Good afternoon everyone!  I hope everyone is doing groovy today  How has your New Year been thus far?

Anyways, what is this journal sporting a lovely CSS by miontre about?  Well, another contest!  This contest will be different than the other contests because it won't just be focusing on a character(s) so much as it is to bring them to life

Now that the random introduction is out of the way, onto the good stuff

Contest Objective

Draw characters from the R.I.N.G.S. universe engaged in action or combat!

My story has a lot of action and combat in it (even if I am not that good at depicting it ) so for this contest you are to draw them doing something action-y or combat related.  

For example, you could have Hiromi jumping out of a Helicopter or maybe Ellie could be shooting up an Apparition (more on these later).  It's up to you.  Not all the characters are combat related (like Eleanor) so having them do something action packed (like defending Himeko from an onslaught of mutant dust bunnies using clean sweep) would be acceptable.  They just can't be static, they have to be doing something, somewhere.

Who are the characters from R.I.N.G.S.?

There are quite a few at this point so, in the spirit of keeping this short(ish) I will link to the page that has all of their BIOs and then list them individually with special pointers and references



Now, let's break it up into references and special pointers

Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Rowe

Ellie uses both Assualt Rifles and Pistols as her primary weapons.  She is rather robust and has numerous scars from her adventures.  She served in the Military and achieved the rank of "Commander"

Dr. Himeko Inoue

Himeko has almost no combat ability.  Nor does her giant serpent Charlie  He is a baby snake and is a giant wimp.

Note on Charlie
Charlie has 2 unlocks.  As he cannot speak to activate it himself someone else (usually Himeko) has to do it for him.  His first Unlock allows him to change size from his full, 30 foot long self to a pocket sized baby thing.  "First Unlock, Pocket Sized!" is the command.

His second Unlock is not named (just like his first is not named) and it causes him to set on fire and launch plasma blasts for a few seconds.  He then burns out and will not be of any use for days  It is very powerful but it saps ALL of his energy and only lasts a few seconds.

Lynne Essor

Lynne does not fight.  Actually, she almost never goes outside  She is lightning when it comes to working on computers, servers and routers.

Hiromi

Hiromi has 3 Unlocks.  Only the first two have been used and named.  Here they are (sorry for the random later manga page of first unlock  I don't draw it often )


In first unlock Hiromi's Eye's slant downward and they take on a red color.  Her nails also extend into a metallic color.  When Hiromi Unlocks she speaks normally and not in the 3rd person.

In second Unlock Hiromi grows horns, a tail and wings and her eyes turn black.  She becomes rather sadistic and incredibly fast in this form.

Gina

Gina is a stalker of Himeko and has, much to everyone's surprise, a lot of combat ability.  She has never shown her second Unlock (good thing for Himeko )

In her first Unlock Gina grows 5 tentacles (4 for use like Doctor Octopus and 1 for balance like Desco) and she can use them for, well, anything

Eleanor

Eleanor is the mini-maid and she cleans up everything  Her only Unlock (she is Rank 1) has never been depicted.

First Unlock, Clean Sweep
During Clean Sweep Eleanor is capable of cleaning and entire sports arena after a game of trash and debris in under 45 seconds.  I need one.  I need an Eleanor.  She does this by phasing in and out of the 2 planes (similar to how Gina "teleports").

Saturn-Tan

Saturn-Tan IS Saturn in humanized form.  She has no Unlocks and is not really used for anything other than creating and fixing.  She is, more or less, all powerful though (so long as she is on her pedestal.  The moment she leaves she turns back into a golden orb and cannot activate with out the pedestal).

Apparitions

These are the main monsters of the story and have never actually been depicted (except on a yellow sticky when I was getting ideas ).  The snail and stink eyes are basic minions who work for or with Apparitions but the Apparitions are like level bosses.  They are hard to explain without ruining the story (soooo I won't ) but I will say that they are often tentacle-y monster-y things.  They also can be spider like or mantis like.  They are the things of nightmares.  Think H.R. Giger or Cthulhu  They are manipulative and cunning and highly violent and can be just about anything.  Though there are a few canonized they can be anything so feel free to design a monster or 2 for your entry  

Need more info?

The R.I.N.G.S. come from the world of Yamaarashi no Kuiruzu that currently has one volume on sale. This has all the canonized information that is available  If you have a kindle and Amazon prime, you can borrow it for free

Yamaarashi no Kuiruzu

Art Collections

Rules

Every contest has rules right?  I've learned in the past that the best set of rules are a short set of rules  Here they are.

You must draw at least one (1) of the characters.  This is a visual art contest.

Presentation is important.  The prize for this contest is real money so, put the effort in.  I will not be accepting WIPs, sketches or pieces that have had no thought put into the presentation (E.G. crooked, dark, uncropped, photos) as entries.  

The characters must be humanoid.  No animal renditions or pony-ized versions please

When you are completed, upload your work to your deviantArt gallery and send me a NOTE with your entry.  If you leave it on my front page, rely on mentions or comment on one of the journals I may miss it.

You can only enter twice (2 times).  

It must be 100% your own work (meaning no collaborations).   This includes the use of adopted bases. Adopted bases are a collaboration and are, quite often, traced.

No traces, copies or reproductions.  Period.  If I even suspect you traced or stole anything you will be disqualified.  I loathe tracing

It has to be a work made for this contest.  This means the picture needs to be submitted to your gallery after this journals post date.  It also means that you cannot enter a picture I commissioned as it was not made for this contest

Prizes!

The prizes are slightly different this time around  Instead of having runners up I have made the prize worth a bit more

First Place! ($65 US Dollars)
I will pay this out through PayPal.  If you do not have PayPal I will give you the equivalent amount of points (5200).

Second Place! ($35 US Dollars)
I will pay this out through PayPal.  If you do not have PayPal I will give you the equivalent amount of points (2800).

Third Place! ($20 US Dollars)
I will pay this out through PayPal.  If you do not have PayPal I will give you the equivalent amount of points (1600).

Of course, these prizes assumes there will be good turn out for the contest.  If there are not a lot of entries I will most likely only have a first and second place winner

Judging

I will pick a winner based on which one I consider my favorite.  Of course I will look a technical abilities, how well you depicted her and how interesting a piece is but in the end, I am just going to pick my favorite

Deadline

The DEADLINE is 17-March-2014 at 11:59 AM EST (Eastern Standard Time)
You can check the timezone here.  I live near Boston so use that as your guide

And, yes, I did check what day 17-March is.  It is a Monday morning.  This gives you a full weekend before the deadline (and a few hours after I get up at 0530) to complete and finish an entry.  It's best not to wait till that day but I know you will  There will be NO EXTENSIONS for this contest.  The deadline is over 9 weeks away

F.A.Q.

Read these carefully

All too often I get asked questions that are clearly answered in the FAQ.  If you are serious about entering this contest then take the time to read this entire article and FAQ.  Chances are it has the answer that you seek.  Sure, I don't have all the questions and answers here (I can't foresee every question) but I bet I have answered quite a few  So, read all of this prior to asking any questions please

Can a piece be traditional or digital?
I don't care what medium you make the piece in.  You don't get any extra "points" for using one or the other.  I am judging on quality not how it was created.

Can I enter?
Of course!  The contest is open to everyone

Does it have to be anime/manga styled?
While the answer to this is actually no I honestly love that style the best.  So, the reality is, you can enter but I will most likely pick something that is anime styled.  Here are the winners to the previous contests:As you can see, all anime and that is what I will most likely pick for this one too.  It's just what I like

Do I have to draw all of them?
Nope, you can draw 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or all 7 of them  They just have to be doing something action-y or combat related.

You said no adopted bases, can it be a doll/pixel art?
Sure can so long as you made the base for the doll.  I also like pixel art so I am not opposed to it at all.  

Adopted bases, on the other hand, make the piece a collaboration and those are not allowed.  Also, a major chunk of "bases" on dA are traced right from anime and I hate those

Does it have to be colored?
Not at all!  Tones looks quite nice yes.  It should be more than a line art though.  Unless it is gods gift to line art the likelihood of me selecting a line art as the winner is almost nil.

You keep saying "draw", can I do something else?
I'm using the term "Draw" kinda loosely.  Of course, I do mean it as "Drawing" but I also use it to mean "Paint", "Pixel", "Model", "Vexel" etc.  It would just be impossible to name all the visual mediums every time  

Do I need to draw a background?
No, you don't have to but I recommend it.  I like backgrounds and I think a picture looks complete when it has one.  Since I am the judge of this it might be a good idea.  I think it would be really hard to depict some serious action or combat without a proper environment but, its your call

Do the R.I.N.G.S. have to be Unlocked?
Nope!    

Hiromi looks different in all her pictures, what way should I draw her?
Any way you want to  If you want to draw Demonic Descent, go for it.  If you want to draw her in her Military outfit, that is also groovy.  Hiromi likes to dress up.

Can I change the outfits?
Of course  Just make sure that they are still recognizable as my characters

Can it be a chibi?
Sure can.  It's your call as to what you make.

What counts as action/combat?
Um... action  I am not sure I can explain it.  Basically, it should look like they are doing something or fighting something.  Here are a few pieces that depict some action/combat:
And here are 2 pictures of Ellie as examples:
In the top piece she is clearly engaged in battle and action whereas the bottom piece she is just standing there.  I guess it should almost look like it was cut right from an action/combat sequence in an anime/manga.  Eleanor could be about to drop a kettle of tea (action), Lynne could be throwing a circuit breaker (action), Saturn could be making a R.I.N.G.S. (action) or Hiromi could be having a stand-off or eviscerating an Apparition (combat).  I can't tell you what to draw but that is what I mean by action/combat.  For instance, just having a tea kettle in hand is not act of pouring the tea is. They should be doing something not just be prepared to do something

Use your imagination

Do I have to draw a monster?
Nope!

Can I genderbend or completely change a character?
Please respect the characters designs.  Also, please don't kill them  They are kind of like my children, please don't kill them off

Does it have to be full bodied?
Nope!  It's completely your call on what you decide to draw.  

Do I have to add anything to my comment before asking a question?
No, you don't but I really considered it.  But, if you ask a question that is clearly answered in this FAQ (which tells me that you couldn't be bothered to read) I won't be answering you (not even to tell you to read).  It tells me that you are not serious about entering if you don't read everything

Can it be mature content?
So long as it doesn't break any dA rules then it is a-okay with me  All the characters here are of age.  They are technically ageless but they take on the age of... whoops!  Almost gave a spoiler

Tell meeee!
No

Will you extend the deadline and/or tell me when there are the contest is almost over?
I will not extend the deadline but I will make periodic contest updates to remind you that the contest is going on  The best way to avoid the stress of deadlines and not knowing how to figure out what time it is (due to time zone differences) is to not wait till you are concerned about time zone differences

Do they have to be doing anything?
Yes, they have to be doing something action or combat related.  I'll still collect entries that are static, for sure, but I will look at it as random fan art and not an valid entry

Can I gift the prize to someone else?
Sure can.  I will ask the winners when I choose them if they want the prize or if they want to donate it.

Can I enter more than once?
You can enter twice  This is to have entries focus more on quality rather than quantity.  In previous contests I would have people enter with different versions of the same picture and/or WIPS.  This isn't a lottery, it only takes one solid entry to win.  You can only win one prize though

I'm done with my entry, now what?
Note it to me!  Leaving it on my front page might cause it to get lost

When is the deadline?
The DEADLINE is 17-March-2014 at 11:59 AM EST (Eastern Standard Time).  You can check the timezone here.  I live near Boston so use that as your guide

There will be no deadline extensions.

Entries

You can find the entries in this Collection

Questions?

If you have a question that is not answered in the F.A.Q. please feel free to ask me through note or a comment here.  

Good luck!