OgawaBurukku Presents: The FaLLEN Art Contest!!

This is a contest specifically for my characters from a story called FaLLEN that I have been working on for a while now. About half of what I post here is art for this series I'm working on, though I post the stories themselves over at this site: [link]

I'm not a great artist, but a bunch of you guys are... in fact, I'm sure many of you could draw my own characters better than I can! So if you want to try your hand at winning some cash prizes, this is your chance!


Starts: RIGHT NOW!!
Ends: 01/31/2011


The Rules

I am not putting a limit on content beyond what DA has, so if it's not acceptable for DA, it's not acceptable for this contest. The characters in the picture must be my characters from my series FaLLEN, not from any of my other manga creations. Any medium is acceptable-- that includes cosplay, sculpting, charcoal, rabbit's blood... no, scratch that last one, eww. Be creative! Comics are acceptable, too. There is no limit on pages, and you can feel free to enter more than one picture. EDIT: By cosplay I meant actual costume making, not other characters dressed as my characters. I allowed one entry in like this because it wasn't clear, but all other entries will be disqualified.

Any style is accepted-- last year I got many realistic portraits and the winner even used her own signature style, rather than a cartoony look.

Also, if you want to submit something other than an illustration (cosplay, dolls, etc), I won't say no but make sure you take some good pictures! Otherwise it's hard to judge If I get more than one "other" submission I might make a separate category for them with their own prize.


The Prizes

1st Place = $30 cash, one year's subscription to DA, a drawing by me of whatever you want
2nd Place = $20 cash, three month's subscription to DA, a drawing by me of whatever you want
3rd Place = $10 cash, one month's subscription to DA, a drawing by me of whatever you want

Everyone who enters will get their picture posted on my DA site somewhere for all eternity, so even if you don't win anything you could still get delicious and wonderful page views! I will also post all of the submissions at the bottom of this page as I get them.

Requirements

You MUST have paypal for the cash prizes-- if you cannot get paypal in your country, I can change the prizes to DA Points, but that's the best I can do. You must also have a DA account so you can send me the DA link to the posted entry. IF you do something more "adult" with your submission, please be of legal age for whatever it is you're posting ; I don't want to get into any trouble...

If you submitted an entry last year, you are welcome to enter this year, even if you won a prize. Please feel free to enter again this year!


The Characters

FaLLEN is a magical girls series that takes the old mahou shoujo formula but gives it a few realistic twists. For example, do magical girls ever feel bad for killing all those humanoid monsters? Do they want to fight or do they want to be regular girls? Why do they believe everything their magical mascot animals tell them? These are questions that come up in FaLLEN, where the characters try to figure out who they really are and what defines themselves. Kind of a magical girls series for magical girl fans who have grown up ;D And guys can get into it, too. I promise ^^


Group Pics:


ARMA
The leader of the magical girls team The Guardians, Arma is physically strong and boyish in her mannerisms to the point she is treated like a guy by her peers at school, who have no idea she's a girl at all. Though she is a little bashful and embarrasses easily as Arma, as a Guardian she is precise and headstrong, though occasionally gets so caught up in a battle she'll forget about the rest of her team. She is insecure about her physique and is plagued with dreams about a past she can't remember.


LAMIA
A bit of a brat, she is the instigator of most arguments within the group, and delights in getting on Arma's nerves. She is selfish, has an off beat sense of fashion, and though she is rather intelligent she rarely shares her insight with the group, often going off on her own to think. She is suspicious of Father Sam and Vox, believing both are keeping secrets from Arma and the others.


MARIS
Charming and hard-working, Maris is like the friendly big sister of the group. She gets along with everyone and sometimes acts as the honorary leader in Arma's absence, though she can be a bit stubborn at times. She uses humor to ease tension in the group and at work, where she is a waitress at a diner.


VESTA
A little dimwitted, Vesta is the homemaker of the group. She cooks, she cleans, and she makes sure everyone has clean clothes and packed lunches. She puts others before herself and rarely complains, and has a habit of giving nicknames to inanimate objects and playing dress-up with Vox. Though it is hard to push her buttons, once she does eventually snap she has a violent temper.


NEIVA
Cool and collected, Neiva is the oldest member in the group. She prefers to be alone with a book to chatting with the others, finding it hard to relate to their "infantile" problems. She works at a library, though often dresses for work as if going to an office downtown. Like Lamia, she often doubts the Guardian system and finds it hard to trust others.


ORA
The kid in the group, Ora is thirteen going on ten. She easily frightens and cries constantly in the beginning, but as the story progresses she starts to have faith in her friends and herself. Sometimes she tries a little too hard to make friends, but she means well and will stand up for the little guy. She is very conflicted throughout the story about what is right and what is wrong, and what it means to be a Guardian.


FATHER SAM
Mysterious priest of the local cathedral, Father Sam spends his nights watching the Guardians from the shadows as Neco, the man with the scythe. He is particularly interested in Arma and the newcomer rogue Guardian... The girls are unaware of his role within the group and view him first as an enemy. Sam is handsome and charming at the pulpit but can be a bit mischievous around Arma, who he teases and flirts with constantly.


VOX
Vox is the talking mouse responsible for bringing the Guardians together, though he claims that he himself knows very little about the overall mission. His powers are limited to teleportation and sound-related attacks, and during a battle he will usually stay hidden until the fight is over. He appears to have his own agenda, sometimes vanishing for days before returning to the group without explanation. He is very uncomfortable around Sam, who he seems to have shared a past with.


KALI
The Guardian of Thunder, Kali goes most of the first book unnamed, simply known as the rogue Guardian. She shares a strange connection with a little girl named Iris, and is fiercely protective of her. Despite wearing the Guardian uniform, she frequently attacks Arma and the others, calling herself the "God Of Death" and considering most of her actions to be acts of revenge. She's a bit of a rascal at the best of times, a reckless menace at the worst, but really she's just scared and confused and looking for answers to why she wasn't accepted into the group despite her obvious Guardian ties.




WARNING!

I have to have at least FIFTEEN SUBMISSIONS or I will cancel the contest. Why? Because I'm putting up cash prizes, and if I only get three submissions it's no fun for me to choose winners. I figure fifteen entries is a fair number. That's SUBMISSIONS, not ENTRANTS... so if three people submit five entries each, and that's all I get, that would be fine. However, you cannot win more than one prize.

I will not accept art you have done for me in the past. New art, please

I would prefer for your OCs or established characters to be left out of any submissions, though parodies are fine (for example, characters dressed as Harry Potter characters or in Naruto ninja gear or Sailor Moon fuku, etc), or if the OC or established character is a minor part of the image. The main part MUST be my FaLLEN characters.


If you have any questions about the characters or about submitting, please note me or simply leave a comment here. You may do the same for submitting pictures, either by sending a link by note or posting it here.

I do recommend skimming a few chapters from the story ([link] but it isn't required. As of right now, the book is only half available (and only the rough version) because I am looking at publishing the completed version. I might temporarily post the full version, but as of right now I've only got the first half up for public reading.

To see last year's entries, please check out this link: [link]