Art Submissions

Introduction
Stage Description
Thread Original Post

Introduction

The Art Submission stage is where the CAP starts really coming to life. It's a place for artists to gather and post their designs in a competition to become the face of the Pokemon artistically. This is perhaps one of the most influential aspects of a CAP, as it is the first thing that many players and future participants of CAP will see and attribute to the CAP. For this reason, the art of CAP is taken incredibly seriously, and we hope that the artists will do the same.

Stage Description

A final art submission consists of two things: a main design and supporting material. A main design is the only required element of a final art submission; supporting material is optional. Note that all material in both the main design and supporting material must be your own. Using another piece of art for inspiration is allowed, but blatant plagiarism will result in warnings or bans depending on the severity.

Main Design

The main design is intended to follow the same general posing and layout as the "Official Art" for existing in-game Pokemon. The main design is the definitive design for a given Pokemon and should be suitable for display in the CAP PokeDex section of the CAP Website and any other CAP propaganda where a picture of the Pokemon is needed. The comparison to 'Official Pokemon Art' is only applicable to the basic content of the main design; it does not imply any standards or guidelines regarding artistic style or rendering technique.

The following rules of content must be followed for the main design:

It must consist of a single Pokemon on a plain white background with no parts of the Pokemon cut off by the canvas.
No props, action effects, move effects, or additional objects can be rendered on or around the Pokemon. If a prop is part of the Pokemon's basic design (ie. Conkeldurr's pillars), then it is acceptable.
Any 2D digital or scanned traditional drawing may be used. It must be in full color. 3D media and photos are not allowed.
It must have a distinguishable outline on the entire subject in contrast to the background. No part of the design can be blurred into the background or blended into the background in any way.
The maximum allowed size is 640x640 and the minimum allowed size of 320x320.
It must be in a compressed digital format such as .png or .jpg.

The rules for main designs will be strictly enforced. Do not make comparisons to in-game Pokemon designs or to past CAP designs to determine if your design is in compliance with these rules. Some in-game Pokemon designs and past CAP designs do not conform with the current CAP art submission rules, and emulating those designs is not an acceptable excuse for breaking the strict interpretation of the current rules.

Supporting Material

While the rules for the main design are somewhat rigid, there are almost no rules when it comes to supporting material. Action scenes, movement studies, interaction with other Pokemon, animations, sculptures, and cartoon strips are all allowed. Virtually any supporting material you can think of is allowed, though keep it tasteful. Non-art supporting material is also allowed. This includes detailed descriptions of the art, background data, stories, etc. All supporting art and information must be related to the main design in some way. This rule is intended to prevent artists from posting unrelated art in an effort to gain more attention or promote other designs or artworks.

Final Submission Post

All artists must make a final submission post in order to be considered for the art poll. The post must be titled "Final Submission". The post should have the Main Design at the top, and supporting material (if applicable) below it. All supporting art must be included as links or as linked thumbnails no larger than 150x150. Do not include full images of supporting art in the final submission. Only make one (1) final submission post. Artists are welcome to work on multiple designs and get feedback from the community, but only one design can be submitted for final consideration. If you wish to alter any aspect of your final submission, then edit your post. Do not make a new one, even if you delete your original post. Any deleting and reposting will be treated as bumping and is subject to moderation.

General Posting Rules

Artists can post any work-in-progress (WIP) artwork in order to solicit feedback or to help develop ideas. WIP artwork does not need to conform to the standards of a Main Design. It can be in any medium or stage of completion, but it must be related to an original art design by the poster.
Do not spam the thread with excessive amounts of artwork over a short period of time. Apparently, some artists think they will improve their chances in the poll if they overload the submission thread with their artwork. Doing so will result in your posts being moderated.
Do not post inconsequential "updates" to previously posted art. Only if you have made a significant change and have not posted art recently can you post an update in the thread.
No post can contain more than 800x800 pixels of included art, and no single picture can be larger than 640x640. Past those limits, artists should post links to the additional art or use linking thumbnails. Each thumbnail can be no larger than 150x150. Any number of thumbnails can be included in a post, even if it passes the limit. All art must be in a compressed digital format.
Do not post to state your intended design. Such posts are a weak attempt to "reserve" an idea, and serve no constructive purpose.
Do not post images to serve as inspiration for artists or attempt to commission an artist in the thread to do your idea. This isn't an idea thread. It's fine for artists to post their own inspiration as supporting material.
No bumping or begging, especially for feedback. If your design is any good, people will comment on it. If your design gets no feedback, then your design is not very good. Consider the silence to be your feedback.
Do not declare any artwork as "the winner" or say that anything "is clearly going to win". It's fine to post praise or support for an artwork, but don't make a statement indicating the results of a poll that has not been conducted. Such posts are insulting to all the other competing artists.
Do not post that a design does or does not "look like a Pokemon/Digimon". Such comments are unable to be substantiated or refuted. There is no artistic style guide for Pokemon, so don't act like you know what a Pokemon should look like. If you like or dislike a design, that's fine, just say that.
Do not ask when this thread will close. CAP threads do not follow a set timetable. If you want to know the overall sequence of events in a CAP then go to the CAP website and read the process guide.
Do not post questions asking for help in making art. This isn't a tutorial thread.

Art Polls

All art polls will contain the main design and, if applicable, a link below it titled "Supporting Material". This will link to the artists final submission post. If the final submission contains no significant supporting material, then no link will be included in the poll below the main design. Art submissions for the art poll will be selected in a manner to be determined by the topic leader. There is no process for overturning the topic leader's decision. If you are not comfortable with this stipulation, then do not make an art submission. Do not post any complaints here or in later threads.

Thread Original Post

A final art submission consists of two things: a main design and supporting material. A main design is the only required element of a final art submission; supporting material is optional. Note that all material in both the main design and supporting material [B]must be your own[/B]. Using another piece of art for inspiration is allowed, but blatant plagiarism will result in warnings or bans depending on the severity.

[SIZE=3][B]Main Design[/B][/SIZE]

The main design is intended to follow the same general posing and layout as the "Official Art" for existing in-game Pokemon. The main design is the definitive design for a given Pokemon and should be suitable for display in the CAP PokeDex section of the CAP Website and any other CAP propaganda where a picture of the Pokemon is needed. The comparison to 'Official Pokemon Art' is only applicable to the basic content of the main design; it does not imply [B]any[/B] standards or guidelines regarding artistic style or rendering technique.

The following rules of content must be followed for the main design:
[LIST]
[*]It must consist of a single Pokemon on a plain white background with no parts of the Pokemon cut off by the canvas.
[*]No props, action effects, move effects, or additional objects can be rendered on or around the Pokemon. If a prop is part of the Pokemon's basic design (ie. Conkeldurr's pillars), then it is acceptable.
[*]Any 2D digital or scanned traditional drawing may be used. It must be in full color. 3D media and photos are not allowed.
[*]It must have a distinguishable outline on the entire subject in contrast to the background. No part of the design can be blurred into the background or blended into the background in any way.
[*]The maximum allowed size is 640x640 and the minimum allowed size of 320x320.
[*]It must be in a compressed digital format such as .png or .jpg.
[/LIST]
The rules for main designs will be strictly enforced. Do not make comparisons to in-game Pokemon designs or to past CAP designs to determine if your design is in compliance with these rules. Some in-game Pokemon designs and past CAP designs do not conform with the current CAP art submission rules, and emulating those designs is not an acceptable excuse for breaking the strict interpretation of the current rules.

[SIZE=3][B]Supporting Material[/B][/SIZE]

While the rules for the main design are somewhat rigid, there are almost no rules when it comes to supporting material. Action scenes, movement studies, interaction with other Pokemon, animations, sculptures, and cartoon strips are all allowed. Virtually any supporting material you can think of is allowed, though keep it tasteful. Non-art supporting material is also allowed. This includes detailed descriptions of the art, background data, stories, etc. All supporting art and information must be related to the main design in some way. This rule is intended to prevent artists from posting unrelated art in an effort to gain more attention or promote other designs or artworks.

[SIZE=3][B]Final Submission Post[/B][/SIZE]

All artists must make a final submission post in order to be considered for the art poll. The post must be titled "Final Submission". The post should have the Main Design at the top, and supporting material (if applicable) below it. All supporting art must be included as links or as linked thumbnails no larger than 150x150. Do not include full images of supporting art in the final submission. Only make [B]one (1)[/B] final submission post. Artists are welcome to work on multiple designs and get feedback from the community, but only one design can be submitted for final consideration. If you wish to alter any aspect of your final submission, then edit your post. Do not make a new one, even if you delete your original post. Any deleting and reposting will be treated as bumping and is subject to moderation.

[SIZE=3][B]General Posting Rules[/B][/SIZE]

[LIST]
[*]Artists can post any work-in-progress (WIP) artwork in order to solicit feedback or to help develop ideas. WIP artwork does not need to conform to the standards of a Main Design. It can be in any medium or stage of completion, but it must be related to an original art design by the poster.
[*]Do not spam the thread with excessive amounts of artwork over a short period of time. Apparently, some artists think they will improve their chances in the poll if they overload the submission thread with their artwork. Doing so will result in your posts being moderated.
[*]Do not post inconsequential "updates" to previously posted art. Only if you have made a significant change and have not posted art recently can you post an update in the thread.
[*]No post can contain more than 800x800 pixels of included art, and no single picture can be larger than 640x640. Past those limits, artists should post links to the additional art or use linking thumbnails. Each thumbnail can be no larger than 150x150. Any number of thumbnails can be included in a post, even if it passes the limit. All art must be in a compressed digital format.
[*]Do not post to state your intended design. Such posts are a weak attempt to "reserve" an idea, and serve no constructive purpose.
[*]Do not post images to serve as inspiration for artists or attempt to commission an artist in the thread to do your idea. This isn't an idea thread. It's fine for artists to post their own inspiration as supporting material.
[*]No bumping or begging, especially for feedback. If your design is any good, people [B]will[/B] comment on it. If your design gets no feedback, then your design is not very good. Consider the silence to be your feedback.
[*]Do not declare any artwork as "the winner" or say that anything "is clearly going to win". It's fine to post praise or support for an artwork, but don't make a statement indicating the results of a poll that has not been conducted. Such posts are insulting to all the other competing artists.
[*]Do not post that a design does or does not "look like a Pokemon/Digimon". Such comments are unable to be substantiated or refuted. There is no artistic style guide for Pokemon, so don't act like you know what a Pokemon should look like. If you like or dislike a design, that's fine, just say that.
[*]Do not ask when this thread will close. CAP threads do not follow a set timetable. If you want to know the overall sequence of events in a CAP then go to the CAP website and read the process guide.
[*]Do not post questions asking for help in making art. This isn't a tutorial thread.
[/LIST]
[SIZE=3][B]Art Polls[/B][/SIZE]

All art polls will contain the main design and, if applicable, a link below it titled "Supporting Material". This will link to the artists final submission post. If the final submission contains no significant supporting material, then no link will be included in the poll below the main design. Art submissions for the art poll will be selected in a manner to be determined by the topic leader. There is no process for overturning the topic leader's decision. If you are not comfortable with this stipulation, then do not make an art submission. Do not post any complaints here or in later threads.