chana440_60148 got their homepage at Neopets.com

Welcome guest to Chana's Guide to the Beauty Contest. I'm Chana and I hope you enjoy your stay.

Updates
4/10/03 - I decided to give this page a whole new look. I hope everyone likes it and will visit again soon.

My Story
Hello. My name is Chana440_60148, but please just call me Chana. I guess my story starts when I found myself in the pound. I was really scared at first because of all the scary stories you hear about that place, but the truth is most pets don't stay at the pound long - especially painted pets like me! No sooner had I stepped into the pound when I saw southern_breeze. When I heard her say, "I want the Fire Nimmo," I knew I would never be alone again.

southern_breeze took me home where she already had another neopet, an Ixi named Augustus_Ixi and soon Sweet_Angel_Whisper, a blue Zafara, joined our family. I was very happy and everything was perfect.

Well, almost.

As a Nimmo, most people think I should be interested in fighting and the battledome, but I wasn't really. I wanted to be pretty. Both of my brothers were pretty (or handsome as they insist I say) but they have soft fuzzy fur, and a nimmo doesn't have fur. I just didn't look like they do. Plus, a lot of people just didn't think a Nimmo could be pretty and I was really depressed.

southern_breeze noticed I was sad and asked me what was wrong. I said that it was nothing, at first, but finally I admitted the truth. I wanted to be pretty but I thought it was impossible. southern_breeze got a strange look on her face and left. When she returned some time later she had a beautiful wedding dress and an entry form to the beauty contest. She said that I was beautiful and she was going to prove it to me.

I was reluctant at first, but my whole family was behind me. Augustus had been the beauty contest before and like to brag how he almost came in third for Ixi once. (He finished 7th actually.) He was ready to give me advice and Sweet_Angel_Whisper was cheering me on. I decided to give it a shot. I hoped I would get a few votes.

Soon, I rose to first in Nimmos and a few started calling me the "Runaway Nimmo Bride" because I had so many votes. I was so very happy and soon I had my own gold trophy. Now, Augustus asks me for advice.

I learned one very important thing from all this - all Neopets are pretty in their own way. Just because I'm not soft and furry, doesn't mean I'm ugly. I'm just unique! Someday, I hope to do something no Nimmo, to my knowledge, as done before - place in one of the top three overall. I'm not sure if I can but I do know one thing: if any Nimmo can do it, it will be me!

Choosing Your Pet
Believe it or not, what pet you choose to enter into the Beauty Contest can really affect your chances of winning, either overall or for species. Some species get more votes than other species. For example, Uni and Ixi tend to have far more entries and the leaders often have over 1,000 votes. On the other hand, Nimmos (like me!) and Grarrls usually have far less entries and often first place has less than 200 votes. What does this mean? Well, some species has a better chance of winning overall, but there's far more competition. While choosing a pet that has far fewer entries will make it easier to place in that species - but it is more difficult to win overall. You need to be aware of this before choosing a Neopet to enter.

How can you use this information? Most of us who enter the Beauty Contest have dreams of winning overall - but there can be only one winner out of thousands of entries. When Augustus_Ixi, who's an Ixi as his name suggests, was in the beauty contest, he got 75 votes and was in 7th place. When I was in the beauty contest, I got around 170 votes and was in first - but 75 would have been enough for second. Even if he had gotten 170 votes, he wouldn't have enough to win. He would have been lucky to place third in Ixi's.

In the end, you just need to be aware of what you're up against. There are some EXCELLENT artists out there, but if you think you have what it takes - go for it! Who knows, you might just make it!

Creating The Image
There are three ways to create a picture to enter in the Beauty Contest. 1) Draw an original image and scan it, 2) Create an image using a computer paint program, or 3) Take an image from Neopets and alter it in some way. Which way is best?

Drawing an original image can be good for those artists who feel more comfortable drawing with a pen or pencil rather than a mouse. The fact that the image was created by hand will also usually earn the artists some votes. There are two problems with drawing the image and scanning it in. First, even the best hand drawn images usually don't look as good as computer generated ones. Secondly, it can be very difficult to keep scanned images under 17K (the size limit for pictures) and shrinking the images can destroy the quality.

Computer generated images are usually the best, but not everyone feels comfortable using the programs. One thing that can be done is to draw the images, scan them, and then used the scanned images as a guide to create the new image. Two of the most popular paint programs are Adobe and Open Canvas (which is what I use). By searching online_ you can find free trial versions as well as tutorials. These images usually look better and are easier to keep under 17K.

The third way to create an image is to take an image from Neopets and alter it (usually through a standard paint program). These pictures, many times called Copy and Paste or C&P for short, usually don't do as well in the beauty contest. Although some people put a lot of effort in the background and other changes for these images - completely original art just tends to do better.

Advertising
Once your picture is in the Beauty Contest, you need to let others know about it. Since there are so many entries, good art is sometimes overlooked. That's why you have to advertise.

One way to advertise is by using the Beauty Contest message board in chat. Try creating boards that don't just say, "Vote For Me." Come up with an original angle if you can. When my picture was in the beauty contest, I was dressed as a bride and the boards I created would say, "This Nimmo Bride Only Needs One Wedding Present - Your Vote." Also, keep your eyes open because there will be people offering free votes.

Another way to advertise is to talk to neofriends and others who belong to your guild. Now, I'm not saying to neomail all your neofriends and post a dozen messages on your guild message board. I tried neomailing all my friends once without thinking and received a couple of nasty neomails. Looking back, I realized that it was rude to just neomail them because not everyone is interested in the Beauty Contest. Talk to the friends you are close with and offer similar support.

I don't recommend posting your picture everwhere because then it can be stolen. One place that you can post it however is in your shop because it is right-click protected. A good thing to do is to save up a bunch of items before the beauty contest begins. Then, post your picture and a link to it in the beauty contest in your shop and put up all the items into your shop. Sell them for good prices so that you can attract many customers and then they will get a chance to see your entry.

You can NOT bribe anyone by offering neopoints or items. That is against the rules. You should report anyone you see doing this.

Vote Trading
What is vote trading? Vote trading is simply voting for someone's else's pet in exchange for their vote for you. Several polls on the Beauty Contest message board seem to indicate that many are in favor of vote trades because, "it helps you get votes." However, is it really worth it?

There are definite problems with vote trading, however. First, not all trades are created equal. Along with some beautiful pictures that deserve your votes are images in which people didn't put in the same sort of hard work and effort. I honestly saw one pic that was asking for votes that was a picture straight from Neopets that this person had merely wrote, "Vote for me" across the bottom. That was the only change. However, because some people are really seeking votes, they will trade votes with such individuals. Because of this, some images will gain votes from people who probably deserve it more.

Another problem is that not all people are honest. I noticed once an individual who kept posting, "Will trade votes; all species open." It would seem to me that if he was really trading votes, some species would have to eventually close for him (you can only vote for one pet of each species). Most people will tell you that the way to handle this is to only vote for those people that vote for you first, but that won't always work. For a trade to take place, someone is going to have to cast the first vote.

Besides, does it actually add up to trade votes. When I was first in the beauty contest, I traded votes and gained around 30 or so. Afterwards, I merely advertised and gained about 140! If your pic is worth voting for: advertise and people will vote.

Is It Just Popularity
Near the end of every Beauty Contest you will see a message board in Beauty Contest chat where someone will complain that the Beauty Contest is nothing more than a 'popularity contest' and real art has nothing to do with it. They will point out beautiful pictures that will only gain a few votes while other images they deem less worthy will have more votes. Are they right? Is it just popularity or are people just jealous and upset?

As I have already stated, there are a lot of entries in the beauty contest. In some species there may be over 150-200 entries in a single contest. When there are that many entries, some pictures will be overlooked.

So, popularity definitely helps. Those individuals who have a lot of friends or are in a large guild or pictures receive a lot of advertising have a better chance of winning. Sometimes, it can be really frustrating. You work really hard on your picture but find it being beaten by a picture whose artist is well known.

What can you do? Well the truth is the best thing to do is keep trying. The more you enter the bc and chat on the message board, the more well-known you will become. As people come to recognize your name and your art, you will receive more votes. You see, the Beauty Contest isn't just popularity. It's popularity as well as great art.

Stop Thief!
There is one major problem that exists within the beauty contest - stolen art! It's fairly easy to see, the top winners of one week will almost certainly be stolen the next. Sometimes the pictures are stolen from art on a petpage or even a user lookup. Great artists are constantly having this problem. So, what can be done.

One of the most practical steps is not one that many, including myself, usually take. This step is to not exhibit your art on your petpage because it can not be right click protrected. What that means is that one some pages you can not to a right click to 'view source' or 'copy image'. Both the beauty contest and your shops are right click protected, but the pet pages are not.

Yet, in a way it seems unfair that we can not show off our art just because some people have sticky fingers. I like art galleries and, while I may not be the greatest artist, I always like to include a gallery or two. Besides, your images can be stolen from the beauty contest itself, as someone once informed me. There is a way to do it (and no, I'm not telling you how).

So what can you do? Signatures can be removed or changed, so signing your work doesn't really help. The truth is, the best way to stop it is to put a stop to thieves in the act. Report those who steal you art as well as other's art.

How can you spot a thief? Here are a few simple ways. First, go to the petpage and look at the pet itself and see if it looks like the picture. Now, a lot of people will alter their pet on purpose, but this is also a good way to spot thieves. One such instance, the person had stolen a pic of a red kau, but their kau was blue. Their explanation was that they ran out of blue. Yeah, we believe you.

Next, look at the previous winners. Become acquanted with what images have won in the past because those are the ones who are usually stolen. I usually also send a neomail to the owner, but that's not always recommended. Some owners of more famous pets will recive MANY neomails at once and that can be annoying.

Finally, this may take some practice but look at the style. The truth is, even when an artist is trying something radically different, there is something in his or her style that is as good as a signature. Become acquainted with artists and their styles and you may be able to spot a thief.

When you spot a thief, you should report it. You may feel like a 'tattle-tale', but this is the only way we can stop art thieves. After all, you wouldn't want your artwork stolen.

Scam of the Week
In this section, I will discuss a real scam each week that someone has tried with me. However, I will NOT use any usernames. This section is not to embarass people or to point fingers. Rather, this section is to inform others about beauty contest scams so they can be aware and protect themselves.

As you may have noticed in the Vote Trading section, I seem to have a somewhat negative view of vote trading. It's alright when people are fair and the art deserves a vote, but the following experience is one of the reasons I no longer view it as postively as I once did.

I was trading votes for the wedding picture that was entered. Like I said, I was in first and on top of the world. I had been trading votes, but I didn't have many species that I could still vote for so I had stopped. Then, I received a neomail. I no longer have the original, so I will paraphrase what it said. Basically, a girl said that she had voted for me and I hadn't voted for her. She then added that if I didn't vote for her, she was going to report me and have my entry deleted. The weird thing was, I hadn't traded votes with her.

The neomail upset me, although I later realized that she was bluffing. My entry couldn't be deleted by some random accusation. Besides, what was she going to accuse me of? Still, I did look at her picture but I couldn't vote for it because I had already voted for another pet of that species. Curious, I went to the pet page and then on to the owner. From the look of her userlookup, I assumed she was a young girl, so I decided not to do anything.

I told some friends about it and someone wanted to know her username. I hesitated - I never give out names but I decided on the spur of the moment to check out her lookup one more time. This time, I used the name from the neomail and I got a different user lookup. I went back to the petpage and I suddenly realized what I was seeing - multiple accounts. The usernames were almost identical as were the pet names and such.

Multiple accounts are allowed, but using multiple account to trade for more than one vote is against the rules. It's hard to catch these people, but this person had practically signed a confession by sending me that neomail. I didn't bother reporting her and she didn't bother me again. Still, I could have gotten her in trouble if I had wanted to.

Other Tips
Sometimes it's really hard to keep your images under 17k. Here's a few ways though that help. If you are scanning in an image, go to output size and scale the original image by 50%. This will drastically shrink the size of the file. From there, you can just do a little cropping and resizing without damaging the image. If you are using an art program like adobe or open canvas, start with a 250 x 250 canvas (you can change the size). Unless you add a lot of colors, this will usually keep your pics around 15-16K.

When creating the image just remember, cute does the best. A well-drawn image may gain some votes for artistic ability but will lose to a cuter image. Look at the beauty contest and see what kind of pictures are winning. While originality is always the best, it's still a good idea to see what voters like.

Now have fun and enter the contest!