McLeodGaming 2011 Art Contest

The McLeodGaming 2011 Art Contest was an art competition and the second annual contest held by McLeodGaming, following the orchestration contest from the previous year. Starting on February 1, 2011, contestants were tasked with creating pencil-and-paper drawings of video game protagonists themed around Valentine's Day.
== Rules ==
For this contest, contestants were to submit a drawing of a video game protagonist portrayed with some sort of Valentine's Day theme. The protagonist in particular must be a main protagonist in the game and the main focus of the image, and secondary characters were also allowed to appear, but all characters in the drawing must come from the same franchise. Characters from other kinds of media such as television shows were also allowed as long as they have appeared in an official video game before.
Drawings entered were to be judged based on various factors, including originality, creativity, and skill. As voted in a poll on January 12, 2011, these drawings were required to use a pencil and paper exclusively, with colored or lined paper and colored pencils also being acceptable. Drawings done with other tools, such as pens or markers, and digital drawings were not accepted. Additionally, drawings were limited to one piece of paper and one image, and comics with multiple panels were disqualified as well.
From the starting date, entries were to be submitted by February 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. (GMT-5). Entries were to be scans or photographs of the drawings, which could not be digitally edited unless it was required to make the drawing appear properly and had the permission of Gregory McLeod. The files could then be sent to him through email, or they could be posted on the McLeodGaming Forums. Only one drawing could be submitted per person.
=== Prizes ===
The contestant placing in 1st would receive a Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet, and they would also get the option to submit an updated version of their winning artwork using any medium they wish for Gregory McLeod to showcase on the home page of the McLeodGaming website. Additionally, the contestant placing in 2nd would receive a $50 gift card to the McLeodGaming Zazzle Store, and the contestant placing in 3rd would receive a $25 gift card to the store.
== Results ==
Ultimately, more than 60 contestants entered and judging began on March 1, 2011, with Gregory McLeod and several of his friends acting as the judges. The winners were announced on March 20, 2011, with only the top three placements being specifically listed; the remaining top 57 contestants were simply listed on the art contest's website in alphabetical order of the file names. The 1st place winner, bathurst, had her artwork shown on the home page of the McLeodGaming website, but she never submitted an updated version.
=== Top 3 ===
2011 Contest bathhurst.jpg|1st place: bathurst's entry from .
2011 Contest BlopBlue12.jpg|2nd place: BlopBlue12's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Amarythe.jpg|3rd place: Amarythe's entry from .
=== Others ===
2011 Contest Aaron Rucker.jpg|Aaron Rucker's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Aditya Gopinath.jpg|Aditya Gopinath's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Alexander Carcutt.jpg|Alexander Carcutt's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest artist13namine.jpg|Artist13Namine's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest BenZyreck.jpg|BenZyreck's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Brikmaethor.jpg|Brikmaethor's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest cheesepichu.jpg|cheesepichu's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest Christian Campos.jpg|Christian Campos's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Ciara.jpg|Ciara's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Colt Alstrom.jpg|Colt Alstrom's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest CowsGoMeow.jpg|CowsGoMeow's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Dacota Trip.jpg|Dacota Trip's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest David Duran.jpg|David Duran's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest Densetsuno sister.jpg|DensetsunoKaboom's sister's entry from .
2011 Contest G0L3M.jpg|G0L3M's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest Gisanh.jpg|Gisanh's entry from .
2011 Contest GMSTerr0r.jpg|GMSTerr0r's entry from .
2011 Contest Gsuki.jpg|Gsuki's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest hicopil.jpg|hicopil's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Hollowcrow.jpg|Hollowcrow's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest James Bonder.jpg|James Bonder's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Jason Balogun.jpg|Jason Balogun's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Kevin Snider.jpg|Kevin Snider's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest KidDeath8888.jpg|KidDeath8888's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Kira.jpg|Kira's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest kittykat.jpg|kittykat's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest KnGuilherme.jpg|KnGuilherme's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest koopakoop159.jpg|koopakoop159's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Kyuubit.jpg|Kyuubit's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest Loli Lover.jpg|Loli Lover's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest LordZaix.jpg|LordZaix's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest mammo619.jpg|mamo619's entry from .
2011 Contest Michael Rhindress.jpg|Michael Rhindress's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Miguel Roman.jpg|Miguel Roman's entry from .
2011 Contest misteridiot123.jpg|misteridiot123's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest momo guy.jpg|momo guy's entry from .
2011 Contest Nadim Amin.jpg|Nadim Amin's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest orangesrgood.jpg|orangesrgood's entry from .
2011 Contest Owen Hardeman-Wood.jpg|Owen Hardeman-Wood's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest pikachu54465.jpg|pikachu54465's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Rainagi.jpg|Rainagi's entry from .
2011 Contest ranjodh84.jpg|ranjodh84's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Ripstick.jpg|Ripstick's entry from .
2011 Contest Royal_Blade.jpg|Royal_Blade's entry from .
2011 Contest ScronBun.jpg|ScronBun's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest ShadowHood.jpg|ShadowHood's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Sir Raptor.jpg|Sir Raptor's entry from .
2011 Contest snowb400.jpg|snowb400's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest sonic 2.0.jpg|sonic 2.0's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Tarro57.jpg|Tarro57's entry from .
2011 Contest thedespised2166.jpg|thedespised2166's entry from the franchise.
2011 Contest Tifa Akane.jpg|Tifa's entry from .
2011 Contest Xjulian.jpg|Xjulian's entry from .
2011 Contest YaBoyLED.jpg|YaBoyLED's entry from franchise.
2011 Contest Ziziziz.jpg|Ziziziz's entry from the franchise.
== Trivia ==
*Currently, this is the most recent contest to be held by McLeodGaming with no direct relation to a game.
*Two of the contestants, Daytawn Campbell and Jessica Duran, did not have their entries shown on the contest website despite being listed.
*Two of the contestants were Super Smash Flash 2 developers, being Jamal Ransaw and Ramsey Kaid, though both dropped out.
== External links ==
*The announcement and poll post on the McLeodGaming Forums.
*The archived news post announcing the start of the contest.
*The submissions post on the McLeodGaming Forums.
*The archived news post announcing the winners.
*The archived website featuring all the submissions.
Category:Contests
Category:McLeodGaming