Hello there! It’s me, Anorakun, and I’ll be your host. As usual, your main goal in the contest is the same as previous years: draw beautiful graphics according to the theme given by the contest. But there’s a twist this year: instead of foreground or backgrounds, you must draw some sprites. With that said, let’s go to the rules.
THEME
This time, we want you to draw some sprites based on SPACE. In the galaxy lies many mysteries and intriguing lifeforms. Humans fighting against alien spaceships, pacific creatures, there’s so much to learn about the universe. This theme has tons of potential and creativity that can be explored all around, so go crazy.
GENERAL RULES
The goal of this contest is to take an existing sprite and give it new graphics based on the theme detailed above. You can draw graphics for either vanilla SMW sprites, or for any custom sprite currently approved in the SMW Central sprites section. Graphics drawn must be your own original work; that is, you can’t edit or rip any pre-existing graphics, either in-game or from anywhere online. You can submit two sprites if you desire, one vanilla and one custom.
YOU CAN:
-Use ExAnimation;
- Choose any boss sprite you want (vanilla or custom), except for the following vanilla sprites: Bowser, Ludwig, Morton, Roy, Iggy or Larry. This is because they are hardcoded and restricted to mode 7.
- Change the palette row that a custom sprites uses, by changing the .cfg or .asm files;
- Use any tools or programs to make your graphics, as long they're submitted in ExGFX (.bin) format;
- Edit any colors that aren’t marked with an X. Check this image for reference.
YOU CANNOT:
- Edit any vanilla or custom sprite. The pixel art must be original and made from scratch.
- Create a .bps patch. That will not be necessary, since the sample level is easy to insert;
- Edit the ASM or cfg of a custom sprite to change its behaviour;
- Rip sprites from commercial games, nor custom sprites hosted on The Spriters Resources, Mario Fan Games Galaxy, or any other website;
- Edit or submit overworld sprites, since they’re not the main focus of the contest. Also, they’re more simple by nature.
- Work with a partner.
- Put your name in the submission. Your submission must be anonymous!
- Use any kind of ASM to enhance the visuals of your vanilla / custom sprites. For example, using color math or any kind of trick like that manipulates colors is strictly forbidden.
- Create graphics for custom sprites that are not already approved in the Sprites Section. Sprites in the waiting section don’t count.
SUBMISSIONS
You must send all the entries to me by PM. You must host your entries either on Dropbox, MediaFire, Google Drive or any external hosting site of your desire and send the link to me. Then, I’ll send everything to the judges. The reason for that is simple: people may peek into other users’ filebins, so we don’t want to spoil all the fun of the contest.
The ZIP File must contain:
- Sample level (If you choose to make two sprites instead, you can make a second sample level);
- Custom palette and palmask (if you’re not using vanilla colors);
- EXGFX file (.bin);
If you’re using a custom sprite, you must also include:
- A .txt with the name and link of the custom sprite you’re replacing;
- All the ASM files that the sprite uses;
- .A cfg file;
JUDGING
Now, presenting the judges of this contest: Teyla, Eevee, Deeke, TheMorganah.
Scoring will be given under the following categories:
OVERALL DESIGN : 30 POINTS
- Does it look good?
- How well do the sprites animate? Is the animation fluid enough?
- Do the graphics convey their meaning well? For example, if you draw Spiny graphics, does it look like a spiky enemy while adhering to the theme of the contest?
CREATIVITY: 20
- Does the sprite have any kind of spin or something unique?
- Does it adhere to the theme?
Total: 50 points
PENALTIES
You’ll receive a penalty, if:
- You fail to include the ExGFX, sample level, and/or palette for the sprite. For custom sprites, this extends to the .asm, .cfg, and other files needed to make the sprite work properly. -2 points for each file you forget to include;
- Edit any colours on palettes 0-7. -2 points for each forbidden color edited;
- You identify yourself. That includes posting your sprites in your filebin or your name in any of the archives you include in the ZIP file. -2 points for failing to keep the entry anonymous;
- You submit a ROM (.sfc, .smc, etc.) or any other copyrighted file as part of your submission. DISQUALIFICATION + SITE WARNING
- Your entry is plagiarized, such as through ripping graphics from an external source, claiming somebody else’s work as your own (whether they know or not), and so on. We don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour. DISQUALIFICATION
PRIZES
The top 3 participants will be rewarded with a trophy for each category. It’s possible to rack up 2 trophies if both of your vanilla and custom sprites are winners! The top 3 participants for each category will also be allowed to pick a game from our list of codes.
Other participants will be rewarded with a participation trophy.
DEADLINE
Starting now, you have until January 17 of 2021 to send a PM to me with your entries.
Time left:
At the end of the contest, we’ll show every sprite made so far. Have fun!
Also, feel free to discuss and ask your doubts or questions in this thread, as well!