Special Contest: Fantasy Characters

Update 11/2005: I need to talk to Salli and figure out what to do with this one. It's been a while.

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Premise

Salli and I love fantasy dolls, characters, and stories, so together we are bring you an extra special contest: the Fantasy Character Pageant from Ice Shadow Dolls and Eleni Aranelwa.

Your mission: make three dolls of an original fantasy character, according to our guidelines. By "original," we mean the character should belong to you, and she (or he) shouldn't be from a recognizable existing world. (If you can transplant your Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or other world character so successfully that no one can identify its source, go right ahead. But be aware that we have extensive knowledge of the genre, and our visitors have even more.)

What, you may ask, are the guidelines? Use the same base for all three dolls, but at least two poses and three hair styles among them. Hair and eyes should always be the same color, unless change is part of the character design. Your three dolls need to follow the follow guidelines:

1. The first doll should be "professional" attire. Knights might wear armor, mages robes, healers uniforms, princesses state robes. A lady might dress as if she were at court, or attending to the business of the manor. "Professions" might include peasant, merchant, blacksmith (any kind of craftsperson), mercenary, bard, dancer, scholar, diplomat, priestess, or any numbers of things a person might do in a medieval fantasy setting. The professional doll should be in the middle.
2. The second doll should be formal attire. Keep in mind that formal for a peasant and formal for a mage should be different things. Exception: If your professional doll is already formal (e.g., for a princess or lady), instead depict her in everyday dress. The formal doll should be on the left.
3. The third doll is up to you. It could be everyday, sleep wear, disguise, armor, swim wear, or anything else your character might wear. The category you picked should be on the right.

It is important that you display your dolls in the correct order, to make judging as easy as possible. Whether or not you label them is entirely up to you - if you follow directions, labels won't be necessary.

Finally, we would like a brief description of your character. Tell us about her (or him), and note anything that might not be clear from the dolls themselves. This information won't go on the site, but we love reading about characters!

Because the guidelines for this contest are extremely specific and rather complicated, we recognize that you may have questions. The quickest and most reliable way to get answers is to leave a tag on Salli's index page. Please ask about anything you are unsure of before spending time and effort on your entry, so you won't have to waste all that work.

Rules

All entries must follow the guidelines described above. The following rules also apply.

1. Your entry must be 100% your own work, with the exception of the base. All entries must include base credits. We need a working link to the site.
2. Entries should be no larger than 300x300 pixels and 30 KB. Animation is permissible only within reason and within this file size. We advise against it. There shouldn't be any excess background.
3. All entries should be transparent GIFs. If you can't make a transparent GIF, send a bitmap with a solid color background and ask Salli to convert it for you. If you don't ask, Salli won't do it (and we won't accept your entry, either).
4. You may only enter one time, but you are free to change your entry until voting starts.
5. Keep it family-friendly! No gore or nudity.
6. You may not enter a doll or dolls that have won first place in another contest. (It's okay if one of your three dolls has been entered in a previous contest at Ice Shadow Dolls or Eleni Aranelwa.)
7. Sarah and Salli are the final judges of eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse any entry.

Send Salli your entry as an attachment with "Fantasy Character" in the subject line. Copy this form, and be sure to include all necessary information. The name and profession are in bold, because are absolutely necessary for this contest. Don't assume we've received your entry until Salli replies to your original email.

Your name/nickname:
Doll's name:
Profession:
Your email:
Your site*:
Base credit URL:

Also include a brief description of the character.

We cannot accept entries without base credits.

*If you don't have a site, do we have permission to link to your email address?

Since Salli is collecting entries, see the Ice Shadow Dolls Privacy Policy for this contest.

Examples

Note that it is okay to use "prep" style bases from more than one source, as long as you credit each.

The examples aren't put together in one file - as entries need to be - because they aren't actually entries.

base

base

Awards

We'll be doing the judging, according to our individual systems. (With possible advice from a judging group or panel.) There will be a poll for voters' choice, and we'll ask one or two friends to pick their own favorites.

Awards: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Places; Voters' Choice; Salli's Choice; Sarah's Choice; Best Professional, Formal, Other?; Best Character?
Prizes: Banners and links for all (personalized awards guaranteed up to 15 entries); 1st Place wins a doll request on one of Sarah's bases, 2nd Place wins a custom portrait on one of Sarah's bases, and 3rd Place wins a custom blinkie or sprite on one of Salli's bases - your order will be filled by whomever is able to do it.