Now the rules and contest information!

Let's start with the prizes:

• First Place - $50 USD
• Second Place - $25 USD
• Third Place - $25 USD

Instructions:

• Colour the following template:


• Enter as many times as you like. It is requested that you please use this template.
• Must be coloured using provided swatches on the left upper corner of the sheet.
• The final design may be a combination of the three winners' designs. The first place winner will have the base design, but I may use some design elements from the other two (for example, if I prefer the second place ear design or the third place tail design better than the first place winner's). I may also use other design elements from the other entrants if there's something I decide I like from one of them, but it won't be something drastic enough to earn you a placing.
• Try to keep the design simple and tasteful so that it can be easily redrawn for commissions and such.
• Whether you place or not, you cannot reuse the design for your own character, this is my character you're designing.
• Once the OMP is decided, =McKaelaKaiyou will add the markings and colour to her reference base and upload it to her account. Your artwork will not be used for the final ref, but will be heavily referenced for accuracy.
• Please, don't copy other entrants' designs. If there are minor similarities, that's to be expected, but please do not reference off of the other contestants' designs; use your own imagination, not theirs. Also, do not copy markings off of former artwork of Daniel... just be creative!
• Have fun! This is a contest for creativity, please enjoy it.

• All entries must be submitted to dA or FA in order to be eligible, though you may put it in scraps and delete once the contest is over if you so desire. Please put "Daniel's OMP" in the title of your submission. Once submitted, please don't forget to note me the finished entry so that I may add it, otherwise it may be accidentally missed! And please, in the description, link to the contest so others can join, and credit myself and =McKaelaKaiyou. Do not try to claim the art as your own; you only coloured it!

General marking guidelines:

• None of his markings overlap (unless they can be made to look really good).
• He is a hybrid of many big cat species, most notably the tiger, leopard, cheetah, and lion.
• Mostly tiger-style fur pattern with big leopard spots, lion-like ears, and cheetah-like tail and legs.
• Since he is a blend of most big cats, you may sneak in other species' markings, such as the cougar 'moustache', but please stick with mostly the four primary species.

Restrictions:

• The back of his ears are the main fur colour.
• The rims of his ears are the dark marking colour.
• The inside of his ears are the light marking colour.

Included in =McKaelaKaiyou's (download to view) :
• Layered PSD version of the reference for those of you who use Photoshop or similar programs that can read PSD files.
• Layered FLA version of the reference for those of you who use Flash or similar programs that can read FLA files.
• Plain PNG lineart base for everybody else.
• A PNG sample image to show how/where the swatches should be used.

The deadline will be whenever I feel like it, but I will give a week's notice.

Have fun, guys! Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything, but I'll add more information as needed. Please note that the rules may be changed if I must, but not terribly drastically.

Also, feel free to advertise this if you can, this is my first contest and I would really appreciate having a lot of entries to choose from, and the feedback on how to do contests better.