The Great Daily Sketch Bet

Round Two

Thanks to everyone for taking part in the dry run of Sketchbet. We are now prepping things for round 2.

When does round 2 start and end?

Round 2 will start Jan 15th and end December 15th.

What has changed?

Winning/Losing - It’s hard to split something 10 ways. So instead of everyone putting something into the pot, losers will have to draw a picture of themselves saying “I lost Sketchbet because I am an awful person!” and post it here and on their tumblr. After which they can still post daily sketches, but can’t win. Those losing participants who fail to submit their shame portrait shall be blacklisted from all future Sketchbets in perpetuity. The winner gets $200 from the mods. However, all winners have to split the $200 so the more people still in at the end, the lower the prize.
Who can take part - Mods will select applicants to be the official Sketchbet posters. They will be the ones competing. Mods can participate, but can’t win. Anyone who isn’t picked to be an official poster will be sent an icon they can put on the posts they make in their own tumblr, which says they are doing it just to do it. When we make our nightly announcement about who is and isn’t still in, we will showcase one unofficial Sketchbet drawing. Because we would like people to take part even unofficially and reward them for doing so.
No More Queue - the queue caused a bunch of people distress because of wrong timezone posting or posting it to the wrong tumblr. So we are getting rid of it. You can draw in advance, but you can’t upload in advance.
Theme weeks - to make things more challenging and interesting, we will have theme weeks. You will be told the theme at 10pm Saturday Night on CST, and you will have to follow that theme for your post the following Sunday. Each theme will be explained and a few temporary rules will given for the week. We will also provide clear examples of what is and isn’t okay. These will happen once a month until July, at which time they will start twice a month.
Daily updates - We are going to make a post nightly that will explain, who is kicked out, who is in danger of being kicked out, an explanation as to why, and an unofficial Sketchbetter. And we’ll finish it all off with a link to this post.

HERE ARE THE NEW AND MIGHTY RULES

THERE WILL BE ONE POST ON THE SKETCHBET TUMBLR EVERYDAY BEFORE MIDNIGHT CST TIME. We aren’t responsible for checking your personal tumblr to see if you posted there by accident and we don’t have to tell you that you posted early by mistake. There are no do overs for this rule. *EDIT* THE DAY WILL NOW BEGIN AND END AT MIDNIGHT CDT DUE TO DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.
ANYONE ON THE DANGER LIST NEEDS TO POST TWO SKETCHES THE NEXT DAY. It is your job to check the danger list to see if you are on it. There are no do overs for this rule.
YOU MAY ONLY POST 1 FANART PER WEEK. O.C.s for other properties count as fanart and the week starts on Sunday. Art derived from Public Domain work does not count as fanart. Art derived from copyrighted adaptations of Public Domain work does count as fanart. If you accidentally post two in a week, you will be put on the danger list.
PUT SOME EFFORT INTO IT. A general rule of thumb is 15 minutes of time. If you post a low effort submission, you will be placed on the danger list.
DON’T GO HIGHER THAN AN “R” RATING. Nudity is fine, life drawing is fine. Fetish art, explicit sex, “attack art,” and socially unacceptable or inflammatory content isn’t. There are no do overs for this rule.
DON’T BE PUBLICLY PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE/HOSTILE ABOUT SKETCHBET MOD DECISIONS. It’s unbecoming and childish. We’d like to promote a better environment about that. There are no do overs for this rule.
TAG YOUR POSTS. The first tag should be your name, and all fanart needs a #fanart tag. Otherwise how will we know if you posted or not? There is no do over for this rule.
DON’T POST FINISHED WORK THAT IS FOR SOMETHING ELSE. This isn’t your personal promo tumblr. You can post the roughs or concept art, but not the finished comic page or commission. If you break this rule you will be put on the danger list.
*EDIT 4/12/2012* DO NOT REDRAW, RECOLOR, OR OTHERWISE IMPROVE PREVIOUS DAYS’ POSTS. It’s unsporting and disingenuous. If you didn’t get it done on the day, it shouldn’t go in. If we catch you, you will be removed from Sketchbet. There is no do over for this rule.

SOME INSTRUCTIONS AND FAQ

Q: How do I apply?

If you’d like to participate, e-mail sketchbet@gmail.com a link to some of your work. A DeviantArt page or portfolio site would be great. You’ll receive a response in a few days, and if you’re in, you’ll be told when your round begins.

Q: Do I have to have a tumblr account to participate in Sketch Bet?

A: Yes. A tumblr blog, no, a tumblr account, yes. Just register, it’s free and takes two minutes. If you don’t already have an account upon acceptance to a Sketch Bet round, you’ll be prompted to make one.

Q: Can we submit finished work/animated GIFs/Zbrush sculpts/etc. ?

A: Yes. More effort than the minimum required is fine, there’s just a minimum. As long as what you’re submitting is wholly original, and each submission is unique, you can submit nearly any creative work, as long as it was done specifically for Sketch Bet. Nothing from your day job, and no pages from your ongoing webcomic.

Q: Do you have to be a pro to participate in Sketchbet?

A: No. Amateurs are welcome.

Q: I don’t think I’ll make it past curation, but I wanna participate anyway! Can I?

A: Don’t be so sure of that. But if you’re convinced you haven’t got the chops, you can play along at home, too. Just sketch, post your sketches to your own tumblr, and tag the post with “#sketchbet.” and put this little icon after your post.

Q: Why is Sketch Bet curated?

A: To keep the quality level up.

Q: Who is running Sketch Bet?

A: Six artists. Here’s an easy link to see their introductions.

Q: I totally have proof that one of the participants is plagiarizing someone else’s art/claiming someone else’s work as their own!

A: Email your proof to sketchbet@gmail.com. We will remove anyone caught cheating in this fashion from the competition immediately, and bar them from future participation.

Q: Since you got rid of the queue, what should I do if I’m going to be away?

A: Have someone you trust upload it. But if they let you down that’s between you and them.