NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN CONTEST BEGINS AT 12:00:00 AM (PST) ON DECEMBER 7, 2011 AND ENDS AT 11:59:59 PM (PST) ON JANUARY 1, 2012 (THE "PROMOTION PERIOD").
  1. HOW TO ENTER: Membership to www.deviantart.com (the "Contest Site") is required to enter the Contest. Membership to www.deviantart.com is free. If Entrant is already a registered member, Entrant is not automatically entered into the Contest. Entrant must be at least 18 years old as of December 7, 2011 to be eligible to enter the Contest. Entrant may be a resident of any country in the world. Contest is void where prohibited by law.

    Entrant must follow the instructions on the Contest Site and submit the completed entry of a completed page for the comic The Darkness using the template (the "Template") provided at the Contest Site and illustrating the storyboard for the page provided at the Contest Site.

    The completed entry ("Work"):

    1. may be created in traditional or digital art mediums only;
    2. must use the comic script/storyboard to illustrate within the provided Template;
    3. must be created in the following dimension - full-bleed size of 6.875 inches x 10.437 inches (with a safe zone of 6.625 inches x 10.187 inches and live area of 6.125 inches x 9.687 inches);
    4. may use the comic book example provided at the Contest Site as a direct reference for how to present the characters and their environment;
    5. may not use any names or logos, whether or not related to the game, comic or deviantART;
    6. must be submitted to the Contest Gallery found on the Contest Site in the same size as the Template; and
    7. must be the Entrant's original work (other than as based on the provided storyboard and The Darkness comic) and may not use stock materials from others except that Entrant may use licensed stock brushes and textures.

    Only online entries will be accepted. No hard copies of the entry will be accepted. Do not submit original files. ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59:59 PM (PST) January 1, 2012. No illegible, incomplete, forged, or altered entries will be accepted. Entrants may enter as many Works as they like, however duplicate entries are not allowed.

    • Works will not be returned.
    • The Work (i) must be the exclusive original (other than as based on the provided storyboard and The Darkness comic) work of the Entrant and made for the Contest; (ii) may not include any trademarks or logos; (iii) may not be illegal, inappropriate, offensive, libelous or defamatory, pornographic, sexually explicit, unlawful or plagiarized, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion; (iv) other than in following the provided storyboard must not be harassing, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, profane, obscene, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable or offensive in any way, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; (v) may not violate or encourage others to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation or to infringe the rights of any person or entity; (vi) may not invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe rights of any person or entity, or involve physical harm to any person or animal; (vii) may not contain verbal or visual mentions of commercial/corporate advertising, including but not limited to corporate logos, brand names, and slogans; (viii) may not include any viruses, worms, corrupt files, Trojan horses, or other forms of corruptive code, malware, or content that may harm or compromise the Contest Site and/or the proper conduct of the Contest; (ix) may not use any distinguishing artist marks or watermarks (such as any prominent signature or symbol representing the artist); and (x) if found to be in violation of these rules will be disqualified and therefore removed from the Contest Site Gallery.
    • By submitting the Work, Entrant represents that (i) (s)he has the unrestricted right to submit the Work; (ii) other than containing the storyboard and artwork referenced from the provided comic book (both as made available at the Contest Site) the Work (1) does not infringe upon any third party's proprietary or other rights and (2) does not contain materials made or generated by third parties including licensed stock images. Entrant may use licensed brushes and textures in the Work.
    • All Works submitted will remain the exclusive property of 2K Games, Inc and/or Top Cow Productions, Inc. (the "Owners"), provided that:
      1. Entrant is licensed by Owners to use the comic and storyboard for The Darkness as provided at the Contest Site in and as part of Entrant's Work for submission to the Contest;
      2. Entrant may use his or her Work for display as fan art on deviantART.com and in a personal portfolio of work as well as using the Work as an entry to the Contest;
      3. Owners may not use Entrant's Work except as follows:
        1. During the Promotion Period, and for a period of one year thereafter, eligible Works submitted to the Contest may be posted at the Contest Site or otherwise displayed in selections made by Owners and/or deviantART, and in any form and media on or off the deviantART site, but only in connection with promotion of the Contest and/or with reference to the Contest;
        2. During the ten (10) year period immediately following the Promotion Period (the "Display Period"), the Owners, and/or deviantART may (but will not be obligated to) display the first, second and third place prize-winning Works in any form and media in connection with the promotion of their respective businesses;
        3. Owners may use the first place prize winning Work in any fashion whatsoever including its use for publication in print as a comic book page and winner will assign all rights in and to the Work by separate agreement to the Owners and the execution and delivery to Owners of that separate agreement shall be a condition precedent to any obligation of Owners;
        4. Sponsor may otherwise use the second and third place prize winning Works in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the relevant Entrant may approve in writing (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned);
      4. Entrant may not authorize or permit any Work to be used by others.
  2. SELECTION OF WINNERS: Potential winners will be selected on or about January 3, 2012, from all eligible and qualified entries. Twenty-five (25) semi-finalists will be selected by full-time deviantART Staff on the basis of Suitable for The Darkness Comic, Success in Presenting the Storyboard, Overall Impact of the Work, and Technical Skill. Only one entry per Entrant may be chosen as a semi-finalist entry. From the semi-finalists, the final three (3) winners will be selected by Marc Silvestri, the CEO and Founder of Top Cow Productions, Inc.! The judges' decisions are final on all matters relating to the Contest. In the event of a tie in any portion of the judging process, the judges themselves will resolve the tie to the appropriate number of semi-finalists or ranked winners as applicable. Judging of the winners will be based on Suitable for The Darkness II Comic, Success in Presenting the Storyboard, Overall Impact of the Work, and Technical Skill in whatever degree the judges believe to be appropriate in reaching a decision.

  3. PRIZES: There will be one (1) 1st Place Prize Package, one (1) 2nd Place Prize Package, one (1) 3rd Place Prize Package awarded, and twenty-two (22) Semi-Finalists Packages consisting of the following:

    1st Place Prize Package: Winner will receive their winning submission published in the Issue #100 of The Darkness comic and a signed issue signed by Marc Silvestri, Phil Hester, and Jeremy Haun; The Darkness II Game; $1,000 USD; 10,000 deviantART Points; dA PRO Digital Artist Backpack and a one year Premium Membership to deviantART (Total Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of 1st Place Prize: $1,244.90 USD). Winner will be required to sign an assignment and release agreement supplied by Owners before his or her entry can be used.

    2nd Place Prize Package: $750 USD; 5,000 deviantART Points; one (1) deviantWEAR Tees (of their choice) and a 6-month Premium Membership to deviantART (ARV of 2nd Place Prize Package: $848.40 USD).

    3rd Place Prize Package: $500 USD; 2,500 deviantART Points; one (1) deviantWEAR Tees (of their choice) and a 3-month Premium Membership to deviantART (ARV of 3rd Place Prize Package: $559.20 USD).

    Semi-Finalists Package: Twenty-two (22) semi-finalists will receive 800 deviantART Points and a one-month Premium Membership. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Winners do not receive the Semi-Finalists Package. (ARV of Semi-Finalists Prize Package $12.65 USD).

    Total ARV of all prizes: $2,930.80 USD. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received and nature of Work. All prizes will be awarded (assuming sufficient number of entries). Sponsor reserves right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value. No other substitution or transfer of prizes permitted. Sponsor responsible only for prize delivery; not responsible for prize utility, quality or otherwise. Taxes and fees, if any, are the sole responsibility of prize winners. Sponsor will not replace any lost, mutilated or damaged prizes.

  4. ELIGIBILITY: Contest open to deviantART members who are who are at least eighteen (18) years old as of December 7, 2011, except employees and volunteers (and their immediate families and members of the same household) of Sponsor and/or deviantART, their affiliates, agents, judges and advertising and promotion agencies. There is no charge for deviantART membership.

  5. VERIFICATION OF WINNERS AND DELIVERY OF PRIZES: Potential winners will, and other potential winners may, be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and liability release and, where permitted, a publicity release. Prize may be forfeited if affidavit or releases are not returned within 14 days after mailing to potential winner or if prize notification letter or prize is returned as undeliverable. First, second and third place winners agree to Sponsor's and Sponsor' use of his/her name, address, likeness, and/or prize information for promotional purposes in any medium without additional compensation to the extent permitted by law.

  6. GENERAL: This Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. This Contest will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California, USA. Any and all legal actions or claims arising in connection with this Contest must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction within Los Angeles County in the State of California, and all entrants consent to the jurisdiction of the courts in that county and state. Sponsor and judges not responsible for late, lost, stolen, damaged, garbled, incomplete, misaddressed, postage due, incorrect or misdirected entries, mail or communications, for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, or delays in operations or transmission of information, in each case whether arising by way of technical or other failures or malfunctions of computer hardware, software, communications devices, or transmission lines or data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry materials, loss or otherwise. Sponsor and judges not responsible for electronic communications which are undeliverable as a result of any form of active or passive filtering of any kind, or insufficient space in Entrant's e-mail account to receive e-mail messages. Sponsor disclaims any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, or accessing, posting, uploading or downloading information in connection with, this Contest, and reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to modify, cancel, terminate or suspend this Contest should any virus, bug, technical failures, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's reasonable control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In the event of any such cancellation, termination or suspension, a notice will be posted on the Contest Site and the winners will be selected from among all eligible entries received prior to such time. Sponsor reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant from this Contest or any other promotion conducted now or in the future by Sponsor or any of its affiliates if the Entrant's fraud or misconduct adversely affects the integrity of the Contest. By participating in this Contest, each Entrant accepts the conditions stated in these Official Rules, agrees to be bound by the decisions of the judges and warrants that s/he is eligible to participate in this Contest. By accepting a prize, winner agrees to release Sponsor, Sponsor Corporation, its directors, employees, officers, and agents, including without limitation, their advertising and promotion agencies, from any and all liability, loss or damages arising from or in connection with the awarding, receipt, and/or use or misuse of the prize or participation in any prize-related activities.

  7. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

  8. WINNERS LIST: To obtain winner's list, go to www.deviantart.com. Winners list will be available after selection and verification of winners.

  9. SPONSOR: deviantART, Inc., 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #788, Hollywood, CA 90028

  10. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS CONTEST? Go to www.deviantart.com.
    © deviantART, Inc. 2011

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