undersprite

[undersprite]

It's midnight on May 10th, and the character design contest has officially begun! Join the Discord server linked above and make a character for any of the four categories to enter!

It begins once again...!

Look alive, sunshine!

That's right, we're back to remind you that this party's still happening and everyone's still invited. I'm once again your gracious host @chaos-fantazy, ready to leave last year behind me and do everything in my power to make this our biggest AU contest yet. I'm joined by Differentopic owner @gonzalogamer128, co-creator of last year's winner "Knock Knock," @starlightshore, and @g0at0ad, who has too many potential claims to fame that listing them all here would take far too long.

You'll notice I didn't say "AU comic contest," though. That's because, for the first time, we will be running a second contest in parallel to our usual comic contest—an AU character design contest, the perfect way for you to participate even if you don't have the time to write a full comic. Spearheading the judge panel for that contest is @creatoonz, Flaredust and r2d2kx100. That contest will begin on Saturday, May 10th, about a month from now—but you can go ahead and start your preparations now!

If you'd like to know more, join our Discord server to find the full rules and keep up-to date on everything...or find more info under the cut!

Huh? What? AU Contest???

This contest is dedicated to celebrating how this fandom told stories to each other when it was first starting out—sprite comics, which, as their name implies, are a web comic that uses sprites rather than drawn artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. They're commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

Like a game jam, this contest invites people to produce Undertale/Deltarune AU comics (And design AU characters!). Being a contest, there are prizes and glory on the line for the winners, but in the end, what it's really about is the chance for people to get creative. If you’ve ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games’ characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it…this is the excuse you need!

Sorry, you mentioned prizes?

After last year, to minimize potential complications, I've been working with the judge panel to establish our prize pool ahead of time:

The character design contest is slated to have four categories; the winner of each category will have their winning character illustrated by one of our judges. (Who will draw which exactly is still a bit up in the air, but they'll definitely be available!)

The second- and third-place comics will receive an illustration from either G0at0ad or r2d2kx100 of a character of their choice, with simple background.

The grand prize for the winning comic will be a full-scale illustration from Starlight, complete with a background and up to two characters—giving you the opportunity to see one of your favorite scenes from the comic brought to life!

Sounds cool! How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof.

The character design contest begins on May 10th and will run up through the end of June—slightly overlapping with the comic contest, which will start at the beginning of June and end at the end of August. I'll make announcement posts here when each contest begins and close to when they're ending, too.

It's my sincerest hope to see all of you there!

[undersprite]

It begins once again...!

Look alive, sunshine!

That's right, we're back to remind you that this party's still happening and everyone's still invited. I'm once again your gracious host @chaos-fantazy, ready to leave last year behind me and do everything in my power to make this our biggest AU contest yet. I'm joined by Differentopic owner @gonzalogamer128, co-creator of last year's winner "Knock Knock," @starlightshore, and @g0at0ad, who has too many potential claims to fame that listing them all here would take far too long.

You'll notice I didn't say "AU comic contest," though. That's because, for the first time, we will be running a second contest in parallel to our usual comic contest—an AU character design contest, the perfect way for you to participate even if you don't have the time to write a full comic. Spearheading the judge panel for that contest is @creatoonz, Flaredust and r2d2kx100. That contest will begin on Saturday, May 10th, about a month from now—but you can go ahead and start your preparations now!

If you'd like to know more, join our Discord server to find the full rules and keep up-to date on everything...or find more info under the cut!

Huh? What? AU Contest???

This contest is dedicated to celebrating how this fandom told stories to each other when it was first starting out—sprite comics, which, as their name implies, are a web comic that uses sprites rather than drawn artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. They're commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

Like a game jam, this contest invites people to produce Undertale/Deltarune AU comics (And design AU characters!). Being a contest, there are prizes and glory on the line for the winners, but in the end, what it's really about is the chance for people to get creative. If you’ve ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games’ characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it…this is the excuse you need!

Sorry, you mentioned prizes?

After last year, to minimize potential complications, I've been working with the judge panel to establish our prize pool ahead of time:

The character design contest is slated to have four categories; the winner of each category will have their winning character illustrated by one of our judges. (Who will draw which exactly is still a bit up in the air, but they'll definitely be available!)

The second- and third-place comics will receive an illustration from either G0at0ad or r2d2kx100 of a character of their choice, with simple background.

The grand prize for the winning comic will be a full-scale illustration from Starlight, complete with a background and up to two characters—giving you the opportunity to see one of your favorite scenes from the comic brought to life!

Sounds cool! How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof.

The character design contest begins on May 10th and will run up through the end of June—slightly overlapping with the comic contest, which will start at the beginning of June and end at the end of August. I'll make announcement posts here when each contest begins and close to when they're ending, too.

It's my sincerest hope to see all of you there!

[undersprite]

2025 Judge Application Form

Last year, I employed an application form in order to select judges to assist me in the comic rating process. While the judges chosen this year have served me quite well, they have expressed they would rather be entrants than judges in next year's contest, and there's a new character design contest sideshow that will need its own set of judges besides.

(Oh yeah, I guess I haven't announced that yet here, huh? Well, full details pending, but hopefully it'll be a decent alternative to people who wish to participate but can't dedicate the amount of time making a sprite comic requires.)

Anyway, to that end, I'm taking this judge application form even more public this year, hoping to cast as wide a net as possible so we can get the judges we need for next year's contests. Please spread this around to anyone you think might be interested!

[undersprite]

2024 Contest Postmortem

This is more of a personal post, where I'll be discussing my impressions on how this contest went and future plans for the Sprite Comic Contest.

Avid followers of this contest will remember that in 2021, when we saw only half the entrants we saw the previous year in 2020, we conducted an exit poll to attempt to address issues people had with the contest so that more entrants would be able to participate. Despite complications and other priorities getting in the way, I was able to run the contest again this year and make good on the things the exit poll promised.

In this regard, at least, I am incredibly grateful to have run the contest as well as I possibly could, and my gratitude towards our entrants holds true. However, the fact remains: despite these efforts, scores of users dropped out during the submission period, and we had even fewer entrants than the 2021 contest, going down from six to four.

There are many factors that contribute to our decreasing turnouts, but one of the two most important ones is just that…people in the UTDR fandom don't seem to be interested in the sprite comic as a storytelling medium anymore. Many of the old blood who were around when the tradition started no longer have the time to devote to it, and newer would-be contenders are more interested in other mediums like hand-drawn comics or sprite animations.

Perhaps the humble sprite comic has served its purpose in this fanbase. Perhaps it would be wiser of me to simply accept that, regardless of my personal passion for the medium.

But, then again, when have I ever been wise?

After all, I think the other big reason attendance was low is because people weren't ready for the sprite comic contest to suddenly come back. Despite my efforts to spread the news as far as I'm personally able to, there were demonstrably people who were unaware of the contest's existence until it was too late (Most exemplified by FutureGamer25).

Next year will be Undertale's 10th anniversary. We might even have the next part of Deltarune to build off of by then. Will any of that excitement reach this contest? I wish I knew. What I do know is that I have to run this contest one more time, if for no other reason than giving the people who wanted to submit this year but couldn't one more shot.

We'll be back next year, running our same main contest at the same time. In the meantime, unlike previous off-seasons, our Discord server will remain open so anyone can join in, ask questions and provide feedback on how to make this next contest the best it can be.

"…Wait. Main contest?" How astute of you, FAQ sock-puppet. There will be more than just sprite comics to make next year.

[undersprite]

Those of you who have been reading "Knock Knock," please share some love with its creators! (As you might be able to tell, this is far from their first rodeo; they have plenty of other works to check out!)

Hey! My friend Tomo and I made a one-shot sprite fancomic together! Please check it out, it was super fun to make.

[undersprite]

2024 Comic Contest Results

Before we get started, I would like to extend a personal thank you to everyone who created an entry for the contest this year. Although we only got four entries this year, those four entries' dedication to telling stories that are novel and interesting for this community to enjoy is worthy of commendation in itself. For a while, I was scared we wouldn't even get enough entries to fill the podium; thanks to your efforts, this has not come to pass.

Since we have very few entries this time around, I'll be providing a link to each comic, with accompanying scores and excerpts from reviews. Now, catch the results under the cut:

Runner-Up: "The Undertale Game Comic" by FutureGamer25

(Average score: 15.5/50)

"As the submitter says, this was made in a day. I can’t be too hard on this out of principle..." - Soufon

"[...it] succeeded at making me laugh multiple times, thanks in no small part to how it deliberately wields nothing looking like it fits together." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"You know, honestly for being made in less than a day and being posted 5 minutes before the deadline, I gotta give you a lot of credit for that. I don’t even think I could have made that in a day [...]" - Mufeet

"The freaking car and the ending got me a good chuckle. I'll give you that. I congratulate you for tossing your coin." - Subna

3rd: "Frisk Visits the Store and Nothing Happens" by Trooper3

(Average score: 34/50)

"I thought Sans and ESPECIALLY Papyrus were super funny [...] I think we’ve finally reached a point where the skele-bros are just consistently characterized properly now, and I love to see it." - Mufeet

"The FunMart[TM] makes an earnest effort to capture the feeling of exploring an area in an actual Toby Fox game, and [...] captures at least a bit of that shine." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"I honestly like your idea, is funny and it works perfectly to show these OCs of yours in this format. I wish there was more content to see about them, I wish to know them [...]" - Subna

"As light as it is, I like having this kind of slice of life look into UT’s world, the comedy focus helping to make the comic feel more breezy than insubstantial." - Soufon

2nd: "Undertale: Pushing On" by Mouse

(Average score: 34.75/50)

"Of all the entries we got, this is the only one that really felt like it captured the essence of telling a story as if it were still part of a game—something I have sorely missed." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"Great story and great teaching from it. Can add up greatly to UNDERTALE’s world and...tbh I’d LOVE to play a full game with Alvia." - Subna

"[...] I like having who [Gerson] is in UT be because of Alvia’s actions, like how the orange soul kid is framed as responsible for the bunny family in Snowdin’s success - having all the soul humans impact the underground like that helps all of them feel real to UT’s world[...]" -Soufon

"I was captivated from beginning to end, and god, the ending [...] it actually made me a bit teary-eyed." - Mufeet

1st: "Knock Knock" by StarlightShores and ToMoChao

(Average score: 47/50)

"I was not expecting something like this out of this contest. Knock Knock is a substantial storyline, not a peek into an adventure, or a silly reprieve." - Soufon

"Even if it’s pretty lengthy, it keeps you engaged, to know where this is all going, all the way to the end." - Subna

"Flowey and Sans pair-ups are so rare, but when done it is ALWAYS such a fun time. They both play off each other so well, and it is no exception in this comic, especially towards the end where they start to bond over dealing with the loss of someone important to them." - Mufeet

"You created a story going on a thousand panels where, while reading it, my attention never flagged [...] You created a webcomic the Undertale fanbase will, if there’s any justice left around here, be obsessed with for years to come. It’s art, I’m afraid." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

Our full score card for the event can be seen here. The full reviews will be available in the Discord server on request.

With regards to prizes: the judge whom was contributing to our prize pool has begun college for the year, and unfortunately they were unable to set aside the money they had originally promised for the cash prize. The illustration prize is still available; winners, please reach out to fmsdraws on Discord to claim your prize.

And that leaves me...with this blog.

I'd like to write up a proper postmortem for this experience, but that can come in another week or two. For now, please enjoy the comics and celebrate the victors!

[undersprite]

Submissions are closed!

Reviews and comics alike will be available here when the judging process is complete.

[undersprite]

There's still one month left to put together an entry to the contest—if you hurry, there's still time! We're looking forward to seeing everyone's entries!

...

Ah, jeez, did anyone remember to dust in here while I was away?

Hello, everyone—CHAOS_FANTAZY here, former entrant and judge to the Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic contest. It's been a while since the previous one hosted in 2021, but I've been thinking about running this contest again ever since.

So why not now?

As of right now, I've reopened the official contest Discord server in preparation for the 3rd """annual""" comic contest—slated to run throughout the summer, with the submission period running from June through August. I'm making this post to inform everyone of the contest's return, with all the general information given below:

Huh? What? Sprite Comic Contest? I don't understand anything!

A sprite comic, as its name suggests, is a web comic that uses sprites rather than artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. This is commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

This is a contest to produce a sprite comic about Undertale or Deltarune—a game jam but with comics, as it were. If you've ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games' characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it...this is the excuse you need!

Who's running this show now?

As aforementioned, it's me, CHAOS_FANTAZY! I'm joined by a panel of three volunteer judges, Mufeet, Subna, and Soufon (Whom, much like myself, has no major social media platforms). All four of us are not only long-time Undertale fans who can remember when sprite comics were a highly popular storytelling format, but also participants in previous sprite comic contests!

What's in it for me?

Although he's no longer directly involved in running the contest, the former host @fmsdraws has graciously offered to supply it with illustrated prizes. Additionally, we have a small cash prize pool to distribute among the top three (Via Paypal/Cashapp, or an alternative if both of these are unavailable to the winner):

First place will receive $25, and a custom illustration with up to two characters from Fms.

Second place will receive $15, and a one-character custom illustration from Fms.

Third place will receive $10, and a custom sprite from Fms.

Additional prizes may be added to this pool over the next week or so; this post will be edited to reflect these changes.

How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof. (The original contest's rules are here, but there have been some revisions and modernizations made since.)

As aforementioned, the contest is planned to run through August—make sure you get your submission in by 11:59 PM EST on August 31st!

That's all for now. Good luck, everyone!

[undersprite]

It's midnight on June 1st EST, which means the submission period has officially begun! Good luck bringing your ideas to life, everyone!

...

Ah, jeez, did anyone remember to dust in here while I was away?

Hello, everyone—CHAOS_FANTAZY here, former entrant and judge to the Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic contest. It's been a while since the previous one hosted in 2021, but I've been thinking about running this contest again ever since.

So why not now?

As of right now, I've reopened the official contest Discord server in preparation for the 3rd """annual""" comic contest—slated to run throughout the summer, with the submission period running from June through August. I'm making this post to inform everyone of the contest's return, with all the general information given below:

Huh? What? Sprite Comic Contest? I don't understand anything!

A sprite comic, as its name suggests, is a web comic that uses sprites rather than artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. This is commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

This is a contest to produce a sprite comic about Undertale or Deltarune—a game jam but with comics, as it were. If you've ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games' characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it...this is the excuse you need!

Who's running this show now?

As aforementioned, it's me, CHAOS_FANTAZY! I'm joined by a panel of three volunteer judges, Mufeet, Subna, and Soufon (Whom, much like myself, has no major social media platforms). All four of us are not only long-time Undertale fans who can remember when sprite comics were a highly popular storytelling format, but also participants in previous sprite comic contests!

What's in it for me?

Although he's no longer directly involved in running the contest, the former host @fmsdraws has graciously offered to supply it with illustrated prizes. Additionally, we have a small cash prize pool to distribute among the top three (Via Paypal/Cashapp, or an alternative if both of these are unavailable to the winner):

First place will receive $25, and a custom illustration with up to two characters from Fms.

Second place will receive $15, and a one-character custom illustration from Fms.

Third place will receive $10, and a custom sprite from Fms.

Additional prizes may be added to this pool over the next week or so; this post will be edited to reflect these changes.

How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof. (The original contest's rules are here, but there have been some revisions and modernizations made since.)

As aforementioned, the contest is planned to run through August—make sure you get your submission in by 11:59 PM EST on August 31st!

That's all for now. Good luck, everyone!

[undersprite]

...

Ah, jeez, did anyone remember to dust in here while I was away?

Hello, everyone—CHAOS_FANTAZY here, former entrant and judge to the Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic contest. It's been a while since the previous one hosted in 2021, but I've been thinking about running this contest again ever since.

So why not now?

As of right now, I've reopened the official contest Discord server in preparation for the 3rd """annual""" comic contest—slated to run throughout the summer, with the submission period running from June through August. I'm making this post to inform everyone of the contest's return, with all the general information given below:

Huh? What? Sprite Comic Contest? I don't understand anything!

A sprite comic, as its name suggests, is a web comic that uses sprites rather than artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. This is commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

This is a contest to produce a sprite comic about Undertale or Deltarune—a game jam but with comics, as it were. If you've ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games' characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it...this is the excuse you need!

Who's running this show now?

As aforementioned, it's me, CHAOS_FANTAZY! I'm joined by a panel of three volunteer judges, Mufeet, Subna, and Soufon (Whom, much like myself, has no major social media platforms). All four of us are not only long-time Undertale fans who can remember when sprite comics were a highly popular storytelling format, but also participants in previous sprite comic contests!

What's in it for me?

Although he's no longer directly involved in running the contest, the former host @fmsdraws has graciously offered to supply it with illustrated prizes. Additionally, we have a small cash prize pool to distribute among the top three (Via Paypal/Cashapp, or an alternative if both of these are unavailable to the winner):

First place will receive $25, and a custom illustration with up to two characters from Fms.

Second place will receive $15, and a one-character custom illustration from Fms.

Third place will receive $10, and a custom sprite from Fms.

Additional prizes may be added to this pool over the next week or so; this post will be edited to reflect these changes.

How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof. (The original contest's rules are here, but there have been some revisions and modernizations made since.)

As aforementioned, the contest is planned to run through August—make sure you get your submission in by 11:59 PM EST on August 31st!

That's all for now. Good luck, everyone!

[undersprite]

2021's Winner is...!

I would like to congratulate everyone who participated on this year's events! Admittedly, this year's contest yielded less entries, but on the other hand, the entries this year had a lot of effort put into them.

Even so, I recognize that there are things we need to improve on the team as hosts as far as the contest is concerned. That being said, we will now proceed to list off the winners!

1st. Lancer's Really Cool Birthday Party For My Dad That's In Jail (FT. My Best Friend) - By Ellis and TmntLeo

Writing Fidelity: 49/60 Art Fidelity: 60/60 Pacing/Lenght: 33/40 Creativity: 37/40

"LRCBPFMDTIJ (jesus that's a mouthful) is one of the best comics in the contest. Though it suffers from being a first part and the story being left incomplete, the content on display is meaty enough to make up for it. The writing is pretty sharp, and it is a visual treat. Easily the best, though, again, I have to take out points for being a part 1. " -Fms

"[...] They've managed to demonstrate the power of teamwork and dedication, both in the comic and in its development, and it's something that I think is fantastic." -Subna

"[...] I haven’t got much else to say. Just a really strong, solid entry." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

2nd. Afterwards - By Superkirbylover

Writing Fidelity: 41/60 Art Fidelity: 48/60 Pacing/Lenght: 31/40 Creativity: 32/40

"SKL’s Afterward was pretty good, if not a bit bogged down by the ending. The Alphys stinger at the end did leave a bitter taste in my mouth for the wrong reasons, I feel as though it could have been cut, and the comic would have been better off for it. I don’t particularly like how Alphys is so open about her feelings. That being said, the rest of the comic makes up for it. Visually it is pretty similar to UT, but the amount of animations, expressions, and original poses for the characters are charming and really gives it an edge. It is just a solid entry that manages to stand up on its own terms." - Fms

"Oof. That was heavy. It’s honestly a little difficult for me to fairly evaluate such an emotionally charged story, but, hey, “Story That Makes You Sad” made me sad, so mission accomplished, I guess! [...] Other than that, I have to say I’m very pleased with this, and even more pleased to know I inspired it." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"[...] That said, the comic is presented very concise, and the spritework plus the animations seem great to me, especially the Frisk sprite being lifted by Toriel and how consistent it remains, [...] I thought it was great, no absolute complaint at this point." - Subna

3rd. Sans' Night - MultiSoulZero

Writing Fidelity: 45/60 Art Fidelity: 26/60 Pacing/Lenght: 35/40 Creativity: 30/40

"Sans’ Night was the most pleasant surprise from this contest. It’s a simple premise executed wonderfully, a stand up comedy act from the skeleton himself. The visuals have a lot of little blemishes (the text box borders changing constantly, for instance) that add up. The comic only takes place in one room, and there’s not a lot of movement involved in it. The visuals are sufficient to carry the writing, but they feel lackluster in comparison to other comics. The comic is also really simple and there’s not much of a plot. But it absolutely nails what it tries to do, and I believe it deserves credit for achieving it. The writing feels in character, and it’s pretty entertaining, and it’s entirely self contained. … Though, being honest, the fact that this is one of the best comics in the contest is slightly upsetting. Still, a good read." - Fms

"[...] It’s almost fiendishly brilliant to make a comic like this—doing the absolute bare minimum so there’s nothing to poke holes into. If it’s all a meta-joke about how that’s what Sans himself would do, then this comic is utter genius, but I really can’t go as far as to assume that. As is, I have to say that I hate that this is one of the stronger entrants in the contest." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"……….Jesus christ. You actually did a 50+ panel comic of Sans doing a comedy show, wild. I admit that the first time I read it my impression was more negative than anything, probably because the screen does not show much more than Sans walking from one side to another, but after giving each comic a second reading, and talking to the rest of judges on each entry, it was there when I noticed that the strength of the comic was in your writing." - Subna

That being said, due to the amount of judges and opinions, we did not have the time to put a comprehensive document with all of the reviews in one place.

We will release it in due time, ideally before the day ends. But, for the time being, have this spreadsheet:

Thank you for participating! We hope we can grow to improve this contest next year.

[undersprite]

i'm finally allowed to share this

a few days ago i finished my first AU comic, Afterwards. it's about what happens when frisk dies to toriel and doesn't reload

i made it to enter the @undersprite comic contest, and for once it wasn't humor based.

please give it a read!! i tried my best haha

all edited sprites are made by me, o' course

if anything is made for this, just tag it with #ut afterwards

link to read here

[undersprite]

There is (more or less) a month left! Be sure to join.

Huzzah! The contest begins again!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to formerly welcome you to… The Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic fan contest! 

(… wait, haven’t I said this before?) 

That’s right! We are hosting yet another sprite comic contest this year! Due to COVID-19 last year, the contest did, understandably, not turn out as expected. But now that the waters have eased a bit, I feel comfortable in restarting the contest!

What’s the contest about?

I’m glad you asked, hypothetical member of the audience! This contest is about making your own Undertale or Deltarune (or any AU really) sprite comic, alone or with one friend, and competing for first place! It’s sort of like a Game Jam, but with sprite comics!

What’s a sprite comic?

A sprite comic is commonly known as utilizing sprites instead of drawn artwork to convey a story in a comic format. In the Undertale community, there’s several examples of Undertale AU sprite comics. Such examples would be preboot @ut-storyshift​, @invertedfate​, @ut-scramble-saga​, @rupturedtaleblog​​, and many others.

When does the contest begin?

The contest begins on February 1st, 2021, when people will be allowed to begin production on their comics.

Submissions will be closed on April 5th, and the contest will end in April 15, 2021. The server will be kept for archival purposes.

Who’s the head of the contest?

That would be me, @fmsdraws​. I have a relatively long history with making and contributing to sprite comic AUs, such as Frisky Caretaker, Tantamount, Inverted Fate, StoryShift, Omega Timeline: Poppy’s Story, etc.

Alongside yours truly, the winners of the previous contest; truedimentio, CHAOS_FANTAZY, and Subna, will assist me as the judges!

What are the prizes?

First place will get to request three fully drawn and shaded art pieces from yours truly. Or you can also ask for Undertale sprites/battlesprites as well too, but quantity will depend on what you ask for.

Second place will receive one fully drawn and shaded artwork or Undertale sprites

Third place will receive one Undertale Battle Sprite.

In case you wonder what my art looks like, here is some of my porftolio.

How do I join?

Before joining the contest, you must first read through the Rules and Requirements. 

Afterwards, you must join the Discord server to participate.

See you all there!

- Fms

[undersprite]

Huzzah! The contest begins again!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to formerly welcome you to... The Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic fan contest! 

(… wait, haven’t I said this before?) 

That’s right! We are hosting yet another sprite comic contest this year! Due to COVID-19 last year, the contest did, understandably, not turn out as expected. But now that the waters have eased a bit, I feel comfortable in restarting the contest!

What’s the contest about?

I’m glad you asked, hypothetical member of the audience! This contest is about making your own Undertale or Deltarune (or any AU really) sprite comic, alone or with one friend, and competing for first place! It’s sort of like a Game Jam, but with sprite comics!

What’s a sprite comic?

A sprite comic is commonly known as utilizing sprites instead of drawn artwork to convey a story in a comic format. In the Undertale community, there’s several examples of Undertale AU sprite comics. Such examples would be preboot @ut-storyshift​, @invertedfate​, @ut-scramble-saga​, @rupturedtaleblog​​, and many others.

When does the contest begin?

The contest begins on February 1st, 2021, when people will be allowed to begin production on their comics.

Submissions will be closed on April 5th, and the contest will end in April 15, 2021. The server will be kept for archival purposes.

Who’s the head of the contest?

That would be me, @fmsdraws​. I have a relatively long history with making and contributing to sprite comic AUs, such as Frisky Caretaker, Tantamount, Inverted Fate, StoryShift, Omega Timeline: Poppy’s Story, etc.

Alongside yours truly, the winners of the previous contest; truedimentio, CHAOS_FANTAZY, and Subna, will assist me as the judges!

What are the prizes?

First place will get to request three fully drawn and shaded art pieces from yours truly. Or you can also ask for Undertale sprites/battlesprites as well too, but quantity will depend on what you ask for.

Second place will receive one fully drawn and shaded artwork or Undertale sprites

Third place will receive one Undertale Battle Sprite.

In case you wonder what my art looks like, here is some of my porftolio.

How do I join?

Before joining the contest, you must first read through the Rules and Requirements. 

Afterwards, you must join the Discord server to participate.

See you all there!

- Fms

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Yet another one of our contestants has posted their entry!

Greetings. I know I have not used this space in some time. I know the posts I have made before now have not been the most pleasant. While I somewhat regret the time I spent on my Altertale critique, I will not be erasing my past.

I do have something new to share with you, however.

This is Union of Two Hearts, my entry to, and the second-place winner of, FMS’s Undertale AU comic contest.

You may click the link here, or the image above, to be taken to the full album. It is just over 400 images, so I recommend setting aside a significant amount of time to read it.

Regardless, I hope you will enjoy it. It took a lot of work, and I am rather proud of what I have produced, even if I escaped with only second place.

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YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

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This Game’s Winner IS...

It has been quite the few months, haven’t they? In spite of the current situation going on in the world, everyone still managed to turn out great comics! I would like to preface this by thanking everyone that participated in the sprite comic contest. 

I admit I had my shortcomings in managing it, and I feel I could’ve done things differently (and better) in general. But alas, we’re here now. It’s been a long journey, but now, I’ll proceed to announce the winners of this year’s sprite comic AU contest!

1st. Deflowered - By Subna

Deflowered takes a rather familiar premise; Asriel takes Frisk’s SOUL, and attempts to reset the timeline. However, unlike any AU (I’ve seen at least), Frisk takes Asriel back to before the events that led to Chara’s death. With his new knowledge of events to come, he tries to set things right and prevent their plan from coming into fruition, much to Chara’s disapproval. 

Graphically, the AU like most in this contest, it reuses some of Undertale’s assets, but it features original sprites for every character in the comic, along with a new battle UI for Asriel. It also features a “Once Upon a Time” intro scene, which is a great plus for contextualizing the AU. Some of the angled sprites do look a bit weird, but they don’t really detract from the comic (aside form a few exceptions).

Writing wise, it’s an interesting take on a post-flowey Asriel. And the story manages to push you through each of the emotional beats through the comic. Chara’s conflict with Asriel, and their resolution in the battle is what really makes the comic for me as well. 

I had a serious hard time choosing between Union of Two SOULs and Deflowered for the first place, but while Uo2S covers more ground story-wise, and arguably has a more intriguing concept, Deflowered tells a concise story without needing to take leaps across time to tell it. 

From what’s been implied with the “Chapter 1” subtitle, there will probably be more to come from this AU. I would highly recommend staying tuned, because if what’s to come is as good as its first chapter, then I am confident Subna has something special on their hands.

2nd. Union of Two Hearts - By @chaos-fantazy​

Union of Two hearts follows the story of Frisk and Toriel, the latter of which gives up her SOUL to ensure Frisk will be strong enough to leave through the barrier, and how said change affects the story at large. 

Writing wise, this comic covers the most ground out of any in the contest: it spans throughout the entire story, skipping to key points in the story that give a general idea of what the story beats are like, and how Frisk and Toriel react to them- as well as how they evolve. The writing itself for the characters is pretty top-notch overall. 

However, I think my main gripe is that for being one of the main characters, Toriel herself comes across as pretty… Unfinished. It’s hard to put into letters, but it feels as though because of how the scenes are set, there’s not much room to see how her point of view is changed. Though, one could fill in the gaps with enough imagination. 

The ending featuring Chara is certainly intriguing, but I feel as though there should’ve been someplace before where it was implied they were there, it feels like they come out of the blue.

It’s one of the longest comics overall, and it manages to pace through the story relatively quickly. I feel as though some of the scenes should’ve lasted a bit longer pre judgement hall, because as I stated previously, it somewhat hurts Toriel’s arc.

Graphically, it’s serviceable. The sprites created for Frisk are pretty neat, and seeing them grow up because of Toriel’s magic influence through the comic is a treat. Asgore’s sprites for his fight are also really good, along with the attack designs. It does use a lot of Undertale Assets, but it also does go through the entirety of the Underground, so it’s understandable they wouldn’t make all new assets for it. All the original poses made for some of the characters are neat as well, they add to the flavor of it.

Overall, I think the comic is fantastic, but the rapid fire of scenes and jumps across time kind of break it for me. The AU itself has a lot of room to grow, but this comic does a good job of establishing it and its story.

3rd. Undertale: ###### trial - by @nonsensical-questions​

This comic is also a rather intriguing one in concept: In Waterfall, Gaster invites Frisk to a series of ‘tests’, and they face off against his followers. The comic is essentially one long fight against the followers, concluding with a brief exchange with Gaster. 

Writing-wise, the character interactions between Frisk and the followers are pretty engaging, Gaster is also well written. The flavor texts and explanations are very well done as well, it does feel  like something you would see in Undertale, and overall the fight doesn’t feel like it drags one second, despite its length.

Graphically, it’s in an interesting position in which it has original assets for some of the fights, but it also borrows from UT’s unused elements for its attacks. The use of these are very creative. Overall, the attacks in general are more creative than a lot of the fights in the contest, not one attack is repeated.

The fight really is what puts the comic above the rest, I feel. The creativity on display with the use of UT assets, writing throughout the fight, and the build up to the meeting with Gaster is very good. I think that it legitimately earns its 3rd position in its execution alone.

I’d like to congratulate the winners for their hard work! 

That’s not all, however. More people put effort into their comics, and while they didn’t manage to win, they still deserve major recognition! Which is why they’ll be linked below

You can read the reviews for the runner ups here. 

With all that being said, I’d like to once again thank everyone for partaking in this contest, while we had our highs and lows, you guys made this a wonderful experience. 

Once the contestants post their entries, they will be properly reblogged and linked to in the blog.

With that being said, the discord server will remain up for as long as its active, so if you wish to talk with any of the participants, you can do so over there.