Art:Portrait Background Contest

The Portrait Background Contest runs on an ongoing basis. Winning entries are implemented in game as limited edition portrait backgrounds.

Current contest links

Current contest: Portrait Background Contest Dec 2023
Deadline is January 29th, 2024, at 11:59pm game time
Remember to use the file name format of monthly_yourname_title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game.png
Current contest image tag: {{dec23contest|DiscordName|PirateName|title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game}}
All entries eligible for winning can be seen in the current portrait background entries category

Rules

Entrants will create original backgrounds from their original artwork that are consistent with the theme and style of the game. The image must look sensible with characters placed on it in any of the orientations possible for its size.

Reworking entries and multiple entries are both acceptable.

A very small signature in the lower right corner is acceptable.

Entries should be uploaded to YPPedia according to the instructions below. After uploading, post links to the thumbnails for comment in the contest thread. If you want your pirate name to appear rather than your account name should you win, please be sure to follow the image tag instructions.

Judging

The entries will be judged in the Three Rings offices by the artists and developers and the winner will be put into future releases as a Limited Edition portrait background. The portrait background may also be re-used for limited times later, and even (if appropriate) to be adopted as a longer-term or permanent portrait background, rather than a limited duration one. The same winning artist may be chosen more than once for different entries.

Submitted works are eligible for winning future contests. Artists who entered backgrounds in a previous contest: if they are eligible for the current contest, please enter them again! We would love to reconsider them. Likewise, if a background does not win, it can be submitted for future contests, as long as it fits within the theme of each contest.

All entries eligible for winning can be seen in the portrait background entries category.

Prizes

A winning entry will be included in the in-game list of available portrait backgrounds, usually for a limited duration. Anyone in the game can use it when it is available.

In addition to the fame and thrill of their work being included in the game, each month's winning entrant will also win a real-life Puzzle Pirates prize, a free copy of their portrait in-game, and a clothing item of their choice in the color(s) of their choice. The item can be any item currently purchasable (without designs or reputation) from a tailoring shoppe.

In the event of the same artist winning multiple months, an additional clothing item can be substituted for the real-life prize if the artist does not feel like having a household full of Puzzle Pirates Paraphernalia.

Entry specifications and suggestions

Entries must fit the appropriate scale. (sizes below are width x height)

1-pirate backgrounds: 348 x 650
2-pirate backgrounds: 696 x 650
Large backgrounds: 1600 x 1170
Expansive backgrounds: 2000 x 1275

The preferred file format is .png

Make it look like it came right out of the game. Get your line weights down, and compare with existing portraits to be sure. Keep your lighting consistent with the lighting on the pirate portrait art. Choose a scene that many in the game would like to use. Take your time and rework, going to others for advice and critique. In general avoid words - if you do use them, use them minimally, and only when they are not central to the understanding of the portrait. Polish.

In game portrait painting crops part of the background when placing pirates in portraits. For the single portrait, it crops 47 pixels from the bottom and 23 pixels from the top of the final portrait (which is half-size of the original background). For two pirate backgrounds, it crops 50 pixels from the bottom. Take this into account on your entries. In large backgrounds, up to 207 pixels are cropped from the right on a "1 row 4 pirates" portrait and up to 260 pixels are cropped from the right on a "2 rows 5 pirates" portrait.

You may use the following image masks to determine the safe frame. Put them on top of your image to see how much will be cut off.

Single-pirate-image mask. Click for full-sized image.
Two-pirate-image mask. Click for full-sized image.
Four-pirate-image mask. Click for full-sized image.
Five-pirate-image mask. Click for full-sized image.
Seven-pirate-image mask. Click for full-sized image.
Note the way some sizes get cropped. Click for full-sized image.

Pirate cutouts

You can test out what your background looks like as an actual portrait by using pirate cutouts (before they are re-sized by the system). The masks will be cropped out and the final portrait will be scaled down a bit. Make sure not to upload your participation with these masks, they're for reference only.

Click on the thumbnails to go to a page where you can download the full-sized cutout.

Single Pirate Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)
2 Pirate Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)
2 Pirate Facing Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)
(used at Arrtists discretion)
2 Pirate Back to back Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)
(used at Arrtists discretion)
4 Pirate Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)
5 Pirate Cut Out (2 rows)
w/ Mask. (.png format)
5 Pirate Cut Out (1 row)
w/ Mask. (.png format)
7 Pirate Cut Out
w/ Mask. (.png format)

How to upload entries to YPPedia

See also Howto:Upload a file and Howto:Post an Image

Please use the file name format of monthly_yourname_title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game.png for your background. Png format is preferred. Replace "yourname" with the name as you want it to appear in-game; this will help cut down on confusion if there is more than one "dock" or other file name. Replace "title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game" with your suggested title for the portrait background (hyphens are used as spaces between words).

Please read these directions prior to following them.

Make sure you are logged in to YPPedia, you can login using your forum account & password by using the "Login" link at the upper right corner of the page.
Click on "Upload file" on the menu bar to the left.
Click on the "Browse" button to select your portrait background's file name on your computer. Selecting your file name will automatically fill in the Source file name & Destination file name fields. If needed, edit Destination file to follow the preferred file format monthly_yourname_title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game.png
You should then fill in the Summary field with {{contesttag|DiscordName|creditname|Portrait Title}}, where "contesttag" is replaced by this month's tag shown below, "DiscordName" is replaced by your own Discord display name name, "creditname" is replaced by either your Discord display name again, or your pirate name, whichever you want credited with the background and "Portrait Title" is replaced by your suggested title for the portrait background.
Click on the "Upload file" button.

If an image file with the same name already exists, please rename yours (unless you are updating your entry).

If you make changes to your entry and need to update the image, login to YPPedia. Go to the page for it (the URL will be something like http://yppedia.puzzlepirates.com/Image:monthly_yourname_title_the_way_you_want_to_appear_in_game.png) and click on "Upload a new version of this file." Follow steps 3-4 above and click on the "Save file" button to replace the old image with the new one.

If you have already uploaded a background to YPPedia and wish to correct the image tag, go to the image's page and click on the "edit" tab. Edit the text to use the correct tag detailed in step 4 above (in the text editing box, not the edit summary field) and click on the "Save page" button. Reuploading the image with a new upload summary will not change the text.

If you have trouble uploading or updating your entry, you can ask for assistance on the help desk page.

DO NOT VANDALIZE OTHER ENTRIES OR MAKE CHANGES TO ENTRIES THAT ARE NOT YOURS. Any malicious changes to other people's entries will be rolled back and the vandal will be appropriately punished.