OOT FANART CONTEST - Winner gets a Wii!

[Hylian Reploid]

Nope, it's no joke! I was browsing through some Zelda fanart recently and, after coming across some absolutely stunning work, I thought to myself that it sure would be great to see more pictures like those out there. Therefore, I am holding a very special contest in order to inspire and achieve just that! If you're a great artist who would like a chance to get something nice just for showing off your skillz, here's your big chance!

There will be two winners selected from all eligible entries. The grand prize is a brand new Nintendo Wii! I will personally purchase it from Gamestop.com so that it will be delivered right to your door. The runner-up will receive a brand new copy of Twilight Princess, for either Wii or Gamecube, winner's choice.

Think you've got what it takes to win? Go ahead, knock my socks off! I'm posting this message on every Zelda forum I can find, in the hopes of generating as much participation as possible. You're encouraged to spread the word as well! The more entries there are, the more great pics everyone will get to enjoy! ^^

The contest details and rules are listed below. Please follow them carefully to ensure that your entry will be eligible. If you have any questions, you're welcome to e-mail me at linkfanart(AT)gmail.com (of course, you'll need to replace the (AT) with the @ symbol). This information and contest updates will be posted at the official contest blog: http://linkfanart.blogspot.com/


------------------------------[BEGIN CONTEST RULES]

   * The picture must include Link from Ocarina of Time (OoT). (Dark Link does not count.) He may be portrayed at any age but must be his natural self (no mask transformations). Alternate clothing is okay.

   * Other characters may be included, but they must be from OoT. It's okay if a character is not well known (such as the lady who cooked for the carpenters in Kakariko), just as long as he or she is actually in the game. No original characters.

   * There is no size requirement for the picture, and it does not have to be in color.

   * No official art imitations. By this I mean do not take an official picture and merely draw the same thing yourself.

   * No porn. No yaoi. No yuri. No gender bending. If you have something risque in mind but are unsure if it would be allowed, feel free to send me a description and/or rough sketch of the image, and I'll let you know. I will make the final determination of an entry's eligibility at my sole discretion.

   * Use your best judgement to keep the overall concept in good taste. If you choose to include text in your picture, please refrain from profanity. If in doubt, you're encouraged to ask me.

   * Entries from individuals who live outside of the United States are welcome, subject to the International terms on the Gamestop.com web site (since that's where the prizes will be coming from).

   * You may enter as many pictures as you like.  Each entry must be your own work.  What medium you use is up to you, be it pencil and paper, image editing software, or whatever, as long as it can be digitally captured and e-mailed to me.  Also, since the whole point of the contest is to encourage the creation of more quality fanart, please do not submit pictures made before December of 2006.

   * Send entries to linkfanart(AT)gmail.com (being sure to replace (AT) with @). You may zip multiple pictures into one archive, but do not send as a self-extracting file or anything with an EXE extension. Once I receive an entry I will send you confirmation that it has been entered into the contest. Do not assume it has been entered until you receive this confirmation. If for some reason I determine an entry to be ineligible, I will notify you and state the reason(s) why.

   * Include with your artwork its title and your name as you want it displayed should your entry make the top 10.

   * Feel free to also post your entry here or anywhere else you wish; it's all about sharing amazing fanart, after all! Just make sure it gets e-mailed to me (see previous rule) if you want it to be eligible for the prizes!

   * Entries may be submitted anytime from now through March 7, 2007. Plenty of time to cook up something snazzy! Unless I get totally buried in entries or something really weird happens, I should have the winners selected by the following week. (In the event that both winning entries are from the same artist--well...I guess that person gets both prizes!) The top 10 entries will be posted on the official contest blog, and the grand prize and runner-up winners will be notified via e-mail. The prizes will be ordered as soon as possible after I receive the necessary details from the winners. (Don't worry, I won't use your e-mail addresses for spam or anything like that; I have better things to do than send people trash. Whatever info you provide to me will be used for the contest and nothing but the contest, and afterward I will delete it from my computer.)

------------------------------[END CONTEST RULES]

By the way, just to clarify, I am in no way whatsoever affiliated with any of the brands or companies I've mentioned. The contest is being held and funded solely by me--just a simple gamer like yourselves who appreciates great art!

That said, since I am incidentally the sole judge of this contest, it will be in your best interest to appeal to my personal tastes. To give you an idea of what kind of style I like, I've posted a couple of my favorite pictures:





I have no idea who made these; if you're responsible for one of these and you're reading this, allow me this opportunity to say your work is phenomenal!!

Whew, okay, I think I've covered just about everything. All that's left is for you to submit your droolworthy pics, and there just may be a free Wii in your future! Again, if you have any questions, I can be reached at linkfanart(AT)gmail.com. Updates to the contest will be posted to the blog, so you're encouraged to check it out from time to time. Without further ado, the contest begins right now! I look forward to receiving your entries! ^^

[Mysterious F.]

Wow, the second one looks like it is from one of those packets that come with every Zelda Game (they give you a little info on them), with the exception that Navi is missing.

[Hylian Reploid]

It's excellent, isn't it?  I just discovered earlier today that the person who made that pic has an account with Deviant Art!  Her user name is paintpixel.

[Mysterious F.]

Well, they're both good. I can't draw good at all, so count me out of this.

[Zelda Veteran]

If i use the "Paint" Program, will i be discualified?

[Hylian Reploid]

If i use the "Paint" Program, will i be discualified?

Nope, whatever you want to use is fine with me!  A gifted artist can create breathtaking art with the simplest of tools.  I don't recommend limiting yourself to that if you don't have to, however.

[LadyNintendo]

 * The picture must include Link from Ocarina of Time (OoT). (Dark Link does not count.) He may be portrayed at any age but must be his natural self (no mask transformations). Alternate clothing is okay.

   * Other characters may be included, but they must be from OoT. It's okay if a character is not well known (such as the lady who cooked for the carpenters in Kakariko), just as long as he or she is actually in the game. No original characters.

Just one question, WHY? I can slightly understand the first one and I already have an idea what my drawing will be like if I decide to participate, but this is just pure discrimination of games. Or do you have a good reason? I'd love to hear it  . But why for instance would it not be allowed to submit a drawing about......uhm...Link fighting Vaati, Ganondorf and Majora's Mask at once, a meeting between Zelda and Marin etc. Also, what if the character was not in OOT but was intended to be and is visible in various screenshots of Zelda64?

[Mysterious F.]

Yeah, it would be better if we had more options. I'd like to see someone draw one of the original Octorok designs for OOT (go to Wikipedia's article on Octoroks to see picture).

[Hylian Reploid]

Just one question, WHY? I can slightly understand the first one and I already have an idea what my drawing will be like if I decide to participate, but this is just pure discrimination of games. Or do you have a good reason? I'd love to hear it  . But why for instance would it not be allowed to submit a drawing about......uhm...Link fighting Vaati, Ganondorf and Majora's Mask at once, a meeting between Zelda and Marin etc. Also, what if the character was not in OOT but was intended to be and is visible in various screenshots of Zelda64?

In deciding to make this contest exclusively OoT, my aim was to encourage artists to create scenes that could be "pulled" straight from the game, so to speak.  To clarify, this does NOT mean that you must create a picture that depicts something that actually occurs in the game.  It's more my way of spurring concepts that perhaps could occur within Link's world as he knows it.  It's an intentional shift of focus from diversity to elaboration.

To answer your question regarding planned OoT characters that never actualy made it into the game, I'd hadn't heard about that.  If you could provide some information as to where I can get more info on this, I would appreciate it.  This will help me to make an informed decision.  

[Hi no Seijin]

No gender bending.

Awww, no gender bending?  But that can be some of the funniest stuff out there.  Eh, it's not like I'm going to enter.  I'm decent, but not good enough to win a contest.

[Hylian Reploid]

No gender bending.

Awww, no gender bending?  But that can be some of the funniest stuff out there.

Hehe, true, but for this particular occasion I'm trying to encourage more realistic pictures (realistic not as in like real life but rather like the game).  It's great to be able to look at a pic and have the emotions you felt when you explored that temple or first stepped onto the ranch come rushing back to you!

[MagmarFire]

Will manipulating screenshots count? I ask this because for the past few days, I have been replacing the OoT HUD (heads-up display) with the HUD of the Kingdom Hearts series.

[Hylian Reploid]

Hmmm...I think I'd better draw the line and say no on that one, since using the screenshots would mean that the picture would not entirely be your own work.

I am interested in seeing this, though, if you'd like to post them here at the forums!

[Zelda Veteran]

I'm terribly sorry about this This is the best i could do with Paint. here is the link: http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k287/ZeldaVeteran/Link.jpg Again, If I could only learn how to use my scanner, I'd post a drawing or two, but it's all i got.

[Hylian Reploid]

I'm terribly sorry about this This is the best i could do with Paint. here is the link: http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k287/ZeldaVeteran/Link.jpg Again, If I could only learn how to use my scanner, I'd post a drawing or two, but it's all i got.

Hm, have you considered using a good oekaki interface to create a picture?  You could just take a screenshot of the finished pic, crop it as needed, and then e-mail that to me.  Here's an oekaki my friend uses a lot, and it's pretty nice:

http://www.pokemasters.net/oekaki/