Submission Guidelines

Submitting art and writing forms the core of our group. Here's what you need to know.

## Rules for Artwork

Breaking these rules will result in a warning. Repeat offenders may face strikes.

* Only legitimate stock (dA stock or outside sources; must either be free to use/creative commons license or user must provide a license of paid stock) is allowed to be used. This applies both to photomanipulations and drawings. Things like Breyer horses are not considered proper stock.
* Tracing and referencing of stock images are both accepted and encouraged. Follow stock provider rules (some may not allow tracing).
* Tracing the work of other artists is absolutely not allowed.
* Bases made by other artists (whether P2U, custom-made or publicly shared) may be used for things such as **references** and **outfit showcases** only. These do not gain XP and should always be properly credited and linked.
* Repeated linearts or backgrounds (made by you) do not gain points beyond first use, but may be posted to the group for purposes such as references or showcasing outfits. You need to clearly state that the element is reused when doing so.
* Potentially triggering content (such as gratuitous violence, abuse, sexism…) should be properly tagged in the description of the piece. Please use mature content filters as necessary.
* Explicit sexual content should be kept out of the group.

## XP Basics

* Only art that you’ve worked on (whether alone or collaborated) may gain XP for your character. XP is always assigned to the character depicted, and can not be given away.
	+ The exception is gift art. When you draw someone else’s approved character, you may choose which one of your characters receives that XP.
* Greyscale, palette experiment or otherwise stylized artwork is accepted as long as the tone and markings match the character. Just outlines and shading is not enough.
* Characters should always be recognizable
* Simple outlines, uncolored linearts and silhouettes don’t earn XP.
* NPCs must *always* be drawn/written together with one of your own relevant characters unless otherwise stated. They may not be the central focus of the image; the image must serve an approved character and their development
* Giftart and commissions of approved characters may be standalone and do not need to feature your own character
* All works must be submitted by the creator to gain XP. Please do not submit for other people.
* Each work should only be submitted to the group by one person
* All works for which one wishes to claim XP must be submitted to the group for mod review and acceptance.
* If there are any hard deadlines associated with the artwork (submissions for events, rotating prompts etc), the piece must be in dA queue **before deadline**. Late submissions are not approved without very good reason, and are always considered on an individual basis.

## Submitting

To submit art to the group, first submit the piece to the group gallery as usual. Make sure you select the appropriate gallery folder. Once you’ve done this, you should receive a notification from DeviantArt like this (use screenshot).

Now press on that notification, and then, press on the timestamp (screenshot again). This brings you to the correspondence page. Copy the link in your address bar, and submit to either #admin-submissions or #mod-submissions in our Discord. Remember to give your submission the appropriate tag (lists can be found on Discord). You should do this every time you submit - this allows the staff to receive a direct notification of your submission, making them easier to find. It also makes the queue visible and increases transparency on wait times.

If you forget to add your correspondence to the Discord queue, it's not a catastrophe! It might, however, somewhat increase the wait you experience.

However, if your submission is a roleplay or literature submitted to the **forums**, post a direct link to the thread into #mod-submissions once the piece is finished. This is mandatory to get forum submissions scored.

Remember that characters should not be used and any development is not official until approved into the group.

### What goes into #admin-submissions

* Character applications (including updates to existing characters)
* NPC applications (including updates)
* Familiar applications (including updates)
* Trackers
* Any lore submissions needing approval, such as family or business information

### What goes into #mod-submissions

* Everything else, including general art, development pieces, event pieces etc
* Xp checks for literature and roleplay posted to the forums

## Scoring

Amaranthine RPG uses a partially RNG based scoring system where pieces are given a score from a range of possibilities. The purpose of this system is to make artwork and scoring more relaxed, with less need for complex categories or correction requests. We hope to create an encouraging, exploratory atmosphere where the joy of creating triumphs over scoring sheets.

There are some exceptions - memes offer flat XP rates, and events generally give a flat XP bonus for participation.

### How Scoring Works

1. When submitting your piece to the gallery, provide a list of all scoring categories that apply, including any bonuses, **in the artist description**. Use the submission template below.
2. Remember to include the template for each individual character in the piece.
3. A moderator will review your piece, and input it into our roller based on categories provided. Note that it is your responsibility to make sure all bonuses that apply are listed!
4. If your submission is trying to claim points it is not qualified for, you will be notified and have a chance to correct your submission. This mostly occurs if you’ve made a genuine mistake, like listing an outfit when none are present or when applying for categories marked as extra effort.
5. When your submission is approved, a moderator will comment on the xp tracker with the final tally and a link to the piece. **Do not hide these comments**. They are used to verify your totals when you send in for rewards.

### Submission Templates

Remember to include the template for each individual character in the piece.

#### Own Character

**Character Name + Link to Reference:** Link to the reference of the character. Must be an approved character.

**Link to XP Tracker:** Link your XP Tracker here. If you are using comments for further organization, please link the comment you want a reply to directly.

**XP Points and Bonuses:** List here all points and bonuses that apply. Note that some bonuses may have caps on how many characters may benefit from them.

#### Gift Art

**Character Name + Link to Reference:** Link to the reference of the giftee. Must be an approved character.

**Character Receiving the XP (Name and Link):** Name of **your** character that receives the XP.  Must be an approved character.

**Link to XP Tracker:** Link your XP Tracker here. If you are using comments for further organization, please link the comment you want a reply to directly.

**XP Points and Bonuses:** List here all points and bonuses that apply. Note that some bonuses may have caps on how many characters may benefit from them.

## Scoring Quick Reference Sheet

Refer below for a quick guide to various categories and their scoring. For a more detailed breakdown, head to *XP* *Scoring System*