It's all about clocks and time in our January Challenge, "Timekeeping", and appropriately checking today's date, 17/01... Happy Enterprise Day!!! 
Barring any temporal anomalies we might encounter, time marches on into the New Year and for February's Challenge we have lots of Theme suggestions for you to choose from including some temporary seasonal themes and our Valentine's Day specials. THE NEUTRAL ZONE has returned and the Themes within it, which scored the lowest average in the polls, are in danger of being eliminated from future votes.
Please feel free to vote whether you intend to create an entry or not, we want to generate as much interest and participation as possible. And let us know how you've voted below and why: what piques your interest about each theme, what you think we might see. You never know, your thoughts could just be the spark that lights someone's imagination and leads to a new piece of Star Trek Art.
We have Twenty-Four Themes suggested by Trek BBS members for you to choose from and you have until the poll closes on the 1st February to vote for your FIVE favourites.
Details for each suggested Theme are as follows:
Remember you can choose FIVE!!
Thanks for voting, have fun!
* - Temporary Seasonal Theme
** - THE NEUTRAL ZONE
Barring any temporal anomalies we might encounter, time marches on into the New Year and for February's Challenge we have lots of Theme suggestions for you to choose from including some temporary seasonal themes and our Valentine's Day specials. THE NEUTRAL ZONE has returned and the Themes within it, which scored the lowest average in the polls, are in danger of being eliminated from future votes.
Please feel free to vote whether you intend to create an entry or not, we want to generate as much interest and participation as possible. And let us know how you've voted below and why: what piques your interest about each theme, what you think we might see. You never know, your thoughts could just be the spark that lights someone's imagination and leads to a new piece of Star Trek Art.
We have Twenty-Four Themes suggested by Trek BBS members for you to choose from and you have until the poll closes on the 1st February to vote for your FIVE favourites.
Details for each suggested Theme are as follows:
- Specific Show -- Strange New Worlds
Dedicated to art inspired by one specific Star Trek show or era. Each month you have the opportunity to vote for a different era cycling through: TOS/TAS --> TNG --> DS9 --> VOY --> ENT --> MOVIES --> DSC --> PIC --> LDS --> PRO --> SNW --> TOS/TAS --> ...
- The More Things Change
Time may move at warp speed, but not everything does. Show us how something Trek has changed over the years - landscapes, buildings, ships, people, beliefs.
- Tall Tales
Or, a funny thing happened on the way to Delta Vega. Dedicated to those adventures that are the most bizarre and unbelievable, the ones where if you described them to someone they'd reckon you'd done a little too much LDS - Abraham Lincoln floating in space, holograms taking over the Enterprise, being shrunk to the size of a toy, evolving into a lizard?! Or perhaps you can think of something even weirder than those we've seen on the show.
- Today Is A Good Day to Die-o-rama
Release your inner child with a diorama demonstrating anything Trek - landscapes, ships, historical moments. Make it or draw it, if you prefer. Mixed media - use any material you want.
- Gift Shop Goodies
Who doesn't love souvenirs? Imagine what visitors, passengers, and tourists might bring home as a memory of their stay on the Enterprise, visit to DS9, vacation on Vulcan, etc. Whether it's an actual piece of the ship, a funny t-shirt, a pretty postcard, or something more outrageous, one thing is certain; it'll always remind you of your visit.
- The Catwalk
What fashion can be found sashaying down the catwalks (runways for the Americans
) of Cait, Fillandia (Ariolo), and Janus VI? Would a Xindi-Aquatic wear Tholian silk? And what would an Aurelian wear to pop to the shops?
Your task is to design an item of apparel, an outfit, costume or uniform (not necessarily Starfleet) for a non-humanoid Federation citizen or other denizen of the Star Trek Universe. Preferably being worn by said non-humanoid!
- Deep Space Dine
Fancy yourself a chef? Create your version of a classic Star Trek food (include your recipe, if applicable) and plate it with perfection in a photograph or invent something brand new. Alternately, if you're a kitchen nightmare, draw us the perfect mouthwatering (or gag-inducing, depending on who you ask) meal.
- Fish Out of Water
Oh no! Somebody has kidnapped one of your favorite historical figures or fictional characters and brought them into the Trekverse. Or perhaps they accidentally traveled through a portal. Whatever. In any case, they're having more than a little trouble adjusting to their new surroundings. Show us what difficulties they're encountering.
- Picture Day
It's Starfleet Picture Day! Show us your favorite character posing for the camera - headshots, full-length, class pictures (away teams, shifts, departmental)
- This Day In History
Commemorate a pivotal day in the history of the universe with iconic photos from newspapers and history books, or artistic depictions of great/terrible moments that should not be forgotten. Whether it's notable first contacts, important battles, or a seemingly unimportant decision that later took on greater significance, let's celebrate all the highlights and lowlights throughout the galaxy.
- The Laws of Physics
Trek may not be able to change the laws of physics, but it sure can bend them! In keeping with that, bend the laws of art by warping the perspective, coloring outside the lines, and blending multiple discordant styles and techniques.
- Hello, Computer!
Sooner or later, everyone needs to use a computer. But they don't always cooperate with us, whether it's a malfunction, or a malevolent program, or just our inability to understand how they work. Show us the results of a piece of computer technology gone haywire, or alternately, show us what's on the screen.
- If These Walls Could Trek
Think big and bring life to the walls around you with Trek themed graffiti, murals, frescoes, etc (but only on paper, screens, or walls that you have permission to paint!)
- Mail Call!
It's always exciting to get something in the mail, no matter what century you live in. What does mail look like in the future? A new take on stamps and envelopes? Transwarp parcel post? Subspace messages? Singing holograms? Runabout express? Drop TrekBBS a few lines and colors and prove to us that neither wormholes nor space amoebas nor badmirals nor Borg cubes will keep these couriers from delivering their cargo.
- IVth Wall
Every now and then, Trek breaks the fourth wall. So get meta: pick up your sledgehammers and bust your favorite bulkhead with a well-placed stroke of a paintbrush. Call out your pet peeves with a few clicks on the computer.
- Alien Alias
Some missions require a change of species, either to avoid breaking the Prime Directive or to hide covert activity. You might also occasionally run into an alternate universe where your counterpart is a different species. Give your favorite character an alien makeover.
- The Old Collage Try
Get out your glue sticks and paste together a Trek image using magazine pages, photographs, fliers...whatever you've got lying around the house! Or copy and paste something together on the computer. Let's see your mosaics, conspiracy boards, posters, and puzzles.
- Warp Signatures
Everybody puts a little of themselves into their art. For this challenge, your artwork must contain a self-reference, whether it's your face somewhere in the crowd, your name plastered on a ship, or something a little more subtle, such as color choice, artistic style, or favorite medium. It shouldn't take a complete sensor scan to figure out who's responsible for your work this time around.
- Make It Snow*
Weather permitting, snow and ice are this month's medium of choice. If your local climate refuses to obey orders, cotton balls, construction paper, bits of glass, tinsel, etc work, too. Create something wintery that will have us reaching for a cup of raktajino just looking at it. Let's see your frosty Ferengis, snowy starships, and icy IDICs.
- Where My Heart Is, Beyond Antares*
How do characters/species show their love for each other? Friends, parents and kids, true loves...anything you want.
- Hearts and Flowers*
Happy Valentine's Day! Incorporate imagery of hearts and flowers into any Trek-themed project you choose. (Doesn't necessarily have to be directly related to Valentine's Day)
- Be Mine, Space-Time Valentine*
What kind of Valentine cards and candy would Trek species dole out? Design a card or gift, alien/Starfleet style.
- Spell Trek**
It's not hard to get confused when there are so many different alien cultures and languages to parse. Suppose somebody misheard "Enterprise" as "Centerpiece", or spelled "Klingon" with a spurious "e" at the end? What humorous or cursed images might that evoke? Depict the results of a misheard or misunderstood Trek reference, in or out of universe.
- Explain It Like I'm Five**
Technobabble is great, but sometimes you can get lost in it. Use a clever diagram or a colorful drawing to explain a scientific principle, the roots of a conflict, a character's motivations, or the plot of an episode concisely and accurately, better than a thousand words can.
Remember you can choose FIVE!!
Thanks for voting, have fun!
CHRISTMASTIME THEMES:
VALENTINE'S DAY THEMES
- That Rings A (Jingle) Bell
"Hmmm...I remember this, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen it before." Place something that looks uncannily Trek in a place you'd never expect to find it. Bonus replicator credits if it's hiding in a holiday-themed setting.
- Every Problem Has A (Re)Solution
What New Year's resolutions are your favorite characters making for themselves and each other? Depict your favorite Trek characters facing their fears, learning a new skill, or quitting an old habit.
- Season's Greetings
Show us what you imagine our favourite Star Trek characters might send or receive in the way of gifts or greetings cards at the this time of year - a family picture of the Rikers, a Quark's Bar gift voucher, a personalised coffee mug?
- Christmas Crossover
Taking inspiration from your favourite festive stories, movies, music videos (?) show us how they might manifest if they played out in the Star Trek Universe. Which character would be your choice for Scrooge or what would happen if Wesley was left Home Alone?
- Make It Snow
Weather permitting, snow and ice are this month's medium of choice. If your local climate refuses to obey orders, cotton balls, construction paper, bits of glass, tinsel, etc work, too. Create something wintery that will have us reaching for a cup of raktajino just looking at it. Let's see your frosty Ferengis, snowy starships, and icy IDICs.
- If Wishes Were Horses
What do you wish to see in Star Trek? Or, what might your Trek character of choice wish for? Draw or make a Star Trek wish come true at this magical time of year!
- Tinsel Trek
Everything seems to sparkle a bit more at Christmas, doesn't it? Bedeck your Trek in tinsel, garland, red and green, mistletoe, holly and ivy, candy canes, popcorn chains, etc. Let your art shimmer like a star.
- Sweater Weather
Nothing says Christmas like an ugly Christmas sweater. It'll never become a uniform variant (hopefully!) but it sure looks festive. So get out your pen, stylus, or even your knitting needles, if you've got a knack for it, and whip up something that'll keep your favorite characters warm and cozy on a snowbound holiday away mission.
- The Santa Claus Paradox
Santa Claus, not only does he deliver presents to every child across the world all in one night he also collects and stores masses of information about who wants what and also who is naughty or nice. It seems impossible, right, perhaps even paraxodical? Well, it does to us... but surely there's lots of technology and strange alien races in the Star Trek universe that could achieve these goals. Show us how you would solve the Santa Paradox from a Trek point of view: clones, robots, transporters, warp drive, god-like aliens, time-travel... what will you choose?
VALENTINE'S DAY THEMES
- Where My Heart Is, Beyond Antares
How do characters/species show their love for each other? Friends, parents and kids, true loves...anything you want.
- Hearts and Flowers
Happy Valentine's Day! Incorporate imagery of hearts and flowers into any Trek-themed project you choose. (Doesn't necessarily have to be directly related to Valentine's Day)
- Be Mine, Space-Time Valentine
What kind of Valentine cards and candy would Trek species dole out? Design a card or gift, alien/Starfleet style.
* - Temporary Seasonal Theme
** - THE NEUTRAL ZONE
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(although, any months with a deficit could always allow for more than one suggestion, perhaps?).
