My art for @merlinfantasyau fest!

Idea is that Gwen is a young bachelorette who moves into a cabin at the edge of an old manor belonging to an eccentric Baron Arthur Pendragon and his gardener Merlin, which is haunted by a ghost!Morgana. In this scene, Gwen hears a noise in the woods and ventures out, finding an old tomb and a ghost deep within the forest. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the final product. I wish I had given myself time to change up the way I lit and shaded everything because it feels kinda weird. Hopefully, I'll be able to fix it up in the future!

Thanks to the fest mods for the opportunity to brainstorm and share this idea, because it is one I would definitely like to write about or draw more for later!

(Sketch dump for the AU under the cut)

Hi! I am an artist who is participating in the claims. I was wondering how the claims are done. What will be on the forms that we need to fill up? And is it on a 'first come, first serve' basis?

Hi there!

Yes, claims are a first come, first served basis. That's why we've asked you pick a few fics that sound interesting! However it can be confusing to know what's going to happen, especially if it's your first time, so here's a quick breakdown of what will happen!

At 1pm EST Saturday the 28th, the google form in your email will open. (If you didn't get the email please check your spam!!)

The form is quick and simple. It asks for your username so we know who is filling out the form, and then there is room for up to four choices. Two are required. All you have to do is write the fic number in them and press submit.

The form will then get to us. If your #1 choice is free, it's yours! If someone got to it first, we move onto the second. Hopefully we won't have to contact anyone again that all of their choices were already taken, please try again, but it can happen, which is why we're asking for up to four.

Then, once the dust settles, we'll send emails out to authors and artists to set you up with your pairings and contact info for them!

Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to reach out again!

Authors! Check your emails for claim information!

First check in is here!

Emails have been sent out to all authors and independent artists. Some people are reporting the email went to spam, so please check your inboxes!

First check in is here!

Emails have been sent out to all authors and independent artists. Some people are reporting the email went to spam, so please check your inboxes!

Author sign ups are closed!

Thank you to everyone who signed up! We decided to extend the artist sign ups however to try and get a few more artists to join, so please feel free to join if you have the time!

The end of sign ups is rapidly approaching! Get in now before they close on Saturday! We would always welcome more artists!

The fantasy au fest is here!

Today's the day! The Merlin Fantasy AU fest is officially open for sign ups! You can find the links right here, as well as more information for the fest, such as FAQs and the schedule, on our tumblr or on our carrd. As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! We're excited to see what everyone comes up with!

Author Sign Ups

Artist Sign Ups

Alpha/Beta Sign Ups

Fantasy AU Fest Carrd

Hope everyone is having a great september! Just a reminder that sign ups are still open! We could always use more artists

The fantasy au fest is here!

Today's the day! The Merlin Fantasy AU fest is officially open for sign ups! You can find the links right here, as well as more information for the fest, such as FAQs and the schedule, on our tumblr or on our carrd. As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! We're excited to see what everyone comes up with!

Author Sign Ups

Artist Sign Ups

Alpha/Beta Sign Ups

Fantasy AU Fest Carrd

The fantasy au fest is here!

Today's the day! The Merlin Fantasy AU fest is officially open for sign ups! You can find the links right here, as well as more information for the fest, such as FAQs and the schedule, on our tumblr or on our carrd. As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! We're excited to see what everyone comes up with!

Author Sign Ups

Artist Sign Ups

Alpha/Beta Sign Ups

Fantasy AU Fest Carrd

Hi! I think this is such a cool fest! I was wondering what ratings are allowed. On my AO3 account I'm only doing E-rated works, is it ok?

Other than the rule against RPF, are there some other things that are off-limits?

Thank you so much

Hi anon!

All ratings are welcome, as long as they are properly tagged for come claims and posting. Not everyone is into E related shenanigans, and some people might not be old enough either! We trust everyone to stay age appropriate.

As far as your other question goes, it's a similar answer! We cannot guarantee there would be an artist willing to claim a piece with a lot of warnings, but as long as everything is properly tagged and warned for, we will accept it.

Hope this helps!

So excited for the fest! I was just wondering, does "fantasy AU" mean it can't be a canon AU? Say, I make Merlin an angel and add a few new fantasy elements to the story, but Arthur is still the prince of Camelot in the world of the show. Would that be okay or should it be a completely different/new fantasy world? And one more question: Can we use a WIP for the fest or should it be a brand new fic? Thanks! <3

As long as there are non-canon fantasy elements (like in your example) we'd say yes, that would be allowed!

And as far as WIPs go, as long as you haven't posted any part of the WIP publically (Tumblr, AO3, Dreamwidth, etc.) and it's a draft, feel free to use it!

as an artist, am i allowed to sign up as independent AND for fic claiming?

Yes! Just make sure to fill out the form twice to let us know you're signing up both ways! ^^

Hi, are crossovers with other fandoms allowed?

Yes, as long as at least one of the main characters is from Merlin!

hiiiiii so excited that sign-ups have opened! i'm interested in the bang option but had a question - is there a certain amount of fic we'll be required to have completed by then in order to be like eligible for claims? hope that makes sense lol. thanks!!

Hi! Yes, you're required to be at least 60% of the way done with your estimated word count to be eligible for claims! That way there's enough material for artists to work with but also still time to write until posting!

If you don't meet that goal, you can still participate if you think you'll be able to finish, but unfortunately you won't be able to participate in claims.

The fantasy au fest is here!

Today's the day! The Merlin Fantasy AU fest is officially open for sign ups! You can find the links right here, as well as more information for the fest, such as FAQs and the schedule, on our tumblr or on our carrd. As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! We're excited to see what everyone comes up with!

Author Sign Ups

Artist Sign Ups

Alpha/Beta Sign Ups

Fantasy AU Fest Carrd

Announcement

We’re excited to inform you all that sign ups for the merlin fantasy au fest will open on August 19th! A more detailed schedule is soon to follow!

Thank you to everyone who submitted responses to the Merlin Fantasy AU interest check! The results are in, and... *drumroll* we have enough interest to run the fest! Sign ups will open mid to late August, so stay tuned for more details regarding the rules and lengths of the fest.