*** Entries are now closed! Go to http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3883725/ to vote before the end of October! ***

Hi all!

Last month we announced we'd be running a contest to find a mascot to represent the Ozfurs group here on FA. Between now and the end of September we'd like to invite all artists out there to submit your entries for a chance to have your creation featured as the Ozfurs ID Pic and our official mascot!

For full details about entering the contest - as well as info on an extra prize we're offering - read on.

What we're looking for:
We're looking to select one contest entry as the Ozfurs group's mascot. All Australian furs are eligible to enter the contest once. As we're looking to select something created by Australian furs for Australian furs, entries from outside Australia are unfortunately not going to be accepted. Collaborating with other Aussie artists to make a joint entry is allowed, and likewise non-artists are encouraged to team up with their artistic friends to come up with an idea.

There is no restriction on what species your mascot is. It can be an Australian native animal, non-native, a mythical creature, a hybrid, or your own unique species. As we're looking for something that represents the Australian furry community though there's a fair chance the winning entry will either be an Australian species or will have some connection to Australia in one way or another. Above all though, be creative with your ideas: we're looking for a character that really stands out from the crowd! Likewise we want to try to find a character that represents who we are as a community.

In regards to content, we're looking for G-rated submissions only.

How to enter:
Upload your entry to FA and post a link to it as a comment below. Please be aware that entries that are provided outside of this journal run the risk of not being entered for judging.

Judging:
Judging will be held in one of two ways depending on how many submissions we receive.

If the selection of submissions is small enough we'll open all entries up to a community vote.

If however we have a massive response from the community we'll first short list the selections prior to opening up a community wide vote. In either case though, the final say on who wins is going to come down to your vote - after all, if this mascot is going to represent Australian furs, who better to choose it than all of you? Everyone will be entitled to one vote, so long as they're an Australian fur watching the Ozfurs group.

Contest duration:
The contest will be open for submissions from now until the end of September. This gives everyone roughly six weeks to get their entries in. At the end of September submissions will close and we will prepare to begin the voting process. Voting will run until the end of October (unless otherwise specified when voting commences). Voting will take place in a separate journal that will be posted specifically for that purpose.

Prizes:
The entry with the most votes at the end of the voting period will become the Ozfurs mascot. The winner's work will be uploaded to the Ozfurs FA account as a submission, will feature as our Profile ID pic, and the winner, together with runners up, will be acknowledge in a journal.

In addition to all that,  carnival from  actfuronair, Australia's furry podcast, will also be offering a commission to the winner featuring their mascot and a character of their choice!

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We look forward to seeing everyone's submissions!

If you have further questions, leave a comment below.