tinyplasticdinos

It's not restricted just because of NC. It's restricted because they instituted customization- something the user base requested for YEARS before they finally did it. I'm sure NC helped them believe that the cost was worthwhile (because really, how much time went into redrawing EVERY PET), but it's not like they did this random thing that no one wanted and just sneakily cackled, "heh heh heh, now they must pay us for clothing for their pets!"
 
Especially since you don't HAVE to customize your pet at all, and there are lots of beautiful NP clothing. I use almost exclusively NP, and I have had no problems with customizing any of my pets.

I definitely agree with Rebecca that the more humanoid pets (2-legged) are usually multitudes easier to customize. Clothes tend to lay better on them without getting as distorted, and then there's the whole issue where the majority of shoes, when put on 4-legged pets, only cover 2 feet...
 
Personally I find Kacheeks easiest to customize. If I had the heart to clear out a couple Unis from my main, I would definitely get Kacheeks. Any piece of clothing I've ever tried to put on a Kacheek just looks good with their body shape. Wigs especially are often most kind to Kacheeks compared to most other species.
 
That being said, I love my Unis and, though it tends to be a little more challenging to find clothes that look good on them, I usually enjoy it.
 
As for colours, I personally have an easier time customizing solid bases or very subtle-coloured pets, whereas patterned pets offer more of a challenge, because it's harder to find clothes that fit their body, don't clash with the colour, and don't overwhelm the colour. If I'm going to take the time and money to paint a pet with a pattern (eventide, water, etc), I want to make sure their colour is visible and plays an important part in what they're wearing.

I definitely think that species that are bi-pedal are the easiest. I have a much easier time coming up with customizations for my Shoyru rather than my Aisha. I'm not surprised by the massive popularity of Blumaroos now- they must be the easiest to dress nicely, since they almost have human like proportions. The Shoyru has a weird belly, Kacheeks are short arms and legs, etc.

When I say "low value" I was referring to the whole trade craze and the mass amounts of colors no one seems to want. So value being in terms of trading, rather than actual price tag. Magma is hard to obtain, but there are few people who would value magma pets as easy to trade.
 
Dimensional is another color with an expensive price tag that isn't well liked, as well as Fire. But look at these babies!
 

I personally feel that Draiks and Kacheeks are so popular because a lot of people love the way they can customise them.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I understand the desire to see better artwork as the site progresses, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it. Though the acara and poogle might be stunning in their own right, the artwork is out of place in the mutant category. They look like mystical transformers rather than a mutated pet. The xweetok and bruce are more true to the idea of a pet who has been mutated by a transmogrification potion.
 
This might be exceptional artwork:
 

 
But a chomby on steroids does not have as much of a mutant neopet feel as say these pets:
 

The details and shading on mutants such as pteris, kaus, etc. are certainly done by someone with talent, but it's not always necessary especially when seen in the scope of the artwork on the rest of the site and even within that same color group. The other mutants feel truer to the spirit of Neopets than Optimus Prime wannabes or a giant pinata ogrin. We as users shouldn't be required to settle for mediocre coloring, I agree, but a balance is necessary lest the artists go out of control in Photoshop every time a new pet color is premiered.

I actually like the plainer mutant pets more. While the fancier ones clearly have more detail to them, the plainer ones are more consistent with the feel of the site (at least back when they were introduced), and my idea of a "mutant", which is more "awkwardly deformed" than "demonic and evil-looking".

They did contribute to the conversation, actually, just with the additional acknowledgement that everyone has different tastes, hence the "quoted words". Those words are, in essence, a diffuser- they help prevent what was said from being taken out of context, and as such help prevent a conversation from turning into a really silly argument.
 
There are some pet colors that are less detailed than others, yes, but I think a lot of the less detailed ones are were originally made pre-customization. While this isn't true for all pets, a significant number lost a lot of personality because of the standardized poses. And even the ones who didn't were effected by the artists having to get literally thousands of pet bits drawn in a very specific manner as quickly as they could. Since then, between the artists being more used to the specific format and having a lot more time to get a lot less done, pet colors have become more creative, more detailed, and each pet has been slowly becoming more unique within their color. Take Woodland, for example- each Woodland pet is unique within the color, without an overabundance of weird bits that stick out and get in the way of the customization overlays.
 
Also, in this era of Neopets, a conversation about colors is almost guaranteed to include talk about customization at some point just by the nature of the game. The clothes a color comes with, what the pet looks like without them, and how easy or hard it is to find reasonably priced wearables that look nice with said color all have an impact on that color's desirability and quality, and a color that looks bland on its own may be the perfect slate for an amazing customization. And unless I'm very much mistaken, one of the biggest reasons Disco and Cloud aren't overly popular is because they're hard to customize (Disco because of clashing colors, Cloud because of the irregular shapes that tend to overlap funny with various items), rather than because they're not detailed or well drawn.

What seems like a lack of creativity is in actuality the age of the paint brush. Faerie pets existed before customization and the pet conversion, so the colors that look 'cheap' or 'lazy' now were actually pretty unique at the time. Now that wings are a dime a dozen the novelty of converted Faeries has certainly worn off, but it's good to remember the evolution of the Neopets site before being critical.

I would say, however, that colors like dimensional and water that have come out more recently seem like a lack of creativity on the part of the artists, but even still there are people who have used those colors as a base in an amazing customization. So to each their own really does apply in this situation.

What seems like a lack of creativity is in actuality the age of the paint brush. Faerie pets existed before customization and the pet conversion, so the colors that look 'cheap' or 'lazy' now were actually pretty unique at the time. Now that wings are a dime a dozen the novelty of converted Faeries has certainly worn off, but it's good to remember the evolution of the Neopets site before being critical.

I would say, however, that colors like dimensional and water that have come out more recently seem like a lack of creativity on the part of the artists, but even still there are people who have used those colors as a base in an amazing customization. So to each their own really does apply in this situation.

What seems like a lack of creativity is in actuality the age of the paint brush. Faerie pets existed before customization and the pet conversion, so the colors that look 'cheap' or 'lazy' now were actually pretty unique at the time. Now that wings are a dime a dozen the novelty of converted Faeries has certainly worn off, but it's good to remember the evolution of the Neopets site before being critical.

I would say, however, that colors like dimensional and water that have come out more recently seem like a lack of creativity on the part of the artists, but even still there are people who have used those colors as a base in an amazing customization. So to each their own really does apply in this situation.

What seems like a lack of creativity is in actuality the age of the paint brush. Faerie pets existed before customization and the pet conversion, so the colors that look 'cheap' or 'lazy' now were actually pretty unique at the time. Now that wings are a dime a dozen the novelty of converted Faeries has certainly worn off, but it's good to remember the evolution of the Neopets site before being critical.

I would say, however, that colors like dimensional and water that have come out more recently seem like a lack of creativity on the part of the artists, but even still there are people who have used those colors as a base in an amazing customization. So to each their own really does apply in this situation.

Hmm, we seem to be running out of cake. Didn't expect so many to choose that option.

Eddie Izzard makes me laugh til I hurt... and ooo go on then ... cake
 
I also love the Darth Vader .. 'you need a tray' at the deathstar cafe sequence :woot:

Hello and welcome! You have come to exactly the right place for all the advice and tips you could ever need! We're all very helpful around here, so feel free to ask anything and everything you need to :)

welcome to TDN! do you go by Kelsey? I'm Kittyn (obviously LOL). there are a lot of very helpful guides on the main site. and I recently discovered the Hiatus Rescue Kit via another topic on the forums. it's a pretty neat little page that fills you in on major things you may have missed during your absence!
 
and you're absolutely right about a lot of us having similar stories =) I just came back after being gone for 2 years. I've been playing off and on since the very beginning also. I think I like it more now, as an adult, though.. yeah, a little frustrating with the restrictions because of it now being aimed toward the younger generation, but I definitely look at it as a way to escape some of the struggles of my day-to-day life.
 
anyway, I really hope you have fun with us here! it's a great little community =)

I love this community. In one day you can see a topic about how to deal with problematic real life situations and just under it there will be topic about seeking help to find the best petpet for your pet. It is amazing how it revolves around one common interest, but then spans over everything in people's lives they want to talk about. It never ceases to amaze and pleasantly surprise me :)

With customization and trading abound on Neopets, people seem to focus solely on a small group of pet colors while a multitude of colors are forgotten because they're not expensive enough to be cool. So I am wondering, what "low value" colors do you like? Do you like them as a whole, or just on a specific species?
 
I think Camouflage looks nice on all pets, especially these:
 

I think I am half and half about Spotted pets, some of them look sloppily made but some of them are pretty great:
 

 
And I just might have to add a Strawberry Bruce to my family one day:
 

 
(If you need a refresher and want to easily peruse colors head over to TDN's Color Database!)

It appears that these treasure maps are not released yet and are just being advertised as a "Coming Soon" item. As soon as they're released our Customization/News team will keep you informed. :)

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