Damn...I'm gonna break my brain trying to come up with something good enought...

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

Cut & Paste of an artist friend's insite into these "contests."

Big companies host "contests" like this in order to take advantage of amateur or inexperienced artists. When you submit artwork to "contests" like this, the disclaimers of said contests always state that the host company automatically owns whatever work you submit. What does this mean? It means that if they like your stuff, they can use it without giving you any credit or monetary compensation. So basically these "contests" are a way for companies to get free work.

"But!" you may cry, "This is a great opportunity! What a thing to put on your resume! It could help you get a leg up in the gaming industry!"

No, no it won't. I'm sorry to say, but big companies don't even look at artists and designers on a professional hiring level unless you have a degree behind your talent. And it's got to be a hell of a talent to boot. These big companies came to Ringling every year to recruit graduating seniors, and it was only the best of the best of the best who were hired. They're not going to look at a 16-year-old kid from DeviantArt.

"But!" you may counter, "It's a critique from a professional!! That's so valuable!"

If it were an honest to God critique from a higher-up designer at Square, yes. If they would take more than two seconds to glance at your work before giving the critique, yes. But... that's not going to happen. Any person within any company like that who has the power to hire people or do anything to benefit you as an artist will be too busy looking at resumes of qualified designers to take the time to crit your picture. Odds are it will be a generic critique from an entry-level fresh-out-of-school joe, probably. That's not to say their critiques wouldn't be valid since they DO know what they're doing in order to work for a company this in the first place, but in exchange for what you give up if they like your stuff? Not worth it.

"But!" you insist, "It would be SO AWESOME to see your character design in the game! Just knowing you were good enough for them to use your stuff would be SO COOL!"

You know what's cool? Being able to pay your bills because of your work. But, since one of their clauses in the rules of this contest states that they own whatever you submit to them, they can use your work however they want and not only do you not see any credit for your work, you don't see a penny for it, either.

As artists and designers we need to be paid for our work; it's how we make our living! It wouldn't be cool to see your stuff used on a multi-million-dollar project like a game if you're not going to get any compensation for it. It's wrong, and it's frowned upon by the design world as an industry. All it does is take advantage of our fellow designers who are either too young or too inexperienced to know any better.

So, yeah... please, guys, avoid contests like this like the plague. Spread the word about it to some of the others around here who think this is super-awesome-cool and tell them not to participate. And please, go and reject the contest to show that the community isn't stupid and won't be fooled so easily into giving up our hard work.

EmeraldDragon

@TalKeaton: A Force to be Reckoned With: I don't think so, judging by the samples on the official site. They are probably drawn by the art team, but I guess they're indicating they accept different kinds of art styles.

Bluetribal

@hk458: These guys made No More Heroes. I'm sure they won't mind. They would probably see it as cute and sugary anyways.

Green-clad Gamer Dude

Is the idea for it to be in their art style?

Lucky for me my own style's not far off base here. ^_^

TalKeaton: A Force to be Reckoned With

My canvas and artistic tool is MS Paint, and it's their loss for not being more open to "art", rather than just Art.

JapJay

@Green-clad Gamer Dude:
Good idea. Can you make it all cute and sugary like the rest of the game art?

hk458

The radish head cyclops horse on the samples page is quite disturbing.

Bluetribal

Or my dog. Or a combination of us!

Green-clad Gamer Dude

I'm gonna draw myself.

Green-clad Gamer Dude

Any limit on number of entries?

I am SO in.

TalKeaton: A Force to be Reckoned With

Is any one else having Deja Vu...first Spore now this. Tis a good thing for the industry.

hk458

Sigh...its times like this I wish I had talent when it came to drawing, thinking creativly, and typoing....

hk458

Oooh. If I can come up with a concept I may enter, just for coolness. Design is fun! :3

Achenar

Very cool; more developers should do this.

minimelo321

@EmeraldDragon: Hey man not everyone it's a professional professionalist designer, some of us didn't develop art as our main skill, and not all of these contests are for saving money and abusing of some random guy's talent.

They are run for getting gamers and developers togheter, to unite the community. I see nothing wrong with that.

If you are a REAL artist you will shine anywere, anytime, even if it's after your death, you still will.

That said, if you find drawing a 3 headed reptile that shoots neddles on fire for some company, with whatever your skills are on art, hard and abusive then don't do it, but let other enjoy the damn momment.

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

dammit. i can't draw. and i doubt my stick figures will make it into the game.

though, that would be AWESOME.

Soulgenesis

@EmeraldDragon: I agree with Grey Gecko. People aren't going to be entering this contest to achieve any phisical goal. Instead, they are simply doing it to have an idea that they created put into a video game where they can look at it with a sense of accomplishment and say to themselves "I did that."

minimelo321

I'm a pretty decent artist (if I do say so myself). I'll chip in my 2 cents to this.

suya123

I hope this game is good. My Wii is starving for a game like this.

silkylove

@EmeraldDragon:
Yes of course but looking at THIS contest I highly doubt anyone is going to be entering for fortune and a job at a company. Considering the game is Japanese in orgin nobody has a ghost of a chance of getting hired with this contest, OR stealing a job from a 'starving artist'.

kouhotaru

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: @minimelo321: @kouhotaru:

Yeah, easy to say that when you have very little chance of winning. Just remember, if you when and the game sells millions, thus making the company tons of money, you won't get a cent for your contrabution. And even if you don't win, they still own the art and can use it however they want without your concent and don't have to pay you for the rights.

These are what artists call a "scam" for a reason.

EmeraldDragon

@Achenar: Best of luck on that. v ^_^

Shiryu

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko:

"If you are a REAL artist you will shine anywhere "

Dude, that's totally poignant.

HateFate

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko:

And what happens when the art you designed and gave away ends up being used a way you would not appove of?

EmeraldDragon

@EmeraldDragon: If I was a professional designer I would care about the money, however I don't, because my main hobby is gaming, that's why I find this amusing and something to take part in, even if I don't win or my chances are that of a bee beating a spider, I like the idea of developers interacting with gamers in some way.

@HateFate: maybe the caps where to much =/

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

Hmmm. This interests me. I am an artists.....I might try it.

Onegai

This is the wet dream of any hardcore gamer/art student, ergo I must enter. The only hard part will be naming my critter. There's a reason I didn't major in English. o_0

Pezdispenser

@EmeraldDragon: Like what? Altering the design for technical reasons? claiming total ownership? rule 34?

I'll first ask myself, does it matter? It's a design, and part of being a professional designer is to recive orders.
Not that that matters much here. Also not everything I make is La Gioconda or Starry Night -.-

There is art for everything, not just the one that hangs from a wall in a musseum. If you are that kind of artist you should be working independetly.

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko:

Well, thank you for proving my point about immature artists and how easily they are taken advantage of.

EmeraldDragon

This is not exploiting normal, passionate people for a cheap design. They are not asking to design a logo and then hand out a cheap price like a few hundred bucks while a real graphic designer would charge thousands. This is just a simple little contest where creating fan-art can actually have a purpose further then just some internet fame. Not only does it get shown at an exhibition, if you're lucky it might even get in the game and for a gamer who's a passionate artist - even if it only is a hobby - that's the biggest honour you can get. Just stop thinking about the money, that's not what this is about.

Timooo

@Timooo:

Wow, you people really don't get it do you.

Let me put it this way: why should a company properly pay an artist; when they can make it a "contest" and not only pay for the work done but then own the copyright of that work and continue to use it however they want without the concent of the artist?

You're right, though, it isn't about the money. It's about having control over your work and what is used for.

Let me make this a simple example. Say you enter this contest and, perhaps you don't win but get your design in this "Exhabition Hall." Years down the line you are an artist for a conservative religious group that has a lot of influance in the community, Perhaps you even got the job because that design was in your portfolio. Suddenly your design pops up in another game, one that under cuts the values of the company you work for. Not only could you lose your job because hving your art used in that way reflects badly upon the group, but the reputation you've built is now tranished, perhaps perminately so.

Not controlling your work is Capital-B Bad! Especially when it come to original designs like this.

EmeraldDragon

@EmeraldDragon: *sigh* Ya know? Ya are thinking WAY too much :/

Not everyone of these contests is made in order to abuse of gamers, not every company out there is some evil filled organization trying to control the world, and not everyone here is Mark Ryden.

I could carry on trying to show you that you aren't considering all the points, but I won't, and it's better if you realize this by yourself.

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko:

Do what you want, it's your life and your art. Just remember, J.R.R. Tolken sold the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" in the 1970's for just $15,000 because he believed no one would ever have any real use for them.

I'm not saying the companies are evil or trying to screw you just because, they simply don't care about you.

EmeraldDragon

Dragon, you're demonizing big entertainment companies a wee bit too harshly, though for everyone else, his core message is actually spot on. Though these companies are not evil, they are trying to maintain a profit. So contests like this aren't meant to stimulate the gaming community and culture. They're designed as P.R. stunts in order to promote the game and get a little bit of work that would have cost them thousands if it they didn't hold a contest like this.

However, the concept of their little "Exhibition Hall" is a bit more of an issue. This art could very easily be sold off into other smaller places of the gaming world or used in games other than Little King's Story. If you're then uncredited for your work in that piece and another designer is, who's gonna believe it's your work? What do you do if the art ends up in a game that's terrible? Maintaining the creative license on your work is important, and not just for you. If you really are a member of the gaming community then you will know the endless hours of hard work design professionals work to bring you those games. Would you really want these people to lose the rights to their work and by extension their paycheck just so you could take a stab in the dark at a contest?

On a side note, just a little back up for Dragon, generally recruiters for the gaming industry are pretty receptive to portfolios, however, there are more than enough callous interviewers out there to prove that there really are people in the bigger industry looking to screw people over and get as much license control and free work as they can. It is depressing but not quite as bad as you make it seem (from one Ringling School of Art + Design student to another, also... don't you hate that damn +?).

Kor3Transit

@Kor3Transit:

I'm not actually an artist, I couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler. I'm a writer, but these contests crop up in all forms of art.

And the whole mess with the Orphaned Works Bill, has my hackles raised and my guard up about artist copyrights.

As I said before, I don't mean to demonize the companies, just point out that they don't give a damn. Most people, as proven by the above posters, especially inexperianced artists don't understand the power of a copyright and what it truly means. I simply don't like standing by while big companies try to yank the rug out from under the feet of those unable or unwilling to protect themselves.

EmeraldDragon