The Contest Itself:
RPG will be holding official 'Artist of the Month' contests, abbreviated as AOTM. The contest will be designed to showcase the talent of RPG's members, as well as offer recognition to the best contenders.

Every two weeks, a member of staff will post a 'Guidelines Thread' for the current AOTM. Members will have two weeks to submit their entries. At the end of the fourteen days, a 'Voting Thread' will be posted with the accepted entries, and the 'Guidelines Thread' for the next AOTM will also be posted once a winner from the Voting is declared.
General Rules:

  • Users are welcome to ask questions about the theme for that week in the Guidelines thread.
  • Users will follow the guidelines posted in the thread, and will submit their entry, via PM, to the AOTM account.
  • Some entries may be rejected because they do not fit the guidelines. Users who submit a rejected entry will be contacted immediately, and will be able to resubmit their entry for the contest, as long as it isn't before the weekly deadline.
  • The entries will be displayed anonymously for the Voting Thread, and the Poll itself will be public, to ensure fair voting and lack of bias. Users are not allowed to tell others which entry is their own, or else they will be disqualified.
  • The Voting Thread will be public. If any duplicate accounts are found and used to vote on entries, the effected user will be instantly disqualified, and a ban may be issued.
  • Comments on the entries are welcome, but insults or derogatory remarks will not be tolerated, and will be removed.
  • Voters are urged to vote on over-all presentation and quality of the entries, not on personal preference.
  • Once the winner is announced, the creators of the other entries will also be revealed. Compliments and praise should follow suit.

Submitting an Entry:
Users must host their entry on a website that provides them with an anonymous URL. The follow host is preferred:

http://www.tinypic.com

Once your image has been hosted, send a PM titled: "AOTM #<Number> Entry" to the AOTM account. You will receive a PM shortly after to inform you if your entry has been accepted or not.
Voting Process:
As mentioned above, there will be a public voting thread for each AOTM. The staff member who holds the contest is not allowed to vote. It is also against the rules to vote for your own entry, it's a disqualification if caught. Users are only allowed one vote, but are welcome to comment on all entries if they wish to. The winner will be announced at the end of the two week voting period. If there is a tie, there will be a one-day 'Tie-Breaker' thread, where the two entries will go head to head. The winner will be decided before the end of the day.
Winners & Rewards:

  • The winner will be showcased in the 'Hall of Fame' thread with a blurb about their winning entry from the AOTM Staff.
  • The winner will receive a custom/colored/animated usertitle of their choosing.

Other Notes:
Being that officially-run contests are a new venture for RPG, the contest itself and some of its guidelines are likely to change over time. For now, get out there and show off what you've got!