Breakfast Topic: Artsy-fartsy
by Kelly Aarons 
Jan 27th 2010 at 8:00AM
From having the three major franchises join Twitter, to the Battlecry Mosaic, to contests galore -- tell me, what does this mean to you? Have you participated in any of these contests or events? I myself actually entered the Fan Art Calendar contest just last night, and while I'm hardly expecting to win, it was not only a fun project to work on but it made me realize that Blizzard has at least a genuine-looking interest in its artistic fanbase.
Are you guys enjoying the contests? Or do you believe it's all a big corporate sham to make Blizzard seem all moonbeams and kittens?
Discuss amongst yourselves!
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jamie Jan 27th 2010 8:05AM
I think its great Blizzard are giving acknowledgement to the fanart community, it's not needed because I'm sure in their own circles they're well known but it brings them to the attention of the mass populus that play WoW.
Perhaps they could extend this to addons and stuff too? Interviews with them and spotlight their work that actually affects would be pretty sweet, I mean they work hard after all.
Not saying artists don't work hard, they do elaborate on the world we all love to play in.
Jamie Jan 27th 2010 8:28AM
Oh and for those who picked up on Artsy Fartsy rather than the prefered Arty Farty here in the UK:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/arty-farty.html
Explaining the origin of Artsy Fartsy, although it still sounds a little wrong to me... :P
Andrew R. Jan 27th 2010 8:09AM
Of course there will always be people who think it's for publicity and nothing else. Blizzard had no idea that WoW would become as popular as it has. Not just the number of subscribers but the artwork, blogs, videos, etc.
The comic contest is a way to show off your talent much like the other contests. Look at the singers who do the covers of popular songs. Those people would never have become as popular as they are now without WoW. Of course they might have found another way to become noticed but the majority of the popularity is from WoW.
The short version is Blizzard genuinely cares about the artists.
Mushanga Jan 27th 2010 8:21AM
Personally, I've joined just about every machinima contest Blizzard threw at us. Provided that the Netherlands could enter the contest ofc.
So far no cheese from the "Rogues do it From Behind", WWI and Blizzcon contests, but I'm not giving up and the general response has been positive. Here's hoping I'll strike lucky with the Rise to Power contest.
Personally I love the contests Blizzard holds because the end results are always gorgeous and it keeps especially the machinima community rolling. So yeah.. Gief moar contests Blizz plx! :)
Mau Jan 27th 2010 8:26AM
They're all awesome, I just wish more regional administrations would follow EU's example and make a list of the player events organized in the servers.
Tokkar Jan 27th 2010 8:32AM
While I'm sure they don't mind the publicity one bit, I do think that they genuinely care about the artists among us. The comic contests, story contests, extending the free-use licensing agreements to allow for machinima and hosting their own contests (to include featuring winning entries at Cons around the world) - yeah, I have to go with the "we love you guys" scenario.
To demonstrate this even further? We only need four words:
Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth
I mean, because of his comic, he gained the attention of Blizzard and now works FOR them! :-)
cedric.roland Jan 27th 2010 8:34AM
Working in a *very* competitive firm, the answer is simple:
It's both.
At that high a level, you have to love what you do, you can't come in with leaden feet hoping to grab the #1 spot. The Blizz crew loves wow, simple as that. In many ways they are bigs fans, just like a lot of us players. When you hear Christie speaking of Ner'Zhul (see the WotLK DVD), she *loves* her lore. Music? ditto. CGI and Systems? check and check. Those guys want to share their love with the artists and all the other guys.
Besides, I can SEE in my mind's eye Metzen en Morhaime having at chat about all those contests and twitters and what-have-you, discussing the PR impact and how much it's worth the budget to boost the image of the company now that it's left the "small, thus fan-friendly" level so many years ago, especially with the Activision deal bringing a bad vibe.
So basically: my guess is a couple guys a Blizz said: "Wouldn't that be cool?" The higher-ups said "Yeah that's cool. AND it's worth the price. Go for it, here's the budget."
Samantha Smith Jan 27th 2010 8:42AM
i love looking at fanart and the comics. its really the only reason to even venture onto worldofwarcraft.com. I myself thought about entering the baking contest, and I had a great idea, Gingerbread Flame leviathan with gummie turrets.....but with two small kids running around I didnt have the time. :(
uncaringbear Jan 27th 2010 8:43AM
I wish I had the talent to enter some of these contests. The artistry and skill of some of the entrants is just amazing. Many of these artists could easily step in and produce professional quality artwork for Blizzard, and I'm sure Blizz recognizes the opportunity to identify new talent.
Sigh...back to drawing horrible stick figures. >-|o
Dragundam Jan 27th 2010 9:03AM
Hey, it works for XKCD,...
Mr42 Jan 28th 2010 1:10PM
... not that anyone reads xkcd because of his leet stick-figure drawing skillz ;) there's other form of art involved
Oni Stardust Jan 27th 2010 9:13AM
I love these contests. I've been meaning to enter the comic contest myself, I just haven't come up with an idea funny enough yet.
Blayze Jan 27th 2010 9:15AM
A happy customer is a customer more inclined to continue being a customer. That's all it boils down to.
Eh, I need to start writing again. Time, I think, to dig out the adventures of Razzle Gearsnap, psychotic Goblin Tinkerer, once again.
RetPallyJil Jan 27th 2010 3:35PM
If it was still just Blizzard, I'd say it's fan love. But with Activision in the picture, I have to go with "moonbeams and kittens".
Possum Jan 27th 2010 4:05PM
I LOVE the fanart section on the wow site, there is some crazy talented professional level stuff there! Has Wow.com ever considered having one? I don't know how it would work but maybe just highlighting a few notable submissions a week or something?
Shizukera Jan 27th 2010 7:44PM
I'd be a lot more excited if my state were actually eligible to compete in them. :-/
Stupid, stupid Maryland.