lovedwallflower Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Right so I'm a bit angry at the structure of the Neopets contests and I want to know what you think.. I'm not any good at art (as in drawing) nor in HTML, therefore I know that a certain amount of contests are out of bounds for me. What I am (relatively) good at however, is creating stories and narrative backgrounds for my pets to go along with their detailed customisation. This is precisely why I was very interested in the Pet Spotlight.. but lo and behold, here's the description: Pet Spotlight To make the pet spotlight, you need a drawing (by you) of your pet, (all images need to be in GIF or JPG format for further reference) and a story about them (no specifics are given, I'd say try for 500+ words). Your pet also gets a trophy for winning. Seems to me that since there's already an Art Gallery AND a Beauty Contest, the pet spotlight should focus on the story not the artwork! I dunno, am I making any sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxen Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Perfect sense :P I agree, there really needs to be a competition for writing only. Both Petpet and Pet Spotlight require a picture and I don't think that's really fair :/. They should make a new one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovedwallflower Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Maybe i should submit a question in the hopes of it becoming answered in the editorial.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angeló Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 yes !!! you put your finger right on the wound there !! i've always wanted to do the Pet Spotlight thing and I begged several people to draw me a small picture of my pet but in vain !!! we should start a campaign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozzie Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 From what I've seen about the Pet Soptlight, the emphasis is on the writing. If you look through the past winners, there is the odd lovely piece of artwork but for the most part, they're pretty basic. It's the writing that seems to stand out the most in each piece. :) So I wouldn't let it put you off! Just try your best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaana Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Even just looking at the last couple of winners... in the nicest way possible, the pictures ain't that great. Still won though :3 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angeló Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 what about people like me who can't draw stick figures to save their lives , yet i have 5 NT trophies for writing ?? :shiftyeyes_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xepha Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Well if you are absolutely not good at drawing, they provide tutorials to do each species and more over here : http://www.neopets.com/art/drawing.phtml Or you could print a Neopets picture that you like and somewhat tracing over it on a different paper. Or you could use different color of tissue paper, tear it up, make small ball and glue them to a traced images. :P I'm full of idea when it comes to arts and crafts. xD It doesn't mean that I consider to draw well. But I try my best at that kind of stuff and have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovedwallflower Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 and I begged several people to draw me a small picture of my pet but in vain !!! be careful.. if you submit something you didn't draw (and they catch you) you'll be in trouble! Here's a quote from TNT: Pretending someone else's picture is your own will get your account frozen. Thanks for all the encouragement guys :) I think i'll try and make something up to go along with my story even if it is of Grade 3 standards :* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xepha Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Thanks for all the encouragement guys :) I think i'll try and make something up to go along with my story even if it is of Grade 3 standards :* Don't hesitate to post it on tdnforums to get feedback from our great artist. :D I'm sure you can whip something that will be enough to get into the spotlight anyway, especially if your writing is good. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secre Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I am definitely in agreement - The NT times does cater for writing as well as everything else but you need to write something topical to go in it and there is the story writing competition but much more of the site is based around artwork or HTML which I'm another person who can't draw or do HTML - I may have a go at the pet spotlight though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xweetoksrfluffyXD Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I agree - if you're story is fantastic you can still have a good shot at winning! Besides, you could always try a simple, maybe humorous cartoon! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I agree. And I like any oppurtunity to be mad at Viacom. Ill go grab my pitchfork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralie Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 It is probably true that the spotlight competition places less of a focus on artwork, but I think the site as a whole -- both the site-run competitions and user-run things like applying to adopt pets -- is definitely slanted in favor of artists. I love the visual arts and I think people who are skilled in those areas should definitely have room to show off their talents, but I think it's a little silly and arbitrary that everything you do requires some demonstration of artistic talent, even if the quality doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxen Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 It's quite true that the Petpet Spotlight does focus mainly on writing - I've won twice with pictures that I didn't think were very good :P I tried to make my story the thing that stood out. I'm not the best at drawing either so I've been asking artists for tips and all of them say they were crap at first, they just drew pictures every day and didn't give up. I'm sure that you could draw with a little application ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovedwallflower Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 And I like any oppurtunity to be mad at Viacom. Ill go grab my pitchfork. i lolled at that :P I agree with Maralie though.. visual art is great but it shouldn't be prized at the expense of people who can do other things - but not draw. I mean my drawing ability has basically stopped developing ever since I was 8. I think Pet Spotlight should be analysed on theme and characterisation: that means story, customisation, pet lookup (even if it's a premade) and petpet - and how they all point to one cohesive theme or story. Artwork should have little do with it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massy Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I think, although it seems like a focus on art...that the winners of the Pet Spotlight competition are usually great stories coupled with terrible drawings...you'd probably be in with a fair chance in that competition if the writing was good and you just tried your 'best' to do an accompanying drawing...even if it was a bit rubbish.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baixinha Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I know... I am truly awful at drawing. I thought neopets should have some other contests, too. It also sucks how they won't let my Aisha win the customization contest. And she's wearing a freaking GOLD - TIER GOTHIC DRESS I WON FROM WONDERCLAW!! *pant* *wheeze* It seems that only jub-jubs and shoyrus win these days. I want to see my pet win for once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngrace Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 From what I've seen about the Pet Soptlight, the emphasis is on the writing. If you look through the past winners, there is the odd lovely piece of artwork but for the most part, they're pretty basic. It's the writing that seems to stand out the most in each piece. :) So I wouldn't let it put you off! Just try your best! totally agree. :) from what i've seen, the emphasis is mostly on the writing / characterization. so no worries, i'm sure you have as much of a chance as anyone. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizyMarie Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I sort of agree with you there, but I'm the opposite. I can only do HTML. I sort of wish there were more contests. I thought neopets should have some other contests, too. I agree. But the question would be what kind? What is there left? Maybe my creativity is shot. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bataclops Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 On the contrary I think they have quite a lot of opportunities for getting your writing featured on Neopets besides just the pet spotlight. There are the poetry and storytelling competitions which are 100% writing. Also the Neopian Times features articles, short stories and multi-part stories that require no additional artwork unless you want to include it. That's quite a lot of trophies to accumulate if you set your heart to it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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