create-a-starship-contest posts

EVE Online's starship design contest has had EVE players and deviantART users excited for this past month. Hundreds of entries were submitted in a bid to win some massive prizes. Last week, the deviantART team picked 15 semi-finalists from all the submitted entries. Those 15 were then sent on to CCP's own art department for appraisal to select the first, second and third place winners. There was some controversy over the quality of the selected semi-finalists, with many popular entries being left out and others that might not fit with EVE's graphic style being put in their place.

Yesterday, the final three winners were selected and announced on the competition page. First place went to deviantART user dreamwa1ker for his impressive Minmatar battleship Tornado, drawn in a truly dark and cinematic style that perfectly fits in with EVE. Second place went to Baranha with the sleek Gallente design Naru-Kami Final, with third place going to machinefire for his Minmatar cruiser Tsunami. The three finalists win an impressive array of prizes, and the first place ship will be forever emblazoned in EVE as an actual in-game ship to be released in a future expansion. As an added bonus to the competition, CCP has announced that they'll be running a second contest in the near future in which EVE players will vote on their favourite entries. This comes as good news for those disappointed by the semi-finalist selection first time around.

Think you've got what it takes to design a starship? CCP Games and deviantART are giving you the opportunity to prove it with their new Create A Starship Contest for EVE Online. From now through October 13th, artists can submit their drawings for a chance to win some pretty significant prizes. Up to 15 semi-finalists will walk away with $50 iTunes gift cards, while first-, second-, and third-place finishers will snag $900, $750, and $500 respectively, in addition to an Apple iPad, a Wacom Intuos4 Tablet, deviantART premium memberships, and more.

Additionally, the first-place winner will see his or her design brought to life in the universe of New Eden and ultimately flown by thousands of player pilots. Check out the full contest rules, as well as the current competition, at deviantART.