Anyone may submit entries. You don't have to use any particular
software, you don't have to read any particular newsgroup or
mailing list... you just need to make fractals.
| 1. |
Still images must be entered into one of the
following categories:
Nature
Artifice
Scene
Interpretation
Abstract
Limited Color
Classical Minibrot
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Animations must be entered into the
Movement category. Some categories
require additional entry information; see
the descriptions
for details.
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| 2. |
Every still image will also be considered for all of
the following categories:
Best Use of Color
Best Use of Lighting
Best Use of Texture
Best Still Image
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| 3. |
If the contest officials deem an image to be entered into
an inappropriate category, it
will be returned to the artist with an explanation. The
artist may either resubmit the same image into a different
category, or enter a different image entirely.
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| 4. |
Each person may submit up to three images and
three animations.
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| 5. |
Any fractal software may be used, and any image
editing software may be used to post-process the
images (but see this
note).
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| 6. |
Titles for images are strongly encouraged,
but do not embed the text in the image itself. Your
image will be labelled in the web page.
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| 7. |
Images must not include the artist's name. Names
will be revealed for all entries only after the voting
period. Artists should refrain from identifying
their entries until the voting results are displayed.
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| 8. |
Additional information describing how the image
was made may be provided; this will be shown along with the image after the voting period.
This information must be fifty words or less. This
text will not be translated.
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| 9. |
Parameters and formulas for images are welcome.
They will be posted after the voting results are
displayed. For FractInt, please include the formula.
For Ultra Fractal, please make sure the formulas are
available in the formula database. For other programs,
please include all the necessary material to render
the files. We will not verify submitted parameters;
it is up to the entrant to make sure they work.
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| 10. |
Images previously published on a web site, newsgroup,
or mailing list are not eligible.
Entries should also not be posted to a web site,
newsgroup, or mailing list prior to voting results being
displayed.
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| 11. |
Still images should be 640x480, 554x554, or 480x640. Other
sizes are acceptable as long as neither the width not height
exceeds 640, and the product of width and height does not
exceed 307,200. Anti-aliasing of images is strongly
encouraged. Still images may be submitted in GIF, PNG, or
JPEG format; JPEG format is preferred. PNG images will be
converted to JPEG for display on the web site.
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| 12. |
Animation entries have the same size restrictions as still
images. There is no byte limit, but please be considerate of viewer download times. GIF, AVI, MPEG, QuickTime, Flash,
and Java animations will be accepted. Flash and Java
animations may not be interactive; they must run
on their own without user input.
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| 13. |
Entries will be accepted via the web
interface from
September 3, 2000 to 9PM PDT, September 24, 2000. Submissions
via e-mail will be accepted through September 17,
2000. While contest volunteers will try to have all
e-mail submissions approved before the end of the
submissions period, we do not guarantee that
last-minute e-mail entries will be accepted into the
contest. Please use the web interface, it helps us out
enormously!
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| 14. |
Beginning January 1, 2001,
all entries will be displayed on the contest web site.
Entries will be displayed alphabetically by title.
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| 15. |
All visitors to the contest web site are encouraged to
vote once the images are on display. (That is, you do
not have to enter in order to vote.)
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| 16. |
We suggest that voters view all contest images at full
size before casting votes, as thumbnails do not
accurately convey the detail in fractal images. Thumbnails
are provided as a navigational aid, not as a substitute
for viewing the images.
| | 17. |
Within each category, voters must select a first-, second-,
and third-place image before the vote is counted for that
category. Votes cast in the overall still image categories
do not have to be for images already voted
for within their specific category.
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| 18. |
Voters may vote in as many or as few categories as they
wish; however, votes must be cast in all of the individual
still image categories before votes may be cast in any of
the overall still image categories.
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| 19. |
Artists may vote for their own entries if they wish. If
an artist does not feel they can properly judge their own
entries against other images, we suggest that the artist
not vote for their own images.
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| 20. |
Final rankings in each category will be based on a point
system. A first-place vote is worth three points; a second-place
vote, two points; and a third-place vote, one point.
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| 21. |
Each person is permitted to vote only once. To make
things easier for the contest volunteers, please collect
all of your votes into a single message.
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| 22. |
Voting begins when the images are displayed on the web
site, and closes at 9PM PDT, January 31, 2001. Absolutely
no votes will be accepted outside those times.
This gives viewers four weeks to view all the images
and cast votes.
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| 23. |
Following the voting period, after all the votes have been
counted, the results will be posted to the contest web site
and e-mailed to each entrant.
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| 24. |
Each still image or animation entered into the contest
will also be considered for a Technical Achievement
award. This award will be given for works considered
difficult to achieve with fractal software, because of
limitations in software, difficult mathematics, new or
original ground-breaking techniques, or other technical
challenges.
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| 25. |
These awards will be given by a panel of respected and
knowledgable fractal artists and programmers. The names
of panel members will be posted as soon as it is
finalized.
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| 26. |
The precise number and requirements for these awards
will be determined solely by the panel. They will decide amongst themselves how
best to reward artists for exceptional effort.
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| 27. |
Following the voting period, the panel will announce
their choices and those results will be posted along
with the popular votes.
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| 28. |
All artists, by submitting images or animations to the
contest, consent to have their images included on the
CD-ROM.
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| 29. |
The intent of this CD-ROM is not to make a profit,
but to aid in voting. (The contest site is huge and can
take a long time online to view; having it on CD makes it
very easy to view whenever it's convenient.) Thus the CD
will be sold at minimal cost, to cover the expenses of
producing, duplicating, and shipping.
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| 30. |
CD-ROMs may be ordered through January 15, 2001. The cost
is $7 (to the US) and $10 (elsewhere). CD-ROMs will be
shipped as they are ready.
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| 31. |
All Artists, by submitting images or animations to the
contest, consent to their images being displayed on the
contest web site in both full-size and thumbnail forms.
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| 32. |
Artists retain full copyrights on their work. Being
shown on the contest site does not restrict the artist
from selling, licensing, or otherwise profiting from
their work.
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| 33. |
No attempt to sell the images, outside of the limited-edition
CD, will be made, not even to promote the contest.
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| 34. |
Inquiries regarding re-use of contest images will be
forwarded to the artists.
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| 35. |
The only prizes are graphic awards
which may be placed on the winners' web sites. First-place
winners may use the first-place graphic; second-place
winners, the second-place graphic; third-place winners may
use the third-place graphic. All contest participants
may use the participation button.
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| 36. |
Contest winners using the award graphics should upload
the award images to their own site, and not link directly
to them on the contest site.
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As far as the rules are concerned, the only requirement for
submitted images is that they are primarily composed of fractal
elements. That is because although this is an art contest, it's
also a fractal art contest. One of the limitations fractal
artists accept is that the medium—visual representations of
mathematical formulas—imposes some restrictions on the creative
process. Producing beautiful images despite the restriction is
part of the challenge and beauty of fractals.
If you choose to process your image, that is OK as far as the
rules are concerned. But you should keep in mind that the more
obviously you alter the image, the less pleasing it is likely
to be to some of those who vote. The key word you should remember
is enhance. We're not really interested in who can
apply the most complex filter combinations in Photoshop to
produce something barely recognizable as a fractal. We're
interested in great fractal pictures.
As a guideline (and this is only a suggestion, not a rule) you
should stick to processes and alterations which are performed on
the entire fractal image, and which use the fractal image as part
of the process.
This year's categories are, mostly, very broad. Any image
might fit in several categories. It is up to the artist to
choose the category they feel best fits their image.
This includes organic shapes, creatures, plants,
natural formations of rocks or minerals, any image that suggests
things created naturally and not by man.
The opposite of Nature. Any image suggesting
man-made items. Mechanical, structural, anything created
by man and not just naturally formed.
Any image which attempts to depict a scene. This
may be a 3D image, or a 2D image giving the impression of a
scene. It may be a landscape, space scene, even a city scene.
An image which "interprets" something. An emotion,
a quote, a movie or title, perhaps a scene from a classical
story or play. Whimsy, passion, even apathy. Note: To enter
an image into this category, entrants must specify what
they are interpreting. Anything which is not directly representative of
anything is a candidate for this category. Note that while most
fractal art can be considered abstract, we want to encourage
entrants to consider other categories, as large numbers of
images will probably be placed in the Abstract category.
Images in this category are restricted to one hue.
That means you may have black, white, shades of grey, and shades
of a single color. Note: we verify with an image editing
program that entries in this category are a single hue. Entries that are not must be entered
into a different category.
Images in this category must feature a complete
minibrot somewhere. That is, a miniature version of the classical
z²+c Mandelbrot set shape. Many formulas display this
shape, it is the shape that is the requirement and not the
formula used to produce it. This is our tribute to the roots of
fractal art. Note: images in this category must
have the minibrot shape, but images with such shapes do not
have to be placed in this category. This category is for animations. We accept
animations in a variety of formats, but they must be non-interactive.
(That is, they must run on their own without human intervention
or input.)
This doesn't mean which still image has the most
gorgeous colors... it means which still image made the best use of
the color to make that image work.
As with the previous category, this means
whichever still image made the best use of light and dark to make
it work.
Best Use of Texture
This means whichever still image made the best use
of texturing to make that image work.
This is just the best overall still image.
Return to Contest Rules
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