Improving the Studio's Hub

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
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ill html it

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Smeargle's Studio Info and FAQ

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<h2>Info and FAQ</h2>
<p>If you've arrived on this page, it means you have many questions and are in grave need of answers, or you're just a sensible person who has a habit of reading up on any new place you visit. Regardless of which description fits you the most, we welcome your intitiative to learn more, so take a gander at our topics and questions that we've listed below.</p>
<p>If you have a question that isn't answered in any of the sections below, feel free to hit up any of the Studio's moderators: <a href="/forums/members/88763/" target="_blank">elcheeso</a>, <a href="/forums/members/59957/" target="_blank">RitterCat</a>, <a href="/forums/members/6237/" target="_blank">Layell</a>, or <a href="/forums/members/73434/" target="_blank">Bummer</a>.</p>

<h2>Forum Rules and Etiquette</h2>
<p>The Dos and the Don'ts. If you're new to Smeargle's Studio, this should always be your first stop before moving deeper into the rabbit hole.</p>

<h3>How to get started</h3>
<p>Basic information about what to think about if you want to set up an art thread of your own, how to get to know other resident artists, and what places that are especially welcoming to new artists.</p>

<h3>Are there any art chat rooms?</h3>
<p >Sure is! The short answer is <a href="https://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23grammar&amp;server=irc.synirc.net" target="_blank">#smeargle</a> and the <a href="http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/art" target="_blank">Art room on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown!</a>, but you can read the long answer by clicking the above link.</p>

<h3>Where can I contribute art to Smogon?</h3>
<p >Lots of places, such as the forum banners, tournament logos, simulator sprites, but most of all; illustrations for the articles written for both the site and our media outlets. However, some areas are more demanding than others, so make sure to read this section before deciding where to help out.</p>

<h3>What does it mean to be an approved artist?</h3>
<p >As mentioned above, some areas are more demanding in the sense that certain content is viewed by more users, which means that there's more emphasis on quality than usual. What this means for our artists is explained inside the link, along with the reasoning why we have a quality check in the first place.</p>

<h3>What is the Artist badge?</h3>
<p >Artists who contribute several images of good quality to Smogon are rewarded with this shiny trinket for their user profile. Apart from being acknowledged as an official Smogon artist, there are more benefits connected to it, so read about it inside the link if you're curious to know more.</p>

<h3>What is the Community Contributor badge?</h3>
<p >This badge is rewarded to users who help out in Smeargle's Studio through various ways. If you'd like to know how to ease the burden on the moderation team, or just how to be a positive presence inside the studio, then go ahead and read some more!</p>
 
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ant

⭐️⭐️⭐️
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
does this go on the index page Bummer

Bummer Edit: It'll be linked to from the index page, yeah, it's part of what I wrote in the last post.
 
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Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Copied our rules and tidied things up a bit, so this will be a page of its own linked to the earlier post I made above:



Forum Rules and Etiquette

While Smogon have a general list of rules to follow and comply with, it goes witout saying that further guidelines that only needs to be applied to Smeargle's Studio can be justified. Everyone who'd like to get involved in the studio would be wise to look into these rules first. That way, you avoid unneccessary drama, and the moderating staff don't need to clean up any potential messes. Everybody wins! Not following the rules will either result in post deletion or thread locks, with a possibility for infraction depending on the severity of the offense.

If you want to have your own art thread, a minimum of three artwork is required.
This is probably the rule we see broken most, so it goes at the top! This generally refers to images, so it's perfectly acceptable to have three different pictures, drawings, and photos of the same thing, as long as they're not the exact same image. The same rule applies to Smeargle's Laptop, where three pieces are needed to create your own thread. If you don't have enough images to create your own thread, there are several mega threads where people can post and share their work:

Rate My Art /// General Sprites and Banners /// Writing Thread /// Music Thread

Smeargle's Studio is for original art.
To continue on the above rule, only artwork you've drawn, photographed, or otherwise made yourself from scratch are allowed. This includes digital art, traditional drawings, paintings, sculpting, written works, music, among others. This means that non-scratched sprites, as well as photo-collaged artwork, avatars, or banners aren't allowed in Smeargle's Studio, so please use the Smeargle's Laptop subforum for these. Do note that it's okay to share such visual works in your already established art thread, but if the majority of your work is of that variety, then odds are that you're better off making a separate thread for it in Smeargle's Laptop.

Please keep your content appropriate.
Please do not make posts that are hateful or racist in nature. In addition, please do not post pornography or explicit, gore-intensive images or requests. Non-explicit works that are more suggestive will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Do your best to use hide tags and warn viewers if you're not sure your image is appropriate. The term Not Safe For Work (NSFW) is a good label to use in these situations, so that users know what to expect.

Do not necrobump threads if you're not the thread owner.
Exceptions are community projects and starred threads that aren't locked. While we allow the creator to necrobump their own threads with new content, as well as posting several times in succession (within reason), we ask that everyone else avoids bumping old threads with comments. There are plenty of users who would be happy if that artist was active again, so if they see the thread bumped, they can get their hopes up for nothing. So if an artist thread hasn't gotten any activity in a month, consider it a gray area. Besides, just like their posts if you want to show your appreciation for their craft!

Do NOT plagiarise.
Plagiarism means claiming that someone else's work is your own, which is clearly not allowed since we only encourage original art. Plagiarism will be met with hefty infractions, so don't do it. Traced images are okay, as long as you openly admit of doing it, and preferrably with a link to the original work.

Do not advertise.
Smeargle's Studio is not an optimal space to spread the word about projects or other sites related to Pokémon art, but it's okay to mention them if you have an art thread of your own where you post art dedicated to that project or site. Especially, do not advertise other people's art. If the original artist want to share their art, they can make their own thread.

Try to put some substance into your posts.
Posting one-liners is discouraged, such as "great", "this sucks", "cool", or anything else that can just be summarised by those words. Comments like that will get your point across, but don't really add anything to the forum, or help the artist know what they did wrong or right! You can also press the like button on posts instead of quoting them. If you genuinely enjoy someone's work, try to be more specific. If not, odds are that your post may be deleted, and spamming multiple threads with such comments may result in an infraction.​


That should be the gist of it. You don't have to be terrified of potentially breaking certain rules since we're generally a chill bunch who can understand that learning new rules can be difficult. If you have any questions about this forum, then ask a question in this thread, or ask any of the studio's staff members:

Layell /// elcheeso /// RitterCat ///Bummer

See you on the forums!
 
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dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
htmling

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Forum Rules and Etiquette

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<meta name="description" content="Smeargle's Studio: Forum Rules and Etiquette" />

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<img src="/smeargle/smearglelogocolorresized.png" alt="Smeargle's Studio Banner" />

<h2>Forum Rules and Etiquette</h2>
<p>While Smogon has a <a href="/rules" target="_blank">general list of rules</a> to follow and comply with, it goes witout saying that further guidelines that are only applied to Smeargle's Studio can be justified. Everyone who'd like to get involved in the Studio should be wise to look into these rules first. That way, you avoid unneccessary drama, and the moderating staff doesn't need to clean up any potential messes. Everybody wins! Not following the rules will either result in post deletion or thread locks, with a possibility for infraction depending on the severity of the offense.</p>

<div class="leftspacing">
    <h3>If you want to have your own art thread, a minimum of three artwork is required.</h3>
    <p>This is probably the rule we see broken most, so it goes at the top! This generally refers to images, so it's perfectly acceptable to have three different pictures, drawings, and photos of the same thing, as long as they're not the exact same image. The same rule applies to Smeargle's Laptop, where three pieces are needed to create your own thread. If you don't have enough images to create your own thread, there are several mega threads where people can post and share their work:</p>
    <p id="linklists"><a href="/forums/threads/3531895/" target="_blank">Rate My Art</a> /// <a href="/forums/threads/3526121/" target="_blank">General Sprites and Banners</a> /// <a href="/forums/threads/75721/" target="_blank">Writing Thread</a> /// <a href="/forums/threads/87268/" target="_blank">Music Thread</a></p>

    <h3>Smeargle's Studio is for original art.</h3>
    <p>To continue on the above rule, only artwork you've drawn, photographed, or otherwise made yourself from scratch are allowed. This includes digital art, traditional drawings, paintings, sculpting, written works, music, among others. This means that non-scratched sprites, as well as photo-collaged artwork, avatars, or banners aren't allowed in Smeargle's Studio, so please use the Smeargle's Laptop subforum for these. Do note that it's okay to share such visual works in your already established art thread, but, if the majority of your work is of that variety, then odds are that you're better off making a separate thread for it in Smeargle's Laptop.</p>

    <h3>Please keep your content appropriate.</h3>
    <p>Please do not make posts that are hateful or racist in nature. In addition, please do not post pornography or explicit, gore-intensive images or requests. Non-explicit works that are more suggestive will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Do your best to use hide tags and warn viewers if you're not sure your image is appropriate. The term Not Safe For Work (NSFW) is a good label to use in these situations, so that users know what to expect.</p>

    <h3>Do not necrobump threads if you're not the thread owner.</h3>
    <p>Exceptions are community projects and <a href="/forums/forums/50/?prefix_id=214" target="_blank">starred threads</a> that aren't locked. While we allow the creator to necrobump their own threads with new content, as well as posting several times in succession (within reason), we ask that everyone else avoids bumping old threads with comments. There are plenty of users who would be happy if that artist was active again, so if they see the thread bumped, they can get their hopes up for nothing. So if an artist thread hasn't gotten any activity in a month, consider it a gray area. Besides, just like their posts if you want to show your appreciation for their craft!</p>

    <h3>Do NOT plagiarize.</h3>
    <p>Plagiarism means claiming that someone else's work is your own, which is clearly not allowed because we only encourage original art. Plagiarism will be met with hefty infractions, so don't do it. Traced images are okay, as long as you openly admit of doing it, and preferrably with a link to the original work.</p>

    <h3>Do not advertize.</h3>
    <p>Smeargle's Studio is not an optimal space to spread the word about projects or other sites related to Pok&eacute;mon art, but it's okay to mention them if you have an art thread of your own where you post art dedicated to that project or site. Especially, do not advertise other people's art. If the original artist wants to share their art, they can make their own thread.</p>

    <h3>Try to put some substance into your posts.</h3>
    <p>Posting one-liners, such as "great", "this sucks", "cool", or anything else that can just be summarized by those words, is discouraged. Comments like that will get your point across, but don't really add anything to the forum, or help the artist know what they did wrong or right! You can also press the like button on posts instead of quoting them. If you genuinely enjoy someone's work, try to be more specific. If not, odds are that your post may be deleted, and spamming multiple threads with such comments may result in an infraction.</p>
</div>

<p>That should be the gist of it. You don't have to be terrified of potentially breaking certain rules since we're generally a chill bunch who can understand that learning new rules can be difficult. If you have any questions about this forum, <a href="/forums/threads/3497881/" target="_blank">then ask a question in this thread</a>, or ask any of the studio's staff members:</p>
<p id="linklists"><a href="/forums/members/6237/" target="_blank">Layell</a> /// <a href="/forums/members/88763/" target="_blank">elcheeso</a> /// <a href="/forums/members/59957/" target="_blank">RitterCat</a> /// <a href="/forums/members/73434/" target="_blank">Bummer</a></p>
 
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Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Alright, here's the next part. This doesn't need to be HTMLd right now as I'd like to see others read it and give any suggestions if necessary.


How to get started

Alright, so you've got some artistic creations you want to share with the world, namely Smeargle's Studio? Where to begin? Well, if you really wanna know, then below are some basic recommendations and advice that should point any new contributor into the right direction.

Make your own art thread

Having a thread to call your own is nice. Obviously, you can use it to showcase what you've made, be it drawings, photographs, poems, or musical compositions, along with any information about yourself you'd like to share. Only thing to keep in mind is that you need a minimum of three separate art pieces before making the thread, as we'd otherwise get loads of threads by people just asking opinions on an individual image. But if you're a quick producer, odds are that the opposite is just as likely, so if you have many creations on display, consider putting them inside [HIDE] tags or links, so that new visitors don't need to load your thread for that long.

Of course, your art thread is what you make of it! Share links to other places where you put your art, as well as other sites that are closely related to your craft, be it projects, webcomics, or anything like it. Brighten up the first post with a banner welcoming new users to your thread, divide your artwork in various categories to make browsing them easier, or anything else that creates a good impression once someone enters your personal space in the studio. Just don't forget that your art will speak for itself, so if you don't feel like being fancy, then you're in good company.

Getting feedback

We all strive to improve ourselves, and while art is most definitely subjective, you're nonetheless making content for others to see, and can thus gain a lot by considering their perspective. Also keep in mind that few users on Smogon are professionally trained artists or scholars, so the critique you get may sometimes not be worded as best it could be, so knowing how to look past their language and focusing on what they actually mean is a great trait to have. But even more likely, odds are that few users will reply to your thread, which isn't as uncommon as you'd think. Explicitly stating that you'd like feedback on certain images can be the prompt certain users need in order to give their input, but if you've posted plenty of content with no feedback, feel free to turn to the Rate My Art thread, or ask the studio mods if they could check out your stuff and maybe even give a short evaluation.

Visiting other art threads

Checking out the works of other experienced artists, or artists in training, can be just as rewarding as drawing something yourself, since you can broaden your horizons and consider what styles you can apply to your own craft. If you have a question about a certain detail or technique someone is using, make sure to compliment them on that and inquire if they have any advice to offer! Remember: just like you would appreciate someone giving you some earnest feedback, you can do just the same to other artists, even if they're more skilled than you! Hopefully, you'll discover that we're generally a chill bunch and that sharing your input in various threads will make others more inclined to do the same to yours. Also, the like button is a thing, so use it to show your admiration towards any great work you see (just don't overdo it, as each liked post results in an alert).

Join the chat!

Since quite a while back, #smeargle on synirc.net has been one way to speak to other resident artists in real time, and that remains just as true today. At the time of writing this, the activity is fairly low in the channel, but if you have no issues striking up a conversation, odds are that someone will reply and give a quick pointer about any image or Work In Progress (WIP) you're choosing to share. Alternatively, just hang around until someone speaks up, that works just fine too. However, if you want a place with more activity, the Art Room on Pokemon Showdown fills the same purpose, although it should be noted that not all users there have an account on Smogon (although they do know the place). More info about the chatrooms can be found here. (Future link to the chat section will be added here)

Participate!

Naturally, the studio is not just a bunch of isolated artist threads clustered together, we also have threads where artists of various skill level can submit images to. The first thing that comes to mind is Battle: Free for All, where the only rule is to defeat the previous Pokemon drawing with a drawing of your own, so use your imagination! The Daily Draw challenge, which is hosted in the Art Room on Pokemon Showdown, also provides all artists with a small challenge each to day to let anyone take a shot at it and try something new for a change. If you see a recent theme that you missed but really want to try, go ahead and do it anyway, we're not that picky. Sometimes contests pop up in the studio, such as the Monthly-Art-Contest, so keep an eye out for those too and see if you're available to submit an image that shows your art from its best side!

Don't overthink it

Probably a weird recommendation to give at the bottom of a long page advising new users what to do, but at the end of the day, we're still just a group of people hanging out in one particular part of Smogon. If you don't be a jerk, then you'll be fine for the most part. If you have any further questions or some insight to be added to this guide, feel free to contact the studio's moderation team.[/HIDE]
 
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Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
phew, wrote up the chat page. Feel free to read through it and come with suggestions on what else to include.

Edit: Oh, and to anyone HTMLing this: See if you can replace the : with [] in the commands, the forums decided to screw up my post if I used those brackets for some reason.

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Art chatrooms

Even though the forums can provide a solid platform to showcase your art and ellaborate on various topics, the chat rooms are well appreciated since you can exchange opinions and feedback in real time, or just talk about things in a much more casual manner. Smeargle's Studio is no exception to the benefits of chat channels, and at the time of writing this, there are two chat rooms that any person, artist or not, can visit and hang out in.

Smeargle's Studio IRC channel - #smeargle

This is the oldest chat platform the Studio has provided for several years, and like all other Smogon irc channels, it's hosted on synirc.net. There are a multitude of various chat clients to use, but one easy way to instantly try it out is to use the web client Mibbit, where all you need to visit #smeargle is to click this link. If you want to look over other alternatives, such as clients you download onto your computer, check out these tutorials to set yourself up.

The purpose of #smeargle is essentially the same as the studio: share your art for others to see, give or ask for feedback, get to know other studio dwellers a bit closer, or just hang out. However, at the time of writing this, there are not many active regulars in the channel, but don't let that deter you from checking the place out and say hello! :)

Here's some basic commands you can write in the message bar to get you started:

/join #channel
Typing that command along with the name of a channel (such as #smogon, #cap or #insidescoop) instantly takes you to that channel, which opens up in a new tab.

/nick :text:
Changes the name that's next to each of your messages. Using this command can be useful to show what you're doing right now or if you're busy. For instance, my nick is usually Bummer, but changing it to BumAway or BumWorking shows people how available I am. Or you can just change it for fun!

/msg NickServ REGISTER :password: :email:
This is the command to use if you don't want anyone else possessing the name you usually go by. Replace :password: with a password you can remember, and :email: with a valid email adress. Also try to avoid doing this in a public channel, because if you mess up, you may accidentally give away one of your passwords! If done correctly, a message will be sent to the specified email with a confirmation code, so that you can register your nick with the following command:

/msg nickserv confirm :confirmation code:
Replace the bracketed word with your code, and your nick should thus be protected from the forces of evil and mischievous pranksters!

/me
Anything you write after this command will appear as you performing or saying something, which is displayed a bit different than a regular message. Works great for those moments when you want to roleplay a specific action or just convey something that just won't cut it as regular text.

/msg :nick:
Opens up a private channel where you can speak with another user who's online.

If you want more info or help to get familiar with IRC, check out the below links!






Art Room on Pokemon Showdown (PS)

Pokemon Showdown is Smogon's official battling simulator, as well as a site which houses a multitude of rooms for the community to chat in. Naturally, Art is one such topic, so the Art Room is thus the home for all artists on both PS and Smogon. Here's one direct link to it, as well as a link to the Room's website. This room is much more active than #smeargle and is thus moderated more closely, so all users with a #, @, or % are staff members capable of handling unruly users, while users with a + sign are trusted individuals who are a positive presence in the chat. Here's a complete staff list for the room, as well as the general rules.

Art discussion take priority in this room, so never feel discouraged to share your art and ask for feedback on it. Otherwise, just chatting in general is just fine if there's not much discussion going on. If an art discussion is going or there's a lot of activity in general, be careful not to be too off-topic, otherwise the staff members may warn or even mute you so that the chat isn't disrupted.

One of the major features of the room is the bot Art2D2, which not only helps out with the moderation duty but is also often used to host various activities and info. For instance:

\daily draw or \dd
The Art room always try to encourage breaking outside your comfort zone, so if you just need a small challenge for practise or just for fun, type in the above command and you'll see what the room's staff have decided for the day's Daily Draw challenge.

\randpoke
Typing this command will make Art2D2 select a random Pokemon for you, which is mostly used in conjunction with the Daily Draw challenge, or if you just feel like getting a suggestion. Replacing the 'poke' part with the words move, ability, type, stats, item, and location will get you a random answer for those categories as well!

\mail :user:, :message:
Replacing :user: with the name of a different member, and :message: with the text or information you want to send, you can make Art2D2 withold the message until said user comes online again! Do note that you need to be of the rank Roompaw in order to utilise this feature, so if you've become somewhat of a regular of this room and needs to use this feature, ask a staff member to promote you to Roompaw.
Want more info about the room or Pokemon Showdown in general? Check out the below links then!

 
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brightobject

there like moonlight
is a Top Artistis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Hey, what do you think about having some art done for some of these tabs? I might be able to do some stuff over the weekend
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Hey, what do you think about having some art done for some of these tabs? I might be able to do some stuff over the weekend
oh right, I forgot to explicitly say that: all pages can definitely use some art! The only art iirc that can be recycled is the pic I made for the Directory which can go on our Resource page (with Tikitik links to various threads) and a black/white version of the studio logo that can be used in the History section.
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
This for the part on the earlier Info/FAQ index that leads from "How do I contribute art to Smogon?". Per usual, suggestions on what to add or how to improve the wording is appreciated.


Contributing art to Smogon


Smogon is always in need of artists who are willing to lend a hand and volunteer artwork, and that won't stop being the case any time soon. At the same time, Smogon can be a pretty big place, so knowing where to direct your efforts could be tricky. That's where this page comes in! Below we've listed some of the threads and directories that artists of various experience and style can contribute to, either directly or after proving themselves, so if you want to help out, just keep on reading!


Open for all

The threads and projects listed in this category are open to any artist who feel confident in their craft to draw, or design, an image for others to use. But since anyone can contribute, odds are that not all entries will be used, but don't let that discourage you from trying! All images created for these areas will be considered if an artist is eligible for an artist or pre-contributor badge.


Artwork for Tournaments

Originally founded by Zracknel, this thread is dedicated to all the various tournaments hosted around Smogon, and a lot of them could be improved with banners, logos, or just plain awesome images! The requests posted in this thread does have a deadline to abide by, however, so consider how much time there is left before you start working on something. Make sure to read the guidelines before you start contributing, as you also have the option to collaborate with others and even use pre-existing art for this task, although the latter comes with new restrictions. A cool image can be what convinces someone to join the tournament, and since the tours gets a lot of views from visitors and participants alike, do consider lending your skills to this endeavour!


The Workshop

There is a vast number of threads and projects around Smogon, and essentially all of them can gain from having a cool logo or image to give a good impression and attract new contributors. The Workshop is open for any thread owner or project leader to make an artwork request, and then it's up to the artists to heed their call! If you want to make a good image that's tailormade for its specific purpose, read the suggestions made by the requester and check out the thread or project itself to see what you may use to illustrate it.

Other than that, Smogon's metagame forums have a ton of discussion threads. Some of them, especially ongoing or important discussions, can greatly benefit from having artwork. If you find an ongoing discussion thread or project that you think is awesome and you want to do artwork for it, contact the thread owner and see if there's something you can do to spice it up a notch. So just because it's not a request inside the Workshop, feel free to help out whenever you see fit!


The Create-A-Pokemon Project

Smogon has a community-wide Create-A-Pokemon (CAP) project in which competitive pokemon are made through a large-scale, community effort. So naturally, artwork is a part of that process! Here's a page ellaborating on the rules and requirements concerning the design phase each CAP round, and once a thread is up for artists to submit their designs, the race is on! Sadly, only one design can be the winner, but if you perform well in the polls, your participation can still rewarded, such as having your design featured on-site. If you keep close attention to other qualities that the CAP receives (such as the abilities), you can more easily tailor your design to what the community is looking for.


Quality illustrations

There are certain areas of Smogon where the expectiations on contributors are higher, depending on how much exposure the finished product receives. Much like how authors are required to show that they're capable to write about a certain topic, or how HTMLers need to get evaluated before preparing content to be uploaded onto the site, artists too need to show that they're capable of creating adequate images to illustrate various content. The areas listed below are thus only open to approved artists, and artists who have already received the artist badge. For more info about approved artists, see this link.


Art for Articles

There are numerous articles hosted on Smogon, all of them created by the Contributions and Corrections (C&C) department, where the topics can span between in-game guides to info about the various metagames played on Pokemon Showdown. Thus, all the artwork created for this area will end up directly on Smogon's main site, which is also why the illustrations need to reach a certain standard. If you'd like to contribute with an artpiece, post in the thread where you specify which article you'd like to illustrate and what you're planning to make for it. If you're lacking ideas, either read or skim through the article to get a good understanding of the content before you start working on the image. Also, feel free to post WIPs in the thread to ask for feedback. Since most of the articles are already uploaded, there's thus no immediate rush to get the images done, so artists who wants to take their time with their creations are encouraged to try out this section!


Article Workshop

This is a community project that's spanning several years, where users from this very forum join together to write, check, code, and illustrate articles of various subjects. The artists obviously help out with the latter, taking of their time and efforts to make a solid illustration for the article before it goes live! However, since the work is being done behind closed curtains, you need to ask for access to the hidden workshop if you'd like to contribute art, so contact any staff member on this list, and they'd be happy to set you up! When you have access, this thread will be of high interest to you, as it contains a list of articles of different priority so that artists know which ones are more urgent to complete. Sometimes, the art director can tag artists if an article is expected to release soon and see if anyone's available to help, but artists are free to make an image for any article on the list as long as there's still time before release. If you can churn out cool art at a reasonable pace, then you'll do just fine in this area!


Facebook

In this day and age, having a solid presence on most social media platforms can greatly benefit any community, and Smogon is no exception. If you want to step up to the task and create stunning artwork for the analyses and announcements posted onto Smogon's facebook and other media outlets, then this is the place for you! Pokemon of the Week is a re-occurring series usually posted each Sunday, where the accompanying image can be made by one of Smogon's artists. Content posted on facebook is immediately sent to thousands of people's newsfeed, so the exposure artists can gain is significant, although it needs to be noted that the artwork created for this purpose cannot be sloppy. At the time of writing this, antemortem and tennisace are the people to ask about contributing artwork to Smogon Media in general, so if you're an approved artist with more questions to ask, shoot them a message!


This should cover most of the possible avenues on Smogon that's a high demand in art. If you have more questions about contributing art to Smogon and what that involves, feel free to contact any of the Art Leaders on Smogon, who at the time of writing this is Bummer. Thanks for reading!
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Wrote up the next part (answering the question What does it mean to be an approved artist?). The red sentence will have a link once we've got things uploaded. In the meantime, I welcome further questions about the below topic if I'm still unclear in certain parts.


///////

Approved artists


It goes without saying that the content put forth onto Smogon's website, and anything else that's seen by thousands of people, needs to be of good quality and be able to make a good impression. To achieve this, essentially all contributors need to prove themselves capable to handle certain tasks. Authors can write samples of a topic they're intending to write, HTML writers must pass an evaluation test, and naturally, artists are no exception. At the same time, art is also very subjective, where each illustration can be done in myriads of ways in just as many styles. But since the artwork created for articles and other written content needs to complement the material, the artist doesn't have unlimited freedom with what they can draw, and if it's a sloppy or poorly drawn image, it will also reflect badly on the author and the article itself.


Why was this set in place to begin with?

In the past, quality control for art was only required when staff for The Smog, Smogon's official webzine (now discontinued), needed to evaluate artists before giving them access to their workshop that was hidden from public view. As time went on, more and more areas around Smogon began asking for quality artwork as well, which meant that artists had to contact several section leaders and get evaluated multiple times before they could contribute their art to all the sections. Thus, the Art leaders on Smogon decided that they could handle the evaluation process instead, so that artists only needed to be evaluated once before being approved to contribute to all the more demanding areas.


So how do you get approved?

If you want to offer your art skills to Smogon, feel free to make a new thread in the Artist Approvals subforum, where you include at least three images that adequately shows your current art progress. You can also write a small introduction about yourself, or a link to your art thread in Smeargle's Studio if you have one. If you've uploaded your art to other sites as well, such as Tumblr or deviantArt, feel free to include links to those pages as well. If you're a skilled illustrator, then you'll get the green light right away, but if not, you'll get some advice on how to improve your art and suggestions on what to work on next. Even if you don't feel you've got what it takes to become approved, feel free to drop an application anyway, since we'll still take the opportunity to give feedback on your progress!

Of course, Art leaders can also approve artists right away if they find their artwork to be well above the required skill level, such as when new artists opens up their own art thread in Smeargle's Studio, or if they contribute a cool image to a contest. Point is, don't be too surprised if you become approved out of the blue, since we're always looking for talented artists who can help out!


Alright, I'm an approved artist. What now?

First off, being approved does not mean that you are required to contribute art on a regular basis. Being an approved artist is a position, and not an obligation. If you want to contribute art to some of our more demanding areas of the site, you're now free to do so, but as we're all doing this for free, we simply cannot expect anyone to do this against their will. But we appreciate any help we can get, as we're pretty much always running short on art!

If you want to know which areas you now can contribute to, see our Contributing Art to Smogon page.


I'm not an approved artist, what will you be looking for in an application?

As mentioned in the beginning, art is a very subjective topic, so there's no specific style or techniques that each applying artist must have mastered in order to become approved. However, there are certain things that any artwork and illustration can benefit from, as well as common pitfalls any artist can learn to avoid, so we'll try to name a few.


Coherent Lineart
Pokémon designs are, through an art perspective, fairly simple. This includes, but is not limited to; outlines without unnecessary gaps, avoiding wobbly lines, and just generally be able to give large features and miniscule details the appropriate amount of emphasis. Knowing how to adequately trim the brush strokes can also greatly improve the lineart. For instance, if pointy tips, like fur and claws, are too blunt, it can send the impression that the lineart is sloppy and not as refined as it could be.

Adequate coloring
One common mistake when it comes to coloring artwork is having the colors leak outside the lineart (aka "bleeding"), which for understandable reasons don't make for a great impression. Color contrast also needs to be in proper balance. Having too many colors that don't fit too well together, especially if they're bright, can be very straining on the eyes. On the other hand, letting the colors be too dull can make an image seem much less boring than what it is (be wary of sampling colors directly from official Pokemon artwork).

Sensible shading
Shading an image is not always a requirement, but when you do, make sure that the shadows are consistent with where the assumed light source is located. Light moves linearly, so while it can reflect faintly on certain surfaces, shadows and lighting in a drawing should clearly correspond to a specific direction where most of the light is coming from. If multiple light sources are in the image, the artist needs to demonstrate that they can handle that as well. Small highlights can also make a drawing seem much more alive, just don't overdo them.

Lively poses
Even if you have kickass lineart and dynamic colors, you can only go so far if the poses are stale and don't deviate far from official artwork. Being unable to draw Pokémon and humans in poses or angles they've chosen themselves could be a sign that an artist is struggling with body anatomy and perspectives, and is something they should treat as a serious area to improve upon, as there isn't always available references for what they're planning to draw. Granted, we're not expecting jawdropping choreography with each image, just enough to show that the artist have a good understanding of proper anatomy and natural stances.

Vivid backgrounds
Knowing how to draw backgrounds are not a requirement to become approved, I can tell you that much. However, it should be obvious to anyone that a well executed background can certainly take an image to new heights, even if they're not complex. If you do struggle with backgrounds, don't push yourself by adding it to illustrations for the sake of it, as a poorly made background can actually make the image worse as a result.

Consistency
This is arguable the number one reason most artists are rejected. Even a novice artist can be able to produce a stunning image, but unless their artwork has a consistent level of quality, then the Art leaders will prefer to postpone the approval until the artist has shown that they know what works and what doesn't. If your application is rejected for this reason, you may still be able to contribute to certain areas normally reserved for approved artists, on the condition that your illustrations are inspected before it's released to the public so that the Art leaders can confirm that it's up to the task.

All that said, an artist does not need to excel in all of the above categories. Excellently drawn lineart can compensate for a lack of shading, and being particularly skilled with manipulating colors and lighting can cover up shortcomings in other areas. Sometimes, it all comes down to what impressions your artwork is giving off. Regardless of the outcome, we encourage everyone in Smeargle's Studio to improve upon their craft, so if you want direct feedback on your art, feel free to shoot us an application!
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Finished the part about the artist badge before bed. Per usual: suggestions, proofreading and perhaps even more information about the artist badge's history is welcome.

The Artist badge


Hopefully, each and every art contribution an artist creates for Smogon should be met with heartfelt appreciation and thanks from the users who receive it, but given how much energy and time certain pictures can involve, we try to honor our generous artisans through other means. Thus, the Artist Badge is rewarded to users who at multiple occasions have taken their time and effort to make images for articles and events around Smogon, a demand that's growing larger for each year that passes! Any badge a user receives comes with a nice slew of benefits on the forums, but apart from proving that you are a contributor to Smogon, the artist badge will also be proof that you possess considerable skill within the visual medium, be it traditional art, digital drawings, or spriting. So wear it with pride!

At the time of writing this, Bummer is Smogon's Art Leader while Layell is the Sprite Leader, and therefore the people in charge of rewarding artists with the badge when they have contributed enough quality images to Smogon. If you believe yourself to be eligible for the badge, feel free to contact them and specify where you've contributed, and they'll be sure to either fill out your paperwork, or explain why you haven't been rewarded yet. But if you're curious, here are the official requirements for receiving the artist badge:

This badge is rewarded to users who have contributed a multitude of images to areas that require art of decent quality, such as Article Workshop, social media, on-site articles, our Sprite project, or other areas of similar importance. The contributions required for the badge is judged case by case, where both the number of contributions and their overall quality are considered.

The artist must also be an approved artist before receiving this badge (some exceptions can occur, like for sprite artists). If the user has contributed images before becoming approved, those contributions can be used as supporting material for rewarding the user with an artist badge either immediately or later in the future.

In summary, the art badge is rewarded to those who have contributed a considerable amount of images to the site, and has also shown enough skill to handle specific requests and create images of appropriate quality.

In the past, the artist badge was considered to be one of the easier badges to receive, particularly in the early days of Smogon where a single image contributed to the site could be enough to get badged. Some concerns were also raised when certain artists who didn't put much effort into their craft could still earn the badge simply by contributing enough images, causing the artist badge to be associated with quantity rather than quality. So over time, changes has been made to the badge requirements to emphasize that the artist needs to produce art of sufficient quality, along with a reasonable amount of contributions. So today, the artist badge could be seen as one of the most difficult badges to earn, depending on how skillful you are as an artist when you begin earning it. So whenever an artist is rewarded with it, it should not just be seen as the outcome of contributing with enough images, and instead what it rightfully is: an accomplishment!

Since the artist badge is based on contributions and not activity, it won't be removed if a user quits Smogon or goes inactive for other reasons. In those cases, the artist alumni badge (grayscale version of the same badge) will replace the standard artist badge, to show that the user is no longer active but still an earlier contributor to Smogon. That said, the alumni badge should still be seen as something given to veteran artists who've spent either a considerable time or effort on Smogon, so someone who just earned the artist badge and goes inactive will have less odds of becoming alumnied, and instead keep the regular artist badge.

Here's an index of all of our current artist badge holders. Do you wanna be one of them? Then the community in Smeargle's Studio would love to help you improve, and the whole of Smogon would also appreciate any generous donation of your talents!

- Bummer, Art Leader of Smogon​
 

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
This for the part on the earlier Info/FAQ index that leads from "How do I contribute art to Smogon?". Per usual, suggestions on what to add or how to improve the wording is appreciated.
Contributing art to Smogon

Smogon is always in need of artists who are willing to lend a hand and volunteer artwork, and that won't stop being the case any time soon. At the same time, Smogon can be a pretty big place, so knowing where to direct your efforts could be tricky. That's where this page comes in! Below we've listed some of the threads and directories that artists of various experience and style can contribute to, either directly or after proving themselves, so if you want to help out, just keep on reading!


Open for all

The threads and projects listed in this category are open to any artist who feel confident in their craft to draw, or design, an image for others to use. But since anyone can contribute, odds are that not all entries will be used, but don't let that discourage you from trying! All images created for these areas will be considered if an artist is eligible for an artist or pre-contributor badge.


Artwork for Tournaments

Originally founded by Zracknel, this thread is dedicated to all the various tournaments hosted around Smogon, and a lot of them could be improved with banners, logos, or just plain awesome images! The requests posted in this thread does have a deadline to abide by, however, so consider how much time there is left before you start working on something. Make sure to read the guidelines before you start contributing, as you also have the option to collaborate with others and even use pre-existing art for this task, although the latter comes with new restrictions. A cool image can be what convinces someone to join the tournament, and since the tours gets a lot of views from visitors and participants alike, do consider lending your skills to this endeavour!


The Workshop

There is a vast number of threads and projects around Smogon, and essentially all of them can gain from having a cool logo or image to give a good impression and attract new contributors. The Workshop is open for any thread owner or project leader to make an artwork request, and then it's up to the artists to heed their call! If you want to make a good image that's tailormade for its specific purpose, read the suggestions made by the requester and check out the thread or project itself to see what you may use to illustrate it.

Other than that, Smogon's metagame forums have a ton of discussion threads. Some of them, especially ongoing or important discussions, can greatly benefit from having artwork. If you find an ongoing discussion thread or project that you think is awesome and you want to do artwork for it, contact the thread owner and see if there's something you can do to spice it up a notch. So just because it's not a request inside the Workshop, feel free to help out whenever you see fit!


The Create-A-Pokemon Project

Smogon has a community-wide Create-A-Pokemon (CAP) project in which competitive pokemon are made through a large-scale, community effort. So naturally, artwork is a part of that process! Here's a page ellaborating on the rules and requirements concerning the design phase each CAP round, and once a thread is up for artists to submit their designs, the race is on! Sadly, only one design can be the winner, but if you perform well in the polls, your participation can still rewarded, such as having your design featured on-site. If you keep close attention to other qualities that the CAP receives (such as the abilities), you can more easily tailor your design to what the community is looking for.


Quality illustrations

There are certain areas of Smogon where the expectiations on contributors are higher, depending on how much exposure the finished product receives. Much like how authors are required to show that they're capable to write about a certain topic, or how HTMLers need to get evaluated before preparing content to be uploaded onto the site, artists too need to show that they're capable of creating adequate images to illustrate various content. The areas listed below are thus only open to approved artists, and artists who have already received the artist badge. For more info about approved artists, see this link.


Art for Articles

There are numerous articles hosted on Smogon, all of them created by the Contributions and Corrections (C&C) department, where the topics can span between in-game guides to info about the various metagames played on Pokemon Showdown. Thus, all the artwork created for this area will end up directly on Smogon's main site, which is also why the illustrations need to reach a certain standard. If you'd like to contribute with an artpiece, post in the thread where you specify which article you'd like to illustrate and what you're planning to make for it. If you're lacking ideas, either read or skim through the article to get a good understanding of the content before you start working on the image. Also, feel free to post WIPs in the thread to ask for feedback. Since most of the articles are already uploaded, there's thus no immediate rush to get the images done, so artists who wants to take their time with their creations are encouraged to try out this section!


Article Workshop

This is a community project that's spanning several years, where users from this very forum join together to write, check, code, and illustrate articles of various subjects. The artists obviously help out with the latter, taking of their time and efforts to make a solid illustration for the article before it goes live! However, since the work is being done behind closed curtains, you need to ask for access to the hidden workshop if you'd like to contribute art, so contact any staff member on this list, and they'd be happy to set you up! When you have access, this thread will be of high interest to you, as it contains a list of articles of different priority so that artists know which ones are more urgent to complete. Sometimes, the art director can tag artists if an article is expected to release soon and see if anyone's available to help, but artists are free to make an image for any article on the list as long as there's still time before release. If you can churn out cool art at a reasonable pace, then you'll do just fine in this area!


Facebook

In this day and age, having a solid presence on most social media platforms can greatly benefit any community, and Smogon is no exception. If you want to step up to the task and create stunning artwork for the analyses and announcements posted onto Smogon's facebook and other media outlets, then this is the place for you! Pokemon of the Week is a re-occurring series usually posted each Sunday, where the accompanying image can be made by one of Smogon's artists. Content posted on facebook is immediately sent to thousands of people's newsfeed, so the exposure artists can gain is significant, although it needs to be noted that the artwork created for this purpose cannot be sloppy. At the time of writing this, antemortem and tennisace are the people to ask about contributing artwork to Smogon Media in general, so if you're an approved artist with more questions to ask, shoot them a message!


This should cover most of the possible avenues on Smogon that's a high demand in art. If you have more questions about contributing art to Smogon and what that involves, feel free to contact any of the Art Leaders on Smogon, who at the time of writing this is Bummer. Thanks for reading!
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<h2>Contributing art to Smogon</h2>
<p>Smogon is <em>always</em> in need of artists who are willing to lend a hand and volunteer artwork, and that won't stop being the case any time soon. At the same time, Smogon can be a pretty big place, so knowing where to direct your efforts could be tricky. That's where this page comes in! Below we've listed some of the threads and directories that artists of varied experience and styles can contribute to, either directly or after proving themselves, so if you want to help out, just keep on reading!</p>

<h2>Open for all</h2>
<p>The threads and projects listed in this category are open to any artist that feels confident in their craft to draw or design an image for others to use. However, because anyone can contribute, odds are that not all entries will be used, but don't let that discourage you from trying! All images created for these areas will be considered if an artist is eligible for an Artist or Pre-Contributor badge.</p>

<h3 id="one"><a href="/forums/threads/3547652/" target="_blank">Artwork for Tournaments</a></h3>
<p><a href="/forums/threads/3471740/" target="_blank">Originally founded by Zracknel</a>, this thread is dedicated to all od the <a href="/forums/forums/34/" target="_blank">various tournaments</a> hosted around Smogon, and a lot of them could be improved with banners, logos, or just plain awesome images! The requests posted in this thread do have a deadline to abide by, however, so consider how much time there is left before you start working on something. Make sure to read the guidelines before you start contributing, as you also have the option to collaborate with others and even use pre-existing art for this task, although the latter comes with new restrictions. A cool image can be what convinces someone to join the tournament, and because the tours get a lot of views from visitors and participants alike, do consider lending your skills to this endeavor!</p>

<h3 id="two"><a href="/forums/threads/3510863/" target="_blank">The Workshop</a></h3>
<p>There is a vast number of threads and projects around Smogon, and essentially all of them can gain from having a cool logo or image to give a good impression and attract new contributors. The Workshop is open for any thread owner or project leader to make an artwork request, and then it's up to the artists to heed their call! If you want to make a good image that's tailormade for its specific purpose, read the suggestions made by the requester and check out the thread or project itself to see what you may use to illustrate it.</p>
<p>Other than that, <a href="/forums/forums/249/" target="_blank">Smogon's metagame forums</a> have a ton of discussion threads. Some of them, especially ongoing or important discussions, can greatly benefit from having artwork. If you find an ongoing discussion thread or project that you think is awesome and you want to do artwork for it, contact the thread owner and see if there's something you can do to spice it up a notch. So just because it's not a request inside the Workshop, feel free to help out whenever you see fit!</p>

<h3 id="three"><a href="/forums/forums/66/" target="_blank">The Create-a-Pok&eacute;mon Project</a></h3>
<p>Smogon has a community-wide <a href="/cap/" target="_blank">Create-A-Pok&eacute;mon (CAP) project</a>, and in which, competitive Pok&eacute;mon are made through a large-scale, community effort. So naturally, artwork is a part of that process! <a href="/cap/process/events/art_submissions" target="_blank">Here's a page</a> elaborating on the rules and requirements concerning the design phase each CAP round, and, once a thread is up for artists to submit their designs, the race is on! Sadly, only one design can be the winner, but if you perform well in the polls, your participation can still be rewarded, such as <a href="/cap/gallery/">having your design featured on-site</a>. If you keep close attention to other qualities that the CAP receives, such as the abilities, you can more easily tailor your design to what the community is looking for.</p>

<h2>Quality illustrations</h2>
<p>There are certain areas of Smogon where the expectiations on contributors are higher, depending on how much exposure the finished product receives. Much like how authors are required to show that they're capable to write about a certain topic, or how HTMLers need to get evaluated before preparing content to be uploaded onto the site, artists also need to show that they're capable of creating adequate images to illustrate various content. The areas listed below are thus only open to approved artists, and artists who have already received the artist badge. For more info about approved artists, see this link.</p>

<h3 id="four"><a href="/forums/threads/3549111/" target="_blank">Art for Articles</a></h3>
<p>There are numerous articles hosted on Smogon, all of them created by the Contributions and Corrections (C&amp;C) department, where the topics can span between in-game guides to info about the various metagames played on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown!. Thus, all the artwork created for this area will end up directly on Smogon's main site, which is also why the illustrations need to reach a certain standard. If you'd like to contribute with an artpiece, post in the thread where you specify which article you'd like to illustrate and what you're planning to make for it. If you're lacking ideas, either read or skim through the article to get a good understanding of the content before you start working on the image. Also, feel free to post WIPs in the thread to ask for feedback. Because most of the articles are already uploaded, there's thus no immediate rush to get the images done, so artists who want to take their time with their creations are encouraged to try out this section!</p>

<h3 id="five"><a href="/forums/forums/347/" target="_blank">Article Workshop</a></h3>
<p>This is a community project that's been spanning for several years, where users from this very forum join together to write, GP check, HTML, and illustrate articles of various subjects. The artists obviously help out with the latter, taking their time and effort to make a solid illustration for the article before it goes live! However, because the work is being done behind closed curtains, you need to ask for access to the hidden workshop if you'd like to contribute art, so contact <a href="/forums/threads/3544811/#post-6385171" target="_blank">any staff member on this list</a>, and they'd be happy to set you up! When you have access, <a href="/forums/threads/3544880/">this thread will be of high interest to you</a>, as it contains a list of articles of different priority so that artists know which ones are more urgent to complete. Sometimes, the art director can tag artists if an article is expected to release soon and see if anyone's available to help, but artists are free to make an image for any article on the list as long as there's still time before release. If you can churn out cool art at a reasonable pace, then you'll do just fine in this area!</p>

<h3 id="six"><a href="/forums/threads/3529515/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></h3>
<p>In this day and age, having a solid presence on most social media platforms can greatly benefit any community, and Smogon is no exception. If you want to step up to the task and create stunning artwork for the analyses and announcements posted onto Smogon's Facebook and other media outlets, then this is the place for you! Pok&eacute;mon of the Week is a reoccurring series, usually posted every Sunday, where the accompanying image can be made by one of Smogon's artists. Content posted on Facebook is immediately sent to thousands of people's newsfeed, so the exposure artists can gain is significant, although it needs to be noted that the artwork created for this purpose cannot be sloppy. At the time of writing this, <a href="/forums/members/192841/" target="_blank">antemortem</a> and <a href="/forums/members/16017/" target="_blank">tennisace</a> are the people to ask about contributing artwork to Smogon Media in general, so if you're an approved artist with more questions to ask, shoot them a message!</p>

<hr />

<p>This should cover most of the possible avenues on Smogon that's at high demand in art. If you have more questions about contributing art to Smogon and what that involves, feel free to contact any of the Art Leaders on Smogon, who at the time of writing this is <a href="/forums/members/73434/" target="_blank">Bummer</a>. Thanks for reading!</p>
Wrote up the next part (answering the question What does it mean to be an approved artist?). The red sentence will have a link once we've got things uploaded. In the meantime, I welcome further questions about the below topic if I'm still unclear in certain parts.


///////
Approved artists

It goes without saying that the content put forth onto Smogon's website, and anything else that's seen by thousands of people, needs to be of good quality and be able to make a good impression. To achieve this, essentially all contributors need to prove themselves capable to handle certain tasks. Authors can write samples of a topic they're intending to write, HTML writers must pass an evaluation test, and naturally, artists are no exception. At the same time, art is also very subjective, where each illustration can be done in myriads of ways in just as many styles. But since the artwork created for articles and other written content needs to complement the material, the artist doesn't have unlimited freedom with what they can draw, and if it's a sloppy or poorly drawn image, it will also reflect badly on the author and the article itself.


Why was this set in place to begin with?

In the past, quality control for art was only required when staff for The Smog, Smogon's official webzine (now discontinued), needed to evaluate artists before giving them access to their workshop that was hidden from public view. As time went on, more and more areas around Smogon began asking for quality artwork as well, which meant that artists had to contact several section leaders and get evaluated multiple times before they could contribute their art to all the sections. Thus, the Art leaders on Smogon decided that they could handle the evaluation process instead, so that artists only needed to be evaluated once before being approved to contribute to all the more demanding areas.


So how do you get approved?

If you want to offer your art skills to Smogon, feel free to make a new thread in the Artist Approvals subforum, where you include at least three images that adequately shows your current art progress. You can also write a small introduction about yourself, or a link to your art thread in Smeargle's Studio if you have one. If you've uploaded your art to other sites as well, such as Tumblr or deviantArt, feel free to include links to those pages as well. If you're a skilled illustrator, then you'll get the green light right away, but if not, you'll get some advice on how to improve your art and suggestions on what to work on next. Even if you don't feel you've got what it takes to become approved, feel free to drop an application anyway, since we'll still take the opportunity to give feedback on your progress!

Of course, Art leaders can also approve artists right away if they find their artwork to be well above the required skill level, such as when new artists opens up their own art thread in Smeargle's Studio, or if they contribute a cool image to a contest. Point is, don't be too surprised if you become approved out of the blue, since we're always looking for talented artists who can help out!


Alright, I'm an approved artist. What now?

First off, being approved does not mean that you are required to contribute art on a regular basis. Being an approved artist is a position, and not an obligation. If you want to contribute art to some of our more demanding areas of the site, you're now free to do so, but as we're all doing this for free, we simply cannot expect anyone to do this against their will. But we appreciate any help we can get, as we're pretty much always running short on art!

If you want to know which areas you now can contribute to, see our Contributing Art to Smogon page.


I'm not an approved artist, what will you be looking for in an application?

As mentioned in the beginning, art is a very subjective topic, so there's no specific style or techniques that each applying artist must have mastered in order to become approved. However, there are certain things that any artwork and illustration can benefit from, as well as common pitfalls any artist can learn to avoid, so we'll try to name a few.


Coherent Lineart
Pokémon designs are, through an art perspective, fairly simple. This includes, but is not limited to; outlines without unnecessary gaps, avoiding wobbly lines, and just generally be able to give large features and miniscule details the appropriate amount of emphasis. Knowing how to adequately trim the brush strokes can also greatly improve the lineart. For instance, if pointy tips, like fur and claws, are too blunt, it can send the impression that the lineart is sloppy and not as refined as it could be.

Adequate coloring
One common mistake when it comes to coloring artwork is having the colors leak outside the lineart (aka "bleeding"), which for understandable reasons don't make for a great impression. Color contrast also needs to be in proper balance. Having too many colors that don't fit too well together, especially if they're bright, can be very straining on the eyes. On the other hand, letting the colors be too dull can make an image seem much less boring than what it is (be wary of sampling colors directly from official Pokemon artwork).

Sensible shading
Shading an image is not always a requirement, but when you do, make sure that the shadows are consistent with where the assumed light source is located. Light moves linearly, so while it can reflect faintly on certain surfaces, shadows and lighting in a drawing should clearly correspond to a specific direction where most of the light is coming from. If multiple light sources are in the image, the artist needs to demonstrate that they can handle that as well. Small highlights can also make a drawing seem much more alive, just don't overdo them.

Lively poses
Even if you have kickass lineart and dynamic colors, you can only go so far if the poses are stale and don't deviate far from official artwork. Being unable to draw Pokémon and humans in poses or angles they've chosen themselves could be a sign that an artist is struggling with body anatomy and perspectives, and is something they should treat as a serious area to improve upon, as there isn't always available references for what they're planning to draw. Granted, we're not expecting jawdropping choreography with each image, just enough to show that the artist have a good understanding of proper anatomy and natural stances.

Vivid backgrounds
Knowing how to draw backgrounds are not a requirement to become approved, I can tell you that much. However, it should be obvious to anyone that a well executed background can certainly take an image to new heights, even if they're not complex. If you do struggle with backgrounds, don't push yourself by adding it to illustrations for the sake of it, as a poorly made background can actually make the image worse as a result.

Consistency
This is arguable the number one reason most artists are rejected. Even a novice artist can be able to produce a stunning image, but unless their artwork has a consistent level of quality, then the Art leaders will prefer to postpone the approval until the artist has shown that they know what works and what doesn't. If your application is rejected for this reason, you may still be able to contribute to certain areas normally reserved for approved artists, on the condition that your illustrations are inspected before it's released to the public so that the Art leaders can confirm that it's up to the task.

All that said, an artist does not need to excel in all of the above categories. Excellently drawn lineart can compensate for a lack of shading, and being particularly skilled with manipulating colors and lighting can cover up shortcomings in other areas. Sometimes, it all comes down to what impressions your artwork is giving off. Regardless of the outcome, we encourage everyone in Smeargle's Studio to improve upon their craft, so if you want direct feedback on your art, feel free to shoot us an application!
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<p>It goes without saying that the content put forth onto Smogon's website, and anything else that's seen by thousands of people, needs to be of good quality and be able to make a good impression. To achieve this, essentially all contributors need to prove themselves capable to handle certain tasks. Authors can write samples of a topic they're intending to write, HTMLers must pass an evaluation test, and naturally, artists are no exception. At the same time, art is also very subjective, where each illustration can be done in myriads of ways in just as many styles. However, because the artwork created for articles and other written content needs to complement the material, the artist doesn't have unlimited freedom with what they can draw, and if it's a sloppy or poorly drawn image, it will also reflect badly on the author and the article itself.</p>

<h2>Why was this set in place to begin with?</h2>
<p>In the past, quality control for art was only required when staff for The Smog, Smogon's official webzine (now discontinued), needed to evaluate artists before giving them access to their workshop that was hidden from public view. As time went on, more and more areas around Smogon began asking for quality artwork as well, which meant that artists had to contact several section leaders and get evaluated multiple times before they could contribute their art to all the sections. Thus, the Art leaders on Smogon decided that they could handle the evaluation process instead, so that artists only needed to be evaluated once before being approved to contribute to all the more demanding areas.</p>

<h2>So, how do you get approved?</h2>
<p>If you want to offer your art skills to Smogon, feel free to make a new thread in the <a href="/forums/forums/298/" target="_blank">Artist Approvals</a> subforum, where you include at least three images that adequately shows your current art progress. You can also write a small introduction about yourself, or a link to your art thread in Smeargle's Studio if you have one. If you've uploaded your art to other sites as well, such as Tumblr and DeviantArt, feel free to include links to those pages as well. If you're a skilled illustrator, then you'll get the green light right away, but if not, you'll get some advice on how to improve your art and suggestions on what to work on next. Even if you don't feel you've got what it takes to become approved, feel free to drop an application anyway, as we'll still take the opportunity to give feedback on your progress!</p>
<p>Of course, Art leaders can also approve artists right away if they find their artwork to be well above the required skill level, such as when new artists open up their own art thread in Smeargle's Studio, or if they contribute a cool image to a contest. Point is, don't be too surprised if you become approved out of the blue, as we're always looking for talented artists who can help out!</p>

<h2>Alright, I'm an approved artist. What now?</h2>
<p>First off, being approved does not mean that you are required to contribute art on a regular basis. Being an approved artist is a position, and not an obligation. If you want to contribute art to some of our more demanding areas of the site, you're now free to do so, but, as we're all doing this for free, we simply cannot expect anyone to do this against their will. But we appreciate any help we can get, as we're pretty much always running short on art!</p>
<p>If you want to know which areas you now can contribute to, see our Contributing Art to Smogon page.</p>

<h2>I'm not an approved artist, what will you be looking for in an application?</h2>
<p>As mentioned in the beginning, art is a very subjective topic, so there's no specific style or techniques that each applying artist must have mastered in order to become approved. However, there are certain things that any artwork and illustration can benefit from, as well as common pitfalls any artist can learn to avoid, so we'll try to name a few.</p>
<div class="leftspacing">
    <h3>Coherent lineart</h3>
    <p>Pok&eacute;mon designs are, through an art perspective, fairly simple. This includes, but is not limited to: outlines without unnecessary gaps, avoiding wobbly lines, and just generally be able to give large features and miniscule details the appropriate amount of emphasis. Knowing how to adequately trim the brush strokes can also greatly improve the lineart. For instance, if pointy tips, like fur and claws, are too blunt, it can send the impression that the lineart is sloppy and not as refined as it could be.</p>

    <h3>Adequate coloring</h3>
    <p>One common mistake when it comes to coloring artwork is having the colors leak outside the lineart (aka "bleeding"), which for understandable reasons don't make for a great impression. Color contrast also needs to be improper balance. Having too many colors that don't fit too well together, especially if they're bright, can be very straining on the eyes. On the other hand, letting the colors be too dull can make an image seem much less boring than what it is (be wary of sampling colors directly from official Pok&eacute;mon artwork).</p>

    <h3>Sensible shading</h3>
    <p>Shading an image is not always a requirement, but when you do, make sure that the shadows are consistent with where the assumed light source is located. Light moves linearly, so, while it can reflect faintly on certain surfaces, shadows and lighting in a drawing should clearly correspond to a specific direction where most of the light is coming from. If multiple light sources are in the image, the artist needs to demonstrate that they can handle that as well. Small highlights can also make a drawing seem much more alive, just don't overdo them.</p>

    <h3>Lively poses</h3>
    <p>Even if you have kickass lineart and dynamic colors, you can only go so far if the poses are stale and don't deviate far from official artwork. Being unable to draw Pok&eacute;mon and humans in poses or angles they've chosen themselves could be a sign that an artist is struggling with body anatomy and perspectives, and is something they should treat as a serious area to improve upon, as there isn't always available references for what they're planning to draw. Granted, we're not expecting jawdropping choreography with each image, just enough to show that the artist has a good understanding of proper anatomy and natural stances.</p>

    <h3>Vivid backgrounds</h3>
    <p>Knowing how to draw backgrounds are not a requirement to become approved, I can tell you that much. However, it should be obvious to anyone that a well executed background can certainly take an image to new heights, even if they're not complex. If you do struggle with backgrounds, don't push yourself by adding it to illustrations for the sake of it, as a poorly made background can actually make the image worse as a result.</p>

    <h3>Consistency</h3>
    <p>This is arguably the number one reason most artists are rejected. Even a novice artist can be able to produce a stunning image, but unless their artwork has a consistent level of quality, then the Art leaders will prefer to postpone the approval until the artist has shown that they know what works and what doesn't. If your application is rejected for this reason, you may still be able to contribute to certain areas normally reserved for approved artists, on the condition that your illustrations are inspected before it's released to the public so that the Art leaders can confirm that it's up to the expectations.</p>
</div>

<p>All that said, an artist does not need to excel in all of the above categories. Excellently drawn lineart can compensate for a lack of shading, and being particularly skilled with manipulating colors and lighting can cover up shortcomings in other areas. Sometimes, it all comes down to what impressions your artwork is giving off. Regardless of the outcome, we encourage everyone in Smeargle's Studio to improve upon their craft, so if you want direct feedback on your art, feel free to shoot us an application!</p>
Finished the part about the artist badge before bed. Per usual: suggestions, proofreading and perhaps even more information about the artist badge's history is welcome.
The Artist badge

Hopefully, each and every art contribution an artist creates for Smogon should be met with heartfelt appreciation and thanks from the users who receive it, but given how much energy and time certain pictures can involve, we try to honor our generous artisans through other means. Thus, the Artist Badge is rewarded to users who at multiple occasions have taken their time and effort to make images for articles and events around Smogon, a demand that's growing larger for each year that passes! Any badge a user receives comes with a nice slew of benefits on the forums, but apart from proving that you are a contributor to Smogon, the artist badge will also be proof that you possess considerable skill within the visual medium, be it traditional art, digital drawings, or spriting. So wear it with pride!

At the time of writing this, Bummer is Smogon's Art Leader while Layell is the Sprite Leader, and therefore the people in charge of rewarding artists with the badge when they have contributed enough quality images to Smogon. If you believe yourself to be eligible for the badge, feel free to contact them and specify where you've contributed, and they'll be sure to either fill out your paperwork, or explain why you haven't been rewarded yet. But if you're curious, here are the official requirements for receiving the artist badge:




In the past, the artist badge was considered to be one of the easier badges to receive, particularly in the early days of Smogon where a single image contributed to the site could be enough to get badged. Some concerns were also raised when certain artists who didn't put much effort into their craft could still earn the badge simply by contributing enough images, causing the artist badge to be associated with quantity rather than quality. So over time, changes has been made to the badge requirements to emphasize that the artist needs to produce art of sufficient quality, along with a reasonable amount of contributions. So today, the artist badge could be seen as one of the most difficult badges to earn, depending on how skillful you are as an artist when you begin earning it. So whenever an artist is rewarded with it, it should not just be seen as the outcome of contributing with enough images, and instead what it rightfully is: an accomplishment!

Since the artist badge is based on contributions and not activity, it won't be removed if a user quits Smogon or goes inactive for other reasons. In those cases, the artist alumni badge (grayscale version of the same badge) will replace the standard artist badge, to show that the user is no longer active but still an earlier contributor to Smogon. That said, the alumni badge should still be seen as something given to veteran artists who've spent either a considerable time or effort on Smogon, so someone who just earned the artist badge and goes inactive will have less odds of becoming alumnied, and instead keep the regular artist badge.

Here's an index of all of our current artist badge holders. Do you wanna be one of them? Then the community in Smeargle's Studio would love to help you improve, and the whole of Smogon would also appreciate any generous donation of your talents!

- Bummer, Art Leader of Smogon​
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<p>Hopefully, each and every art contribution an artist creates for Smogon should be met with heartfelt appreciation and thanks from the users who receive it, but given how much energy and time certain pictures can involve, we try to honor our generous artisans through other means. Thus, the Artist Badge is rewarded to users who at multiple occasions have taken their time and effort to make images for articles and events around Smogon, a demand that's growing larger for each year that passes! Any badge a user receives comes with a nice slew of benefits on the forums, but apart from proving that you are a contributor to Smogon, the artist badge will also be proof that you possess considerable skill within the visual medium, be it traditional art, digital drawings, or spriting. So wear it with pride!</p>
<p>At the time of writing this, <a href="/forums/members/73434/" target="_blank">Bummer</a> is Smogon's Art Leader while <a href="/forums/members/6237/" target="_blank">Layell</a> is the Sprite Leader, and therefore the people in charge of rewarding artists with the badge when they have contributed enough quality images to Smogon. If you believe yourself to be eligible for the badge, feel free to contact them and specify where you've contributed, and they'll be sure to either fill out your paperwork, or explain why you haven't been rewarded yet. But if you're curious, here are the official requirements for receiving the artist badge:</p>
<div id="quote">
    <p><em>This badge is rewarded to users who have contributed a multitude of images to areas that require art of decent quality, such as Article Workshop, social media, on-site articles, our Sprite project, or other areas of similar importance. The contributions required for the badge is judged case by case, where both the number of contributions and their overall quality are considered.</em></p>
    <p><em>The artist must also be <a href="/forums/threads/3470629/#post-5615017" target="_blank">an approved artist</a> before receiving this badge (some exceptions can occur, like for sprite artists). If the user has contributed images before becoming approved, those contributions can be used as supporting material for rewarding the user with an artist badge either immediately or later in the future.</em></p>
    <p><em>In summary, the art badge is rewarded to those who have contributed a considerable amount of images to the site, and has also shown enough skill to handle specific requests and create images of appropriate quality.</em></p>
</div>
<p>In the past, the artist badge was considered to be one of the easier badges to receive, particularly in the early days of Smogon where a single image contributed to the site could be enough to get badged. Some concerns were also raised when certain artists who didn't put much effort into their craft could still earn the badge simply by contributing enough images, causing the artist badge to be associated with quantity rather than quality. So over time, changes have been made to the badge requirements to emphasize that the artist needs to produce art of sufficient quality, along with a reasonable amount of contributions. So today, the artist badge could be seen as one of the most difficult badges to earn, depending on how skillful you are as an artist when you begin earning it. So whenever an artist is rewarded with it, it should not just be seen as the outcome of contributing with enough images, and instead what it rightfully is: an accomplishment!</p>
<p>Because the artist badge is based on contributions and not activity, it won't be removed if a user quits Smogon or goes inactive for other reasons. In those cases, the artist alumni badge (grayscale version of the same badge) will replace the standard artist badge, to show that the user is no longer active but still an earlier contributor to Smogon. That said, the alumni badge should still be seen as something given to veteran artists who've spent either a considerable time or effort on Smogon, so someone who just earned the artist badge and goes inactive will have less odds of becoming alumnied, and instead keep the regular artist badge.</p>
<p><a href="/smeargle/profiles/" target="_blank">Here's an index of all of our current artist badge holders</a>. Do you want to be one of them? Then the community in Smeargle's Studio would love to help you improve, and the whole of Smogon would also appreciate any generous donation of your talents!</p>
<p style="float:right;">&mdash;Bummer, Art Leader of Smogon</p>
hi
 
Last edited:

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
How can I improve to the studio?

Regardless if you're an artist or not, Smeargle's Studio can gain a whole lot from other users who help out maintaining important threads, replying with advice in artist threads, or just being a positive and helpful presence. In fact, these efforts are even rewarded with a badge of its own, the Community Contributor (CC) badge. As the name implies, the badge is rewarded to users who are a positive influence in a certain section of Smogon, either by giving helpful advice or hosting various activities. Naturally, this also applies to Smeargle's Studio, but in order to help users who want to contribute, what follows is a list of stuff that would go towards earning this badge. Whether or not the badge is rewarded is judged on a case-by-case basis. You don't need to fulfill all of the criterias below, about 2 of them are enough in most cases. Lastly, we'd like to remind everyone that the CC badge is an activity based badge, so if you leave Smogon for a long time or don't participate in this section anymore, you may risk losing the badge (although being a contributor in another section can still allow you to keep it).

Giving feedback to artists

Anyone can give advice to the numerous artists who have set up their threads in this forum! However, posts that merely state "Good job" or "Looks awesome" (or posts that can be summarised in those words) may work well as positive reinforcement, but doesn't really point out what's good in their images. In those cases, you're better off liking their posts. Be specific and detailed about why you liked it and why the artist should continue doing that.

Critique can be a touchy subject, but without constructive feedback, artists may go on drawing without being made aware that something fundamental in their style could be improved, changed, or even removed! But in these cases, it is more important than ever to explain why you feel they should improve in a certain aspect, as anyone wouldn't feel inclined to change something about themselves unless they got a good reason. A good formula for giving feedback is the "critique sandwich". Start off with positive praise, move on with giving some helpful critique or more direct advise, and then finish the post with how they've performed thus far and how they're cpaable of striving further. So basically, critique in-between two slices of kind words.

So to reiterate, you don't need to be an artist yourself to give feedback to other artists. If you don't know the specific terms, try to use more general terms while still being specific enough so that the artist understands what you're trying to bring attention to. Critique can also come in the form of suggesting what the artist should be working on next, or to encourage them to draw something they're not used to. Be creative, and the artists you help will become creative as well!
Hosting Community Projects
Most of the threads marked with a
welcome submissions or input from anyone in the artist community, be it fun activities or more serious work. While the moderators and studio leaders try their best to keep these threads active and updated, we all have limited time and effort, so having others volunteer to manage these threads and keep them active is very appreciated!

With that said, handling threads like this is to be seen as a commitment. Mods and above can edit the first posts in any thread, while regular users cannot, meaning that they need to create new threads for them to edit freely. However, since the old thread will become invalid, all threads that refer to that thread will need to be updated with a link to the new one. So before you volunteer to manage one, it'd be wise to know if you'll be able to stick around the site for some time, as it'd be a hassle to update the new thread only to have its manager phase out after three weeks. If it happens, it happens, just don't try to bite off more than you can chew. If you have any questions about managing threads, just ask the mods or the art leaders, and we'll be glad to help you!
Participating in community activities

Much like the above criteria, participating in various forum events and projects by contributing your own art or support will not only help anyone else involved, but also encourage others to do the same! Make sure to read the guidelines in each thread before posting in them, as some may be more lax in their rulesets while others are more serious and certain requirements must be met. We cannot ask anyone to participate in every activity at once, but every contribution in this fashion serves to make the studio better and more active than before!
Being a positive influence in our chat rooms

Smeargle's Studio has an official chat room named #smeargle (available at @irc.synirc.net), as well as a chat room on Pokemon Showdown named the Art Room where several smogon regulars hang out, are great places to show off stuff you're working on and generally swapping advice. Being active in those channels, where you can either get a chat going with new topics, or by helping other users by giving feedback, are great ways of supporting and improving the chat. It's also the undeniably best away to become more involved with the community, as nothing beats interacting with other users in real-time!​

If you can think of other ways to either improve or promote our studio, feel free to contact any of the studio mods and art leaders. Even if you're not intentionally aiming to become a Community Contributor, we appreciate each and every user who takes their time to reply and contribute to our very special corner of Smogon. Thanks for reading!
 

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
How can I improve to the studio?

Regardless if you're an artist or not, Smeargle's Studio can gain a whole lot from other users who help out maintaining important threads, replying with advice in artist threads, or just being a positive and helpful presence. In fact, these efforts are even rewarded with a badge of its own, the Community Contributor (CC) badge. As the name implies, the badge is rewarded to users who are a positive influence in a certain section of Smogon, either by giving helpful advice or hosting various activities. Naturally, this also applies to Smeargle's Studio, but in order to help users who want to contribute, what follows is a list of stuff that would go towards earning this badge. Whether or not the badge is rewarded is judged on a case-by-case basis. You don't need to fulfill all of the criterias below, about 2 of them are enough in most cases. Lastly, we'd like to remind everyone that the CC badge is an activity based badge, so if you leave Smogon for a long time or don't participate in this section anymore, you may risk losing the badge (although being a contributor in another section can still allow you to keep it).

Giving feedback to artists

Anyone can give advice to the numerous artists who have set up their threads in this forum! However, posts that merely state "Good job" or "Looks awesome" (or posts that can be summarised in those words) may work well as positive reinforcement, but doesn't really point out what's good in their images. In those cases, you're better off liking their posts. Be specific and detailed about why you liked it and why the artist should continue doing that.

Critique can be a touchy subject, but without constructive feedback, artists may go on drawing without being made aware that something fundamental in their style could be improved, changed, or even removed! But in these cases, it is more important than ever to explain why you feel they should improve in a certain aspect, as anyone wouldn't feel inclined to change something about themselves unless they got a good reason. A good formula for giving feedback is the "critique sandwich". Start off with positive praise, move on with giving some helpful critique or more direct advise, and then finish the post with how they've performed thus far and how they're cpaable of striving further. So basically, critique in-between two slices of kind words.

So to reiterate, you don't need to be an artist yourself to give feedback to other artists. If you don't know the specific terms, try to use more general terms while still being specific enough so that the artist understands what you're trying to bring attention to. Critique can also come in the form of suggesting what the artist should be working on next, or to encourage them to draw something they're not used to. Be creative, and the artists you help will become creative as well!
Hosting Community Projects
Most of the threads marked with a
welcome submissions or input from anyone in the artist community, be it fun activities or more serious work. While the moderators and studio leaders try their best to keep these threads active and updated, we all have limited time and effort, so having others volunteer to manage these threads and keep them active is very appreciated!

With that said, handling threads like this is to be seen as a commitment. Mods and above can edit the first posts in any thread, while regular users cannot, meaning that they need to create new threads for them to edit freely. However, since the old thread will become invalid, all threads that refer to that thread will need to be updated with a link to the new one. So before you volunteer to manage one, it'd be wise to know if you'll be able to stick around the site for some time, as it'd be a hassle to update the new thread only to have its manager phase out after three weeks. If it happens, it happens, just don't try to bite off more than you can chew. If you have any questions about managing threads, just ask the mods or the art leaders, and we'll be glad to help you!
Participating in community activities

Much like the above criteria, participating in various forum events and projects by contributing your own art or support will not only help anyone else involved, but also encourage others to do the same! Make sure to read the guidelines in each thread before posting in them, as some may be more lax in their rulesets while others are more serious and certain requirements must be met. We cannot ask anyone to participate in every activity at once, but every contribution in this fashion serves to make the studio better and more active than before!
Being a positive influence in our chat rooms

Smeargle's Studio has an official chat room named #smeargle (available at @irc.synirc.net), as well as a chat room on Pokemon Showdown named the Art Room where several smogon regulars hang out, are great places to show off stuff you're working on and generally swapping advice. Being active in those channels, where you can either get a chat going with new topics, or by helping other users by giving feedback, are great ways of supporting and improving the chat. It's also the undeniably best away to become more involved with the community, as nothing beats interacting with other users in real-time!​

If you can think of other ways to either improve or promote our studio, feel free to contact any of the studio mods and art leaders. Even if you're not intentionally aiming to become a Community Contributor, we appreciate each and every user who takes their time to reply and contribute to our very special corner of Smogon. Thanks for reading!
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<p>Regardless of if you're an artist or not, Smeargle's Studio can gain a whole lot from other users who help out maintaining important threads, replying with advice in artist threads, or just being a positive and helpful presence. In fact, these efforts are even rewarded with a badge of its own, the Community Contributor (CC) badge. As the name implies, the badge is rewarded to users who are a positive influence in a certain section of Smogon, either by giving helpful advice or hosting various activities. Naturally, this also applies to Smeargle's Studio, but in order to help users who want to contribute, what follows is a list of stuff that would go towards earning this badge. Whether or not the badge is rewarded is judged on a case-by-case basis. You don't need to fulfill all of the criterias below, about two of them are enough in most cases. Lastly, we'd like to remind everyone that the CC badge is an activity based badge, so if you leave Smogon for a long time or don't participate in this section anymore, you may risk losing the badge, although being a contributor in another section can still allow you to keep it.</p>

<div class="leftspacing">
    <h2>Giving Feedback to artists</h2>
    <p>Anyone can give advice to the numerous artists who have set up their threads in this forum! However, posts that merely state "Good job" or "Looks awesome," or posts that can be summarized in those words, may work well as positive reinforcement, but don't really point out what's good in their images. In those cases, you're better off liking their posts. Be specific and detailed about why you liked it and why the artist should continue doing that.</p>
    <p>Critique can be a touchy subject, but without constructive feedback, artists may go on drawing without being made aware that something fundamental in their style could be improved, changed, or even removed! However, in these cases, it is more important than ever to explain why you feel they should improve in a certain aspect, as anyone wouldn't feel inclined to change something about themselves unless they got a good reason. A good formula for giving feedback is the "critique sandwich". Start off with positive praise, move on with giving some helpful critique or more direct advice, and then finish the post with how they've performed thus far and how they're capable of striving further. So basically, critique between two slices of kind words.</p>
    <p>So to reiterate, you don't need to be an artist yourself to give feedback to other artists. If you don't know the specific terms, try to use more general terms while still being specific enough so that the artist understands what you're trying to bring attention to. Critique can also come in the form of suggesting what the artist should be working on next, or to encourage them to draw something they're not used to. Be creative, and the artists you help will become creative as well!</p>

    <h2>Hosting Community Projects</h2>
    <p>Most of the threads marked with a <span class="star starG">&starf;</span> welcome submissions or input from anyone in the artist community, be it fun activities or more serious work. While the moderators and studio leaders try their best to keep these threads active and updated, we all have limited time and effort, so having others volunteer to manage these threads and keep them active is very appreciated!</p>
    <p>With that said, handling threads like this is to be seen as a commitment. Mods and above can edit the first posts in any thread, while regular users cannot, meaning that they need to create new threads for them to edit freely. However, because the old thread will become invalid, all threads that refer to that thread will need to be updated with a link to the new one. So, before you volunteer to manage one, it'd be wise to know if you'll be able to stick around the site for some time, as it'd be a hassle to update the new thread only to have its manager faze out after three weeks. If it happens, it happens, just don't try to bite off more than you can chew. If you have any questions about managing threads, just ask the mods or the art leaders, and we'll be glad to help you!</p>

    <h2>Participating in community activities</h2>
    <p>Much like the above criteria, participating in various forum events and projects by contributing your own art or support will not only help anyone else involved but also encourage others to do the same! Make sure to read the guidelines in each thread before posting in them, as some may be more lax in their rulesets while others are more serious and certain requirements must be met. We cannot ask anyone to participate in every activity at once, but every contribution in this fashion serves to make the studio better and more active than before!</p>

    <h2>Being a positive influence in our chat rooms</h2>
    <p>Smeargle's Studio has an official chat room named <a href="https://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23smeargle&amp;server=irc.synirc.net" target="_blank">#smeargle</a> (available at @irc.synirc.net), as well as a chat room on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown!, named the <a href="http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/art" target="_blank">Art Room</a>, where several Smogon regulars hang out, are great places to show off stuff you're working on and generally swapping advice. Being active in those channels, where you can either get a chat going with new topics, or by helping other users by giving feedback, are great ways of supporting and improving the chat. It's also the undeniably best away to become more involved with the community, as nothing beats interacting with other users in real-time!</p>
</div>

<p>If you can think of other ways to either improve or promote our studio, feel free to contact any of the studio mods and art leaders. Even if you're not intentionally aiming to become a Community Contributor, we appreciate each and every user who takes their time to reply and contribute to our very special corner of Smogon. Thanks for reading!</p>
hola
 
Last edited:

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
Alright, here's the next part. This doesn't need to be HTMLd right now as I'd like to see others read it and give any suggestions if necessary.


How to get started

Alright, so you've got some artistic creations you want to share with the world, namely Smeargle's Studio? Where to begin? Well, if you really wanna know, then below are some basic recommendations and advice that should point any new contributor into the right direction.

Make your own art thread

Having a thread to call your own is nice. Obviously, you can use it to showcase what you've made, be it drawings, photographs, poems, or musical compositions, along with any information about yourself you'd like to share. Only thing to keep in mind is that you need a minimum of three separate art pieces before making the thread, as we'd otherwise get loads of threads by people just asking opinions on an individual image. But if you're a quick producer, odds are that the opposite is just as likely, so if you have many creations on display, consider putting them inside
tags or links, so that new visitors don't need to load your thread for that long.

Of course, your art thread is what you make of it! Share links to other places where you put your art, as well as other sites that are closely related to your craft, be it projects, webcomics, or anything like it. Brighten up the first post with a banner welcoming new users to your thread, divide your artwork in various categories to make browsing them easier, or anything else that creates a good impression once someone enters your personal space in the studio. Just don't forget that your art will speak for itself, so if you don't feel like being fancy, then you're in good company.

Getting feedback

We all strive to improve ourselves, and while art is most definitely subjective, you're nonetheless making content for others to see, and can thus gain a lot by considering their perspective. Also keep in mind that few users on Smogon are professionally trained artists or scholars, so the critique you get may sometimes not be worded as best it could be, so knowing how to look past their language and focusing on what they actually mean is a great trait to have. But even more likely, odds are that few users will reply to your thread, which isn't as uncommon as you'd think. Explicitly stating that you'd like feedback on certain images can be the prompt certain users need in order to give their input, but if you've posted plenty of content with no feedback, feel free to turn to the Rate My Art thread, or ask the studio mods if they could check out your stuff and maybe even give a short evaluation.

Visiting other art threads

Checking out the works of other experienced artists, or artists in training, can be just as rewarding as drawing something yourself, since you can broaden your horizons and consider what styles you can apply to your own craft. If you have a question about a certain detail or technique someone is using, make sure to compliment them on that and inquire if they have any advice to offer! Remember: just like you would appreciate someone giving you some earnest feedback, you can do just the same to other artists, even if they're more skilled than you! Hopefully, you'll discover that we're generally a chill bunch and that sharing your input in various threads will make others more inclined to do the same to yours. Also, the like button is a thing, so use it to show your admiration towards any great work you see (just don't overdo it, as each liked post results in an alert).

Join the chat!

Since quite a while back, #smeargle on synirc.net has been one way to speak to other resident artists in real time, and that remains just as true today. At the time of writing this, the activity is fairly low in the channel, but if you have no issues striking up a conversation, odds are that someone will reply and give a quick pointer about any image or Work In Progress (WIP) you're choosing to share. Alternatively, just hang around until someone speaks up, that works just fine too. However, if you want a place with more activity, the Art Room on Pokemon Showdown fills the same purpose, although it should be noted that not all users there have an account on Smogon (although they do know the place). More info about the chatrooms can be found here. (Future link to the chat section will be added here)

Participate!

Naturally, the studio is not just a bunch of isolated artist threads clustered together, we also have threads where artists of various skill level can submit images to. The first thing that comes to mind is Battle: Free for All, where the only rule is to defeat the previous Pokemon drawing with a drawing of your own, so use your imagination! The Daily Draw challenge, which is hosted in the Art Room on Pokemon Showdown, also provides all artists with a small challenge each to day to let anyone take a shot at it and try something new for a change. If you see a recent theme that you missed but really want to try, go ahead and do it anyway, we're not that picky. Sometimes contests pop up in the studio, such as the Monthly-Art-Contest, so keep an eye out for those too and see if you're available to submit an image that shows your art from its best side!

Don't overthink it

Probably a weird recommendation to give at the bottom of a long page advising new users what to do, but at the end of the day, we're still just a group of people hanging out in one particular part of Smogon. If you don't be a jerk, then you'll be fine for the most part. If you have any further questions or some insight to be added to this guide, feel free to contact the studio's moderation team.
HTML:
[title]
Getting Started

[head]
<meta name="description" content="Smeargle's Studio: Getting started" />

[page]
<h2>How to get started</h2>
<p>Alright, so you've got some artistic creations you want to share with the world, namely Smeargle's Studio? Where to begin? Well, if you really wanna know, then below are some basic recommendations and advice that should point any new contributor into the right direction.</p>

<h3>Making your own art thread</h3>
<p>Having a thread to call your own is nice. Obviously, you can use it to showcase what you've made, be it drawings, photographs, poems, or musical compositions, along with any information about yourself you'd like to share. Only thing to keep in mind is that you need a minimum of three separate art pieces before making the thread, as we'd otherwise get loads of threads by people just asking opinions on an individual image. But if you're a quick producer, odds are that the opposite is just as likely, so if you have many creations on display, consider putting them inside [HIDE] tags or links, so that new visitors don't need to load your thread for that long.</p>
<p>Of course, your art thread is what you make of it! Share links to other places where you put your art, as well as other sites that are closely related to your craft, be it projects, webcomics, or anything like it. Brighten up the first post with a banner welcoming new users to your thread, divide your artwork in various categories to make browsing them easier, or anything else that creates a good impression once someone enters your personal space in the studio. Just don't forget that your art will speak for itself, so if you don't feel like being fancy, then you're in good company.</p>

<h3>Getting feedback</h3>
<p>We all strive to improve ourselves, and while art is most definitely subjective, you're nonetheless making content for others to see, and can thus gain a lot by considering their perspective. Also keep in mind that few users on Smogon are professionally trained artists or scholars, so the critique you get may sometimes not be worded as best it could be, so knowing how to look past their language and focusing on what they actually mean is a great trait to have. But even more likely, odds are that few users will reply to your thread, which isn't as uncommon as you'd think. Explicitly stating that you'd like feedback on certain images can be the prompt certain users need in order to give their input, but if you've posted plenty of content with no feedback, feel free to turn to the <a herf="/forums/threads/3531895/" target="_blank">Rate My Art</a> thread, or ask the studio mods if they could check out your stuff and maybe even give a short evaluation.</p>

<h3>Visiting other art threads</h3>
<p>Checking out the works of other experienced artists, or artists in training, can be just as rewarding as drawing something yourself, since you can broaden your horizons and consider what styles you can apply to your own craft. If you have a question about a certain detail or technique someone is using, make sure to compliment them on that and inquire if they have any advice to offer! Remember: just like you would appreciate someone giving you some earnest feedback, you can do just the same to other artists, even if they're more skilled than you! Hopefully, you'll discover that we're generally a chill bunch and that sharing your input in various threads will make others more inclined to do the same to yours. Also, the like button is a thing, so use it to show your admiration towards any great work you see (just don't overdo it, as each liked post results in an alert).</p>

<h3>Join the chat!</h3>
<p>Since quite a while back, <a href="https://client01.chat.mibbit.com/#smeargle@irc.synirc.net" target="_blank">#smeargle</a> on synirc.net has been one way to speak to other resident artists in real time, and that remains just as true today. At the time of writing this, the activity is fairly low in the channel, but if you have no issues striking up a conversation, odds are that someone will reply and give a quick pointer about any image or Work In Progress (WIP) you're choosing to share. Alternatively, just hang around until someone speaks up, that works just fine too. However, if you want a place with more activity, the <a href="http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/art" target="_blank">Art Room on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown!</a> fills the same purpose, although it should be noted that not all users there have an account on Smogon (although they do know the place). More info about the chatrooms can be found <!--a href="" target="_blank"-->here<!--/a-->.</p>

<h3>Participate!</h3>
<p>Naturally, the studio is not just a bunch of isolated artist threads clustered together, we also have threads where artists of various skill level can submit images to. The first thing that comes to mind is <a href="/forums/threads/3468778/" target="_blank">Battle: Free for All</a>, where the only rule is to defeat the previous Pokemon drawing with a drawing of your own, so use your imagination! The <a href="/forums/threads/3541628/" target="_blank">Daily Draw Challenge</a>, which is hosted in the <a href="http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/art" target="_blank">Art Room on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown!</a>, also provides all artists with a small challenge each to day to let anyone take a shot at it and try something new for a change. If you see a recent theme that you missed but really want to try, go ahead and do it anyway, we're not that picky. Sometimes contests pop up in the studio, such as the Monthly-Art-Contest, so keep an eye out for those too and see if you're available to submit an image that shows your art from its best side!</p>

<h3>Don't overthink it</h3>
<p>Probably a weird recommendation to give at the bottom of a long page advising new users what to do, but at the end of the day, we're still just a group of people hanging out in one particular part of Smogon. If you don't be a jerk, then you'll be fine for the most part. If you have any further questions or some insight to be added to this guide, feel free to contact the studio's moderation team.</p>
phew, wrote up the chat page. Feel free to read through it and come with suggestions on what else to include.

Edit: Oh, and to anyone HTMLing this: See if you can replace the : with [] in the commands, the forums decided to screw up my post if I used those brackets for some reason.

//////////////////

Art chatrooms

Even though the forums can provide a solid platform to showcase your art and ellaborate on various topics, the chat rooms are well appreciated since you can exchange opinions and feedback in real time, or just talk about things in a much more casual manner. Smeargle's Studio is no exception to the benefits of chat channels, and at the time of writing this, there are two chat rooms that any person, artist or not, can visit and hang out in.

Smeargle's Studio IRC channel - #smeargle

This is the oldest chat platform the Studio has provided for several years, and like all other Smogon irc channels, it's hosted on synirc.net. There are a multitude of various chat clients to use, but one easy way to instantly try it out is to use the web client Mibbit, where all you need to visit #smeargle is to click this link. If you want to look over other alternatives, such as clients you download onto your computer, check out these tutorials to set yourself up.

The purpose of #smeargle is essentially the same as the studio: share your art for others to see, give or ask for feedback, get to know other studio dwellers a bit closer, or just hang out. However, at the time of writing this, there are not many active regulars in the channel, but don't let that deter you from checking the place out and say hello! :)

Here's some basic commands you can write in the message bar to get you started:

/join #channel
Typing that command along with the name of a channel (such as #smogon, #cap or #insidescoop) instantly takes you to that channel, which opens up in a new tab.

/nick :text:
Changes the name that's next to each of your messages. Using this command can be useful to show what you're doing right now or if you're busy. For instance, my nick is usually Bummer, but changing it to BumAway or BumWorking shows people how available I am. Or you can just change it for fun!

/msg NickServ REGISTER :password: :email:
This is the command to use if you don't want anyone else possessing the name you usually go by. Replace :password: with a password you can remember, and :email: with a valid email adress. Also try to avoid doing this in a public channel, because if you mess up, you may accidentally give away one of your passwords! If done correctly, a message will be sent to the specified email with a confirmation code, so that you can register your nick with the following command:

/msg nickserv confirm :confirmation code:
Replace the bracketed word with your code, and your nick should thus be protected from the forces of evil and mischievous pranksters!

/me
Anything you write after this command will appear as you performing or saying something, which is displayed a bit different than a regular message. Works great for those moments when you want to roleplay a specific action or just convey something that just won't cut it as regular text.

/msg :nick:
Opens up a private channel where you can speak with another user who's online.

If you want more info or help to get familiar with IRC, check out the below links!






Art Room on Pokemon Showdown (PS)

Pokemon Showdown is Smogon's official battling simulator, as well as a site which houses a multitude of rooms for the community to chat in. Naturally, Art is one such topic, so the Art Room is thus the home for all artists on both PS and Smogon. Here's one direct link to it, as well as a link to the Room's website. This room is much more active than #smeargle and is thus moderated more closely, so all users with a #, @, or % are staff members capable of handling unruly users, while users with a + sign are trusted individuals who are a positive presence in the chat. Here's a complete staff list for the room, as well as the general rules.

Art discussion take priority in this room, so never feel discouraged to share your art and ask for feedback on it. Otherwise, just chatting in general is just fine if there's not much discussion going on. If an art discussion is going or there's a lot of activity in general, be careful not to be too off-topic, otherwise the staff members may warn or even mute you so that the chat isn't disrupted.

One of the major features of the room is the bot Art2D2, which not only helps out with the moderation duty but is also often used to host various activities and info. For instance:

\daily draw or \dd
The Art room always try to encourage breaking outside your comfort zone, so if you just need a small challenge for practise or just for fun, type in the above command and you'll see what the room's staff have decided for the day's Daily Draw challenge.

\randpoke
Typing this command will make Art2D2 select a random Pokemon for you, which is mostly used in conjunction with the Daily Draw challenge, or if you just feel like getting a suggestion. Replacing the 'poke' part with the words move, ability, type, stats, item, and location will get you a random answer for those categories as well!

\mail :user:, :message:
Replacing :user: with the name of a different member, and :message: with the text or information you want to send, you can make Art2D2 withold the message until said user comes online again! Do note that you need to be of the rank Roompaw in order to utilise this feature, so if you've become somewhat of a regular of this room and needs to use this feature, ask a staff member to promote you to Roompaw.
Want more info about the room or Pokemon Showdown in general? Check out the below links then!

HTML:
[title]
Art Chatrooms

[head]
<meta name="description" content="Smeargle's Studio: Chatrooms" />
<style type="text/css">
    .leftspacing{margin-left:5%;}
    #linklists{text-align:center;font-size:1.1em;}
</style>

[page]
<p>Even though the forums can provide a solid platform to showcase your art and ellaborate on various topics, the chat rooms are well appreciated since you can exchange opinions and feedback in real time, or just talk about things in a much more casual manner. Smeargle's Studio is no exception to the benefits of chat channels, and at the time of writing this, there are two chat rooms that any person, artist or not, can visit and hang out in.</p>

<h2>Smeargle's Studio IRC channel &mdash; #smeargle</h2>
<p>This is the oldest chat platform the Studio has provided for several years, and like all other Smogon irc channels, it's hosted on synirc.net. There are a multitude of various chat clients to use, but one easy way to instantly try it out is to use the web client Mibbit, where all you need to visit #smeargle is to <a href="https://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23smeargle&amp;server=irc.synirc.net" target="_blank">click this link</a>. If you want to look over other alternatives, such as clients you download onto your computer, check out <a href="/irc/tutorials/" target="_blank">these tutorials</a> to set yourself up.</p>
<p>The purpose of #smeargle is essentially the same as the studio: share your art for others to see, give or ask for feedback, get to know other studio dwellers a bit closer, or just hang out. However, at the time of writing this, there are not many active regulars in the channel, but don't let that deter you from checking the place out and say hello! :)</p>
<p>Here's some basic commands you can write in the message bar to get you started:</p>
<div class="leftspacing">
    <h3>/join <em>#channel</em></h3>
    <p>Typing that command along with the name of a channel (such as #smogon, #cap, or #insidescoop) instantly takes you to that channel, which opens up in a new tab.</p>

    <h3>/nick <em>[text]</em></h3>
    <p>Changes the name that's next to each of your messages. Using this command can be useful to show what you're doing right now or if you're busy. For instance, my nick is usually Bummer, but changing it to BumAway or BumWorking shows people how available I am. Or you can just change it for fun!</p>

    <h3>/msg <em>NickServ REGISTER [password] [email]</em></h3>
    <p>This is the command to use if you don't want anyone else possessing the name you usually go by. Replace :password: with a password you can remember, and :email: with a valid email adress. Also try to avoid doing this in a public channel, because if you mess up, you may accidentally give away one of your passwords! If done correctly, a message will be sent to the specified email with a confirmation code, so that you can register your nick with the following command:</p>
    <div class="leftspacing">
        <h4>/msg <em>nickserv confirm [confirmation code]</em></h4>
        <p>Replace the bracketed word with your code, and your nick should thus be protected from the forces of evil and mischievous pranksters!</p>
    </div>

    <h3>/me</h3>
    <p>Anything you write after this command will appear as you performing or saying something, which is displayed a bit different than a regular message. Works great for those moments when you want to roleplay a specific action or just convey something that just won't cut it as regular text.</p>
</div>

<p>If you want more info or help to get familiar with IRC, check out the below links!</p>
<p id="linklists"><a href="/irc/" target="_blank">IRC Hub</a> - <a href="/smog/issue19/irc" target="_blank">A Guide to Smogon IRC</a> - <a href="/smog/issue21/irc" target="_blank">IRC Survival Guide</a></p>

<h2>Art Room on Pok&eacute;mon Showdown! (PS)</h2>
<p>Pok&eacute;mon Showdown! is Smogon's official battling simulator, as well as a site which houses a multitude of rooms for the community to chat in. Naturally, Art is one such topic, so the Art Room is thus the home for all artists on both PS and Smogon. <a href="http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/art" target="_blank">Here's one direct link to it</a>, as well as a link to the <a href="http://psartroom.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Room's website</a>. This room is much more active than #smeargle and is thus moderated more closely, so all users with a #, @, or % are staff members capable of handling unruly users, while users with a + sign are trusted individuals who are a positive presence in the chat. <a href="http://psartroom.weebly.com/staff.html" target="_blank">Here's a complete staff list for the room</a>, as well as <a href="http://psartroom.weebly.com/rules.html" target="_blank">the general rules</a>.</p>
<p>Art discussion take priority in this room, so never feel discouraged to share your art and ask for feedback on it. Otherwise, just chatting in general is just fine if there's not much discussion going on. If an art discussion is going or there's a lot of activity in general, be careful not to be too off-topic, otherwise the staff members may warn or even mute you so that the chat isn't disrupted.</p>
<p>One of the major features of the room is the bot <strong>Art2D2</strong>, which not only helps out with the moderation duty but is also often used to host various activities and info. For instance:</p>
<div class="leftspacing">
    <h3>\dailydraw or \dd</h3>
    <p>The Art room always try to encourage breaking outside your comfort zone, so if you just need a small challenge for practise or just for fun, type in the above command and you'll see what the room's staff have decided for the day's <a href="/forums/threads/3541628/" target="_blank">Daily Draw challenge</a>.</p>

    <h3>\randpoke</h3>
    <p>Typing this command will make Art2D2 select a random Pokemon for you, which is mostly used in conjunction with the Daily Draw challenge, or if you just feel like getting a suggestion. Replacing the 'poke' part with the words move, ability, type, stats, item, and location will get you a random answer for those categories as well!</p>

    <h3>\mail <em>[user], [message]</em></h3>
    <p>Replacing :user: with the name of a different member, and :message: with the text or information you want to send, you can make Art2D2 withold the message until said user comes online again! Do note that you need to be of the rank Roompaw in order to utilise this feature, so if you've become somewhat of a regular of this room and needs to use this feature, ask a staff member to promote you to Roompaw.</p>
</div>

<p>Want more info about the room or Pokemon Showdown in general? Check out the below links then!</p>
<p id="linklists"><a href="/sim/ps_guide" target="_blank">Beginner's Guide to PS</a> - <a href="/sim/roomauth_guide" target="_blank">Room Authority Explanation</a> - <a href="http://psartroom.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Art Room Website</a></p>
 

ant

⭐️⭐️⭐️
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
im back from my long LoA, is everything uploaded and updated? anything that needs some kind of fix / css / improvement?
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Just by the by, we've been making more pages within the hub, mostly in the Info/Faq and Gallery section. While it may still be bare bones, anyone who's willing to look through them and offer suggestions or volunteer to write stuff for certain pages are more than welcome.
 
I already brought this up on IRC, but yeah just wanted to mention here that I'd be more than glad to write some stuff for the Gallery section. Hopefully, I'll be able to get around to actually doing it during my winter vacation, so there's that. :v
 

Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Been trying to set pages into place, which has also revealed my apparent lack of HTML knowledge, so I'm gonna revert to making most of my written contributions in this thread and let the real coders to the handywork. Like we've said above, the Gallery section is definitely where most of my efforts have been focused lately, since it's directly related to the studio's past but also a great way to showcase art that'd otherwise fade into time.

Gallery

Monthly Art Contest
To my understanding, this is close to done. A new list need to be added for the two other MACs we've had so far (Weezing mascot and Snowkemon), but this was also a section that existed before this revamp, so plenty of work has been done by our predecessors here.

Featured Artist
SO MANY to cover here. The more recent ones (top of the list) are just repetitions from the artists featured on SMogon's Twitter and facebook, but the bottom and middle ones are essentially talented artists that has frequented our studio before and most likely would have been featured if we had done that back then. Most of them were chosen because A) their image hosts were still alive and thus we have art to showcase and B)they had interacted with the community in one way or another and not just appeared to set up shop and then leave. I have a minimum of three images for each artist, so if anyone want to cover these, be my guest. Essentially: just write a small description of their work, and what they've done around Smogon. The latter can be difficult, but each artist page should have a link to their studio thread where any activity they've partaked in can be dug out, otherwise consult me and I'll try to remember why I wanted to feature them. If you find this to be a trivial section or believe that we should trim down the list, feel free to argument for that as well.

Special Events
First section that actually splits into several directions. This is the place where contests (ie not MAC), events, and projects are featured, and thus a part that will contain plenty of the studio's former history.

- Contests
Like mentioned before, any contest

> Gen V frontpage icons

> Gen VI frontpage icons

> Smash Bros Introductions

> Pokemon Redesigns (can't seem to find the thread where we redesigned the regi trio)

> Weekly Sprite Contest (WSC)
Probably an overview since the contests themselves are so many and old, along with how so many images have fallen into obscurity due to bad hosting. First one can be found here. RitterCat and RODAN are particularly free to comment on this. Alchemator also wrote a few articles on these:



- Secret Santa
Chose to keep this one separated from the above category, since they're so large and an annual tradition. At this point in time, we have 6 years to cover, and I have images saved from all of them, while the threads themselves are still stored in these forums. So basically, it's about showcasing the most notable gifts of the year.


- Projects and Collaborations

> Smogon's birthday

> Birth of Smocktail

> April 1st PokemonShowdown sprites

> Card Deck


Featured Art

Another one of those optional areas. So many threads with continuous purpose but no completion exists, so pages could exist to display the best submissions. The threads could be

- Battle Free for All

- Daily Draw Challenge

- Workshop submissions

- Tournament art

- Collaborations

- Retypings (old thread)

- Limited Palette (old thread)

If you have other ideas of what to feature/remove, I'm all ears.

Edit: Here's a pic for it all, > indicates a folder while - indicates a page/html file.




Articles and tutorials

Basically lists all of our tutorials, Arterviews, Smearge Studio Updates, and other articles related to the studio. Just realised today that this would be a neat thing to add.

History timeline

Still something I'd like to create, but definitely low priority. Think the Year in a nutshell articles, except spanning a longer time period specifically for the studio.




So there you have it. Once again, if you need info, links, and images I've compiled, lemme know if you're interested in covering anything of the above.
 
Last edited:

Reisen

Translations Project Creator
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
I could do it

Ready for a check anto

HTML:
[title]
Gallery

[head]
<meta name="description" content="Smeargle's Studio: Chatrooms" />

<style type="text/css">
   
.noborder {

        margin-top:2%;
        margin-bottom:2%;
        border:none;
    }
   
.leftspacing {
       
        margin-left:2%;
       
    }
   
</style>

[page]

<h1>Gallery</h1>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h2><a href="/smeargle/contest/" target="_blank">Monthly Art Contest</a></h2>

<p>To my understanding, this is close to done. A new list need to be added for the two other MACs we've had so far (Weezing mascot and Snowkemon), but this was also a section that existed before this revamp, so plenty of work has been done by our predecessors here.</p>

<h2><a href="/smeargle/gallery/featuredartists" target="_blank">Featured Artist</a></h2>

<p>SO MANY to cover here. The more recent ones (top of the list) are just repetitions from the artists featured on SMogon's Twitter and facebook, but the bottom and middle ones are essentially talented artists that has frequented our studio before and most likely would have been featured if we had done that back then. Most of them were chosen because A) their image hosts were still alive and thus we have art to showcase and B)they had interacted with the community in one way or another and not just appeared to set up shop and then leave. I have a minimum of three images for each artist, so if anyone want to cover these, be my guest. Essentially: just write a small description of their work, and what they've done around Smogon. The latter can be difficult, but each artist page should have a link to their studio thread where any activity they've partaked in can be dug out, otherwise consult me and I'll try to remember why I wanted to feature them. If you find this to be a trivial section or believe that we should trim down the list, feel free to argument for that as well.</p>

<h2><a href="/smeargle/gallery/events" target="_blank">Special Events</a></h2>

<p>First section that actually splits into several directions. This is the place where contests (ie not MAC), events, and projects are featured, and thus a part that will contain plenty of the studio's former history.</p>

<h3>- Contest</h3>
<p>Like mentioned before, any contest</p>

<div class="leftspacing">
    > <a href="/forums/threads/smogon-front-page-b-w-pokemon-art-submissions.101838/" target="_blank">Gen V frontpage icons</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > <a href="/forums/threads/art-contest-smogons-front-page-images.3541899/" target="_blank">Gen VI frontpage icons</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > <a href="/forums/threads/challenger-approaching-art-contest.3538316/" target="_blank">Smash Bros Introductions</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > <a href="/forums/threads/extreme-pokemon-makeovers.3462809/" target="_blank">Pokemon Redesigns</a> (can't seem to find the thread where we redesigned the regi trio)
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > Weekly Sprite Contest (WSC)<br/ >
    Probably an overview since the contests themselves are so many and old, along with how so many images have fallen into obscurity due to bad hosting. <a href="/forums/threads/smogon-forums-wsc-week-1.60021/" target="_blank">First one can be found here</a>. <a href="/forums/members/rittercat.59957/" target="_blank">RitterCat</a> and <a href="/forums/members/gangnam-style.15406/" target="_blank">RODAN</a> are particularly free to comment on this. Alchemator also wrote a few articles on these:
</div>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h3>- <a href="/smeargle/gallery/specialevents/secretsanta" target="_blank">Secret Santa</a></h3>
<p>Chose to keep this one separated from the above category, since they're so large and an annual tradition. At this point in time, we have 6 years to cover, and I have images saved from all of them, while the threads themselves are still stored in these forums. So basically, it's about showcasing the most notable gifts of the year.</p>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h3>- Projects and Collaborations</h3>

<div class="leftspacing">
    > <a href="/forums/threads/birthday-koffing-request.33268/" target="_blank">Smogon's birthday</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > <a href="/forums/threads/smocktail-requires-a-worthy-artist.3450563/" target="_blank">Birth of Smocktail</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > April 1st PokemonShowdown sprites
    <hr class="noborder" />

    > <a href="/forums/threads/smeargle-card-project.3476844/" target="_blank">Card Deck</a>
</div>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h2>Featured Art</h2>

<p>Another one of those optional areas. So many threads with continuous purpose but no completion exists, so pages could exist to display the best submissions. The threads could be</p>

<div class="leftspacing">
    - Battle Free for All
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - Daily Draw Challenge
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - Workshop submissions
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - Tournament art
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - <a href="/forums/threads/collaboration-thread.3457528/" target="_blank">Collaborations</a>
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - <a href="/forums/threads/what-would-pokemon-look-like-if-it-were-a-different-type.45586/" target="_blank">Retypings</a> (old thread)
    <hr class="noborder" />

    - <a href="/forums/threads/limited-pallete-challenge.84568/" target="_blank">Limited Palette</a> (old thread)
</div>

<p>If you have other ideas of what to feature/remove, I'm all ears.</p>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h1>Articles and tutorials</h1>

<p>Basically lists all of our tutorials, Arterviews, Smearge Studio Updates, and other articles related to the studio. Just realised today that this would be a neat thing to add.</p>

<hr class="noborder" />

<h1>History timeline</h1>

<p>Still something I'd like to create, but definitely low priority. Think the <a href="/smog/issue39/smogon-nutshell" target="_blank">Year in a nutshell</a> articles, except spanning a longer time period specifically for the studio.</p>
 
Last edited:

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