2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Area to post questions, comments, and discussions regarding this annual contest.
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2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by sensei »

star-phoenix and I agree that some start should be made toward renewing the annual cel awards. However, neither of us is especially tech-savvy, and so we also agree that the framework of the awards should be kept relatively simple. On reviewing the start-up thread from 2012 (hosted by iceman, with active support from D123 and Yupa and dithering provided by me) I can see that there are quite a few issues needing to be resolved from the last one.

1: the setting. The old mode was to create a Rubberslug gallery for the purpose, which is within most Betarians' limited technical knowledge. That was admittedly clunky and prone to problems.

This was improved by zerospace's site code, which made the process smoother from the submitter's end but requires a certain amount of website knowledge that many interested parties don't have. And it proved to have vulnerabilities that created the impression that even more tech-savvy parties could manipulate it to their benefit. (I don't want to revisit the issue of whether such parties did do so, only affirm that this issue created doubt about the validity of the results and some serious rifts among long-standing members.)

zerospace offered to rewrite the site code to close these wormholes, saying
zerospace Wed Nov 09 2011 wrote:I am willing to work on what would be the future version of the site with the input & assistance of Anime Beta members. What I mean is: I'd be willing to re-develop it with what you guys want in mind. If this is something you all would like to see happen, speak up. Otherwise, I'm probably going to let this thing die, as it has caused me enough headaches already.
Is there enough interest in returning to this format to negotiate with zerospace for a new improved version? If so, then I would need to have a volunteer on the team who was involved in one of the past contests who could manage the website end of the contest.

If not, then I'm probably capable of creating and designing a Rubberslug page for the purpose, though again I'd appreciate support from a volunteer from a previous contest who could review my work and gently point out my errors.

That leads to

2: Volunteers. As I read the thread from 2011, the contest (somewhat smaller in total participation than previous ones) was handled by a team of four. Iceman served as overall supervisor, hosted and designed the Rubberslug site, and also created the trophies. D123 and Yupa processed submissions and uploaded them to the website. We all counted votes and double-checked the results with each other. D123 notified winners and Yupa modified the website to make the results visible to everyone.

It was, as I recall, a bit of an overload for these two because the schedule put much of the work in the busiest time for academics (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) and I had limited time to help them out. I think we should have a somewhat larger staff this year to prevent this overload, along with a clearer set of understandings from the start as to what will be required.

If we use a self-designed website in the zerospace mode, then I'd say the staff will need to be enlarged on the technical side as well.

Finally:

3. Rules. While the 2011 contest simply copied the 2010 rules and followed them for simplicity and speed, there probably are issues that need to be revisited and resolved: categories that should be added/dropped/revised, the issue of where rilezu can be submitted, the number of prizes given when the total number of entries in a category falls below four in number, etc. I can see that some of these discussions got brushed over in the name of moving the contest ahead, and this led to several negative comments and (possibly) lower turnout in submissions/votes.

So with that background, let me ask:

1. Is there genuine interest in reviving the cel contest in 2013?
2. If so, which format would be best?
3. Given the answers to 1 and 2, who would be willing to help out to make it all happen?
4. Do we want to begin with a thorough revisitation of the rules? (I'll copy these in the next post for reference.)
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by sensei »

2011 CEL CONTEST RULES
(quoted here for reference and subject to modification in 2013)


CATEGORIES:

(C) = Cel (H) = Hanken (MC) = Model Cel (O) = Other (P) = Painting (R) = Rilezu
Accessory - Emphasis on what the character is holding, using, swinging, playing, aiming. (C, R)
Action - Scenes of action, movement, motion. (C, R)
Background - No characters allowed. (C, P, R)
Children - Youth, babies, kids. (C, R)
Creature - Animals, monsters, pets, catgirls, demons. (C, R)
Cute - Adorable, precious, toothache inducing. (C, R)
Death - Characters in the final throws of death, or those that have already passed away. (C, R)
Embarrassed - Blushing, mortified, awkwardness, total humiliation. (C, R)
Fan Art - Made by you or another artist. (C, P, O)
Female - The fairer sex. (C, R)
Funny - Laugh out loud moments. (C, R)
Group - Art of two or more characters. (C, R)
Hanken - Art used for merchandise or other non-production special circumstances. Hankens are not allowed in any other category except hentai. (C, H, P, O, R)
Harmony - Unique combinations of line work and watercolor used to convey deep emotion and profound artistry. (C, P, R)
Heroic - White knight saves the day. (C, R)
Industry Art - Original artwork from industry artists, comic artists and mangakas. (C, P, O)
Insanity - Irrational delirium, totally crazy. (C, R)
Joy - Extreme happiness. (C, R)
Male - Boys, men, guys, bishonen. (C, R)
Outfit - Best dressed, emphasis on clothes and costumes. (C, R)
Rage - Mad, angry, extreme agitation. (C, R)
Robot - Our mechanical friends. (C, R)
Romance - Kissing, hugging, cuddling, anything non-explicit. (C, R)
Shocked - Stunned, horrified, utter dismay. (C, R)
Sorrow - Tear-jerkers, sadness. (C, R)
Special Effect - Power bursts, transformation effects, airbrushing, etc. (C, R)
Tranquility - Characters who have found their inner peace. (C, R)
Vehicle - Takes you where you want to go. (C, R)
Villainous - Archenemies, evil scientists, meanies, wicked bad guys. (C, R)
OPTION Animated - Short sequences of animated artwork. (C, R)
OPTION Hentai - Sexually explicit & nude. All pairings welcome! (C, H, R)
OPTION Settei - Characters, items or scenery. Model cels are not allowed in any other category. (MC, R)

ELIGIBILITY RULES

1.) You must be a registered member of Anime-Beta by the start of the submission process.
2.) You must physically own all artwork that you submit. You may not submit artwork which has been sold, or for which a sale is pending. Submitted artwork does not have to be posted in your online gallery.
3.) Submitted artwork may not include watermarks or any other type of 'tag' that could affiliate it with a gallery or owner.
4.) If you submit artwork for consideration in this contest, you must vote for all categories. The only exceptions are the optional categories (animated, hentai, settei). These categories are both optional to vote in and optional to submit artwork to. However, you submit artwork to an optional category, you must vote in that category.
5.) Even if you do not submit artwork, you may still vote in any or all of the categories.

SUBMISSION RULES

1.) Participants are eligible to enter the contest in 5 standard categories and 3 optional categories, for a total of 8 pieces of artwork submitted.
2.) While a participant may choose to enter 8 pieces of artwork, you are not required to submit eight different items. You choose to enter fewer items.
3.) In order to cut down on bandwidth usage, please limit your entries to the following dimensions:

Standard: 600 pixels wide, 300kb in size
Horizontal pan: 800 pixels wide, 300kb in size
Vertical pan: 800 pixels high, 300kb in size
Animated: same pixel restrictions as above, size limit is increased to 800k.

4.) Artwork which was previously entered into the Anime-Beta Awards is eligible for re-entry, provided that the winning piece has changed owners. If you choose to submit a previous winning piece, you must e-mail the contest coordinator before submitting it. This way, the organizer knows the piece has changed owners and that it is a qualified entry. If you do not e-mail the coordinator, your entry will be disqualified. Please check previous awards websites carefully.
5.) Sequence mates of previous winners will be allowed if there is a substantial difference between the two. Please inform the contest coordinator which piece you are submitting a sequence mate of. You may not submit a sequence mate if you also own the previous winning piece.
6.) Sequence mates in the same category are not permitted. Whomever submits the artwork first will be given a spot in that category. If you submit a sequence mate to an item that is already in a category, you will have the chance to re-submit another item in lieu of the repeated piece.
7.) Categories with fewer than three entries will be eliminated. You will have the chance to re-submit artwork to another category. [As the result of a dither in the last days of the competition, it was ruled that if there were fewer than five entries in a category, fewer prizes would be given. Four entries - First and second only. Three entries - First only. Two entries (as noted) - category eliminated.
8.) INDUSTRY ART: If an industry artist signed something that is not a standard shikishi board/blank piece of paper, only the signature and any original accompanying artwork are allowed to be submitted.
9.) ANIMATED ART: Animated submissions may only include that which was part of the original studio animated sequence.
10.) Modification and/or enhancement of images is not permitted. The only exception is for oversized images requiring multiple scans. You may piece these scans together to make a complete image. Sketches may also be darkened to enhance the lines, but please be aware that if you make them too dark, the contest organizers may mistake your production art as being photocopied and disqualify it.
11.) If there are similar number of votes, ex-aequo sport competition rule would apply in the following way : two #1, no #2, one #3 /or/ one #1, two #2, no #3 /or/ one #1, one #2, two #3.

SCHEDULE as carried out in 2011:

Enter the game!
14 nov. - 28 nov (happy Thanksgiving!). Entry submissions at the following adress: xxx@xxx.com
Be kind to group and name the pictures following this standard "category_nickname.jpg/gif".
29 Nov. - 1st Dec. Controls of submitted entries, RS upload, randomised upload positions.
Vote for your favorites!
2nd Dec. 11 Dec. Viewing & Vote submission (format "category: picture number") at the following adress: xxx@xxx.com
12 Dec. - 14 Dec. Vote casting & multiple controls.
15 Dec. Trophies design.
Celebrate the fun!
16th Dec. Public results.

AWARDS RECORDS:

2003 Awards: no longer hosted
2004 Awards: no longer hosted
2005 Awards: http://www.bbakira.co.uk/beta/index.htm
2006 Awards: http://betaawards.rubberslug.com/gallery/home.asp
2007 Awards: http://www.zetsuai.eu/5thAnnualBetaAwards/index.php
2008 Awards: http://betaawards08.zero-space.net/
2009 Sketch Awards: http://basketch09.zero-space.net/
2009 Cel Awards: http://www.awards2009.angelic-lair.com
2010 Sketch Awards: http://2010sketch.zero-space.net/index.php
2010 Cel Awards: http://awards2010.angelic-lair.com/index.php
2011 Sketch Awards: http://www.gabe.ch/award-sketch2011/index.php
2011 Cel Awards: http://celaward2011.rubberslug.com
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by kathpatty »

Love to continue the awards.
Hopefully everyone will be on their honor
Don't know much as far as computer codes ...but can assist with a little teaching
The old rules served us well so just continue on.....?
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by Rekka Alexiel »

Well, I never participated in a single one, so I kinda feel like it would be fun to try it out. I'd like to help with whatever I can. I still don't know much of what this contest involves, so you might need to give me some time to catch up. :p
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by cutiebunny »

You'll have a lot of interest in the awards if you decide to push ahead with them. People always come out of the woodwork for the awards. I have to admit that it is somewhat frustrating when people who never post, update, etc. enter the awards. I have no problem if these people don't want to be part of the community for whatever reason, but I do take issue when they lurk around here enough to know there is a contest going on, and seem to be more interested in their artwork receiving recognition than actual, meaningful participation.

Are you planning on just dedicating the contest to cel based artwork or are you planning on allowing sketches to participate as well? I know you copy/pasted the rules from the cel awards, but as there were no sketch awards this year, it makes sense to ask. Or are you planning on either running them both concurrently, or signing yourself up for a cel awards period now, and a sketch awards contest later?

As for helping, I mentioned that I'll stay out of the awards. And as I have no technical skills, I'd be relatively useless.
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by bulleta »

I'd be willing to make the awards. I've done it before and know what to expect. I actually designed some before on a whim so I have something already to go. :) They just need the names plugged in for the winners. Just let me know.

As for Zerospace's awards code, she's pretty busy with her own things - so I'm not sure if she's have time or even want to do it. But of course I can't speak for her. :)
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by zerospace »

I can possibly provide the code or host the site again. It's up to the masses here -- I think it's been long enough for me to put the past (read: events of the 2011 sketch awards) behind ;). If you're offering to lead the pack, sensei, I'd be willing to provide the technical side of things. I don't remember if I actually fixed the "problem" from 2011 already, but I'm quite sure that I can.

Also -- I'd take bulleta up on her award design. She was kind enough to show it to me shortly after creating it. It's best award design I've seen for this contest yet! The girl has serious talent! :D

BTW: Thanks for the heads up on this, bulleta ;). If it weren't for you, I might not have read this thread. X|
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by Goldknight »

I moved this thread to the global announcement. I think the awards section on the bottom of the board to get lost in the shuffle. Not everyone scrolls all the way down these days. :sweatdrop Hopefully this move will get y'all more exposure. :wink:
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by sensei »

Thanks, all, for the warm response. I want to give people a chance to see this and think about it before I move ahead to the next logical stage (rule dithering) so please excuse if I don't immediately take anything up or start forming an "Awards staff."

Zerospace, thanks for your offer. Your assistance in hosting the prizes is, I know, deeply appreciated by the Beta commons, and I hope we can move ahead with a revised special site. My apologies for not contacting you directly, but, after reviewing the entire 2011 threads I thought it best to bring the issue to current Betarians first. Then (if it was thought desirable) I certainly intended to contact you to see if you were willing to be involved. Blame my caution, not any disrespect for your considerable efforts in the past.

GK, thanks for the move. I come in every day by way of "New Posts" so the place of the thread on the Board Index doesn't phase me, but I know that browsing habits vary and it's best to accommodate all users.

Additional thoughts and offers of help are appreciated. While I'm a rank tyro at this, I will do my best to give everyone something useful to do, in the name of keeping the contest organized but not more work than any one of us can handle.
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by BuraddoRun »

sensei wrote: 1. Is there genuine interest in reviving the cel contest in 2013?
2. If so, which format would be best?
3. Given the answers to 1 and 2, who would be willing to help out to make it all happen?
4. Do we want to begin with a thorough revisitation of the rules? (I'll copy these in the next post for reference.)
1. I'm a newbie here, but I'm definitely interested in seeing it revived!
2. I don't know, because I wasn't around for any of the previous contests to know what works best.
3. I have no website skills, and I'm a crummy artist, but I would be happy to help in some way if there is a need. Maybe I can help count votes or something?
4. I think we should revisit them. Maybe it'd be fun to create or alter a few categories for freshness?
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by graymouser »

I would not mind helping out too. Just let me know if you need me.

EDIT: I guess I should say that I do have some limited XML and CSS knowledge since I have to write the code for my gallery. I do not know much about other coding such as JavaScript though. I also have quite a bit of room in my domain if space is needed (I have just over 4700MB of free space - my gallery and other storage use takes up less than 300MB). I have no idea how much you usually need though.
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by iceman57 »

I'm in for trophies design if the desk is available :)
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by zerospace »

sensei wrote:Zerospace, thanks for your offer. Your assistance in hosting the prizes is, I know, deeply appreciated by the Beta commons, and I hope we can move ahead with a revised special site. My apologies for not contacting you directly, but, after reviewing the entire 2011 threads I thought it best to bring the issue to current Betarians first. Then (if it was thought desirable) I certainly intended to contact you to see if you were willing to be involved. Blame my caution, not any disrespect for your considerable efforts in the past.
No problem, sensei. Just let me know if you need or want my assistance. To be clear: I'm offering to host the site, if desired. I might make my code available to someone else again, but there will definitely be conditions on that after what happened in 2011, that's all. ;)
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by sensei »

Thanks for all the support. I've been busy today (Asst. Minister duty) and need a break, and then I want to review some threads and get a clearer sense of jobs needed. Zerospace (unless gobs of people PM me and say no no no), we will be happy to accept your offer to host the awards. Bulleta, we accept your offer to design trophies. (Iceman57, your outstanding work in this area in past contests is remembered, and so we will no doubt use your designs in an upcoming contest, hopefully sooner than 13 months from now). Other volunteers: we will be happy to include you in various ways -- but if we are using zero's site, then I'll need to review threads from these and remind myself of what tasks are needful.

Overall, I'm optimistic that this will come off and be a healthy post-holiday recreation for all of us. Still, I'm sure there will be mistakes and communications that could have been more tactfully composed. As the lesson I read in church today says, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

(Well and good ... and I dodged a bullet by stopping just before "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.")
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Re: 2013 Cel Awards: A tentative start

Post by sensei »

After a long and sobering trawl through previous cel/sketch awards threads, I think I see what is necessary:

1. A webmaster. That I assume involves the physical task of uploading new text and graphics (i.e., banners) to the 2013 website. As I see it, the task of uploading entries is handled by the contestants, so (unlike the RS option) there is no need for volunteers to do this. Zerospace, does your offer include this substantial job? Or do we still need someone who has the needful skills?

2. Three site testers to do everything possible to break it, screw things up, or detect technical faults. May I tap kathpatty, Rekka Alexiel, and graymouser for this job?

3. Two people to recheck vote counts. May I tap BuraddoRun for this and ask for one more volunteer on this front?

4. A graphics designer and trophy maker. As bulleta has a set of trophies already prepared, is it OK to accept her offer? Another Betarian has expressed interest in the graphic design, and if both persons are willing to share the visual design honors, I will consider us doubly blessed.

5. I'm willing be the point person in discussion of rules, schedules, etc and do the job of coordinating and pushing the process onward.

6. I would appreciate it if someone who has had a more central role in one of the previous contests could volunteer to be an "institutional memory person" who would be willing to field dim questions and set me straight about how things have been done in the past. This person need not do so publicly, if that's a preference, and need not take any other active role in this year's process. I just would like to have access to an "older hand."

Concerning cutiebunny's query: I think it would be cleaner to make this contest cel-based only, and if it is successful have it followed up in fairly short order (>6 months) by a sketch-based contest, thus restoring the semi-annual nature of these events.

Once we finalize the Awards committee, it probably would be good to have a conversation among ourselves by email or PM to agree on a schedule and think about what changes in rules, etc. might be beneficial. Obviously, any such decisions or changes will be aired in the forum prior to the formal start of the contest.

Judging from past events, it's normal to begin with an open discussion of rules/categories.
Once decisions are made here, the website is designed and tested, then opened for view.
Entries then can be submitted for about a week.
Then after site testing the voting is opened for 5-7 days.
Then, after another period of 5-7 days for counting, checking, and drum-rolling, the winners are announced and trophies given.

As I see it, the entire process takes between 3 and 4 weeks. As January-February is a relatively light time for academics, this would be a good target for me and hopefully for many others. (And a June-July time period for the next sketch contest).

Does this make sense?
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