Forums » Art & Creativity » Art Contest: Genre Mascots

Awesome! I would love it if you'd say a few words about why you think this mascot best represents the genre you chose.

If you think you can get another done tonight, I'm still not done programming, so I can guarantee several more hours before we close this thing. I would looove to see more entries!

The closest I could get to making another entry would be using a dollmaker website like Dolldivine.

I'll be watching curiously for any last-minute entries though! x3

Finished the one for the Anthro category, too!
(Hehe. CATegory.)

Oh, gosh, a few words? Well, uh...
For superheroes, it's all about taking characters who are out of place and super-human and putting them in a position where they protect and co-exist with ordinary human beings. A superhero's humanity isn't in if they're human or not, but in how they place the needs of others over their own and put their lives down on the line to protect perfect strangers. Needless to say, they come in all shapes, sizes, and forms, and walks of life. Some even from other planets entirely. But they always consider the Earth their home, and will do anything they can to look out for the future and wellbeing of it and its people.

For anthros, anthropomorphic/furry characters incorporate elements of both humans and animals in their design and in their personalities. Often times, what they do with themselves and how they live are supported by the natural abilities and advantages that their animal traits bestow upon them. For example, a naturally strong creature like a minotaur would make an excellent blacksmith or physical laborer, while a cat would make a handy scout or thief. Anthropomorphic characters vary greatly between species and just how human and just how animal they are, but the traits always support one another. It takes the symbolism of associating an animal with a person and takes it a step farther.

I was also watching too much Princess Tutu and I wanted to make a character that was kind of like Mr. Cat. ;

Edit: Last one.


The creature.
Originally it was just going to be a normal gryphon, but I thought it would be fun to give it a bit more of a fantastic spin and made it a fire-creature. Because half the fun of playing an imaginary animal is making it something entirely your own, right?

Wow, we really had a flood of amazingness right down to the wire. o.o

This contest is officially closed for entries. The judges will now confer, and I'll announce prizes shortly!

Thanks everyone who entered, I couldn't be more impressed.

Gah, amazing entries, Lit! ... Can I call you Lit?
I'm especially fond of the anthro one, but all three of them are fantastic!

Daaaaaaamn. These are all so good!

Your cat one reminds me of Redwall, Lit.

<3 Redwall <3

Good luck everyone who entered

Ah, sorry! *butts in to say a few words about her entry*

The historical genre has always fascinated me in roleplaying. I've only rp'ed it once, a long time ago, when I was still in high school and Latin class was fresh enough in my mind to have a decent idea about what was going on in the Roman Empire. That's a 'downside' perhaps of this genre, the amount of research it requires. That sort of thing has to appeal to you, and you have to have an interest in the time period you want to roleplay in, beyond the basics.
But why the Romans? There's been more history, hasn't there? Yes! But! There's just something inherently appealing about the Roman Empire. I imagine it fascinates lots of people, given the amount of detective novels there are, set in that time period and place (my mom's got lots of them). I went to Rome and Pompeii and several other noteworthy places on an extensive school trip. It was back in 2004, but everything I saw there still inspires me. If you've never done it, try it! Walk around the ruins of a street in Pompeii with houses and brothels and precursors of fastfood restaurants, or luxurious villas or potteries or bakeries or amphitheatres and try to picture what life must have been like there and then. Or visit a cave where apparently some prophetess lived, and imagine walking all the way there from what used to be the nearest town, along the paved roads and waystations. Or, visit a church dedicated to Maria and descend down into the foundations and find there's an old shrine to Minerva there. BAM! Instant inspiration.
Anyway, to me, history = romans. History class got interesting to me when we reached the Bronze Age, and it fascinated me up until the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire. So naturally, when I figured it would be nice to draw some form of banner-bearer for this contest, I immediately made the jump from random soldier to Roman legionnaire. And I also liked the fact that RPR looks just a tiny bit like SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus, an abbreviation you see just about everywhere, on Roman banners as well as buildings and all that. So, it all seems to come together.

I was having a hell of a time judging this contest. Clearly a massive amount of creativity and effort went into each entry. Yet each was drawn in a different style, each spoke to a different genre, and when it came to picking the best, there was literally no comparison. I couldn't even pick a personal favorite. Every time I looked through the entries, I looked at each one and went, "This one is my favorite. No, this one. Wait! It's this one!"

Even when I thought I had candidates for first, second and third place, I had no idea what order to put them in.

At some point, I took them and assembled them into a "genre jumble" picture like on the front page, and had an epiphany: Despite being so radically different in style, subject, even color palettes, they somehow still managed to play really well together.

And that's the true magic of the RPR, and the whole point of a genre jumble image in the first place.

Congrats, contestants. Without conferring with one another, you have somehow each managed to create a character that was meant to be a member of a single adventuring party.




Ethelle, Literaphobia and Heimdall: You have each won 12 months of Epic Membership, 10 bookmarks, and 3 permanent extra character slots. You also have my tremendous thanks for so handily illustrating both individual genres and the welcoming spirit of the RPR. The resultant genre jumble will receive a place of honor on the front page.


CelestinaGrey will also be receiving an honorable mention, and 4 months of Epicness will be headed her way. The character she entered was just plain adorable, and it took some bravery to be the first person to submit an entry to a potentially daunting contest.

Awesome! That does look like a pretty epic group we've got going here.


Awww, thanks Kim. You're sweet

Awesome work everyone! I'm still chiding myself for not giving it a go >_<, but this group looks awesome together!

They look brilliant together, congratulations to Ethelle, Literaphobia and Heimdall

The jumble looks great! Thanks so much Kim (and everyone)! Eee!

I just logged and saw that in the main page.

It was GLORIOUS.

Gah! The entries look fantastic together!

Congrats also to Heim, Lit and Celestina! Asqueee!
And thanks to Amirrora and Kim for organizing all this!

Congrats to all the winners! I'm so glad in the end it all ended up working out, where originally it seemed doomed to fail!

I hope everyone had fun!


(PS: Sorry I haven't been around much, RL Issues.)

Ami, we missed you! It's good to see you back

Welcome back Amirrora