Thursday, September 20, 2007

Brainstorming

Hey, everyone! Rest assured that I haven't forgotten about or abandoned this blog. Hope you all haven't either! I still intend to hold a second contest, but since I'm now back in college my finances are a bit on the slim side. I've been thinking about it, though, and the series for the next event has been decided. I'm not going to say what it is just yet, as that would give waaaay too much of an advantage, but once the time draws near, we'll see!

What I'm thinking of doing is making this a yearly event. So then, if all goes well, 2008 should see my second annual video game fanart contest! It'd be nice if everyone could have a general timeframe each year in which to look for a competition to be held. It'd give me plenty of time to save up and prepare as well. Anyone who still visits this blog, what months are best for you? Also, any opinions to offer on possibly holding a cash raffle and/or random prize drawing in addition to the contest prizes?

(Due to spam "comments" that have been appearing in the blog in recent weeks, I've activated the moderation feature, so comment posts won't show up until I approve them. If I see enough genuine activity here, though, I'll go ahead and take it back off.)

Monday, March 26, 2007

What's Next?

Whew, I was more worn out than I thought, lol! Now that I've had time to recover from all the excitement, it's time to start looking to the future! For those of you who are wondering, yes, I do intend to hold another contest! Though I cannot afford to do this right away, hopefully I'll have the time and funds later this year to do so. Haven't decided on a specific theme yet, but here's what you can definitely expect for the next event:

  • Video game related!
  • All entries posted!
  • Improved scoring system!
  • More prizes!
Be sure to check back from time to time for announcements on what's in store! ^^

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

THE WINNERS!!!

This is it--the moment you've been waiting for! I hereby present the Ocarina of Time fanart contest's Top 30:


If the slideshow doesn't work for you or you prefer going at your own pace, try this link:


Congratulations to the prize winners and to everyone who made the list! It was extremely close, with several entries having tied scores, in which case I had to make my choice based on personal preference. You all did very well; no one scored below 25!

Here are these entries' scores and an explanation of how they were judged (but be sure to visit one of the above links first if you don't want to ruin the surprise):


If your entry is not listed and you would like to know your score, feel free to e-mail me for it. I did my best to judge each entry fairly, but inevitably someone will see a score with which he or she does not agree. Please, no questioning or criticizing of scores, no insulting others' work, and no flaming. How one appreciates a piece of art depends heavily upon personal opinion, and these scores reflect mine. I appreciate everyone's maintaining a friendly, respectful atmosphere regardless of who got what.

My deepest thanks goes out to each and every one of you for your participation! You've made the contest into everything I hoped it would be and much more. I'm pleased and honored to see how many lives it's touched with enrichment and inspiration. As a special token of my appreciation, I would like to offer this gift: the original soundtrack to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess! Since the CDs released by Nintendo contain only a fraction of the game's music, this is the only way I know of that you can get the rest of it. Please help yourself and enjoy!

TP OST archive (.zip, 229 MB)

(There will be lots of ads on the page; look for a link that says "Download for free with FileFactory Basic.")

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Share Your Art Galleries

Almost there!! I've got all the entries scored, and now I'm double checking for consistency and such. Hoping to finish today!

In the meantime, if you would like to share your other art with everyone, you're invited to post a link to your web site or DA or other art account in the comments of this blog entry! This way visitors will have a single location on the blog at which they can find these links. After seeing your stuff here, I'm sure they'd love to see more!

Monday, March 12, 2007

Photobucket Service Restored

Geez, yesterday I still had 1 GB of bandwidth left...didn't think it'd get used up so fast! ^^; My account's next monthly cycle wasn't to begin until the 20th, and that's just way too long of a wait, so I went ahead and forked over the $25 for an upgraded account. Now my bandwidth's unlimited for a year! ^^ Feel free to use the regular gallery link again, or whichever you prefer.

BTW, judging is coming along very nicely! At this rate I should have it about wrapped up within the next couple of days.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Entry Processing Complete

Aside from a few bathroom and meal breaks, I've been working non-stop since my last blog post on getting the last of the entries processed and posted...and it's FINALLY finished!! All contest entries are now posted! If you do not see yours and/or have not received an official confirmation e-mail by now, please contact me ASAP.

Since my Photobucket account is getting perilously close to its 10 GB bandwidth limit, you're encouraged to use the above link to view the entries for the time being, in the interest of reserving what's left for the winners announcement. They are listed there in alphabetical order. (It provides the option of listing the pictures by upload date, but I'd already uploaded them in alphabetical order before I found that out. ^^;) Enjoy!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Judging Has Commenced!

Back at last!!!

For the last few days I've been down in Georgia with my brother, helping him get his stuff packed and hauled up to Missouri. The trip back was tense because we not only had a big moving truck to maneuver but a trailer hitched to the back with my bro's car on it! Thankfully, everything went very smoothly and we made it home with no problems. I appreciate everyone's patience during that time!

Getting back to business, I hereby officially announce the commencement of the judging process! Not sure how long this is going to take, but I anticipate having the results posted sometime next week. EEEEE, the excitement!! ^^ In the meantime, I'll also be posting the entries received while I was gone (for which entrants should be receiving confirmation e-mails today).

Stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Deadline Details

The final day is nearly upon us! The clock's ticking, my nerves are frazzling, and the last-minute entries are streaming in! I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify a few details for everyone regarding the contest deadline:

Entries will be accepted through midnight the night of March 7, Central Standard Time. I'm going to be a little flexible on this since things like server downtime and delays beyond our control can and do happen, so if something comes in, say, a half hour late, I'll go ahead and take it. Just don't be trying to send me something next week and be all like "Did I make it?" 'cause I'll be all like "Uh, no."

Also, don't panic if you don't receive a confirmation e-mail for your entry before the deadline. I will probably be out of town again on the 7th, unfortunately, but incoming mail is timestamped, so I'll see that you got your entry in on time and will process it accordingly upon my return. If you don't receive a response by the end of the week, please leave a blog comment and let me know.

This is it--the final stretch! Best wishes on your tail-end entries! ^^


Sunday, March 4, 2007

Nothing Escapes Murphy's Law

This week reeeeeeeeally isn't going as I hoped it would! I'm back from my trip, but a couple of other things have come up that HAVE to be done this week. With only three days left, it's the worst possible timing, I know, and I'm very sorry. This doesn't mean the contest is extended or anything like that, but it does mean that my response time on correspondence is going to be slower and that judging might be slightly delayed. I do anticipate still having it done by the end of the week following the deadline, though, as originally promised. I really appreciate your patience in the meantime. You guys have been great! I'll do my best to keep caught up and keep you up-to-date.


Thursday, March 1, 2007

X_X

Boy, I have lousy timing. Starting this (Thursday) afternoon, I'm going to be out of town for the weekend, on a trip that was postponed from a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, there will probably be little to no Internet access where I'll be staying, so anything I'm sent in the meantime may not receive a response until I get back. Please allow me to extend my apologies in advance for this absence, especially being so close to the deadline. I promise to catch up as quickly as possible upon my return! 'Til then, take care, everyone!


Wednesday, February 28, 2007

FINAL WEEK!

"The flow of time is often cruel...."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Sheik. Starting tomorrow, the contest will be in its final week. I can't believe it's already here! So, how are your entries coming along? Get them submitted? Finalized? Sketched? Started?! If the answer to all of these questions is "No," tsk tsk! I can see that Wii slipping out of your hands like a Wiimote with a broken strap!

C'mon, it's not too late! You can do it!! Resolve to make it happen--to make your masterpiece tonight! ^^



Monday, February 26, 2007

Zelda Haiku

Since this got overshadowed by all the recent drama, I'm bringing it back to the forefront. No sense in letting a few incidents take all the fun out of the event, right? Channel that last-minute nervousness into a creative outlet and help soothe your mind for a moment--by writing a haiku! For those unfamiliar, a haiku is a poem that consists of three lines--the first being five syllables, the second being seven, and the third being five again. Create a haiku that relates to Ocarina of Time and post it in the comments for everyone to enjoy! Here's mine:

Heard from the lake's shore,
Ocarina melodies
Dance along the breeze.


Sunday, February 25, 2007

Poll's Closed.

Okay, I know that this whole deadline extension issue is seeing a lot of debate, but I never expected someone to actually try to manipulate the poll results. What's funny is that a ridiculous amount of votes is still coming in as I type this, despite the fact that I've removed the link to the poll, which confirms the obvious. To the individual responsible, shame on you!! There had better be an apology in my inbox faster than it takes to trace your IP and have your entries disqualified.

Anyways, moving on! I guess I'll just have to base my decision on the input I received before all this nonsense.

The final deadline for contest submissions will remain March 7, 2007.

There's a Wii at stake, yes, but c'mon, people! It's not worth fighting and cheating over. Let's not ruin a good thing, okay?

Friday, February 23, 2007

70,000 Thank Yous!

Whew, what a day! Just last night I received an entry from a contestant who was nice enough to include the URL to the contest blog in her picture, which was also posted to her DeviantArt (DA) account. I noticed that she was receiving a LOT of hits there and thought to myself, "All right, this should help increase my traffic!"

Heh.

This evening, about 50 zillion of those little "Your poll has received 10 more votes!" notification e-mails later, I dropped by DA again to see just how much traffic that pic was getting! Lo and behold, it had made the site's home page! I took a screenshot and circled her pic in green:


I was thrilled, both for her and for all the exposure the contest was getting as a result! A little later I checked my Photobucket account, and it reported a whopping 70,000 hits! At 24 pics per page, that's almost 3,000 pageviews, right? And that's not even counting before I moved the entries to Photobucket! Wow!! I just hope the bandwidth holds out, heh!

A great, big note of thanks to you, messa, and everyone who's helped drive traffic to the contest blog! ^^

*EDIT: Please note that this post does NOT mean I will show bias for or against any entry based on its popularity or number of hits. Each picture will be judged solely by its content.


Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Need More Time?

First of all, I'm pleased to report that the host switch went smoothly and successfully! Now that that's all taken care of, there's something else I'd like to address. A number of individuals have contacted me requesting that the submission deadline for entries be extended. Me, I'd personally love to do this, since I'm enjoying every minute of it and hate to see it end. For contestants who have already submitted entries, though, this could feel unfair, and that's understandable. Then again, maybe it's not such a big deal. Thus, before deciding on this issue, I'd like to know what you all think--in the contest's second visitor poll!

*EDIT: The poll is now closed due to vote tampering.

I was thinking March 31 would be the new deadline if an extension is granted. The poll will be closed on February 28. Thanks for your input!



Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Switching Servers

Well, well, well, it seems I've received so many entries that they've actually exceeded the storage capacity of my cozy little corner of the web! On one hand, this is wonderful, because it means that the contest is a big success! On the other hand, it means it's time for the pics to find a new home. I checked out the PhotoBucket site last night, and it offers a much more generous limit and doesn't try to tack on ads or watermarks to the pictures, so it should work nicely. Just a matter of getting everything transferred and updating the links and such. I hope to have it all done today, so I'll hold off on posting any new entries until I get this taken care of.

As always, if you spot a broken link or discrepancy, be sure to let me know, k? Thanks much!


Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Sugoi!!!

After posting the latest entries this evening, I took a few minutes out to review all that have been submitted thus far. Such amazing pictures!! Though I've felt it for a long time now, more and more it's hitting me just how extremely difficult selecting the winners is going to be. What have I gotten myself into?! XD Actually, despite the difficult task ahead, I am having an absolute blast! This event has turned out to be even more fun than I ever imagined. Thank you, everyone, for making it totally worth my while!

Only 23 days--just over three weeks--left to get your entries in! Don't let this golden opportunity slip through your fingers! The only thing that guarantees failure is failure to try.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

A Wii Bit of a Problem

In an official change to the contest details, it looks like I won't be ordering the prizes from Gamestop.com after all. In addition to offering only Wii console and software bundles at this time, the site is requiring that the billing and shipping addresses match. I'm not sure whether this was something that was implemented since I checked the site in December or an oversight on my part, but either way I apologize. I'll just have to take my business elsewhere. The site I do end up using will depend on cost and availability and such; you're welcome to comment on this entry with any suggestions. I'll be sure to pick a reputable company, though, so some shady dude at an unheard of cyber pawn shop doesn't end up with our personal info, lol!

Many thanks go to the individual who kindly brought this matter to my attention!



Tuesday, February 6, 2007

For the Starving Artist

In Ocarina of Time, Link is widely known as the Hero of Time. What about the Link in Twilight Princess? Well, I personally like to refer to him as the Hero of Skills! Not only does he become quite the clever swordsman, sumo wrestler, and song howler, but he can also cook! Get a load of this recipe I found in his kitchen:

Buttered Mushroom and Goat Cheese Omelet

Ingredients
-------------
2/3 cup sliced white forest mushrooms (better get yours at the store)
4 large cucco (chicken) eggs
1/4 cup milk (he uses goat milk, but I'm sure cow milk will work just fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
butter (or butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray)


Heat a 10-inch skillet over low heat. Add mushrooms and butter, stirring with spatula to coat skillet evenly. Cook slowly, just until tender. Transfer mushrooms to plate and set aside.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Coat the skillet generously with more butter and heat over medium-high heat until sizzling. Pour in egg mixture. Tilt pan while pushing cooked portions towards the center with spatula. Remove pan from heat when no more liquid egg remains. Sprinkle with mushrooms and cheese. Run spatula between the pan and omelet, fold omelet in half, and slide it onto a warm plate. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Makes 2-3 servings!



Saturday, February 3, 2007

Puzzled?

Artist's block got you scratching your head on what to draw? Not to worry! Just download this little OoT word find I whipped up, and you'll be swimming in ideas! (Or, if you're already working on a pic, it makes for a nice little break!)

The words go forward, backward, up, down, left, right, and diagonally in a straight line.



Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Submitting Older Work

Since it has been brought up quite a few times but not in the most conspicuous of places, I thought I'd better do a full blog post on the issue of submitting pictures older than December of 2006 to help ensure that everyone is aware of the nature of my policy.

In the contest rules, you'll find the word "please" used twice. The two rules with which I've used this word are not so much rules as they are requests. That is, if you submitted a picture that did not adhere to them (but did meet all the others), it would most likely still be admitted. However, do not take this to mean that I will give entries that do not conform to the requests equal consideration to those that do. The requests stem from my personal preference, after all, and my preferences will play a strong role in my judging. I want things to be fair and thus have every intention of taking all factors into consideration when deciding on the winners, including detail, difficulty, creativity, and when the pic was made, to name a few.

So, yeah, no need to worry! I promise to do my best to ensure that each entry receives its due credit. You can draw Link with confidence!




Tuesday, January 30, 2007

ENTRIES!!

You asked for it! At the close of the visitor poll, 70% of you had voted for the entries to be posted for everyone to see before the contest's end. So, without further ado, here they are!


Rather than have them scattered throughout the blog, I decided to put them all on one set of external pages. Right now it looks a little on the...simplistic side, but I'll see about prettying it up as I go. Also, a link leading there will be posted at the bottom of each blog post from now on.

Enjoy, everyone! If you spot any discrepancies with your entry (such as a misspelled or wrong name) or don't see your entry posted within 48 hours of receiving an official entry confirmation, please contact me, and I'll get it fixed ASAP. Hopefully seeing these great entries will inspire you to submit one (or one more) of your own!


Thursday, January 25, 2007

41 Days To Go

All right, back to business! I'm all caught up now on the e-mails received while I was out of town, which I'm pleased to report was quite a few. Entries are flowing in at a very nice rate! I want to express my thanks to everyone for their interest and participation, and I also want to make a couple of announcements:
  • Since this blog now has several posts, from now on I'm going to include a link to the contest rules at the bottom of each one, to help ensure that they're easy to find.

  • There are only a few more days left to vote in the poll, which will determine when the contest entries will be posted for all to see. If you haven't plunked your two cents into it yet, better hurry, because it'll be closed after this weekend!
Only a little over a month to go before that brand new Wii is in someone's hands! You could play it, give it to a friend or loved one, or sell it for extra cash--the possibilities are up to you! Make the most of the time that remains and give it your very best! ^^


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Vacation

Why should Link get to have all the fun? Hehe! Starting tonight, I'm going on a trip out of town for several days. While I anticipate having Internet access during this time, I doubt I'll be able to use it very often with all the other stuff that will be going on. Thus, please be advised that anything you send to me between now and next Thursday may not receive a response right away.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! Keep it coming! In addition to the forum ads, I've been sending personal invitations to artists whose work I've found to be particularly impressive. Those of you who have already entered, watch out, or someone could come along and snatch that Wii right out of your hands! Things are really starting to heat up!

Oh, and the entry post poll votes so far have been a lot closer than expected. Goodness, whatever shall I do if there's a tie? O_o

So much to do, so little luggage space! All righty, I'm off. 'Til next week, take care and may the Triforce be with you! *dorky salute*

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Two Questions

Okay, now that my little contest advertising endeavor is well underway at several different sites, could I ask everyone a favor? Please post a comment to this entry indicating where you heard about the contest. This will help me figure out where I should focus my efforts! I really appreciate it.

Also, because I have received several requests for it, I am seriously considering posting the entries now instead of waiting until after the contest. To find out what the majority of visitors prefer, I've posted a poll so everyone can vote on the issue. (Unfortunately I can't embed the poll into this entry, so you'll have to click on the link below to access it.) At the end of the month I'll go with whichever option has the most votes!

(The poll is now closed.)

Monday, January 1, 2007

Hero of Time

Happy new year, everyone! Hope you had a nice, safe Christmas. ^^ Now that 2007 is upon us, it's time to get the contest into full swing! Can you believe it's almost been 10 years since Ocarina of Time made its debut? Many of you are currently enjoying Twilight Princess, and it is indeed an excellent game, but I must confess that OoT is still my favorite. In fact, this contest is dedicated to its memory, that it may continue to be honored amidst the popularity of newer titles. This Link, the ancestor of all the Links destined to become heroes in the legend to which he gave birth, truly is the Hero of Time!

Over the next few weeks I'll be making rounds to advertise the contest in new places, as well as remind and rekindle interest in those already aware. Once the TP fever cools down a bit I'm hoping for a rash of entries! If you have any artistic friends or relatives who might like to participate, you're encouraged to invite them as well! Thanks, everyone, for helping make this a success!