deviantART: Kaylink's Journal: Contest 2009!

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_{My fever/cold/cough whatever is getting worse and I feel all BLARGHHRRMMGGLL. So I figured I'd go ahead and post this, since it's getting to be that time of the year again . . .

Kaylink's 4th Annual Contest!

Yes, ever since the dark and dreary days of 2006 I have had a contest every summer, and it is one of my favorite things to do on DA. I love seeing what people create, and more often than not I get ideas that I use permanently for my graphic novel (which will hopefully be started this summer, whoo).

I decided to go back to a simple but still important theme - design-a-character. But keep in mind I have some very specific guidelines for this in order to make sure I'm satisfied with the final products. So, here are buttloads of rules for you:

What Character Am I Creating?
In my personal story, "Catalysts," one of the three main characters is a blind dog named Shemal. He's the leader of a large sort of alliance among many of the animals in his area, mostly made up of dogs and wild canids and felines. (It's not really a pack, more like a nation of sorts. The members are sworn to fight together and have tabs kept on them, but they are free-roaming.) But because the beings under his control are so many, he has two right-hand men - well, dogs in this case - to serve under him in a very well-respected beta position. Meaning, there are two characters I need designed.

The first is Dmitri, Shemal's closest advisor. Dmitri acts as Shemal's seeing-eye-dog of sorts, accompanying him at all times and letting him know what exactly is happening. Aside from whispering what is happening, he's a very quiet, mellow dog, to the point of being monotone, always with an overcast, very serious expression. He acts more like a shadow, being very quiet and patient. He is never seen more than a few feet from Shemal. His element is static electricity.
I would very much like Dmitri to be designed as a Tibetan Mastiff, with colors and anatomy consistent with that breed.

The second dog is Caiyt, who is basically Shemal's general, or combat commander. Female, she is very tough and scrappy, with a flaring temper that has to be checked quite often. She's devious, with an unusual thinking pattern that has enabled her to rise to top ranks. Despite her instigating personality, she has a crippling need to be surrounded by others of her own kind. Her element is wind.
Caiyt's concept is rougher in my mind than Dmitri's, and as such I haven't picked out a breed or color scheme for her yet. I was, however, strongly leaning towards making her a merle, either blue or red. (Note that I do not intend for her to be a sheepdog, just those colors!)

What Do The Entries Need?
Both of the designs should be consistent with the presets I've laid out for them, though you don't have to follow my suggestions word for word. But I want the characters to be recognizable, at the point to where I can see a flash of the design and think, "Oh, that's so-and-so." Their colors and anatomy should be consistent with what breed they are made as. You are encouraged, though not required, to create a history for the designs you submit. As well, I strongly suggest you look at some of the other character sheets in my gallery, to get a better understanding of what sort of world my characters live in. When I look at the entries, I want to really get a sense of the character. In short, I just need them to be pure.
Preferably, the entries will follow a sort of reference-sheet style format, but if you want to add a background then by all means do so.
Although I'd prefer the entries were submitted with some sort of history synopsis for the character thought up, I don't mind if there isn't one.

What Do They Not Need?
Okay, this list is longer. First and foremost, these designs need to be strictly natural colors. No purple dogs, no rainbow eyes. The colors should be earthy and look like they could occur on a real dog. Try and keep them simple, too, as I'm not going to be repeatedly drawing a design with 20 colors in it. Please don't go overboard with scars either - they are fine if done tastefully, but a dog with its body completely ravaged simply would be too old or frail for either Dmitri or Caiyt. As for accessories, I'll allow a simple collar, like a chain, as long as it has meaning to the character's design. Other than that, no legwarmers, glowsticks, bandages, iPods, etc.
When submitting an entry, I highly encourage you to not use a template, even though I'm judging these on design, not artistic ability. If you are choosing a breed for Caiyt, keep in mind some things: First off, she is a top-rank among fighting dogs, so a breed like a sighthound would not work. She is lean, not wispy, and larger than the normal dog. As well, this story takes place in western Canada, British Columbia, so she should have thick fur to withstand cold.
Remember that these are dogs, NOT wolves. I am going to ardently discouraging people from making Caiyt half-wolf.
The designs should be original, not based off another character in any way.

How Are You Judging These?
There will be a first place and a second place for both characters, the first place being the design I use (I may edit it slightly, but it will remain largely the same). These will NOT be judged on artistic ability - you can have a fantastically rendered, shaded, and effect-filled image, but if the design is boring you're not going to win squat-diddly. I am picking winners based on the amount of thought put into the character and how well I feel the design matches the character.
The medium your entry is done in does not matter. Digital, paints, pencils, whatever, though since this is a design contest I do request they be in color.
Each person is allowed ONE entry in total. You are free to change it if you want, but you can't submit designs for both, or multiple designs for one.
Having an entry that violates one of the things I don't want (listed above) is basically guaranteed not to place.

What Happens If I Win?
The deadline for this contest is August 1st, 2009. I know us artists can procrastinate, so this way you have all summer to come up with or refine an entry, if you choose to enter. Please note me or leave a comment on this journal with your entry.

As stated, there will be a first and second prize for both Dmitri and Caiyt:
First Prize - Maximum of two characters, shaded, with a background, and their submission will be used as the final design. Example
Second Prize - One character, shaded, with simple texture or no background, and their submission will be used as another, probably filler character. Example

If you place first or second, the designs become mine. If you don't, you can keep them as long as the name/personality/history of your character is changed so they are no longer similar to the real Dmitri and Caiyt.

Thanks in advance, hope this year's contest is as successful as it's predecessors!

Dmitri Entrees:

Caiyt Entries:}

_{Art Status}

_{Trades and Collabs: Closed so please don't ask me!

Commisions: Temporarily Closed
*JessKitt-08 - sketching [2/2]
~Kahvar - not started

_{Character References}

_{Kaylink: [link]

Roba: [link]

Jirrin: [link]

Hroge: [link]

Trig: [link]

Tolkna: [link]

Atticus: [link]

Kavu: [link]

Vlach: [link]

Kirn: [link]}

_{Art Usage}

_{I do NOT take requests - no free avatars, pictures, or comic backgrounds!
No, you may not use my art for your RPGs, chat sites, videos, etc. None of my images are to be posted outside my DevArt, and if you see such they were very likely not given permission so please contact me about it.

NIE, NO ART FOR YOUR BLOGS. STOP ASKING.}}

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