200th Sam design contest - results!

[Sushidragon]

Alrighty, he's all finished, but I'm just about to head out so unfortunately I don't have a chance to scan him yet. However, I won't keep you all in suspense any longer

I'd like to thank everyone again for all of the awesome entries! They were all so awesome and creative, you have no idea how difficult it was to narrow it down XD I'm definitely going to hold more design contests in the future, I love seeing what everyone comes up with!

First place is Orasteele, with a desert Mystic! I loved the contrast of his watery scales against his desert coloration, and I also loved the extra addition of his history. You'll be receiving your Sam as soon as I get him scanned, and please send me a PM to let me know which modiem you'd like!

The runners-up are Saiki and LvSoulFriend I loved the concept and design of Saiki's time elemental, and the coloration and additional story of LvSoulFriend's entry to explain his traits. Please send me a PM with the colors you'd like for your semi-customs, and which modiem you'd like

Thanks again to everyone for entering! Keep an eye out for the July Samanayr thread

--

We're now well over 200 IDed Samanayrs, and I wanted to do something special for #200. I couldn't figure out what kind of Sam to make, and then in the Ustream chat someone suggested holding a design contest for the 200th Sam, which I think is an awesome idea So here we are!

Your task is to create a creative, interesting, unique Samanayr! You can describe your entry with text, a picture you drew, picture references, however you feel you can best describe your idea! Entries will be judged by myself and Mr Sushi based on creativity, uniqueness, color and markings combinations, and how I feel they would work as a Samanayr. The winner will have their Samanayr created as the 200th Samanayr! There's also additional runner-up prizes, and a prize for everyone who enters

Here's some things to keep in mind when designing:

- Samanayrs are very small - the size you see on the screen is pretty much how small I draw them. Keeping that in mind, it can be difficult for me to do very small details and markings.
- It's difficult for me to color large areas of black since it gets smudge-tastic, so please try to keep the black to a minimum! In that vein, it can be difficult for me to do tiny light markings on a dark background.
- You're welclome to use any almost any species and traits (see below for exceptions). However, if using a particularly rare species, or a number of traits, your design should be pretty spectacular XD
- Your entry can be as detailed as you'd like - you determine the Sam's species, colors and markings, gender, trait(s), any accessories, and personality. Reference images are definitely a plus!

And the actual rules:

- There is a limit of one entry per person.
- Please post your entry in this thread! You're welcome to edit your entry any time before the end of the contest.
- The only species that can't be used are Kodyla and Mystery.
- The only traits that can't be used are those with the 'unique' rarity, and those restricted to a particular species.

And the prizes!

First place - The winner's entry made into the 200th Samanayr! The winner will also receive a modiem of their choice.

Two runners up - A semi-custom Samanayr (you choose the colors), and a modiem of their choice.

All entrants - Everyone who submits an entry will receive a random tradeable item!

This contest will close on June 26, 3:00pm PDT - good luck

[Sweet~Intoxikation]

Name: Cresent
Species: Elemental (Celestial)
Gender: Mare
Traits: Upright hair, Scales, Single horn, long hair, faery wings, and double wings.
Description: Cresent's body is a soft pale grey-blue with partial scales of opalescent/moonstone like pale rainbow coloration covering legs, back and small patches around each of her pupleless eyes. (Scales mutation) Her body seems to 'glow' just like the element from which she believes she is derived of and similar to that element she appears to defy gravity. Her pale blue, silvery and white gradient colored mane and tail stand straight up in long flowing mass around her head and hindquaters as though she were floating in water or some unseen or felt ether. (Upright hair mutation with long hair mutation to create the long flowy feel of insubstanial gravity.) Sprouting from her forehead is a single long horn of silvery color with a sharp edge facing outward like the curved blade of a sword or other such sharp weapon, her only physical means of protection. (Single horn mutation) While from her back burst forth twin sets of irridescent faery wings, shimmering and glowing with the same white opal or moonstone like fire of her body scales. Her prefered means of travel being flight. (double wings and faery wings mutations).

Her abilities are not yet known but oddly enough she seems to bring peace and serenity to any place she is seen or found as well as a faint blue-ish white glow to dark dens she enters or traverses. (basically I haven't figured out what her 'ability' will be but semi-illumination in dark places seems to be the most prominnent skill right now.)

Ref. Images: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007 ... /King2.jpg : http://art4linux.org/system/files/blue+ ... 0x1024.jpg : http://i2.ebayimg.com/03/s/07/91/67/3a_2.JPG : http://www.modernjeweler.com/images/art ... teopal.jpg

[LvSoulFriend]

Name: Misery of the Weeping Clouds
Species: Misery
Gender: stallion
Traits: Back mane, Combination Wings (butterfly x draconic), Tufted Tail, Pure Black Eyes, Double Horns
Description: Flying in the sky as he often does, Misery of the Weeping Clouds is all but invisible. With his bluish-grey coat, he blends right in with the clouds, only his black eyes, black hooves, and black horns suggesting that something other than a cloud is present. Misery is an allover blue color, with grey shading and darker blue accents. His back mane is a darker blue-grey color than his coat, with black tips to the very end of the hair. Striping and splotches of an almost white grey lend him further camouflage, making him seem more like a cloud than a living being. Overall, he looks like a normal Sam-Lam cross, with the exception of his back mane. That alone makes him stand out, and bears silent witness to the fact that he is a Misery.

On the ground, Misery tends to stand out when in the forest, due to his coloration. As such, he tends to live more in the mountains, to be able to hide easier, and also due to that fact, has had very little meetings with Sams and Lams. Indeed, those that he has met have greeted him with scorn, anger, and fear. As such, he currently lives up to his name in both nature and coloration, looking like a weeping cloud, and feeling like a misery.

Backstory: Born to a Lamanayr Mystic mother and a Samanayr'sa'krien father, Misery's past is a dark one. His mother was from a close-knit group of Lams, who went out one day when the weather appeared to be beautiful. With her dainty butterfly wings, she was able to soar and flit about, until a storm sprang up. Startled, and a bit bewildered by the abruptness of the storm, she tried in vain to return to her family Song. Due to the strength and speed of the wind, and her delicate wings, she was unable to, instead landing in a tumble of fur and wings. Upon staggering up from her heap on the ground, she was surrounded by a group of Sa'krien stallions, a bachelor herd out looking to start their own Songs. In fear, she tried to escape, but the fall from the sky had damaged her wings enough so that she could not escape, and even if she had, the wind was too great for her wings to even work. Trying to defend herself made no difference either, for as a water mystic, all she could do was make the rain come pouring down even harder.

Captured by the sa'krien stallions, she was taken away with them, and held prisoner. Days and weeks passed, and she found herself in foal with her first child. Which of the sa'kriens was the father, she wasn't certain, it could have been any of them. To her delight, she birthed a healthy foal, a colt, who she watched over with care, and made sure to teach well. Still in captivity, she raised him to be a gentle sort, caring and considerate of others before himself. As he grew older, she watched with dismay and sadness as the hair on his back grew in longer, and longer. She taught him how to fly, as well, as best she could, for her wings had been permanently injured in the fall from the sky, so long ago. Once he was of age, she named him, and and helped him to escape by creating a distraction.

Fleeing the place where he was born, and where his mother was forced to remain, Misery of the Weeping Clouds wept, and the clouds wept with him. In rain he was created, born, and now, fled. Away form his mother's remaining captors, and toward what he hoped was freedom, and possibly, acceptance. Once he found other Sams and their kinder kin, however, he soon realized that he wasn't welcome there either. Up until recently, he has remained on the outskirts of society, as a loner. While curled up in one of the hidden caves he had discovered in the mountains, Misery overheard two other Sams talking about the Song of the Rinbow Hotspring IV, and of how welcoming and accepting everyone was there. There and then, he made up his mind to try one more time to find acceptance with the rest of the Samanayr and their kin.



Misery of the Weeping Skies has water magic, stronger than his mother did. Whether or not she still lives, he doesn't know. He got draconic wings and double horns from his father, and butterfly wings, black eyes, and tufted tail from his mother. The back mane is from a combination of their species.

(I made up his mother and father, and don't really have set images of them in my mind XD I was uncertain of how sa'krien society worked, so I did what I guessed as to how bachelor Songs, or groups, work for them. I don't even know if they form Songs XD I wanted to create a Misery who was kinder than most, and had known hardships and sufferings at the hands of his mother's captives. And honestly, I had a great deal of fun coming up with him If I don't get him, I'll definitely be looking to get him as a custom )

Reference images (just to give you a feeling of what I was imagining, colorwise ): http://www.melaniespring.com/blog/uploa ... 761453.jpg, http://mayang.com/textures/Nature/image ... 230476.JPG, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zfDuy4-yDB8/S ... clouds.jpg, http://www.cepolina.com/freephoto/f/nat ... clouds.jpg, http://creativity103.com/user_upload/al ... 162179.JPG

I'll remove the reference images after this is over

[LvSoulFriend]

(( I was also tempted to do a centaurish type Sam, with bipedalis and multiple legs Misery was more fun though *snugs him*))

[Harroway]

I had a quick question. I've seen Sams whose names utilize different prepositions (I've seen "upon", "on" or "in"). Can we use that in the name?

[Orasteele]

This contest really is a lot of fun! I've had so many ideas, but I have finally settled on one guy that just hit me like a ton of bricks! I agree with LvSoulFriend on the custom thing! XD!

Name: Mystic of the Summer Mirage
Species: Desert Mystic (water) ... (Maybe it should say Hybrid Mystic? He looks more like a Desert Sam in my head)
Gender: Stallion
Traits: Tufted Tail, Large Ears, Mystic Strands, Scales
Colors:

• Mane & Tail: White, Mystic Strands Tipped in Blue
• Body: Warm Gold, fade to white on feet.
• Scales: Sunlit Green fading to deep blue like water.
• Eyes & Hooves: Blue

Description: A wayfarer of the desert, SummerMirage~ Mystic's golden coat all but blends into the sands he traverses. The soft white of his mane and tail almost set his coat a glow as the twin mystic strands trail about him in the wind tipped in blue. Small scales grace his body, running from the length of his neck, a ribbon of scales across his sides and down his legs reflecting blues and greens of oasis waters (green fading into rich blue). A tiny cluster of scales sit at the corner of his blue eyes making them look almost larger than they truly are. He is a moving mirage of waters that are just beyond the horizon.

Personality: Cold & detatched due to previous life experiences. He refuses to open himself up to others, but his heart is unerringly kind. He will help wherever he is needed till he feels that he must move on.

Backstory: Raised by his nomadic dam, SummerMirage~Mystic is a wanderer by heart. The desert mystic brings his talent of finding water to those songs most in need as his dam did before him. She had also been a Desert Mystic - one of air, who sought out those lost during the worst sand storms to bring them to safety. Unattached as the wind, the mare refused to join a song even after her heart leaped toward the Kirin stallion that she had rescued. The tryst lasted till the wind changed direction and with it she went. SummerMirage~Mystic was born as songless as his mother, but she was his world. Never did he feel that the benefits of a song outweighed the time he and his dam had together. As a youth he showed aptitude for finding water, and assisted his dam in their travels.

Mother and son, they traversed the desert wastes together, assisting those songs in need until the black storm came. It had started out like any other storm, his dam leading him toward the one she felt was lost, but unlike other occasions the winds only seemed to grow till not even her sense of direction could find where to go. Knowing the violence of the wind was beyond her control the two laid side to side and attempted to wait the storm out with eyes and ears closed flat. The scales that ran down SummerMirage's body was the only thing that saved him from the skin flaying sands that whipped about them.

Since his mother's passing Mystic of the Summmer Mirage continues to wander the desert, assisting those that run to him in search of waters in the heat, but refuses to open his heart for risk of loosing someone precious again. Part of him seeks out contact with others, but the dark sliver that damaged his heart dreads what would happen should someone break past the barriers.

[Harroway]

I'll be adding a picture for her since I suck at describing what she looks like. XD

Name - Laughter at the Royal Masquerade
Gender - Female
Species - Samanayr
Colors - Gold, silver, royal purple, royal blue, emerald
Traits/Features - Curly mane, tuftless (front legs), solid hooves (back legs), multiple tails (one tufted, two standard Sam tails)
Accessories - Pearl earrings, pearl necklace

Description - With silver eyes, Laughter's face is a golden color with a "mask" of purple over her eyes. This "mask" contains small hints of emerald and royal blue on the edges in stripes. Her long curled hair is also silver with stripes of gold, emerald, blue and purple from crown to base. Her main body color is gold, with stripes of her other colors arcing down from the base of her next down to her feet, with one stripe of silver that starts at the base of her neck and winds around her body to the base of her tails. Her front hooves are silver while the back are golden. Her foot tufts are a gradient from emerald, to blue, to purple at the bottoms. She has three tails - two are a standard Samanayr tail and are straight-haired, the third is in the center of the other two and is tufted. One straight tail is emerald and fades to gold, the other is purple and fades to silver. The center tufted tail is blue and does not fade.

As her name suggests, Laughter is the life of the party. She lively and vivacious, always looking for someone to make smile. While she does sport very regal colors, she's not one for a stuffy atmosphere or overbearingly serious company. She'd be the first to dance, first to laugh, and last to leave a gathering. She's always smiling and always moving, ready for the next big event at a moment's notice.

[Rynnie]

Name: Whitewater of Tideshaped Mistveil
Species: Hybrid (Northern Aquatic)
Gender: Female
Traits: Fluffy, Full Tufts, Pure Black Eyes, Whiskers, Multiple Tail, Back Fin, Cheek Fins, Head Fins, Extensive Fins
Features: Stream lined body, valves to close ears and nose trails when submerged, palate that blocks entry of water.

Description

Ability: Swimming

New Special Traits:

Back Fins -- Back Fins are aptly named fins that aid in swimming, running down the back from head to tail. Uncommon to rare, restricted to Aquatics.

Cheek Fins -- Cheek Fins grow from the backs of the cheeks. Rare or very rare, restricted to Aquatics.

Head Fins -- Purely decorative fins, growing from the head. Rare or very rare, restricted to Aquatics.

Extensive Fins -- Fins that are longer and larger than normal, and appear more decorative, although Extensive Fins do aid in swimming. Uncommon, restricted to Aquatics.

Color/Markings: Pure white undercoat, with aquamarine fins. Her coat on back, flanks, head, ears and tail lightly tipped with blue, evenly distributed. (See Silver Chinchilla cat for reference.) The grey has been supressed to the extremities, e.g. legs, mane, edges of the fins and tips of the ears. (See Bay Arabian horse for reference.)

Character Notes: Whitewater is careful to maintain her appearance, seeming deceptively fastidious. She actually actively uses her long fluffy fur and decorative fins to manipulate unwary stallions and conceal her keen intellect. Other mares may sense this, and attempt to reveal her scheme. Confident, but deeply abhorring confrontation, she will not answer the mare directly, but instead attempt to disgrace or discredit the mare, particularly in front of the stallion in question. Her name reflects her preference for manipulation, tricks and stratagems, and the attendant dangers.

[Janalee]

Telling of the Forgotten Myth

Species: Samanayr
Gender: Male
Trait(s): Triple Hooves, Antlers, Armor (*dances* ^^)
Hopefully my terrible sketch displays everything besides the antlers well enough, but just in case...larger, pangolin-like scales run from the top of his head and down his back through to the tail, with the rest of his body being smaller-scaled armored. Here's the reference picture I used for my sketch:
http://www.nigeldennis.com/stock/images ... /25173.jpg
And I couldn't resist throwing this picture in too... XD *suddenly wonders what a Sam ball would look like*
http://www.transfrontiers.com/wp-conten ... ngolin.jpg
Colors and markings: The larger scales would be in mid to darker browns, while the rest of the body is a golden ivory color with maroon points. There's some subtle striping on his legs and face in darker brown or black; his hooves and eyes are a bright, coppery color.
Any accessories: I'd be happy with anything you'd feel like adding, but I can't think of anything specific at the moment...maybe something hanging off of the antlers? ^^
Personality: He's a rather quiet, secretive sort, much preferring to listen, or even eavesdrop, than talk. Generally amused though, he's inclined to laugh whenever he can, and completely ignore anything that he can't laugh at until it becomes a problem. Whenever he finally decides it is a problem though...well, he does have armor for a reason. *grins* It'd take some pushing to make him become aggressive though; he enjoys just watching everything too much to get involved more than he has to.

[sera]

Name: Venom of the Webbed Touch
Species: Samanayr
Gender: Mare
Traits: Naked, multi-limbed, extra long tines, horn nubs, poison spurs hindmost legs, clawed feet on fore and hind feet, hooks on middle legs, slitted eyes.
Accessories: Metal tips for her tines, especially the longer ones. Anything else you think might fit. ^^
Description: Venom is a brightly coloured Sam who is very gangly in build. In many ways she resembles a spider. With no fur on her wotsoever, each of her legs is a spindly limb, lending her the look of a strange sort of insect. This is accentuated by her overly large tines which she also uses to move. This adds to her strange insect-like appearance. Her clawed paws on the front and back allow her freedom of movement on land, and her hooked middle feet and wing tines help her to climb through trees and other areas that might otherwise be unclimbable.

Venom is mainly a bright turquoise with markings of reddish-orange, orange, and yellow. These are mostly circular. She has touches of black to accentuate. Her poison spurs carry a type of sticky, paralyzing poison. She uses it more for helping her build little web-y nests up in the trees than against others, though she will use it to defend herself if needed.

Reference Picture:(Not exact markings; warning! spider! *twitch*) http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1383/135 ... 531bba.jpg

[silvermoondragon]

Name: Mystic of Feathered Winds
Species: Samanayr Mystic
Gender: Stallion
Traits: Feather Mane, Mystic Strands, Feathered Wings, Feathered Tail
Accessories: Two feathers tied into mystic strand; a necklace with bright blue sapphires with silver feathers dangling off each sapphire, two silver feathers at the end, sounds like a wind chime when the wind blows; a ribbon tied around her leg with two feathers tied onto it.

Colours: Sky blue with dark brown peregrine falcon markings darkening to black at the edges, the blue fades to white at the bottom of his foot tufts, dark brown to black hooves, Mystic strands are light pale blue, fading to dark brown/black at the tip of the strand.

Abilities: Mystic has the ability to control the wind, helping him to fly, calming fierce storms, or changing the weather by blowing clouds around.

Personality: Mystic is a fierce proud stallion, sometimes a little gruff at times. He is very serious most of the time, but can be very kind at others. He takes his abilities seriously and will often be out during storms aiding others to make sure they are safe.

Reference Image:

[Jennalyn]

Name: Hunter of the Predatory Menace
Species: Samanayr
Gender: Mare
Traits: Tines (bone tines), various Oquiesa bone accessories (I swear I was considering this before your beautiful Ustream random xD)
Description: Pale off-white base color with red-orange tabby markings and a golden mane and tail

Backstory: Hunter was originally named Sprite of the Joyful Sun by her birth Song when she grew into a lovely adult mare, her golden mane and draconic wings both inherited from her mother. She left the tranquility of their forest territory in search of her place in the world and was eventually wooed by a sweet young stallion, his blue eyes catching her heart and making it flip in ways it had never done. With him and his other mares, she felt at home.

Not long after the birth of her first foal, the Song became prey to a group of Oquiesa out looking for a meal. Her colt was snapped up as a quick snack, her stallion torn to pieces in front of her, the other mares devoured, and by the time they got to her prone form they were only hungry enough to absently gnaw on her wings. After she woke, alone except for the obvious signs of carnage and her own grievous injuries, she limped her way to the territory of their neighboring Song and received medical attention by a wandering Healer that could be summoned from only a few territories away.

Now she makes it her mission to hunt down the 'vile dogs' that plague their people, collecting bits of their bodies as a sign of her trade and wearing them as a reminder of her loss.

Ref Images: As a ref for colors and a hint at patterns, here: http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa12 ... zechs1.png

[Sushidragon]

Alrighty, he's all finished, but I'm just about to head out so unfortunately I don't have a chance to scan him yet. However, I won't keep you all in suspense any longer

I'd like to thank everyone again for all of the awesome entries! They were all so awesome and creative, you have no idea how difficult it was to narrow it down XD I'm definitely going to hold more design contests in the future, I love seeing what everyone comes up with!

First place is Orasteele, with a desert Mystic! I loved the contrast of his watery scales against his desert coloration, and I also loved the extra addition of his history. You'll be receiving your Sam as soon as I get him scanned, and please send me a PM to let me know which modiem you'd like!

The runners-up are Saiki and LvSoulFriend I loved the concept and design of Saiki's time elemental, and the coloration and additional story of LvSoulFriend's entry to explain his traits. Please send me a PM with the colors you'd like for your semi-customs, and which modiem you'd like

Thanks again to everyone for entering! Keep an eye out for the July Samanayr thread

[Dragonspyrit]

Wow your mystic and sand of the mingling dunes would get along pretty well steele ^^;

[silvermoondragon]

Congratulations everyone! Can't wait to see the winning Samanayr, he's going to be awesome!

[LvSoulFriend]

Congrats Ora! Thanks Sushi! Sent a pm to you here on the forum

[Jennalyn]

Hee, grats Ora! That's utterly fantastic. <3 Can't wait to see him!

[Orasteele]

OMG! I completely did not expect to win! *hugs everyone* I can't wait to see him Sushi!

And congrats to the runners up! I loved reading everyone's entry!

[sera]

Omedetou gozaimasu!! Congratulations, Ora! Can't wait to see him! ^^

[Sushidragon]

Here's Mr 200

[Jennalyn]

...o_o *stares at the Desert Mystic* Guh. There, right there, along with Zephyr... perfect example of why I think scales are one of your most utterly attractive mutations. He is utterly incredible. Ora, I adore him. xD

I hope he's able to find himself some lovely Desert ladies! He looks quite proud of his heritage. x3 Of course, they would have to overcome the emotional hurdles... hee. Personality!

[Janalee]

*laughs* And I had been thinking of suggesting a mystic with scales before...I doubt I would have thought of the desert/scale combination though, it's gorgeous. ^^ Congrats to all the winners!

[Orasteele]

Eeee! Oh wow! He's even more stunning than I thought he'd be!

Yeah, you're right there Jenn! They'd have to be desert ladies, and get past his emotional boundaries. I wish them luck! I'll definitely have to RP him!

*dances* This is the best start of the morning!

[Harroway]

Holy cow he is HANDSOME! o_o

[Origami_Dragon]

Oooh, he's lovely! Those soft, cool colored scales go wonderfully with hi sandy brown body! The contrast of the cool and warm colors is lovely! Scales are so lovely! Congrats Ora! I'll have to watch out for him RPing!