The Original Character Contest

May 19, 201627 min read

Deviation Actions

SybilThorn

Published: May 19, 2016

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| The Theme | The Categories | Contest Rules | Prizes & Other Awards | Judging & Criteria | Inspiration |

is pleased to announce our first contest! In total, we will give out 13,180 and more in prizes!

Members and non-members are both allowed to participate! Everyone is eligible to compete in three categories (see below) for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Places. Members will have an additional chance to win an award, as 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Honorable Mentions will be selected from entries by our members (Note: placing in the Overall competition will disqualify a member from receiving an Honorable Mention).

Contest will run from 12:00PM/Noon (EST) May 20, 2016 until 12:00AM/Midnight (EST) November 20, 2016

The Theme

So, what is this contest all about? Well basically, it is all about creating characters. Contestants are asked to create an entry in one (or more) categories that features an Original Character created by them. Only, while the character can be anything (animal, mineral, vegetable, anthropomorphic object, robot, alien, human, etc.), it can't just be any character. As we are a group that celebrates Disabilities in the Arts and as there is a vast lack of disabled characters in media (disabled individuals constitute the largest minority in the world, with an estimated 1 out of every 5 people having some disability, yet are arguably the least represented in media), the Original Character must have some type of permanent disability. This disability can be anything from physical to mental (including learning disabilities) to emotional and must be listed in the description of the entry.

For a word on this theme from 's Founder, see the following journal:
Disabilities in Media: A Brief Subjective AnalysisI have used a wheelchair since I was 3; I am now 25. As a child, I yearned to see a reflection of myself in media and my parents went to great lengths to find any books, movies, and TV series that featured people with disabilities. I filled my mind with these characters and their stories, letting them inspire me to live life to the absolute fullest.
It was always a disappointment to me that there weren't many people like me shown in media, despite disabled individuals constituting the largest minority in the world (an estimated 1 out of every 5 people has some disability). Failure to include disabled individuals in any media portrayal of the world is a harmful failure to depict the world as it actually is. A failure that perpetuates both the stigmas against disabled individuals & the ignorance of many non-disabled individuals to the truth of the lives of disabled individuals and contributes exponentially to both the plague of prejudices and bigotry that infects our world & to t

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The Categories

If you're unsure what Category your entry belongs to, you may enter it into the overall
Contest gallery folder & the Contest Judge will put it in the appropriate folder.

Note: If any category does not have enough entries
for all allotted prizes to be distributed by the end of the contest,
categories will be combined and the prizes will added.

Visual Art
These entries must be some form of visual art portraying an Original Character with a disability. The character's disability does not need to be obvious, but it should in some way be present in the piece. All mediums of visual art will be accepted (provided that all Gallery Submission Rules and Contest Rules are followed), including (but not limited to) traditional drawing, painting, digital drawing/painting, photomanipulation, costume design and cosplay photography, sculpture, animation, and 3d modeling.
Example

Writing Only
These entries must been written works that either describe an Original Character with a disability (i.e.: character profiles) or feature an Original Character with a disability in a leading role (i.e.: short stories). The character's disability should be evident in the piece, though it needn't necessarily be a focal point of the plot. All forms, styles, and genres of fiction will be accepted (provided that all Gallery Submission Rules and Contest Rules are followed), including (but not limited to) character profile, short story, exerpt from a longer work, one-act play, and poetry. (Note: Any entry that is not submitted in English will be translated by the Contest Judge with Google Translate, which is an imperfect tool that makes tons of mistakes. For this reason, it would be better to submit entries in English.)
Example

Art and Writing
These entries must include both writing and art that features an Original Character with a disability. The character's disability should be evident in the writing, though it needn't necessarily be a focal point of the plot, and in some way present in the art, though it does not need to be obvious. Entries may include (though are not limited to) short comicbooks and illustrated short stories (provided that all Gallery Submission Rules and Contest Rules are followed). (Note: Any entry that is not submitted in English will be translated by the Contest Judge with Google Translate, which is an imperfect tool that makes tons of mistakes. For this reason, it would be better to submit entries in English.) (Note: Art with only a few words on it belongs in the Visual Art Category, not in this Category.)
Example

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Contest Rules

Entry must feature an Original Character with a disability
Entry must be created during the duration of the contest and Original Character must have been created for this contest
Entry must be submitted to the correct gallery folder/subfolder in 's Gallery and all Gallery Submission Rules must be adhered to
In the description of the Entry, the contestant must declare what disability the character has and very briefly state how they got it (i.e.: birth-defect or birth complications, genetic inheritance, some psychological trauma, an accident, somebody did it to them on purpose, they did it to themselves on purpose, etc.)*
Both the icon of and a link to (or thumbnail of) this journal must be included in the Entry's description, as well as a statement of which category the Entry will compete in *
Any Stock Images or Resources used must be from legitimate sources and must be credited & linked in the description.

* - Failure to adhere to any rule marked with a * will result in the entry being demerited 1 point from its overall score. These are the only contest rules which may be broken and the entry still be accepted. All other contest rules must be followed for the entry to be eligible for competing in this contest.

Note: Contestants may enter multiple times and into multiple categories, but each entry, regardless of category, must feature a new/different Original Character. Multiple pieces of the same character will not be considered separate entries, regardless of what category they were submitted to, and may be moved to a different category if need be. Contestants may enter as many times as desired, though may only place once per category.

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Prizes

Note: If any category does not have enough entries
for all allotted prizes to be distributed by the end of the contest,
categories will be combined and the prizes will added.

Visual Art Category:

First Place (all category contestants eligible) - 1216 + any other donated awards
Second Place (all category contestants eligible) - 915 + any other donated awards
Third Place (all category contestants eligible) - 614 + any other donated awards

First Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 510 + any other donated awards
Second Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 310 + any other donated awards
Third Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 210 + any other donated awards

Writing Only Category:

Art And Writing Category:

First Place (all category contestants eligible) - 1820 + any other donated awards
Second Place (all category contestants eligible) - 1366 + any other donated awards
Third Place (all category contestants eligible) - 914 + any other donated awards

First Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 760 + any other donated awards
Second Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 460 + any other donated awards
Third Honorable Mention (only members eligible) - 310 + any other donated awards

Other Donated Awards:

From ------------- Prize

------------- Llamas and Features for All Winners

------------- Exclusive Stock and Features for All Winners

Thank you especially to our generous donors, without whom this contest would not be possible!
Donated Points:
Donated Other Awards:

Note: Donors may still participate in the contest!

Thank you to those who have featured this contest!

Note: Prize donations will still be accepted and highly appreciated! Contact if you would like to donate.

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Judging

Voting will take place once contest ends. Each vote will count as +1 point. Contestants may vote, though not for their own entry. Any contestant who votes will receive +1 point to their most popular entry (popularity determined first by the number of votes, then by the deviation's official Stats). The five highest scoring entries by different contestants in each category will then be judged by

's founder

, who will select First, Second, and Third Place Winners from these based on the following criteria (see below). All Honorable Mentions will be selected by

from the entries by members of

based on this same criteria.

Equally Scored Criteria (ratings from 0-10):

The role and clarity of disability in the piece {more central role = higher rating}
The uniqueness of character {use of stock that has been seen used multiple times may lower the rating, unless used in a new and/or unique way, as will characters that are extremely similar to already existing characters in popular media}
The uniqueness of overall vision {including the effectiveness and creativity of any stock-use -- i.e.: use of unaltered pre-made backgrounds may lower the rating}
The amount of work and effort evident in piece {the more detailed and polished a piece appears, the higher the rating}
Effective use of artistic techniques {i.e.: colors, perspective, focus, etc.} and/or writing techniques {i.e.: grammar/spelling, structure, syntax, etc.)
Judge's subjective feelings towards the piece {whether or not it appealed to the judge, based on opinions stated in Disabilities in Media: A Brief Subjective Analysis}.
Ranking according to community Vote (1st = score of 10, 2nd = score of 8, 3rd = score of 6, 4th = score of 4, 5th = score of 2)

All 7 ratings will be averaged up to figure the overall scores and entries will be ranked from highest to lowest. As noted above, if the entry breaks any rule marked with a *, the entry will be demerited 1 point from its overall score per broken *'d rule. The three top-ranked entries will receive awards. In the case of a tie, Criteria #7 will be used as a tiebreaker.

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Inspiration

If you are struggling to come up with an idea for a character, here are some things that may get your creative juices flowing. Just remember, this contest is about creating new characters, so don't just rehash already existing characters and people. You can base a character off of any real person or existing character without copying them completely. Just make sure that your character is somehow unique from whatever/whoever inspired them. For example,

's character Mildred Ethel Vaine Tabach, a wheelchair-bound spy, was inspired by Virginia Hall, a real-life spy with a prosthetic leg.

For information on various disabilities, click this link.