Take Your Pick Art Contest. Awards Ceremony page 464!

[Moonblossom]

The winners will be announced by awards ceremony on Sunday, November 8 at 8 PM eastern time. After the ceremony, a full list will be posted here for easy reference smile

So, it's official. I am addicted to holding art contests. I love receiving art, and I love giving out prizes! This year's art contest is going to have a bit of a twist though (and a bit of a Twistex, as always) in the way the prizes are going to be doled out.

For awarding the top prizes, I thought I would do something a little different this time. First place will be able to choose from a pool of the prize items, second place will choose next, and so on. This way, whoever wins can choose what item appeals to them most. If it's the most expensive or oldest, so be it. But if there's an item you want more and don't feel like exchanging, you can choose that one! This also means that second, third, and fourth place may end up with rarer/more expensive items than they'd get under a normal prize structure. If you have any questions or want me to clarify this, by all means, post away!

The top prizes are going to be pretty huge this time! Up for grabs are a November 2003 letter, December 2003 letter, March 2004 letter, and October 2004 letter, as well as many evolving items. Please scroll down to the Prizes post for more information.

Because of the combined value of these prizes, this contest will run slightly longer than my usual ones, starting on March 8th and end on September 12th October 24th at midnight, EST. I want to be sure to give artists enough time to work on entries as well as receive enough art to make my investment worthwhile.

FAQ--------------------
Quick and easy questions and answers!

• What do I draw?! Can I draw my avatar? Can I draw a random avatar? Can I draw a monkey?
  The point of this contest is to get art of my avatar. Not yours, not someone else's. Not a monkey, unless he is in the picture with me. However, I don't particularly like monkeys, so that is not a good bet for you. Scroll down on this page for a list of avatars I want drawn.
  
  
• Can I make up an outfit?
  Sure! I love original outfits. So long as the person in the outfit looks like my avatar! There's a base avatar in her undies provided for exactly this reason.
  
  
• Does it have to be in colour?
  Not at all! I love black and white art as well.
  
  
• Does it have to be done on the computer?
  Absolutely not! I love art done with pencils, markers, etc, and there is even a prize specifically for that.
  
  
• Does it have to be anime?
  Again, not at all! My favourite art styles are Art Nouveau, vintage pin-up style, and american comic book style. I also love detailed shoujo manga style and really nifty stylized chibi. Whatever you like to draw, I'd love to see!
  
  
• When does this contest end?
  Currently, the end date is September 12th, however it may be extended by a few weeks if I don't have enough entries.
  
  
• What are the prizes
  Please see the next post, they are all listed.
  
  
• Will you be my friend
  Hang out and chat, get to know me. I'm an ornery b*****d, odds are you don't want to be my friend.
  
  
• Can I have gold/items/etc? Obviously you're rich with all these prizes!
  Pretty much all of my funds are tied up in prizes for this contest. I cannot afford to donate to people.
  
  Got a question that's not here? Please ask.

[Moonblossom]

Main Prizes--------------------
The prize pool for top four entries is:
November 2003 letter (choice of OMG or AFK hat)
December 2003 letter (choice of Angelic or Nitemare scarf)
March 2004 letter (choice of Baby Seal or Penguin slippers)
October 2004 letter (choice of Staff of Angels or Demonic Pitchfork)

Every entry into the contest will be applicable for one of these four prizes, even if they were drawn with one of the subcategories in mind. This includes art of Twistex and myself together. Any medium, any style, whatever you enter into the contest will be considered for one of these prizes. First place will choose first out of the pool, second place will choose next, and so on.

Sexiest-------------------------
This should be clear enough! I love sexy, trashy, borderline raunchy art of my avatar. Outfit, pose, and attitude all matter here more than skill and style, but both will have an impact on the final judging. I love old-school burlesque and vintage pin-up style, so if you want to make up an outfit that would be fabulous.
Prize: Gaia's sexiest item ever, the seductive Alruna's Rose

Best Kimono-------------------
This goes who whoever makes the most accurate and pretty drawing of me in one of my real-life kimono.
Please keep in mind that I am a stickler for proper detail here, if there's anything you're unsure of it's best to ask beforehand. There are a few strict rules in kitsuke (the art of wearing kimono) that really should not be broken, no matter how pretty the art is in this category, if these are broken the entry will not qualify for this section. For references, please scroll down to the Avatars post.
Prize: What could be more Japanese than the spooky Furugasa


Prettiest------------------------
Gentle and flowy Art Nouveau, or soft glittering Shoujo manga style - this is a prize for the art that makes me go "oooooh!". I like hard-edged comic style and gritty dirty art as much as the next girl, but I also like soft and pretty. For this one, the lounge singer and princessy avatars will obviously work nicely, but any are applicable, if you can find a way to make them suit the category.
Prize: How appropriate, a pretty, soft, and glittering Biancamella

Best Moony & Twisty---------------

Art of me and my best friend biggrin For more information on what to draw for this, please scroll down to the Avatars post.
Prize: What better than an October 2006 letter, with your choice of sparkly adorable Pixie or dark and mischevious Shadow Spirit.

Best Real Media--------------------
This goes to the best use of any real-life media. Pencils, pens, markers, watercolour, or even elbow macaroni and glitter! Although I will be the first person to admit I'd prefer pencils or watercolours over foodstuffs.
Prize: May 2007 letter, choice of Demonic Anklets or Yokai's Treasure

Best CG-------------------------
For the artist who best uses computer paint techniques to their advantage. Soft smooth blending or dynamic cell-shading, incorporating brushes and the occasional filter well, that sort of thing. Flood-filling areas outlined in marker and abusing the lensflare may not make me so happy.
Prize: May 2007 letter, choice of Demonic Anklets or Yokai's Treasure

[Moonblossom]

If you're wondering what to draw, you're in the right place! Here are images and references for some of my favourite avatars.

If you feel like making up your own outfit, feel free to use this avatar as a base. Moony should have grey eyes and brown hair that is cut very short and slightly messy. The pearl necklace and hairpin are very important and should be included if possible. With all modern outfits, the portable stereo headphones should be on. If they don't suit the outfit (dressy, fantasy, etc), please make elven ears instead of regular human ears. The only exception to this is with the kimono selection, those can have regular human ears.







If you would rather use an existing avatar, please feel free to select from the following!



Modinatrix-------------------------
This is one of my favourite outfits, and has been since the day the Stealth stuff came out. Everyone seems to love it, hehe.
I like it when people experiment and get creative with this outfit. A few things to keep in mind though are that it should be either leather or vinyl, very slick and hard, but still very sexy. Nothing lacy or frilly, please. Moony's body type is quite curvy, think dark gothic pinup superheroine, not lithe young girl. She fights for what's right, but isn't afraid to bust a few heads doing it. Sort of like Batman.







Artemis-----------------------------
My name IRL is Diane - I was named after the greco-roman goddess of the Moon, and I am half-Greek. In Greek, her name is Artemis. If my grandmother had gotten her way, I probably would have ended up being named Artemis. Suffice to say, I identify very strongly with this deity, and the moon in general (hence my username). When the Chill of Artemis came out, I worked very strongly to get one, to build tihs avatar. She should look kind and gentle, but still very inwardly strong. I would love it if people played up the lunar theme here. Lots of moons and stars as decoration, replace the regular bow with a crescent moon shape, or even make her sitting on a curved crescent, like Sailormoon.








Happy Zombie Housewife---------------------
This was my go-to avatar for the Halloween event, and I've fallen in love with her. She should look sweet and loving and a little bit addled, seeing as how her brain is currently up for dinner. The hearts aren't necessary, so if they don't suit your art style feel free to omit them. Under the apron should be a 50s-style coctail dress with crinoline, NOT the slimy labcoat. Something like this would be fab, but should still be slimy and rotted looking.








Snowfairy---------------------

Here is another avatar I'm very fond of. This is a very fantastical and pretty and sparkly outfit, should look very shoujo/magical/etc. Pretty and sensual is good, but not blatantly sexy. Anything icy and wintery is good here, surrounded by snowflakes, etc. Have fun with the theme! Her eyes should be icy blue, but still friendly and gentle, not cold and harsh. She has elf ears that are mostly covered by hair, but sometimes the tips peek out. If you're drawing her ears, she wears sparkly dangling earrings shaped like snowflakes.









Miscellaneous Avatars---------------------





Moony & Twisty---------------------
As some of you already know, Twistex is my best friend. He completes me in a way that I can't really explain. He is my cosmic sibling and the voice of blunt reason in my world of flighty optimism. The animus to my anima. My anam chara. If I am the moon, then he is the planet around which I orbit. I don't mean this in some cheesy romantic way, as we're not a couple. We're just closer than I understood two people could be before I met him. Any art of the two of us means a lot to me. Feel free to draw us in any Gaia-appropriate situation, whether it be romantic in nature or not. Goofing around and having fun, playing video games, taking a walk outside, reading comics, watching a movie, horsing around, having a toga party, chilling at the beach, drinking ourselves silly, or just snuggling and chatting. Hell, even going beyond that would work. At times there is definitely a strong non-platonic tension between us, but we are friends above all.

In an attempt to try to show the kinds of dynamics I like between the two of us, here are some of my favourite Moony/Twisty arts:

• by Aoyume
  
• by Nopenname
  
• by Sineag
  
• by Only Dust
  
• by Astrosnik
  
• by [.Dotty.]
  
• by Yastach
  
• by Noa
  
• by Paquito
  
• by Jars
  
• by Meriko
  

A few things to keep in mind: Twist is rarely ever seen without a cigarette (he's told me stories of him smoking in the shower!) so please try to include one somewhere, and he also gave me the pearl necklace and hairclip my avatar almost always have on, so those would definitely be important in any piece with the two of us.

If you happen to know us both IRL, I would love it if you based things on our real selves! He's not fond of sharing photos of himself online and I respect that so I can't post references for the rest of you, unfortunately.

If you're stuck for ideas, here are a few sets of avatars that might inspire you.


These avatars are based on our RL selves. You can also draw Twist with sandy blond/pale brown hair, it's his natural colour. He just happened to have it dyed when he made this avatar smile These clothes are not absolutes, any jeans and nice tops or t-shirts would be cool too. I tend to wear shirts with cute animals, slightly dark/creepy designs, or Tinkerbell or Nightmare Before Christmas on them. I work in a toy store, so I can get away with wearing shirts intended for people ten years younger than I am ;P As for Twist, if you want to make him wearing a black shirt with a green nicotine molecule on it, that would be awesome.







Maybe Twisty and Moony have been out robbing banks and raising ruckus in a saloon, or perhaps Twisty's just visting his favourite showgirl. A "Wanted"-style poster would also be nifty!













Twisty's just come home from his long, hard job a a reaper, and Moony's waiting for him with a cocktail, fuzzy slippers, and a delicious jellied brain. What more could a ghoul want?










Oh, Mr. Wolf! What big.... teeth you have! I'd love if this had a really vintage cute comic pinup feel, like an old Betty Boop cartoon. Ideally Twist should look like his avatar with a wolf mask, or something. Not a furry, please! gonk Also, my avatar's hair should be brown - not purple.











Kimono Moony---------------------
IRL, I collect kimono. I would love some art of my avatar in some of my real life kimono. Please note though, I am a stickler for authenticity and attention to detail in this category, unless you know something about kimono and kitsuke already or are able to work from a lot of very fussy references, it may not be the category for you. There is not a lot of room for artistic creativity in this one, but I would love some if they were well done.

Here are photos of me wearing my kimono, as well as some detail shots of the pieces. If you have any questions about this category, please do not hesitate to ask.
Kimono collection on Flickr

Note: Please do not choose the outfit entitled "Otoko-Poi Odori Style", that was an attempt at dance-style cross-dressing and not something I would ever wear out of the house.

[Moonblossom]

• Don't quote the first page. You will be reported for spamming. If you have a question relating to a specific part of the rules/avatars/etc, just ask it. DON'T QUOTE THE FIRST PAGE
  
  
• This contest is for art of my avatar. Not a random drawing you did last month, not something that you forgot to enter in another contest and kind of looks like my avatar. Not blurry photographs of a skull. Not something you found online and thought was pretty. My avatar. All other entries will be disqualified, and reported if they are not your own work.
  
  
• Entries must be your original work. It may seem silly that I need to state this, but you'd be surprised. sweatdrop Please note that this also means no eyeballing/tracing other work. I realize no pose is original, but if I find that your artwork has been clearly copied from something else (or it gets brought to my attention somehow), the entry will be disqualified and the case handed to an impartial moderator of the art forums for review, since blatant copying is not tolerated on Gaia. Please be prepared to show some sort of work-in-progress if it's requested, to ensure the art is original. This is not necessary and I won't demand it of everyone, but if an entry makes me suspicious, I may ask to see a preliminary sketch or half-coloured version.
  
  
• Collaborative works are allowed, but it's up to you to determine ahead of time who wins the prize. I will not mediate arguments about this.
  
  
• Along the same vein, pixel art/dolls will be permitted but you must either create the entire doll from scratch or give full and proper credit to the base maker when submitting your entry, so I can take that into consideration.
  
  
• No begging, soliciting, or advertising. I'm basically broke now, all my funds are tied up in prizes, or in items I have no intention of selling. So asking me for stuff is pointless. It is the height of rudeness to contact me and "generously" offer to draw me for some ridiculous sum while flaunting the fact that you are not entering my contest. It's insulting to the artists who did enter, and comes across as though you find yourself above entering things.
  
  
• No drama. Please. I've got enough of that as it is. No making me feel guilty about not having big prizes, or not selecting you as a winner. No insulting the entrants, not everyone's on the same skill level. If you make an a** of yourself or make anyone feel unwelcome, the posts will be dealt with.
  
  
• No drama. Again. This time not contest related. This thread, and Gaia in general, are refuges for me. My job, despite being awesome, can be incredibly stressful. I have a fair number of health problems. So for god's sake, keep stupid argumentative s**t out of here. I do not want discussions about religion, politics, abortion, etc. I do not want to listen to views I disagree with. I do not want to wade through pages of angst about your personal life. If I wanted that s**t, I would hang out in ED or LD, not the art forums. At the risk of sounding like a spoiled child with a toy, this thread is mine and if you disagree with the way I think or how I act, you're more than welcome to go elsewhere.
  
  
• You can enter as many times as you like, but each entry can only win one single prize. Ideally each artist can only win in one category, but if someone presents me with two absolutely amazing separate entries, there is a slight chance they might both win.
  
  
• Please keep all entries within Gaia's content guidelines. No sexualized or full-frontal nudity in obviously sexual situations will be accepted, blatant violations will be handed to an impartial moderator to be dealt with accordingly. Artistic nudity will be accepted, and sexy is encouraged in some categories, but please keep it decent.
  
  
• Please post all submissions here. If it's been a few days and I have not acknowledged your entry, PM me. But wait a bit first. I'm a busy and distracted person, and I may not have time to sit here and watch the thread like a hawk. If I comment on it, that means I have seen it. There's no reason to ask why it's not in the photobucket gallery several days later. That gallery is simply a courtesy to you guys, all the entries are saved on my computer.
  
  
• Please use this form to submit entries. I won't intentionally ignore entries not using it, but it just makes my life a lot easier to look for a standardized format and will help ensure entries don't get overlooked:
  
  
  *** HI MOONY! I DREW YOU! ***
  Artist name:
  Link to entry:
  Comments:
  
  
  
  [color=blue][b]
  *** HI MOONY! I DREW YOU! ***
  Artist name:
  Link to entry:
  Comments: [/b][/color]
  
  
  
• DON'T QUOTE THE FIRST PAGE
  
  
• DON'T QUOTE THE FIRST PAGE
  
  
• DON'T QUOTE THE FIRST PAGE
  
  
  

[Moonblossom]

This is where I will be storing all the current entries. If you notice your entry is not here a few days after posting, please feel free to prod me.

Photobucket gallery

[Moonblossom]

If you would like to exchange links, please post in the thread, do not PM me. If you just want to link to me, here are some banners you can use, or feel free to make your own.

[url=http://tinyurl.com/moony-contest][img]http://i42.tinypic.com/11lr1ix.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=http://tinyurl.com/moony-contest][img]http://i39.tinypic.com/ffakba.jpg[/img][/url]

[TehDarkling]

Stalker feed, oh how I love you.

Hey Moony!

[Froggy]

Yay! whee

[Moonblossom]

rofl Hey Duck. I love the avatar.

[Sky Render]

ninja

[Moonblossom]

<3

[Kathleen Starr]

ninja

[U.S. Air Force Airman]

Good luck on your contest hun

[Moonblossom]

Thanks! You too!

[Moonblossom]

heart