KublaCon Painting Competition

This is reproduced from the SF Bay Area Mini Painters yahoo group. I can't express how excited I am about this change in the judging. I'm hoping to provide some good representation for the PP line of miniatures at the competition. I honestly think this will encourage more people to enter the competition which is good for the art in general. Entering last year was both exciting and disappointing: it was great to enter and not feel like the worst thing in the case, but it was disappointing to be judge against professional painters. I'm really looking forward to seeing how I do this year.

Greetings! Kublacon '09 is almost upon us! The KublaAwards Mini-Painting Competition has exciting new changes this year!

We are pleased to announce the new "Open" style judging for the KublaAwards. "What is 'Open judging', you might ask? Well, allow me to explain:

The old familiar style of judging was commonly known as "Podium" judging, and has been a mainstay of competitions such as Games Workshop's "Golden Demon Awards", where entries are divided up by many categories and genres, and in each category there are three winners in the order of Gold, Silver, and Bronze. This is a reputable and time-honored judging system, but is not the only one, and is not without its drawbacks.

Common problems with Podium Judging involve under and over represented categories. For example: Fantasy Single is often the most highly contested category...dozens of entries may in fact be Gold-worthy, but the hard choices must be made, and wonderful entries must be weeded out to just the top three. Often, the same well-known high-end painters walk away with the trophies year after year, discouraging new painters from entering. While in another category, there may not be even enough entries to fill out the top three, thereby granting automatic trophy status to whatever happens to have been entered. This tends to cheapen the trophy.

Now, enter the Open Judging System! This style of competition is *merit-based*. The panel of judges critique the entries based on quality of artistry and technique. You are not judged against your neighbor, but against a 'standard'. If your entry is Gold-worthy, then you will in fact win a Gold trophy! This style of judging has been practiced for many years at Historical conventions and European competitions. This year, many American painting competitions have adopted variations of the Open System, including GenghisCon, ReaperCon, and our very own KublaCon!

Genres will be eliminated. There are now two main categories: the Open Category is the main competition, and the Masterclass category is for high-end prestige competition. Masterclass will be judged to a more stringent standard. Those who place in Masterclass are indeed the Best of the Best! Both categories are judged according to Open rules.

Rules for entry:
Each competitor may enter a max total of 4 entries. For entry purposes, these will be restricted to 2 Singles, 1 Squad, and 1 Large. You may choose to enter any entry into either the main Open, or the Masterclass category.

Single is defined as any normal-sized mini under 3" in any dimension.
Squad is a themed grouping of at least 3 miniatures.
Large is any miniature larger than 3" in any dimension.

There are additional awards that will be handed out for Best of Reaper, Best of GW, Best of Privateer Press....and a single award for the Best of Show "KublaSword".

We will also carry on our traditional KublaKids category for painters 15 years old and under. This category will continue using the Podium System.

Members of the Judging panel ARE allowed to enter the competition, but of course will not be judging their own entries.

To celebrate our new KublaAwards system, we also have NEW TROPHIES! Our very own local celebrity sculptor, Matt Gubser (of Prophet Miniatures) has been commissioned to sculpt 3 new trophies. And they are beauties! The Open category will be receiving medallions with the face of our Kubla mascot. The Masterclass will get a bust of Kubla trophy. And the Best of Show is a stunning, and GIANT, arm holding the coveted KublaSword. These are beautiful and exciting new trophies! Be sure to catch Matt Gubsers popular sculpting classes at KublaCon this year.

Entries will be accepted anytime at the Paint-n-Take area in the main foyer, on Fri, Sat, and Sun till noon. Every care will be taken by Kubla staff to ensure the safety of competition entries, but Kublacon staff, volunteers, and hotel cannot be held responsible for lost, damaged or unclaimed entries. Please reclaim entries anytime after 5pm Sunday, or Monday morning. Entry implies consent for Kublacon to photograph and display entries during convention and online. Previous KublaAwards winning entries are ineligible for further entry. Judges decisions are considered final.

Come to KublaCon '09 and enjoy the new improved KublaAwards Competition, the Paint-n-Take tables, Speedpainting contests, and seminars.

See you at KublaCon! May 22-25, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency, Burlingame, next to the SF airport. http://www.Kublacon.com

Wayne Rogers,
Kublacon Mini-Painting director