If you've already confirmed your participation in the contest, you don't have to read this. I've separated the contest rules from the original journal post, for convenience.

Please check out the End Date, it's been updated!


CONTEST:
Catlike Qualities

SUMMARY:
Cats are such strange, funny creatures. And they behave in strange, funny ways! When I was a child, I used to believe I was part cat, because some of my traits were just too funny to be "human" - we called these my "catlike qualities," and my parents still tease me about them today. For this contest, I'm looking for the most "catlike" entry - stalking cats, jumping cats, scratching cats, shoe-eating cats, tail-chasing cats, cheek-rubbing cats, water-fearing cats, yawning cats, hissing cats, big cats, little cats, old cats, young cats, tired cats, spastic cats, pregnant cats, mommy cats, baby cats, sibling cats, one cat, two cat, red cat, blue cat! The most catlike thing you can think of!

GUIDELINES:
Subject must be a cat. (ker-DUH.) "Domestic" cats are fine, and "big cats" (lions, tigers, panthers, OH MY!) are acceptable too.
Entries must be VISUAL art. No writings of any kind permitted.
Accepted entry formats: Photography, Photomanipulation, Traditional artwork, and Digital artwork.
Non-photo entries (ie drawings, paintings, vectors) do not have to be captured from life. Original characters (OC's), fan-characters (FC's), other fictional characters, and fanart, are all acceptable, as well as from-life entries.
Anthro figures ARE allowed, but with restrictions. See below.
Contestants may submit a maximum of three (3) entries.
Looking for new deviations - any art submitted since the start of this year (Jan 1, 2009) is eligible.
Any deviant, any age, any nationality, may participate. Judges (see below) are NOT permitted to submit entries.

POLICY ON ANTHRO ENTRIES:
Anthro figures ARE accepted, but with restrictions - they have to be more cat than they are anything else. This means cat characters that have human-like bodies ARE okay, but humans with cat ears and tails are NOT. For the TF fans, this applies to you as well.
Example of an acceptable anthro entry: [link]
Example of an unacceptable anthro entry: [link]
Example of an acceptable TF entry: [link]
Example of an unacceptable TF entry: [link]
These figures can be OC's, FC's, other fictional characters, or fan-art. However, don't forget that the character must be behaving in a catlike way. The point is NOT to make an anthro character MORE human. It's to make them more catlike!
And please remember, I'm not saying that the examples marked "unacceptable" are bad deviations. Contrarily, all these artists are on my watch list, and I love their work very much. I'm just saying that such deviations, as good as they might be in their own right, would not be acceptable entries in this contest.

TO ENTER:
First, comment this journal saying you'd like to enter, and I will add your name to the list of contestants.
Then, to submit your entry/ies, please do the following:
Add in the artist's comments of the deviation(s) - "For Catlike Qualities contest by : dev birdewilliams :" - take the spaces out so that : dev birdewilliams : becomes this:
Send me a NOTE with the link to the deviation you'd like to enter. Just because you post it, doesn't mean I'll see it! You have to let me know it's there.

DURATION:
Contest will end JULY 8, 2009. This means that July 7, 2009, will be the the LAST DAY to submit entries.

JUDGES:
=birdewilliams
~bookworm147
~booklover323
Judges will collaborate to select the winning pieces. First, second, and third place winners will be selected, as well as some possible honorable mentions, if enough entries are submitted (see below).
Judges will view each piece with the artist's name ANONYMOUS. This means that all pieces will be saved with generic names, and will be viewed and judged at random. This is to try to eliminate partiality and bias as much as possible.

Now, to the part that everyone is most interested in...

PRIZES!
FIRST PLACE will receive:
Winning entry will become a permanent feature in my "Features" portion of my journal
1-month subscription to dA, from me
A one-act fanfiction from ~bookworm147 (example: [link])
Any size drawing of any subject, any traditional media, from me
A feature in a MySpace blog featuring the winning entries, from me
Placement in a journal featuring the winning entries, from me
A journal feature from ~bookworm147
A journal feature from =Tepea

SECOND PLACE will receive:
Runner-up will be featured in the "Features" portion of my journal for 2 months
A 9x12 inch (23x30 cm) drawing of any subject, any traditional media, from me
A feature in a MySpace blog featuring the winning entries, from me
Placement in a journal featuring the winning entries, from me
A journal feature from ~bookworm147
A journal feature from =Tepea

THIRD PLACE will receive:
3rd place entry will be featured in the "Features" portion of my journal for 1 month
A 9x12 inch (23x30 cm) drawing of any subject, done in pencil, from me (example: [link])
A feature in a MySpace blog featuring the winning entries, from me
Placement in a journal featuring the winning entries, from me
A journal feature from ~bookworm147
A journal feature from =Tepea

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
If there are enough entries, there may be one or more Honorable Mentions. Whether this happens is ENTIRELY to the discretion of the judges. Honorable mentions will be featured in journals by me, ~bookworm147, and =Tepea, as well as my MySpace blog.



WANT TO HELP?
If you'd like to offer prizes to the winners (such as art gifts, writing gifts, features, subscriptions, etc), please let me know! You will still be allowed to submit art if you decide to do so.
If you'd like to be a judge for this contest, please let me know! I'm always happy to have the assistance. However, bear in mind you will NOT be allowed to submit art if you are a judge.
If you'd like to help, but aren't quite sure how, the biggest thing you can do is ADVERTISE! Tell people about this contest! Have a friend who loves drawing cats? Let them know about this! Have a friend who has a lot of zany cats and loves taking photos? Let them know about this! Because please keep in mind that some prizes WILL BE WITHDRAWN if there aren't enough entries! And I'd love to give all the entries the credit they deserve!


Participants thus far: