It's Raining Men 2019 is Now Over! Winners Announced!
Knittingmommy
Posts: 8,191
Update! Link to Voting Thread
November 2 - December 31, 2019 Ends at Daz midnight (GMT-6)
I'm a little late getting things started this year. But get your rendering started because it's that time of year again where we focus on the men in our digital libraries. The contest is mostly the same as last year. We have a couple of modifications. Excuse the dust while I finish setting things up.
It's that time again when men rule the forums or at least the Art Studio. We are once again having the It's Raining Men Contest. This is a DAZ sponsored challenge here in the Art Studio. As in previous years, the rules are fairly simple. However, we do have a new rule so make sure you read them carefully. Submit renders that feature the men. Females can be in your render but the man must be the focus. We are going to open up the voting to the forums for the best overall image again this year using a survey site. All voters will be required to submit their username here on the Daz Forums. We are also going to have a separate entry thread to hopefully make it easier to create the voting thread this year. So while you can post images to the main thread if you wish, only those images posted to the Entry Thread will be submitted to the survey site for voting. The Re-Purposed entries will be open to public voting this year.
We have the New User category again this year to encourage new users to play. Those images will be decided by L'Adair who generously donated the prize for this new category.
We also have a Storytelling category this year. This category will be decided by FenixPhoenix who gratiously put up the prize for this category.
Neither the New User category nor the storytelling category will be up for public voting.
Donations to the prize kitty by both Vendors and Forum members will be gratefully appreciated. We will continue to take prize donations until the end of the contest.
So show us your best Male renders.
Any Humanoid Male figures can be used.
Prizes for Best Render, 2nd and 3rd Places
Honorable Mention
Separate prize for Best, Most Original Re-Purposed Non-Male clothing Item
Best Entry by a New User
Best Entry by a PA
Best Toon Entry
Storytelling Category
Carrara Category
All images will be entered for Best Image with the exception of the new categories listed below; any image which uses and mentions a re-purposed item also will be entered for Best, Most Original re-purposed item. However no image can win the same level in both categories.
For the re-purposing voters should favor those who give some explanation of how they re-purposed.
Special Categories
There is a special Storytelling category this year. @FenixPhoenix is offering up a prize to the image which best tells a story.
There's a special category this year for those renders created with Vysur's Leon, an orginal standalone character.
Challenge starts now, November 2, and will end on December 31 midnight DAZ time, to give you plenty of time to do your best for our poor hard-done by 3D men.
Rules
1. You can enter up to 3 Images
2. Entries must all be new renders.
3. Please submit your entries to the Entry thread with an attached file for voting purposes. We do need the attachments to compile the voting thread. In the spirit of the contest, please post your entries here before entering other DAZ contests. Entries can be submitted to other DAZ contests once they have been entered here as long as it isn't expressly prohibited by the other contest. Yes, you can post to your DAZ Gallery and your Deviant Art gallery. Being able to post to your DA gallery was widely requested last year and so we are allowing that this year.
4. Entries can use any render engine/program of choice as long as the main focus is the male figure.
5. Title is optional, but please state if your image is to be considered for the Re-Purposing category by tagging it Re-Purposed. You can tag an image Re-Purposed by putting the word Re-Purposed somewhere in your post when you submit your image to the Entry Thread.
6. Postwork is allowed.
7. Female figures are allowed in an image, but the main focus of the image must be the male figure.
8. Keep it within the TOS.
9. No signatures on the images please. This was brought up last year and, in the interest of fairness, please do not put signatures on your images that are uploaded to the voting thread. If you wish to put a signature on your image when you upload to your gallery, you are allowed to do that. The official entries uploaded to the entry thread must be signature-free.
9. Yes, signatures are now allowed. Signatures must be small and unobtrusive.
10. Re-Puposed Category - This category is to take an article of clothing NOT designed for the males and using it on or with the male figure in a new way. This does not mean throwing the male into a dress and calling it done. For inspiration, please check out voting threads from previous years in the links and look for those images which are tagged Re-Purposed.
11. Female morphs are not allowed in this competition including, but not limited to, the use of such products as GenX which enable users to apply female morphs onto the male body. We want to concentrate on the male figure. However, scripts that allow artists to swap UVs allowing female skins to be used on the male figure WILL BE ALLOWED as no morphing is involved and UV swapping is a pretty common occurrence for most of us.
12. Swapping out an entry is allowed as long as your final entry is in by the "end date". No swapping will be allowed once I've posted the 'Contest Closed' post and whatever image you have posted at that time is the entry you will have to keep.
13. Prize listing for Special Carrara Incentive. If your entry was made in Carrara, please post a screenshot of your entry in Carrara in your entry post along with your entry.
14. For PAs: This year, there is a special prize to encourage PAs to enter. You guys will have your own category and I hope this encourages all of you to join the fun.
Rules for New User Entry
Must meet all the other rules of the contest,
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Must be the first It's Raining Men contest the artist has entered,
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Need to enter at least two renders, preferably three.
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Need to have started creating in DS within the past 18 months, and
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Need to include the month and year they started in their entries if they want to be considered.
It's Raining Men - Forum Team Challenge to the Forum Community
It's Raining Men - Challenge Winners
Mod Challenge It's Raining Men Thread for Judging (ALL 140 ENTRIES WITHOUT COMMENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS THREAD)
2017 3rd Annual It's Raining Men Contest - Entry Thread
2017 3rd Annual It's Raining Men Contest - Discussion Thread
2017 3rd Annual It's Raining Men Contest - Voting & Winners Announcment Thread
2018 4th Annual It's Raining Men Contest - Discussion Thread
2018 4th Annual It's Raining Men - Entry Thread
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Comments
Prizes:
1st Place
$20.00 Daz3D Gift Certificate donated by Daz3D
3 Products from Darwins Mishap(s) store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
1 Product from FenixPhoenix's store
1 Product from Sylan's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
$20 GC donated by @Diomede
$20 GC donated by Worlds_Edge
2nd Place
$10 Daz3D Gift Certificate donated by Daz3D
2 Products from Darwins Mishap(s) store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
1 Product from TangoAlpha's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
1 Product from Sylan's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
$20 GC donated by @barbult
$15 GC donated by @KevinH
3rd Place
$5 Daz3D Gift Certificate donated by Daz3D
1 Product from Darwins Mishap(s) store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
1 Product from Sylan's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
$15 GC donated by @SimonJM
Honorable Mention
1 Product from Darwins Mishap(s) store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
$10 GC donated by @isidorn
Best, Original Re-Purposed entry
1 Product from FenixPhoenix's store
$15 GC donated by @isidorn
Best Entry by a New User (check the rules to see if you qualify as a newbie)
$20 GC donated by L'Adair
$15 GC donated by @gerterasmus
Best Toon Entry
$20.00 Daz3D Gift Certificate donated by @Knittingmommy
Best entry created in Carrara
1 Product from Vyusur's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
$20.00 Daz3D Gift Certificate in memory of wgdjohn
Best Entry by a PA
$25 Daz3D Gift Certificate
Special Categories:
Best Storytelling Image
1st Place - 2 Products from FenixPhoenix's store
2nd Place - $10 Gift Certificate donated by @watchdog79
1 Product from FenixPhoenix's store
3rd Place - 1 Product from FenixPhoenix's store
Best image featuring Leon by Vyusur
$20 GC donated by @Diomede
1 Product from Vyusur's store no collaborations/no Daz Originals
Donors, if your donation is not listed please check your PMs to see if I had a question about amount or distribution. Please PM me if I've missed a donation or there has been an error. Thank you.
List incomplete and subject to change as more donation amounts are confirmed and/or added. I'll be taking donations up until the end of the contest. If anyone would like to add to the prize package listed above, please PM @Knittingmommy.
Reserve spot
To begin with, I am happy to see the contest again, and will take part this year too :)
However, there is part of the rules that do Not make any sense at all. I hope I will be able to explain why it doesn't make sense to me, and I hope I do not come off as offending as that is not my meaning.
It is the part of not being allowed to have our signature on our images. I can not for the life of me understand Why we can't do that. I would have understood that IF we were Not allowed to crosspost in other contests, upload to our galleries (here and dA), and were Not allowed to upload in the entry thread.
The reason it doesn't make sense is that it doesn't matter if the image is signature free, since we not only can crosspost and upload elsewhere, we also post it in the entry thread. Which means Anyone can see which image belongs to which user.
The fact that we can put an signature on the image we upload in the gallery, but not in the image we upload for the entry thread, just adds to that.
I hope you will be willing to make the change in the rules due to this, as there is no reason to disqualify an image with a signature due to us all posting in the entry thread and elsewhere. I know that the voting will be from a survey, but that doesn't make a difference honestly. Simply because anyone can merely look in the entry thread to see who has posted which image, regardless of wether it has a signature or not.
I admit freely that I Hate to post any of my images without signature, as such this is important to me. I wouldn't have said anything though, if it hadn't been for what I outlined above.
The rules have changed each year based on input from entrants from those years. Personally, I don't have an issue with signatures on images. Most of the people who enter their images don't put signatures on their images and that's fine. The few who do put signatures on their images have very valid reasons for doing so. The issue of signatures was brought up two years ago and was implemented the following year because there was discussion about having the signatures in the images might give those renders an unfair advantage in the public vote.
I don't really believe that's true. I think the people voting on the images are voting on what they think the best images are and not based on tenuous forum friendships. I think past voting bares out this belief. I would be happy to nix that rule if there is a general consensus that the rule isn't needed. I honestly don't think we need the rule. I'm open to what others on the forum think. Should we keep the rule about no signatures or should we take it out? Let me know.
Personally I don't think they should have signatures it does mean that those that have a signature can be identifyed without having to check in the thread. If we get rid/alter that rule perhaps we can also change the no female morphs rule as I don't understand the distintion between female skins and female morphs. Personally I don't think one should be allowed and not the other just because ''UV swapping is a pretty common occurrence for most of us'' when morph tansfer is also a pretty common occurrance to a lot of 'us'.
I so can not wait to get started on this years "Raining Men" Contest as I have so much more stuff for males this year!!
Especially with the PC+ Anniversary sales going on!!!
To me, in a contest about the male figure it seems pretty logic to not include female morphs. Skin is a completely different thing as that is more like just a paint job. You can paint both a Ferrari and a Volvo in the same "Ferrari red" and the Volvo will still be a Volvo, but if you put a Ferrari engine in a Volvo it's not really a Volvo anymore.
As for signatures, I doubt it has much, if any, effect on how people vote. Many artists also have such distinct styles that their works are easily recognizable as works of that artist, signature present or not. In other words, I think the no signature rule is unessesary.
These are just my opinions.
Now I see it differently, a skin is so obviously female even down to the shadows under the breasts that some skins have baked in, let alone the makeup etc which tends to be more 'girly' than that created for males. Morphs on the other hand can just be a a nose tweak or something very none gender specific.
And I believe that Rolls Royce engines were put into all sorts of things it didn't make them Roll Royces.
And maybe some people could explain why they need to sign their work - other than it will be stolen if I don't.
I probably won't be entering, but for my two pennies worth: The main detail of the image should be a male figure (it's raining MEN, after all). Personally I suspect that, so long as the UVs match, I'd not notice if a male or female texture set was applied, but that may just be me. As for signatures - so long as they do not interfere with the actual image, I don't see why a discreet one could not be permitted.
On signatures: I don't believe it's necessary to leave off a signature. I personally vote for images I like, not for the artist.
On female morphs: With the exception of the original Genesis, don't you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get female morphs to work on the males, (and vice-versa?) I suppose one could start with a female, make all the changes they wanted, and then use Cross-Figure to morph the female into a male, but that definitely would be counter to the whole purpose of the contest; to showcase the male 3D figures.
It wouldn't bother me for a male figure to have a few female morphs applied, like the "nose tweak or something very none gender specific" that Scorpio mentioned. However, where do you draw the line? And if you disqualify one image because of the extent of female morphs used, what sort of controversy do you start when you don't disqualify another?
I believe the current rule against using the female morphs is the best way to prevent such issues.
You do have a point, I have to admit that. I'll still stand by my opinion though. Maybe it's because I've never used GenX or similar myself that I don't see why it would be necessary?
You don't have to jump through hoops at all, just like usiing female textures on males there are products availble in the store, Genx transfers morphs, Gen 4 up to G3 and then you can use other methods if you want to transfer up to G8, remember not everyone uses G8 anyway.
I have lots of morphs transfered and it always concerns me that I will use one transfered from a female by mistake. Why would you disqualify an image - becuse it looks too female then surely just like the signatures you trust your voters to not vote for the image as the competetion is male, you can't trust people on one hand and not the other.
I just wanted to update the thread to say I have added a prize to second place. Thank you to @KevinH for his donation to the prize pool. I appreciate all our prize donors and will continue to take donations up until the contest ends on December 31.
As to the discussion of signatures vs morphs, they are completely different things. It's like comparing apples to oranges. I don't think a debate comparing them does the contest any good. The rule about the use of female morphs NOT being allowed has also been in effect since the original contest. It was part of what made the contest what it was and I think changing that would effectively change the contest. It would no longer be a It's Raining Men Contest. That rule isn't going to change.
Just my three cents worth (inflation you know) as I probably won't be entering this year. In the past I was one of the ones that didn't like the idea of having the entries marked as I felt that it gave some people an advantage in the voting. I've since changed my mind, not about it giving an advantage, because it can, but since the way the contest is run (not a criticism), it's easy enough to find out who posted the image, so what difference does it make in the end?
Another point, and my reason for not entering this year, I've asked both of the last two years about knowing where my entries wound in the voting. Never had a response. If my entries (or just one) was very near the top, then yes I'd try again, but if they all been near the bottom then why bother, it would seem as though my art wasn't what the people like. Fair enough, that's life, both real and in a contest. And since I don't know, I have to assume the worst, so why bother. It's quite possible that others feel the same way. Again, just my three cents worth.
Just wanted to throw out there that, at least the Storytelling category, will not be up for public voting. We asked @Knittingmommy if we could offer a prize for this new category so we could also decide who told the story best. This means, that the winner will not be decided based on how beautiful their render is, but on how creatively they opted to tell their story. So I hope that, at least for this category, new users can also give it a shot. :)
I'm entering for the Love of Men and to support Male Content, not any idea I'll win anything - I don't think I will. I'd rather not know if my picture just missed out a prize or was near the bottom. I'm doing it is for fun and a learning experience, I think I'm getting better each year, even no one else does ;-)
I think that your renders have been much better then mine are for sure I am still bumbling around Daz like I am a newbie!!
Can you point to images in the DAZ gallery or maybe on DeviantArt that show an example of what you're looking for in the Storytelling category? It would be good to understand what exactly you mean there.
@BronzeDragon I'm sorry. I must have somehow missed this. Running the contest can get crazy at times. I can actually find out as I still have all the stats on the previous years contest which I ran. I just have to look it up on SurveyMonkey. I'll look into it an PM you with the information you want to know.
Yes, this was my mistake. I meant to make a note about this one, like the Newbie category, is not open to public voting. I forgot. I'll edit the original post to reflect that.
Edited to add: I really do hope new users enter the contest this year. We had some amazing entries from new users last year, one of which did really well and won one of the bigger prizes so you never know until you enter where you'll end up. New users might surprise themselves with how well their images can stand up against images created by more experienced artists.
Special Update: I just wanted to let anyone know who has thought about picking up Vysur's Leon character to render for the contest that it's on sale today for $1.99 as part of the PC sale. Cheaper if you already have some Debut New or Still New Releases in your cart. If you don't own it, it would be a great time to pick him up.
I can certainly share some examples (I'll add some links below). Just think about the category entries as "events" rather than a portrait or pin-up. As long as the render feels like a story is taking place or something is happening, then it fits.
Hopefully, these more or less give you guys ideas of what we're looking for in the Storytelling Category :).
Question for @Knittingmommy :
can one image be in several categories?
I have done one and it is eligible for
Carrara
Story Telling
Vysur
do I post the image with all the categories?...
Yes, they can. With the exception that the Carara category has the limitation it always does in that a screenshot of the scene in Carara is required. All images can be in more than one category. Just tag the image with which categories you're entering. This is especially important if it isn't obvious and it really helps me when I'm sorting images at the end of the contest. I use those tags when I'm getting my spreadsheet together to figure out which images go where when I'm setting up the voting survey.
Update: I've added an additional Storytelling prize thanks to @FenixPhoenix's generous donation. There is now a 1st and 2nd place for the Storytelling category. Get your thinking caps on everyone. :)
I can't use attachments. The site refuses to receive anything I try to upload, even if it's well below the max size, so I have to use third-party hosting. So I can't take part?
Edgar was looking forward to flexing his... beerbelly?
If memory serves me right, the forum can be finicky about special characters in file names so make sure you have none of that. If it still fails, all I can say is keep trying. It's almost 2 months until the contest ends so hopefully you'll get the forum to accept your attachments before that. And if it still doesn't work as we're nearing the end of the year, we might get @Knittingmommy to accept an exception and have someone else post for you?
I have to say it makes me sad that some are considering not entering the contest because they don't think they'll win. Whatever happened to the Olympic spirit of "The most important thing... is not winning but taking part"? And even if rendering is something more than just a hobby and you feel you need to have a chance to get something back for it to be worth putting in the effort, see it as an opportunity to show and promote your art. I dare guarantee that there will be viewers of this contest that wouldn't see the participants' art elsewhere.
Also, one thought on the subject is that the way the voting works, (if I recall correctly) everyone picking their top 3, you would in theory not get a single point even if everyone holds your entry in their top-5, but just not in their top-3. So just exactly how popular a particular entry is, no one will ever know.
With that said, now bring on the MEN!
But I think, the problematic angle of contests might be that it can give some people the feeling their work is ignored. I don't think it's about winning, but about the feeling people see your artwork and find it pitiful. In a contest or public gallery this is a natural occurrence that some artworks will garner praise and attention but other artworks will be ignored. Nothing can be done about that, but I can understand this can be discouraging.
@TigerAnne Keep trying. If you still have trouble, we'll work something out, but the forums are picky sometimes about files.
Tips:
Make sure you image size is less than 2KMB
Use jpg instead of png
Make sure there are no special characters or spaces in your file name
I hope this helps.
Edited because my brain was still in writing sprint mode and I accidentally wrote K as if telling you how many words instead how big the file should be. Oops!