Major Works Guidelines

Sorry this page kind of has a serious tone, it is meant to be fun but it's just written this way to be as clear as possible on what the rules are. You don't need to take your artwork/s seriously. It's a voluntary competition!

Types of Artworks

Major Works is a visual arts competition, so only mediums that have an emphasis on the visuals is allowed. This includes physical art forms such as painting, sculpture, collage, textiles, performances, drawings, etc. 2D or 3D digital art, including still drawings/images/renders and animation of any kind, live-action film, interactive art (such as video games) are also allowed. Basically, any medium that is considered a visual art, is permitted.

Each submission may include more than one medium, and more than one individual piece in the artwork, e.g. a series of paintings, a collection of ceramic and textile sculptures, a sketchbook, a 2D animation and a physical set, and so on.

All artworks must be by a solo artist. Any large works that may need the assistance of others to make are allowed, as long as these works are still the work of a singular artist, e.g. physical works of a massic scale, either because they are a singular gigantic piece or because the work requires a high number of individual pieces, and many other examples.

Music (or other audio-based works) and literary works are not allowed to be submitted. An exception is made if the submission is accompanied by some sort of significant visual element that is part of the artwork. For music this could apply if the submission is a music video, an audio visualisation program, etc. For literary works, this could apply if the submission is a comic, has an equal amount of visuals to words, has some interactive element, etc.

Art is one of the hardest things to define, so there will always be exceptions to these rules.

Visual Diary

The visual diary is a significant part of each submission. Throughout the year, you must document your work via a visual diary, partially as proof that the artwork was completed within the time limit, but also as a way to engage criticaly with your own work, and show your artistic process. The diary must be dated at various points to be considered valid evidence.

The diary can be recorded in any medium you like, digital or physical, as long as it contains the two key elements: visual evidence of your process, and notes that include your own thoughts/feeligns on this process. The visual evidence can be still images or video, and the notes can be written or audio. If there are audio notes, it's recommended to include subtitles or a transcript.

The contents of your visual diary is mostly up to you. Standard elements may include:

Inspirations
Initial concepts
Concepts of any new ideas/changes that may happen during the year
Photographic evidence of the art-making process (screenshots, photos, etc. of the artwork/s at various stages of completion)
Any feedback you may recieve from other people throughout the year
Any challenges you may face
Practice versions or sketches, and prototypes

Some suggestions for mediums you could use to create the visual diary: a physical sketch/art book, slide-based presentation software, or a video diary.

Artist Statement

A minimum of 100 words must be written alongside your artwork to give an explanation on what your artwork is, and it's meaning to you as the artist.

You can choose to elaborate more on this within your visual diary, but you still have to write a statement alongside this. It's a good idea to document your thoughts/feelings on your work throughout the year, in your diary or otherwise, so that this statement doesn't become too difficult to write.

Copyright

All work depicted must be your own. Copyright free (such as public domain) elements, or copyrighted elements you have the right to use may be used, as long as there is significant altering or arrangement done so that the work has become something new and unique. For example, submitting a photograph someone else took will not count as a submission, but using multiple photographs others have taken to create a collage is permitted, as long as you have the right to do so.

Any people used in the final work that are not the artist must have given their permission for their voice/image/etc. to be used for the submission. This could include actors in a film, voice actors for an animation or video game, etc.

Evidence of copyright must be submitted with the submission if copyrighted elements are used. This includes elements that are part of the public domain as well. Permission forms must also be submitted. These won't be displayed on the website.

Submissions

Clear renders, photographs or digital images of the complete artwork must be sent as part of the final submission. There must be a significant amount of detail shown in the images so each artwork is clear, e.g. a sculpture should be photographed from all sides, if all sides are necessary for viewing the full work.

Artworks that are time based, such as performances, must include some sort of video documentation so the piece can be viewed in full. Intereactive works must also have a video runthrough submitted, alongside the interactive work itself (if a digital upload is possible). If the interactive work is not linear, and includes branching experiences/narratives, only one of these paths needs to be recorded for submission, however other paths may also be submitted if you wish.

The submissions displayed on the website will include the artwork/s, the visual diary and the artist statement.