User:Kylescousin/sandbox

Pxleyes is a photoshop and photo contest website launched in June 2009. It was originally known as photoshoptalent. Each day new contests are posted and members compete against each other to win. The winner is determined by community voting. Apart from the contests, there are also tutorial sections for most graphics programs.

Photoshop contests
There are 2 different types of Photoshop contests on Pxleyes. The first type is the "source contest": a photo is provided and contestants manipulate this photo in Photoshop (or similar image editing software). The second type is the "theme contest". A topic is provided and contestants have to create a photo manipulation around this topic. An example of a theme photoshop contest would be:


 * "It's amazing that the country of Japan exists at all, since it's so regularly attacked by gigantic monsters! Although they were mainly guys tromping around in rubber suits, they always managed to destroy the countryside. Your job is to create a realistic (think photographic) depiction of a "classic" Japanese movie monster. A partial list to get you started can be seen here (Do NOT include Pacific Rim). You can do anything you like, as long as it's giant (and NOT Pacific Rim) and Japanese."

Photography contests
Photo contests are always theme contests. A topic is provided and contestants take a photo of something that matches this topic. An example of a theme photo would be:


 * "Many people start 2014 with a major hangover. Resolutions already down the drain! Luckily, there are solutions. You can either take a pill or eat/drink something that will "cure" you. For example, large amounts of water, a big fat sausage or a hamburger are all supposed to cure you. Some people go running or just sleep it off! What do you do to treat your hangover? Take a photograph of something that does the trick for you. This can be anything... Food, drinks, pills, activities,...Good luck!"

Rules
Pxleyes is known for its strictness when it comes to contest rules. Cheating is not taken lightly. New members are expected to have a full understanding of the rules before entering any contests. For example, in a photoshop contest it is required to list and link to all the sources that are used. Sometimes it is even requested to post intermediate steps of how an entry was created.

Contest Terminology

 * Talent points and levels: Like on some fantasy RPG games, pxleyes lets you "level up" in a speciality. Each level requires a certain amount of talent points. Talent points can be earned by finishing in the top 6 of a contest. The higher you finish, the more points you get. The higher your level, the more points are required to get to the next level. Each member has a level for each speciality on the site: photography, photoshop, drawing and 3D.


 * Contest levels: Most contests are open for all member levels. However, on a regular basis "+" or "-" contests run. These will require members to gain a certain level before entering. Similarly, in a "-" contest, you must have a level lower than the level provided. This allows beginners to gain small amounts of talent points, while advanced users can gain large amounts of points.


 * Vote Power: The winner of a contest is determined by member voting. Each user has votepowe, which represents the importance of your vote. The higher your votepower, the more "weight" your vote has.  When a new user signs up, he/she starts with 0 votepower. Your vote counts as 1 vote when you have 100 votepower. When you reach votepower 400, your vote counts as 4 votes, and so on ... A votepower of 199 or lower means your vote counts as 1 vote.


 * Vote Medals: Each time someone votes on ALL entries in a contest, he's awarded a vote medal.


 * Reputation: Follow the site rules and reputation will increase. Don't follow them and reputation will decrease. For example, when an entry gets removed because it's off-theme, the author of that entry will lose reputation points. Members with high reputation scores are respected and sometimes serve as mentors to newcomers.
 * SBS: stands for step-by-step, which is mainly used in photoshop contests. Users have the option (or are sometimes required) to upload their intermediate steps when creating an entry. This gives voters a better understanding of what work was done for the entry.