Let There Be Fan Art! (02/04/2008)

Following the immense popularity of last year's Fan Art Contest, a similar contest is planned to be held this year at the time of the Doll Festival.

Continuing the tradition that began in March of 2007, the official theme of this year's contest will be "The Ladies of Vana'diel."

Perhaps there is a majestic female NPC somewhere out there who blows your mind at every encounter. A special lady-friend in your linkshell, mayhaps? Or even just a random adventurer whose look has taken up permanent residency in your memory banks? The time has come to put these women to paper and/or pixel!

The Doll Festival is laden with beautiful motifs which lend themselves splendidly to visual representation, and artists are encouraged to use them in their illustrations: multi-tiered doll stages, luminescent paper lanterns, and delectable rice cakes, just to name a few!

We will be accepting all submissions as of today until the aforementioned deadline. Entries will then undergo a fair and balanced judging by our development and online operations teams.

Several lucky winners will have their masterpieces posted for public display right here in Topics near the end of March.In addition, they will also be presented with an ever-coveted "Nomad Moogle Rod"!

We look forward to viewing your submissions!

How to Enter

Requirements:
- Contestants must possess an active FINAL FANTASY XI account
- All contestants must agree to the defined terms and conditions
* Contestants under the age of 18 must obtain the permission of a legal guardian before submitting entries.

Submission Period: Monday, February 2nd, 2008 ~ Monday, March 3rd, 2008 (6:59am)

Theme: The Ladies of Vana'diel

How to Submit Your Art: Submissions may be sent via email. The body of the mail should contain all of the required information listed below, with the illustration attached (see below for file format/size information). Emails should be sent to the following address.

Email Address: doll-festival@playonline.com

Email Subject: The Doll Festival – Fan Art Contest Submission

Required Information:
- Your PlayOnline email address
- Your FINAL FANTASY XI World name, as well as your character's name
- Your nickname or handle
- A title for your artwork
- A personal comment or caption for your artwork
*Should your illustration be chosen for display, the above nickname (and your real name, if submitted), artwork title, and personal comment will appear along with your artwork.

Illustration Size: 1024x768

File Format: .JPG or .GIF

* Illustrations must be original pieces of art.
* Please attach only one illustration per email. Contestants will be limited to only one submission.
* Contestants will not be notified directly of the contest results. Winners will be announced publicly in a Topics posting.

Warning

To avoid any complications concerning submissions, please read the following terms thoroughly. We ask that all contestants understand and agree to these terms prior to submitting their artwork. Square Enix will regard all submissions to the Fan Art Contest as implicit acceptance to these terms, without exception.

Regarding prizes:
Winning contestants may not transfer their claim to a prize to another individual/character.

Regarding personal information:
The personal information accompanying contest entries will be utilized in sending prizes to contest winners. In all regards, personal information will be handled with the utmost security in the same manner as laid forth in the guidelines of the PlayOnline User Agreement.

Regarding inappropriate submissions:
Entries falling under either of the below categories will not be considered by the judges:
- artwork containing obscenity, vulgarity, discrimination, or any other offensive subject matter
- artwork containing any plagiarized or copyrighted material
Infringements upon copyright/intellectual property, personal credit, privacy, etc.
- counter to public order and/or morals
- submissions with content judged to be grossly deviant from the established theme
- depiction of characters not related to FINAL FANTASY XI
- Square Enix reserves the right to judge whether or not material is appropriate for public display
- entries not containing all of the required information, or containing erroneous information

Regarding copyrights:

All submitted entries will become the sole property of Square Enix (in accordance with all rights stipulated by International Copyright Law, Articles 21~26, Article 27, and Article 28, together with all rights provisioned by future amendments to said Articles).

*SQUARE ENIX OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES
All entries and other materials (the "Entry Materials") (including all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights associated therewith) submitted by you become the property of Square Enix upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any contestant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Square Enix will own all rights to use, modify, and make derivative works of the Entry Materials, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Square Enix's expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Square Enix to effect, perfect, or confirm Square Enix's ownership rights as set forth above in this paragraph. Entry Materials may be used by contestants only for purposes of the Contest or for private, personal, non-public viewing. Entry materials received by Square Enix may be destroyed by Square Enix at any time following the Contest.