»TheSchools« 08/13 ANNOUNCEMENT ON PG. 198!

[Kayley FC]

contest is overrr. read announcement for details.

Kayley FC

ANNOUNCEMENT

Since it doesn't seem like we will have enough entries, I will just send out reimbursements to all of the artists who have submitted. If you are not happy with the amount I give you, feel free to talk with me about it (it's hard for me to price art sometimes). If you have been working on a piece of art, feel free to send it to me and I will compensate you for your time. Feel free to finish it before sending it to me; you can send it at any time, although I can't guarantee I will still be checking in six months. razz

Anyway, I guess since I've been busy I haven't been able to promote this well, so I'm sorry for the lack of entries! I hope you are all happy with the gold you receive, and good luck to all of you in the future!

I'm also giving gold to the bumpers who I've seen the most. If you bumped and do not receive gold and feel you should be recognized, feel free to PM me; I may have just missed your name.






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If you like the idea of the book, feel free to sign up for the mailing list at http://www.theschoolsonline.info/notifications.html! You will receive updates about the book's progress toward publication and have a chance to win a free copy of the book!

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Anyway, to the intro:

I have been writing for a couple of years the first book in my first major trilogy. The working title right now is The Schools: Vicis Resumo Vita (vicis resumo vita means "time to recover life"). This collection of novels means a lot to me and I know that it has the potential to be the next big series. I am very joyous to have completed the first book in the series, and I want to share my joy with all of you on Gaia (of which many already know of the book)!

This art contest is to commemorate the finished production of the first novel. It is also a sort of "letting go" event for myself on Gaia. In this contest, I am giving away EVERYTHING I own worth above 10k, excluding my Laurels which I need to save for something else. I feel a bit like this a graduation...as in high school, the past four years have shaped me greatly as a person; I have learned a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot, and made many new friends. I will not be leaving Gaia completely, but by giving away most of my items I am giving away a part of my Gaian self. It is a bit nostalgic, but at the same time it is always nice to be able to look back and remember all of the amazing people I've met on here.

Anyway, tl;dr, right? Yeah, so here's a basic summary: I've finished the first novel of mine that will be published professionally, and in celebration I am holding this contest!

You will be drawing art for a novel that will soon be published!

My status on the book: I've finished it and had some proofreaders go through it, and have thoroughly edited it six times to this point. It's ready to be presented. Next week, I will be sending out query letters to agents asking them to review my book and consider taking my book as a new project. The agent works directly with the publishing houses to get the book published.

To find out more about the series, you can visit its current website by clicking the image below:



If you visit the website and find interest in the novel, feel free to sign up for the mailing list! Mailing list subscribers will receive all of the newest updates about the schools and will be given the opportunity to win free copies of the book once it is published!

Much of the information on the site is also presented on this page, and extra information is also offered to make the optimum drawings. Feel free to look around this thread. :]

I hope to see art from you!

Also, check out the bumping contest. You can win up to 50k just for bumping!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 - Introduction + White List + Bumping Contest
2 - Information + Rules + Tips
3 - PRIZES!!
4 - Story
5 - Characters
6 - Setting + Scenes + Relationships
7 - Entry Form + Entry List
8 - Banners

Cali Soca
Sendoku
Catastrophii
T w i s t e d Pandah

The person who has the highest amount of bumps by the end of the contest wins 50k!
Second highest amount of bumps wins 25k!

You must have at least 100 bumps to claim either prize. Bumpers that I hire do not qualify for the bumping prize.

Bumping will last until August 17; after August 17, no more bumps will be counted. Between August 17 and August 31, PM me with the total amount of bumps you completed and the number of the last page you bumped on. The two highest amounts will win the prizes.

[Kayley FC]

+ Contest start: April 16

+ Initial contest end (excepting WIP): August 17

+ Finished WIP due: August 31

+ Award ceremony: within a week of WIP date (maybe even that night)

+ Do not submit art that you did not create.

+ Do not quote any posts on the first page of the thread.

+ Do not submit slutty pictures, i.e. pantyshots, huge boobs, etc. It's just not what the book is about at all.

+ Collaboration art IS allowed! If the artwork wins, the collaborators will just need to decide how to split the prize.

+ PM the entry form to my mule, Diana Richards.

+ Feel free to PM me (on this account or on Diana's) if you have questions about anything in the contest. Since Gaia f$*#ed up the status bar, the PM link is currently located in my About section. I will also check the thread constantly, so posts will be given attention as well.

+ You can enter as much as you'd like to. Each artist can only win one official category (I want to spread the wealth around). However, if an artist submits multiple quality entries they are eligible for an Honorable Mention prize in addition to whatever official category they win.

+ The contest must receive at least 40 entries for the prizes to be given out. However, if this total is not reached by the end date, all artists who have entered the contest will still be fairly compensated for their work.

This isn't really a F.A.Q.; it's more of a tips section.


+ Entries will be judged both in the quality of the art and in the relevance of the art to the novel.

+ Don't forget the lines on the uniforms.

+ Don't include any unnecessary objects without consulting me first. For example, books are a bad idea because the only person with access to books is Hannah. Rebecca holding a book would be weird; she hasn't even seen a book since she got to the school.

+ I do prefer non-anime entries, but in general categories all types of art will be judged with the same weight (so anime is a-okay!). The only categories where non-anime art has precedence are in the actual "Non-Anime" categories (of which there are only two, and there is even an anime category by itself).

+ At the moment, there is no connection between this contest and the official art for the book. However, if there are some amazing entries for this contest, I will be sure to recommend them to the publishers. If this is the case and your art is chosen, you could be compensated generously in real money and have a chance at fame!

[Kayley FC]

OVERALL PRIZES

1st Place Overall
= 2,819,000g
Steel-Plated Ninja Band

2nd Place Overall
+ + = 335,000g
May 2004 letter + Nov 2004 Letter + GO Phones

3rd Place Overall
+ + = 264k,000g
Enchanted Book 2nd Gen. + Oculus Mythica + Elemental Wings

Best Background/Scene (most relevant to the book)
+ + + 11,000 = 75,000g
Angelic Microphone + Angelic Earmuffs + Demonic Earmuffs + 11k pure



CHARACTER PRIZES

Best Diana
+ 15,000 = 54,000g
GGR (Gold Gold Revolution) Wheel + 15k pure

Best Josh
+ 15,000 = 54,000g
Flame Sword + 15k pure

Best Hannah
+ 11,000 = 50,000g
Flame Sword + 11k pure

Best Rebecca
+ 17,000 = 50,000g
Summoning Tome + 17k pure

Best Alexander
+ + 11,000 = 50,000g
Reindeer Slippers + Tiny Pixie Wings + 11k pure

Best Diana + Josh Couple
50,000 = 50,000g
50k pure

Best Group (including non-romantic couples)
50,000 = 50,000g
50k pure


STYLE PRIZES

Best Non-Anime Art - 1st (includes 3D art)
100,000 = 100,000g
50k pure

Best Non-Anime Art - 2nd (includes 3D art)
50,000 = 50,000g
50k pure

Best Chibi/Anime Art
50,000 = 50,000g
50k pure

THERE WILL ALSO BE MANY SPECIAL MENTIONS/EXTRA CATEGORIES WORTH 10K-75K (maybe even more if the art is really good)! I will be spending all of my extra gold on special mentions, which should amount to 200k-400k+ more In prizes! I just didn't include them in regular prizes because I don't know the specific amount of gold that I will have yet.

Extra categories may include:
Best Sketch
Best Action
Best Drama
Most Unique
Best Expression
Best Art Based on a Particular Scene (scenes are listed a couple posts down)

[Kayley FC]

http://www.theschoolsonline.info/hstory1.png

The light school is an oasis. There is no worry of disease, famine, or other worldly problems. Students spend their days blissfully doing whatever they want. The only required task are the classes.

The students who attend the Schools are different from other teenagers in one respect. They are not alive.

The Schools is a place where humans go if they die before their time. When they arrive at the Schools, they have no memory of their life. Over the course of their residence at the Schools, students retain pieces of their memory bit by bit. When they fully remember their death, they are born into a new life.

Diana is a new student to the Schools. Alarmed by her empty conscious, she starts to question the ways of the School. She takes up the mission to discover the purpose of lessons and the separation between the dark and light schools; a purpose which she soon discovers could escalate into a global war involving all nations.

"Your mind is a series of doors. Each door leads to a part of your memory. The teachers at the school have the ability to open and close each door, and they are able to look into most of your mind. They can see the part of your mind that has your life memories; they closed that door to you before you came, which is why you can't remember." - Rebecca

[Kayley FC]

PICTURE ALBUMS OF CHARACTERS' ART REFERENCES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THEIR EXTENDED BIOGRAPHY





http://www.theschoolsonline.info/thumbnailcharacters/thumbdiana1.PNGDiana
Diana wakes up in a ruined chapel without any recollection of anything prior to regaining consciousness. She soon finds out that she has died, and is in a place called the Schools where she must attend and pass lessons to remember her past and gain a new life.

It is difficult for Diana to conform to the Schools. She doesn't like to be ignorant about her surroundings, and at the Schools she doesn't know anything at all. The classes seem pointless to her, and she is propelled by herself constantly to search for and to decipher the secrets of the Schools.

Much to Diana's fortunate - or misfortune, as many people would consider it - her memories have become excelled and she remembers her life at a much faster rate than most students.

As she spends time at the Schools, Diana endeavors to learn more about herself, the Schools, and her relationship with a boy she meets named Josh.

click here for more information about Diana

Josh

When Diana first takes residence in the light school, she has an irresistible urge to visit the dark school. After choosing to travel there, she runs into Josh. She feels a connection with him, and is sure that she knew him while she was alive. She just doesn't know how.

Josh is lonely at the dark school when Diana is not there, because he is surrounded by many people who disgust him with their selfishness and rudeness. Sometimes he'll just wait by the staircase for hours for her because he has nowhere else to go.

click here for more information about Josh










Rebecca

Each student at each school is assigned a mentor to help them transition into the new setting. Rebecca is Diana's mentor. Rebecca at first seemed unfriendly to Diana, but later both of them become friends. Rebecca is actually a very friendly and cheerful person who loves the Schools.

However, she has a definite aversion to the dark school. She went there once on official duty and met someone who had hurt her in her life. The dark school, to her, is a horrible place and she absolutely despises the students that go there.

click here for more information about Rebecca










Alexander

The schools each have a designated Head of the school. Diana is completely terrified of the Head of the light school, who is an elusive, dangerous figure. Comparatively, she does not mind Alexander, the dark school Head. He catches her sneaking around on his campus but permits her to come because it helps her regain memories. He can supposedly see people's past and future lives.

He is a very reserved and calculating person. He is strict with people who misbehave, and only allows laxity for Diana because he has seen something important in her life.

click here for more information about Alex










Hannah

As Diana explores the light school alone after her tour with Rebecca, she stumbles upon the library, which is forbidden to students. Hannah is a lonely bibliophile who Diana meets when she visits the library. Diana befriends the shy girl in an attempt to help her open up.

She is the only person who can be drawn with a book, since she has them all the time. Usually she hides them under her jacket, although sometimes she will sit under the gigantic tree and read in the shade.

click here for more information about Hannah

[Kayley FC]

Check out this thread. I wrote that for an art order months back, but it is still relevant.

Here are some good backgrounds that I've received (don't copy them exactly though - be creative!):
http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee357/theschools/Diana/BlackSandPiper2.png
http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee357/theschools/Diana/Alcyonne.jpg

NEW!!
I've made a birds-eye view map of the campus as a request of one of the artists. It kind of fails with proportions and everything, but it should give you an idea of the general location for each area.

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee357/theschools/contest/birdseyeview.png



I can't copy + paste actual scenes from the book, since that would give away too much of the book, but I will give some descriptions of scenes you could choose to draw.

Sorry that these are a bit tl;dr. I don't usually write paragraphs this big, since I know they are harder to read. I just formatted it like this so there is a better distinction between different scenes.

The scenes are in no particular order. I just numbered them in the order that I added the description.

1. At one point, after sneaking over to the dark school, Diana is summoned by the Head of the light school. The light school Head is someone that she fears greatly because of horrible things she has heard about him. Afraid that she was discovered for sneaking around the dark school (which is against the rules), Diana enters with fear the dark room to which he summoned her. The room is like a dungeon, with large prison-like bars on the opposing side of the room; the area behind the bars is almost completely dark, so she cannot tell what is there. There is nothing for her but a lone, wooden chair in the middle of the room, where she sits. She sits and talks with a large, booming voice, the voice of the light school Head. There seems to be some kind of shifting behind the bars of an inhuman shape, a frighteningly large shape, but Diana can't tell what it is. For the first time at the Schools, she feels cold, and her mouth is parched from the taste of apprehension.

2. There are a bunch of scenes with Hannah and Diana in the library. You can draw books with them if they are in the library, although Diana never really reads anything besides individual papers about the Schools. An important scene in the library is when Hannah and Diana first meet. While they talk, the sound of one of the doors opening resonates. Hannah and Diana dive under one of the wooden tables and hide under there, peering out to see legs fitted in pants and shoes walking by.

3. Diana and Rebecca, along with Rebecca''s friends, often play volleyball or soccer. They only have the balls; there are no nets. For soccer, there is an area on the large, grassy field where the trees are spaced perfectly for soccer, even with trees spaced evenly for goals (something which Diana notes). For volleyball, they just bump and spike and stuff to one another; there is no net for either sport.

4. Diana's first encounter with Alex is when she has snuck into the dark school to see Josh the second time. Diana and Josh had just come out of a staircase hidden in the wall, the entrance of which is covered by a painting, and Alex spots them. Alex sees Diana's life, and knows that she needs to return to the world. He starts out being angry that Josh brought someone from the light school over, which breaks an agreement between the two schools. He then becomes a bit less angry and permits Diana to stay as long as she is careful.

5. Josh and Diana have a lot of romantic scenes. One of them involves Diana and Josh laying together by a lake, facing one another. Another is when Diana is crying about something (which is revealed in the book), and Josh comforts her (well, this actually happens a couple of times). Also, there is a kissing scene (ah, rejoice! razz ); at one point, Diana is in Josh's room, and she grabs his collar to pull him forward and kiss him, catching him off-guard.

6. The cover. Drawing the cover doesn't put you above any other scene; it is just an idea I had. It also doesn't guarantee that your art will be used on the published book; the publisher, not I, decides the art used, which is why I will just be recommending pieces to them. My idea for the cover is kind of like this (that's a WIP from an artist I commissioned a year ago). It is when Diana first arrives at the schools and awakens in the ruined church. She walked up to the distorted window and stares out at the light school (which is not pictured in the W.I.P.) Anyway, I want you to be creative with this, so that is all I will say.



The only romantic relationship among the characters chosen for this contest is the one with Diana & Josh.

Character pairings not listed have no interaction.

Possible trios: Diana/Hannah/Rebecca; Josh/Diana/Alexander

Diana & Josh

When Diana ventures to the dark school based on a feeling of need to go, she runs into Josh.

Josh is an enigma to Diana. As soon as she sees him, her uneasiness ebbs and for a moment she feels completely comfortable, despite the fact that she was so worried about not having her memories.

Josh feels the same way about Diana, and Diana knows that Josh was someone in her life. However, she doesn't remember how. The question of whom Josh was to her is a constant worry in her mind, one that is only settled when she is within Josh's vincinity.

Attracted to a relief from her worries, Diana tries to be with Josh as much as possible. She spends much of her time sneaking off to the dark school, an action which is against the rules at the Schools. The fear of being caught is on her mind, but to her it is more important to be with the one person who connects to her life.



Diana & Rebecca

Rebecca is Diana's mentor. She teaches Diana about the Schools. They become good friends because both of them are very open-minded and welcoming to one another.

However, at times they get in conflict. Rebecca believes idly that the Schools is perfect, so when Diana tries to learn more about it, she gets annoyed with Diana's distrust. Diana basically gets annoyed at her for getting annoyed.

Most of the time they get along fine and spend time together, along with Rebecca's group of friends.



Diana & Hannah

Diana meets Hannah when she stumbles upon the hidden library in the basement of the school.

Hannah is a lonely person who spends her time among the books in the library. She is very shy and becomes frazzled easily.

Diana tries to help Hannah open up. Eventually she introduces Hannah to Rebecca's group of friends, and starts that connection. Sometimes Diana's actions worry Hannah because of Diana's reckless nature.



Diana & Alexander

Alex catches Diana sneaking around in the dark school. Surprisingly, he permits her to continue coming to the school as long as she is careful and does not get caught.

Alex is a very guarded and reserved person. He becomes slightly more gentle around Diana for some reason, but he is still reserved toward her. His gentleness is more tolerance; he is a very careful person, and Diana is a very reckless person, so in an ordinary situation he would punish any offending person for their insolence. He always pardons Diana though, stating that she is needed back in the living world.



Josh & Alexander

Josh and Alex don't interfere often since the Heads generally aren't involved with the student body (the light school Head hasn't even been seen by any light school students ever). However, Josh is secretly grateful that Alex allowed Diana to continue visiting the dark school. He also holds a respect for Alex' courtesy and composure.

Alex's attitude toward Josh is not too special. He is at first annoyed that Josh brought Diana to the light school, but he becomes indifferent once he decides that Diana should be permitted to come.

Really, there isn't much to this group. The main scene you could draw would be showing Josh's gratefulness that Alex allowed Diana to come to the dark school. Other than that, they don't really interact. Most of their interaction is either through Diana or about Diana.



Hannah & Rebecca

At first, Hannah and Rebecca are unknown to one another. However, Diana later introduces them. Hannah is a bit shy at first, but happy to be meeting new people. Rebecca as a person is very welcoming, so she tries to make Hannah feel comfortable in social settings.

[Kayley FC]

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Character(s) in drawing:[/b]
[b]Media used:[/b]
[b]WIP or finished?:[/b]
[b]Anything else?:[/b]
[b]Entry link:[/b]

Entries will be kept hidden until the awards ceremony to ensure that they do not influence potential entries into the contest.

Current number of entries: 5
Last updated: August 6, 2009

[Kayley FC]

Starts here:

http://tinyurl.com/d7kb8q

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/t.49060311_1/][img]http://tinyurl.com/d7kb8q[/img][/url]


http://tinyurl.com/cxezds

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/t.49060311_1/][img]http://tinyurl.com/cxezds[/img][/url]





I put links in order of width. Post your link in the thread to exchange links! Please have my banner up in your thread; I will never reject an exchange, so you can be assured that your banner will be put up promptly.

http://i43.tinypic.com/34o22hu.jpg





Over a million in prizes!





http://tinyurl.com/cbd4zj





http://tinyurl.com/crhvz4

http://tinyurl.com/d4tph5