Guild Wars 2

A poor joke on my part. >.> Shouldn’t have included it. Sorry!

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and dignitaries of this noble court,

The hour of unveiling of the winners of the drawing contest has come.

But before I start though, I’d first like to thank all the participants who took their time to create wonderful artworks of the character “Sofia Fairborne”. This -> gallery certainly couldn’t have existed without their unique perspective of the given subject. Let’s give them a round of applause. Second, a nod to the judges of impartial conduct who also took their time to give each piece a equal consideration before dispensing judgement. Lastly, I’d like to thank the sponsors of the event namely the Black Lion Underground [BLU] and Pretty Armor and Weapons Now [PAWN] for supplying the contest prizes.

First, a shout-out to the all the participants including…

Cyann Thorburn for Entry #2
and Mamo.3876 for Entry #5.

Without further delay, let’s start with the judges’ picks…

Starting on the 1st step of the stairway, we have…
Entry #7 getting 3 out of 18 of the highest possible number of votes
by edusd.7893

Next, we have Entry #1 getting 3rd place of judges’ picks with 4 out of 18
by ddouble.6402

Then we have Entry #6 getting 2nd place of judges’ picks with 5 out of 18
by MysticalDragon.1794

Last but not the least, we have Entry #8 getting 1st place of judges’ picks with 7 out of 18
by kissie.4260

Moving on to the second prize, we have Entry #4 reaching 11 out of 18 possible votes
by Tathron

Finally, the biggest winner of this contest, we have Entry #3 reaching an astounding 17 out of 18 votes
by cynz.9437

Let’s give our winners a round of applause.

There’s still more to come though. I, along with the judges didn’t think it was enough to credit the winners with the prizes they have now; so I included some Frost & Fire dyes into the mix should any of the entries qualify for the special categories. So without further delay…

Under the ‘Jovial’ category, we have Entry #4 as the winner.

Then we have the ‘Serene’ category, which Entry #3 received the highest # of votes.

Here concludes Stage 1 of the drawing contest. And of the next stage of the contest.

I see people are attempting to flip their tables; I invite you to do so as our event caterer has made accommodations for this happening and deployed tables of sturdy, and heavy construction. So you might ask why? Well, for one, I am already content with the submissions from this contest. This is not to say that I want to back away from having to give away prizes I have listed as prizes on the second stage. On the contrary, I am planning to continue with the contest.

As of now, I am not quite ready to share the details as to what the next contest will entail. What I am ready to disclose though is that the prizes will still be either volcanus/infinite light, gold prizes, and possibly more. Beyond that, I am still scrambling to put the contest together. Here is the kicker though, I am dropping the character requirement so this will open a lot of doors to would-be participants and give the community plenty of fan-made submissions. =)

Hope that clears things up! Let me know what you think of the matter.

Vol.7601:

The problem with this is that there are very few commodities out there that can be traded in frequency and still provide value for both the buyer and seller.

Another thing I forgot to mention; it’s not that I am advocating for total abandonment of the TP. In fact, I like the TP for what it can do for most people. There’s convenience, exposure to the wider market, and buy/sell uptime for when a player cannot be online. It’s just too good to pass up on.

Goods that are exchanging hands by several thousand an hour like ectos, silk, orichalcum, are quite difficult to work with given the smaller gap between buy and sell orders. However, you could try narrowing your focus to select goods that you’d want people to recognize that you are the go-to person for those goods. As for sourcing, you can try from your local community or your stockpile that you’ve managed to accumulate (TP as last source) then move them as you find buyers. Surely Used Ecto Salesman wouldn’t be able to accommodate most people’s ecto needs as in his best days he could move 500 ectos, just to one person. (we had a regular thing going on until that sputtered out, mostly because i’ve moved on to other markets)

tl;dr: Find a niche, get recognized for it.

Have you ever wished that there was a trade option of sorts between players? Throw aside that wishful thinking because it’s most likely not going to happen. A more likely option that we can make happen is starting a local community for trading.

You might ask, what the kitten is that? Well, to put it simply, instead of waiting for a very unlikely event of ANet implementing a trade feature, we could instead start a community of sorts for like-minded people who prefer to take matters in their own hands with regard to trading activities rather than consigning it to the TP.

What if there’s no such thing in my server? Start one! Of course, just by yourself a community does not make. If you have some goods you wouldn’t mind waiting to sell for a chance of better gain say for instance popular trade goods like T6 materials, ectos and the like, try the /m for a change. It would be wise to be mindful of the interval you make your /m postings. [As for me, 10 minutes apart doesn’t seem to bother people as much]. In my earlier days in Tyria, I had a character named “Used Ecto Salesman” who I regularly use to solicit in Lion’s Arch /m to move my contraband [Globs of Ectoplasm]. Make your identity/reputation known! Plan fun community events like trivia with some prizes you wouldn’t mind parting with, and perhaps give even bigger prizes when you draw to a close. A community won’t happen overnight, but perhaps with some persistence, encouragement to other people to engage in the same, preventive measures to help mitigate scams, a local trading community might perhaps flourish.

A good rule of thumb is to set for yourself what you consider as acceptable risk and then divide the transaction into however many is needed depending on whatever is agreed upon after mutual discourse. Of course, this is not really an option when dealing with goods of high value and in low (or 1) quantities.

Perhaps with more people involved, we can make this a reality. Start by trading with your peers and work within your circles. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the /m channel and make new connections. I don’t know if I included it in the imgur album but having a history with people you’ve come to know helps a lot, to the point that you wouldn’t have any apprehensions sending say 250 ectos at a time or 500 like I did with another. Of course that didn’t happen overnight.

For some history of my ingame trading activites, here’s an album for your viewing pleasure. Hope that helps!
http://imgur.com/a/uHJkf#0

Deadline for submission of entries is more or less five days from now. Given the differing timezones and whatnot, I will allow for only Jan. 21 latest but officially it’s still on Jan. 20.

Best of luck to all participants!

No further screenshots, sorry. While extra details might look great, I lean toward the general idea before going to the specifics and see if they reinforce the general idea. There’s plenty of screenshots and a backstory for your reference.

So… I wouldn’t be too bothered if the submission is vastly different from the reference screenshots so long as the picture alone can tell me that it’s the character in question.

*edited to include prize-claiming info…
Winners will have their prizes mailed ingame to the account name they have provided. Except of course for Infinite Light, which has to be claimed in-character (ingame).

Been getting queries concerning judging. Just to add this out there, as this is more or less freestyle, I am not promulgating a criteria for judges to follow. Whatever a judge fancies I guess is where his/her vote goes.

How you plan on drawing it is entirely up to you. To put an extreme example, I wouldn’t even mind a silhouette if the drawing can identify on some level whose silhouette is it. =)

My primary intention for it is mostly to put it up as a desktop wallpaper and having it framed on a wall as secondary option. What is it like working with 72 dpi vs 300 dpi? Didn’t want to make it too kitten would-be participants.

*edit: “hard” is censored?

Hello szshou!

I would like to request one similar to http://i.imgur.com/XAvCa62.jpg (second to last from your first post)

Here’s the reference picture http://imgur.com/12Xpxey
Equipment as follows
Head: Human Light T3
Shoulders: none
Chest: Conjurer
Leggings: Conjurer
Hands: Human LightT3
Feet: Exotic Light Karma Shoes [from temple events]
Backpiece: Fractal Capacitor
Main hand: The Bifrost

More images form http://imgur.com/a/4TGaz for your reference including dye information.

*edited to clarify entry information submission, add entry dimension guidelines, raise minimum resolution to 150 dpi (72dpi previously), remove “prepare 300 dpi if chosen as winner” clause, address issues concerning usage and ownership of entries, change “3rd Prize” to “Judge’s Picks” and lastly add special category prizes in conjunction with Stage 1 prizes.

Character information: www.tinyurl.com/sofiaprofile

Character album : http://imgur.com/a/4TGaz
_________________________________________________________________
1st stage – Anything goes; freestyle

Winners also get +1 credit to qualify for Infinite Light on second stage

1st prize – Lyss

2nd prize – Jormag’s breath

Judges’ Picks – 25g (Entries that are neither of 1st or 2nd but have received a certain number of votes)

Special Category Prizes (An entry could possibly win special category prizes in conjunction with the usual prizes, listed below)

Melancholic Sofia – Flare Dye

Jovial Sofia – Shiver Sky Dye

Mischievous Sofia – Deep Glacial Teal Dye

Serene Sofia – Cinders Dye
_____________________________________________________________
2nd stage – (Theme of host’s choosing; for future release along with relevant details)

Special Prize – Infinite Light (winner must secure 3 of 5 votes; host abstain due to conflict)

Host’s pick – Volcanus

Host’s favorite picks – 75g
____________________________________________________________
Contest Rules and Mechanics :

limit one entry per stage per participant.

Entries can either come in digital or scan of physical format.

Orientation and picture dimensions is up to the participant but it is recommended that participants use general desktop configurations as a guideline either in portrait or landscape. (e.g. 1280×960, 1366×768, etc.) Resolution quality must be no lower than 150 dpi.

Participants will retain ownership of their submitted entry. By submitting an entry, they are giving the contest host a license to use their entry only for personal use.

All entries must feature the character ‘Sofia Fairborne’.

Submit entries to sofiafairborne@gmail.com. Entrants must also include their display name in GW2 in email body

Gallery of entry submissions is to be displayed on http://imgur.com/a/cCCDp (gallery updated fortnightly)

Entry submission should be submitted within the given timeframe.

First stage is to begin from Dec. 1, 2013 to January 20, 2014. Winners of first stage will be announced on February 1, 2014. Second stage of contest will begin promptly after announcement along with other relevant details. Second stage entry submission will end on March 15. Winners will be declared on March 20.

Judging of the 1st stage winners is to be decided by a panel of 6 judges, host included. Judges’ names and votes are to be withheld until the conclusion of the entirety of the contest.

Judging of the 2nd stage winner is to be done solely by the host. Winner of second stage may be qualified to win an Infinite Light instead if the winner receives 3 out of 5 votes. (host excluded from voting) Winner’s participation in a brief RP ceremony is required before hand-over of Infinite Light.

Updated Dec.1, 2013 (No more changes =), I promise)
___________________________________________________
If you have any further related questions or concerns, post away, and i’ll try to address them.

*edited to clarify entry information submission, add entry dimension guidelines, raise minimum resolution to 150 dpi (72dpi previously), remove “prepare 300 dpi if chosen as winner” clause, address issues concerning usage and ownership of entries, change “3rd Prize” to “Judge’s Picks” and lastly add special category prizes in conjunction with Stage 1 prizes.

Character information: www.tinyurl.com/sofiaprofile

Character album : http://imgur.com/a/4TGaz
_________________________________________________________________
1st stage – Anything goes; freestyle

Winners also get +1 credit to qualify for Infinite Light on second stage

1st prize – Lyss

2nd prize – Jormag’s breath

Judges’ Picks – 25g (Entries that are neither of 1st or 2nd but have received a certain number of votes)

Special Category Prizes (An entry could possibly win special category prizes in conjunction with the usual prizes, listed below)

Melancholic Sofia – Flare Dye

Jovial Sofia – Shiver Sky Dye

Mischievous Sofia – Deep Glacial Teal Dye

Serene Sofia – Cinders Dye
_____________________________________________________________
2nd stage – (Theme of host’s choosing; for future release along with relevant details)

Special Prize – Infinite Light (winner must secure 3 of 5 votes; host abstain due to conflict)

Host’s pick – Volcanus

Host’s favorite picks – 75g
____________________________________________________________
Contest Rules and Mechanics :

limit one entry per stage per participant.

Entries can either come in digital or scan of physical format.

Orientation and picture dimensions is up to the participant but it is recommended that participants use general desktop configurations as a guideline either in portrait or landscape. (e.g. 1280×960, 1366×768, etc.) Resolution quality must be no lower than 150 dpi.

Participants will retain ownership of their submitted entry. By submitting an entry, they are giving the contest host a license to use their entry only for personal use.

All entries must feature the character ‘Sofia Fairborne’.

Submit entries to sofiafairborne@gmail.com. Entrants must also include their display name in GW2 in email body

Gallery of entry submissions is to be displayed on http://imgur.com/a/cCCDp (gallery updated fortnightly)

Entry submission should be submitted within the given timeframe.

First stage is to begin from Dec. 1, 2013 to January 20, 2014. Winners of first stage will be announced on February 1, 2014. Second stage of contest will begin promptly after announcement along with other relevant details. Second stage entry submission will end on March 15. Winners will be declared on March 20.

Judging of the 1st stage winners is to be decided by a panel of 6 judges, host included. Judges’ names and votes are to be withheld until the conclusion of the entirety of the contest.

Judging of the 2nd stage winner is to be done solely by the host. Winner of second stage may be qualified to win an Infinite Light instead if the winner receives 3 out of 5 votes. (host excluded from voting) Winner’s participation in a brief RP ceremony is required before hand-over of Infinite Light.

Updated Dec.1, 2013 (No more changes =), I promise)
___________________________________________________
If you have any further related questions or concerns, post away, and i’ll try to address them.

Sofia Fairborne, Disciple of the Storm.

More screenshots with description of featured outfits at Imgur album.