If you are an amateur artist, looking to see if you can make it in the art world, this is the perfect event for you. We are currently looking for 3 amateur artists, one each who can do Children’s Animation, Illustration and Cartooning, to take on our professional Iron Artists.
If you are interested in being a challenger on Iron Artist, send an e-mail to: Garfeimao@theonering.net or Alyse@TheOneRing.net with your name, address, e-mail address, a short history of your drawing experience (one or two paragraphs), and if possible, a sample of some of your work. (jpegs, gifs, pdf, tiff and bitmaps are all fine).
Please only sign up if:
a) You can work quickly, but well. (You will only have ONE HOUR to work with)
b) You are a very quick thinker; this is a fast paced event.
c) You can work under pressure and with lots of distractions; you will be working in front of an audience, a panel of judges, cameramen, and a loud and obnoxious reporter – you MUST be able to deal with all of this while you work.
c) You must be able to pencil, ink, AND color.
d) You cannot be afraid to lose – these ARE the Iron Artists, after all. (i.e., you have to be a good sport)
The deadline for signing up to be an Iron Artist challenger is December 18, 2005, at Midnight, PST.
Iron Artist FAQ
1) Just what is an Iron Artist?
The Iron Artist is an artist who has shown the ability to think quickly on their feet, deal with distractions and focus on the task at hand, all the while being creative and able to finish their project quickly.
2) What is the Iron Artist contest?
First and foremost, this is a competition held in the spirit of fun and entertainment. The art produced will be auctioned off for charity over the weekend.
The Iron Artist contest is based on the same principles of the Iron Chef TV show from Japan. There will be professional artists on one side, and an amateur challenger for each pro on the other side. The professionals do not compete against each other, but against the challenger in their chosen specialty theme. All artists are free to use whatever medium they think they can work in the best.
There will be a host, like on the TV show, who will be rather flamboyant and who narrates the event, and 2-3 judges who will make silly comments about the work or the artists. Again, this is all in the spirit of fun, but the artist challengers need to know what to expect. There will be a camera moving around on stage, looking over everyone’s shoulder, so that the audience can see what is being created. During introductions, the artists can mug for the camera and to the crowd, and are, in fact, encouraged to do just that.
The theme to be drawn will be given at the beginning of the event, meaning everyone will have exactly the same one hour to plan and execute their piece. At the end of the one hour, the artwork is to be handed in, finished or not, to be judged by our panel. The panel of judges will meet, right there on the spot, while the artists are given a post event interview by the Host.
3) How will the art be judged?
The judges will be looking for several factors, to include, but are not limited to: Completeness of the piece, how well it reflects the given theme, originality, complexity, aesthetics, and how well you stayed within the bounds of your specialty theme (Children’s Animation, Illustration or Cartooning).
4) What will I win?
The actual prize is still in development, but if it’s ready before the event, it will be announced here. Suffice it to say, the pro’s will basically just get to keep their title as Iron Artist, while the amateurs will be showered with gifts and new found fame, or they will just be given some sort of trophy, whichever comes first.
5) What is the charity?
The artwork will be auctioned off the same weekend as the Iron Artist show, and proceeds will go directly to the following charity:
Very Special Arts, or VSA http://www.vsarts.org/
VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
6) Who are the Iron Artists anyhow?
Our Iron Artists will be:
Cynthia Cummens as Iron Artist Children’s Animation
Colleen Doran as Iron Artist Illustration (undefeated in 3 contests so far)
Don Flaws as Iron Artist Cartooning
Other rules and things of import:
- You MUST have a valid membership to ORC 2006, any ticketing package welcome, to be a challenger.
- All challenger entrants will be judged by an Entrants Committee, who will not be the judges for the actual contest.
- You cannot be a former winner in a previous Iron Artist challenge. (If you competed, however, and did not win, you can apply again)
- Some supplies will be provided for the duration of the competition (Bristol board, paper, pencils, ink pens, and markers), but if there is any specific special media you would prefer to use, you must provide it yourself.
- The possible theme for this year’s competition will come from the World of Tolkien.
- If you are chosen to be a challenger (or an alternate) for this year’s Iron Artist competition, you may be asked to send a further bio about yourself, so the commentators will have something to refer to as they discuss you and your work during the competition. This bio should be sent by January 10, 2006.
