What are these contests?

These competitions are run alternately every two months (more or less).

The Golden Hat is a miniatures painting competition, whereas the Artisan’s contest includes everything but wargame miniatures.  So we have things like a rules competition, terrain, short stories etc.

The winners of these competitions gets a medal and a number slaves according to how many people have entered.  As that thread says, both competitions have medals according to how many people have entered, if there are less than 10 there is only a Gold.

The competitions are always announced in the Website News section.  We officially announce the contest, with a deadline.  After this has closed we start a thread with the entries and a request for people to vote, then after the voting has closed we start a third thread announcing the winner(s).

Previous Golden Hat winners are displayed on the main site

What can I enter?

Each contest will have a specific theme.  An entry that bears absolutely no relation to the theme (unless it is called an ‘open contest’) will not be allowed.  Models have to be fully painted and by the person entering them.  Note that you can have someone else convert the model that you then paint.

The Golden Hat and Artisan's contests are always Chaos Dwarf related, you cannot enter models that are obviously from other armies (like a high elf for instance).

When can I enter?

The deadline will always be clear in the announcement thread.  It is always based on Eastern Standard Time.  So regardless of where in the world you are you need to look up how far ahead or behind this time you are to make sure you get your entry in on time.

No entry regardless of how cool will be allowed to enter after the deadline.  There are no exceptions.  If someone has made a valid attempt to enter before the deadline but have had technical issues (such as links being invalid), they will normally be allowed.

How do I enter?

There are three ways to enter a CDO competition, the one required will be made very clear in the announcement thread.  

> Entering image links by Personal Message
To enter by personal message, you first have to upload up to 4 pictures of your entry to a hosting site.  For instance http://photobucket.com/ or http://imageshack.us/. These are both free hosting sites.  Note the specific rules below on them not being montage shots.

To enter the contest all you need to do is simply click the link provided (it will always be to the ‘Staff’ account) and send the links to the 4 photos.  If you do an album link I will try and ask which ones you want.

> Entering text by Personal Message
Some contests, like the short story based Artisans you can just copy and paste your story into a personal message to the Staff account.

> Entering by email attachment
Sometimes uploading big pictures onto free hosting sites can distort them.  So for any like art or terrain we always say you can enter by sending an email to cdostaff@hotmail.co.uk instead.  A story will be better done this way as it keeps the formatting better.  A rules based entry must be done this way.  Note that we will need to know your username if you send it by email.

NOTE:  Copy and paste the address:  cdostaff@hotmail.co.uk   It does not have a fullstop at the end.

What happens after I have entered?

The personal messages all sit in the Staff inbox until after the deadline has passed.  After this time one of us will look through them all and start to save all the entries to our computer.  If you need to do something specific, like saying which photos you want to be used, the staff member will send you a pm.  It is expected that people will answer any and all questions about their entry (and do what is required) within 48 hours of the competition closing.  If they don’t, perhaps because they have not logged in since, the staff member will either make a decision themselves or potentially disallow the entry.

Once we have all the entries, the staff member will do some editing to make them look pretty for the site, and to make sure they all have a similar formatting to make things fair.  See rules below for more on this.

The staff member will then make a thread with all the entries and request people to start voting (see how to vote below).  After the voting has closed the staff will collate all the votes into a spreadsheet (if there are more than 10 entries) to find the total votes for each entry.  Note that this is something all staff members can check, there is no vote rigging here!   Finally we announce the winners, the voting key and assign the medals and slaves.

How do I vote

As already said, if there are more than 10 entries the voting will be done by personal message.  Send a pm to the Staff account (as described above) with the 3 entries you consider are best, whatever that means to you.  You don’t need to rank them, or give reasons why. You must place three votes, don't know who deserves your last vote? Choose one at random.

You are not allowed to vote on your own entry in competitions. Self-voting is considered cheating and will result in disqualification.

If we have less than 10 votes it will be an open timed poll, you select the one entry you want to win.

What are the Veteran Medals?

These are medals we give as a reward to people who have shown a great deal of commitment in entering successive competitions.  The exact details of how you get them are not something the staff discuss.

GOLDEN HAT CONTESTS

> Entry Rules

The model must be painted to a reasonable standard, certainly more than just an undercoat.  The model must be painted by the person entering it.  Just to be very clear about this, if a company/sculptor has made something you like you can enter it even if you didn’t make it, but you must paint it.

Each person can enter only once.  Any member of CDO can enter.

No entries submitted after the deadline will be allowed, no matter how cool it is.

No model that has already been entered in an online painting contest can be entered.

If the model breaks forum rules by its appearance it will not be allowed.

Photos cannot be replaced after the deadline, unless by specific instruction.

Pictures are to be taken with a neutral background in order to make every entry equal in that regard. Please refrain from including pictures with background scenery in Golden Hat. The background is not allowed to add action/story to the entry or make it diorama style, such as scenery will do. However, placing models on maps is allowed. And, as always, if in foubt write the organizer.


> Anonymity Rules

The entry photos cannot contain any writing that isn’t on the model or base.  I.e. you cannot put your username on each photo.  If this can be cropped out the entry will be allowed, if it cannot it won’t be.

The competition is supposed to be anonymous, so please do not post pictures of your entry online until after the voting has ended.  Do not start a WIP blog of your entry as you make it, we may not allow it to be entered.

If you have just finished a model that is ideal for the competition, but have already posted it in the forum just ask one of the staff if it is ok to enter it still.  Preferably people will not say which entry is theirs until voting is over, but this is not 'rule breaking'.

If your username is on the model/base it will not be allowed.


> Staff discretion and editing

If more than 4 pictures are submitted, or an album link is provided where there are more than 4 pictures, if the entrant does not respond adequately within 48 hours after the deadline the pictures will be selected by me.

If the pics provided are in poor lighting or in need of cropping it is automatically presumed that I will do some editing of the pics as I see fit in order to improve them as best I can.  If you specifically do not want me to do any editing you must let me know at the time of submission!  Bear in mind your entry will remain the same size as everyone else’s, so poorly cropped pics etc will only work against you.

If you are unhappy with the quality of the final montage after the voting has started let me know ASAP.  Changes can be made, but the voting won’t be restarted or anything just because.  I will check each montage shot before posting the thread.

The Staff decision is always final on any matter, it is not open to public debate (unless we ask it to be).


> Artistic interpretation

We encourage creativity, so when we say (for example) 'the theme is a black orc/ slave', this means people are free to interpret this however they want, as long as it still looks Chaos Dwarf themed.  

Bear in mind that people will be considering how well your entry fits the theme when they are voting.

If you are in doubt please ask a member of staff, otherwise you risk having your entry disqualified if it is too far from the theme.


> Basing

The rules in use for basing for the competition will be specifically stated in the announcement thread.

Standard Rule for basing

This rule applies to all Golden Hats.  To avoid confusion models will be classified by the Warhammer 8th Edition standard into infantry, cavalry etc.

The model must meet the base requirement or it will not be allowed to be entered:

Infantry - Up to 30mm (square or round)
Cavalry, War Beasts, Monstrous Infantry, Monstrous Cavalry, Monster - Up to 50mm (square or round)
Chariot - 50mm x 100mm (standard base)

'No display base’
If the basing rules in the announcement thread say this it means the entry cannot have a display base or plinth of any kind whatsoever, in any shape or form.  As such, it will be made very clear that only the model itself should be judged incase there is anything in the background etc.  Any photos that contain a display base will not be entered, you have been warned.

‘Display bases are allowed’
If the basing rules in the announcement thread say this it means the entrant can also put their model(s) ontop of a display base and/or plinth.

If the model does not come with a base (and should not), such as a Warhammer Forge Skullcracker, a display base can be used as a base.  Models like this can only be entered in competitions where display bases are allowed.

A display base should be no more than 10cm larger than the model on all sides, top and bottom.  What is on the display base is up to you, but it cannot be a diorama (see below).

’Diorama’ style bases
If this contest is based on a ‘diorama’ it will be very clearly laid out in the announcement thread.  If this is the case then pretty much anything goes in terms of what you can put on it.  The maximum base size of the diorama will be specified in the announcement thread.

If this is not a diorama themed contest, diorama style bases are not allowed and the following rule applies.

The base cannot contain any model that is in combat with the actual model being judged or in a ‘dramatic pose’.  As an example, you cannot have a Chaos Dwarf warrior fighting a Dark Elf, or standing next to him and claim the CD warrior is the main entry.  You could have dead dark elves on the base.  The Staff reserve the right to disallow an entry if it is not in the spirit of this rule.  Or to allow the entry if it's only something tiny like a snotling etc.

Finally… If you have a specific rules question about something you are unsure about please PM one of the staff and don’t just ask it in the announcement thread.  It may be missed.

ARTISANS CONTESTS

FAQ

Where did I come in the ranking?  How many votes did I get?
Both of these are done by private message for whoever asks.  We don’t list where people come publically, unless they are in the top three.  Occasionally we say who came 4th/5th.

Why doesn’t CDO have a judging panel?
This is something that has been asked a few times.  CDO is a community for the many, not for the few.  Because of this, we think it is vital that the community decide what entries are best by a majority vote and it’s not done subjectively by a small panel of people (who cannot obviously have entered themselves).

Why doesn’t CDO have multiple categories depending on skill?
This is more work than it’s worth really to be honest and the current system of voting doesn’t always favour the same people over and over.  Having a category that only one person wanted to enter would be stupid and people would resent being moved into that category if they knew they would lose.  At the end of the day even an ‘eavy metal painter could only enter one model, leaving the other medals up for grabs.

What happens if we get a draw?
For a competition where we are voting by pm (as there are more than 10 entries):

Draw for Gold = 2 x Gold and Bronze awarded
Draw for Silver = Gold and 2 x Silver awarded
Draw for Bronze = Gold, Silver and 2 x Bronze awarded

Multiple draws = vote off on all of them by public poll.

For competitions decided by a public poll (less than 10):

Draw for Gold = 2 x Gold

I never seem to win
Not a question as such…  We may not all be great painters, but the taking part is what counts and not only do you get to improve your skills but you also get a painted model at the end of it (or a story, terrain etc).  You may eventually get a Veteran Medal for your troubles.  So all the effort is not wasted and it can be all you need to motivate you to actually paint something!

How do I take good pictures of my model(s)?
There is a basic guide here people may find helpful.

This post was last modified: 03-24-2015 06:58 AM by Admiral.

Update: As of February 2015 self-voting is no longer allowed in competitions.  

Update: Background scenery and similar pictures in the background are as of now no longer allowed for Golden Hat entries. This is in order to even the field between entries, and make the sole focus of the photographs rest on the miniature(s). Naturally, we'd still love to see artistic shots with scenic background for the entries in the entrant's project log, once the competition is over.

And, as always, if in foubt write the organizer.

This post was last modified: 03-24-2015 06:24 AM by Admiral.