"I Wish I Was Kryptonian" Art Contest Updates/Ideas

Thanks to the generosity of our members, I think we have funds to proceed with trying to secure some exclusive content on the site. One of the things we were strongly considering was reviving the "themed gallery" concept that was so popular on SGI and gave us so many great images for our private collections.

My idea is to do a SWM-sponsored contest that will have cash prizes enough to attract a number of artists and make it "worth their time" to enter. Understandably, many artists see "art contests" as nothing more than a ploy to get free commissions. So there has to be some incentive for them to enter, which we will provide in the form of cash for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. I'm still working out the amounts based on my conversations with some artists, commissioners, and obviously, how much we have in the SWM coffers. Nevertheless, that is what we are considering and would love to hear if that is something you all would be interested in.

As such, we're mulling over ideas for themes, keeping in mind that the "theme" should promote some good opportunities for ubergirl-action. For example, "Supergirl" isn't such a great theme (in my mind) for this cause we'll probably get just a bunch of portraits of supergirl in static pinup poses. Couple of the themes I was mulling over were:

-- When Good Girls Go Bad (redux of old themed gallery): Gallery of superheroines using their powers evilly or mischievously
-- Super Selfies: Pics of supergirls taking selfies of them being super
-- Super Samaritans: Basically a "good" version of the Good Girls Go Bad gallery
-- Wish I was Super (another redux): Non-superpowered characters gaining and showing off superpowers
-- SWM Wants You: A military-themed gallery of ubergirls in uniform and/or fighting on the battlefield
-- Halloween: Ubergirls using their powers on Halloween

Let us know your thoughts and/or other suggestions. My goal is to probably get this contest off the ground by end of July with a deadline of Oct 15th, in time for Halloween.

ElF

lfan wrote: -- When Good Girls Go Bad (redux of old themed gallery): Gallery of superheroines using their powers evilly or mischievously
-- Super Selfies: Pics of supergirls taking selfies of them being super
-- Super Samaritans: Basically a "good" version of the Good Girls Go Bad gallery
-- Wish I was Super (another redux): Non-superpowered characters gaining and showing off superpowers
-- SWM Wants You: A military-themed gallery of ubergirls in uniform and/or fighting on the battlefield
-- Halloween: Ubergirls using their powers on Halloween

At the moment none of this themes actually clicks with me. The SWM wants you is probably the most interesting, but I have one concern: is it wise to do this contest now?
Since the new server requires some resources it wouldn't be wiser to wait a bit before using those founds?

I like the "SWM wants you" theme. But I love the "When good girls go bad" idea, so I'll vote for that one.

I would love to enter one of these contests. Is it open for any artist who frequents the forums? I like all the topics so far.

bionicskillz wrote: I would love to enter one of these contests. Is it open for any artist who frequents the forums? I like all the topics so far.

It'll be open to hopefully any artist period. Would love for you to participate, Skillz!

ElF

Markiehoe wrote: ....The absolute LAST thing I want to see is Good Girls go Bad.

Mark, I knew your vote before you even read my post!

ElF

Woodclaw wrote:
At the moment none of this themes actually clicks with me. The SWM wants you is probably the most interesting, but I have one concern: is it wise to do this contest now?
Since the new server requires some resources it wouldn't be wiser to wait a bit before using those founds?

A valid point! Please keep in mind that I am throwing the contest idea out there with the following factors:

1) I will in NO WAY jeopardize funds required for the servers or even come close to that. Not that any of you know -- or even have to believe me -- but I'm honestly about the most risk averse person you will ever meet, especially when it comes to money and budgeting.
2) While we're milling this around, I'm hoping more contributions come in. In addition, any payouts will not be for a couple of month where, again, I'm hoping more contributions will come in, based on people's verbal pledges. I understand I cannot hold people to that, but I'm fairly confident in a lot of the regulars.
3) Initial contributions -- thanks to a handful of VERY generous benefactors --- far exceeded our initial forecasts, allowing us to "give back" to the community sooner than expected without risking the hosting funds needed

Hope this answers your question and puts you at ease, a little....

ElF

lfan wrote:

Woodclaw wrote:
At the moment none of this themes actually clicks with me. The SWM wants you is probably the most interesting, but I have one concern: is it wise to do this contest now?
Since the new server requires some resources it wouldn't be wiser to wait a bit before using those founds?

A valid point! Please keep in mind that I am throwing the contest idea out there with the following factors:

1) I will in NO WAY jeopardize funds required for the servers or even come close to that. Not that any of you know -- or even have to believe me -- but I'm honestly about the most risk averse person you will ever meet, especially when it comes to money and budgeting.
2) While we're milling this around, I'm hoping more contributions come in. In addition, any payouts will not be for a couple of month where, again, I'm hoping more contributions will come in, based on people's verbal pledges. I understand I cannot hold people to that, but I'm fairly confident in a lot of the regulars.
3) Initial contributions -- thanks to a handful of VERY generous benefactors --- far exceeded our initial forecasts, allowing us to "give back" to the community sooner than expected without risking the hosting funds needed

Hope this answers your question and puts you at ease, a little....

ElF

If this is the situation I'm okay with it.

argonaut wrote: A couple of suggestions, for future consideration at least:

1. This Is a Job for Supergirl: A super-girl uses her powers on the job -- as a construction worker, garage mechanic, member of a moving van crew, bouncer ...

2. A Day at the Beach: Super-lifeguard to the rescue, super beach-volleyball player, super swimsuit model on a photoshoot, super-girl competing against male bodybuilders ... or a twist on that old Charles Atlas ad, where the girl handles the bully.

This Is a Job for Supergirl is definitly something that I like.

argonaut wrote: A couple of suggestions, for future consideration at least:

1. This Is a Job for Supergirl: A super-girl uses her powers on the job -- as a construction worker, garage mechanic, member of a moving van crew, bouncer ...

2. A Day at the Beach: Super-lifeguard to the rescue, super beach-volleyball player, super swimsuit model on a photoshoot, super-girl competing against male bodybuilders ... or a twist on that old Charles Atlas ad, where the girl handles the bully.

Of the themes Lfan listed, I'm with G7 -- Non-super female character gaining super-powers hits my buttons every time.

Lfan, do you have any plans for getting the word out to artists outside the SWM community?

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I personally like #1 as well......we did that as a themed gallery before on SGI (e.g. Supergirl as cop, Rogue as Meter Maid, She-hulk as Rancher, Powergirl as Crossing Guard, etc). I think I didn't list it as a choice cause I felt guilty for reduxing all the old themes!

My only issue with #2 is I don't think it lends itself to enough different action scenes of superness (aside from the obligatory 'muscle beach' weighlifting). Of course, that could just be my limited imagination!

As for other artists outside of SWM, I'm hoping that is where the MAJORITY come from, seeing that we only have a smattering of artists that frequent the forum. I've been in contact with a few commissioners as to artists we will solicit (as well as posting something on DA about it), and hope to open a thread for suggested artists. Of course, I think it helps if its artists that we members have commissioned before. I think it lends to credibility if the solicitation comes from a former customer.

Also, aside from the prizes, I think the artists stand a GREAT chance of followup commissions. I know certain artists like Shade and TGK have reaped a lot of commissions from our user base.


ElF

Regarding Super Selfies.....seems like DC is doing a buncha covers dedicated to them, although it seems "light" on their female characters (no Supergirl or World Finest covers). Still the Harley cover is well......pretty cool:





Dunno if this make me wanna do the Super Selfies concept more or less now.....

lfan wrote:

Woodclaw wrote: 1) I will in NO WAY jeopardize funds required for the servers or even come close to that. Not that any of you know -- or even have to believe me -- but I'm honestly about the most risk averse person you will ever meet, especially when it comes to money and budgeting.

ElF

I can testify to that.

On the matter in hand I would have gone for good girl doing bad things, but I’m happy with any of the ideas.

Fats

Well, TBH, the comments are all over the place with everybody liking something different, so I might have to make an executive call. Right now, I'm tending to lean towards "Wish I was Super" cause I think it offers the most flexibility. It also appeals to good girl fans and bad girl fans depending on "who" gets the powers. Furthermore, it can be used across not just comicdom but also across cartoons and animation (e.g. Wilma Flintstone, Kim Possible, Disney Princesses, etc.) , as well, giving artists a huge pool and a lot of creative freedom to work with....

For those not familiar with the first go-round of this theme. Here are some of the ones from last time:















Thoughts?

ElF

OK......I'm in the process of drafting the official announcement for tomorrow, but I think we're gonna go with:

"I Wish I Was Kryptonian"

I'm still vacillating on "Super" vs "Kryptonian", but I thought that Kryptonian aptly described the power set we want the girls to inherit, and it it also differentiates it from the first contest with the same theme. I'd love to hear though what y'all think of the title....

Why this theme? Well, the comments were mixed and while I loved the Super Selfies idea, DC just came out with a bunch of covers of that so it seemed unoriginal (which, for the record, I wasn't aware of when I thought of it). I thought "I Wish I was Kryptonian" provided the most flexibility of characters and scenarios and also, at the same time, allowed for good and bad girl types of characters that some seem to gravitate towards.

One thing we're gonna allow is the concept of "sponsoring" an artist. Basically this means that you can commission an artist with the idea and then work out an arrangement to split the prize money if it wins. I think this is a win-win for all parties cause it allows the commisssioner to dictate a scene they wanna see and possibly negotiate a lower rate with the potential of more money on the backend. Likewise, the artist should see this as less risk by getting paid and then possibly winning more money later. One thing though is the art MUST be submitted by the artist, not the commissioner. I wanna avoid "posers" submitting artists' artwork without their permission.

One final note is I wanna differentiate traditional art from 3D modeling so this contest will not allow 3D art entries. We will most likely have another contest for that down the road though (so fear not, CDR and Jnw550!)

Here are the tentative rules:

1) All entries must be submitted in digital form (jpg, gif, png) to contest@superwomenmania.com by the contest deadline at midnight EST, October 15th, 2014.
2) All work must be new and original. No re-circulating old works that might fit the profile of the contest, please.
3) For this contest, all submissions must be drawn, either by hand or digitally. No 3D modelling submissions or photoshopped images will be accepted.
4) Entries may be as simple as pinups or be an elaborate action panel. The more detailed display of power is probably gonna go over better though. No nudity or sexually graphic scenes are permitted.
5) Entries should feature a FEMALE comic or animation character discovering or displaying the powers of a Kryptonian (e.g. superspeed, invulnerability, heat vision, superstregth, flight, super-breath, etc). The character may already have powers (e.g. Zatanna, Black Canary) but should not have had any of the powers of Superman (e.g. She-Hulk). If you have any questions or need clarification, email me at larafan22@yahoo.com.
6) Entries may be in B&W or colored. Colored (well, good coloring), again, will probably be more popular in the voting.
7) Artists may collaborate and split the prize money if they choose (and if they win). For example, a penciler and a colorist might work together. Any prize money will be paid solely to the submitting artist however.
8) Members of SWM are permitted to "sponsor" an artist (via a commissioned piece) for the contest. Any prize money will be paid solely to the submitting artist however.
9) SWM requires that any submitted artwork not be posted on other sites (e.g. DeviantArt) until AFTER all entries are posted on the site (probably a few days following the Oct 15th deadline). Any submitted artwork discovered in the public domain prior to this will be ineligible for prize winnings.
10) Winners will be decided by a vote of SuperWomenMania's users via an online poll, with each registered user of the site getting one vote. Our site does not allow "robot" registrations so there is little liklihood of autmatically stuffing the ballot box.
11) In the event of a tie, the tying entries will have the option of splitting the combined prize monies (if BOTH artists agree) or having the webmaster break the tie.
12) All winning cash prizes will be paid via Paypal only to the submitting artist's account
13) Any questions/clarifications about the contest or what is allowed can be directed to larafan22@yahoo.com. Questions can also be submitted via YIM at "larafan22".
14) Artists may submit up to 3 entries if they wish
15) SWM reserves the right to disqualify any entry that it views as graphic or in poor taste. If you think there might be an issue, please ask first.

ElF

Caylane wrote: With that being announced, is this going on the front page?

Yep

We're officially underway with the posting on the front page! And I've gotten two verbal "I'm Ins" already from two awesome artists from some guerilla marketing I did yesterday on DA.

PLEASE help spread the word people, especially those members who have commissioned artists! In addition, if you were thinking of getting an upcoming commission, this is a great way to "sponsor" an artist with a commission towards this theme (and if they win, you can make an agreement to split the prize money).

ElF