The results are in for SOLARIA's anniversary "SUNDIAL" album artwork contest! Plus: a look at our upcoming events.
"SUNDIAL" Illustration Contest
Video: The crossfade and announcement video for "SUNDIAL", uploaded on Eclipsed Sounds' YouTube channel.
Results
As with our previous contests, judging for this one was quite difficult for our team! There were so many unique composition choices and art styles represented among the entries, and we were honored that so many artists were interested in participating. Additionally, as we also did with the song contest, we have added some additional prizes.
First Place - khazure
Congratulations to khazure on their winning entry! We absolutely loved the layout & perspective in this piece, and the unique choice for a daytime, earthly setting made it stand out immediately! The texture and framing created by their choice in background rendering techniques make this piece feel even more at home in our #1 spot. It goes without saying, but SOLARIA looks incredible here too - with particularly impressive attention given to her more metallic details, and a kind & warm expression. This piece is just incredible overall!
Runner Up (With Distinction) - m-e-o
An additional congratulations to m-e-o on this special runner-up entry! We spent a long time deliberating between the top 2 entries, and to reflect that we have created a special tier to highlight this amazing artwork! The lighting & posing choices made in this piece suit SOLARIA perfectly, and the special attention paid to the details of her character design did not go unnoticed! To reflect its close ranking with the winner, this piece will be included as a special inner spread artwork, and m-e-o will be receiving prizes equivalent to the first place tier.
Runner-Up - Dona Vajgand
Dona Vajgand's incredible artistic skill is completely on display in this entry! The minimalistic background keeps SOLARIA in focus, and the elegant lighting & pose makes this entry really stand out!
Runner-Up - ValeNTine
This piece by ValeNTine is just incredible! The dramatic framing, blur, and the artwork's unique texture made it quite the standout entry. Its moody atmosphere will pair perfectly with a few of the songs in the album booklet.
Runner-Up - jaspe/honey
The striking colors and unique perspective in this artwork by jaspe made it one of our early favorites! Their unique art style and SOLARIA's powerful look here will be so cool to see in print.
Runner-Up - Ali
Ali's smooth line-work and warm color choices really caught our eye during judging, and their less-is-more approach with the overall composition kept it polished and pleasing to the eye.
Runner-Up - aplusod
This pixel art entry by aplusod has an excellent composition and perspective! The blue tones contrast wonderfully with SOLARIA's warmer color scheme and the detail of using SOLARIA's pauldron design as the basis for the sundial inscription jumped out to us immediately - definitely an awesome piece!
Runner-Up - Silmist
The overall composition and framing in this piece by Silmist pulled it into our final runner-up slot - we loved the posing & stylistic choices that gave this piece a very mysterious and emotional presence!
All Contest Entries
While we unfortunately could not award prizes to every entry, we absolutely loved the variety of styles and concepts represented among all of these great pieces of artwork! Please take some time to browse all of the entries below, and hover over the entry to see who submitted it. Thank you to all of our incredible entrants!
Please note that entries that did not follow the submission requirements were not included. If you believe your entry was excluded in error, please email us at contact@eclipsedsounds.com.
Contest Information Archive
An archive of the contest information to free up room in our site menu.
SOLARIA's first release anniversary is here!
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of SOLARIA’s commercial release, we have put together an album of exceptional songs to try to encompass the wide range of talented songwriters using SOLARIA - "SUNDIAL"! The album is 18 tracks long - including all of the original pre-release demonstration songs, top 5 from the song contest, and an additional selection of noteworthy songs. While this album could easily be five volumes long, we think we have curated a great selection!
To celebrate SOLARIA's first anniversary, we will be having a contest allow artists to enter to provide the album cover artwork!
We have received many requests from illustrators asking that we provide more events that provide opportunities for their participation - so we hope that interested artists will enjoy this contest!
Contest Information
Submission Period: January 19th - April 30th
Theme: Sundial
To celebrate SOLARIA's release anniversary, we are holding an
illustration contest for the compilation album "SUNDIAL"!
To enter, just upload and submit an original piece of artwork featuring Synthesizer V SOLARIA during the submission period that follows the theme and submission requirements. All art styles are welcome, and the artwork will be used as the album cover for SOLARIA's first anniversary album - "SUNDIAL"!
The artwork should feature SOLARIA, portrayed in her primary design, and no other identifiable characters. The theme of the album is a "sundial" - a device used for telling time by measuring the angle of shadows throughout the course of a day. The theme may be taken literally and sundials may be directly included in the illustration, but it may also be taken holistically as a celebration of the time since SOLARIA's release. Entries may be in any art style, and, apart from the theme and character requirements, may use any composition style.
Be sure to check the submission requirements section below before starting your entry!
If you would like to share your entry on social media - be sure to use the #SynthV_SOLARIA tag!
Prizes
FIRST PLACE PRIZE
$600 USD via PayPal
Illustration is used as the album cover illustration for "SUNDIAL" (SOLARIA's first anniversary album), digital Eclipsed Sounds vocal of choice, a copy of the "SUNDIAL" album
FIVE RUNNER-UP PRIZES $250 USD via PayPal Illustration is included in the album booklet for "SUNDIAL" (SOLARIA's first anniversary album) Digital Eclipsed Sounds vocal of choice, a copy of the "SUNDIAL" album
Submission Requirements
Must be 18 years or older to participate, or have permission from a parent or guardian.
The artwork must feature SOLARIA in her primary design (not the alternate Eclipsed design).
The artwork may not identify any other identifiable characters or persons.
The artwork should not include references to particular songs or works created with SOLARIA - as this is a compilation album meant to celebrate all usages of SOLARIA.
Art pieces must be new, original works by the entrant at the time of submission and created primarily during the submission period.
Artwork may not include text unless placed organically in the scene - for example, "SOLARIA" etched into a sun dial in the image is acceptable, but adding album title or credits directly to the image is prohibited - this will be handled by the Eclipsed Sounds team.
Entry must be submitted to the form below before the end of the submission period.
Participants can submit up to two entries - and only one of these two may win any prize.
The submission may be a collaboration between multiple creators, however, only one creator may receive the prizes and be the point of contact for the submission.
Artwork may not contain nudity, depictions of violence, blood, etc.
The submission may not include any photography of persons or people.
AI generated artwork is not allowed in this contest. (We understand the apparent irony; however, unlike our AI vocalists that use ethically licensed materials that our voice providers are compensated for, the currently available AI image generators are based on datasets that utilize copyrighted material and personal information. Additionally, regardless of the ethics of source data, you would not submit usage of SOLARIA to a singing competition, so you should not submit usage of AI image generators to this art competition. Thank you for your understanding.)
Eclipsed Sounds may request small alterations of winning entries in order to better include album information.
Eclipsed Sounds will only use your illustration for the physical print of the album and album-related digital promotion, such as in videos, newsletters, on social media, and hosted on the end-of-contest summary page if applicable.
Any violations of these requirements will immediately disqualify the entry. If violation of these requirements is discovered after prize distribution, the participant will be required to return the distributed prize.
Album Pre-Orders & Bonus Items
We are currently working on designing additional items that will be included in the album package. Once these items are mostly designed - pre-orders will be opened! The album will cost $15 with free worldwide shipping, and bonus items will be included for no additional cost.
Upcoming Events
While our contest schedule had to be re-arranged to get SAROS ready when we secured a spot at the NAMM Show, ASTERIAN is finally in focus for a series of contests! Here is a look at what's coming up in the next few months.
Contests
ASTERIAN "Eclipsed Design" Contest - a contest to create an alternative design for ASTERIAN to match SOLARIA's "Eclipsed" look! The winner will receive, among other prizes, a unique package edition of ASTERIAN featuring their design on the cover, with artwork by our series illustrator Superstellar. This event should begin soon, and will last about 30 days.
ASTERIAN Song Contest - a contest to create original songs with ASTERIAN - the ASTERIAN song contest will feature even bigger rewards than SOLARIA's and also coincide with the release of his Lite voice database. This contest will last about 90 days, and take place sometime after ASTERIAN's update is released for Synthesizer V Studio 1.9.0, in order to make it easier to use ASTERIAN in more genres. Thank you for your patience! If you are hoping to enter a song contest sooner, I suggest you check out AOFest 2023 from our friends at AUDIOLOGIE!
Other Events
More SAROS Demo Songs - SAROS is still in development - and so are their demo songs! When the majority of songs are completed, we will begin uploading them at a consistent pace, and pre-orders will be opened at that time.
More ASTERIAN Demo Songs - ASTERIAN has had 2 additional demo songs in progress for quite some time - we are hoping to shift more focus onto him in the coming months for his release anniversary just as we did for SOLARIA. If you are interested in being considered for future original demo song creation for ASTERIAN particularly, please reach out to us through our contact form. We have added a new contact category for demo song creation, so please indicate ASTERIAN as your vocal of choice when submitting.
Eclipsed Sounds Livestreams Return - We aren't sure of the date yet, but we are hoping to bring occasional livestreams back to our social channels. These will be used to release product information, answer user questions, highlight usages of our vocals, and announce future events.
Refresh of the Instagram, Tumblr, & TikTok Profiles - while we originally launched these social media accounts during SOLARIA's crowdfund in 2021, they became inactive shortly after as our users preferred Twitter and YouTube updates. We will be catching up on those platforms with ASTERIAN & SAROS information in the coming weeks.
Do you have an idea or request for a future event? Questions or feedback on Eclipsed Sounds' vocals? Please reach out via our contact form.