Official Hairstyle Design Contest 2023

[Iscah]

Lodestone link for information and submitting entries:

Announcing the Hairstyle Design Contest 2023! (NA)

Announcing the Hairstyle Design Contest 2023! (EU)


The competition is open from now until:

NA: Monday, August 21, 2023 at 7:59 a.m. (PDT)

EU: Monday, 21 August 2023 at 14:59 (GMT) / 15:59 (BST)

OC: Tuesday, 22 August 2023 at 00:59 (AEST)


I won't copy-paste the rest of the information here as it seems better to keep it on the official page than risk leaving something out.

However, two key things to note are that you can submit three entries, and you must not post them on social media (or presumably the internet in general) until the results have been announced, or you may be disqualified.

[Fourbestintoner]

Lolmao, cringe.

[Mimilu]

I wish we didn't have to use the templates. (＠￣Д￣＠；)
I'm sure its to prevent people from just posting AI art but I already made my own template with a front, side, and back view.
Plus, my go-to art program is Adobe Illustrator, trying to make vector shapes around a flat JPG sucks. (✿˵≖ ‸ ≖˵)

[Theodric]

Lolmao, cringe.

Yep. They didn't have an issue using the term 'male' and 'female' in previous hairstyle contests. I really hope that isn't indicative of the game planning to replace 'male' and 'female' in the character creation system with the worryingly clinical 'Type A' and 'Type B'. I checked the other announcements on the lodestone and it's the same in the French and Japanese versions of the contest.

As a gay guy who likes masculine men, it's pretty damn tiresome that this game seems to chip away at opportunities to leave feedback suggesting that more masculine aesthetics designed with men in mind first and foremost are added to the game.

There's been plenty of topics requesting just that over the years, too, since I've posted in a lot of them.

Perhaps a better compromise would have been to split the categories into masculine, feminine and androgynous. That way a broader variety of personal tastes could be accounted for.

[Kacho_Nacho]

I'm confused. S.E. wants a front, side, and back image of the hairstyle, and they require the use of Template A or B, but the templates only show a front 3/4 view and a back 3/4 view.

So, how can anyone fulfil the requirements? If you do exactly what they say, you won't be able to show the left side of your hair design.

[Avoidy]

I'm curious if the templates being Hyur is why so many hairstyles look malformed when they have to contend with au ra horns or hrothgar skulls.
Like, if this is the template they start from in their design process, no wonder we got things like the lyse hair looking great on female middies but looking skewed on female au ra.

What a bizarre decision. In either case I hope someone with artistic talent submits some long hairs and cute ponytails anyway. I definitely will enter but I feel like mine will look like crap especially since it's limited to this bizarre template.

[Rikizza]

I'm curious if the templates being Hyur is why so many hairstyles look malformed when they have to contend with au ra horns or hrothgar skulls.
Like, if this is the template they start from in their design process, no wonder we got things like the lyse hair looking great on female middies but looking skewed on female au ra.

What a bizarre decision. In either case I hope someone with artistic talent submits some long hairs and cute ponytails anyway. I definitely will enter but I feel like mine will look like crap especially since it's limited to this bizarre template.

EXACTLY my thought too! I feel like all the hairs they add look wierd on Au ra. :/ i wish they had a template for each race or something. I need a hair that doesnt make my au ra look like a wide flat egghead

[RitsukoSonoda]

I'm curious if the templates being Hyur is why so many hairstyles look malformed when they have to contend with au ra horns or hrothgar skulls.
Like, if this is the template they start from in their design process, no wonder we got things like the lyse hair looking great on female middies but looking skewed on female au ra.

What a bizarre decision. In either case I hope someone with artistic talent submits some long hairs and cute ponytails anyway. I definitely will enter but I feel like mine will look like crap especially since it's limited to this bizarre template.

A few are also flubbed a bit due to Miqo'te ears since we don't have ears in the normal human location on our heads.

[Avoidy]

A few are also flubbed a bit due to Miqo'te ears since we don't have ears in the normal human location on our heads.

EXACTLY my thought too! I feel like all the hairs they add look wierd on Au ra. :/ i wish they had a template for each race or something. I need a hair that doesnt make my au ra look like a wide flat egghead

I have submitted a ponytail design with these exact concerns in mind. I even wrote them in the feedback section of the template.
My design was a very basic guideline for the kind of hairstyle I want to see, so I doubt it'll win. But I hope they at least read the feedback.

[CienFleur]

This Competition Must Be A Yearly Thing IMO, I Need More Male Hairstyles And Facial Hair Options