Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is my first ever Art Contest though I have been planning it for over a year now (I just never got all of my info nor really decided what I wanted to see). These are all of my characters please don't steal them. The Doushikai Project was created by Ogre and the two in this contest are my characters from that world. I also want to thank Britain for allowing me to use her rules/set up and for helping me get this contest finally off the ground.

I heart Cuttlefish, Vultures, Britain, and Oggie!

1. No graphic sex (though nudity is acceptable ) PLEASE link any pictures that might be questionable for mixed audiences instead of just posting the picture, or PM it to me ^_^

2. ORIGINAL ARTWORK ONLY! Entries for the Strego category must be new entries!

3. No harassing anyone else in the thread. Every piece that I get will be loved and treasured, no matter what you think of it!

4. No entry will win more than one award in a section. If you enter multiple entries there is a chance you will win in another section with a different entry. ALL MEDIA TYPES ARE ACCEPTED!

5. Once an entry is submitted it becomes my property as if it were an art commission- I won't call it my work or erase your signature. Credit to the artist that drew it will be given should the piece be posted, but by entering you give me permission to post it and display it as I wish. The art may be used as samples later on by the artist and shown in personal galleries, but credit of the character must be granted to me. This protects all of us.

6. Entries may be submitted via posting/linking them here, sending them to me by PM, or email to orasteele@yahoo.com

This is what I need from people:
-The image or a link to the image
-What the image is titled
-What category you are submitting it into

7. I WILL DECIDE THE WINNERS. I know you may think that someone else deserved it, or that I was being unfair, or some of the other comments I've heard from cotests- but these are my characters, and I love them very much, and I will decide which entries I think best fit them.

8. I reserve the right to extend the closing date as I feel is needed.

<center>Orasteele (and Nightcatcher info)</center>

An elven master thief. Black hair with a faint blue tint and cold blue eyes is a base description of Steele. A foxtail is sometimes seen depending on the outfit she is wearing. Clothing is mostly black and tight fitted, though has been known to wear whatever is necessary for a good heist. Elaborate ladies dresses to peasant's scraps, even dancers garb she has worn. When she is at home she is seen in a pair of comfortable pants and a small tight fitted shirt. The mini nightmare wings are included in her wardrobe. Her lifemate is Britain, a cop whom she adores. On Gaia Steele has several children including a Legend, Zephirae Angel, a Natural Orouh, and a number of others, as well as a soon to be biological one! Orasteele is part water elemental in the sense that she can control it. If you think Orasteele you should think water. She often can be seen creating small balls of water and playing with her children with them. Before she met Britain she traveled alone with her black Ice Cat, Nightcatcher. His intelligence is that of human level (when he wants to use it). Nightcatcher is black with clear blue eyes and about the size of a medium to large dog. He's mischievious to the end. He loves to disappear right when he is needed the most, and is ever loyal to Orasteele. He was raise from a cub by her and will defend her if needed. Nightcatcher enjoys taking the less valuable goods on heists for his own collection of things. He has a tendancy to become jealous easily.

Orasteele Examples
By Joanime
By Lady Vachella
By Ogre
By BlueMonika
By Daiton

<center>Miroir Ballotin</center>

The Milk Chocolate Doushikai. Part of the Ballotin Mafia, he is the head of the Hotel's security and in charge of the streets. He is cocky and volatile when it comes to his personality. Temper is quick to flare, but he is honorable in a fight. He has rich chocolate hair and pale-ish chocolate skin. He keeps his hair just a bit above shoulder length and spikey. Mir generally removes parts of his suit (like ties and sometimes the jacket). The outfit he is most often seen in is a purple silk shirt with a black pinstripe suit coat and pants. The two blades that he refers to as his ladies (Falline and Castille) are a pair of thin blades that strap to his forearms and slide out like bayonets to lock into place for fighting. Thus they stay hidden in under his suit till needed. His ladies are treated as real people. You hurt one and he hurts you badly. Miroir's ability is called Mercury Glass- he can create a mirror image of himself so to speak, however should his other self get hurt, when he recombines, he feels every wound/ache at half the severity and only at that moment does he receive the memories from his other self. His mirror self looks exactly like him there is no difference between them. Mir uses this ability almost constantly. Occasionally Mir will create an image of his child-self known as Mir-Mir; which he uses for errands and minor projects. Mir-Mir appears to be a child at about the age of 13. All of them are him and he is them.

Mir Examples
Mir Chibi by Nekoluch

<center>Spicata</center>

The Spearmint Doushikai he's a pretty boy that is often mistaken for a human female (think flat chested girl and you've got a basis). He has long pale green hair, brilliant green eyes, and almost white skin. He does wear makeup cause he thinks it looks pretty. Often wears women's kimonos, skirts or dresses, occasionally wears loose shirts and comfy pants. The color he wears varies, but is most often seen wearing either: creams, greens, golds, or pinks. Spicata wears his hair done up in intricate up-dos when it stays up (or ties it back in a ponytail when it doesn't), otherwise it is partially falling down. Picks are most often used to hold his hair up, though combs and chopsticks have been seen as well. The ornaments are always heavily decorated when he wears his hair up. He was both a courtesan and assassin- his choice weapon was one of his hair ornaments. His personality is a gentle one and he has a kind smile; even with his profession.

<center>Fredrick "Strego" Williamson</center>

He's not tall, about 5'9". Long, platinum blonde, almost white hair and dark green eyes. He is elegant and smooth, and always wears some form of coat with tails and usually a top hat and cane. He owns a variety of extravegant long coats, it is even rumored that he even owns a purple pimp outfit xd . Under the coat he most often wears leather high necked shirt that zipped up the front and black jeans. The image he has created for himself is cool and aloof, an artistic genius with power and little care for the people around him. He has complete confidence of his situation and a wicked smile. His true self, however, loves the flowing lines of black and white, raises tropical fish, and is romantic enough to enjoy open, flowing silks while standing on his balcony at night, watching the moon. He loves to play, tease, and seduce.

*Strego is a character that I created for Brit's Place the Gun. All of this info can be found in his case file (check Meet the Suspects). If you Read the Files you will find he first shows up in Sugar Pills and Ringmaster- and you can get a real feel for him there. A small side story can also be found there called Mad Poetry and it is Strego's story.

<center>Interpretation</center>

For this category what I want is the artist to draw the character that they see after they read this. It is an interpretation of a small bit of writing that took me three hours to do. I love the character, but I need some inspiration (I'm not a writer therefore this contest almost never got off the ground). I only have the basis of what the character looks like. It is male, all details other than the blue-gray eyes are up to the artist.

Blue-gray eyes stared out over a cold winter sky of perpetual night. The wind answered back in a flurry of snow, stirring up the scene below. In this land of make believe each to its own. That's what you always told me. I never really believed that till the day you left and only these streets answered my cries. No one looked up as the snow continued to fall. He moved like a cat on a beam; confidant of its situation, ignoring all who stood in his way. The pray he stalked tonight was just like all the others. A mindless idiot who was so wrapped up in the machine of society that he couldn't see past his own idealisms. It would be a quick kill like so many others done in the past.

Ice-slick rooftops became a playground of mazes as he slipped into the central district. People of importance resided in their cozy homes of metal and glass as the world outside rained snow down. People who refused to open their eyes to the life outside. We left from this place you and I; it was dead you said. That night you told me we had to find life. Real life for ourselves outside the glass neverland our society created for us. I think I miss the place.

<center>Cuttlefish or Vulture</center>

This category is here because I heart cephalopods as well as vultures. They are my favorite animals. The vulture holds a special place for me as it is part of my totem and has always been a sign of good fortune for me. As for the cuttlefish/small squid, I live in Galveston, and if anyone has ever actually held a cuttlefish they are the most adorable things ever! It does not have to be realistic looking, you can have fun with this category! anthros or even more animated looking actual creatures are wonderful as well!

Cuttlefish References
http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/Escolopes.html
http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/Ssepioidea.html
http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/Slineolata.html

Vulture References
http://www.smedesphoto.com/griffon_vulture.htm
http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azgrvult.html
http://www.earthplace.org/images/Animals/Turkey%20vulture.jpg
http://www.lpzoo.com/tour/bluetrail/images/vulture.jpg
http://www.pieto.com/18-Cape%20Vulture.jpg
http://www.northrup.org/Photos/Birds/low/white-vulture-standing2.jpg
http://hadomi-cpa.co.il/vulture.html

4. No entry will win more than one award in a section.

5. Once an entry is submitted it becomes my property as if it were an art commission- I won't call it my work or erase your signature or anything, but by entering you give me permission to post it and display it and generally coo over it like it's a newborn baby ^_~