Art Contest III: The Artening.

Hey there everybody,

If you’ve been hanging around the blog for a while, you know that in June Worldbuilders holds a fundraiser. It’s called Geeks Doing Good, and we put a bunch of cool geekery up on Indigogo for a week so y’all can come over, ooh and ahhh, then hopefully buy some stuff and help us make the world a better place.

Traditionally, we do some T-shirts during the fundraiser. And we have, in the past, occasionally run contests where people can submit designs for t-shirts which we then vote for here on the blog

I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

Truth is, over the years y’all have made some beautiful art. And since it’s been two years since our last contest, we figured we were overdue. So we’re throwing open the doors again, and inviting y’all to submit designs for new kingkiller shirts.

But that’s not all….

You see, long long ago. Years and miles away. We made a kingkiller onesie:

It was adored by children everywhere.

We even shot a video of Oot describing what exactly was going on in the picture:

(Awwww… Daddy’s little shill.)

But that was a *long* time ago. Maybe seven years? And we never did a second printing, so most people never had a chance to pick one up….

So anyway, in addition to t-shirt designs, I’d love to see some ideas for onesies or baby shirts if y’all have any bright ideas. I’ve been wanting to make another onesie forever, and this seems like a good opportunity.

Here are some general rules:

  • Must be your original art/design.
  • Please submit your entry as a jpeg, png, or pdf.
  • Images should not exceed 5MB. (If you win, we’ll contact you for high res.)
  • Please submit no more than three designs per category.
  • You can submit the same design to both categories.
  • Submissions must be sent via email. (Below.)
  • The submission period ends on Wednesday, May 17th.

This isn’t a rule so much as an important note: remember that fewer colors for a design tends to be simpler and more elegant, not to mention cheaper to produce.

Here’s how you submit your entries:

  • If you want to submit a t-shirt design, email it to tshirt (at) worldbuilders.org
  • If you want to submit a onesie or baby shirt design, email it to onesie (at) worldbuilders.org

After the deadline, we here at Worldbuilders HQ will sift and sort them, then post a blog where everyone can come in and vote on which ones they like best.

*     *     *

While we’re on the topic of art, there’s another project I’ve been wanting to do for ages. It started as a stupid joke years and years ago, I think I was talking with Paul and Storm about selling out, and what sort of really crass merchandising I’d do. I can’t really remember products we discussed, but it was crazy bullshit like Kvothe action figures with Real Sympathy Grip (TM) and Name of the Windbreakers.

Oh. Oh damn. I meant that to be a joke. But we could totally sell a Windbreaker, couldn’t we?

No. No no. I’m not going to do that. One crazy idea at a time.

Anyway, the one idea I do remember from that conversation was when we joked about making a kingkiller lunchbox. Mostly because I pictured it as having “The Name of the Lunch” written on it. I laughed my ass off at the thought. Partly because when I was a kid, I actually did have a lunchbox. It had Benji on it. And a thermos for milk. My mom packed me a lunch in it for years until I got too old for Benji. Then she used brown bag lunches instead.

So over the years, whenever we would talk about product development, I’d always bring up the Name of the Lunchbox as a joke. Then everyone would roll their eyes at me and we’d all move on with our day.

But when I brought it up this year, everyone kinda just looked at each other and said, “Why not?” The Indigogo is the perfect place to do it, because if people *do* want this bizarre thing and we sell 500 of them, that’s great. But if sanity prevails and we only sell 15, we’ll produce as many as we need, move on with our lives, and Worldbuilders won’t get stuck with four pallets of them gathering dust in a warehouse.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that this is a strange project. Hell, that’s most of the reason I want to do it. And it may prove too complicated to pull it off this year. But what the hell, right? Let’s at least give it a try…

But to do that, we’ll need art for the lunchbox. So if you’re an arty type, I’d love to see what you’d come up with for something like this.

The rules for the lunchbox designs are a little looser. There are size and shape issues that we’ll have to work out if we pick your design. But for your initial submission, USE THE TEMPLATE HERE as a guide, then email it to (you guessed it) lunchbox (at) worldbuilders.org.

Fair warning. We *might* not be putting the lunchbox design up for a vote. As I said, this project is a bit of an odd thing. As I mentioned earlier, you may not see the final product this year. Or maybe ever. But getting art we like is the first step in making my lunchbox dreams come true.

On a completely unrelated note, if you happen to know anyone in the lunchbox-making business who would be willing to give a charity a break on minimum order quantities, feel-free to send them our way.

*     *     *

Lastly but not leastly, I’d like to say that I’m a big fan of people getting paid for their work. Especially designers and artists, who are all-too-frequently asked to ply their craft for free. And while exposure is lovely, we all know you can’t eat it.

Since Worldbuilders is a charity, we run on donations. Partly because of that, and partly because we began as a shoestring operation running out of my living room, most of the art we’ve used was simply given to us out of the kindness of the artist’s hearts. In doing so, those folks have helped us raise a ton of money to make the world a better place.

But artists have to eat too. So from now on, Worldbuilders is adopting the policy of paying the winners of these contests for the use of their art. It’s not going to be buy-an-island money or anything. But it’s something. And don’t get me wrong, if you decide to waive the fee or re-donate it to the charity, we’re still cool with that, too…

I’m just saying. I admire you art-doers. I respect your cleverness and craft. The designs you create fill me with great joy, and help us produce things. You are important to us. So. From now on, there will be money on the table if we pick your design.

I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with…

pat

This entry was posted in calling on the legions, contests, cool things, fan coolness, Geeks Doing Good. By Pat29 Responses

29 Comments

  1. DrPrkls
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 6:31 AM | Permalink

    If you ever decide to do a Name of the Windbreaker, please, for the love of everything worth loving, work with this guy, because I know you/Kvothe love pockets, and this guy is the grand master of pockets:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adv3nture/adv3nture-hoodie-with-23-pockets-and-features

    I have this hoodie. It is the supreme lord and master of all hoodies.

    • Posted April 28, 2017 at 12:25 PM | Permalink

      I *do* like pockets….

    • RickT
      Posted April 28, 2017 at 3:07 PM | Permalink

      Am I the only one who thought of something slightly inappropriate when reading “Name of the Windbreaker?”

      • DrPrkls
        Posted May 9, 2017 at 4:04 AM | Permalink

        If you are making a fart joke then… yes, you are not alone x)

  2. Posted April 28, 2017 at 7:04 AM | Permalink

    I vaguely remember the “What, no payment?” discussion from a previous art contest and am glad to see that you evaluated the somewhat heated feedback and changed the modus operandi. Sadly drawing is not my strong suit, so I’ll have to pass, but am looking forward to seeing the winning designs.

    • Posted April 28, 2017 at 6:54 PM | Permalink

      Just to be clear, we’ve paid our artists for a long time. But traditionally, the t-shirt contest was more like the photo contests we’ve run. More of a playful interaction with the readership than a business arrangement.

  3. Posted April 28, 2017 at 7:30 AM | Permalink

    Thank you for that last section! I take no issue designing things for people and causes I care about, but it is disheartening (or possibly disgusting) to see so many big-named THINGS asking for free work over and over again. I would have designed something anyway, but definitely appreciate the sentiment. :D

  4. brianv42
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:09 AM | Permalink

    A lunchbox!! Beautifully fantastic! Could the designer (not me, sorry) please include “Edro!” On the clasps- oh and a secret compartment for dried apples and such? Thank you.

  5. Knitting-Knives
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:12 AM | Permalink

    Ahhhh! Lunchbox!!! *flappy hands* I collect lunchboxes, so this is amazing. I hope you guys are able to get one made at some point.

  6. outerspaceguy
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:13 AM | Permalink

    > The Name of the Lunch

    I think it should be more like:

    “The Wise Man’s Lunch”

    :)

    • Karissima
      Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:56 AM | Permalink

      The Lunch of Stone

      • Tiff Hudson
        Posted April 28, 2017 at 10:40 AM | Permalink

        Oh, did my mother-in-law pack a lunch again?

    • Brett
      Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:59 AM | Permalink

      I would assume “The Wise Man’s Lunch” is the second lunchbox, followed by “The Dinner of Stone.”

    • Karim
      Posted April 28, 2017 at 1:12 PM | Permalink

      And for the afternoon, The Wise Man’s Tea and the Doors of Scone.

      The Name of the Wind becomes apparent if you add beans on toast.

  7. Karissima
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 8:55 AM | Permalink

    I am ridiculously excited about the lunch box. I loved the little tin lunchboxes that had the thermos inside. I still have mine from school, it was a My Little Pony lunchbox. Can we get one like those? And the suggestion for a secret compartment is amazing as well. You could hide it in the bottom of the thermos.

  8. remi
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 9:55 AM | Permalink

    If you sell a windbreaker, I will buy it.

  9. allauthors
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 9:57 AM | Permalink

    If you make a lunch box and it is less than $50, I will buy one.

    Kudos on paying artists although I don’t have nearly as big of a problem with a charity asking for free stuff as for-profit businesses that still try to pay with “exposure”.

    Question: I won a game in the lottery this year, and I’d be happy to donate it back, but it is just one game and might not even be worth the shipping costs. Are you even interested in single game donations?

    I really think you really should work on the technology to let you manage your big campaign better so that you could send people “what they won” before mailing and let them say “donate it back.” (but maybe you don’t want that; I could see that being legit). Anyway, if you’re interested, I’m a software architect working primarily in web-enabled technologies and I’d be willing to donate some time and effort to help out if that was useful to you.

    • Amanda
      Posted April 28, 2017 at 11:13 AM | Permalink

      Feel free to shoot an email to questions (at) worldbuilders.org and they’ll be able to help sort out the potential to redonate the game and everything else you want to discuss!

  10. Karim
    Posted April 28, 2017 at 12:57 PM | Permalink

    That last section?

    Y’all good people.

    I’d remove the ability to waive, though. Just pump that money to hungry people anyway. It might get someone a goat.

  11. M the Record Keeper
    Posted April 29, 2017 at 7:18 PM | Permalink

    A lunch box depicting one of the scenes with Kvothe and Auri sharing a meal would be awesome, if any one is looking for design suggestions. I work at a bookstore and would proudly bring my lunch to work adorned in a Name of the Wind lunch box! (they already know me as the Kingkiller geek over there anyway)

    Might try my hand at a design but am mostly looking forward to what other people come up with. So many talented artists in this fandom!

    • James
      Posted May 2, 2017 at 2:48 PM | Permalink

      And on the sides it could have a bunch of quotes from Kvothe and Auri describing what was in the food?

  12. peteybob
    Posted May 1, 2017 at 11:54 AM | Permalink

    How about a thrice locked lunchbox? I think a lunchbox that looked like a treasure chest would be pretty fun.

  13. mossifer
    Posted May 7, 2017 at 1:56 PM | Permalink

    i love the fact that you’re paying the winners, even if it’s just a little. Exposure doesn’t really help buy groceries (or coffee, and as a seattle-ite, i’m contractually obligated to contribute at least 2% to the growth of the coffee industry per year)

    that said, i’m super excited this is happening, and I’ve already put in a few designs (since I actually have drawing ability these days).

    hoping I can make yall chuckle over one or two of them :)

  14. cynnicysm
    Posted May 15, 2017 at 8:48 PM | Permalink

    No one got around to “The slow regard of snacks ‘n things” for the lunchbox so I humbly do submit it here.

  15. kvothethearcane
    Posted May 19, 2017 at 2:32 PM | Permalink

    I submitted my design on Wednesday, but got an automatic response late Thursday night saying the email address bounced. Is there some way I might be able to get in late?

    • Amanda
      Posted May 19, 2017 at 3:43 PM | Permalink

      You can definitely resend it to us at the appropriate email (and if that doesn’t work let us know), but we’ve had a lot of great submissions so it might not be one of the ones we end up putting up to the vote next week!

      • kvothethearcane
        Posted May 19, 2017 at 8:42 PM | Permalink

        Thanks so much! I’ll resend it now!

  16. bobbybee
    Posted June 9, 2017 at 8:46 AM | Permalink

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