Grab your crayons, Krita, or whatever else you use to create stunning artwork because KDE devs are looking for a new desktop wallpaper and there are prizes to be won!
“Prizes?”, you ask – yes, prizes plural: a 13-inch Framework laptop and your work being used as the default wallpaper in KDE Plasma 6.0 (currently in development and due for release next year).
Opportunities like this don’t come up often!
What are the conditions?
Wallpapers entered in to the KDE wallpaper competition need to be original and made specifically for it – no rehashing your greatest hits or dusted off that DeviantArt classic.
You can submit up to 3 entries – but AI-generated artwork is not accepted
5K resolution is preferred (but 3k will do); try to provide both light and dark version (but it’s okay if you don’t).
AI-generated artwork is not accepted. I like this – not because AI art can’t be good but because a competition like this ought to be based on human skill and not generative algorithms riffing off of (and in many cases ripping off) human skill.
Harsh? It’s okay: AI doesn’t have feelings — yet, eek.
One potential “catch” if you plan on using a mobile-based graphics apps like Procreate is you may be asked to provide source files in a non-proprietary format, e.g., Inkscape-compatible SVG, .blend, .kra, .xcf, etc. Check which format(s) your app supports before you get too deep in a design.
You have until November 14, 2023 to submit artwork (maximum of 3 entries per person).
How will a winner be chosen?
Another fantastic approach — something I wish Ubuntu’s wallpaper contest would revert back to — is all submissions in KDE’s wallpaper competition get critically evaluated and assessed by a panel of judges consisting of KDE designers and “esteemed” community members”.
Yup, no “who can get the most forum friends to upvote their entries” schtick here, thankfully!
At the end of the submission period, 6 finalists go through to a second round (and snag a KDE t-shirt for their efforts) and will be given feedback from the judges. They can make tweaks/changes based on this feedback and submit an updated version for further consideration.
Then, a winner is chosen.
The winning entry will ship as the default wallpaper for KDE Plasma 6.0. This is a heck of a prize in itself. It’s not often artists get the opportunity to have their artwork grace (potentially) millions of users’ desktops off-the-bat.
And they win a 13-inch Framework DIY edition powered by an Intel Core i5-1340P.
I want in!
Interested in taking part? You can view the contest announcement in this KDE Discuss forum thread and submit your artwork for consideration in this KDE Discuss forum.
I’m off to dig out some poster paints and potatoes…
