Story Illustration Contest '13

Journal Entry: Thu Jan 17, 2013, 7:45 PM

After two successful, exciting, and fun years for my Illustration Contest, I might as well keep with the momentum! Usually I start it a few months later in the year, but this time I figure why wait? The third annual Story Illustration Contest is now officially underway!

The Rules

To enter, +fave this journal and +watch me so you can get updates for the contest. If you don't dig me, you can always un-watch once we're done.

Draw an illustration depicting a character, characters, or a scene from the selection of stories below.

You may enter as many times as you like!

Entries will be judged by faithfulness to the source material and complexity of the image.

In the description under your entry, include a link to the original story and this contest article.

Send your entries to me in a note so I can add them to this folder.

No bases! Entries must be completely made by you.

The Challenge

Pick your favorite story from the list below and draw a scene or characters from it! I try to be diverse in my writing; Action, drama, science fiction, romance, humans, robots... There should be something in there for everybody. Unfortunately, last year's chaos didn't allow me to be as proliferate as I would have liked, so there's more old favorites than new this time around. Some characters already have visual depictions, but some don't. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Some stories contain characters that belong to my friends, but feel free to draw them as well.

The Prizes

Fourth Place

A 3-month Premium Membership from *cmdrtekk
50 from *Ezri-Krios
A lineart drawing from =Samalu17
Llamas from ~JeremyCoffey, =Ruwich, *Ezri-Krios and ~Felizias

Third Place

A 3-month Premium Membership
An additional 3-month Premium Membership from *cmdrtekk
A colored character card by ~ChocolateLollipop
A Cult of the Yellow Sign necklace from Re-Stitch Retro
Llamas from ~JeremyCoffey, =Ruwich, *Ezri-Krios and ~Felizias

Second Place

A 6-month Premium Membership from *SheepSlave
An additional 3-month Premium Membership from *cmdrtekk
A sketch by ~Underbase
A full colored drawing with background by ~LilyOfTheSword
A Cult of the Yellow Sign T-Shirt from Re-Stitch Retro
Llamas from ~JeremyCoffey, =Ruwich, *Ezri-Krios and ~Felizias

First Place

A 1-year Premium Membership
1000 from ~EleonoraOpos
A full colored drawing with background by ~Underbase
A full colored drawing with background by ~LittleMissAwesome
A full colored drawing with background by ~LilyOfTheSword
A Ghostbusters T-Shirt (available in size M or XL)
Llamas from ~JeremyCoffey, =Ruwich, *Ezri-Krios and ~Felizias

[Note me if you're interested in donating to the prize pool.]

The Deadline

Now extended to April 18th!

The Stories!

Original Works

Apex PredatorThe deer had not a chance against its killer. One minute, the old buck was munching languidly on summer grass so lush that its juices dribbled out of his mouth as he ate. The sun's rays beamed down through the treetops, warming the forest floor to the perfect temperature--it was a perfect day. Until a twig behind him snapped. From downwind emerged a dark mass of fury and teeth and before the buck could even take flight, its legs buckled under the impact of almost two hundred pounds brought to bear onto his back. Dark hands grasped his muzzle and an antler. And with a twist, the old male just past the zenith of his life reached its inevitable conclusion.
The killer was nothing less than a werewolf, dark brown in color. He growled in satisfaction as he got off the fresh carcass and stood. From the nearby foliage emerged a smaller werewolf, black with white speckles here and there. The larger werewolf hunched down and flattened his ears in respectful submission.
"Good work, Phoenix," comm or

FurorEvery year, spring brings new life and new opportunities, but with these also come new threats, new dangers. On a warm spring night, deep within a Montana forest, yet another of these primal dramas has come to fruition. Flora and fauna which had established their own footholds on life are trampled and pushed aside underneath three werewolves without a second thought. At this moment, The Chase is their only concern.
This deep within the forest, the green foliage is dense enough to snap back in the face of the immense brown werewolf charging his way through it. But he shrugs off the blows, his drive and focus more effective than any painkillers. His fur catches in the branches, leaving behind coffee-colored knots snared amongst the leaves, and even that barely slows down his pace. He feels like half a tree is tangled up within the braid that hangs off the back of his head. But as great a nuisance as the forest growth can be, it has to be doubly hindering for his quarry ahead. The disrupt
Meet Samson Phoenix, a young man with an inferiority complex, as he navigates through the inherent complexities of the life of a werewolf.

Tantalum"Alright norms, listen up," Captain Ramsey "Bull" Gibb addressed his unit of ungifted soldiers. "Our targets are Mick and Dean Armbruster, 32 each, Caucasian males with respective control of hydrogen and fluoride. They were doing time for drug trafficking, first-degree theft and attempted murder and busted out on the day of the Awakening. Our orders are to capture them alive. Any questions?"

"Sir," Sergeant Daniels, a skinny beanpole of a man who looked even smaller under all that military gear, raised his hand. "If these men are murderers, why are we trying to recruit them?

Bull sneered. "Whatever they've done, the United Stares Armed Forc
A super-powered soldier must recruit two delinquent elementals.

AlienatedOn an average morning, Joseph O'Donnell was the first thing his wife was aware of when she awoke: his large frame a source of comfort, even during this unsure point in their marriage. His right arm reliably wrapped around her, his left under the pillows to hide the stump where once a hand had been. How she missed him when he had served in Iraq. On those nights, the empty half of their bed might as well have been a vacuum.

This, however, was not an average morning – if it even was morning. Sarah O'Donnell sensed something amiss during her first glimpses of wakefulness – they were not on their bed, but a hard, flat surface. She abort
A war veteran, abducted by aliens, must chose between being human, and his humanity.

Legends

"Professor Sewell! Come quickly! You're not bloody going to believe this!"

Professor Elizabeth Sewell gave the intern a cross glare through her glasses. She was a middle-aged woman, with red hair just beginning to silver. She was not finicky about her appearance, yet she tried very hard to avoid the "stern librarian" appearance displayed by many of her colleagues. "Language, Mister Porter. If you wish to be a professional, you'll need to control that hasty tongue of yours."

"Right sorry," young Porter gasped obligatorily as he shoved aside both flaps that served as the door to her tent and beckoned her outside. He was a consummate portrayal
The archeological discovery of the century proves the existence of werewolves... or does it? This story ties in to the universe of the novel I'm writing.

Fan Fiction

The Fifty-Ninth MinuteWith increasing regularity, the Earth was coming under threat by alien menaces other than the Decepticons. It made sense, the Autobot known as Pyro supposed; the planet was both out of the way and ideally located, depending on where you were coming from. Or which way you were going. The universe was funny like that.
Pyro, in the guise of a firetruck, regarded the man that climbed inside him. He had a rather strange face, but not the strangest they had on file. (Personally, his favorite was the "teeth and curls" look.) This was a new face, all flat and nose and long hair. And his clothes were strange. He had always had questionable fashion sense, but it had always leaned more towards the old-fashioned and less towards the... hm, "singed raggedy."
"Hello, Doctor," the Autobot said once they were rolling. Pyro increased his speed; they hadn't much time.
The man looked surprised for a moment. He glanced towards the passenger seat and the seats behind him to see if he had missed anyone, but
A Doctor Who/Transformers crossover!

The ZooCybertronians did not experience grogginess. Unlike humans, there were no levels of consciousness; they were either offline or online. Moonhunter had tried to explain what it was like to Whiplash once, on a Saturday morning when her human brother Cassidy had been reluctant to get out of bed. But the young Maximal had not been able to fathom what it was like and she still couldn’t.
Although, when she snapped online to find herself in a dark cell, staring up at a barely-illuminated ceiling, she found herself wishing she could control her level of consciousness and go back offline without fully registering the freakishness into which she had just awoken.
She played back her most recent memories for some clue as to how she’d wound up here. There had a huge sphere in the sky, suddenly spearing out of nowhere while she scouted a valley on some remote planet. A blue light had illuminated her and then nothingness. It must have been a stun ray, or a tractor beam, or some efficient
When a young Maximal is kidnapped, how far will her creator go to rescue her?

Force of NatureIt was a barely-inhabitable rock of a planet. "World" was too generous a word to describe it. "World" implied hospitability. Winds of unbreathable atmosphere hurled frozen flakes of ammonium at velocities that made flight impossible. Cybertronians had to teleport in to access the small fortress hidden in an obscure portion of the planet's surface. Why anyone would go there willingly was the very explanation of their presence: such a miserable corner of the universe was the perfect place to hide a precious cargo, and the ten-mech team hired to keep it safe. This day and age of the Pax Cybertronia made jobs a lot more interesting for Scope and his crew.
The winds rattled against the metal walls and the wailing assault of wind could be heard even through their thick protection. And this was a good day. Inside one of the dimly-lit rooms, Scope glanced up from his hand of cards. "So Boomer, how's it going with you and that femme back home? Whatwashername?"
"Tank," Boomer replied. "And it's
"Commander!" The voice of Quarry cut through the static. No, that wasn't static, it was gunfire in the background. "There's someone in the generator room! We can't keep him pinned! He's invisible to our sens- No wait, he's transforming! He's cutting us down! Oh Primus he's-" Actual static. The line went dead.

First DateHenry “Beast” McCoy knew this arrangement aggravated Agent Brand. But she had recruited him for this “job” because of his different sensibilities, and thus had to defer to his judgment. Her profuse protests over the phone had given him an almost perverse sense of pleasure when he proposed the idea. Why couldn’t they just meet up at her apartment, she’d asked. He wasn’t “that kind of boy,” he’d answered. Eventually, she had no choice but to cave in to his demands.
And now they were on their first date. All soldier, she marched through the front door. Henry wondered if she was capable of turning it off. At least she had replaced the S.W.O.R.D. uniform with a gray pants suit... although for all Hank knew, she had it on underneath. Probably had it on underneath.
Always a gentleman, Henry stood and pulled her seat out for her. “I must say, Agent Brand,” Henry said, his baritone voice practically purring with smugness, &
A mutant superhero and a secret agent alien-mutant hybrid go out on their first date. What can possibly go wrong?

The Cat and the RatCybertron was a cold world of uniformity and order. As colorful as its people could be, the world that birthed them varied little from golds and grays and purples. This world, however, was in complete contrast to Cybertron: colorful, jagged, uneven, wild and unstable. It was a completely alien planet, and the Maximal now known as Tigatron felt completely like he belonged here. Its primal beauty filled the chasm in his soul that had haunted him since the earliest days of his life, when he had first learned there was life outside of Cybertron.

He knew his fellow Maximals didn't consider this world home. But there had been a point after awakeni
The most reticent Maximal and the most loudmouthed are stuck in a blizzard together--and in the snow, find their past and their future.

If none of these stories interest you, you're welcome to browse amongst the rest of my works. Find something you like? Note me about it!

Previous Years' Winners!

133 Comments

Story Illustration Contest '13by ^JZLobo

Journals / Culture / Contests

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*unokitsune Apr 21, 2013

So when do we get to see the results?

^JZLobo Apr 21, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

It's in my latest journal: [link]

*Ezri-Krios Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

Looking forward to seeing the winners!

^JZLobo Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

I'm looking forward to rewarding them!

*Ezri-Krios Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

Ditto. Even though I'm only chipping in little bit this time.

^JZLobo Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

Well don't think your contributions aren't appreciated, you didn't have to donate anything. So thanks again.

*Ezri-Krios Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

Oh no, I'd never think that. Thanks.

*Kohaya7Kae-13 Apr 16, 2013 Hobbyist

Well... looks like I won't be able to join this contest anymore. I suddenly got loads of things to do. I wanted to draw Moonhunter(did I get it right?) though... T.T

I don't know. But I'm glad you got many entries now. Good luck to the participants!

^JZLobo Apr 17, 2013 Hobbyist Writer

Aw, that's a shame. But thank you so much for your support! (And yes, you got his name right.

)

*Kohaya7Kae-13 Apr 18, 2013 Hobbyist

Yes... and you're very welcome! : )
(I'm glad I got it right)

By the way, I just noticed... how come everyone in DA can purchase a til hell freezes over title now? o.o
I thought it was only for community volunteers and seniors, because it is the present for all their hardworks... but now, it's purchasable, and I know it's just recent cause before, there was the 3 month billing method... now it's gone, instead the til hell freezes over is open... ._."

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Story Illustration Contest '13

The Rules

The Challenge

The Prizes

Fourth Place

Third Place

Second Place

First Place

The Deadline

The Stories!

Original Works

Fan Fiction

Story Illustration Contest '13by ^JZLobo

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