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ANNual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest


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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher


Joined: 29 Dec 2001
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:19 am Reply with quote
crilix wrote:
Well, that was an embarrasing mistake. I compare it to football judges showing red cards by mistake. You rage, then you move on. :V


Pretty much.

The winning entry didn't break any of our rules, and multiple judges selected it as a top entry (for the record it was my #2. I didn't know that it came from Diablo, and I can't honestly say whether or not that would have changed my vote,)so it deserved to win.

That said, I don't like the idea of non-anime related properties winning, and I don't like having entries to our contests submitted to other contests (It's why our art contests often have our logo in the art). The winner can't be blamed for any of this because he didn't know any of it. Our next contest of this sort(creative), will have adjusted rules.

-t
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maddoghoek100



Joined: 08 Nov 2008
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:27 am Reply with quote
Zac makes a very good point, as the picture that was posted as the winning pumpkin is the exact picture posted by Blizzard, which means that ANN might not have the rights to use that photo in any future advertising for the contest. Might be a good idea only to post the unlit photo where it has the ANN sign.

All that said, the pumpkin was realy good. So it is hard to argue that any one pumpkin was strickly better. Like all great artists we will just have to borrow as many ideas from it as we can and come back stronger next year.
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Dorian



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 111
Location: Houston
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:07 am Reply with quote
Over the years I have been in a lot of different arts related competitions as both competitor and judge. Personally I think judging is the harder job. I have also heard a lot of whining and it never improves the impression of the whiner.

This was a great contest. Lots of pumpkins were entered, many were outstanding in design and all the entries were posted on ANN. That in itself is pretty cool. I think most of us carve because we love to do it. Competition adds spice and the hope of winning is sweet but in the end only a few get to be winners. That’s the way of it. Again congratulations to the winners and heartfelt thanks to ANN and the judges. This pumpkin carving contest was a lot of fun.
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duofangirl



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:50 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:
That said, I don't like the idea of non-anime related properties winning, and I don't like having entries to our contests submitted to other contests (It's why our art contests often have our logo in the art). The winner can't be blamed for any of this because he didn't know any of it. Our next contest of this sort(creative), will have adjusted rules.

-t


I'm glad to hear the rules will be adjusted. He didn't break the current rules, but I still feel it's greedy to submit the same pumpkin to multiple contests. Yes, it's an awesome pumpkin deserving of a prize, but c'mon, have a heart and share the wealth.
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RiderG



Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:16 pm Reply with quote
hey i'll be honest in saying if i knew of other carving contests i would have entered them as well with my pumpkin so i can't blame Ju W. for that. i knew he was gonna cream us all tho bllaaarrrrrg DX

oh congrats btw lol

akukame your pumpkin is absolutely gorgeous, i lost track of how many times i took a look at it.
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cryogenia



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:57 pm Reply with quote
Wow! Shocked Thank you to everybody who liked my pumpkins. I have never been in a carving contest before, it was a lot of fun Smile Thanks to everyone who entered too - I would not have wanted to be a judge.

As a general note for next year, would it be possible to list all the characters/series represented in the carvings beneath each photo? There's a lot of really cool images - I'd love to know what anime they came from so I can check it out. (In particular, Akukame's and HystericalDame's?)
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dyzzispell



Joined: 10 Nov 2009
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:16 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, I pretty much agree with the winners chosen too, but I guess I also understand the complaints - well, at least some of them anyway.

I'm glad the rules will be more specific next year. I wanted to do something from Kingdom Hearts but I thought it wouldn't qualify if I did. I see now what I'm up against, so I also realize it wouldn't have made any difference. Shocked

I figured that Ju W.'s would win on sheer talent if nothing else. But to find out it won two contests is a little irksome, because I agree with duofangirl about sharing the wealth a little. It's unfair to all the other great artists in both competitions. Yes, I know that the rules weren't clear and they will be next year, so I'm basically just noting my agreement with everyone.

I'm also sure that neither contest knew the other had chosen the same winner, so there's no one to be angry with about it. It wasn't on purpose. Cool

And congrats to the winners - you definitely deserved it!
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Akukame



Joined: 09 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:03 pm Reply with quote
Wow, I'm actually quite astonished that my work has gotten so much praise.

First, I thought I'd say something about Ju W.'s pumpkin. It really is amazing. I don't think that people should complain about his winning because honestly, it is a really amazing pumpkin. Although Diablo is probably far outside of what most people would consider anime related, it is still something that is recognizable to most anime fans. And as has been said before, he did not do anything outside of the rules. And ANN did what their job was (to choose the best pumpkin).

I personally don't think that restricting it to anime only would be the best idea though. I think it would be beneficial to not allow pumpkins that are entered in this to be entered in other contests though. The problem with restricting entries is theres so many things that are related to anime culture but aren't actually anime/manga. My second choice for a pattern for my pumpkin was actually going to be Kagamine Rin (Vocaloid). Something like that fits into that borderline area, along with videogame characters, light novels, web comics, nico/2ch/4chan memes, etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now onto the real post:

So, Wow, I really didn't expect to win anything. I go into these pumpkin carving contests with 2 goals in mind every year. First, I want to outdo my pumpkin from the year before. Second, I want a pumpkin that people talk about. I mean, winning would be nice, but I really just want a pumpkin people remember.

I think that I did use a bit too much real estate on the pumpkin, as I said before. Next year, I hope to get maybe a bit bigger of a pumpkin, and have it able to be framed in a single picture. I actually almost considered putting butterflies all the way around the pumpkin, since I already had covered a good 2/3rds of the pumpkin, but I came to the conclusion that a) my wrists were too tired, and b) the extra butterflies wouldn't really add anything other than the novelty of having gone 360 degrees around the pumpkin.

Heres the full in progress shots, I've posted some before already:
Reference Picture (credit to: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=49138 )
Pattern from Reference Picture

With Pattern on Taped on
Pattern traced onto pumpkin with pen
Detail added just kind freehand
Start of the carving
Carving of the right half mostly done
Carving of the left half mostly done

Lighted submission picture

Overall time carving was about 4 or 5 hours. I started gutting the pumpkin around 2pm, with some breaks and stuff taken, I was done carving as the sun was setting that day. I caved with an xacto knife and 4 shapes of kemper tools (clay carving tools). This year I did things a bit different from the previous years. I wanted a pattern I could have fun with and largely chose this pattern because I felt that i didn't need to try to be as accurate to the original as possible, I could just wing it and it'd still look awesome.

And a little omake time! My previous submissions:
2007 School Days
In the Dark - In the Light - Pattern/source
This one I had a lot of trouble with, it almost fell apart. I don't like the way her face came out. But it was just as scary as I hoped. I spent hours going from the source picture to a design that would fit on the pumpkin well. I finally decided on using the kanji for her name to frame her body and define it better.

2006 Nana
In the Dark - In the Light - Pattern
This was actually a backup pumpkin this year. My original plan was to do a Higurashi/When they cry pumpkin. I literally cut the original pumpkin in half and tried carving on pattern onto the inside of the pumpkin while doing the other pattern on the outside. The goal was that when I lit up the pumpkin, the image would change, but it turned into a mangled mess. I had a much smaller pumpkin left over that I didn't intend carving which I did this carving, last minute, on I think November 2nd that year. This pumpkin was actually really small. Probably less than half the size of this years.

2005 Tsukihime
In the Dark - In the Light - Pattern/Source
I actually carved an anime pumpkin almost every year, even before 2005 (the year of the first annual pumpkin carving contest). But this was the first one I tried to spend a whole lot of time on. I didn't come out the way I wanted, but honestly, I learned so much carving it. I actually carved it entirely with a paring knife.

And 2008, the pumpkin that never was.... Eureka 7
2008 I sadly did not have time to carve, I didn't even get a pattern done, though I got close. The original idea was to have this center piece, framed by the two mecha.
Center - Left - Right

cryogenia wrote:
As a general note for next year, would it be possible to list all the characters/series represented in the carvings beneath each photo? There's a lot of really cool images - I'd love to know what anime they came from so I can check it out. (In particular, Akukame's and HystericalDame's?)

My pumpkin is from Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry), which is the 3rd series in the "When they Cry" universe (the first is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or "When the Cicadas Cry"
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Xeluu



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:41 pm Reply with quote
>_< Oops, wasn't trying to start a big o' debate.

I agree that there wasn't anything in the rules, so congrats to Ju W. The pumpkin really is absolutely amazing.

Perhaps next year have a separate category for game pumpkins versus anime pumpkins? I know that makes more judging work and more work on figuring out who gets what prize, or just change wording to allow it to be any game or anime related pumpkin.

Just my two cents.
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cryogenia



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:47 pm Reply with quote
Akukame wrote:

My pumpkin is from Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry), which is the 3rd series in the "When they Cry" universe (the first is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or "When the Cicadas Cry"


Thanks! I may have to seek it out. You chose a really compelling image to use.

Akukame wrote:

I personally don't think that restricting it to anime only would be the best idea though. I think it would be beneficial to not allow pumpkins that are entered in this to be entered in other contests though.


As far as the contest itself goes, I agree with you in supporting a rule that would mandate entries be made specifically for ANN. I'd like to respectfully disagree regarding the restriction on theme, though. I know I was really excited to see ANN's contest specifically because it is the only time I've ever seen an anime/manga specific Halloween event. The theme is what makes it special and adds an extra layer of challenge. I understand what you're saying about multi-media series - maybe in the future the rules could indicate that source material has to be of Japanese origin? IDK. In the end I am glad there was a contest at all, and DEFINITELY glad I was not a judge Anime hyper

(Edit: As a random aside, how did you get such awesome pics of your pumpkin in the dark? Shocked I had a horrible time getting any to turn out >E)


Last edited by cryogenia on Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
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duofangirl



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:56 pm Reply with quote
I was discussing this with a friend, and he found this in Blizzard's terms and conditions for their pumpkin carving contest:

Quote:
Release/Sponsor Ownership of Entries.
All entries and materials submitted to Sponsor in connection with the Contest (collectively, "Entry Materials"), along with all copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights associated therewith, become the property of Sponsor upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any entrant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Sponsor will own all rights to use, modify, reproduce, publish, perform, display, distribute, make derivative works of and otherwise commercially and noncommercially exploit the Entry Materials in perpetuity and throughout the universe, in any manner or medium now existing or hereafter developed, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Sponsor's expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Sponsor to effect, perfect or confirm Sponsor's ownership rights as set forth above in this paragraph.


I'm only posting this as an example of what ANN can incorporate into their rules next year.
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maddoghoek100



Joined: 08 Nov 2008
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Everyone writing the source material for there pumpkin is deffinitly a great idea.

I thought that last years was particularly cool in that there were the specific theme prizes. Made everyone feel loved and shared the wealth. Have a couple of categories, make everyone choose the category they are entering and have the grand champ be chosen from the category winners. Heck if there is a new release or a sponser ANN wants to promote a sponser specific category.

Best Logo
Best Mecha
Best Horror/Suspense
Best Video Game
Best NO HOLDS BARED (craftkins, markers, live animals, motors and pullies, steam engines, ANYTHING GOES)
Etc.

But as everyone has said, it is a great contest, and we all hope it continues in whatever form the editors choose.
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Jucky



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:46 pm Reply with quote
Since there is so much discussion surrounding multiple contests, I thought I'd just post a picture that wasn't submitted to blizzard that ANN can feel free to use. This is one of my fav pics of this pumpkin really since the carving style can be better appreciated with external lighting.

[img]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9624110&l=4240017c18&id=688140491
[/img]

I relate with Akukame, winning is very nice but I was rather enjoying the mutual praise between competitors in this thread and the anxious moments leading up to the results. Its always nice to be recognized for your hard work especially since these pumpkins last a week so these photo submissions are really whats left of the artistic legacy for that piece. And we all know how difficult pumpkin carving really is.
Always cool to take progression shots Akukame..good job.

I hope to win when I enter a contest like everyone else but can't predict the outcome nor did I initially see the problem in entering multiple contests. Its not like I won a contest with it and realizing its competition worthy, decided to enter a dozen more. I started off simply wanting to carve something that would terrify the children and chose Diablo and decided entering it into contests would also be fun. This is my first time competing, and next year I will ensure to carve a specific pumpkin for any contest offering prizes. Ryuk does seem like a good choice Maddog.

Congrats to Akukame and Cryogenia...and really, they were all quite mavelous.

Thank you all for your congratulatory remarks.
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Jucky



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:56 pm Reply with quote
maddoghoek100 wrote:

Best Logo
Best Mecha
Best Horror/Suspense
Best Video Game
Best NO HOLDS BARED (craftkins, markers, live animals, motors and pullies, steam engines, ANYTHING GOES)
Etc.


That was pretty cool how they categorized it last year. This would make for very busy carvers next year...as if they haven't been busy this year, namely Amanda and Challenger with fabulous multiple entries.
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tbartist09



Joined: 02 Nov 2009
Posts: 6
Location: Superior, WI
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:39 pm Reply with quote
After reading all t he posts that appear on the board after ANN listed all of the winners, I can't help but think people are just mad they didn't win.... and it never fails, whatever contest or competition I have been involved in there's always someone who gripes about WHY someone won, and why they think that that person/s shouldn't have won, and then proceed to rip apart the competition/it's creators. It's inevitable...

With that said, CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!

Also, here is a thought for ANN for next time around: What about encouraging entrants to create something original for the contest? (i.e. something that is not directly copied from an existing Anime/Manga...maybe you had that in the rules this time, but I don't recall that you did... )
Very Happy
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