❁ February's Challenge at
I'm happy to anounce our fifth contest!
Since Valentines Day is coming,I've thought about giving you a perfect theme for it.
The tale of Cupid!
"Cupid and Psyche's narrative begins as most modern fairy tales do: with a kingdom, a daughter with an insurmountable burden over her head, a trial, and a subsequent moral. It is as follows: a king and queen give birth to three daughters, but only the third possesses unearthly beauty. Apuleius' text claimed that her beauty was so astounding the "poverty of language is unable to express its due praise." Rumors spread of this girl, Psyche's, astounding loveliness, eventually reaching the ears of the Roman goddess Venus. Angry that so many mortals were comparing Psyche's beauty to her own—and in many ways claiming that the mortal surpassed her—Venus calls upon her son Cupid to demand that he use one of his arrows of desire to ensure Psyche fall in love with a human monster.
Obedient as always to his mother, Cupid then descends to the earthly plane to do as she wishes. Yet he was so astonished himself by the mortal princess' beauty that he mistakenly shot himself. From that moment, Cupid was irrevocably in love with the princess. Around this time, it became evident to her parents that Psyche's attractiveness had angered the gods, as no mortal man would take her hand in marriage. Imploring the temple of Apollo, they learn that Psyche is destined for a much worse fate than celibacy: "The virgin is destined for the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the mountain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist." Psyche, conscious of the mistakes of her mortal kingdom for praising her so highly, is content to follow the oracle's advice.
From the top of the highest cliff, dressed in funerary garbs, Psyche is swept away by the west wind, Zephyr. She is brought to a striking valley, in the center of which stands a palace so magnificent it could not have been built by any hands other than the gods'. Surrounded by luscious trees with a crystalline fountain at its heart, Psyche soon comes to the conclusion that this golden hall is her new home, further reiterated by the voice of her new husband echoing through the halls. This faceless stranger begins to visit her in the night, every night, to make love to her in the darkness. But despite his nighttime tenderness, Psyche is haunted by the oracle's claim that he was a monster.
When allowing her two sisters to visit, they are jealous of her beautiful home and insist that Psyche's husband really is a monster and she owes it to herself to find out. So Psyche is convinced to break her husband's only request of allowing his face to remain a secret and look upon him in the night. In doing so, she damns their relationship.
A single drop of oil falls from the candle Psyche lights to gaze at his face, waking him, and Cupid, in all his majestic beauty, flees their home, distressed by her betrayal. Distraught, Psyche goes in search of her husband, traveling for many days, until she comes to the temple of Ceres, the motherly goddess of grain.
Ceres instructs Psyche to surrender herself to Venus and take whatever ill will the goddess throws at her. Obeying Ceres' advice, Psyche is thus given three seemingly impossible tasks to complete. First, the princess has to separate the grains of Venus' temple's storehouse into piles of barley, millet, beans, etc. Second, Psyche has to steal golden wool from a herd of sheep; third and finally, Psyche is ordered to travel into the underworld and request from Queen Proserpina a little of her beauty to pass along to the goddess of love. This task, however, demands a further challenge: that Psyche keeps the box in which the beauty is placed tightly closed, for fear of terrible repercussions.
Unknown to Psyche, throughout these trails, Cupid is constantly at her aid. He instructs ants to help her sort the grains; and then the river god offers her instructions of how to steal the prize fleece from the shepherd. Finally, Psyche is given divine advice on how to surpass the dangers of Hades.
Her failure—foretold by Venus herself—comes when Psyche, greatly upset by the trials she had to overcome, opens the box and is overcome by the Stygian sleep, a sleep so strong she is considered the living dead. By that point, Cupid has had enough of his separation from his wife, and he flies to her rescue, lifting her sleeping form to the heavens, and pleading with the great god Jupiter to talk sense into his mother. Venus lifts her terrible curse from the girl, and once Psyche is awake, she is transformed into an immortal, and is properly wed to the young god of desire."
❁ RULES!❁
You must be a member to to participate.Join us!
Media:We accept Photomanipulations,Digital Art or even Traditional Art.
Your artwork must be new and created specially for this contest.
All entries must include a link to this journal and the group icon in the description.
Entries are limited to 2 submissions per artist but only ONE entry can win.
No excessive violence, racism, gore etc. Nudity and dark art are welcome, as long as your artwork is made with good artistic taste.
Credit all stocks you used with a direct link. Always read terms and conditions on how you may use the stock.
All stock and resources must come from legitimate sources.
No DA watermark, just your little signature.
WRITE IN YOUR ARTWORKS'S DESCRIPTION THE LEVEL IN WHICH YOU ARE PARTICIPATING!
Levels: Beginner:your just starting out and you still have problems with things like depth of field and even shadows. You see yourself as having a ways to go before becoming comfortable with what you are doing.
Intermediate:you are more comfortable with your programs but are still learning the ropes. things are coming easier and you are not to the point where you consider yourself a pro.
Advanced:You are more sure of your skills and things come easy to you. You haven't mastered it all but you are confident and thing don't take as long as they once did.
If you are not sure of your skills level,I will gladly help you to choose the right one for you.
Submit your entries to the
We reserve the right to decline any work with too poor quality, or if it doesn't meet the rules of the contest and doesn't fit its theme.
Prizes
If anyone can donate any:
points
exclusive/premium stocks
features
let me know in the comments bellow or send me a note.
Mariaelisabetta
We will have 3 winners,one in each category!
All winners will receive 1 exclusive stock from
All winners will receive 1 exclusive stock from
All winners will receive 1 exclusive background stock from
All the winners will receive a feature from
jiajenn
All the winners will receive llamas from jiajenn
And please, add this journal to your favorites,so that other people can see it.We will appreciate it!