The NEW Fan Art Rules! 12/12/03 (Please read!!!)

[Nuriko]

Note: Since this thread has been updated and reposted I am now archiving the original for all time.

~AE

Fan Art Rules

Alright, I've been put in charge of redoing the rules quite awhile ago, so now.. here they are! Hopefully these will be a lot easier to understand, and include more information than the last few, which seemed to confuse a lot of people.

All posts must be at least 40 words in length
Yes, we have brought back this rule. Whenever posting a picture, or replying to one, please take the time to write a decent reply. To help make sure this happens, we’ve made it so all posts must be at least 40 words long. Posts under the limit will mostly likely be deleted, and you will get a warning. Continue this, and you may receive a forum ban. It’s not that hard to put effort into your posts! Here’s a small guide to help you when replying:

• What do you most like about the picture?
• What do you least like?
• What do you think the best traits are?
• What can the artist improve on?
• Overall what do you think of the picture?

It’s not that hard. If you included all that, you would have a quality post. 40 words is not long at all.
Example of a good post:
"Aww, so cute! ^^
I can't see anything wrong with them, really.. about their hands, chibis don't necessarily need very detailed hands, maybe just a bit bigger ones. X3 Also, Sora's shoulders seem a bit odd.. maybe a bit sharp? I'm not sure really. ^^'
They really do look adorable though. The eyes and the expressions're especially well done. :3 Great job~"

This post includes some of the things she likes about the picture, as well as what she thinks the artist should work on. (Note: this is constructive criticism, the only kind we allow, we will not allow things such as “That sucks!”)
This post is almost 60 words long. See? It’s not hard at all.

On the other hand, here's an example of a bad post:
"Wow that pic is awesome!! 10/10!!!111"
This post is completely wrong. It would most likely be deleted right away, as well as any post similar to it. For one, it’s nowhere near 40 words, for another it doesn’t include anything about the picture at all, no likes, dislikes, constructive criticism, nothing. Somebody could easily not have even looked at the picture and posted this! Anything even close to this level will be deleted. Follow the good example, please.

It would be prefered if no number rates (7/10, etc) are given at all unless the artist asks for rates.

There are exceptions to this rule, such as the request topic, but when posting your own piece of art, try and put some effort into explaining what it is, how you did it, etc, so your post is at least 40 words. Again, this is not hard!

If you don't like the subject material, TOUGH
Do you dislike seeing characters drawn as babies/ morphs/ angels/ opposite gender/ any other oddity? Then TOUGH. What the artist draws is his or her own preference, and posting to say that you dislike seeing, say, an Eevee as a lean, vicious creature and add no other input, there will be a warning or a possible post deletion. Sorry, but I have little tolerance for people flaunting around their personal opinions. Have nothing constructive to add? Then don't post. I admit, I myself dislike pictures of Ash and Misty smooching, but I respect that other people like shipping, so I either don't post or turn to the artistic techiniqualities of the pic.

No SPAM
Spam: Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages. I believe this rule speaks for itself… any posts that you put no effort into (look at the above rule) will be deleted, and you will be warned.

No Flaming
Flaming is not tolerated. Just being rude to somebody in general is not tolerated. If you don’t like somebody’s picture, then don’t reply to it at all! Or, reply to it, but include constructive criticism on how you think they should make it better. Do not go saying their art sucks.

No Hentai/Porn
This one speaks for itself as well… hentai/porn is not permitted at all.

Nudity, violence, blood, or anything mature themed are allowed, but only with the appropriate warning
Yes, these are allowed, as long as it’s not all out gore or porn. However, if you feel your picture is mature themed, even if it’s just a small bit of blood, you must not directly post the picture into your post, (using the [img] tag). Instead, post it as an attachment, or link, that must be clicked before the picture will appear. Include a fair warning above it, describing the contents, so there are no surprises.

All requests must go in the Official Request Topic, or another member’s request thread
Ages ago, we had problems with hundreds of individual people creating threads for different requests they’d like done… well thankfully, we got rid of that problem, and we now have the Official Request Topic, which is always stickied at the top of the page. If you have a request you would like an artist to draw for you, please post it there. If you make an individual thread for this, it will be closed, and you will be warned.

However, members are allowed at any time to make a request topic of their own, in which people can give them requests to draw. When they do, they will usually post their own set of rules, which must be obeyed. If you have opened a request thread, and members are not obeying, please inform one of the moderators right away, and proper action will be taken.
If you want a certain artist to do your request, your best bet is to wait for them to open a request topic, or PM them.

Any contests, games, etc that you have thought of regarding Fan Art must first be approved by a Moderator.
If you have any ideas that are Fan Art related, such as games or contests, please let a moderator know right away, by PMing them, so they can approve it for you. If you try posting something like this that has not been approved, it will be closed. We love new ideas you have for Fan Art, but please PM us first to make sure it’s alright!
Once you get it approved, be sure to say mention in your topic that it has been approved, and who it has been approved by.

No STEALING
No stealing of another's work and claiming it as your own, and also no posting of another's picture at all, even with permission. If the person wants artwork posted, then they have to register here and post it themselves.

Thanks for reading these rules. Any suggestions, ideas, comments, etc are greatly appreciated! As well as anything you think we may have forgotten. Happy posting!

~Nuriko

[Royal_Goddess_Tina]

Those are very well written rules... Nice job! lol.... Ok, I just have a quick question, it says that hentai/porn is not allowed... Well then why would nudity be allowed?? Isn't that basically the same and just as bad?

[Meowth_Kitten]

Allowed nudity is art. You know how you see all those Roman statues of naked men and women? They aren't meant to create lust, they are meant to show the beauty of the human body. Our bodies are beautiful, whether we have clothing on or not. This is why appropiate nudity is allowed. Its art. Now, if someone were to draw a naked woman in a lustful position, it won't be allowed. But to draw a naked woman in a natural state, is allowed. Its hard to explain. Porn is meant to create lust and good feelings. Nude body art is beautiful and of nature.

[Bjarni Haraldur Sigfússon]

I'm sorry, then I made my posts, I didn't read the rules, now it's fixed, I deleted all my posts that was shorter then 40 words, and tomorrow, I'll just replay one thread, and have it 40 words! I don't want banned from FanArt again, so I changed that! And I did! Tomorrow I'll just have posts with 40 words! I hope you're happy now! I'll try my best!

[Wild Female Machoke]

Oh, you had forgotten about another important rule to the Fan Art Forum: Stolen Artwork. There are times when some people steal other's artwork and claim them as their own. (It happened before.)

This should be added to the rules.

[Pokemon Kid]

I hate rules like 40 words at least....

That's why I never visit forums with these kinds of rules. I hope you don't do ths to the other forums. I'm never going to come here often anymore. I am sad. Oh well.....

It's still not a good idea.

EDIT: Ummm.... that was 46 words!~ I can do this... forget what I just said...

[Iveechan]

I have been considering change to the 40 word rule. I think that as long as a post has a decent reply, like any post, then it is good. I mean, nobody counts the words anyway. Just as long as you don't post a one-liner, then it's ok.

[Lightning]

That's basically the reason we have the 40 word post. After it's come back up (we had it before), the quality of posts has actually shot up in FA. o_o We're not trying to say that you have to post 40 words or more in order to avoid a warning, but with a rule like that in effect, it simply encourages people to put more effort and thought into their posts than just a "cool 10/10" post.

[Bjarni Haraldur Sigfússon]

We can count the words with Microsoft Word

[Cheesey]

Yes, we know we CAN, Bjarni, but as it has just been stated the quality is more important than the quantity. Nobody's going to mind if your post isn't quite 40 words, as long as good effort has been put into writing it.

[LightNinetales]

Umm,I can write 40 words,but that'll be hard...Actually,I only know 90,or 100 English words,so my posts might be under the 40-words rule.But if I write 37 words instead of 40,I won't have a warning,if I understood Lightning's and Cheesey's posts?

[Lightning]

As long as your post isn't, "Oh! That's so cute! 10/10 because it's cute and adorable. *squeals* I like your picture so much! I'm printing it off! CUTE!!!!" for the whole post, you're fine. We take pride in knowing our forum is able to help artists improve their skills, so posting random things just to reach 40 words is useless. As long as you take time to post things that won't prove to be utterly useless to the member, you'll be fine. We're not going to penalize you for being 3 words under the limit if your post is a good one. ^_^;

*hopes she made sense there, since she's pretty tired* x_X;

[Aegiso´Fer]

About the 40 world rule. I´m partially agree with that. In one hand Nuriko es encouraging better "quality" in the posts, even she/he gave a guide to post. I really don´t think that if a person writes 30 word she/he will warn/ban that person, but instead i think that she´ll be looking for some "content" to the post (as she said, what you like, you don´t like or advises). Now, in the other hand, i´m aware (myself included), that many people don´t have a good domain of english, and this rule could be a bit troublesome. Still, as a good encouragement ^^.

And about the nudity/gore rule...i hope that everyone here knows the borders

[Iveechan]

Rules tweaked, text in green is typed by me.

[Razola]

It seems I am responsible for the cretaion of not one, but two rules.

Think I'll just...go somewhere else...like the forum over there...

Yeah...

[Iveechan]

Think of it as an honor though... you're an inspiration to me ^_^

[Razola]

Originally posted by Iveechan
Think of it as an honor though... you're an inspiration to me ^_^

Um...okay...

[Wild Female Machoke]

If you don't like the subject material, TOUGH
Do you dislike seeing characters drawn as babies/ morphs/ angels/ opposite gender/ any other oddity? Then TOUGH. What the artist draws is his or her own preference, and posting to say that you dislike seeing, say, an Eevee as a lean, vicious creature and add no other input, there will be a warning or a possible post deletion. Sorry, but I have little tolerance for people flaunting around their personal opinions. Have nothing constructive to add? Then don't post. I admit, I myself dislike pictures of Ash and Misty smooching, but I respect that other people like shipping, so I either don't post or turn to the artistic techiniqualities of the pic.

You're SO right! I just hate it when people placed their personal opinions and nothing else about the pic. For instance, I've received replies from a certain someone who ONLY posted his gripes about my artwork like saying how he hated seeing various game characters as babies. I, too, cannot tolerate something like that.

BTW Iveechan, thanks for adding the "NO Stealing of Artwork" rule too.

[Razola]

I do find a teeny bit of contradiction here:

We are suppose to keep our mouths shut about topics we dislike, and preferably stay out of those. This is all fine and good. I never said I was against expression (even though my right to express my distaste about said art is censored).

Yet, at the same time you forbid the use of heavy gore and/or pornographic material.

So while we embrace the idea of open expression while at the same time disliking another form enough to outright prohibit it's display.

Ironic, if not good ol' hypocrisy.

EDIT: Do not take this as some mean-spirited rant. Just an observation. I don't demand imediate action or anything.

[Iveechan]

I see your point.

Well, the thing about gore/porn was in Nuriko's words. Violence and nudity are accepted but a warning is needed because kids visit the board. I'm not sure what she meant by heavy gore since I have seen a *very well done* gory picture on the boards before; the topic (is long buried now) and the artist wasn't penalized or warned. I assume that the only thing not really allowed is a picture of actual sexual intercourse or something with a defined erotic pornographic theme. I doubt we'll ever see that on this forum, but you never know.

I'll need to think about this some.

[Lightning]

In reply to that, simply think of an art gallery or a museum. In them, you will often find pictures which portray nakedness or violence. It's still allowed in a public building though, so everything is fine. No one has to like it and there aren't any specific warnings, but from my experience, they'll often put nudity in a seperate room and... not many people are usually disturbed by gore (it's just that the nature of this board is Pokemon and... we don't want to mislead or bother any young kids who may come here). Back on my topic, though - you would likely be hard-pressed to find an example of hardcore sexual themes, etc. in such a place. Since we want to make browsing the FanArt forum an enjoyable thing for every member, it's just best to allow most things, but to forbid certain other things. We're not trying to be contradictory or anything here, but you can see our point, right?

There are plenty of other places on the web where you can share art of that nature, but just not here. =\ If this were a board primarily based on a fandom aimed toward an older age group, then I could see being more lenient on that rule, but, as I mentioned before, this board is based on Pokemon, thus, we don't want any younger fans (as there are many) coming in and getting scarred for life or something. ^_^;

[TheParadox]

Anyone know where i can attach my sigs? Can i just do it here?

[poke124mon282]

I have been considering change to the 40 word rule. I think that as long as a post has a decent reply, like any post, then it is good. I mean, nobody counts the words anyway. Just as long as you don't post a one-liner, then it's ok.

Agree!
Some people could have repeated the same word for like ten times, then count it as 10words.

Besides, 40words is like writing a composition! I won't want to write a composition for every post...

Moreover, the one who post the thread won't have that much time to read all those words and figure out what the audiences actually want.

[Agent Elrond]

This topic has now been updated with a new rules topic here. Please post all comments, suggestions, questions, etc. there. Thanks all.