penalised 10 points for your poor organisational skills (fie on you!)

The competition will only go ahead if I receive three or more submissions, so the date may be extended if it becomes necessary so as to reach this number. If this number is reached before the deadline, it will be extended by a maximum of one week for late-comers. If we do not get enough entrants before the deadline, it will be extended by a maximum of one month.
If you submit your work before the deadline you may resubmit it with minor edits in any given extension period. Major edits in a resubmitted piece after the deadline will be subject to the 10-point penalty.

If the competition is cancelled after the deadline due to a lack of interest, I will post here, and also endeavour to PM anyone who had already submitted an entry, though I make no promises on this latter point.

When the judges have given their scores, all images and their scores will be posted in Fan Corner, along with any comments the judges wish to make. The winner will be forever immortalised in the Fan Corner Hall of Fame.


So whaddaya wait'n fur? GET BACK TA WORK!!

I won't be entering this year, I'm afraid. I've got school, real-life art and Design Democracy all vying for my attention.

I really wish I could enter this, but since my drawing skills are level to that of a penguin or dead fish, I feel it would be better to stay out of it.

But will we be having a fan-fic comp at any time? I might join that, but I suspect I shall have relatively little time for it. I'd love join though.

There'll be a fan fic competition some time next year.

I've been working on some 3D Oddworld models (basic but funky), will definitely make something :)

Are appropriations acceptable? As in completely remaking a famous piece while changing the meaning and context. I'll show complete documentation of the process if necessary.

Ok, as long as it's evident that it's your own work and you haven't copied directly or traced OWI's art.

I've improved my drawing skills considerably. I might submit if I can get access to a scanner.

So, is anyone at work on something for this?

Most defiantly. I want to take full advantage of my time though. Still have twenty something days.

I'll be entering. Just gotta think of something real good, first.

It seems, by this response, that we only have two entries. I won't run the competition with less than 3, so is anyone else doing something? Or could anyone else be cajoled into doing something?

Just saw this thread right now, count me in!

Yes! That makes three of us. Guess there will be a competition after all. :p

It still closes at the end of the month right?

Phew! Hooray!

And yes. But I might be more lenient on the penalty for Cloudman since he's only just appeared. Maybe give 1 week's grace

Good luck everyone. Make pretty things!

Now I've forgotten who I asked to judge.

I'd love to join ... but I lack time so maybe next year...

~but good luck to everyone! :D ~I look forward to the results, the theme is really cool too! :D

I've been working on some 3D art recently so I'd be happy to join in.

Well chip chop! 11 days 'til the deadline and I've had no submissions so far!

Deadline is 3 days away. Entries currently number 0. :(

I'm not sure I can get it done within the time limit; should I send an unfinished copy and then add to it as time progresses?

I'll get something done in the next few hours and upload it. Didn't mean to leave it late but had a lot on my plate at the moment! (Entry submitted)

The problem is a Message Board is not very effective when it comes to contests and time-based challenges. People forget about things and require frequent reminders. These things are present in Facebook and Twitter, but not this forum. Even Deviantart has notifications when people take part in things and post journals.

That's the thing missing the most here, notifications. If there was some way of communicating with everyone at once, that would be fantastic. I know email reminders do exist but lots of people turn them off, or are too busy to read them. Just a thought.

How significantly will unfinished entries be deducted points?

I said 10 before, but that might change depending on how many judges I get. I'd say 5 at the moment, as 10 might actually be quite... crippling.

Also, Fie on you!

Sorry Splat, I'll probably be working up til the last few minutes. I want this entry to be worth it. :p

I can't speak for everyone else, but I assure you you'll get my entry before the deadline hits.

Maybe as an idea for a future contest, participants would privately give their email address to the contest co-ordinator, then the co-ordinator could issue out group emails with friendly reminders and other bits of information.

A lot of complication... I could send group PMs if people declared themselves as entrants here. But really keeping track of a month shouldn't be that much of an effort.

I'm sure I won't be able to get this done in time, I will post it after the competition has completed on my own art thread. Looking forward to see the other entries! :fuzsmile:

I only started mine two days ago, still going but I think you said I have a bit of lee-way, should definitely get it done in the next few days if that still exists!

Not even with a few weeks' extra time, Fred? I said a maximum extension of one month at the start, if you need that... :(

It's just I've got exams in a few days and won't have anytime to work on it until around the 10th. Maybe a week starting on the 10th of November? Thank you for putting in the time and effort Splat. :)

I knew I was forgetting something...

Oh well.

So gents, still awaiting another 2 or more entries. How are people doing?

Half way through my exams, I haven't had the time to continue since last month.

Time is running out before the extended deadline of the end of November. I still only have one entry and, as far as I'm aware, no one is working on anything now. Unless people say differently and send me their images by the end of the month, it looks like this competition is gonna fail, too. :crying:

If this is the case, I'll have one last go at launching a fiction competition some time next year. If that fails, too, I'll probably call an end to FC competitions for the foreseeable future.

I think the problem is, Oddworld isn't really in fashion at the moment. We do have the re-releases and the apps which is good, but until we start getting some brand new games, we won't get the growth in a userbase that other franchises are experiencing.

Like on Deviantart at the moment, there are tons of drawings of Fallout, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Mass Effect, latest films, tv shows etc. Granted there's Oddworld things too, I can see at least 30 things this week alone.

The more I think about it, this forum is stagnating, whereas other things like Twitter and the Oddworld Facebook page, they're flourishing. I'm not quite sure how many Oddworld fans are on here, but if it's only 1%-5% of all Oddworld fans worldwide, it's a tiny drop in the ocean. There has to be some way of reaching all these fans with free time.

The problem is that most of the regulars are bored of Oddworld and/or don't like the FC. Splat, you need to take your Fanfic competition away from this forum if you want it to succeed. Get out there and advertise it. See if OWI will post it on their FB page if you want the masses to be interested.

Yeah, I can see OWI and J.A.W. supporting a fan art contest. They can feature them on the site as well :)

I think a lot of the problem is the time of year as well, I know a lot of people have exams September-November. I'd have given this a crack if I had seen it earlier but I don't think 10 days is nearly enough time to get it finished.

...the new OW fans who also draw fanart/write stories are mostly spread over tumblr and dA currently...

when new people come here they usually stay cause of the non oddworld sections, hardly anyone comes here with a main interrest in fanart or fan stories anymore and even less of those who actually do then also stay xD
If everyone gave up on the competitions and they ceased to exist that'd be even worse I think ... if I manage to draw something today count me in the competition.

by the way, a while ago on dA there has been a contest too and they featured the winner on fb... i think... I'm not actually sure if it happened in the end, as I didn't check and I don't know who won either haha xD

also it's true that this time of the year is probably one of the worst times to start a competition :p
Yet it's still awesome to still have these competitons! :D