Beta Awards 08 - Guidelines & Submissions

[cutiebunny]

**Open Submission period is from 0000 hrs PST Nov. 14, 2008 to 0000 hrs PST Nov. 18, 2008. Please log onto http://betaawards08.zero-space.net during this time frame to submit your entries. You will need to be a registed member of Anime-Beta and will need to know your password**

Catagory submission totals (current as of Nov. 17, 2008 at 1400 hrs)



Accessory - 15
Action - 16
Background - 6
Children - 12
Comic - 6
Creature - 7
Cute - 12
Death/Dying - 13
Embarrassed - 9
Fan Art - 10
Female - 20
Funny - 15
Group - 18
Hanken - 10
Harmony - 6
Heroic - 8
Insanity - 7
Joy - 8
Male - 15
Outfit - 8
Rage - 12
Robot -7
Romance - 16
Shikishii - 6
Shocked - 18
Sorrow - 15
Special Effect - 7
Villainous - 10

Animated - 18
Hentai - 9
Settei - 9





After some feedback and moderator permission(thanks Goldknight!), I'm starting a new thread for the 2008 Beta Awards. In the interest of saving space and keeping a centralized location for all 2008 Anime Beta Award happenings, let's keep it all to this thread. I will amend this initial posting as updates regarding official catagories, timelines, etc. are decided upon.

For those of you who are new to the Anime Beta Awards, it is, in short, a contest where any and all Beta members are welcome to submit artwork in certain catagories to be rated by others. Even if you choose not to submit any artwork, you are more than welcome to vote for any and all catagories that you'd like.

Participants must be willing to follow the same basic rules we've had in the past.

1) You must be a registered member of Anime-Beta by the end of the artwork submission process.

2) You must physically own all artwork that you submit. Submitted artwork does not have to be posted in your gallery.

3) If you submit any artwork for consideration in this contest, you must vote for all catagories, with exception of the hentai and animated galleries. These catagories remain optional to vote in and are optional to submit artwork to.

4) All artwork submitted must not include watermarks or any other type of 'tag' that would affiliate it a gallery or owner.

Our members have spoken! As with previous years, there will be no seperate catagories for sketch artwork and cel artwork in the same catagory. Therefore, all members are allowed to submit up to five different art pieces into the standard catagories, and up to three different art pieces in one of each optional catagory.

No more than 8 submissions(5 standard catagories, 3 optionals) per participant will be permitted.

Thanks to all the great ideas that my fellow Betarians had, I have established the eligible artistic catagories and items for the 2008 year.


Standard Categories:

C = Cel, S = Sketch(Genga/Douga/Roughs/Layouts), R = Rilezu, H = Hanken, RC = Studio Authorized Repro Cel, P = Painting, Settei=SE, MC= Model Cel, O = Other

Accessory - Emphasis on what the character is holding, using, swinging, playing, aiming. (C, S, R, RC)
Action - Scenes of action, movement, motion, dynamism (C, S, R, RC)
Background - No characters allowed. (C, S, P, RC)
Children - Youths, babies, kids. (C, S, R, RC)
Comic/Manga - Original art from comic artists and mangakas (S, P, O)
Creature - Animals, monsters, pets, demons. (C, S, R, RC)
Cute - Adorable, precious, toothache inducing. (C, S, R, RC)
Death/Dying - Characters in the final throws of death, or those that have already passed away. (C, S, R, RC)
Embarrassed - Blushing, mortified, awkwardness, total humiliation. (C, S, R, RC)
Fan Art - Made by you or another artist. (C, S, P, O)
Female - The fairer sex. (C, S, R, RC)
Funny - Laugh out loud moments. (C, S, R, RC)
Group - Art of 2 or more characters. (C, S, R, RC)
Hanken - Art used for merchandise or other non-production special circumstances. Hankens are not allowed in any other category. (C, S, H, P, O)
Harmony - Unique combinations of line work and watercolor used to convey deep emotion and profound artistry. (C, S, P, RC)
Heroic - White knight saves the day. (C, S, R, RC)
Insanity - Irrational delirium, totally crazy. (C, S, R, RC)
Joy - Extreme happiness. (C, S, R, RC)
Male - Boys, guys, men, bishonens. (C, S, R, RC)
Outfit - Best dressed, emphasis on clothes and costumes. (C, S, R, RC)
Rage - Mad, angry, extreme agitation. (C, S, R, RC)
Robot - Our mechanical friends. (C, S, R, RC)
Romance - Kissing, hugging, groping, anything non-explicit. (C, S, R, RC)
Shikishii - Original signatures and/or artwork drawn by industry artists. Only the artist's signature and accompanying sketch are allowed for submission.(C, S, P, O)
Shocked - Stunned, horrified, utter dismay. (C, S, R, RC)
Sorrow - Tear jerkers, sadness. (C, S, R, RC)
Special Effect - Power bursts, transformation effects, airbrushing, etc. (C, S, R, RC)
Villainous - Archenemies, evil scientists, meanies, wicked bad guys. (C, S, R, RC)

Optional Catagories -

Animated - Short sequences of animated artwork.(C, S)
Hentai - Sexually explicit & nude. All pairings welcome!(C, S, R, RC
Settei - Original sheets(not copies) or model cels featuring character, item or scenery. Settei and Model cels can only be submitted to this catagory.(MC, SE)


Submission info -

**Open Submission period is from 0000 hrs PST Nov. 14, 2008 to 0000 hrs PST Nov. 18, 2008. Please log onto http://betaawards08.zero-space.net during this time frame to submit your entries. You will need to be a registed member of Anime-Beta and will need to know your password**

1) Only one entry per catagory is allowed by any entrant.

2) Maximum pixel width size for all standard size cels/douga/artwork is 500 pixels, 600 for all pan/oversized artwork. You may submit artwork that is less than this pixel size, though. Regardless of the size of the item, the total file size can not exceed over 300k. Standard size artwork is roughly 11.89 inches x 9.5 inches (302mm x 241 mm), while a pan or oversized item is much larger than this standard.

3) Artwork that has received a Beta Award in previous years can not be submitted under any catagory.

4) Unless there is an obvious difference, sequence mates in the same catagory are not permitted. Whoever submits the artwork first will be allowed to use that artwork in that particular catagory. If you manage to submit a sequence mate to an item that is already in that catagory, you will receive an e-mail and permission to enter another item in lieu of the repeated piece. This applies to all types of artwork.

5) While you are permitted a total of 8 submissions(5 in the standard catagories and 3 in the optionals), you are not required to submit eight different items. You may enter less items if you choose.



Early submissions

In the event that a participant is unable to submit their artwork during the official submission weekend, they will be allowed to submit their artwork to betaawards08[at]gmail.com (please put the amper sign instead of 'at').

Your artwork must also meet all standard guidelines concerning pixel width and size.

If you choose to submit your artwork early, you agree to the following two rules:

1) Your artwork will be considered to be the last submission receive. In other words, if Participant A submits a Repro Cel as an early submission, but Participant B submits the same repro cel during the official submission period, Participant B will be allowed to use it as their official entry.

2) You will not be allowed to submit 'alternatives' in the event that another participant submits the same art piece. Unlike those participants who submit during the official submission period, early submission participants will not be alerted that their item was not accepted due to a previous submission.

Repro Cels

This is the first year that Studio Authorized Repro Cels (referred to as 'Repro Cels' for the rest of the this clause) are allowed as submissions for the Beta Awards.

The following rules, in addition to all standard rules, will apply to all Repro Cels. By submitting a Repro Cel, you agree to the following rules. -

1) If a Repro Cel is submitted into one catagory by one participant, it can not be used for another catagory by another participant. The participant who submits the Repro cel first will be the one allowed to use it as their official submission.

2) In order to prevent any image theft submissions from other sites, should an organizer deem necessary, you will be required to submit additional scans and/or proof that you own this item.

Shikishii/Autographs -

This year, all shikishii/autographs have been given their own catagory.

By submitting artwork to this catagory, you agree, in addition to the standard rules, to the following:

1) If an industry person signed a media that is not a standard shikishii board/blank white piece of paper, only the signature and any original accompanying artwork that the industry person drew is allowed to be submitted. In other words, if an artist signed their name and drew a happy face on a poster, you may only submit a scan of the portion of the poster containing the signature and happy face.

Image modifications -

For the most part, the modification and/or enhancement of images (ie. Photoshop) is not permitted.

The three exceptions to the rules are -

1) Oversized images requiring multiple scans. You may piece these items together to make one complete image.

2) Sketches. As some sketches do not scan well, you are allowed to modify the image so that the lines appear darker. However, you are cautioned against making the lines 'too dark' as this may be indicative of a xerox copy instead of an original.

3) Artwork in the Animated section. You are allowed to cut, paste, etc. in order to make your creation, as many sketches are 'partials' and require artwork from other sketches. However, keep this within reason. No flashing lights, disco music, or anything else that didn't come along with your sketch packets.



Schedule

A line with an "*" means that we currently do not have this set in stone. We will update as the project progresses.

Deadline for Beta Registry - November 10th, 2008.
Submissions - November 14, 2008 at 0000 hrs PST- November 18, 2008 at 0000 hrs PST.
Voting* - December 1, 2008 - December 8, 2008
Awards * - December 15, 2008

**Open Submission period is from 0000 hrs PST Nov. 14, 2008 to 0000 hrs PST Nov. 18, 2008. Please log onto http://betaawards08.zero-space.net during this time frame to submit your entries. You will need to be a registed member of Anime-Beta and will need to know your password**

[darksuzaku]

Now that the event has it's own thread it's time for me to say my opinions:

As for old/new categories
Last year we included many new categories (a few of my ideas were even used). I can't think of any new ones... for now....
As for proposed new categories:

- Bank: Not sure about this one..... Bank cels could be included in many other categories.

- Injured/Dying/Dead: Isn't this one already featured in the sorrow category? I mean, if we include this category many entries could apply to both categories.

- Genga: Aren't these included in the generic "sketch" definition and therefore able to be submitted in many other categories? (Not that i personally believe that cels and sketches competing together is fair)

Vote process change proposal
- I proposed this on last year's edition, but it was a little late to even be considered. The basic idea is that instead of voting your favorite in each category you assign points to 3-5 entries on each category:
- For example, you give 5 points to your favorite, 3 points to the runner up, and 1 point to the 3rd position entry. The entry that gets most points at the end wins.
- I believe this method is more fair and also will help to avoid ties at the end. A situation that can be prevented is one like this: On one category 2 similar cels are entered. A is slightly better than be, so people tend to vote A over B. At the end of the contest A wins in that category, but B doesn't even get 2nd or 3rd position. Why? because people who could have voted it voted for A instead.
- The only drawback of this method is that makes work harder for the vote counters, not for the voters themselves (i ussually enjoy the time i take deciding my votes, and i would not have the feeling that i can't choose between 2 entries). Heck, if it's necessary i would be a vote counter myself.
[/b]

[Killua]

- Injured/Dying/Dead: Isn't this one already featured in the sorrow category? I mean, if we include this category many entries could apply to both categories.

Some would but many would not. If you look at last year's entries in the sorrow category, not one was of someone dying/wounded/dead. If someone's already dead, they're not exactly sorrowful, are they? Nor are all dying scenes sorrowful. Some could be angry, happy, peaceful, etc. Also, many of the other categories could have entries that could apply to multiple. For instance, you could have a funny group shot. Or a heroic male. Or a shocked female child creature.

[JWR]

As far as having separate catagories for cel and sketches I don't think that would be a good idea for as the Beta Awards have evolved each year more sketches have gotten awards.

As more popular shows now are all CG and more and more sketch artwork is starting to be shown in galleries they have gained a more equal acceptance.

[Cloud]

That might not be very far off.

[ReiTheJelly]

I would love to split the awards into Paper and Plastic. It would make voting much easier (at least IMHO). Plus, then each person could enter many more pieces. But this would also mean a lot more work for the organizers, since they'd basically be running two awards shows...

[Ms. Poe]

*Can we please have a Fan Cel category? I've asked every Beta awards, & I'm sure there's enough members out there to make it work. Fan art can be any other media besides painted/drawn onto a cel.

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

*Can we please have a Fan Cel category? I've asked every Beta awards, & I'm sure there's enough members out there to make it work. Fan art can be any other media besides painted/drawn onto a cel.

There was a Fan Art category last year and it's been listed again this year. Or are you opposed to Fan Art and would prefer Fan Cel specifically?

[irmgaard]

If you look at last year's entries in the sorrow category, not one was of someone dying/wounded/dead. If someone's already dead, they're not exactly sorrowful, are they?

Actually,

#9 of last year's sorrow was an entire battlefield of the dead and dying.

But it does seem from last year's entries that it's much more likely for characters to get MAD

Here a list of injured/dead/dying from last time:

Action-#13

Female -#6

Harmony-#8 (?) looks dead, but I don't really know

Heroic -#4
Heroic- #9

Rage-#1
Rage-#6
Rage-#8
Rage-#14
Rage-#15


Shocked-#1
Shocked-#10

Sorrow-#9

(There might be some I missed, because the cause of their emotional response wasn't known or easily discernable to me... )

[Ms. Poe]

*Can we please have a Fan Cel category? I've asked every Beta awards, & I'm sure there's enough members out there to make it work. Fan art can be any other media besides painted/drawn onto a cel.

There was a Fan Art category last year and it's been listed again this year. Or are you opposed to Fan Art and would prefer Fan Cel specifically?

O gawd no! I love Fan Art itself! But I look through galleries and see that the majority of gallery owners distinguish between the two .

More-so this being a cel community, I feel they need their own category !

[cutiebunny]

I would love to split the awards into Paper and Plastic. It would make voting much easier (at least IMHO). Plus, then each person could enter many more pieces. But this would also mean a lot more work for the organizers, since they'd basically be running two awards shows...

There are some problems I have with the seperation of cels and sketches.

1) Logistics. Let's assume, for the sake of easy numbers, that there are 20 participants in this year's award. Each 20 is allotted 5 submissions(not including the optionals), so that likely will be 100 as a main base. Then, assume that everyone accepts the invitation of optional submissions and submits an additional item. The number of total submissions is now 120. With 100 as a base and 25 non optional catagories(not including any proprosed new catagories), we'll assume that all catagories are equally responded to. This means that there would be 4 items in each catagory. Now, if we impliment this proposed 'paper/plastic' thing, then that means that there could be several combinations of how the artwork would be arranged. And, as in similiar years, if a catagory does not receive 3 submissions, it is eliminated. For example, if there is one cel and three sketches, then the cel portion of that topic would be eliminated.

In short, part or all of the catagory would be eliminated due to dividing standards of artwork.

It's been proposed that we could allow more submissions per person, but I think 5(not including optionals) is a good number. It allows you to focus on your artwork more, rather than taking a more laissez-faire approach. Additionally, the more artwork allowed to be submitted means more headaches for all organizers. After all, I'd like to conclude the 2008 awards by, well, 2008.

2) 'Seperate but equal'? - By creating two different catagories, in essence you're saying that one media can't fairly compete with the other and therefore, deserves special compensation. Based on 2007's awards, I do not feel this to be the case. I trust my fellow partipants to look at it each piece individually and analyze each piece for its appropriate theme rather than vote for their media preference.

Additionally, this 'seperation' isn't a good theme for the community. We all come together to enjoy artwork. We all come together for the awards. And while everyone will have their personal preferences over media chosen, we should not display an image that we, as a community, feel one type of artwork is superior over another. Art is art.


....
DS, I liked last year's voting due to its simplicity. Does you or anyone else not like it when items tie? If anything, it allows more awards to be given out. For me, personally, I do not have a problem with 2 or more items sharing the same spot.


As WC suggested in the other AB topic, I would like to include all artwork, regardless of its country of origin. We already include fan art produced in the US and other countries, and I see no reason why we can not extend that courtesy to every catagory.

Poe...well, welcome back! I like your suggestion of a fan cel catagory. My only issue is a logistical one in terms of catagories not receiving enough submissions. I'd like to prevent a last minute massive e-mail to all those who might have submitted to a catagory that received less than 3 entries to re-submit artwork to another catagory or have one or more people choose to submit to an endangered catagory in order to keep it alive.

Killua, I like the injured/dying/death catagory as well. I don't think that this emotion can be touched upon by the other catagories.

Currently, I'm leaning towards adding 'layout' and 'injured/death/dying' to the catagories for 2008. I am open to adding more catagories, but I ideally would like to keep it to 30 catagories or less.

[zerospace]

I realize that there's very split opinions on the judging of cel & CG art, and it's not something I want to argue over and over about, but logistically speaking, the biggest headaches for the organizers for increased entry numbers are thus:

1. Receiving and processing the entries. This can be streamlined with a little more use of technology and less reliance on email and other more 'manual' submission processes.

2. Posting the entries for viewing. Again, a bit more technology can make this a piece of cake.

3. Voting -- this is more on the side of processing votes. My suggestion here would be this: the voting can be automatically tallied by the site hosting the awards. For completeness, I would say that vote counts should be double checked by a human vote counter. So this is where the category doubling would really pose the biggest logistical issue.

I think those most affected by separating CG from cel are the voters themselves, as they would have to vote twice in each section. I know for me, that isn't an issue at all. But it may be for some. I believe this is more of a personal preference issue that may be extremely difficult to resolve. I think possibly, the best way to try to resolve the issue is to perhaps take a poll on it -- leave the poll open for 7 days or so, and whichever side comes out on top ... that's what we do. I certainly won't be bitter about the final decision, no matter which way it goes.

Those who agreed with me that they should be separated -- I just wanted to say thanks for posting. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way .

[ReiTheJelly]

2) 'Seperate but equal'? - By creating two different catagories, in essence you're saying that one media can't fairly compete with the other and therefore, deserves special compensation.

But wouldn't some of the proposed new categories be doing this anyway? After all, you cannot enter a cel or relizu in the Layout, Genga or Storyboard categories...

[Ms. Poe]

Poe...well, welcome back! I like your suggestion of a fan cel catagory. My only issue is a logistical one in terms of catagories not receiving enough submissions. I'd like to prevent a last minute massive e-mail to all those who might have submitted to a catagory that received less than 3 entries to re-submit artwork to another catagory or have one or more people choose to submit to an endangered catagory in order to keep it alive.

I don't think it should be a problem. I see plenty of gallery updates from active members with old fan cels and new fan cels(Y!J anyone?).

[HotIce]

There was a Fan Cel catergory last year... I know as I took 1st in it. ^_^ As I remember the section had plenty of entries, and was one of my toughest choose.

Actually now that I look back it was general a "Fan Art" to include more than just cels: http://www.zetsuai.eu/5thAnnualBetaAwards/fanart.php