D&D 5E D&D Beyond Cancels Competition

D&D Beyond has been running an art contest which asked creators to enter D&D-themed portrait frame. DDB got to use any or all of the entries, while the winner and some runners up received some digital content as a prize.

There was a backlash -- and DDB has cancelled the contest.

Thank you to all of our community for sharing your comments and concerns regarding our anniversary Frame Design Contest.

While we wanted to celebrate fan art as a part of our upcoming anniversary, it's clear that our community disagrees with the way we approached it. We've heard your feedback, and will be pulling the contest.

We will also strive to do better as we continue to look for ways to showcase the passion and creativity of our fellow D&D players and fans in the future. Our team will be taking this as a learning moment, and as encouragement to further educate ourselves in this pursuit.

Your feedback is absolutely instrumental to us, and we are always happy to listen and grow in response to our community's needs and concerns. Thank you all again for giving us the opportunity to review this event, and take the appropriate action.

The company went on to say:

Members of our community raised concerns about the contest’s impact on artists and designers, and the implications of running a contest to create art where only some entrants would receive a prize, and that the prize was exclusively digital material on D&D Beyond. Issues were similarly raised with regards to the contest terms and conditions. Though the entrants would all retain ownership of their design to use in any way they saw fit, including selling, printing, or reproducing, it also granted D&D Beyond rights to use submitted designs in the future. We have listened to these concerns, and in response closed the competition. We’ll be looking at ways we can better uplift our community, while also doing fun community events, in the future.

Competitions where the company in question acquires rights to all entries are generally frowned upon (unless you're WotC).

 

[ReshiIRE]

Then don't. Find some boring job where you sit in a cubicle and type numbers into one ERP system or another.

Without artists we literally would have nothing but boring crap. I don't want to live in a world like that. Do you?

Artists deserve proper compensation and recognition. It is a job that people often undertake that often doesn't work out - so we don't need companies making it worse while 'appearing' to be generous.

The fact people belittle them and go say "go get a boring / real job" is not just digusting, but just... silly beyond belief.

 

[Morrus]

Then don't. Find some boring job where you sit in a cubicle and type numbers into one ERP system or another.

It’s not a binary choice between working in a cubicle or being exploited, and statements like this try to normalise that it is. There is a big area in between those two extremes. For example — work as an artist and not be exploited.

 

[Mirtek]

If I go into a restaurant and see something "icky" on the menu I simply don't order that item. I don't demand that it be removed from the menu because I'm upset that someone else is going to get to eat something that I don't want.

Tell that to PETA or Vegan groups staging protest near some steak houses

Which this whole case here is reminding me off. Except that this time the steak house caved in and shut down, sending all people looking for a tasty steak away.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nonsense. I ran a competition for a one-shot RPG a few years back. Only one person won the $1000 but would have happily used most of them.

You are an exceptional case, then.

I've been a contest judge many times and in many cases, I seriously question why submissions were made and if the submitter actually understood the category they submitted to.

Theodore Sturgeon and I still say that 90% of contest entries are crap. (And I'm sure many of my entries over the years have been judged the same way.)

 

[BookTenTiger]

The point of this contest was to publicize a feature of DDB that the company incorrectly seems to think was going to be a big draw to bring in new customers. This wasn't a sinister plan to get people to draw a bunch of rings for free for them.

And they learned that this was not the appropriate way to promote that feature for their community. Don't take my word for it though, here's DndBeyond themselves:

While we wanted to celebrate fan art as a part of our upcoming anniversary, it's clear that our community disagrees with the way we approached it. We've heard your feedback, and will be pulling the contest.... We’ll be looking at ways we can better uplift our community, while also doing fun community events, in the future.

 

[Lanefan]

Nah, it's not predatory. The terms are pretty up front, and this is common practice among contests like this for as long as I remember.

Just because it's common doesn't make it right, and if the backlash now makes it less common in the future, all is good.

It's an unscrupulous way of doing it (in my opinion), but it's not predatory.

Fine line here between unscrupulous and predatory, and this stuff kinda straddles said line.

The right thing to do is pay all the artists if you use their work, whether they won or not.

Agreed.

 

[Mirtek]

They should continue to try to make a living as an artist,

And they should continue to do so while staying away from contests that are aimed at layman and not at (semi)professional artists.

Or if they feel threatened that the art coming out of the layman entering such contests is a threat to their earnings, they should re-consider whether their change of ever making a living of their art is realistic.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Artists deserve proper compensation and recognition.

Yes.

In what way has that been accomplished here?

DDB is not and was never going to be adding dozens of new character frames to their site. They are not going to now hire artists to do so.

This was all to publicize them adding character rings while they (I hope) work on more substantive improvements to their site. (When I run games using their die roller, the damned die rolls end up being cropped off the bottom of the browser window on both Chrome and Firefox, making it slower and less useful than just rolling my actual dice and making it more likely I'll just use someone else's virtual tabletop software.)

 

[Helldritch]

Nonsense. I ran a competition for a one-shot RPG a few years back. Only one person won the $1000 but would have happily used most of them.

Great! Now, how many of those would you actually hire and comission them to do artwork for you? Without that contest, how many would you actually have discovered to be great artist? My guess is none. These contests are for people to get known. The prize is good, but the chance to be known is actually worth a lot more. Especially if you present the 10 best pieces. It will attract the attention of potential customers for these artists. And coincidentally, might help young struggling artists to put butter on their bread.

 

[Morrus]

You are an exceptional case, then.

I've been a contest judge many times and in many cases, I seriously question why submissions were made and if the submitter actually understood the category they submitted to.

Theodore Sturgeon and I still say that 90% of contest entries are crap. (And I'm sure many of my entries over the years have been judged the same way.)

Honestly, man, I disagree with nearly everything you’ve said in this thread!