Hello all! I've thought about exactly how to do this over the past few weeks and I've decided that it would draw the most interest and most talent if I shaped it in the form of a contest, so heeeeeeere's the premise: I want you to draw my next tattoo. As in permanent, on my body, real tattoo.
There are several reasons I've chosen to come here. First of all, after awing over the dozens of great pieces of art I've seen on these forums, I thought it would be a legitimate source of good creativity and talent. Second, my idea involves Guild Wars... vaguely (enough that you'd have an advantage by playing, but not so much that an outside participant couldn't compete). Other reasons, of course, include the joy I get from watching people compete and do their best and being able to view all of the amazing products that you folks seem to come up with.
===The Tattoo===
Alright, I'll briefly describe my idea, and please, play off of it as much as you want.
Basic Description:The tattoo will be a sword with a clump of dirt (at either end, I'm anxious to see which you choose). From the root will come two branches, one very "dead" looking, with thorns, cracks, etc., and the other will be "alive" with a smoother, lighter skin and small leaves. I also like the idea of the branches twisting around the sword and around each other. At the end of the branches, the "dead" one will disappear and the "alive" one will blossom into a very deep-crimson-red rose (whether at the tip of the sword or around the hilt, either way). Running along the length of the sword will be the Biblical reference II Corinthians 5:17 in some sort of script, flowing font. The integration of the words is entirely up to you.
The tattoo will be on my left arm, the sword pointing vertically (the tip towards my elbow, the handle/hilt on my upper shoulder). It will be somewhere in between my tricep and the profile side of my arm.
===The Rules===
1. The sword must be symmetrical. There are several GW swords that would be a great starting place (if you choose to base one off of a GW design, it will probably help your cause
).2. All elements of my basic design must be present. Even if you aren't particularly comfortable with your artistic abilities in one area, sketch it in and I may integrate pieces from other works.
3. You must be open to constructive criticism on my behalf. After all, this is going on my body forever, I think I reserve the right to get just what I'm after
. More than likely, I'll have several designs that I really like and I'll request tweaks on them during or after the contest. 4. The deadline for *initial* ideas will be Friday, August 28th. I won't be incredibly strict about this deadline if you are in contact with me, and rough sketches are quite alright as long as I can see the direction you're headed. If there are several people who feel like this deadline is too short for them to do a decent piece, I may extend it, so please note in this thread if you feel that way. The final design deadline will be decided after I see how much participation this gets and how close the ideas are to my hopes/ideas. I'm planning on getting the tattoo sometime in January, so there's plenty of time for patchwork, although a general idea will probably be enough for the artist I'll be going to.
5. If there's anything I left out or you are unsure about, contact me via this thread or a Private Message on these forums.
===Prizes===
First place will be the design that I choose to be the primary basis of the tattoo and will receive 100k Guild Wars gold and their choice of item from my (small) vault. Note: If there are two entries or more who I feel contributed even amounts to the whole, I will most likely augment this prize and split it between them.
Major Contributors (Finalists) will be artists who added or augmented certain elements into the final design. These individuals will receive Guild Wars gold of an as-yet-undecided amount and their choice of item from my vault.
Participants in general, anyone who comes up with a decent piece of work, will be rewarded in some way as long as I have resources.
And, of course, you will get the satisfaction of having your artwork displayed on a walking canvas for its entire lifetime
.If you have any questions, please let me know in this thread or via Private Message on these forums. Good luck and I hope to see your artwork rolling in soon!