It’s that time of year again. The wind is a bit more brisk, the leaves are starting to turn, and everyone has an unhealthy fascination with pumpkin spice…that’s right, it’s Linktober season!
For those that are unfamiliar, Linktober is a themed art event that invites artists of all levels to practice their craft throughout the month of October using daily Zelda prompts. For the past several years, we’ve teamed up with Linktober staff to host raffles, spotlight artists, and highlight some truly wonderful art. Our raffles would usually consist of some great Zelda merchandise along with art supplies awarded to one lucky winner who would be drawn at random from all of that year’s submissions.
After discussions with ZU and Linktober staff, we always found it a bit disheartening that we had to limit participation to where we could physically ship the rewards to. In addition, these shipments sometimes had the unintended consequences of import tax and other such surprises. So, this year, we decided to do away with physical items and will be moving to Nintendo eShop codes for this year’s winners. By doing this, we’re opening up submissions to anywhere in the world that participates in this great event.
At the end of the month, ZU and Linktober staff will evaluate the entries and award first, second, and third prizes, which will be the following:
- 1st prize: $70
- 2nd prize: $50
- 3rd prize: $40
The goal here is to award our first prize winner with a Nintendo Switch game of their choice. Of course, currency rates around the world are all over the place, so we’ll make sure to adjust depending on the home country of the winner.
Submission details
Well, now you know the what and the why, here’s the how!
All submissions must follow the two main rules of Linktober:
- No generative A.I. work is allowed
- All work must be family-friendly
Speaking of A.I., if you’re worried about your own work, our friends at Linktober have a great resource to help you protect your art. And once you’ve created your next great masterpiece, share it on socials with #linktober and #zeldauniverse to make sure that we see your content*. Not only will you be entered into the contest, but you’ll also be re-shared on our socials with credit and tags to you.
*You do not have to create artwork for every prompt in order to participate. If you just want to do one day, that’s one entry. Feel free to submit as many prompts as you want!
Here are the social media platforms that we’ll be monitoring:
As you may already know, Linktober has their Main Calendar every year with a set of thirty-one prompts. But why stop there when you could challenge yourself with the Quest Calendar or the Shadow Calendar with their own set of rules and prompts?
I’ve submitted, what now?
After the submissions are in, the posts have been shared, and Halloween has passed us by, then it’s time for the ZU and Linktober staff to get to work. We will collaborate together and, as mentioned above, designate a first, second, and third prize. We will be looking at composition, line art, and any other manner of skills to come to a decision on who we present as our winners. As we all know, art is subjective, so our minds will be open, just like yours.
Once we’ve chosen the winners, they will be contacted by direct message on their platform of submission to let them know how they’ve placed. From there, the rewards will be sent out to the winners. In addition, though, Zelda Universe staff will work with each winner to present their piece in stand alone articles that highlight their process and work. These can be as in depth as an interview with the winner about their journey as an artist or a piece that simply looks at the work itself. The choice is yours!
But simply because you did not place in the contest, does not mean that you can’t be highlighted in the future. Every Friday, we have the opportunity to publish Yuga’s Art Gallery columns which look at the fan created art from the Legend of Zelda community. Our staff writers may find a piece from the submissions that inspires them, just as you were inspired. So be ready, as you may find them contacting you in the coming months to write an article about your art!
So…that’s it! With October right around the corner, break out those pencils, refill that ink, dust off that tablet, and fire up your creativity! We look forward to being with you through this next month of art and inspiration.
Happy Linktober, everybody!
