Update: The staff voting has completed and all the winners have been announced. Thank you to all who entered. The galleries are online for viewing.Announcing the launch of three contests: The mascot 2008 contest, the program book cover 2007 contest, and the pocket programming book cover 2007 contest!
Artists, here's your chance to make your work a part of Kumoricon. The winner of the mascot contest will receive a free Artist Alley booth at Kumoricon 2008!
The mascot will be prominently used in Kumoricon art and publicity material for the 2008 convention year, including but not limited to the web site, promotional flyers and posters, advertisements, merchandise, and badges/membership cards. It should be an immediately attractive, original, anime-style character or characters reflecting the "cloudy" theme of Kumoricon, typically with an umbrella. We need two versions: one adult or teen, and one chibi.
The cover of the 2007 convention program book introduces attendees to the convention upon arrival; every attendee receives one. It is full color and letter size. Fully detailed, colorful backgrounds and foregrounds work best.
The cover of the 2007 pocket programming guide is a smaller, simpler design. It is grayscale, possibly with lower resolution than the main convention book. Lightly detailed and shaded or all-white backgrounds, with strong, contrasting shades, lines, and geometric patterns work best.
Rules and instructions for all contests:
- Entries must be received by Sunday, July 15, 2007, 11:59:59 PM, Pacific Daylight Time. [date extended by one day to allow entries to be turned in at meeting]
- Entries must be emailed to publicity@kumoricon.org, with the files included as attachments. If the files are too big to attach, you can use YouSendIt, or ask at publicity@kumoricon.org to arrange alternate delivery.
- Entries must be accompanied by
1. The full name of the entrant or entrants.
2. The name or nickname, if different, to display as the credit for the entry in the gallery, once voting is closed.
3. Entries must be sent from a working email address at which we can contact you.
- Entries should in some way represent themes of Kumoricon, such as the "cloudy" theme, ("kumori" means "cloudy"), the location, color schemes (blue is a prominent Kumoricon color), or other unique aspects of Kumoricon. Umbrellas are a tradition in the Kumoricon mascot and art.
- Winning entries become the property of Kumoricon. Therefore, by entering the contest, entrants commit to the possibility of their entries becoming the property of Kumoricon. If, after winning, the entrant is requested to or makes alternate or modified versions, or Kumoricon creates alternate versions, these are also the property of Kumoricon.
- Entrants give indefinite permission for Kumoricon to display all entries in contest galleries, and to use selected entries as ancillary art in program material for the 2007 and 2008 conventions, including those entries which do not win.
- Entries must be original work, and solely the work of the entrant or entrants. Entrants must be authorized and able to assign ownership of the entry to Kumoricon, and to grant Kumoricon permission for the described uses, per the above rules describing such.
- Up to two people may contribute jointly to an entry but both people must be identified in the submission.
- Entries may not have been previously used for publicity purposes by any organization. (It is acceptable, however, if the entry was previously or is currently displayed in a gallery; for example, a portfolio of that artist's work.)
- Entrants must not talk about or link to their entries, or discussion about their entries, or any entries in the contest, on the Kumoricon forums, private messages, mailing lists, or other Kumoricon communication systems, until we have announced that a winner has been determined. (Non-entrants are also obliged to obey this rule, as a rule of the forums.) This is to help ensure fairness in the voting.
- Content and theme: Entries must be appropriate for all ages. Content, design, and themes of the entries must be appropriate and suitable for their intended uses.
- Entries displayed for voting in the contest must be anonymous, and not have identifying marks. All displayed entries will be credited to their entrants after the close of voting. Entrants, if they wish, may submit a second version containing a signature or marks which will be used for future display in contest galleries.
- An entrant may enter more than once, but each design must be completely unique from others by the same entrant. (That is, if two different people had produced them, neither could be said to be copying from the other.)
- An entrant may send an updated version of an entry prior to the due date for entries, replacing the prior entry.
Rules and instructions for the mascot contest:
- Each entry must contain an adult or teen mascot and chibi mascot of the same character and style. Both must be received prior to the due date for entries.
- Although typically the mascot is one person or character, it is allowed to be two characters or more, or to feature sidekicks. We recommend only doing this if the characters are shown interacting in an interesting or unique way (as opposed to just showing two characters side-by-side). In this case, all characters should be drawn in both adult and chibi form.
- Entries should be as high a resolution as possible. Dimensions can be in the thousands of pixels. Target at least 300dpi at typical sizes (the mascot filling most of a printed 8.5" by 11" page). We will downscale as necessary, but if the resolution is too low, there's nothing we can do.
- For best results, send your entry in a non-lossy-compressed format, such as PNG, PSD, or AI. If you use JPEG, use as high quality as possible, and we may request an original version if you win the contest. We will allow any entry in a file type that we can open (we have access to a wide range of software), and which looks acceptable, but if we can't open a file, then we can't use the entry.
- Entries can be either RGB or CMYK color space. We will be displaying them both on-screen and in print. RGB works better for blues. If you use CMYK, please be sure to use the "U.S. Sheetfed Coated V2" profile, which will likely be used by our printer. If you aren't sure, use RGB.
- For best results, entries should be against a transparent background. We will use any entry that we can fix, but it will look the best if you prepare it how you would like it.
- Partial transparency is allowed, if it enhances the art. It will be kept in places where the technology allows (for example, in the web site design). If you use this, be sure to submit in a format that supports it.
Rules and instructions for the convention book cover contest:
- Entries must be at an aspect ratio of 8.5" width by 11" height. Entries must be at least 300dpi. Entries in a different aspect ratio will be cropped or stretched as needed. Entries in a severely wrong ratio may be disqualified, at our discretion.
- Entries should be full color. Entries can be either RGB or CMYK color space, but it is intended primarily for printing. If you use CMYK, please be sure to use the "U.S. Sheetfed Coated V2" profile, which will likely be used by our printer.
- If text is used, it should be on a separate layer, and non-rasterized (unless the letters are drawn) so we can change it if necessary. You can submit a flattened copy to enter the contest, but you should be able to supply the source layers if you win, and if it is needed.
- Entrants may enter the same or similar design for the convention book cover contest and the pocket programming guide contest, but entrants are responsible for modifying the design to be most appropriate at the different aspect ratios required for each book cover, and Kumoricon Executive Staff may, at its option, select only one to use, in its discretion, in the interest of ensuring that each contest has the most appropriate entries. Keep in mind that the best entries for each book will be different in style. In the event that Kumoricon allows both to be voted on, and both win, Kumoricon may, at its option, select the second-place winner in the voting for one of the book covers, in its discretion.
Rules and instructions for the pocket programming guide cover contest:
- Entries must be at an aspect ratio of about 16:10. This is a landscape orientation. (The exact paper configuration of the pocket guide has not been determined yet, but we are considering at least three size possibilities that are within 6% of this ratio.) Entries must be at least 300dpi given a resolution of 8.5" by 5.5". (We may use a smaller paper size but the ratio will be about the same.) Entries in a different aspect ratio will be cropped or stretched as needed. Entries in a severely wrong ratio may be disqualified, at our discretion.
- Entries must not be color. Full grayscale is allowed.
- The rule for text on a separate layer in the convention book cover contest also applies to the pocket guide contest (see above).
- The rule for entering the same or similar design for both cover contests applies (see above).
Rules for the administration of the contest:
- We will confirm to entrants that their entries have been received. We will send confirmations as we receive entries. Entrants are responsible for entering soon enough so that if there is a problem with the entry, it can be re-sent by the due date for entries. We reserve the right to accept late entries in individual cases if there is a problem due to our error, but entrants are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their entries are received in time.
- Voting is open to staff who have officially registered (submitted signed form and paid dues) by the start of voting. Staff registering after this point may still vote if we enter their data before the close of voting.
- Voting will be done online. Voting will be performed using the Schulze method, which is a type of Condorcet method. In this method, voters rank their choices in order rather than selecting just one. There are many systems of ranked voting which compute the winner differently. The method used here, the Schulze method, has been selected because among all known ranked voting systems, it most encourages voters to rank their choices in their true order of preference, rather than using "strategic voting". For example, if voters were to only select one choice, then voters would be discouraged from picking their true favorite if they didn't perceive it to be popular, because it would be "wasting" a vote. However, with the Schulze method, it is in each voter's best interest to list their true entire preference order. Ultimately, this system makes it most likely that the true preference of the voters, as a group, is selected as the winner. Voters don't need to rank every candidate on their ballots, but it is in their best interest to do so. (Voting for just one does not increase the weight or "strength" of that vote.) You can learn more about Schulze voting here: http://wiki.electorama.com/wiki/Schulze_method.
- The start and end dates of voting will be announced closer to the end of the contest, or after the end of the contest. The start date will be set to be as soon as possible after the end of the contest, with the end date roughly one week after.
- The mascot contest winner will be announced at the Closing Ceremonies of Kumoricon 2007.
- The cover contest winners will each be announced between the close of voting and the time at which each of those publications becomes available.
- Entries which do not meet the criteria in the rules may be disqualified, and entrants not participating in the contest according to the rules may have their entries disqualified. If this is discovered after a winner is announced, the award may be revoked.
- Kumoricon reserves the right to pre-screen entries before voting begins. This helps the voting process if there are large numbers of entries.
- If an insufficient number of entries is received, an unsuitable entry is chosen in the voting, or if, for any reason, the voting cannot be completed, for reasons including, but not limited to, technical problems with the voting, loss or corruption of ballot data, or insufficient number of votes received, then Kumoricon Executive Staff reserves the right to extend the due date for entries, change the start or end dates of voting, annul the voting, run a new election, or choose an entry as the winner, at its option. If, for any reason, the selected winner is not the winner determined by the voting, Kumoricon will release a statement identifying such fact.
- Kumoricon reserves the right to add or modify rules, or make special allowances or changes to the contest, at its discretion, to resolve any unforeseen circumstances or problems which may arise, in the interest of ensuring fairness and seeing that the contest is completed according to the intent and spirit of the rules.
Mascot contest prize:
- The winner of the mascot contest will receive a free Artist Alley table for Kumoricon 2008. Please note, that this is the year after the up-and-coming convention. It is the year for the convention for which your mascot will be used. It is for the year after because the winner is only announced at the 2007 convention. (This prize applies only to the mascot contest; not the cover contests.)
Galleries of past contest entries are now
online, for browsing and inspiration.
Good luck!
