Thank you to everyone who entered!  You can see all the amazing art here!

Welcome to the Iyarri Chronicles Art & Hairstyle contest, Heaven’s Silhouette edition! With exciting, generous prizes, including over $400 in NightBlooming gift certificates, Novel Blends, and pre-release samples of Melissa’s new shampoo and conditioner bars, this contest will be a stunning array of Iyarri Chronicles inspired artwork!

The capstone of the Grand Prize is that a facet of the winning piece will actually be written into Iyarri Chronicles Book 2: Mourning’s Dawn.

The contest starts today (Melissa’s first Patreon anniversary) and ends April 20th (NightBlooming’s 13th anniversary), giving you pleanty of time to read Heaven’s Silhouette and enter! Need some inspiration? Check out the Art section of the site (where select submitted pieces will end up!)

Categories

Choose one of three categories for each piece of art you plan to enter.

Traditional Art

Any form of traditional art: paint, pencils, I suppose even clay if you felt so inclined. Entries have to be submitted with a high-resolution photograph or scan of the artwork.

Digital Art

Any form of digital art including tablet sketches, digital painting, pixel art, photo manipulation, or animations. Entries must be submitted by a high-resolution .jpg of the artwork or an animation file that will play in a browser.

Physical Art

Any form of physical art: Iyarri hair styles, cosplay, clothing, accessories, and weapon-smithing. Entries must be submitted with a high-resolution photo or short video.

Prizes

Grand Prize: Author’s Pick

Chosen by Melissa for it’s originality and quality, can be from any category. The work should portray something quintessentially Iyarri with creativity and executed with outstanding quality. The winner will receive:

• A facet of the winning piece of artwork will be described by Melissa in Mourning’s Dawn: Iyarri Chronicles Book 2. For example, if the winner comes up with a particularly lovely hairstyle? Look for a character in Mourning’s Dawn to be wearing it!
• $200 Gift Certificate to NightBlooming
• An exclusive pre-release full-sized Shampoo bar & Conditioner bar scented with the winner’s choice of any Novel Blend oil.

Winner in Each Category ( 3 Total )

Chosen by a jury of writers and artists, the creator of the winning piece in each category will receive:

• $75 Gift Certificate to NightBlooming
• Exclusive pre-release Sample Sized Selkie Shampoo bar and Selkie Detangling Conditioning bar
• Winner’s choice of any Novel Blend .5 oz oil or 1 oz mister

How to Enter:

You must complete all steps below

1. Read Heaven’s Silhouette: Iyarri Chronicles Book 1. Remember that purchasing a copy from Melissa directly supports her creative works!
2. Create a piece of traditional or digital art, or a physical piece of art inspired by the book.
3. Submit your work to Melissa via email. Be sure to include
   • Subject line of : Iyarri Chronicles Art Contest Submission [ Yourname ]
   • A high-resolution entry as defined in each category
   • The title of your work
   • A short description of what your works is about / what in Heaven’s Silhouette inspired it
   • Your name, and how you would like your name displayed publicly if not the same
4. Showcase your work on Instagram and/or Twitter: Tag @mlynnherold and use the hashtags #IyarriChronicles #HeavensSilhouette #IyarriChroniclesFanArt
5. Submissions must be received between March 3 and April 20, 2020. Winners will be announced thereafter.

Judging Criteria

1. Does the submitted artwork reflect the worldbuilding laid out in Heaven’s Silhouette? It does it ring true to the book and the worldbuilding within?
2. Does the work stand on its own as complete and outstanding? If a piece of art, is it of quality for the medium it is in, if a hairstyle is it executed and photographed in an artistic, compelling way?
3. Would the work inspire others to want to explore The Iyarri Chronicles?

Rules

1. Your art must be original, created by you.
2. Submissions must be done digitally (i.e. no mailing artwork) and be of high-resolution.
3. You may enter as many times as you like, but can only win one prize.
4. If you are not styling your own hair, it is between you and your model to divide any prizes, only one prize is given per winning entry.
5. By entering this art competition, you are granting Melissa a non-exclusive perpetual license to reproduce images of your artwork on Melissa’s website and in her newsletters, and in the marketing of The Iyarri Chronicles to the general public. Artworks will not be used for any other purpose than that which is stated here.
6. The grand prize winner retains no rights to the description of the piece Melissa writes into Mourning’s Dawn.