Rules

Digital Artist Awards 2009

1. The organiser

The organiser of the Digital Artist Awards is Future Publishing Ltd (“Future”). Employees of Future and its group companies, and any of the official partners, sponsors, or associates of Future relating to the Awards and their families are not eligible to enter the Awards.

2. Eligibility

By submitting an entry for the Awards (“Entry”), each person, company or organisation submitting an Entry (“Entrant”) shall be deemed to have read and agreed to be bound by these Awards Rules, Future’s terms and conditions of website use and its Privacy Policy.

The 2009 Awards Qualifying Entry Period is 2nd April to 31st August 2009.

The Awards are open to amateur and professional digital artists, designers and agencies of all nationalities.  Entrants must be over the age of 16 years of age at the closing date of the Awards, except in the case of the “Stars of Tomorrow” Award, where Entrants under the age of 16 may enter. Entries may be submitted by an individual or as a collaborative entity. Entries must have been produced between 2nd April 2008 and 31st August 2009.

Entries must be submitted in the correct format as detailed in the Preparing your Entries PDF. Future maintains the right to withdraw Entries that do not comply with the formatting specifications as set out in the Preparing your Entries document.

Alterations may be made to work comprising an Entry for the sole purpose of satisfying the Preparing your Entries document requirements for the presentation of Entries. Such permitted alterations, if necessary for such compliance, may include re-sizing and dubbing non-English film Entries with translated voice-overs. Alterations to colours, artwork or copy, or changing the language of the type copy shall not be permitted in any circumstance.

Entrants will submit an Entry into a specified Category. If the Entrant has collaborated on a piece of work with any other entity or person, it is the Entrant's responsibility to ensure that the work is not submitted as a duplicate Entry in the same Category by such other entity or person. If Future is not advised of duplicate Entries by Entrants promptly, only the first Entry will be accepted.

Future reserves the right to move Entries to more appropriate Categories if deemed in Future’s sole discretion as necessary. Such action may be taken without informing the Entrant. However, it is not the responsibility of Future to amend Entries or move them to different Categories if they have been entered incorrectly. Judges will not be allowed to move Entries between Categories during judging.

Entries will be judged on the quality of the materials actually submitted. Entrants are urged to ensure that digital files in particular are of good quality. Future shall be under no obligation to request alternative or replacement materials.

Entrants submitting Entries concerning an integrated campaign may be required to submit specific elements of such campaign or evidence that the campaign was run across more than 1 media.

Entrants are responsible for Entries to be submitted by the delivery deadline as defined by Future. Future reserves the right to exclude Entries that are not received by the delivery deadline.

If, after submission of an Entry an Entrant becomes aware that his/her Entry has infringed any of its country-of-origin's laws or voluntary or regulatory codes of practice are the Entrant shall contact Future immediately to request to withdraw such Entry from the Awards.

A maximum of five Entries are permitted per Entrant for the Awards. The maximum file size for Entries uploaded to the Awards website should not exceed those listed within the Category page. If your Entry is shortlisted for any Category, you may be asked to submit a high-resolution version, if necessary.

An Entry that has won a prize in a major national or international competition (one receiving more than 500 entries) is not eligible for entry.

There is no entry fee associated with the Awards. By entering the Awards, all Entrants agree to participate in any publicity in connection with the Awards as required by Future and any of the official partners, sponsors or any associates of Future relating to the Awards. By entering the Awards you grant Future and any third parties appointed by Future for the purpose of organising and/or managing the Awards and any of the official partners, sponsors or any associates of Future relating to the Awards permission to the use of your name and likeness for the purpose of organising and/or managing the Awards and for related promotion and publicity.

Future reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant and/or winner(s) in its absolute discretion for any reason and without notice in accordance with these Award rules.

3. Entrant Warranties

By submitting an Entry the Entrant warrants and represents to Future that:

1.    the Entry (i) is wholly original to it (or its agency) and not wholly or substantially copied from any other material; and (ii) does not defame, cause injury to or invade the privacy of or otherwise infringe or violate any statutory, common law, regulatory or intellectual property rights of any third party; and
2.    it is the sole owner of the entire right, title and interest in and to the Entry, or, it has obtained all necessary consents as shall be required for the submission of the Entry into the Awards; and
3.    it has obtained to the fullest extent permitted by law from all persons that made a contribution to the Entry, a grant of all relevant consents and rights required for the submission of the Entry into the Awards; and
4.    both (i) the credits indicated on the completed editorial form are correct; and (ii) if an Entry is successful, Future’s (or any third party’s) publication of these credits in the form submitted will not infringe on any moral or other right of the Entrant or any third party.

The Entrant agrees to fully indemnify Future and any of the official partners, sponsors or associates of Future relating to the Awards in respect of any loss and/or damage incurred by Future and/or any such official partners, sponsors or associates of Future arising from the Entrant’s breach these warranties.

4. Categories and closing dates

The Categories for the Awards are listed below:

1. Graphic Design
2. Animation
3. Motion Broadcast
4. Web & Interactive Design
5. 2D illustration
6. 3D illustration
7. Character Design
8. Concept Art
9. Videogame Art
10. Architectural Visualisation
11. Visual Effects
12. Product Visualisation
13. Stars of Tomorrow (two age groups: under 16 and 17-25 years of age)

All Categories listed close at 5:00pm GMT, 31st August 2009

5. Awards results

The person named in an Entry as the main contact for the Entry will be contacted by email during the week beginning 14 September 2009 and informed if the Entry has been shortlisted for an Award and/or selected for inclusion in any Future print publication(s).

Entrants of shortlisted Entries will be required to submit full credits or any other requested material to enable use by Future of an Entry by 21 September 2009. If such credits are not supplied in time the relevant Entry will not be published on the Digital Artist Award website and will not be eligible to receive an Award.

Entrants of Entries selected for inclusion in Future print publication(s) will be required to submit full credits or any other requested material to enable use by Future of an Entry by 21 September 2009. If such credits are not supplied in time the relevant Entry will not be published in Future print publication(s).

It is essential that Future is informed if the main Entry contact person changes. It is the Entrant's responsibility to ensure the accuracy of all information supplied especially for updated contact details. Entrants who do not comply with this will not be informed of the results of the Awards.

6. Judging

Future will appoint a judging panel for each Category which shall be composed of independent judges who, in Future’s sole opinion, have the appropriate qualifications to judge the Entries. Judges shall consider all Entries on the basis of the criteria explained in the Digital Artist Awards category page.

Entries will be judged on the basis of the materials supplied to the Digital Artist Awards.

Judging will take place between 1st and 13th September 2009.

During the judging, all judging panels are reminded of the Awards Rules and are asked to consider whether Entries comply with the Awards Rules. In the event that a judging panel queries the eligibility of an Entry, the Entrant will be required to provide such documentary evidence or supplementary information as may reasonably be required to demonstrate the eligibility of an Entry. Future reserves the right to (i) suspend an Entry from the Awards until such time as an investigation has been concluded; and (ii) remove an Entry from the Awards at any stage following investigation if it is not fully satisfied that the Entry is eligible and the Awards Rules have been followed.

The decision of the judging panel in determining the shortlist and deciding the winner in each Category is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

7. Notification

Winners, runners-up, highly commended and commended Entrants within each Category will be announced on the Awards website by the end of October 2009 and in the print publications Computer Arts, Computer Arts Project, 3D World, ImagineFX and .net by the end of November 2009.

8. Licence to use Entries and to reference Awards

By submitting an Entry the Entrant hereby grants Future, its servants, agents, licensees and assigns any of the official partners, sponsors or associates of Future relating to the Awards an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty free, non-exclusive licence throughout the world in perpetuity to use the Entry (including, without limitation, by reproducing, copying, performing, showing, playing, broadcasting, publishing, distributing or transmitting the Entry by wireless, electronic or other means, whether now or hereafter invented, or issuing copies of the Entry to the public), for any purpose in connection with the Awards including (without limitation) for the furtherance and promotion of the Awards’ activities and goals as set out below.

Digital Artist Awards’ activities and goals comprise the promotion, running and judging of the Digital Artist Awards and the presentation of a showcase of digital art and design in such a way as Future considers appropriate from time to time, including (without limitation) inclusion of Entries (including credits and images) in the print publications Computer Arts, Computer Arts Projects, 3D World, ImagineFX, and .net, in a public presentation or exhibition promoting the Awards, in a film, videotape, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, MPEG file or any other carrier, in marketing and promotional materials for the Awards and/or any exhibition and on internet sites.

From time to time Future receives requests to provide copies of Entries for inclusion in programming and/or publications created by third parties. Entrants acknowledge and agree that Future may lend Entries to any such third parties provided that, in Future’s sole discretion, such programme or publication promotes The Awards’ activities and goals and such third parties include appropriate credits for the Entrant(s) who submitted such Entries.

Future will use its reasonable endeavours to ensure that all use of Entries pursuant to this licence is accompanied by a relevant credit. In reproducing any such credit Future shall rely entirely on information submitted by the Entrant.

Award winners, shortlisted Entries and those Entrants whose Entry is included in the print publication(s) ("In-Book Entries") shall have the right to reference any Digital Artist Awards status accorded to them for promotional purposes on condition that this is correctly and accurately described.

9. Data Capture

We only use the personal information collected from Entrants under the age of 16 during the registration procedure to notify successful Entrants in the Awards.  

10. General

These Awards rules and Awards are governed by English law. Any disputes arising between Future and any third party in relation to these Award rules and/or the Awards shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales (save that Future shall be entitled to take action against a third party in any other jurisdiction).

If there is any inconsistency between any of the provisions of these Award rules, Future’s terms and conditions of website use or Future’s privacy policy, the provisions of these Award rules shall prevail.