Round TWO is starting NOW!


What do we need this time?

1) Artists!
Do you wanna join the contest in creating creatures, insects or environments?
Yes? Reply here so I can add you to the list of participants! (no notes)

2) Judges!
Do you like art a lot? We'll need people who are willing to judge the submission for each contest and give it a fair and just rating. As above, reply here so I can add you to the appropriate list.
We currently have 2 judges, so two or three more would be perfect.

3) Donators!
If anyone is willing to give the winner a prize (a free sketch or something) please contact us by sending a note.
If we can't find anyone willing to donate, you'll just have to be happy with the chance of influencing the surface of the next planet in line. :v


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UPDATED RULES
- Have fun!
- You have three weeks to complete your entry.
- The deadline is April 29th.
- Once you’re ready, send us a NOTE with the link to your entry.
- The title of the note must be ENTRY 02.
- You can make a sketch, line art, fully colored drawing with or without background, write a story featuring a creature, make something out of paper-mâché or sculpt something in clay. Anything goes! What you want make is completely up to you. The sky's the limit!
- Every submission must be accompanied by a bit of text that describes how your creature lives, eats, etc. (Unless your submission is a story or a landscape, of course). The description of your creature will also be judged and will count toward the points you receive, so be sure to put some effort into it!
- You may draw as many images as you wish, but you must specify which two you want judged. If you do not, two will be picked at random.
- Artists/authors can't be judges; it messes with the scoring system.
- HAVE FUN!

[UPDATE]
Although we encourage people to be creative in many different ways, there are some things we won't allow:
- Terrain generators (Terragen, Bryce, DAZ Studio, etc...)
- Pre-made characters (Second Life characters or environments, etc...)
These programs require no artistic skill since it generates everything itself.
It does require the ability to compose a beautiful scene of character, but that's not the point of this contest.
HOWEVER, we do not wish to be completely unfair towards those who like this kind of artwork.
If there is a large enough demand, we will expand our contest to include a seperate section for computer generated artwork.
Currently however, we will not accept this type of entries.

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PLANET
This large planet has a dense atmosphere, high oxygen levels and sits close to its red supergiant sun. The temperature is very hot and humid, and the weather is dominated by storms. Rain and lightning storms are frequent, and due to the high oxygen content, the lightning storms commonly set off wild fires in the spring and summer.

There are no towering forests because the high oxygen levels mean that the flora (plant life) is reduced in size, while the fauna (animal life) can grow to immense sizes due to the dense atmosphere which reduces weight, meaning there is very few small fauna. This can cause problems for the fauna, who are hard pressed to find enough food, and for the flora, which need to be able to survive being constantly pushed to the edge of extinction both by being eaten and from the fires.

The planet is 80% land and only 20% water, 15% of that creating an inland sea, most of which is dominated by underwater volcanoes. The temperature of the water is very hot even without the constant volcanic eruptions, and during the summer the water steams all day and night. Due to the volcanic activity, the water has a high sulfuric content. The land is dotted with active volcanoes as well, though they are not as active due to the low activity of the tectonic plates that make up the large landmass. Most of the flora and fauna get their water from the frequent rainstorms as there is very little land water, both because of the sheer amount of land and because the flora soaks up the majority of the water.

However, beneath the land is a subterranean network of water canals, with clean water due to being filtered through many layers of soil. The water is much cooler than that on the surface, which makes for a completely different ecosystem. A lot of the humidity on the surface is due to the water canals.

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CREATURE
1) An enormous, solitary herbivore that travels long distances to keep itself fed.

2) A large pack hunter that holds large territories and preys on migrating herds.

3) A carnivorous glider of immense size that rarely needs to land.

4) A medium sized flying omnivore that tends to flock around larger herbivores, eating what is dropped and picking off the unprotected or sick young.

5) A blind subterranean predator that lives in the underground water canals.

6) A small subterranean swimming predator that feeds exclusively on crustacean-like creatures.

VERMIN
1) A scavenger that resides in corpses.

2) A pest whose females attach to larger creatures and live off their blood and whose males search them out to breed.

3) A large swimming parasite that replaces a body part on its victims.

INVERTEBRATE
1) A flying herbivore that helps certain flora through pollination.

2) A subterranean boneless predator.

FLORA
1) A plant capable of near miraculous growth, choking out the competition.

2) A tall carnivorous plant that collects rain water to catch prey.

3) A plant that spends the majority of its time airborne.

4) A plant that is found exclusively in the subterranean water canals.

LANDSCAPE
1) Inland sea.

2) Skyline.

3) A subterranean water lake.

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TIPS
- the high oxygen content and red light means that most of the flora will be more likely to be tall and spindly (i.e. no overly large surface areas) which means no towering forests; plants can only grow so large in direct relation to how much oxygen is available - the more oxygen, the smaller the plant.
- the high oxygen content and dense atmosphere means that the fauna will be able to grow to immense size; they will weigh less in comparison to their mass than a creature of the same mass would on present-day Earth.

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And thus concludes the start of Round 2. We look forward to your submissions! If you have any comments or questions, do not hesitate to comment below.

Most importantly: HAVE FUN!


- The Worldcraft Team

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Contestants:
- exequias
- balitiger23
- pdairas - Flora 1
- hivemindfury
- ta-ek
- darkscream
- forgetfulsinner
- tamara
- dragocorn
- yaegashi
- frogsbreath
- moonfir
- undeadmoonserpent
- wienerdog

Judges:
- arrankhar
- larkspurdragon
- ryusho
- elessara

So here we are, round one has finished with 12 great submissions and the winners are known.
All the judges did a fine job rating and scoring each entry of several key points: Design, Creativity, and effort were just a few of the many things they had to keep in mind.
However, as said, they did a really fine job.

Before announcing the winners, there's something else that we would like to add.
Two of our judges, Balitiger23 and Ta-ek, won't be able to judge next round and thus we are searching for people ro replace them.
If you're interested in judging our entries, we would like you to reply here so you can be added to next round's list of judges. If you're one of the current judges who won't be able to judge either, just reply here and we'll take care of things. No one is gonna force you to stay a judge, everyone is free to do whatever they want.


The reason you're reading this is because you want to know who won. The final scores were very close and in many cases the difference was just half a point!

HOWEVER!
After discussing things we (Hilary and Exequias) decided to remove ourselves from the contest.
We'll still submit our drawings and join the rounds, but our entries won't be judged.
As moderators, we're having plenty of fun organising this contest and coming up with planets and creature ideas. All the entries we get from you guys are a big enough reward for us!

Therefor: the winners of this round are:

First place: hivemindfury who tied with both his written entries! Barbed Raptor and Termanites
Second place: LarkspurDragon with Stonethrower

We'll send a note to the winner with who to contact for their prizes really soon.
Round two will start TOMORROW on a completely new planet in a VERY different solar system.


We're looking forward to see you then!


-The Worldcraft Team.

Alright folks, that's it! Round one is officially at a close; we will be accepting no more entries.

Judges will be receiving Notes with a list of entries and a deadline for when their scores must be submitted tomorrow.

Thanks to all those who participated! This was a great start to what we hope will be the first of many rounds! This wouldn't be possible without you guys :)

-Balitiger23



As my colleague and partner in crime already said, this round is over!

For me, there are some mixed feelings with the number of entries compared to the number of people that signed up, but there's nothing to do about that. The contest is free for all and no one is forced to participate. All in all, we've got 11 real nice entries and I'm sure our judges will have to take their time judging them.

Now, this is the point where I'm asking everyone to post their feedback and make suggestions on how to improve Worldcraft.
The two of us can't do it all, so let's hear what you, the participants and judges think could improve.

Did you have enough time to work on your entry?
Were the descriptions enough to work with or should they be more detailed?
Were you given enough choices or would you prefer more?
Maybe you want to have less choices, but more diverse creature types?
These are just a few basic questions, but PLEASE, feel free to ask anything and everything!

This contest is here for you people, so help us make it even better.

-Exequias

That's right, people.

One more week and Round ONE will be over.
We've already received a few entries and we're hoping to receive lots more!

Remember, all entries must be submitted by April 2nd at midnight (PST).

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You can still sign up for Round ONE!
Please go to the journal linked below to read the rules and information
-> http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2161647/ <-


In the next few days, the judges will receive a note with information regarding the judging method we will apply for Round ONE. Based on feedback, this can still be changed in order to get the best and most correct way to judge entries.

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Round one contestants:
-Ballman (artist) - Landscape: Riverbed and Land: Creature (Trapper}
-exequias (artist) - Plant Life: Survivor
-Shibara (artist)
-Webster (artist) - Landscape: Riverbed/Sun-Scorched Plains
-Elessara (artist) - Land: Creature (Trapper) and Air: Vermin (Hive Drone)
-mixnmatch (artist)
-Moonfir (artist) - Plant Life: Survivor
-phantasmic (artist)
-Cazron (artist)
-Tamara (artist/author)
-dragocorn (artist/author & donator)
-Novaluna (artist)
-balitiger23 (artist*) - Land: Creature (Daytime Hunter)
-moongara (artist) - Land: Creature (Daytime Hunter)
-larkspurdragon(artist) - Land: Creature (Daytime Hunter)
-demonwerewolfsden (artist)
-darkscream (artist/author)
-pandoradragon (artist)
-yaegashi (artist)
-undeadmoonserpent (artist)
-hivemindfury (writer) - Land: Creature (Daytime Hunter) and Air: Vermin (Hive Drone)

Round one Judges:
-ta-ek (judge & donator)
-balitiger23 (judge)
-forgetfulsinner (judge)
-arrankhar (judge)

I know it's sooner than expected, but I figured we've got a nice group of people.
YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP OR JOIN THE CONTEST WHENEVER YOU WANT!
Just comment here and I'll add you ASAP.

This planet is also a tribute to spiralofvertigo who, on a previous account, had started a similar contest. The contest died before it really got started, but I kept the idea in mind.
That said; I welcome you all to round ONE of Worldcraft!

What’s next?
Everyone who commented on the last journal will be considered as a participant for ROUND ONE.
If you don't want to enter this round, just comment here and I'll take your name off the list.
Go ahead and choose up to 2 of the available choices. You don’t have to say which one you chose, but you can do so if you want to. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the journal.

RULES: (please read)
- You have THREE weeks to complete your entry.
The last day you can submit artwork for Round 1 is APRIL 2.
- Once you’re ready, send me a NOTE with the link to your entry.
The title of the note must be ENTRY 01
- You can make a sketch, line art, fully colored drawing with or without background, write a story featuring a creature, make something out of paper-mâché or sculpt something in clay. Anything goes! What you want make is completely up to you.
- Every submission MUST be accompanied by a bit of text that describes how your creature lives, eats, etc… (Unless your submission is a story or a landscape, of course)
The description of your creature will also be judged and will count toward the points you receive.
- You can name your creature whatever you like. The names and descriptions I give are merely a basic reference and are used to assign a ‘role’ to the creature.

Planet description:
(scroll down for TL;DR)
The first planet we explore is one on the edge of its solar system’s so called ‘habitable zone’.
Thousands of years ago, this planet was in many aspects similar to planet Earth.
It had oceans and massive forests, an impossible variety of plant- and animal life that flourished on the planet’s surface.
Everything was just right until a massive comet, nearly half the size of the planet, rushed through the system and pulled many planets out of their orbit. A few were lost to the emptiness of outer space, while others got shifted into a new, but stable orbit. The planet lost 3 of it's 5 moons in the process.
Ending up closer to its star, the temperatures on the surface rised considerably and the oceans began to dissolve. If it wasn’t for the strong magnetic field, the planet would be a barren lifeless rock by now.
Over time, the once lush world had transformed into a harsh desert planet. All of its oceans had evaporated and the green forests and plants were replaced by tall, jagged wind blasted rocks, spires, and mountains. The grassy planes were replaced by seas of sand.

Almost miraculously, not all life was burned away and managed to adapt to the climate.
Following are some general descriptions of the creatures that roam the planet.

TL;DR: Once lush and verdant planet; now evolved into a barren desert landscape
Keep in mind: Living in a harsh desert environment; there are not many chances around to get food.

The words between brackets are the key point that 'defines' the main characteristic of the species.

LAND
1) Creature (Trapper)
This beast needs a way to get its food in a land where there is not much to be choosy with. The intense heat requires limited or reserved movement or perhaps a way around the heat and being a carnivore it needs a sure fire way to catch the faster and smaller things around it.
It is not fond of locomotion; but with a huge appetite this problem has to be overcome.

2) Creature (Daytime Hunter)
This creature has found a way to adapt to the high temperatures. Its design is so effective; it can even hunt for prey during the hottest days of the year. Being a daytime hunter, it searches for prey that hides itself deep within rocks or underground and as such has the perfect ‘tools’ to dig up or uncover its unfortunate victims.

3) Vermin (Leech)
This annoying little critter has made it its duty to pester and harass every other living organism on this sun-scorched planet. Featuring a hard exoskeleton that evolved so it can vent excess heat allows it to skitter around during the day while searching for food. At night, when the temperature drops, it has to dig deep underground to prevent freezing to death as it relies on warmth to move around.
It does not kill, but has a neurotoxin that paralyzes small prey or locally sedates the larger creatures, so it can go about its business unnoticed. It’s unable to fly, but is amazingly fast on land.

AIR
1) Creature (Nighttime Hunter)
One of the few airborne species that live on this planet is awake and active during the twilight. With the temperatures slowly dropping as the sun sets, it has a limited time to go out and catch its food. Living high up the mountains, it has evolved a means to scout large areas and pinpoint the smallest of movements from miles away.
Because of the short window it can hunt, it has a way to quickly acquire its food before being forced to retreat.

2) Vermin (Hive Drone)
This winged vermin is part of a colony that lives underground and creates tall spires of rock and dirt to regulate the temperature of the hive. They are adept at tunneling and extracting nutrients from the scarce plant life on the surface without killing them. In times of need, the winged drones will fly out at night and gather anything digestible in a very wide area around the nest. (This could be plants, bugs or even small creatures!!) These winged drones are a special breed that doesn't work or defend the nest. Their sole purpose is flying out and gathering as much food as possible, in the shortest time.

PLANTLIFE
1) (Survivor)
This plant is a true survivor. Over the span of merely a few decades, it evolved to suit its current situation. Its thick, juicy roots are reaching very deep into the earth where it stores water and nutrients. During sunrise the cold and moist that accumulated during the cold night will evaporate and for a few minutes, up to half an hour each day, the surface of the ground is covered by a veil of fog.
The plant takes advantage of this by absorbing as much as it can before the sun begins to heat the planet once more. As the sun rises, it employs a special mechanism that will protect it from the heat and prevent it to dry out.

LANDSCAPE
1) Riverbed.
Millions of years ago, the place you see was the bedding of a massive river that was created by many little streams coming from the nearby mountain range. As the planet heated up and the water vanished, all that remained of the beautiful river has become nothing more but a gash in the landscape.
Instead of water all that ‘flows’ through is hot and dry wind, eroding the dead riverbed even more.

2) Sun-scorched plains.
All there is to see is a dead landscape; dried and cracked dirt and in the distance the beginning of a vast desert. There is no sign this place was ever a beautiful forest, not even a petrified tree can be found. Sandstorms and dust devils scourge the surface, forcing even the most stubborn creature or plant to find refuge, or perish in a hail of razor-sharp sand particles. The only things visible are massive, jagged stone spires. The last remains of mountains that were eroded by the blistering wind.


HAVE FUN!

Do you have questions? Did I forget something?
Please comment and let me know.
I'll do my best to fix and update everything ASAP.

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Round one contestants:
-Ballman (artist)
-exequias (artist)
-Shibara (artist)
-Webster (artist)
-Elessara (artist)
-mixnmatch (artist)
-Moonfir (artist)
-phantasmic (artist)
-Cazron (artist)
-Tamara (artist/author)
-darkscream (artist)
-dragocorn (artist/author & donator)
-Novaluna (artist)
-balitiger23 (artist*)
-Moongara (artist)
-LarkspurDragon (artist)
-Demon_werewolfs_den (artist)
-Darkscream (artist/author)
-pandoradragon (artist)
-yaegashi (artist)

Round one Judges:
-ta-ek (judge & donator)
-balitiger23 (judge)
-Forgetfulsinner (judge)
-Arrankhar (judge)

I plan on starting the first contest really soon, so now I'm searching for the following:

1) Artists! Do you wanna join the contest in creating creatures, insects or environments?
Yes? Reply here so I can add you to the list of participants! (no notes)

2) Judges! Do you like art a lot? We'll need people who are willing to judge the submission for each contest and give it a fair and just rating. You can also participate in the contest AND be a judge, if you do so, you cannot rate your own submissions! As above, reply here so I can add you to the appropriate list.
We currently have 4 judges, so this should be enough for Round 1.
You can still sign up as a judge and will be accepted once we have more artists joining.

3) Donators! This contest is just for fun, but people will be people and I've already received a few comments that they would like to see more than just a say in the next planet.
If anyone is willing to give the winner a prize (a free sketch or something) please contact me by sending a note.
To everyone else: if I can't find anyone willing to donate, you'll just have to be happy with the chance of influencing the surface of the next planet in line. :v
Again, this contest is meant to have a fun time.

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Current participants/judges:
-balitiger23 (artist & judge)
-ta-ek (judge & donator (see my profile for info))
-Ballman (artist)
-exequias (artist)
-Forgetfulsinner (judge)
-Shibara (artist)
-Novaluna (artist & judge)
-Webster (artist)
-Elessara (artist)
-mixnmatch (artist)
-Moonfir (artist)
-phantasmic (artist)
-Cazron (artist)
-Tamara (artist/author)
-darkscream (artist)
-Arrankhar (backup judge)
-dragocorn (artist/author)