Contest The not-so-secret-anymore Concept Art Contest

Can I say here that the "maid Udell" entry made my day

My day literally started with laughter right now. I love it!

 

Yeey thank you for saying that! I was hoping I wasn't the only one laughing

 

I'm glad so many people participated in the end, =^.^=

If I could vote I'd go for @talaberry 's Filipino Warrior
He really caught my eyes

 

Same here! Though there were many other good ones I would also be happy to see win!

 

Is it weird that I hope I don’t win just because I think everybody else is so much more deserving of the prize than me? That’s not me being negative, I’m impressed with the other entries! There were so many unique ideas for these gorgeous guys, I’ll be curious to see who wins and what they do with him!

 

I'm always so impressed with the talent pool on DoA!! - everyone who entered gets my applause xxxox

 

I'm kind of glad the mods are picking the winner 'cause there are so many good entries It would be super hard to choose who to vote for :O

 

Does anyone know when winners will be announced? The contest is already closed, but I’m sure the mods need time to discuss picking a winner. Just curious when I should check back!

 

oh, thats right, they didnt told us...
Since it was the last to close, it will probably be after all the other contests results, but cant precisely say when :/

 

The mod team will probably take around a week or so to vote.

 

whaaaaat?

 

The reason for our slightly smaller celebrations this year is because a lot of the team has a number of other obligations during August and some of September. So, some of us aren't able to get online easily right at the moment.
But if we are able to announce the results sooner we definitely will!

 

Ahhhhh just stretch all my contest anxiety well into September!!

In all seriousness though, I’m sure even without the shortage of staff things get crazy during anniversary events while still doing your usual work too, so the delay is totally understandable! (And not really that much longer than the voting periods for the other contests anyway.)

 

The amount of talent on this forum is always so inspiring!

I ended up entering with my rough sketch. Real life didn't let me have the time to work on the watercolor piece in my head but I had already decided I wanted to enter, so I put up the sketch anyway.

 

I made a sketch too but I never entered - I couldn't even decide what hair I wanted my doll to have. So he's bald. XD I need a lot more time to think up characters. I loved seeing everyone's artworks though!

 

Oops I didn’t realize there was a discussion hiding over here. Congrats everyone on thier entries, I love the diversity

 

Why didn't you enter? Isn't that the thing about concept? A rough draft to work with but it can still change in the process? I would allready want to add to my concept and give him an icecream cone for a hat.

I didn't want to enter at first either. Seeing all the other artwork that entered before me, made me feel I stood no chance because I can't draw. I had to try mine over and over again, just to get his proportions allright. And I still think he looks so bad compared to all the others, but at least he looks human.

In te end I decided to enter, because it is about concept art. Not about creating an artpiece for a magazine or a museum or so (then I wouldn't have even dared to participate xD). So I took my chances.

Now I feel sad you didn't get to enter because he wasn't done yet. Probably because I myself was struggeling with the idea if I should enter or not. Who knows what kind of original beauty you might have created. I'm very curious about your concept now!

 

I personally decided against it 1) because I was pretty tired and would have had to either rush or do so at work and 2) I realized that I wanted some of the other people to win more than I did (not that I would lol).

 

now THAT'S the spirit

 

I understand why you didn't feel ready to enter your art (but just to hopefully make you feel better about it, my art was #2 and I made my Udell bald on purpose!) Couldn't decide what kind of wig I like on male dolls so I would just tattoo his head instead.

 

Thanks for your concern, but I didn't even want to win! I would've entered for fun, if I had managed to finish something that isn't just a mess of sketchy lines that no one but me can decipher.

Thank you. I remember yours, it's super cool! Good luck

 

I almost didn’t enter either, but you never know what other people will like. Just because you think it looks terrible doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it. If you don’t enter at all, you have zero chance at winning. A tiny chance is better than no chance!

So I sketched my guy at midnight when inspiration struck and entered him. He’s not the most beautiful polished art, but he turned out better than I expected he would. Besides, if you look at concept art for movies, cartoons, video games, lots of them look very unfinished and much different than how the final character ends up looking.

 

I agree with you @CloakedSchemer, When I was drawing my guy, he was originally going to have legs (and boots!) but I just couldn't get them right. So I decided to cut the picture off (literally) and just enter what was left. It didn't matter to me that I didn't have the full body shot I was first going for because I was happy with my work. At least my entry was in and I could look at it and be proud. Concept art doesn't have to perfect, just portray the idea your thinking.

 

Oh gosh! So much 'insecurities' here. Now I'm glad I wasn't the only one feeling so. Not glad that people feel insecure. I mean it more like, glad that it seems to be a normal human emotion to feel this way.

I agree. Better a chance taken than taking none at all.

 

Yeah, I also thought "there are such great arts, better not enter", but as someone already mentioned I realized is more about the concept than the drawing so I entered anyway! I still dont think I have a chance, but I had a lot of fun anyway.

 

Sorry to hear that people were hesitant to enter. I actually enjoyed every single entry to this contest (and to the other contests too), no matter what style or how sophisticated. There are so many different ways to approach a concept for a doll. Art is a lot about enjoying the process itself, and the DoA contests feel rather like the community members celebrating their creativity than grim competitors craving for trophies. I think we have internalized a lot of false beliefs about art, one of them being that you have to come up with a finished polished product.

 

Very well said! I also feel like entering isn't just about trying to be the best, but I've seen so much support and encouragement between participants this year, and it's wonderful!

 

To all of you who deal with insecurities when it comes to your drawing skills, know this:
Most artists feel the same insecurities even when people tell them their art is amazing.

The golden rules here are :
- The more you draw, the better you get at it.
- The only time you will compare your art is with your own previous pieces.

Also, drawing is like dancing; everybody got his own way to express himself.
There are so many styles and you will always find someone who like the same style as your own.

 

I was also close to not entering, because to be honest, I've not been drawing much lately (so I'm kind of rusty) and I was also already so impressed with the entries before mine (who knows what might come after), that I felt like, there's no way-- but I'm glad that I did enter eventually, because not only did I try painting digitally again-- I've also beaten the evil art block lol. :'D

Anyway keep it up, everyone-- and pats on the back regardless. XD

 

I just wanted to say, I saw a lot of really great art pieces here! You all are true artists and so glad to see everybody's work.

 

I actually made my drawing to get some drawing practise done, I have a 5 month old and we moved when I was pregnant so I didn't do much drawing for almost a year. I am so impressed (and a little intimidated) by the talent here! I know I shouldnt compare my art to other,but damn I really need to step up my game and try to find time to practice. This was so motivating!

(Mine was the fallen angel)

 

Was I the only one who didn't do a character backstory/personality? TBH most of my dolls don't have a backstory or anything, just a name and a look and maybe a vague personality

 

I didn't either.
In my entry Udell just spontaneously became a Dragon Summoner.
No backstory was required

It's a bit like how Neptune became the Gentleman Thief for last year's triathlon

 

I really liked everyone's concepts tbh. You guys are all really creative. I mean, I loved the art, I looked at it all about a million times! But I had so much reading everyone's character descriptions. I can see why it'll take so long to vote on a winner.

 

No backstory either. I was just hungry or so (joke, joke). I don't think ant backstory was needed with mine. And like Lawrichi said, sometimes OC's or personalities or concepts just turn up. And backstories come later. Or not. I have 2 dolls with no backstory at all, while all other 12 are very detailed and would be literally books if I wrote their stories down.

I believe dolls can be beautifull without to many (like we say this in my language) horns and bells. Simple is ok too. I mean.. maid Udell cracked me up and he didn't had to much of a backstory either.

 

Honestly, I didn't feel insecure about my entry when I first entered. Mine was #1 and I spent like 15 hours on that piece, I was happy with how I colored it and the time crunch I was in. But now that time has passed and I've seen all the other entries, I feel like mine is really subpar. I wish I had spent even more time on it, even though I don't fully know what I would have done differently. I just got this idea for a character after looking at the Udell and went with it, and then used that creative process to help me cope with the sudden loss of a family member (and spent 12 hours that one day drawing). Congrats to whoever wins, this was a fun contest, even though I have no chance of winning

 

What I think matters most is that you suddenly got an idea in your head and you went through with it. It doesn't matter that other peoples entries may be 'better' because you had to do what was right for you. There's no point striving to be the best artist because sometimes those people are their own worst enemies. I know how hard it was for me to hit the 'post' button on my entry as I have a huge fear of people seeing my work, but honestly, seeing that you (the brave person) had the guts to be the first entry I felt less afraid.

 

This is why I entered even though my drawing was... uh... It's not my strong suit. It was actually my mom that was like: "You've been wanting that one! You definitely won't win if you don't enter! Just enter, you never know what someone will like. You're your toughest critic." She gave me the whole speech! Haha. So she kind of pushed me to enter. I'm glad I did even if I wanted to cry from embarrassment. At least now I can say I tried, you know? Yay me and YAY everyone else that tried! I can't wait to hear who the winner is. This is super exciting.

 

Awwww, it's sweet your mom did that! I wish I had someone who supported me like that, my family just nodded and said "S'good" when I showed them mine. I don't make art they like. Oh well I'm glad you entered!

 

My irl friends and family aren't interested in anything I draw...I've mostly stopped showing them my stuff. Good thing we have online art communitiesr, at least you might get some feedback or encouragement! That's why we're here!

I'm glad everyone decided to enter. Not one style was the same, everyone had a unique point-of-view, and great ideas for those dolls! You guys did a fabulous job.

 

@MonochromeNocturne It was really sweet of her, she's always encouraging me. I'd be a total wreck without her!
I'm glad you entered, too. I really think everyone did a great job and I think we should all be very proud of ourselves.

 

@VampireAngel13 , a lot of good entries but yours really stood out to me. Of course I follow you on flickr so I may be biased
But I love all your work and your dolls, even though I'm not necessarily a big comics fan,and I think you are an amazing talent. It's hard to believe your family and friends aren't interested.
But then, the few times I've won prizes for stuff here on DoA my family were congratulatory but never asked to see my entries or prizes which kind of hurt my feelings.

 

Maybe expecting our friends and families to be enthusiastic about us doing art is asking too much? Especially to our families being artistic might be just like any other character trait. Also, in my my country, being an artist doesn't exactly have any significance (unless you can make a lot of money with your art, of course). I okay if you do it, but most people won't understand why you would waste your time with it.
In my experience, most support comes from other artists. Even from artists whose work is more advanced than your own because looking at your art they'll see what you're struggling with at the moment and remember they've been through a similar struggle.
BTW I really enjoy this discussion with you all …

In any case, it would still be nice to get a pat on the back from fiends once in a while …

 

Woah! I was going to say that sounds harsh, but maybe if it's a cultural thing, nobody sees it that way? I am a traditionally trained artist from as early as I can remember, I went to figure drawing courses with my mom because they wouldn't allow me to take them by myself (nudity). So if it wasn't because of my parents full support, and encouragement I wouldn't have the knowledge or enjoyment of art as I do now. Neither of them is into art, nor can I say honestly enjoy much of it. I have a of artist friends in real life though, so I get to talk nerd all I want as much as I want. I do understand the desire to do that with real people. (:

Having said that, I haven't drawn in a very long time, it took me literally hours to do the graphite portrait of Udell; when I noticed I had already spent more than four hours on it! To be honest though, I am not huge into doing portraits, I prefer anatomical/medical drawing. Faces are not my thing, so when I saw how long I had taken with the portrait, I decided to just do a quick sketch of a nude Udell and do the coloring in Photoshop. I hate coloring in real life with pencils, so I thought it would be faster to do it digitally. I regret not doing more full figure sketches or a fully clothed version of my character, but I was running out of time (I had children visitors in my surroundings), and I was getting anxious with my slowness. Like others have mentioned before me, you do get rusty when you don't use your art skills often!

 

I agree that sounded harsh, at least to me. I do not expect my family to support me, and I totally only do it as a hobby, but I was raised with my father and grandmother incentivating my artistic side. Even if now they think a more profitable job is better and dont get enthusiastic about my art, they would never dismiss it as just a character trait. I do agree that the country as a whole and in general do not valorizate art enough, but coming from a - not rich but - highy educated family, ignoring art like that would be such a "no, no".
Culture and art are really important from my point of view and as our country had an museum in fire this week (more than 20 mil itens were lost) I am especially sensitive about the "non valorization of it" topic cause I know my country will pay for the care we didnt had, in the future. I never knew my mom liked culture and history (she is a really hot headed doctor that I thought only cared about science) but I saw her crying watching the fire news on television saying she actually wanted to visit that museum from a long time ago.

 

My family and my one friend are kind of just like "that's nice dear" when I show them my art or sewing I think my sewing is getting better all the time but my art is just kind of stagnant at a mediocre level. I don't really know how to improve it. I was a part of this facebook group for aspiring comic artists to share their art and techniques and critique each other and such and it seemed great and helpful but with one problem: it was mostly men and there was a ton of drawings of super sexualized women in spine snapping poses posted every day and I really didn't want to see that all the time so I had to quit.

 

Awww, I'm so sorry about your local museum! I hope that the things that were saved from the fire are put back on display asap!

 

Oh! i think you might be getting me wrong. My point is: Don't be too harsh yourselves on you families and friends for not giving you enough support. They might not be aware of what you actually need.
And I didn't mean to give you a false impression of my country - and especially not about my own attitude. Of course, we do appreciate art and cultural life and everything that comes with it … But people are kind of reserved about giving a lot of support.

@Nefla Sorry to hear that about your FB group. It's not so easy to find the right group of people to learn with. Maybe there's a "girls only" group or forum out there. There are so many women doing art, there must be something.
Stagnation at one level: I don't know for how long you've felt stuck, but this may be a normal part of your progress. Keep going…
I also find that "talent" has its highs and lows. there are times when my drawing look quite good to me, and one day later I can only draw like a four-year-old.

 

Lol you totally might be biased XD But thank you anyway!! *hugs*
My doll friends are great when it comes to doll-related things....regular art not so much XD
When I showed them my submission I got two things - "it's dark." and "The vampire in the shadow should win." :\
So, not enthusiastic! But kind of like you mentioned (not being into comics), not all art is everyone's cup of tea.

My mom has spent a lifetime trying to get me to put animals in my comic art. She's always trying to convince me that my characters need dogs or pets of some kind...because that's what she likes. That's pretty much all she's ever had to say about my art. XD

That sounds kind of like Deviant art XD I used to be heavily involved in that site but it's pretty much all porn and fan art of things I don't care about now. The only thing I've heard about the FB art community is that the comic pros as a majority don't like it...they mostly use twitter and instagram (and since I stalk a lot of them, that is where I live too - neither are great for groups or feedback ((never ask for criticism on twitter. Ever.)), but at least I get some views and I get to see all their art)

We should all just use that thread in brigadoon more. We can be our own group.

 

I tried looking but the groups I found were either not what I was interested in (such as still life painting), had only a few members and barely any posts, or the caliber of art was much lower. (Often a combination of the 3) I didn't find any replacement sadly. I've even thought about slinking back to the men's group and just dealing with it but I dunno, I really hated the vast amount of objectification. There was just a lot of amazing art and artists who DIDN'T post "woman with 9" waist, 50" breasts, and a spine that defies human anatomy dressed in a piece of dental floss #97,480" but it felt like at least a third WAS that and you can't have one without the other.

 

Reading all this.. am I the only one who would want my mom to tone down a bit? I came from a family that on both sides has artists. Painters, drawers, photographers.. and they are all fabulous! Even my mom once got asked to draw a picture that would future on wedding invitations. And then there's me. The one that tries and is decent sometimes, has a ton of ideas.. but they never come out the way I want. I mostly am 'ok' with my art because I think it is most important to get my feelings out on the paper. I am not wanting a career in art or make my money from it. Or get my art feautured.

And I know I'm not that good, just good enough so people who don't draw tell me they would kill to draw like me, but not good enough to be able to draw cool cartoonish or manga style, or the realistic style, which I love. The best I can do is 'cheap childrens book' art. I am totally ok with this if I don't need to get it out next to others (like right now, it get's me insecure because all the other art is amazing).

And then there is my mom. Rooting me on like I'm the new Picasso or Rubens or Van Gogh. Sheesh mom, I'm not 3 anymore! But she goes all off to other family and friends and even the whole neighbourhood like, how her daughter is having this diary that is drawn, not written and that it is amazing and when this one is finished I need to get it published (no way, mom!!). Sheesh, you can be a proud mom, or you can overdo it. And it's especially weird because she herself would drew amazing things! So yeah, I don't like all that praising that much. And what was she even doing, looking into my diary!?

But I do agree. It is nice to have someone who likes your art or believes in you. And encourages you. Or that they would at least show a little bit of interest. Even if it's only for 5minutes.

 

You should all be glad you have people supporting you , my family thinks art is a waste of time,just like everything else I do I don't have contact with them anymore ,but at last I am part of a supportive and creative family; my fiance and his family are all incredibly supportive and creative themselves. I always felt like the weird duck in my biological family. Treasure those who support your passions

 

It took awhile (and a lot of arguments and tears) for my mum to finally be okay with me pursuing art in school and now professionally. She wasn't exactly discouraging, but at the same time it doesn't seem like she "gets" my art (and was worried that I might not be able to make something out of it), except for perhaps my photography (from my travels)... In which she said she'd like to print some and hang on the wall... Aww! XD My friends also do not get excited about my art... But plenty of other people do, especially online and my bosses, current and former. So it's ok. I try to be grateful and not take it personally. :')

 

I'm not sure if I want to laugh or rather cry about the way your mum comments on your art. For me it sums up my general impression of how a lot of people go about art. Like it's something done for their own entertainment. And also like it is always just that little something missing …

tbh I often draw pets with my characters because I find animals so fun to draw. Maybe we should team up.

We should really keep on posting in Brigadoon.


@CherryBlossom Your story is definitely not the "rule". You must be under quite a bit of pressure. Praise can also become a burden … Admittedly, I'm really curious to see your drawn diary now (but shame shame shame on you mom for looking!) …
I have a friend who pusued an artists's career because of her mom praised her drawings so much. She even filed a suit to get a place at uni when she failed the entrance exam. She was never happy studying art and stopped doing any kind of artistic work altogether.

So maybe that's why I think it's okay if my family didnt't encourage me. I know I'm doing art because I want to, not because I got praise or rewards for it.

@Nefla If that group inspires you despite the dudes drawing big boobs, and if you can learn a lot - maybe just stoically take what you need and ignore the rest. I don't know what you are after, but I think the supply of art courses, tutorials etc. is so vast - nothing in it for you?

 

We should! We'd have everything then. Pets....all the things I draw that aren't pets.... XD
My mom would finally be happy with my/our art!

 

There are definitely tutorials out there but I have found no community as advanced in skill or nearly as active. I started out trying to just block the people posting the cheesecake pinups so I wouldn't have to see it but there's an overwhelming amount and I'd just end up blocking almost everyone in the group so I quit. I just pretty much got frustrated and stopped drawing when I couldn't find an equivalent but without the oversexualized and objectified women.

 

I am not sure how helpful my comment will be for you, but while I was taking drawing courses the basic requirements were to do at least ten quick sketches every day. We had to show and critique them with all of the class the next day. While you might not be able to get critique, there is a wealth of free images online that are decent for figure drawing and a lot of them that are amazing for portrait drawing as well. If you are more serious about it, you can find books by Mario Henri Chakkour titled "Virtual Pose," I am not sure how many volumes there are now but they come with a CD-Rom including all the poses in the book but are viewable from 360 degrees. You won't get critique and comments on your progress as you would from an online community or a class, but you can always share your work on other spaces. It won't be the same as getting feedback from peers, but it is very helpful to practice everyday! I can say that I have gotten very rusty over the years of not drawing constantly and portraiture was never my thing, so practice does make perfect in this case (even without the critique). Hope that helps a little! (:

 

@evie the kid: some sentences might seem long, but I'm going to try to explain myself the best I can with the little English i know.

Well, at least my mom is also supportive with a lot of other things I do. Like how I wanted to go back to school and I choose something that was totally not expected of a girl, especially a girly girl like me. And I'm also comming from a college degree, worked in my field for almost 10 years and now decided I wanted to go for a more craftsmanship degree which is mostly looked down on in my country. I'm still not sure if I want to give up the work I do now. I always loved my job. Even though I would keep working in my curnt field, most parents would be a tad dissapointed when their kids would study beneath their academical abilities. Yet she keeps rooting for me on that one too.

So I guess she is just a very supportove mom (which also has its downsides!!!). She won't support me in everything though. Like with the BJD hobby, it also took her some years to accept it. But it's nice to know she has my back when it matters, like going to study again.

It's a shame she looked into my diary without me asking first, I guess. I'm totally open to show some of my work to other people, yet some pages are still off limit for people and are private to me. Because of emotional reasons. I do post some of the pages online, I don't know if I'm allowed to share a link to them here?

 

Its now a week since the deadline, the result must be out anytime soon, right? I feel curious about this one the most since it was not voted