BIONICLE Canon Contest #3: Honor Guard, Part 2 (Art) + Part 1 Winners

[Sharnak]

So, Exo-Toa is a no-go.

But what if…

[Rukah]

Is that thing even canon?

[Sharnak]

Of course it’s canon, it has one on it’s underside.

[Rukah]

that’s not what I meant

[GoodGuy2006]

yes
i want to see kualus on one

[darkbrick999]

We could make it canon.

(Just to be clear, I’m being seni-sarcastic, since I know back-door canonization is something to be avoided in these contest. It would be pretty awesome, though.)

[Takutanuva]

Make it canon? Idk seems like a long-shot.
(This is a pun)

[ToaArcan]

It’s all academic at this point, but there are situations wherein a Toa’s powers wouldn’t be helpful, but an Exo-Toa’s brute strength and heavy weaponry would. For example, a Ta-Toa fighting an opponent resistant or immune to Fire, like, say, a Makuta, or another Fire elemental. A battalion of Exo-Toa would be a godsend for dealing with Marendar.

I agree that we’ve never seen the Toa Hagah using Exo-Toa and therefore the latter shouldn’t feature in the contest entries, even for characters we already know the appearance of. But I think saying “Toa would never use Exo-Toa because of the detrimental effect on their powers” is a bit too restrictive.

I mean it’s not like we haven’t seen Toa nerf their own powers in favour of destructive technology before: Kongu “Two Hands” Mahri outright threw away his power-channelling Toa Tool in favour of a second gun, man would’ve absolutely hopped in an Exo-Toa if one had somehow made its way to the Pit.

[Ghid]

@ToaArcan

For example, a Ta-Toa fighting an opponent resistant or immune to Fire, like, say, a Makuta, or another Fire elemental. A battalion of Exo-Toa would be a godsend for dealing with Marendar.

These are some pretty extraneous circumstances. There are many more things you could do if you were aware of your opponent’s strengths prior to conflict, like bring another Toa or set a trap. As well, Kongu is an exception to the rule in many ways, and while it would be completely realistic to see him take an exo-toa at the first opportunity, it’s also realistic to say any Toa trying to do some serious Toa-ing would not utilize them under normal circumstances.

[Voxovan]

I mean, they wouldn’t be called “Exo-Toa” if they weren’t meant to be used by Toa.

[Aspie_Gamer]

@Eljay

4e. Artwork cannot significantly modify the aesthetics of the original MOC, either by omission or addition, and must follow the color scheme of the original MOC as closely as possible. For example, additional limbs or significant color shifts would not be allowed.

I’m confused a bit by this rule since I’ve been seeing discussion of giving Toa Kualus gunmetal gray armor or Toa Pouks metallic blue armor to have them match up better in terms of color cohesion.

Would changing either of their armor colors to better match up with the other be in violation of this rule or not?

[TheJerminator]

@Aspie_Gamer

Would changing either of their armor colors to better match up with the other be in violation of this rule or not?

Generally yes, but not for the Toa Hagah.

There were concerns before the contest began regarding the “cohesion” of the Toa Hagah as a team if they were all designed individually, so a special rule was made for this contest that allows the artists to change certain aspects of the winning MOCs (with the creator’s permission) to improve the balance of those aspects amongst the team.

[Takhamavahu]

We’re going to either have to discuss the canon implications of a mask which is not the official Faxon, but looks too close to it to be anything else, or allow the artists to at least change it to the standard one.

This mask seems to come from a popular trend of 3D modellers making non-aquatic versions of Toa Mahri masks, but taking creative liberties that go well beyond just taking off the scuba stuff. Whether entrants have a right to incidentally canonize these artistic liberties is discussion that’s going to come up before we do Nidhiki.

Personally I think the consent rule should be stretched so artists can at least use the canon Faxon. But I’d also support calling it an unknown mask that just happens to look a lot like Faxon but isn’t.

[Dag]

@Takhamavahu

We’re going to either have to discuss the canon implications of a mask which is not the official Faxon, but looks too close to it to be anything else, or allow the artists to at least change it to the standard one.

I agree, which is why this should be asked:

@Eljay

@pack

My question is whether the set-in-stone mask designs must 100% be the design used in the entry photograph, or if there can there be modifications made to areas of the mask not visible in the entry photograph?

Not accounting for stylization, yes, you need to use the pieces shown in the entry photos. But pieces not shown (such as Pouks’ knee armor), we’re allowing for modification.

What exactly falls under stylization and would that include changing Bomonga’s mask to the official Faxon? This also applies to the Mask of Sensory Aptitude for Kualus with the varying models, such as Galva’s.

[KDNX]

All of the winning models have given consent for their metallic color to be changed, so you’ll be fine changing them.

[Willess12]

@Takhamavahu

Whether entrants have a right to incidentally canonize these artistic liberties is discussion that’s going to come up before we do Nidhiki.

We already know what Nidhiki’s mask looks like. It looks just like Mazeka’s.

[JustinArtCheng]

I should probably draw some bionicles

[KDNX]

do it!

[Dag]

@Willess12

You gotta love how an entry that didn’t even follow the rules won.

@Eljay

Feature a shield. Art must render the specific Hagah Shield piece, and MOCs may opt for a custom shield. It must be either held in one hand or on a characters back.

@Voyager

It’s fixed in Double’s topic

@Willess12

Um, no it isn’t.
The main picture on Double’s topic still has the shield on the back of his hand. It always has.

@Wolk

We want them to be held, displayed, and posed in the same stature as Norik and Iruini. That’s the whole point behind the stipulation. I get that it doesn’t make sense to some of you, but there’s a precedent set for how the Toa in G1 wield shields and we want to follow it.

Keep in mind: there’s nothing stopping you from including alternative storage methods, action shots, slamming the shield down, etc. or whatever you want as alternative photos in your MoC topic. We love seeing cool stuff, and it could help sell your creation and show it off. Your entry photo, though, has to have the shield be held in the hand or stored on the back.

They connect to the hand via the thick throwbot foot, does that not count as being in the hand?

Unfortunately not. It’s the same way as wearing a watch on your wrist and having free movement in your fingers doesn’t count as the watch being in your hand. The fact that we can see their fingers automatically makes it a no-go. The type of connection we’re looking for is in keeping with Norik and Iruini and how they hold their shields; at least, for the entry photo.
Toa Hagah Canon Contest Ruleset Feedback - #437 by Mesonak

@Ghid

…Heeeeey, this is a good point. Is Double’s invalidated? That piece can’t be both the hand and the forearm. @Eljay @Mesonak

@Eljay @Mesonak We’re about half way through the entry period for the art contest with still no official word on the validity of Bomonga, and we need one sooner than later. If it’s not an issue, let us know. If it is, then temporarily delay the art contest until it is resolved. But letting this continue without a definitive answer could, at the very worst, entirely invalidate every art entry.

[SirKeksalot]

I think they would have said something by now if they cared, and frankly, it doesn’t actually matter. Just slightly mod the model to fit a rhotuka launcher, problem solved, everyone go the ■■■■ home. This is inconsequential and unimportant.