...what's that, you say? You have no idea what this "Character Description Contest" I'm talking about is? Well, that's understandable. I never posted about it on here, after all. The short story is that I decided to hold a contest in which writers wrote a short description of one of their characters and then entered it for a chance to win a character sketch from yours truly. The contest was held on the two writing forums I am blessed to be a part of.
The winners were chosen based on the quality of their description. The entries that painted a picture in my head and made me want to draw that character moved on to the finalist round. I then chose the top three from those finalists and drew the characters. The winners were not notified; I sketched each drawing based completely on the description. (And so each drawing is final, unless you want to commission me to do something else with it.)
Now that that's out of the way, let's check out some winning descriptions! Drumroll, please...
Finalists:
Finalists are ordered alphabetically, not by place or quality of entry.
Artemis
H. R. Harding
Megstiel
Martha4Jesus
PickJesus4Ever
Shyly Dekks
Congrats, you six! You all wrote excellent descriptions of your characters, combining precise, unexpected details with a great overall atmosphere that gave me a clear picture of the character you were describing. Well done.
Please remember that if you're not on this list, it doesn't mean you wrote a bad description! I received many entries that intrigued me in the story or in the character's personality, but didn't describe enough physical details to give me a picture of the character. And that's not necessarily a bad thing! Some readers and writers prefer to let the reader develop their own mental image of the character rather than describing them in detail. It all depends on your own personal style.
Moving on to the top three...
Third Place: H. R. Harding
The Entry:
Her hair was blonde, like the colour of sunlight peeking in through curtains in the early morning. It fell down over her shoulders in loose curls, pulled back from her round face. She had a high forehead and high cheekbones, giving her face a very regal air. Her nose, too, rather wide, but narrowing out and turning up slightly, added to her queenly appearance.
Her mink brown eyes were bright, framed by long eyelashes and arched eyebrows. The corners creased when she smiled, showing straight white teeth. The smile covered her whole face, her cheeks turning rosy and a dimple showing on her left cheek when she laughed. Her face had a tiny sprinkling of ‘sun dust’- my grandmother’s words for freckles.
She was tall, not quite as tall as me though, and thin. She wore a long coat to guard against the cold, but the white of her shirt showed out at the collar.
She was the loveliest girl I'd ever seen.
Artist's Comments: I did my best to keep the regality of the girl in the description, using clean, solid lines and making the sketch as refined as possible.
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| Character credit: H. R. Harding (Art is by me, obviously.) |
Second Place: Artemis
The Entry:
Lauren was a five foot high, energetic mess of hay and freshly trimmed llama fur. She burst from the barn and sprinted into the house. "They're here!" She called excitedly as she threw off her boots, which landed in the garage with a thud. Her feet now clad in wool stockings, she slid through the hallway to find a brush in her mess of a room. Her brown almond eyes shone bright with excitement at meeting the new comers. She tore out the brambles and tangles in her thick chestnut hair, then looked herself over and laughed. Her laugh sounded how one might imagine a squirrel might sound if it could laugh. Her rough, tanned skin helped to disguise the fact that she had dirt covering her nearly head to toe. The faded green t-shirt was one of her favorites, and well worn so that the design was barely visible. The cargo pants were practical, as they had many pockets, one of which she realized still had a fluffy, black kitten in it. She grinned and pulled it out, setting it on her shoulder after nuzzling it. After deciding her hair was a lost cause, she shrugged, then donned her signature cap, which was even more worn than her shirt. One would never be able to tell it had once been black, it had pins sticking out of it that she'd collected, feathers and strange little bobbles that held memories for her. The cap shaped scraps of fabric had holes everywhere and some so large you sometimes wondered why she bothered to wear it at all. Spotting a stray thread, she pulled her knife from her pocket and clipped it, quickly and smoothly sliding the knife back where it belonged. "Well... we ain't getting much better than this." She said to the kitten, then went to meet the clients, hoping they wouldn't believe her to be years younger than she actually was, like so many other had in the past.
Artist's Comments: I wanted the drawing to flow with the entry's quick, energetic feel, so I left lots of the preliminary sketch lines in the finished picture. I also did my best to include as many of the details from the description as possible, such as her pin-covered hat or the kitten in her pocket.
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| Character credit: Artemis. (yes I have the kitten batting at the loose thread. because I can.) |
First Place: Martha4Jesus
The Entry:
The color of her hair reminded me of tarnished copper, like an old or dirty penny. It fell in thick, tousled waves down her back and over her shoulders. Her eyes sparked fire, a feat I found impressive coming from such soft, deep brown orbs, like the eyes of a young deer. From her height, one wouldn’t think her more than a child, but her pretty figure and the forwardness of her attitude dashed any such thought like that to pieces.
Her face was sprinkled with freckles—just a smattering of them crossing over her small nose from her cheeks. Her eyebrows were angled in a dangerous slant, though the hint of a smirk played on her partially chapped lips. Her small feet were bare and tanned, as if they had never worn shoes. Which, judging from her dress, probably wasn’t that inaccurate of an assumption.
All this flitted through my mind in less than a second, and the only clear word that came to mind when I saw her was: fun. She looked fun.
Judge's Comments: I'm absolutely in love with this description. The character is described so enjoyably. I felt the fun rolling off of her before the main character even pointed it out. The unexpected details, such as chapped lips or dangerously slanted eyebrows, really helped to put a clear picture in my mind.
Artist's Comments: At first I wanted to draw a chibi of this character, because what's more fun than a chibi? But I decided instead to just have fun with the drawing and used a cute, very unrealistic proportion style that I'm quite happy with.
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| Character credit: Martha4Jesus (bare feet are hard, man.) |
Congrats to the top three, the finalists, and everyone who entered! You all did a great job, and I can't wait to see how you do in the next contest I hold!
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BUT WAIT! There's more:
Didn't make the top three? You can still get your character drawn, and for a discounted price! This weekend only, I'm running a special sale on my Etsy store. Everything is 20% off--even the things that are already on sale, like my magnetic paper dolls (which will go back to normal price after this weekend as well). Just enter the coupon code "WKNDSALE" during checkout, and you'll get 20% off your entire purchase. The sale is open now, and lasts until 11:59 P.M. ET on Sunday.
You can check out my store website here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FaerytalesandFantasy?ref=hdr_shop_menu
/end advertising Dee
Have a great weekend, everyone!
SHE'S PERFECT. Thank you so much <3
ReplyDelete-Martha4Jesus