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Candlekeep's Grand Fanart Contest: Rules & Sign Ups

AndreaColomboAndreaColombo Member Posts: 5,524
edited May 2013 in Fan Creations
Well met, artisan, and welcome to our humble citadel of knowledge and learning!

In this fine day, it is our privilege to avail ourselves of no less than Candlekeep's Keeper of the Tomes' patronage to host an event most magnificent: Candlekeep's Grand Fanart Contest!

Arists from all around the Realms are welcome to partake this extraordinary event, and submit the results of their efforts to the jury for a chance to win our exquisite prizes!

Come on, come all! Sign up today and contribute to the splendor of these halls with your skill and talent!


..::Candlekeep's Grand Fanart Contest Rules::..
Take part in one or more rounds for a chance to win free copies of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (upon the latter's release), as well as a chance to be featured in the Candlekeep Library on baldursgate.com!

Structure and schedule.

The contest will consist of three consecutive two-week rounds, each followed by a one-week pause during which submissions shall be judged, and prizes awarded:
  • Round I: EPIC FAILS IN EPIC MOMENTS. 9th January to 23rd January, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.

    Pick any moment in Baldur's Gate (preferred) or Baldur's Gate II (accepted) that is full of pathos and/or heroic tension, render it unto utter desolation through some awkward epic fail, and capture the disillusion and disbelief on everyone's face and body mimicry.
  • 1st one-week pause: from 23rd January to 30th January, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
  • Round II: GENDER-SWAP PORTRAITS. 30th January to 13th February, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.

    We've all fantasized about Edwina at least once, and probably many more times—but what happens when other joinable NPCs don the cursed Girdle of Gender Change? For this round, you may pick any number of joinable NPCs and draw an alternate portrait of the opposite sex for them. If you choose to draw more than one portrait, each one will count as its own, separate submission.
  • 2nd one-week pause: from 13th February to 20th February, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
  • Round III: UST NATHA PORTRAITS. 20th February to 6th March, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.

    In Baldur's Gate II we get to visit the drow city of Ust Natha in the Underdark, and we do so disguised as drow ourselves courtesy of Adalon. However, our portraits remain unaltered which, from a roleplaying perspective, is kinda awkward. For our third and final round, pick any number of joinable NPCs and draw an alternate portait in drow disguise for them. If you choose to draw more than one portrait, each one will count as its own, separate submission.
  • 3rd one-week pause: from 6th March to 13th March, 12:00 P.M. (CET)
  • Round IV: PORTRAITS FOR UNCOMMON CLASS/RACE/GENDER COMBOS. 14th March to 28th March, 12:00 A.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.

    At some point, most of us have wanted to play a PC with an unusual combination of traits. But finding suitable portraits for female dwarves or half-orc clerics can prove quite a challenge, and that's why this round's theme is uncommon class/race/gender combinations. For example, dwarven swashbucklers, gnomish wizard slayers, female gnomes/half-orcs/dwarves, or something else—it's up to you. Pick any such combo and draw a portrait for that character. If you choose to draw more than one portrait, each one will count as its own, separate submission.
  • 4th one-week pause: from 28th March to 4th April, 12:00 A.M. (CET)
  • Round V: PORTRAITS FOR NON-JOINABLE NPCS. 4th April to 2nd May, 12:00 A.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.

    The world of Baldur's Gate is filled with memorable non-joinable characters that stay with us long after the game is over. However, few of them are lucky enough to have their own portraits. Round V asks you to draw portraits for those without, such as Black Lily, Shandalar, Davaeorn, Marek and Lothander—anyone except the likes of Drizzt and Elminster, who are famous outside the series and already depicted in a lot of art. Portrait guidelines are the same as before. If you choose to draw more than one, each will count as its own, separate submission.
  • 5th one-week pause: from 2nd May to 9th May, 12:00 A.M. (CET)
  • Round VI: AREA ART. 9th May to 6th June, 12:00 A.M. (CET)
    Click here to check the starting time and date in your time zone.
    Click here to check the deadline in your time zone.
    Baldur's Gate and its sequel let you explore a wide variety of locations, from a peaceful halfling village to an island of feuding werewolves. This month's theme invites you to draw area art for any in-game location, similar to the pictures of Nashkel, Baldur's Gate, Balduran's ship, and the Friendly Arm Inn that appear in the Enhanced Edition. Want to bring to life the infamous Durlag's Tower? Or the skeleton-infested Undercity with its ominous temple to Bhaal? Now's your chance to do so and possibly win a set of both Enhanced Edition games!

    Areas from both games are acceptable subjects, but ones from BG:EE are preferred. Although characters may be included, the focus should be on the area itself.
  • 6th one-week pause: from 6th June to 13th June, 12:00 A.M. (CET)

Submissions.

No submissions shall be accepted before the starting time or past the deadline of each round.

During each round, any number of submissions shall be accepted from each contestant, so if you want to take multiple shots at one or more rounds, you are welcome to do so. Each submission will count as its own standalone entry and will stand an equal chance of being awarded a prize.

For round I, we require 100% original artwork and no photomanipulations will be accepted.

Due to the very nature of rounds II and III, photomanipulations will be accepted as entries for Gender-swap Portraits and Ust Natha Portraits. In this regard, please note that the developers have given their consent to alter existing portraits from the game; however, if you're going to use other pictures as a base for your photomanipulations, we require that you obtain the original author's explicit consent in written form before submitting your entry.

With regards to rounds II and III, submissions must retain the style and proportions of the original Baldur's Gate portraits: All three sizes should be accounted for (large = 210x330, medium = 169x266, small = 54x84) and may be uploaded individually or archived and uploaded with a single picture denoting what you have entered.

However, higher-resolution portraits are welcome so long as they are constrained to the same proportions as used by the in-game portraits. Example of random sizes higher than large using the same ratio: 652x1024, 955x1500, 1303x2048, this will make it easier for resizing later.

Although multiple entries for the same joinable NPC will be accepted, we strongly encourage contestants to offer alternate gender-swap and Ust Natha portraits for different NPCs: This way, we may avoid ending up with several entries for popular NPCs and none for the others.

Signing up.

Everyone is welcome to apply for any number of rounds.

Signing up for the contest is not mandatory, and you may partake any round at your leisure.

However, albeit completely optional, announcing your intention to partake one or more rounds (and specifying which ones) would be a much appreciated courtesy.

Prizegiving.

Prizes will be assigned by a jury composed of @Troodon80, @Jalily, @Balquo and @AndreaColombo during each one-week pause in between rounds. The jury's verdict shall be final and non-negotiable.

Up for grabs are eight (8) free copies of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition provided by the members of the jury themselves, as well as eight (8) free copies of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition once the game is released. Winners may choose to receive either a Windows version or a Mac version for each.

If you already possess the game, you may decide to give your free copy to a friend or use it for multiplayer purposes. Selling free copies of the game that were won through this contest would be against the spirit of the contest itself, and is therefore strongly discouraged.

In addition to these generous prizes, we're offering to reward outstanding submissions with a feature in the Candlekeep Library on baldursgate.com! Yes, you read that right: The best contributions will be hosted on the game's official website for everyone to see, with many congratulations from the developers!
Post edited by Jalily on
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Comments

  • trinittrinit Member Posts: 705
    my, my looks like my stylus will get busy (this sounds so wrong)... :D

    and to be clear- awarded artist gets bg:ee AND bg:ee2 or are these randomly selected?
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    I'm sorry - I've just read the whole text but haven't found where exactly I'm supposed to sign up for it =o
  • Troodon80Troodon80 Member, Developer Posts: 4,110
    trinit said:

    awarded artist gets bg:ee AND bg:ee2

    Exactly that. People who win will be guaranteed a free copy of BG2:EE upon its release.
    DJKajuru said:

    I'm sorry - I've just read the whole text but haven't found where exactly I'm supposed to sign up for it =o

    Signing up is not mandatory, but if you want to sign up just state your interest and what round you want to do here in this thread.

    It just makes it easier for us to keep track of who's doing what.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Thanks ! I'll sign up for the three ones =D
  • AndreaColomboAndreaColombo Member Posts: 5,524
    Courtesy of @Balquo and @Troodon80, we now have six (6) free copies of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition up for grabs!
    Moomintroll
  • Syntia13Syntia13 Member Posts: 514
    I'm VERY interested in round II and III. Count me in! :D
    I have a question though - I've already made (and posted here) a whole bunch of gender-swapped NPCs. Am I allowed to enter those pictures in this new challenge, or do you only accept stuff made specifically for it?
    SophiaJairyanna
  • husmusflushusmusflus Member Posts: 7
    This sounds fun! But i dont'r really understand the idea behind round I.
  • AndreaColomboAndreaColombo Member Posts: 5,524
    @husmusflus - Perhaps telling you the genesis of round I will shed some light on the dark of it.

    The night @Cuv came up with the concept for this, @Jalily and I were thinking what might happen if Gorion beat Sarevok during the initial BG cutscene. We figured that for the game to continue, Sarevok's victory must happen ... so we imagined Sarevok reloading his savegame after being defeated. That cutscene is an epic moment in which Sarevok's supposed to win; Sarevok losing the battle and reloading is an awkward epic fail (it shows up in my mind as a manga-style Sarevok sitting in front of his PC with a drop next to his head).
    CuvTroodon80
  • HertzHertz Member Posts: 109
    I will likely do Round 2, time permitting. It's a shame that there's only 1 cursed girdle in the game. Khalid and Jaheira together would be amusing. :)
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 877
    edited January 2013
    Do you guys have criteria for judging? E.g. some might not have the professional-level artistic side but might still give off a unique feeling of creativity. I might not sure how to put that into words. The idea is to give some room for winning for non-professionals too. That way people might be more interested to join in. It's very generous of the jury to provide rewards from their own pockets by the way. :-)
    Post edited by Illustair on
  • JalilyJalily Member Posts: 4,681
    Thanks, @fredamora! Just to clarify, the contest isn't aimed at art professionals, but the fans who visit these forums. Creativity, technical excellence, and how well the piece fits the character will all be considered during the judging.

    @Syntia13 In the interests of fairness, we'd like everyone to start out with a "blank slate," so to speak, and strongly encourage you to enter new works created for the contest.
    AndreaColomboIllustairMoomintroll
  • Syntia13Syntia13 Member Posts: 514
    Jalily said:

    @Syntia13 In the interests of fairness, we'd like everyone to start out with a "blank slate," so to speak, and strongly encourage you to enter new works created for the contest.

    No problem, there's still so many NPCs I hadn't disfigured yet... }:D

    JalilyIllustairAldericJairyanna
  • husmusflushusmusflus Member Posts: 7
    edited January 2013
    Well, if i find the time I'll try to do all rounds :D

    ohh, and LOL @ that cutscene.
    AndreaColombo
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Syntia13AndreaColomboIllustair
  • husmusflushusmusflus Member Posts: 7
    Syntia13 said:

    ..I've already made (and posted here) a whole bunch of gender-swapped NPCs...

    Where can i find those?

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Thanks!
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Oh if only I could draw better than just badly mangled stick figures! I'd be all over this!
    Good luck to all participants!
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 877
    edited January 2013
    The last time I seriously draw was way back in elementary, and I remember it to be nothing good. So expect it'll be a kid stuff drawing..but for the sake of participation, I might give it a shot in the weekends if I'd have enough spare time.
  • IsandirIsandir Member Posts: 458
    edited January 2013
    @Jalily & @AndreaColombo: I will definitely be putting in multiple submissions for Round III, and may try one or two portraits for Round II.
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Now that my home internet has been restored (after a wonderful, wonderful fortnight of deprivation), I should like to register my interest in participation throughout.
    AndreaColomboTroodon80DJKajuru
  • SorinSorin Member Posts: 4
    Sign me up for round 1
  • BalquoBalquo Member, Developer Posts: 2,746
    @Sorin Excellent but there is only 1 day left. Work fast :D
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    It would be nice if you showed the judges' comments about each work!
  • LindsayLindsay Member Posts: 3
    For Round II, if we want to do a portrait of two NPCs together (say, Khalid and Jaheria together), is that counted as one or two submissions? Also is that an admissible submission or are we only talking head shots like they have in the game?
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Lindsay said:

    For Round II, if we want to do a portrait of two NPCs together (say, Khalid and Jaheria together), is that counted as one or two submissions? Also is that an admissible submission or are we only talking head shots like they have in the game?

    I presume, much like Minsc and Boo, you are welcome to fit two characters into a single portrait, however given the size limitations you might find difficulties therein.
  • husmusflushusmusflus Member Posts: 7
    to bad i hadn't found time to make something for round I. I had a half decent idea though.
    Illustair
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