In celebration of the upcoming seventh anniversary of Final Fantasy XI, Square Enix announced the return of the popular Fan Art Contest, with this year's theme reflecting the aformentioned anniversary which will take place on May the 16th. So dust off your pencils and pens, choose your brushes and paints, and show off your artistic abilities and prowess to your fellow adventurers!

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From Playonline.com:

After months of anticipation, we're pleased to announce that the ever-popular Fan Art Contest is making a triumphant return! Throughout the years, the Fan Art Contest has proven to be a popular creative outlet for our players, and we expect this year to be no different. To celebrate FINAL FANTASY XI entering into its seventh year of service on May 16th, the theme of this year's contest is the 7th Anniversary. Send us your masterful renditions of subjects such as "celebrating the anniversary with friends" or "the journey of adventurers throughout the years," or even share some of your treasured memories related to the contest's theme.

All entries will be judged by an all-star panel consisting of development, operations, community and localization team members who will review the artwork and select the prize-winning masterpieces.

The winning illustrations will be displayed on Topics on May 16th, and their artists, awarded a special prize – the "Nomad Moogle Rod" in-game item!

How to Enter

Requirements:
- Contestants must possess an active FINAL FANTASY XI account
- All contestants must agree to the defined terms and conditions
* Contestants under the age of 18 must obtain the permission of a legal guardian before submitting entries.

Submission Period: Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 — Wednesday, May 6, 2009 (7:59am)(PDT)

Theme: The 7th Anniversary

How to Submit Your Art: Submissions may be sent via e-mail. The body of the mail should contain all of the required information listed below, with the illustration attached (see below for file format/size information). E-mails should be sent to the following address.

E-mail Subject:7th Anniversary Fan Art Contest Submission

Required Information:
- Your PlayOnline e-mail address
- Your FINAL FANTASY XI World name, as well as your character's name
- Your nickname or handle
- A title for your artwork
- A personal comment or caption for your artwork
- Maximum file size: Up to 750 Kbytes
*Should your illustration be chosen for display, the above nickname (and your real name, if submitted), artwork title, and personal comment will appear along with your artwork.

Illustration Size: 1024x768

File Format: .JPG or .GIF

* Illustrations must be original pieces of art.
* Please attach only one illustration per e-mail. Contestants will be limited to only one submission.
* Contestants will not be notified directly of the contest results. Winners will be announced publicly in a Topics posting.

Warning

To avoid any complications concerning submissions, please read the following terms thoroughly. We ask that all contestants understand and agree to these terms prior to submitting their artwork. Square Enix will regard all submissions to the Fan Art Contest as implicit acceptance to these terms, without exception.

Regarding prizes:
Winning contestants may not transfer their claim to a prize to another individual/character.

Regarding personal information:
The personal information accompanying contest entries will be utilized in sending prizes to contest winners. In all regards, personal information will be handled with the utmost security in the same manner as laid forth in the guidelines of the PlayOnline User Agreement.

Regarding inappropriate submissions:
Entries falling under either of the below categories will not be considered by the judges:
- Artwork containing obscenity, vulgarity, discrimination, or any other offensive subject matter
- Artwork containing any plagiarized or copyrighted material
Infringements upon copyright/intellectual property, personal credit, privacy, etc.
- Counter to public order and/or morals
- Submissions with content judged to be grossly deviant from the established theme
- Depiction of characters not related to FINAL FANTASY XI
- Square Enix reserves the right to judge whether or not material is appropriate for public display
- Entries not containing all of the required information, or containing erroneous information

Regarding copyrights:

Each entrant must agree that the copyright to each entry is automatically assigned to and becomes the property of Square Enix upon submission. Entrants must agree that Square Enix will own all rights to use, modify, and make derivative works of the entries, without separate compensation to entrant or anyone else.
Each entrant must warrant and represent that (a) as between entrant and parties other than Square Enix, entrant own all rights to all submitted entries; and (b) other than the fact that all intellectual property embodied in and related to the FINAL FANTASY XI game, including all copyrighted works and trademarks and derivative works thereof, are the exclusive property of Square Enix, all such entries are original works of authorship on entrant's part and have not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work and do not violate, misappropriate, or infringe any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right of any other person or entity. Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Square Enix for any breach of this warranty or other action taken by entrant in connection with this contest.

*SQUARE ENIX OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES
All entries and other materials (the "Entry Materials") (including all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights associated therewith) submitted by you become the property of Square Enix upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any contestant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Square Enix will own all rights to use, modify, and make derivative works of the Entry Materials, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Square Enix's expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Square Enix to effect, perfect, or confirm Square Enix's ownership rights as set forth above in this paragraph. Entry Materials may be used by contestants only for purposes of the Contest or for private, personal, non-public viewing. Entry materials received by Square Enix may be destroyed by Square Enix at any time following the Contest.