As December rolls into it's second half and the Holidays approach please do spare a moment to vote for January 2023's Challenge Theme. You have until the poll closes on the 1st January to vote for your THREE favourites. Please feel free to vote whether you intend to create an entry or not, we want to generate as much interest and participation as possible. And let us know how you've voted below and why: what piques your interest about each theme, what you think we might see. You never know, your thoughts could just be the spark that lights someone's imagination and leads to a new piece of Star Trek Art. Be aware, the least popular themes from recent polls have entered THE NEUTRAL ZONE and are in danger of being eliminated from the vote in the coming months. We have fifteen themes suggested by BBS members for you to choose from and you can vote for THREE!!! Details for each theme are as follows: Design Evolution Show us your design evolution process (possibly just quick sketches) for something Star Trek, be it a ship, alien race or piece of equipment. (We've had something like this once before, but it could be worth revisiting) Transporter Malfunctions Duplicates, amalgamations and transmogrifications. Oh my! The Menagerie We hear about Berengarian dragons, and Andorian bulls, and Orion wing-slugs, and Terrelian seapods and the like, but didn't get to see them. What do they look like? How big are they? What kind of environment do they live in? Will they eat you?!? The More Things Change Time may move at warp speed, but not everything does. Show us how something Trek has changed over the years - landscapes, buildings, ships, people, beliefs. Blueprints Arguably the most important manifestation of fan art going back to Franz Joseph and how the popularity of his works proved the ongoing popularity of the canceled series. Taking that as inspiration create your own set of blueprints for anything in Star Trek be it a starship, starbase, technology, bridge layout, etc. Not Good Enough Art inspired by unpopular episodes. I Could Do Better Don't like the latest redesign of the Enterprise? Fine. Show us what you would have done. I Like the Old Stuff Better than the New Stuff Art inspired by Star Trek programmes made in the 20th century. Body by Brand Name Since certain iconic brands are bound to survive or be revived in the future, what would a starship/uniform/base, pretty much anything, look like if it was built or designed by a particular company? Not limited to products or types of products the company makes. So what about a starship designed by Tiffany/Swarovski? A tricorder from Blackberry? The New Next Generation -- show what would follow your favorite incarnation of Star Trek. Specific show theme -- maybe this can carry for much of 2023... do this in cooperation with one of the boards (like TNG, or DS9) , where they pin the contest there as well, and allow for cross/duplicate posting on that board (to allow for bigger interest in the contest). (Post below and tell us your preferred show) This is Me/Us -- insert yourself in some kind of art...whether a photoshop, hand drawing, or costume photo...something where you show yourself (or a friend/relative). Beginnings - A New Year is coming so taking inspiration from that show us some Trek Art related to new Beginnings. It could be inspired by something from the start of your favourite series or show us the beginning of a new mission, the introduction of a new character, ship or family member. [THE NEUTRAL ZONE] Monstrous As we approach Hallowe'en and (in the Northern hemisphere) the night grow darker, show us those Monstrous things that lie out there that frighten even the bravest space traveller. Thanksgiving As North Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving holidays your challenge would be to put a Trek spin on that idea of giving thanks and showing appreciation for the good things in life. E.g. your favourite crew gathering for a special meal or the shuttle that flew you out of trouble in the nick of time getting a well deserved spruce-up. [THE NEUTRAL ZONE] Thanks for voting and Happy Holidays!
Welcome to 2023, everyone. Happy New Year! The poll for January's Theme has just closed and our winner is another topic that has maintained it's popularity throughout the monthly votes and it is: Now, this Theme is a little more open than recent contests. I, for one, wouldn't mind other posters throwing in some ideas for what to design. If anyone has any spare ideas please post them here. Thanks to everyone for offering up theme ideas and voting. Looking forward to seeing what January's Challenge brings. Have Fun!
Yes and no. When I suggested this idea I hoped it would be viewed as quite flexible in how much time it would require. Inspired by production concept art, entries could be as little as a page of pencil sketches showing a set of ideas for, say, a new phaser rifle. How much you finesse your final/favourite idea, whether it be 2d plans or 3d model is up to you, if at all.
Thanks for the clarification, @Starscape. I must admit, I wasn't really sure whether the intention was to have the sketches (for example) lead to a finished piece, so having the option NOT to finalise anything is good news (for me, anyway, as I usually struggle to get past the ideas stage and finish anything!). As for what to design, my first thought was that it would have to be something technical, like a piece of equipment, a uniform, a vehicle, part of a starship/starbase (such as a room/area, bridge, nacelle, navigational deflector etc) or even the whole thing. But, then we could also design something more organic, like an alien (perhaps one that's been named but unseen so far in Trek) or their homeworld/habitat, an animal or other lifeform (again, something mentioned but not yet seen)? I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I'm leaning towards designing an area aboard a starship or starbase. Perhaps cetacean ops (as we only saw a small part of it in LDS), or an arboretum?
Anything goes, @Cyfa, as long as it's Star Trek - planet, city, building, alien lifeform, ship, equipment. My usual philosophy with these is to keep the challenge idea fairly loose and let the voters decide if an entry fits the theme.