Writing Contest 2022
Writing Contest 2022
Author: rmendis
Published: Jun 17, 2022 Updated: Oct 16, 2022
Welcome to the inaugural Artisan Collector Writing Contest. The goal of this contest is to encourage contribution of content from the artisan collecting community on a variety of topics related to the hobby. Thanks to the generous support of select makers, the first being Kult Worship Kaps, we also have some fantastic prizes to distribute. Read on below for the contest rules and suggested topics...
Content Selections and Prize Winners!
Thanks very much to all the great submissions for the 2022 Artisan Collector Writing Contest! There were 9 submissions, and the following articles were selected for publication (in no particular order):
- Mousy’s Artisan Keycap Photo Projects by Mousy
- Collecting Never Ends by misfortune
- On Artisans and Switches: A Take in (Hopefully) One Piece by ThereminGoat
- Trends of artisan keycap sale posts on /r/mechmarket by 89s
- Resin Casting Safety 101 by Que
- Behind the shot by kustom3
- Miniature Figurine Enthusiast: A Brief Introspection by J3ff Leopard
Submissions were selected for publication based on quality, completeness, and editor's discretion on interest to target audience. These pieces will be slated on the content calendar over the next several months. Those whose selections were not chosen, may edit and resubmit to a future contest, which we hope to repeat annually.
First Round of Prizes:
For 2022 contest winners only...
KWK Konspire: kustom3
HelloCaps Anatomy: TherminGoat
Second Round of Prizes
For remaining 2022 contest winners and previous contributors...
KWK Konspire: Que
HelloCaps Anatomy: Mousy
Contest and Rules
This is a pretty simple contest; you submit an original article on a related hobby topic, and the editors choose which articles meet standards for publication. The authors of articles that are published, get entered into a random pool to win one of the prizes donated for this year's contest. More prizes may be added throughout the contest period, in which case prizes may be awarded based on some combination of editorial quality of submission + RNG. If you do not win, you will still be eligible for RNG prizes in future writing contests. Previous contributors of articles are also eligible for the RNG prizes in this 2022 contest.
The rules for the contest are as follows:
- Submit an original article (see suggested topics below)
- Must be at least 1,500 words (or 1,000 words if heavily photo/illustration focused)
- Must be original content and your own work (joint authorship permitted, but only one can win the contest)
- One submission per user (save other content for future contests)
- No commercial content, or content that promotes a maker/vendor (no interviews)
- Use this form to submit your article
- PM rmendis#8446 on discord once you have submitted, or if you have any questions
- Deadline: September 30, 2022
Content Categories
Submissions are generally expected, but not required, to fall within one of the following categories...
News and Features
Noteworthy community events, interesting topics, including artisan history and education.
- Coverage of an important event, such as a big meetup
- Making of artisans, such as techniques, methods, etc.
- Artisan history or contribution of a year of timeline milestones
- Personal or collecting story related to the hobby
- Storage, restoration, photography
Opinion
Perspectives that offer thoughtful debate on a topic, such as intellectual property use in artisans.
- Artisan or sculpture critique
- IP use in artisans, or originality
- Overlapping subject matter in sculpts: is it ever considered copying other makers, and is that bad, what if it was inadvertent
- Artisan maker perspectives on collectors or their own collecting
Research
Data-driven pieces that reveal trends or substantiate a theory, such as sculpt valuation.
- Retail price trend analysis
- Aftermarket activity or value trend analysis
- Sale activity or type trends and analysis
- Discord community trends
- Primary research survey on a hobby related topic
Photo Essays
A visual story on topics, such as notable collection milestones.
- Notable collection, typically focused on a sculpt / maker / subject / color
- Thematic or “endgame” build
- Smaller or private meetups
- Making or evolution of an artisan
Prize Donations
Thanks to HipsterPunks for donating two prototype casts of his Kult Worship Kaps (KWK) Konspire II. These come with his new ID cards. This is a sculpt of a hooded female cultist, and was Hipster's attempt at making a mixed medium artisan keycap. The original Conspire was released under the Killed by Kaps (KBK) brand, around 2013/2014. The new Konspire II, with refined hood, profile, logo, and butt was released in early 2022.
The photos below show the KWK Konspire II prototype cast next to the original KBK Conspire. You can follow Hipster's Instagram account, and read more about his work in this interview.
Sept 4, 2022 Update
Thanks to a generous contribution from Hello of Goodbye Caps, we have two amazing Anatomy Blanks in the exclusive Trophy Silver colorway, to add to the 2022 Artisan Collector Writing Contest prize pool!
Any other prizes will be posted here when received. Submit your content when ready!
