SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
First and foremost, everything submitted MUST be created by you, the submitter. Any brushes, textures, etc. from other sources used must be credited. If not, consequences will follow.
In other words, NO STEALING!

Specifications for:
*Please read the Specifications for ALL IMAGES in this first post before going on

• Graphics
• Layouts
• Tutorials
• Scripts

SPECIFICATIONS FOR ALL IMAGES
These guidelines apply to all images. It doesn't matter if they're for graphics, tutorials, or layouts.
- Pictures must be of good quality; no pixelations, distortions, over-sharpened, blurry (or rather out-of-focus) images
- Pictures cannot be OFFENSIVE; PG-13 is the rule, here
- Pictures cannot be copyrighted
- Pictures need to have good contrast; nothing too bright or too dark
- If submitting a photo as a stock photo, there should not be obvious flash evidence or timestamps.
- If submitting a photo as a stock photo, it should not be a personal photo or a cliche MySpace picture. This is not an image-hosting place, people.
- If your picture/graphic has any type on it, the font must be:

- Clear, smooth and crisp
- Readable
- A color that is not clashing with your graphic
- Not transparent to the point where it is unreadable
- The words must have the correct spelling
- The words CANNOT be profane

- No non-stock images from DeviantART or t-shirt screens from Threadless may be used
- If creating a blend, make sure the backgrounds are clean and match up
- Images should not be INVERTED (the look of a film negative)

HELPFUL LINKS
This is a list of links of tutorials on how to help you become a better designer. These tutorials all link to things that are a problem in the queue.

How to Make a Tutorial
Taking Screenshots
How to Pick the Right Font & Its Color
The Big Book of Resources



FOLLOW-UP PROCESS
If your submission is rejected, take the advice implemented into the rejection PM to heart. We only have the best intentions in mind. Do NOT resubmit your submission until Staff has given the OK that tweaks have been made. Also keep in mind that our decisions are not final. If something is accepted, it can be rejected if we feel it is the right thing to do. An example would be if one of us accepts something & another staff member sees that it is jocked, it will be rejected. Same goes for rejected material being accepted. It just depends on the situation.

NOTE:
This thread is not complete. It will be changing with the times.

Avatars/Icons
- Image size must be either 50x50 or 100x100; nothing bigger or smaller
- No watermarks
- No images that are just cropped; image needs to look dramatically altered, somehow
- Should be square

Backgrounds
- Must be a pattern of some sort that works repeated
- Not to be confused with desktops or wallpapers
- No extremely basic patterns such as polka dots, stripes, plaid, checkers, etc.

Banners
- Not too small in width or height
- Must show alteration somehow - don't just crop a photo and add text

Stock Photos
- Must follow ALL image guidelines
- Must be pictures that you took or scanned
- Nothing cliche. This includes:

JUST skies or clouds (example)
Hands forming a heart shape
Hands forming a star shape
Hands spelling out L-O-V-E
Shadow images
Pictures of eyes
Stop/Danger/Road signs
Shoe images
Flower images, unless extremely well photographed

- Nothing scanned should be copyrighted




Here is the original image for an idea of what the changes were.

Here are some basic examples for things we are NOT looking for.

Unedited image.

Doesn't look any different from the original? Well that's because I didn't do anything but add the actor's name. Sure it looks nice, but that's not what we look for.

- Pictures must be of good quality; no pixelations, distortions, over-sharpened, blurry (or rather out-of-focus) images
We can't stress this enough. Here are some example of low quality images.
1. 2. 3.
1. The worst of the three; don't need to explain this one.
2. Second most common low quality image that comes our way. This happens when the image was saved for the web and then uploaded here. Loss of quality will happen most of the times when you use the 'Save for Web' options in photo-editing software.
3. I bet you're saying 'WTF? It's not even low quality!' but, yes it is. Check out the neck and face area, around the text and the backdrop mainly where the actor meets the rest of the image (shoulders). Those little weird patches are low quality. We get this version of low quality the most.


How you can fight against it: Saving the image as a PNG helps reduce those ugly patches from showing up in your pic when CreateBlog converts it to a jpg. But please, do realize that even though you do save it as a PNG, the RAW FILE will also determine quality too. If you're already using a low quality image to create a graphic, it'll STILL be low quality, if not worse.

- Pictures cannot be OFFENSIVE; PG-13 is the rule, here.
That means no images like the following below:

Even though the offensive words are crossed out, its still not allowed. It also means that pictures containing nudity, sexual themes or intense gore/horror (ex: someone's head blowing up) will be rejected.

- If your picture/graphic has any type on it, the font must be:
- Clear, smooth and crisp

If your text looks like this, then it is not crisp, smooth or clean. It also means that your photo-editing program text anti-aliasing is set to none. Any other settings can fix this problem.


The first one is blurry; text like this doesn't look very good.
The second one is squished together. Some fonts can pull it off, but don't overdo it where it looks as bad as that.
The 3rd one is too close together. You can hardly read what was written. No one wants to sit there trying to figure out what your text says.

- A color that is not clashing with your graphic

Enough to give you a headache.

- Not transparent to the point where it is unreadable

I have the word DEXTER written on his chest, can you see it? Hardly. The original color is white and I made it so transparent that now you can hardly see it. Not very cool. You don't want the people using your graphics to strain their eyes to read the text in your graphics.

- The words must have the correct spelling
This means no L33t, CaPs, or incorrect spelling. If you are unsure how to spell something, do a search, or open Microsoft Word. Spell check is your friend!

or


- Pictures need to have good contrast; nothing too bright or too dark
Check these out

None of them look good. Try not to get your images this bad, please.

- Pictures must be of good quality; no pixelations, distortions, over-sharpened, or blurry (or rather out-of-focus) images

Dreamy effect is getting a little old now. And also it's hardly done right. Please consult a tutorial for guidance on how to use that effect correctly.

Once is enough, but if the image is too blurry and you can't fix it, it's time to look for another picture. Also, don't take a smaller picture and attempt to blow it up and sharpen it with hopes that it'll turn out ok. It won't. Trust us.

Bad use of Brushes and Textures
Pretty basic; it just means to try not to overdo it on either resource. Sometimes being very subtle with them can take you a long way. Less can be more. Not to mention it'll look better too.

This is just a major overload. It doesn't even look great.


Here's a tip: Textures and brushes on the faces of people who are in your graphic do NOT look good. So if you've got some thing like this

erase whats over the face so it looks like this

A nice soft-edged brush. It'll do the trick.


Huge Watermarks

Would you use a image like this? If you're so afraid of people taking your work, get creative and place them in the image where it would it would not only go unnoticed but hard to edit it out.


- No watermarks

No one will use your icon if this is on it.
If you're afraid of people stealing your icon, try using a smaller version of your user name. For example, mine is BHS and here are some icons I made where my watermark blends in.

If you can pull this off chances are you can get away with a watermarked icon.

- No bad crops
This means icons like this

They don't look good.
Here are some examples of good crops:

The point is to be creative. Icons are the most used graphics out there. Try out different techniques that will distinguish your icon from everyone else's.



Rejection Reason: The animation is pretty tacky, and it's way too simple. Something could have been added to make it more interesting (text, for example).


Rejection Reason: It's a little too simple, and the brush in the background is really low quality. Also, the "S" is cut off at the end.


Rejection Reason: The biggest problem is that the image is from Deviantart, and there is no credit or written permission. Other than that, it just looks like a cropped photo. No noticeable editing was done.


Rejection Reason: Image quality is really nasty. Images with so few colors should be saved as GIFs. If they have more, save it as a PNG. Plus, the image is from Threadless.


Rejection Reason: Even though the simplicity doesn't necessarily look bad, we still look for more design. Anyone could slap text on a square. We want to see that you actually put effort into it.




Anyone willing to help out and want to donate a graphic that was rejected for the reasons above, PM any of the Design Staff.

DESIGN & CONTENT
- Layout submissions must be your original work! Include credits, if any.
- All layouts must be PG13.
- Use only high quality images.
- Take any personal info out of the layout (add fillers instead).
- Must be aligned and look appealing in IE, FF, and look appealing in all resolutions.
- Credits should not be so prominent.
- No generators should be used for the coding

SCREENSHOTS
- Screenshots should be taken in fullscreen mode (press F11).
- Screenshots should not be cropped - only standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:10) are valid.

MYSPACE LAYOUTS
- Replace msplinks with original links and friendID with XXXXXXXX. (must be EXACTLY 8 X's!!!)
- "Default" inspired DIVs will NOT be accepted
- The ad CANNOT be hidden
- A complete set of navigation must be included (add, block, message, comment)
- All layouts must have a custom contact box and a background or extended network background
- Layouts must have some sort of content area.
- None of the default MySpace blue and orange may be showing
- Remember to link to the friendID grabber for div overlays

AUTOMATIC REJECTIONS
Layouts face automatic rejection if...

- their coding is "jocked" or generated.
- pixelated and/or low quality images are used in them.
- they are illegible. Choose your color combinations wisely.
- Victorian backgrounds are used in them.
- they are not centered in all resolutions (ie. 800x600 and 1024x768).
- resources are not properly credited. (Google, Imageshack, and Photobucket are NOT resource sites.)
- (for MySpace standard layouts) they do not have a custom contact table and a custom background OR a custom extended network image.
- (for all MySpace layouts) there is no "block" link provided.

LAYOUT IMAGES
- All images must be valid URLs and either in PNG (PNG preferred), JPG, or GIF format.
- All images will be transferred to CB image servers upon approval.
- Backgrounds shouldn't be cut off upon repetition or only for a specific resolution (ie 800x600).

LINKING BACK
- Please consider linking back to CreateBlog in your layouts!
- To link back to your CB submissions: http://createblog.com/layouts/index.php?author_id=MEMBRNMBR

MISCELLANEOUS
- For div overlays, please include specific directions.
- If the CreateBlog layout previewer distorts your actual code, please include a note when submitting that states so and link a working preview.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW DO I TAKE A SCREENSHOT?
Open up your browser, press "F11" (found at the top), and then look for the "PRT SCR" (usually near Del-Insert-End keys). Now open up your favorite graphics program (ex: MS Paint) and click on Edit -> Paste. Once you have the screenshot, save it as a JPG.

WHY DO I GET "SCREENSHOT MUST BE IN 4:3 OR WIDESCREEN" ERROR?
Make sure you haven't cropped (edited) your screenshot. If the problem persists, make sure that you're using a standard (4:3) or widescreen (16:10) resolution. Examples of standard resolutions are 800x600, 1024x768. Examples of widescreen resolutions are 1280x800 and 1440x900.

WHY DID MY LAYOUT GET REJECTED?
We accept roughly 20% of our submissions to ensure quality. If your layout was rejected, don't be discouraged and keep on designing! Everyone has to start somewhere, and the best are where they are because they never gave up! If you'd like to know in detail why it was rejected, feel free to PM the reviewer.

WHY DID MY LAYOUT GET ACCEPTED AND THEN REJECTED?
Staff members peer review each other, and sometimes they don't agree on what should be accepted or rejected. Please ask the staff member why it was rejected for more information.

WHY DO I NEED TO REPLACE MSPLINKS (FOR MYSPACE)?
When submitting div overlays, make sure that your code has ORIGINAL links and not MSPLINKs. This way people can easily change the friendIDs. Here are some common links that might be useful:

'BAD' EXAMPLES

Layout preview: click.
Rejection Reason: There are A LOT of problems with this one. The biggest issue is the alignment. Something went wrong with the code that is causing the About Me to be off. Another big issue is the fact that the top image is from Threadless. Images from there are copyrighted and a big no-no. Also, the background color of the image and background color of the page don't match up, and there is no block link.

Layout preview: click.
Rejection Reason: Image quality is the biggest problem here. The edges of the penguin are extremely choppy and blurry. Plus, just as the last time, the background colors don't match up and a block link is nowhere to be found.

Layout preview: click.
Rejection Reason: The blending in this is not the best. The different images could be told apart easily, and the image quality of a couple of them is not the best as well. Also, the text in the about me is almost impossible to read because of the busy background behind it.

All of the following display bad quality images used in the layout.
Narcissism (Div) Golden Gate Bridge (Div) Cats Rule (div)

The following displays a 'bad blend', and also where the background and main image do not flow together.
V for Vendetta (Div)

The following displays profanity used in the layout.
Enslaved (DIV)

The following displays bad use, or rather overuse, of brushes and/or textures.
Medical Mayhem

As mentioned before, we are accepting donations of any rejected layouts and graphics you may have. PM me or any of the other Design Staffers if you would like to help out or if you have any questions.

- If submitting a tutorial with images, the image length should not exceed the tutorial column width. If it does, the image MUST BE thumbed.
- No more 'vintage' stylized tutorials will be accepted. There are plenty here already. Just search.

Things to remember about tutorials

Although the tutorials section gets lonely at times, doesn't mean we can't forget about it. So I'll be giving you guys some pointers & explaining the rules when submitting a tutorial. Everything that I will go over can be found in my "Making a Tutorial" tutorial.

1. Have an idea.
   Because how else will you submit a tutorial?
   
   
2. Be organized
   This step is key. Tutorials that are all over the place just becoming frustrating to deal with.
   
   
3. Include screenshots.
   Probably the most important thing to remember. It's not mandatory, but will help a lot. If you're not sure what screenshots are or how to take them, click here.
   
   
4. Crop your screenshots.
   There is nothing more annoying than having a screenshot that isn't cropped. By that, we mean to crop only what you want to show in the screenshot. If you're still unclear, I have some examples for you. The first one is a yes & the second one is a no.
   
   
   click to enlarge
   
   
   click to enlarge
   
   
   
5. Correct coding
   Make sure that when you use screenshots or want to enter codes in your tutorial, you use BB Codes. They're pretty much the same kind of coding we use on the forums. If you don't know where to find a list of BB Codes, just click here.
   
   
6. Be clear & precise & use correct grammar.
   This one is a given. I mean if you're not clear on what you want to say, no one will understand you. Also before you submit anything, re-read everything to make sure you don't have any spelling or grammatical errors.
   
   
7. Label your tutorials correctly.
   I don't think this one needs much explanation but just make sure you fill in the correct fields.
   
   
8. Always respond to comments or PMs regarding your tutorial.
   Just out of courtesy. I mean people are using your tutorial to learn so if they have any other questions, help them out. It's not that hard. I also recommend that if someone comments your tutorial, don't respond to them on your tutorial because it's a hassle having to go back & check. Just respond via PM or comment on their cB profile. It's also a lot faster.
   
   
9. Thumb images that exceed the columns.
   Honestly, it's just annoying & sometimes the screenshot gets covered by the column containing the tutorial's details. So just thumb it.
   
   
10. No more vintage tutorials.
    We have like 4867676 vintage tutorials already. Just search for them.
    
    
11. Always do a search.
    A lot of people submit tutorials that have already been accepted. It's not that much of a hassle to do a search beforehand to save you the time & effort of submitting a tutorial & having it get rejected because it already exists.

If you have any questions, you can always PM one of the DSers & we'll be more then happy to help you.

Pretty much, the only thing to remember is NO DUPLICATE SCRIPTS will be accepted. Further explanation:

Let's say for example that the script you want to post moves the myspace music player. Well codes like that have been floating around for a while now, so there is a huge change that it's already posted here. Take a look around the already posted scripts. If the script you plan to post is exact, or the result is the same, you best believe that it will be rejected. If it's an update, like all the codes on moving the myspace player aren't working and the one you're submitting does, then you can submit it, granted you make a note of it in the title section.

Please check to make sure it's not already on here before submitting.
If you're not into the idea of looking through 60+ pages, the search bar on top can be your friend. Use key words, using the same example above I would search the following words

1. move, music player
2. move player
3. myspace player

by adding in the keyword to what the script does will result in better results.


Screenshots
Remember that when you're taking a screenshot, be sure you include a before and after. Also, please crop the screenshot to show ONLY what will be changed. Not the whole desktop.Good screenshots show people what the script will do without having to guess or test it out.

About the codes
1. Make sure the scripts actually work! Why post a script that doesn't work on all browsers?! At least make sure it'll work in IE & FF.If it's using filters make a note of it in the comment section when submitting.
2. Make sure that the codes you post don't require some sort of extra pieces or requirements. If it does, please make a note of it and explain what needs to be done as detailed as possible.
3. When submitting scripts, MAKE SURE that you only post the codes that actually change something. Don't include unnecessary coding.

Copying other people's Scripts
Don't steal, its not fair to those who work hard making scripts to customize the myspace profile. Respect their work and learn to make your own. You wouldn't want people taking your work and claiming it as their own would you? It's the same with images and layouts. If you get caught, you will be warned.

Have questions? Ask them here.