UPDATE JULY 28TH, 2008
Ze contest is CLOSED! We have twenty SPECTACULAR entries, and. Holy shit, it is going to be SO HARD to judge these. They all rock, seriously, you guys did such a great job. 8DDDD

Expect results in... a few days, hopefully. I'm hoping to announce the winners before Kakkoi|Con on Friday, but in the odd case that I don't, expect results probably by next Wednesday. But we're going to aim for this Thursday at the latest.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, GUYS! You've made this contest possible!



UPDATE JULY 24TH, 2008
I've had another request for an extension, so the ULTIMATE FINAL DUE DATE IS MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, JULY 27TH. No more extensions after this you guys! :CCCC


UPDATE JULY 22ND, 2008
A couple people have asked me for an extension, so all entries will be due MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, JULY 25TH. A short extension, but an extension nonetheless.

Get crackin'! 8D

UPDATE JULY 17TH, 2008
In the words of the Barenaked Ladies... you have ONE WEEK!

... ok, that was only very slightly related to the words of the Barenaked Ladies. But you still only have one week! The contest will end at midnight (that's 12:00am) on Wednesday July 23rd. Then expect a couple days for judging and results shortly thereafter.

Now go forth and rock it!

UPDATE JULY 5TH, 2008
Hey guys! You have about two and a half weeks to get your entries in. I would prefer not to extend the deadline simply because I have a con to attend the following week (after which I will promptly die) and an 18-credit college semester soon after. So get those entries in!

START DATE: March 23rd, 2008

END DATE: July 25th, 2008

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**SEE THE ENTRIES**

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HEY GUYS! Just because it's appropriate, listen to this song. [link]

8DDDD

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Yeah I know I said I wasn't going to start until April 1st, but BAHHHHH. I was bored. x3

...BACKGROUND INFORMATION...

"Elements" is another work-in-progress concept of mine. If you'd like to see preexisting art of it, it's here.

Pardon my terrible writing:

The setting takes place in a world similar to our own. There is the Inner Country, which consists of many rich, thriving, powerful cities; the essence of stability. There is also the Outer Land, a constantly changing government that thrives one day and lays in warfare and poverty the next.

An enemy country, sensing weakness in the Outer Land, invaded and started a war. The war got so severe that eight scientists from the Outer Land decide to ban together and create super-humans in hopes of driving the enemy out.

They abducted a little orphan girl and created the first Elemental, Hydrogen. However, she proved too powerful, and she went AWOL and escaped, nearly destroying the lab. She now roams around the Outer Land as a rogue Elemental.

The scientists created more Elementals, this time getting steadily better at the process. They abducted people - generally lower-class, abandoned, alone, and afraid - and turned them. Each Elemental has their own story of why they were kidnapped and experimented on.

Eventually, the Elementals were set loose into the world (or they escaped) and divided, some forming alliances and some plotting their own schemes. When the scientists discovered that the Elements were not doing what they were meant to do, they decided to make themselves into Elements - the Unun elements, to be exact - so they could do the fighting themselves. However, they all became so corrupt with power that they were unable to do anything in the name of good.

(The plot is quite rough from here on, but it's not really important to this contest.)

The actual plot follows the story of a boy named Neo (the kid in the banner 8D) as he struggles to find his true identity, and he meets Elements along his journey.


...ELEMENTS...

(To clear things up, when I say "elements" I mean in the scientific sense of the Periodic Table of Elements, and not earth/wind/water/fire type elements.)

Elements ( capital "E" ) are people who were taken and fused with an element from the Periodic table, and each one has characteristics of their element (i.e., Iron is really strong, Gold is highly desirable, Sulfur is really smelly and likes to blow things up, etc.) Their aging process is very, very slow, but they vary in age, race, sex, etc. Some of them have memories of when they were human, some of them don't (Neo for example).

The Elements have essentially divided themselves into these categories:

OPTE (Operative Periodic Team: Elements ( pronounced "optee" ) - an organization of Elements run by Mercury. Their motives are to drive out the invading enemy, but by any means necessary.

Traitors - Elements that have joined the enemy's side to conquer the nation that bore them (more than likely their memories were tampered with and their primary goal is vengeance against their creators).

Mercenaries - Elements-for-hire, usually skilled fighters who try to earn themselves a reputation and only answer to the highest bidder.

Refugees - Elements that escaped the lab that are trying to survive the war and make an honest living as best they can.

Outsiders - Elements that roam freely, not contributing to anyone's side (i.e. Hydrogen).


...YOUR TASK...

Take a look at a periodic table and choose an element. Research that element (Try looking at Wikipedia, WebElements.com, Google, etc.). Here are some key things to look for:

what it's used for
how it was discovered
who discovered it
its properties (is it solid, liquid, or gas? Does it change? Under what conditions does it change?)
how it interacts with other elements (this may help you form relationships between characters)

Keeping all of these elements (hahah pun) in mind, personify that into a living, breathing human-esque character.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Element: Copper
Atomic Number: 32
Power(s): Patina shields (when copper rusts/decays, it creates a material called patina, which acts as a shield to protect the inner metal. The character Copper has the ability to conjure a forcefield of patina as a defense mechanism.)
Etc.

Accuracy is key, but feel free to add some artistic license to it.


...YOUR ENTRY/ENTRIES...

All entries must include this form, whether in the description or in the image itself (items marked with an asterisk * are optional):

Element Name:
Atomic Number:
Alliance (OPTE, refugee, etc.):
Age:
Gender:
Race/Ethnicity*:
Height*:
Weight:
Siblings:
Power:
Weapon:

APPEARANCE

Hair:
Eyes:
Clothing Preferences:

PERSONALITY

Sexuality*:
Love Interest*:
Likes*:
Dislikes*:
History*:
Other*:

Also please type out at least a paragraph (3 sentences min.) about what characteristics of the element you've found and how/why you've incorporated them into your character.

Please include as much information about your character as you can. Develop him/her to their fullest!


...IMPORTANT NOTES...

There are some Elements that cannot be designed because a) I've already created them, or b) they hold great significance to the plot and must be dealt with accordingly by me (the creator). These are:

Hydrogen
Lithium
Nitrogen
Neon
Sodium
Phosphorus
Sulfur
Potassium
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
Copper
Zinc
Palladium
Silver
Platinum
Gold
Mercury
Lead
The Unun elements (Elements 112-118)

Feel free to design any other Element, however.


...RULES...

1. Please DO NOT USE PREEXISTING CHARACTERS. This includes your own! If you've drawn a character only once long ago in a faraway land that you think could work for this contest, then that's OK. But don't use any of your main characters, or characters you actually plan to do something with in the future.
2. You may draw your character with one (or more) of mine. This will not win you kudo points unless they are interacting in a way that exemplifies your character and the relationship they have in the story.
3. Keep blood/close relationships with my preexisting Elements to a minimum. I don't expect that each Element is an only child, but brother/sister relationships are not entirely established yet.
4. If the Element you’ve chosen has a relationship with another Element that someone else has already chosen, feel free to contact them and form a sort of collaborative effort. (For example, the elements copper and zinc make brass, so the characters Copper and Zinc can kind of "combine" themselves to make a pseudo-element, Brass.)
5. You may enter more than once, but please keep it reasonable. Anything past five entries I tend to frown upon, unless you REALLY took time on them. However, you can only win once.
6. An Element is allowed to have more than one design by two different people (i.e., if two people decide to design their own version of Carbon, that is allowed).
7. Character sheets are preferred, but not required.
8. Entries are highly suggested to be colored.
9. Prose entries are allowed, but they should be highly detailed in description.


...JUDGING...

Please NOTE ME with your entries regardless of whether I watch you or not. I will be judging these based on creativity and thoughtfulness. Artistic skill will not be judged.

PRIZES

**1st Prize** - a fully rendered commission from me of whatever you want (up to 5 characters), a cel-shaded box-background piece of your Element character, and a sketch of your choice
**2nd Prize** - a commission of your choice (limited background, up to 2 characters) and a sketch of your choice
**3rd Prize** - a cel-shaded box background piece of your choice (1 character)
**Honorable Mentions** (may go up depending on how many entries there are) - a sketch of their Element character


If you have any questions regarding *anything* please don't hesitate to NOTE ME or comment on this journal.

Have fun! Be creative!

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**SEE THE ENTRIES**

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