Beauty Contest Tips I Wish I Had Known Before!

I am a long time Beauty Contest entrant and these are some tips I wish I had known in the very beginning. I have acquired these tips so you don’t have to learn the hard lessons the looooong slow way like I did.

Effort is Everything!

Effort? You mean I actually have to put effort in to it? YES! Voters who are looking at your entry are more inclined to vote for entries that they can tell have had a lot of time and effort put into the artwork, you don’t have to be Picasso but you do need to genuinely try and put in some effort. People like to see hard work rewarded and if your effort is visible that will increase your chances of getting votes. If you are just after an avatar don’t say “I’m only after an avatar, this is my stick drawing” particularly if you are in a popular category. Put in some level of real effort! Be invested in your own work!

BE UNIQUE!

Those of use that vote regularly see a lot of different artworks each week, so much so that they all start to blend together. When an entry suddenly pops up that grabs our attention a spark of interest makes you click that ever-needed vote button. This can be done in countless ways – different methods, example traditional art vs digital art, different mediums such as paint, pencil, textures – these can be done with both traditional and digital, different eye-catching colours, putting your ordinarily blur pet with a colourful background or clothing can make it pop from the rest. You can also think about there are endless things you can do to your entry that can make it stand out. There are endless styles and interpretations – that’s what makes it art. If you are not the best drawer perhaps make it obvious that it is supposed to be an abstract artwork.

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise Some More!

To really give your entry the edge you need to let people know about it on the Art Board. This is extra important if your species category is popular, the more entries you are up against the more you should advertise. A good advertisement board is more than just a link to your entry, although that is important, you need to be friendly and say hello and tell people WHY they should vote for you! Give your pet a personality or backstory, tell a joke or write a pun about your entry.

Be Friendly and Say Hello

Another great tip is to make sure you visit other people’s boards and leave a comment which includes a link to your entry. Comment on their entry saying what it is that you like about it. And ask them to have a look at your entry in return. This helps you both get votes and check out the other entries you may be up against. Also, you can make friends and everyone could do with a new friend .

The Species Selection

If you are just after an avatar, or just want a trophy, enter a pet species with low popularity. Some species don’t get any entries at all some weeks and it can be very easy to get a win without needing to advertise for all the votes you can get. Of course, if you do go this route and do want an OVERALL trophy and not just a species trophy you do need to advertise for all the votes you can get. For an overall trophy for your look-up species selection can be the difference. You can only vote for one pet per species but if there is no other entries in your species people everyone can vote for you without being notified that they have already voted for a pet of that species. To know what species, have a lower popularity check the current entries and search by species.

Caption Caution

Ah, that little caption that goes along with your entry! What do I put there? There really is no correct answer as to what you put in that space, you can write whatever you want BUT, there is always a but heehee, you should consider maybe adding a title to your artwork or a little rhyme that makes voters smile – maybe think about giving your pet a bit of a backstory or character here. If your picture has your pet holding a sword, maybe mention why this is, example, my pet is the leader of an army against so-and-so. This tip is particularly important if your art-making abilities are somewhat lacking, make people interested in your art with words and context.

So, to wrap up, get the voters interested in your entry through the caption and/or by you enthusiastic Art Board description. ADVERTISE like the worlds are ending! Scrape together all the votes you can by posting your link in the art boards, and be careful to only advertise on the art boards. Be unique, think about what makes your art special and stand out amongst the crowd. And lastly, consider which pet you are entering and what your goal is in the contest: an avatar, a species trophy or an all-out overall trophy. And that’s it! That’s all it takes, put these tips into practice and you too could be a stunning beauty with a new shiny trophy. I hope to see your entries in the contest soon!

NOTE: Make sure you check the rules and requirements before you start your artwork. There is nothing worse than getting to the end of your artwork, after putting hours of effort in only to find out you unknowingly broke a rule and can’t use it.

- Laurie (babycupcake_1)