This is all you need to know about the Character Design Challenge. You don't have to read this entire page; just keep the five basic rules in mind (see below). You can come back here in case you have any doubts; in 99% of cases, you will be able to find your answer here without waiting for a response in private.

Each challenge also has specific guidelines, so please check the current Theme of the Month page later.

Don't forget that now you can also win the Challenge Rewards, the prizes for the Character Design Challenge! Simply repost your design as a Supporter on our Patreon page (or post it only there if you don't have or don't want to open a Facebook account) to access rewards and vote in the surveys to choose the new themes every month! Joining us on Patreon will also give you 5 EXTRA DAYS to prepare and submit your entry for the contest.

Below is an overview of the content you will find on this page:

HOW TO SUBMIT

• Things to Remember Before Submitting

• Uploading vs. Sharing from Your Facebook Page

• Upload your Design on Facebook: Step by Step

• Withdraw an Entry on Facebook

• Submit your design on Instagram

• Missing the Deadline (Facebook & Instagram)

• Re-upload your Design on Patreon

BEHAVIOUR

• Failing to Follow the Rules

• Critiques

• Abusive Behaviour & Art Hecklers

• Winner's Posts Etiquette

• Group Jumpers

• Spammers

• You Are Human, and So Are We

• Community spirit

• Legal Notes

The 5 Basic Rules

These are the 5 basic rules for the Character Design Challenge

1 )  STICK TO THE THEME

This is our number one rule! Please remember that your design MUST match the theme. 

Originality and “thinking outside the box” is always encouraged and we love creativity, but if your interpretation is way too eccentric or you twist the concept until the theme is unrecognizable, it will have no interest to us or the other artists of the community, and your work will not be relevant for the challenge.

If your design doesn't get approved by the group moderators, please don't attempt to submit it again, as this can lead to a temporary or permanent ban from the group, so please be very careful.

2 )  NO OVERLY DISTRACTING (OR EXCEPTIONALLY COMPLICATED) ENVIRONMENTS / BACKGROUNDS

This is our rule number two. It should perhaps be simply read as ‘‘avoid backgrounds’’, but since they are in fact allowed for this contest if you decide to include one you should read the following very carefully, as there’s a lot to unpack here. For a start, the golden rule is: remember that the artworks submitted to the CDChallenge must be focused on the characters, not on what is happening around, or behind their backs.

Your design can be created in any style and for many hypothetical purposes. For example, your artwork could be a character study created for an animated 2D, 3D, stop-motion, or live-action movie, and perhaps, for a mobile app and a video game (these are ''model sheet entries'', which are by definition, what is considered proper character design in the animation, game and movie industry). Your artwork can also be the illustration of a character for the cover page of a novel, a pen & paper role-playing game, a tabletop game, an art book, a comic book, or a children's book (these are ''illustrative entries'', which are welcomed in the group even if they are not proper character design), and it can also be a design for a t-shirt, a brand or a sports team (these are ''mascot entries'' which are also acceptable as submissions in the group). Whatever the type of artwork you decide to submit to the group (model sheet entry, illustrative entry, or mascot entry), please make sure avoid to drawing or painting any overly complicated and distracting backgrounds.

Designing a character with a monochrome, flat, and plain background is by far the BEST (and clearly the easiest, most effective, and what we actually recommend) way to submit an entry for the CDChallenge without running into any possible issues, but this solution is not mandatory. Minor objects and elements next to your character (barrels, rocks, bushes, tree branches, furniture, etc.), simple backgrounds/environments (minimal, low-detailed, blurred, out of focus, etc.), or even more complex ones ( a detailed pattern, etc.) can still be included in your design for the CDChallenge, but please keep in mind that your main focus should always be on the actual character you are portraying, particularly the visual and narrative elements that define the look and the presence of it (outfit, silhouette, shapes, gestures, attitude, mood, etc.). The character in your artwork is what should matter the most, and that’s why it needs to be properly seen.

Keep in mind that we will also evaluate the quality of the background compared to the character: if we think the design for your character is good, but your background is not properly crafted, we will ask you to remove it from your artwork (or to include something more minimalistic). The same goes if we feel that the character is not properly framed or it appears to be too small (in that case you’ll be asked to crop the frame closer to the character).

So remember: if you decide to include background elements in your artwork, you will also take the risk of potentially not having your entry approved in the CDChallenge group. It will also diminish greatly your chances to be chosen as a Winner of the CDChallenge, so please be extra careful with it, and if you don’t want to run into any issues… make your life easier and avoid it completely!

3 )  DESIGN A FULL FIGURE

Rule number three is probably the most common mistake made by new members. Your design must include a full figure of a character. Not just the head, not just the head and torso, we want to see the entire character. There are only 4 exceptions to this rule:

• If minor elements* (such as tall grass, dust, fog, snow, water, sand, a long vest, part of a sidekick, etc.) cut or cover a small portion of your character, your entry might still be considered ok.

• If your character rides or is inside the cockpit of a vehicle: in this case head, torso, and arms could potentially still be ok (see ''Vehicles & Mounts'' paragraph below).

• If part of the lower side of your character fades in the background due to a high-speed motion trail effect.

• If only one single limb is out of frame (a hand, a foot, etc.)

*Examples of minor elements: A knight with his feet in a puddle, a giant with a crowd of small additional characters covering his feet, a Victorian lady wearing a long dress that doesn't make it possible to see her shoes, a magician with a long vest that touches/fades into the border of your artwork's frame.

It’s also important to keep in mind that if you find yourself using perspective or foreshortening in your design, you might be going in the wrong direction, as they can be used as a way to bypass the full figure rule. Avoiding perspective or foreshortening is not mandatory, but a design that uses these techniques might not be approved in the group if we think that it doesn't show enough elements to portray your character, so please be extra careful if you decide to use them.

4)  FOCUS ON ONE SINGLE CHARACTER (BASED ON THE THEME)

Rule number four is also really important: Create only ONE SINGLE MAIN CHARACTER based on the theme. If you think it is necessary to deliver your idea, you can still draw additional characters or creatures* (like a sidekick, a minion, or a pet) but please make sure we can clearly see who is your main character for the challenge. Keep in mind that if your design includes more than one character based on the theme, it will be impossible for us to rule out who’s the actual focus of your work, and your entry for the challenge will be ultimately considered as a “line up” of characters based on the theme, which is against the rules.

Infants and children can be considered sidekicks only when your main character is an adult. Possibly, these hypothetical children/infant characters should be portrayed as 'sidekicks' and not as 'an opposite force' (for example a mum carrying her infant child is ok, but an adult thief confronting/fighting a child vigilante probably wouldn’t). This is why you should always make sure to avoid portraying multiple characters confronting each other in a (so to speak) fighting game-like fashion. If it's unclear who is the main character of your design, your submission will not be approved. On the other hand, if your character (based on the theme) is clearly identifiable as the main character, it’s then ok if you portray it next to a sidekick (or even if it crashes one of his minions under his foot). A character with multiple heads and one body will also count one character (siamese twins, hydras, etc.).

Additionally, depicting multiple characters that look identical to one another in an illustrative fashion, will also count as a model sheet (different poses of the same character in 1 sheet), and therefore be accepted. This specific type of entry is very tricky and could be rejected, so avoid doing this when possible.

If you are confused about any of these rules, please don't take any risk and include only 1 single, easily identifiable character (based on the theme) in your work. You can safely stay away from these grey areas of the rules by submitting a so-called perfect entry (see ''Perfect Entries'' paragraph below).

Finally, we also suggest you not make the additional character or creature overshadow (in size) your main character (see ''Vehicles & Mounts'' paragraph below).

*Examples of additional characters/creatures: a pirate with his parrot, a mum with her child, a knight with his squire, a witch with her cat, a troll with insects flying around him, etch.

5)  ONE DESIGN (AND ONE SINGLE IMAGE) FOR EACH CHALLENGE

Rule number five: you can post only a single design** for each monthly challenge, so make it count! You have (more or less) 25 days to work on the design of a character, so please make sure you are 100% done with your creation before posting it in the group. Failing to follow this rule will lead to a ban from the group.

You cannot post more than 1 single image in your post, so please don’t submit posts with multiple pictures in them. Close-ups, alternative versions, props designs (gadgets, weapons, alternative outfits), and W.I.P.s (painting process videos, gifs, or sheets) or any other further exploratory designs for your character can still be shared in the group, but exclusively in the comment section of your own post (see ''W.I.P.s, props and gifs'' paragraph below).

**Posting more than one artwork per challenge, or the same one twice, can lead to a permanent ban, but occasionally we allow posts with major technical issues to be replaced. Please scroll down below to the section ‘‘How to Submit’’ (paragraph: Withdraw an Entry) to learn when this can be done.

WHAT IS OK and what is not ok

The 5 basic rules for the CDChallenge are more or less all you need to know for posting a design correctly in our group, but maybe you still have some doubts. That's why we have created this helpful list for you: the first part contains examples of what is actually OK to post in the group, and the second part is about things that are NOT OK.

Here’s a list of what is OK to post in the group:

• OK A full figure of a character with no background

• OK A full figure of a character with a minimal, or not distracting background

• OK A turn-around sheet with a full figure

• OK A full figure + expressions (in a single image)

• OK A poses sheet (in a single image)

• OK Multiple characters that look perfectly identical (very borderline, avoid this if possible!)

• OK Any kind of model sheet that includes a full figure is basically a good entry

• OK A character with multiple heads and one body (counts as one)

• OK Redesigning an already existing character in your own style is usually a good entry

• OK Using digital or traditional media

• OK Coloured or black-and-white artworks

• OK Your character drives a vehicle or rides a creature (see ‘Vehicles & Mounts’ below)

• OK Tasteful Nudity (see ‘Nudity’ paragraph below)

Now, let’s see a list of what is actually NOT OK to post in the group:

• NOT OK Only the head of a character

• NOT OK Only the head and torso of a character

• NOT OK Full figure of a character with a very distracting background

• NOT OK Line up of multiple characters based on the same theme

• NOT OK Pornography in your design (definitely out of place here)

• NOT OK Caricatures and portraits

• NOT OK An old artwork already submitted to the contest in the past

• NOT OK Tracing or copying characters from another artist (leads to a permanent ban)

• NOT OK Extreme gore and violence in your design

• NOT OK Racist, political, or religious messages in your design (definitely out of place here)

• NOT OK Explicit/Graphic Nudity (see ‘Nudity’ paragraph below)

Theme of the Month Guidelines

Please remember to check also the specific guidelines for each challenge on our Theme of the Month page. The Theme of the Month guidelines are special rules that apply for our current challenge which must be observed before you start creating your design for the challenge and submit it to the group. You can find them HERE

Types of Entries

All the entries for the CDChallenge follow the same rules but are created by artists with very different styles and from very different backgrounds and industries. A mangaka will create a design that looks radically dissimilar from a 2D animator or from a children's book illustrator. Artists can explore more illustrative solutions in the work if they wish so, and their design doesn't need to be religiously functional like if it was submitted as an actual model sheet for the video game or animation industry, to then be used as the blueprint for the construction a 3D character or a 2D animated one (model sheet entry). 

As already mentioned in the 2nd Rule of the CDChallenge, an entry for the CDChallenge can be created in any style and for many hypothetical purposes: it could be a character study created for an animated 2D, 3D, stop-motion, live-action movie, or for a mobile app and a video-game (these are ''model sheet entries'', which are by definition, what is considered proper character design in the animation, game and movie industry). It can be the illustration of a character for the cover page of a novel, a pen & paper role-playing game, a tabletop game, an art book, a comic book, or a children's book (these are ''illustrative entries'', which are welcomed in the group even if they are not proper character design), and it can also be a design for a t-shirt, for a brand or for a sports team (these are ''mascot entries'' which are also acceptable as submissions in the group). 

A model sheet entry obviously makes a great submission for the CDChallenge, but by no means is the only choice you have, nor does submitting a model sheet entry make your design stand out from the rest, by default. This is an inclusive community open to artists of different backgrounds and, as a general rule, as long as your artwork portrays a character and respects the rules listed on this page, whatever the type of artwork you decide to submit in the group (model sheet entry, illustrative entry or mascot entry), it will be equally considered as a perfectly legitimate submission for the Character Design Challenge.

Challenge Rewards

The Challenge Rewards are the official prizes of the Character Design Challenge. The rewards are exclusively available for the Supporters* of our community on our Patreon page. Please visit the Challenge Rewards section of our website HERE to discover each individual prize included in the rewards, and learn how to access them in the Membership section of our website HERE.

*IMPORTANT: Simply re-post your design on our Patreon page as a Supporter to qualify for the monthly rewards! And if you don’t have (and don’t want to open) a Facebook account, you can simply post your design on Patreon and your entry will be automatically approved. Read more details below in the section ''Re-upload your design on Patreon''.

OCs, FCs, Fas, RDs, and Pastiches

OCs (Original Characters: design of characters based on an artist's original idea), FCs (Fan Characters: design of original characters created for an already existing universe), FAs* (Fan-Arts: design of characters based on one from an existing work of fiction, but executed in the artist's personal style, with no major changes), RDs (Re-designs: design of characters based on one from an existing work of fiction in which the original concept/idea has been dramatically changed) and Pastiches (design of original characters that imitates the style of a famous artist) can all be posted in the group. Remember that OCs have more chances to win the Character Design Challenge, so please keep this in mind before submitting your design to the group. The only exception to this rule is for our Special Fan-Art/Re-design Challenges, in which OCs and FCs are not allowed.

*IMPORTANT: Artwork traced from the design of another artist is explicitly forbidden in the group. Members who will be found guilty of tracing their character from another design will be banned from the group.

OLD DESIGNS

Old designs that perfectly match the current theme are still relevant for us and the community and can be posted in the group. When you upload your work you need to let us know that your entry is an old design and wasn't created specifically for the challenge, therefore your work won't be considered to be reviewed as a possible Winner of the Challenge or as a possible Special Guest Juror's Choice.

Note: Old designs will be approved in the group exclusively if their execution is within the rules and when they portray exactly what the Theme of the Month asks for.

Alternative media (3D model, maquettes..)

Please remember that the CDChallenge is a community/contest open exclusively for 2D artists. You can only submit a 3d model, a picture of a sculpture or a maquette, an animation pencil test of a character (both as a GIF or as a video), or a comic strip ONLY as an additional entry based on an original ''static'' design (uploaded as a jpg, jpeg, and png file). The same goes for photo manipulation, photo-bashing, and collage. You need to draw/paint an original 2D artwork* first and only then, post your additional artwork in an alternative media in the comment section of your original character design entry. You can also team up with another artist who is already a member of the group to create additional artwork. Collaborations do not make your work stand out from other entries, but if you are here to challenge yourself, this can be an amazing exercise. 

*IMPORTANT: Flat paper cutting is considered an exception to this rule since it's basically a normal 2D artwork.

A.I. Art Generators (Artificial Intelligence)

Artworks created with AI art generators are not allowed. The goal of the Character Design Challenge is to test your personal drawing and painting skills, therefore, submitting an artificially manufactured image generated by an AI would be pointless, would not fall within the established scope of the contest, and ultimately, would be at odds with the deontological ethics of our community due to the questionable way the art models for such AI technology was trained (including the often concealed source of their data).

Please refrain from using AI art generators in any step of the creation process for your work, including non-character-related elements, such as the background.

Fan-Art/Re-Design Challenges

The Fan-Art/Re-Design Challenges are special CDChallenges dedicated to an existing work of fiction. They can be based on any animation, book, or movie franchise chosen, and just like the normal themes, are chosen by the supporters of our community on Patreon.

The Fan-Art/Re-Design Challenges have more limitations: OCs (Original Characters: design of characters based on an artist's original idea), FCs (Fan Characters: design of original characters created for an already existing universe), and MUs (Mash-Ups: design of characters based on two (or more) other characters from existing works of fiction, will not be accepted as entries. Only FAs (Fan-Arts: design of characters based on one from an existing work of fiction, but executed in the artist's personal style, with no major changes), RDs (Re-designs: design of characters based on one from an existing work of fiction in which the original concept/idea has been dramatically changed) and Pastiches (design of characters that imitates the style of a famous artist) can be posted in the group for this special challenges.

Fan-arts/Re-design challenges constitute a healthy and fun exercise for every character designer. If you wish to expand on this subject, please feel free to check out the following video from character designer and comic book artist Jake Parker, creator of Inktober.

Facebook ''Likes'' Don’t Matter

Facebook 'likes/reactions' do not increase your chances of becoming one of the Winners of the Challenge and are not a good predictor of how good an artwork for the challenge actually is. The winning artworks are selected by us for their creativity, aesthetics, and storytelling. A design that has gained only a few likes has the same chance of becoming a winner as one with hundreds or thousands of likes. Facebook's 'likes/reactions' are also not taken into consideration when we create the queue for the daily re-posts for the social media pages of the Character Design Challenge on Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter.

In regards to this subject, it’s important to remember that caring about how well your art performs on social media platforms (and constantly seeking the approval of others on platforms that use algorithms that are notoriously engineered to keep you addicted to them) is quite bad for you. This unhealthy relationship with social media can play a very negative role in your own personal happiness and overall self-esteem, so you should really try your best to ignore this factor when submitting your work to our FB group.

If you look for honest feedback to grow as an artist, you should ask your art teachers, talk to your peers, or look up to a professional that you admire (online, or in real life) who provides constructive criticism as a service (for free, or for profit on Patreon and similar platforms).

CREDITS AND WATERMARKS

We highly recommend crediting the work you share in the group. This is very important because we invite hundreds of our followers from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr to visit the group and discover new talents, every day. Make sure to add the links to your website (and blog, Facebook page, online store, Patreon page, portfolio), in the caption or in the comment section of your own post. If you don’t have a blog, you can also share your email address or tell people they can contact you directly on your FB personal profile.

Another important tip is to sign or apply a small watermark directly on your design, with your name or the URL of your website. Don't make it too big and don't place it in the middle of your design, just add something small on the side. This way your work will always be traceable and your credit will never be missed.

We highly suggest developing these habits in general, not only for this contest.

WIPS, Props, and GIFs

W.I.P.s (Work in progress) and any other kind of material related to the character you have created for the challenge (minor updates about your original entry, additional characters based on the current theme, animated gifs, close up, props design, alternative outfits etch.), can be posted in the group, but only in the comment section of your OWN post. You can redirect the members of the group to your blog with a link or post a picture directly.

Remember that a full figure of a character based on the current theme is the only design that you can post in the group each month. To post another main entry in the group, you need to wait for the next challenge.

Nudity

Nudity is a tricky subject: since the group has thousands of members and it’s on Facebook, try to avoid explicit nudity (accurately depicted genitals, exaggerated nipples, etc.) in your design. Personally, we have no issue with it, but some members can be overly sensitive about this topic and flag the image, or the Facebook algorithm can mistake the painting for a photograph, and accidentally remove the content from the group. Avoiding nudity is not mandatory, but if you decide to include it in your work, you simply take the risk of seeing your artwork deleted by mistake from the Facebook algorithm or not approved by us, if we consider it too explicit or against the Facebook terms of use. So to recap:

• Tasteful Nudity will probably be approved by us (but might be taken down by Facebook)

• Explicit/Graphic Nudity will most likely NOT be approved by us

*Please do not confuse nudity with pornography! The latter will not be approved in the group. The same goes for any exaggerated/gory representation of bodily fluids (such as urine, semen, blood, saliva, vomit, etc.). You are posting on Facebook! Keep it classy.

Vehicles & Mounts

If your character rides/drives a vehicle or mounts a creature, it is OK, but we highly suggest taking its size into consideration. Make sure we can clearly see the most important thing: the main character. If the cockpit of a vehicle covers the legs of your character, you need to make sure that the remaining half of the body (torso, head, arms) is clearly visible. If your character mounts a creature/rides a vehicle, the rules are the same and your character must be portrayed as a full figure (with the exception of a single limb which can be out of frame, or covered, for example by a long vest). Even if not mandatory, we also highly suggest you show the entire vehicle (or mounted creature) in your artwork, so that we can better appreciate the silhouette of your creation (so it becomes, in a way, an extension of the main character). Artworks that don’t show the entire creature/vehicle can be refused at our discretion if we feel that the artist is trying to bypass the full-figure rule.

PERFECT ENTRIES

A so-called ‘‘Perfect Entry’’, is an artwork submitted to the Character Design Challenge by an artist that has strategically avoided stretching any of the rules of the contest. Ideally, this artwork will unequivocally fit the Theme of the Month, and it will feature only a single, recognizable character (with no sidekicks, mount, or pets). The full figure will be perfectly visible (head to feet, when applicable) and the character will have a clear, discernible anatomy. The artwork will not show nudity, nor it will contain any sort of ideological, political, or religious message in it. The background will be completely absent, a blank space that completely surrounds the character (with no external elements, not even the character cast shadow visible in it).

These artworks are considered ‘‘Perfect Entries’’ because they minimize their chances to get caught in any of the grey areas of the rules, increasing the chances to get approved and being potentially selected as winners. A ‘‘Perfect Entry’’ is by no means a better one, but it’s indeed a smarter way to participate in this contest and avoid annoying issues.

It’s important to remember though, that even a ‘‘Perfect Entry’’ must meet the Standard of Draftsmanship of our community to be approved (see the paragraph below).

Standard of Draftsmanship

Due to the large number of active members and the high amount of artwork submitted in the Character Design Challenge, we must ensure that all the entries featured in our Facebook group meet a basic standard of draftsmanship and presentation. Because of this, for organizational purposes designs from beginner artists that don't meet the basic quality expectations of our community, will unfortunately not be approved in the group. Also, designs that intentionally don't try to ''push the envelope'' (stick figures, for example), designs that are too abstract or overly minimalistic, or in which the subject of the drawing hasn't been properly researched, will not be accepted. The same goes for blurred, low-quality, and/or out-of-focus photographs of artworks.

We understand that this rule might be perceived as impolite, but it aims to incentivize all the participants to grow as artists and submit only their best designs for the monthly challenges. Implementing this rule has been requested by the senior members of the Character Design Challenge community as a solution to maintain a stable level of quality in the group, despite the ever-growing number of members joining the community each month.

If your artwork hasn’t been approved in the group because of this, please remember that you can still register your participation by simply tagging our Instagram page in your post.

BLOCK ON COMMENTS

Please remember that at the beginning of a new challenge, we usually blocked the comments on many of the posts that feature designs based on the previous challenge theme. We do this in order to keep the new designs for the current challenge on top of the group wall. If you want to get in touch with an artist who has the comments blocked on their work, please just follow the link for the website provided in the comment section of the post (or try to contact directly the Facebook profile associated with it).

Things to remember Before submitting

• You can submit your work on Facebook, Instagram, and Patreon

• POST only ONE entry (1 single picture) for each monthly challenge

• DO NOT create an album in the FB group (albums will be deleted)

• DO NOT include open questions/quizzes with your entry on FB (they count as spam/bait)

• You CAN ask for feedback on FB (or ask not to receive feedback)

• DO NOT upload a file in the FB group (members and visitors can’t see your work)

• RE-POST your monthly entry also on our Patreon page if you want to qualify for the Challenge Rewards

UPLOADing VS SHARING FROM YOUR PAGE (FACEBOOK)

Please DO NOT share a direct link from your Facebook page.

We obviously want you to promote your work in the group, and you can share as many links as you want (your blog, Facebook page, online store, portfolio, Patreon page, etc.) but make sure to share those links in the caption of your post. If you share a post directly from your Facebook page, your design will not be recorded and saved in the Photos folder of the group. Instead, it will soon get lost in the group feeds, due to the number of daily entries from other artists. Our team and the Special Guest Juror select the winning artwork from the photos folder, so please make sure we can find your artwork in there.

If you want your fans to support your entry for the challenge, you can still share your design from the group to your page.

Upload your design: Step by Step (FACEBOOK)

Now that you know all these boring rules and you have created your character for the current challenge, you can finally upload your design in the group, let’s see how:

• Go to the Facebook group of the Character Design Challenge

• Press the ”add photo/video” button and then proceed to ”upload photos/videos”

• Upload your artwork from your device

• Write any text and share any link you want in the caption of your post

• Wait for us to approve your post in the group

• Within 24hrs your design will appear on the group wall, and you will receive a notification.

• Don’t edit your post after it has been approved in the group (post the updates in the comments)

withdraw AN entry on FACEBOOK

Withdrawing an entry is generically not allowed, but there are a few rare instances in which it will be accepted.

If you want to withdraw your entry for the monthly challenge and replace it with a new one, you’ll need to get in touch with us first and tell us what is the issue with your previous design. Having ''a new idea'' or ''not being satisfied with the previous submission'' are not considered acceptable requests, the entries for the challenge can be replaced only if there's a major technical issue with them. Replace your design without our permission, or posting more than 1 monthly entry in the group will lead to a permanent ban from the group, so please be very careful. Entries posted on Patreon can instead be updated or even replaced (the final version will be considered your official entry), but you will still be allowed to post once in the Facebook group.

To submit a request to withdraw your entry, you can contact us HERE.  For organizational purposes, we will only reply to you if the request is considered acceptable.

SUBMITTING your design on INSTAGRAM

In alternative to the Facebook group, you can also submit your entry on Instagram. Entries submitted via Instagram must be posted before the deadline (just like the ones on Facebook, we will check the date on the IG post), and must follow the same rules (artworks that ignore the rules will be disregarded). Follow these steps:

• Open your Instagram App

• Upload your artwork from your device

• Write any text in the caption of your post

• Include the #CDChallenge hashtag and the hashtag for the current challenge

• Tag our Instagram page in your artwork ( @characterdesignchallenge )

• After the deadline, your design will appear along with the others, in the Tagged section of our Instagram page

Missing the deadline (FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM)

Keep in mind that the deadline is always the 2nd day of the month (at 11:59 p.M. GMT + 0:00, Dublin time) and if you miss it, you obviously also miss the opportunity to participate in the challenge. You will still have 4 days to share your artwork with the community but, for organizational purposes, your design won’t be approved in the FB group until the 7th of the month, a day after the winners will be announced on our pages and the new theme will be released in the group.

Remember that joining the community on Patreon also gives you a total of 5 EXTRA DAYS to prepare and submit your work, so if you keep missing the deadlines please consider joining us there.

Re-Upload your design on Patreon

Artists who have upgraded their membership on Patreon as Supporters access the Challenge Rewards, the monthly prizes of the Character Design Challenge. To qualify for the rewards, you need to repost your design on our Patreon page. The design reposted on Patreon must follow the rules of this page, just like a standard design submitted on our Facebook group.

IMPORTANT: If you are not on Facebook (or Instagram) and don’t want to open an account there, you can simply post your design on our Patreon page and it will be automatically validated as an entry for the contest.

• Go to the Patreon page of the Character Design Challenge

• Press the ”Community” button and then proceed to “Attach image”

• Upload your artwork from your device

• If you want, add the link for your entry in the CDChallenge Facebook group

• Press the ”Post” button

UPDATE 2024: Changes impacting Patreon have led to the temporary unavailability of the community tab we previously used for posting artworks. Patreon is working on introducing a private chat room as a replacement, but until it's also accessible for desktop users, we kindly request you to submit your work via a direct message.

Here are the new steps:

• Visit the Character Design Challenge Patreon page.

• Click the "Message" button.

• Include your name and the URL of your preferred portfolio or social media account.

• Provide a direct link to your submission (live link only; uploads are not permitted).

• Click the "Send" button to submit.

 Passion for a common cause and selflessness are the glues that hold a good community together. Another glue is having a deep respect for others and following the rules.

The Character Design Challenge group is a positive, easy-going online community. Behaving in a proper and polite way is an essential requirement if you want to be part of it, so please play nice.

Failing to Follow the Rules

Remember that if you post something in the group that doesn't follow the rules, you will be temporarily banned/muted from it. We don't want to be rude or mistreat anyone for making a mistake, but due to the very large number of members, daily submissions in our Facebook group, and organizational purposes, we must act this way.

If you have been banned from the group after posting your entry don't despair! Make sure to check again the Rules of the Character Design Challenge on this page, and the specific Guidelines on our Theme of the Month page (which you can find HERE), and then join the group again. New membership can take up to 2/3 weeks to be approved, so please be patient.

Repeated attempts at posting artwork that fails to comply with the rules will be considered SPAM, and the member will be banned permanently, so PLEASE be extremely careful.

Critiques

We strongly encourage all artists to be open to critiques. The Character Design Challenge can be a valuable training ground for those willing to improve their skills, especially the ones who are taking their first steps toward an art career. Critiques make us better artists.

At the same time, it's also important to remember that to maintain a peaceful atmosphere in the group, we need to be extra careful when we're commenting on the designs of another artist. Sharing a design with a large group of people to then be judged by others takes a lot of courage, especially for youngsters. The last thing that someone needs is a rude and insensitive comment that appears out of the blue in the comment section of their work.

This doesn’t mean that you can only like or congratulate another artist, just remember that, before writing a critique, it is important to learn how to deliver a constructive one first. In order to do so, we highly recommend watching this video by the talented art teacher Matt Kohr, creator of Ctrl+Paint, who will introduce you to the useful concept of the ''Critique Sandwich''.

Also, don't forget to visit the Critique Video section on our website. Matt has created 6 short videos for us. Each of them explores 6 principles of design through the examples offered by some of the artworks submitted for our contest, in the past. Watching this short series is a great way to learn how to deliver, and how to receive constructive critique in the Character Design Challenge community.

Abusive Behaviour and "Art Hecklers"

Any member being abusive will be banned from the group. The same goes for any other kind of negative attitude or behaviour in the group, such as:

• Questioning the very nature of the Rules of the CDChallenge (we ask you to read them before joining the group)

• Behaving as an ''art heckler'' and rudely attacking the artists for their creative choices

• Any form of ''recreational outrage'' towards us or the artworks posted in the group (everything is racist, everything is sexist, everything that I don't like is fascist/communist, and so on). You can go get offended elsewhere

• Bullying other members of the group with insults or violent threats

• Joining other members in a ‘‘virtual mob’’ to single out and attack a fellow artist

All the cases listed above can potentially lead to a permanent ban from the group. We don't take these kinds of decisions lightly, but if a negative, careless or outright nonsensical behaviour will force us to take action, we will do it. If you have been banned from the group and you wish to join again, the only way to have your account accepted again in the group is through a portfolio application. You can send the link to us using the contact form HERE. 

Depending on the individual cases, you will be also potentially asked to formally apologise to us and to ALL the members of the community with a public post in the group. We will evaluate your request which, if accepted, will give you full access to the group again.

If instead, you believe it’s a good thing to force your opinion on others and have the right to be rude and violent in the process, therefore completely disagreeing with the spirit of our community, you can let us know that you want us to change this rule by filing an official complaint HERE

WINNER'S POSTS ETIQUeTTE

At the end of each challenge, the 4 Winners of the CDChallenge (one is occasionally chosen by a Special Guest Juror) and the 3 artworks awarded with the Challenge Rewards are announced on our social pages. This is intended to be a moment to celebrate the art created by the awesome artists of our community and congratulate them, not an occasion in which you can take advantage of the high visibility of these posts, and make them your personal outlet for frustration, or disagreement with the rules and selection of the winning artworks. We ask you to read the Rules of the CDChallenge before joining the community, and one essential rule is respecting the Winners and the decisions made by the Special Guest Jurors and the CDR Team. It is therefore considered unacceptable to:

• Writing offensive remarks of any kind in the comment section of a winning design.

• Complaining with us and the winners only because ''your favorite entry was another one'' and in your opinion ''other designs submitted in the group deserved to win''.

• Post your own design in the comment section of a winning design, because in your opinion, ''your design was much better'' or it wasn't approved in the group, and you don't agree with the decision.

• Questioning the very nature of the Rules of the CDChallenge, the criteria to choose the Winners of the CDChallenge, the Special Guest Juror Choice, and the artworks awarded with the Challenge Rewards

• Any form of ''recreational outrage'' towards the winning artworks (this is racist, sexist, fascist, communist, and so on)

All the cases listed above can potentially lead to a permanent ban from the group, so please be extremely careful. If you have an official complaint about the winning artwork, you can contact us HERE.

Group Jumpers

A ''Group Jumper'' is a member of the group who writes fake comments (or irrelevant ones with the help of a friend) on their own post to make their artwork ''jump'' on top of the group wall in order to boost the visibility for their work. Posts should go on the top of the group wall only when there's a genuine interaction with them and, since the group has thousands of members, we need to remind you that maintaining correct behaviour is essential to be part of this community. The members of the CDChallenge are luckily very touchy about this issue and they have the ability to flag to us anyone who attempts to do this in the group.

Group Jumpers are considered SPAMMERS. If your post gets flagged to us by other members, and you get caught by us adopting this kind of behaviour in the group, the consequences can be:

• We will block the comments* on your post and you will be publicly notified about your behaviour.

• We will ban you from the group, for a month.

• We will ban you from the group, permanently.

• We will ban you and the friends who are helping you, permanently.

*VERY IMPORTANT Please remember that comments are usually blocked also on many other old posts in the group at the beginning of each challenge. We do this in order to keep the designs for the new challenge on top of the group wall. If you don't see any notification on your post don't worry! You didn't do anything wrong.

SPAMMERS

Please make sure to post only your design for the challenge in the group, nothing more. 

Don't post any other kind of link as a main entry, even if it’s supposed to be “character design related”. Members who will attempt to spam the group feeds with third-party ads, inappropriate material, or with content that have nothing to do with the challenge will be banned immediately. You have been warned, no exceptions.

YOU ARE HUMAN, AND SO ARE WE

It is important to remember that the people behind the Character Design Challenge are humans, just as you are. This means that like every person on this planet, we have our own taste, and despite our best efforts, inevitable personal bias is at play. The rules try to cover as much as possible but we can make mistakes, and sometimes interpret some of the rules of this community in a slightly different way, compared to you.

A good example is the winners: are they actually the very best designs submitted to the contest? Is there even such a thing? Probably not. Probably every month many of you would beg to differ with our choices: your favorite character was another one, and that’s perfectly reasonable. The winners should perhaps be called for what they really are: our editorial choice (but that wouldn’t be as exciting to announce, wouldn’t it?). That is why it’s important to understand what the true spirit of our community is (see paragraph below).

Another great example is artworks that get rejected that are similar to other ones that were approved in the group. Why was one design that includes a background refused, while another one with a similar background, was approved instead? Why was one artwork that features a few sidekicks approved, while another one wasn’t? Most of the time you simply have missed one of the many clear-cut rules, but occasionally this happens because other rules are more blurry and have broad grey areas, and we might come to different conclusions when it’s about to call it white or black. Sometimes this happens also between ourselves as judges, and with hundreds of entries to evaluate each month, inconsistencies might arise.

The best thing we can all do is to accept the universal fallacy of our individual judgment and work together to avoid the dreaded grey areas, as much as we possibly can. If you have ever had issues with your submissions in the past, please don’t push the boundaries of what is allowed in the community and consider posting a perfect entry (see ‘‘Perfect Entries’’ a few paragraphs above). No one is going to dispute how distracting your background is if there’s none. Nobody will ask you to remove extra characters if there’s only one. This strategy will greatly help you (and us) avoid troubles during the judging process.

Needless to say, remember that even with the best intentions, the Standard of Draftsmanship (see a few paragraphs above) also comes into play, so don’t forget that an effort must be made also in that department.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT

Please remember that the CDChallenge is just a game that we play all together for fun, despite our different artistic choices, drawing levels, styles, tastes, and influences.

Having winners is part of the game. A little excuse to keep all the members of the community motivated and put more excitement at the end of every challenge.

The real goal of our community is not to win a contest, but to learn together, build our portfolio with artists from all over the world, promote our work, make new friends who share the same passion, and contribute with our unique touch to a collective and fun character design exercise.

Feel free to invite your friends and fellow artists to join the challenge today!

And now.. sharpen your pencils, LET’S DRAW!

LEGAL NOTES

Character Design References is not responsible for any copyright infringement on the part of the individual artists, our intent is merely to inspire others to create original works based on a common theme. For questions regarding specific pieces of artwork please follow the links for the website, portfolio, or social pages provided by the author in the caption of the design posted in our Facebook group or contact directly the profile associated with it. Artists participating in the Character Design Challenge must be a member of the Character Design Challenge group on Facebook or on Patreon. Ensure you have read and fully understood the rules of the competition, the Character Design Challenge Terms of Use, the Facebook Terms of Use, the Instagram Terms of Use, and the Patreon Terms of Use before entering an artwork for the contest. The Challenge Rewards are limited and exclusively available to the Supporters of the Character Design References on Patreon.

IMPORTANT: The Character Design Challenge is being organized and managed by Character Design References. The Character Design Challenge is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with, Meta or Patreon. By entering this contest, you agree to a complete release of Meta and Patreon from any or all liability in connection with this contest. The project partners and sponsors are listed on: www.characterdesignreferences.com. The Character Design Challenge Terms of Use can be read HERE