Welcome!

Updates

I'm Turnip and I'd like to give you a warm welcome to The Lunch Box, a site that offers you a wide selection of resources and graphics for any occasion. Whether it's a welcome sign for your shop, a wallpaper for your iPod, or a blank banner to spur your creative ideas, TLB has it! Not only that, this is a graphics/request site with a bit of a twist. Be on the lookout for the story that is scattered throughout the pages. There's no particular order that you have to read it in, but the first part is just below and the last part of the story is on the Sitely page. With all of that said and done, enjoy your journey because you'll never know what you'll find in the box.

May.25.2012 / *7 days left* Oops, looks like there was a saving mix-up and this page got deleted! I wasn't able to fix things as soon as I could since the internet stopped working at the house. Things should be back to normal now. Exactly one week from today I'll be starting my vacation! I'll be posting a random giveaway on my extra page, so be on the look out for it (I'll also announce it here). No new Featured Site & Graphic this week. I'm thinking about putting this feature on hold since it's getting very hard to find new sites and graphics to feature. I'd love to hear your ideas or suggestions - should I keep this feature going? May.18.2012 / (Another) Small update Check out the new Featured Site & Graphic! Also, be sure to send in your own features using the form at the bottom of the Features page. Requests are still open. A new icon batch will be uploaded next Friday! May.16.2012 / Small update I received a request for a Faerie Krawk Not UFT banner, so that's been added! May.13.2012 / Yarr, I'm hungry! I recently got back into Food Club betting and decided to post my prelim "power rankings" on my random page. I'm not sure if I'll keep up with it since it takes a while to calculate each day but we'll see! It's a bit early but I managed to get the next layouts for TLB, Open Eyes, and Frequent Flyer designed! Check out the preview of all three here (scroll to the bottom). I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Recently added

New content added for May 25: - 10 Neo-related icons Here's a quick preview of some of the new content! If you want to visit the page with new content, click any of the links above. For larger graphics like banners, drag and drop into the address bar for full view

guest was sitting on the beach

when suddenly a box washes up to the shore. Strange, you think to yourself, it's a lunch box. The edges appear worn, as if it's been dropped on the ground multiple times. You open up the lid and looking inside the box, you notice that it seems to be filled with treasure. Poking around, guest picks up a small note:

If you're reading this, then it must mean that I've lost my lunch box. Again. Well, it's unfortunate for me, but not for you! You see, I always pack the best so feel free to take a look around the lunch box.
- Turnip

Hmm, I think I will, you mutter.

Extras

Featured Site & Graphic This is where TLB celebrates site owners all over Neopia. Each Friday, a new site and graphic will be featured here! I love visiting new sites and returning to my old favourite ones, so read the blurbs and take a trip yourself!


TLB Rankings These rankings may be very different than what you're used to. Come in and see which sites I think are the best in their respective categories, and also read the explanation as to how I rank each site.


The Lost Chapter of TLB: "To know all is to know nothing Upon the arrival of the 3rd, the final chapter shall be written. The secrets of the box will finally be revealed...


F.A.Q. guest picks up a small notebook called "Questions for the Curious". It seems like a manual about the lunch box. This box is so strange, you mutter, who ever heard of a lunch box that came with a Frequently Asked Questions manual?


Textures Mini-guide guest sees a small pamphlet and starts reading out loud, "Textures: How much is too much? In this mini-guide, we'll give you some tips on how to effectively use your textures!"


Site Alphabet Have you learned your site alphabet yet? With site tips from A to Z, be sure to give this mini-guide a read.


Graphic Tutorials Tutorials available: icon colouring technique, using textures on icons, fading & editing a background


About Turnip Hi there, I'm Turnip. If you're hoping to find a fascinating biography of the vegetable, I'm sorry to disappoint you but maybe I'll devote a page to turnips in the future! For now, it's about me, the non-vegetable owner of TLB.


Polling Station Step on up and enter the polling station where your opinion matters. What kind of graphics do you want TLB to focus more on? Which layout has been your favourite? All of these questions and more!


Epilogue: The Professor It seems your journey with the mysterious lunch box isn't over yet, guest. Spurred by curiousity, you decide to do some extra research to get to the bottom of things. Good thing there's a renowned professor in Neopia that studies...lunch boxes?


Service Survey Have you requested from TLB lately? How was the experience? Fill out this quick and easy survey to help me improve the service at this site!

Service Survey

Service is one of the most important parts of any request site, so I'd love to hear some feedback and hopefully improve! Here's a short list of questions you can answer. Some of the questions may not apply to you, so feel free to skip over questions you don't want to answer. Your response can be as long or short as you want.

You can use this spiffy textbox below to keep track of your answers as well!

NEOMAIL YOUR RESPONSE!

1) Have you ever requested a graphic from TLB? If your answer is yes, what was it (banner, icon, etc.) and how many? If your answer is no, why not?

2) What factors do you take into account when choosing a specific site to send in a request to? (This applies to any request site such as button sites)

3) If you have requested before, how satisfied were you with your final product? (You can use a scale from 1 [poor] to 10 [excellent] but I'd like to hear your qualitative comments as well!)

4) How would you rate TLB's service on a scale of 1 (poor) - 10 (excellent)? Feel free to give additional comments as well.

5) If you have requested at TLB before, how satisfied were you with the speed of service? (In other words, how fast you received your final product from the time you sent in a form)

6) In terms of TLB's service, what changes would make it easier for visitors to request or improve the overall atmosphere?

7) If you have requested from TLB before, would you recommend this service to your friends?

8) You can write additional comments here based on what you've seen at TLB, what you've heard from your friends, or any other suggestions you'd like to see.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! My goal is to provide high-quality service so your responses will help me do just that.

Last but not least, a huge shout out to those who have sent in their responses! I love hearing from visitors and your feedback is what makes TLB a joy to update:
Rika, Cass, Kelly, Kierron, Zach, Emmy, Water, Michelle, Star, Miranda, Madam, Fel, Sophie, Lady MrsFaerie, Cookies, Totem, Lilly, Dejoter

For full responses, check out TLB Corner!

The Lost Chapter of TLB: "To know all is to know nothing

With the opening of Open Eyes, I decided to extend my "site stories" and write up a new adventure for my button request site. However, after some consideration, I decided to go a step further and tie everything together. The character of "Turnip" that is written about at TLB, Frequent Flyer, and Open Eyes isn't meant to be "me" specifically, but an enigmatic (and fictitious) person that guides you through the sites. With the conclusion written below, the story of the mysterious "Turnip" and the lunch box is revealed...

General order of the story
- The story at the bottom of TLB's front page.
- The final chapter at the end of TLB's sitely page.
- The epilogue where you meet the professor.
- The story introduction at Frequent Flyer.
- The story at the bottom of Open Eyes front page.
- The bulk of the storyline at Open Eyes can only be accessed when you request using the "story mode".
- If you've never requested from Open Eyes, then there's a very quick summary of all three possible story endings here (this last link is the most important part of the story as it ties all three sites together).

What you'll finally find out:
- Where is Frequent Flyer and Open Eyes "based"? (I.e. which Neopian land are they from)
- How does Turnip have the power to recall the lunch box whenever she wants?
- Why does the lunch box randomly disappear for people and why doesn't it disappear for Turnip?
- Why must Turnip constantly travel across Neopia?

Note:
- If you don't want to "spoil" yourself, try following the "general order of storyline" above.
- This is a super long read! You have been forewarned...

Continue reading...

The Lost Chapter of TLB: "To know all is to know nothing

It's been a year since you found the lunch box and still, the mystery is at the forefront of your mind. Though you learned a lot from the professor, it still wasn't enough and being the hopeful detective, you decide to set out on your own journey.

In your previous meeting with the professor, she told you that one Neopian apparently had the ability to recall the lunch box whenever they wanted to. This was strange phenomenon since no other person could do this and before the professor left in a hurry, you managed to write down the name of this Neopian and where they lived. Walking along the sandy roads of Lost Desert, you stop in front of a large estate. Am I at the right place? 85902...yes, that's the house number. This must be Turnip's house.

Walking up the cobblestone path, you reach the door and give a loud knock. A small gasp escapes you as the door strangely begins to open on its own. Hello? Um, Miss Turnip? Although knowing it was rude to enter a house without someone's permission, you can't help but think, I'm too close! I need to know the mystery of the lunch box! You carefully step inside the house, closing the door behind you. It seems as if this place has been deserted for quite some time, you think to yourself. Dust sprinkled the floors and tabletops and spyders were contently hanging in the corners of the room, filled with cobwebs and flies.

As you investigate further, you enter a room that must have been Turnip's office. Your jaw drops as you take in some of the photographs lining the walls. Goodness, you say out loud, she's met everyone! You pick up one of the pictures of Turnip and MAGAX. The two were enjoying a Dandelion and Burdock Drink, looking directly at the camera – Turnip, with a silly grin and the wocky with his typical scowl.

Putting the portrait back in its place, you pick up another one. Strange, you whisper, in this one, it looks like Turnip's not even aware her picture is being taken! Indeed, the girl wasn't looking at the camera and it even seems like she was hiding behind a tree, an umbrella in one hand, and a handkerchief in the other. Wait a minute, you gasp, that's...that's Hubrid Nox's gravestone! What would Turnip be doing there? The mysterious owner of the lunch box seemed even more mysterious now. Picking up yet another picture, you give a short shout, ack! There it is! The lunch box. In the background of the picture, you recognize the lunch box that you found, the one that also disappeared without a trace. Hmm, this must be when Turnip first received the lunch box...

Like the previous picture, this one seemed to be taken in secret as well since neither of the two figures shaking hands in the portrait were aware of the cameraman. Turnip and Queen Fyora stood in front of each other, their hands clasped as if an agreement had just taken place. The professor said that it was Queen Fyora that had given Turnip the lunch box in the first place! This picture may be the proof of it. Taking a closer look, you notice that the faces of both the Queen and Turnip looked grim. In Queen Fyora's eyes, you thought she looked sympathetic and sad. On Turnip's face, there was a look of determination. Things are getting stranger... After combing through the house, you decide it's time to leave for Faerieland. Perhaps the Queen herself can answer some questions.

As you exit the house, you bump into something hard, falling flat on your face. Ouch, watch where you're going! Hey, wait a minute. What are you doing in Turnip's house? You look up to see a finely dressed skeith frowning at you. Uh..er..what are you doing at Turnip's house? you counter, not too bravely. The skeith smoothes his silk tie, gives you a smug look and says, I'm her banker, of course. Turnip has an account with us and it's my job to make sure she remembers to collect her daily interest.

As you pull yourself up, you can't help but ask, do you know her, sir? I need to find her right away. It's important! It's about a lunch - Before you could finish your sentence, the great skeith bellows, ahhhh, I see. You want to book a vacation. Well, I'll write down the name of her travel agency, Frequent Flyer. There you go, kid.

The skeith left, his thundering footsteps becoming quieter and quieter. Turnip's a...travel agent? You mutter, walking away from the house. I suppose it does make sense. I mean, judging by the photos in that room, she must have been all over Neopia! I'm a step closer on my quest. Now, let's go find that travel agency!

A few hours later, you finally arrive at Frequent Flyer, Turnip's travel agency, only to be disappointed. Oh no, you groan, it's currently closed! Wait a minute, what's this? You walk closer to the front door and notice a small sign that reads: Sorry for the inconvenience but I won't be in for the next few weeks! If there's an emergency (like meepits overrunning the building again), please contact me here. Thanks!

Quickly jotting down some notes, you wonder, why is Turnip in Mystery Island? Well, only one way to find out! Again, you set off on your journey, this time travelling to the jungles of Mystery Island.

By the time your ferry reaches the sandy shores of this idyllic island, you're completely and utterly exhausted. However, this doesn't deter you from your quest and you begin to walk along the beach to figure out your next move. All this travelling, you groan, I wonder how Turnip puts up with it! I'm so tired I might collapse on this beach! You hear a small laugh behind you, oh, it's not that bad! You get used to it after a while.

Surprised that you're not alone, you whip around to find a girl smiling at you. It was her – the girl the professor talked about, the one in the photo with Queen Fyora – it was Turnip. I finally found you! You shout with joy, oh, ahem. My name's guest and I've been searching for you for a long time.

Chuckling quietly, Turnip replies, I know! I saw you standing outside Frequent Flyer. What she said confused you and you think to yourself, wait a minute! If she was in Mystery Island when I was at her travel agency in Meridell, how could she have seen me? She couldn't have been in two places at once. Turnip chuckles again and says, I have my ways. That she was somehow able to hear your thoughts made you wary, but you feel that the answers are within your grasp. Regardless of what you're feeling, you push on.

Before you could get a word out, however, Turnip begins walking. I have a house not too far from here. Follow me...

Running to catch up with her, you wonder what you'll ask her first. Again, it was as if she could read your mind as she says, don't worry about that. You'll have plenty of time to get your answers. Besides, it's not every day someone manages to track me down. You must be quite special! Anyways, we'll talk when we get there.

As the two of you enter the house, Turnip says, make yourself at home! Let me get some aged tchea juice for us. Settling down on the couch, you accept the glass of tchea fruit from Turnip and take a small sip.

I suppose now is the time for answers, she says, looking at you with pensive eyes. Let me finish my story before you ask any questions. You sit back against the couch as Turnip begins to reveal the secrets...

Go back / Continue reading...

The Lost Chapter of TLB: "To know all is to know nothing

Queen Fyora came across the lunch box a long time ago, and for years it's been locked in the hidden tower. The magical properties of Faerieland made it so that the box couldn't disappear. Effectively, it was caged and the Queen could examine it at her will. She had her scholars study the strange artifact and came to realize that it held great power – potentially dangerous power.

You must know by now that the lunch box has a lot of magical abilities. When you open it, whatever you need is in there. The box itself doesn't know who it appears to, as it's seemingly programmed to appear to anyone who's in need. Now, here's the serious part. Because this artefact only distinguishes those who "need" something and those that don't, it may appear to...dangerous people. Imagine the power that they could wield having an all-powerful lunch box that contained whatever they could possibly think of!

Imagine just how much the evils of Neopia could stand to gain. Though I said the lunch box came to Queen Fyora, that is a bit untrue. In truth, it showed itself to none other than Jhudora. She meant to use its immense power for dark purposes, but Illusen managed to grab hold of the box and spirit it away. Travelling from Meridell to Faerieland, it was then that the Queen came into possession of the box.

To continue, all you know of the lunch box is how it offers aid to those who need it, but it can also be a dangerous weapon. Queen Fyora understood this, but she knew that the box was also a gift, one that truly helped the good citizens of Neopia when they're in trouble. She debated with herself on the fate of the lunch box: should she leave it in the tower where it'll be kept safe from the evil villains of Neopia? But if locked away forever, the general public would not benefit from the box's special powers.

It was then what the Queen called upon my services. I had been making a name for myself in Mystery Island, reading people's dreams and interpreting them. However, it seemed the Queen knew of my other ability: to dream the future. When I arrived at her castle, I had already known what was going to be asked of me, but I tried to put on a brave face nonetheless.

After explaining the dangers and gifts the lunch box had to offer, she said, The powers of this lunch box can be disastrous, but in the right hands, it can help so many. However, I cannot release the box back into Neopia without proper precautions. It needs to be guarded at all times.

Putting the box aside, she holds up a small stone that shone bright green when held up in the light. This rare stone can be used to tie the fate of one person to the lunch box. This stone can also be used to sever a tie. However, it's unfortunate but this is the only stone of its type in Neopia. Once it's activated, it will be destroyed. If it's used, the tie between the person and the box cannot be undone - not by any magic or potion.

Queen Fyora sets the stone next to the lunch box and sighs. I must tell you, guest, my heart was pounding. You see, I had already dreamt of this moment and I already knew what she would ask me, but seeing it in a dream and living it in moment are two completely different things. The Queen looks at me and says,

citizen of Lost Desert, I now ask you to bear the heaviest burden I could possibly ask of you – of anyone. Will you tie your fate to the lunch box? If your destinies are tied together, then you'll be able to foresee in your dreams where the lunch box will travel to next. Thus, you can simply bring the box there instead of having it disappear without a trace where it could get intercepted by those who would use the box for evil.

With that, she pauses and looks at me. I was too frightened to give some eloquent speech or reassure her that I'd do my best so I simply say, yes. She then instructed me to hold the stone in one hand and the box in the other. Holding a piece of paper in front of me, the Queen told me to read the words out loud. As I did, I felt...strange, as if I grew lighter somehow. When I finished the words, a loud crack was heard and when I looked down, I saw that the green stone had shattered and turned completely black. Thus, my fate was tied to the box and could never be undone.

And so, guest, that is how I came into possession of the lunch box. It was only later that I realized I also gained the power to recall the artefact from a distance. Ahaha, I suppose it saves me the time of sneaking into someone's neohome and retrieving it before they wake up!

I know that was a lot to listen to, but I suppose that answers a lot of your questions...

Go back / Continue reading...

The Lost Chapter of TLB: "To know all is to know nothing

As Turnip ends her story, you can't help but feel a sense of awe and you think to yourself, that lunch box - the one that holds both devastating and amazing powers – once came to me! She gives a hearty laugh and says, that reminds me of another story.

About a year ago, I had a dream one night. In my dream, there was a lone figure sitting on the beaches of Roo Island. I had the overwhelming sensation that they needed the lunch box, so, I chartered a boat and began sailing. Stopping a long way out since I didn't want them to see me, I simply threw the lunch box overboard.

Turnip pauses, as if contemplating her next words. It was good to see that the lunch box made its way safely to shore...to you. You give a startled gasp, that's exactly how it came to me. You...threw it overboard? She laughs again and replies, don't worry! It was completely safe. I knew it would drift inland.

The two of you settled into comfortable silence, drinking the tchea juice, when suddenly Turnip jolts up in surprise. What's wrong? you ask. She looks at you, as if she didn't realize you were there. Oh, nothing! It's just...well, I'm needed in Moltara. Oh, rather, the lunch box is needed in Moltara. Alas, I suppose this is goodbye for now. Before you could say another word, she dashes to her desk, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. Walking over to where you were sitting, she hands it to you.

What's this? you ask Turnip. She gives you a knowing smile and says, that's the paper Queen Fyora held in front of me as I tied my fate to that of the lunch box. I know the words by heart, but perhaps you'll find some use for it. Now, if you excuse me, I really do have to get going! Anytime you're in Meridell or Mystery Island, do stop by! Until next time, guest.

As she runs out the door, you open the paper Turnip gave you and begin to read out loud,

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible..."

You tuck the paper safely into your pocket, feeling as if you've been given a great gift. Walking away from Turnip's house, you find yourself back along the sandy beaches. Gazing out upon the sun drifting beyond the horizon, you think to yourself, hmm, I wonder who will find the lunch box next?

The end.

Go back

Tutorials

Suggest: Want to see a specific tutorial? Neomail me your ideas!

Comment: I'd also love to hear your comments about the tutorials available. Did you find it too difficult to follow? Was there something you wanted to see more of? Were the screenshots useful? Feel free to send me your comments.

Ask: If you need additional help or just want to talk about graphics, my neomail is always open!

ICONS: Colouring techniques Applying textures

BACKGROUNDS: Fading a background Editing background colours

Fading a background

Program: Photoshop 7 // Difficulty: Easy

In this tutorial, I'll be showing you how to fade a background image. What do I mean by "fade"? Well, let's say you've found a background image you like. However, after putting it in your coding and viewing your site, you realize that it might be a bit too dark for your liking. There are probably many different ways to do this, but here's my technique.

For this tutorial, I'll be using this background image below:

I could just use this image as is, however, I want the background to be less noticeable. Also, I like the pattern and there's no guarantee that I'll find a lighter background at another site. Instead, I'll just go through a few simple steps and edit the image.

Open up your image in Photoshop and add a new layer.

When you open up your background image in Photoshop, there should only be one layer - the image itself. We're going to start by making a new layer. You can do this by pressing Shift+Ctrl+N and clicking "OK", or you can just go to your Layers Window and click the "Create a new layer" button at the bottom. Here's a screenshot below:

(drag and drop into the address bar for full view)

To keep track of our progress, let's rename this new layer the "White Layer".

Fill the white layer!

You're probably wondering why it's called the "White" layer. That's because we're going to fill it up with a white colour. First, choose the Paint Bucket Tool by pressing G. You can also just click on it in the Tools Window. Next, we're going to make sure our foreground colour is white. Take a look at the screenshot below:

On the left side, I've highlighted the foreground and background colour. The default colours are always black (for foreground) and white (for background). Since we want white as the foreground, we'll need to change this. There are two ways you can do this. First, see that little two-headed curvy arrow? If you click it, it'll switch the two colours around so that white becomes the foreground colour (with black becoming the background colour). This is the easiest method. Or, you can click black foreground square, which will make a Color Picker window pop up. There, you can set the colour to white as indicated in the screenshot above.

Now that we have white as our foreground colour, go ahead and fill in the White Layer. As you'll probably find out, filling in the White Layer means you've completely covered up the background image. Here's a screenshot of the result:

Get ready to fade!

Now's the part where you decide how "faded" you want your original background to be. With the "White Layer" selected, adjust the opacity settings. Here's a screenshot of what I mean:

The lower the opacity of the White Layer, the less fading effect you'll get. On the flip side, if you only lower the opacity by a small amount, like 20%, then your background pattern will be much lighter than the original. For this tutorial, I'll go right in the middle and set the White Layer to an opacity of 50%.

After setting the opacity, merge the layers by pressing Shift+Ctrl+E. You can also go to the top, click "Layers" and select Merge Visible. A screenshot of this process is provided below:

(drag and drop in the address bar for full view)

After you've merge the two together, you should only have one layer showing up in your Layers -blocked- Now, just save the background, upload it to your favourite image host, and it's ready to use!

What if you wanted to darken an image instead?

This tutorial was all about fading an image and getting it to be lighter than the original. What if you wanted it to be darker instead? Let's say you found the perfect pattern but the image is way too light and you want to make the background stand out a bit more. In this case, what you'd do is open up your image, replicate the original layer, and set this top layer to multiply. You can replicate the bottom layer by going to Layers at the top, then choose Duplicate Layer. Or, you can simply press Ctrl+J.

The more times you replicate and set to multiple, the darker the original background becomes.

Re-colouring a background

Program: Photoshop 7 // Difficulty: Easy

So, you've found the perfect background pattern that fits your petpage. Problem is, the colour doesn't match your petpage! Looks like you'll have to find another background…

Wait a minute! Before you throw away that perfect pattern, why not edit the colour? In this tutorial, I'll show you an easy way in which you can change the colour of the background.

Open up your background pattern in Photoshop.

First things first, let's open up the background you'll be editing. Here's the image I'll be using throughout the tutorial:

Adding a layer style.

In the Layers Window, take a look at the bottom and click the Add a layer style button. In the list that pops up, choose Color Overlay. Here's a screenshot:

When you choose "Color Overlay", the Layer Style window will pop up. But, hold on. What happened to our image? Our background is now completely red! Don't worry though, because we'll be changing the settings. Take a look at this screenshot below:

(drag and drop into the address bar for full view)

Instead of the default Blend Mode setting at "Normal", we'll be changing it to "Color" instead. When you do this, you're essentially telling the program, "Look, I want you to cover up the original colour of the pattern, not the pattern itself."

Here's a screenshot of our progress so far:

(drag and drop into the address bar for full view)

Now, you're simply going to change the colour around until you find something you like. You can do this by clicking the colour picker. Here's a screenshot of what I mean:

(drag and drop into the address bar for full view)

I think I'll just stick with the original red default colour. Now, for quick colour edits, you'll probably just want to edit colours using the Color Picker. However, you can go a step further and blend the new colour layer with the colour of the original pattern. See that Opacity bar underneath the Blend Mode? You can use that to edit colours as well. Here's an example:

(drag and drop into the address bar for full view)

When I lowered the opacity of the red colour layer, the original black colour showed through a bit more. What I'm left with is a slightly deeper red colour.

After editing your colours, click "OK" to exit the Layer Style. Save your image, upload it, and it's ready to be used as your background!

FINAL NOTES:

- What I like to do is use the Color Picker Window to find a basic colour, whether it's blue, green, red, whatever. Then, I play around with the opacity to change the shade of the colour. For instance, in this tutorial I went with the default red colour. By changing the opacity and blending the red colour layer with the original image, I edited the red shade so that in the end, it was a slightly deeper maroon colour.
- Changing the opacity is an addtional step. It's nothing major and most of the time, it isn't needed if you're using the Color Picker anyways.

Icon colouring techniques

Program: Photoshop 7 // Difficulty: Easy

The image I'll be using for this tutorial is from Spirited Away. I've already cropped it to 100 by 100 pixels so it's ready to go. This is one of my favourite colouring techniques and I use it in a lot of my icons because it doesn't take a lot of time at all. As you can see from the before and after images above, this technique gives images have a dark feel to it and emphasizes a blue colour tone.

First, I'm going to open my image up in Photoshop 7. Press Ctrl+J to duplicate your original image (or you could go to the top and click Image, Duplicate). Name this new layer Colour Balance so you can keep track of your progress.

Choose your new layer (the one called 'colour balance') and go to Image, Adjustment, Colour Balance. Input the following settings:

SHADOWS: 0, 0, -18
MIDTONES: -45, 0, -30
HIGHLIGHTS: 0, 0, -20
Make sure you have Preserve Luminosity selected. I've included all three screenshots here:

After applying these settings, here's what I have so far:

Duplicate this Colour Balance layer and name this new one Hue/Saturation. Go to Image, Adjustment, Hue/Saturation. Apply the following settings:

HUE: +3
SATURATION: 0
LIGHTNESS: 0
I've included a screenshot below.

While still on your Hue/Saturation layer, go to Filter, Sharpen, Sharpen Edges.

After sharpening your layer, this what the image will look like:

Still working with the Hue/Saturation layer, open up the Colour Balance menu again and input the following settings:

SHADOWS: 0, 0, 10
MIDTONES: 0, 0, 40
HIGHLIGHTS: 0, 0, 15
Again, make sure Preserve Luminosity is selected.

After applying the colour balance, here is what I'm left with:

Duplicate the Hue/Saturation layer and rename it Overlay. Select this new layer. Click Layer, Layer Styles, Color Overlay. Now, I want to give the icon a more retro colour, so I'm going to choose a shade of blue as my overlay colour. I use #D9DFF7, set the layer to multiply, and set the opacity to 50%. Here's a screenshot of my settings and the result:

As you can see, it's not a huge change, but there are subtle differences.

Duplicate the Overlay layer and name this new layer: Top Layer. While on the Top Layer, go to Image, Adjustment, Color Balance and apply the following settings:

SHADOWS: -20, 0, -15
MIDTONES: 0, 0, 0
HIGHLIGHTS: 0, 0, 5
As always, make sure Preserve Luminosity is checked.

After applying the final colour balance settings, we're done with the colouring process! Let's compare the original image with our new one again:

FINAL NOTES:

- You can work through the colouring process with only one layer. The reason I duplicate layers is that I may want to go back to a previous layer if I made an error along the way, or I may want to rework the settings to better suit the image.
- Experiment with your settings. You don't need to go by my numbers at all!
- Have fun!

Applying textures to icons

Program: Photoshop 7 // Difficulty: Easy

In this tutorial, I'll show you how I normally use textures for icons. I'll be using the finished icon from my previous guide (icon colouring techniques). Though I normally hate putting textures and text on icons, sometimes an image needs a little something extra. I use textures to add accents and features, so most of the time, I try to keep the original colour of the icon.

After the colouring process, I like to merge my layers into one. You can do this with Ctrl+Shift+E or go to Layer, Merge Visible.

I'll be using three textures and one pattern for this icon. Here's a screenshot describing how I've applied the textures:

Using a white diagonal pattern over an image is a popular way to "finish" a graphic. However, be sure to keep the focus on the icon, rather than the lines. The pattern is too heavy and has the appearance of "sitting" on top of the image, so these next steps will be for blending.

Most of the time, I only like using diagonal patterns on certain parts of an image, rather than the entire thing. Instead of using an eraser to get rid of the unwanted lines, I simply add a layer mask with a gradient to create a fading effect.

Let's compare the icon before and after applying the layer mask:

As you can see, the gradient got rid of the white diagonal lines on the upper right part of the icon, but we still have the pattern on the lower left. I did this because the pattern was obstructing my original textures too much. And, like I said before, I generally use diagonal patterns on certain sections of an image instead of the entire thing.

You can leave the icon like this and call it finish, but personally, I think the lines are still too "obvious" and could be blended into the image a bit better. I'm going to go ahead and blur the edges of the diagonal lines a bit using the Blur Tool. I'm using a circle brush that's 22 pixels in diameter, set at 40% strength. Using the brush, I lightly go over the edges where the diagonal lines fade into the rest of the icon by doing small "click and drag" motions. An important tip is to drag in the same direction as the diagonal lines. So, in this case, I'll be moving the brush towards the upper right.

The layer with the white diagonal lines was set at Soft Light so I'm going to lower the opacity of the layer to 50%. This makes the pattern noticeable, but it's not overbearing on the icon or competing with the other textures as a focal point. I'm also going to slightly erase the diagonal lines on the character's hair. Here are my eraser settings:

Here's what I have:

Phew! There you have it - the finished icon. You may want to add additional text to the image, but for me, I hate text on icons so this is enough.

FINAL TIPS:

- If you're using textures to add effects to your icons, remember that they are meant to ACCENT your image, not COVER it! The first thing a person should see is the main image.
- Sometimes, textures you choose may not work well with the icon. It's all about experimenting with various textures until you get one that's suitable.

Site Alphabet

ABC, easy as 1, 2, 3. Simple as do, re, me. ABC!

Muahahaha, I bet you can't get that song out of your head! Part one of my master plan is complete. Now, moving on to part two of my master plan: the actual guide. This isn't your traditional tutorial where I give you a step-by-step guide on how to succeed at being a site owner. Where's the fun in that? Instead, how about I offer some tips – TLB style. For each letter of the alphabet, I'll name one thing I think is important to site making in general.

/ A / B / C / D / E / F / G / H / I / J / K / L / M / N / O / P / Q / R / S / T / U / V / W / X / Y / Z /

Affiliates

Getting affiliates not only advertises your own page, but it establishes a bond between the two sites. I know that I can always neomail my affies if I have a question and in many respects, you can consider your group of affiliates to be sort of like a "mini-guild" of site owners. As the owner of a site, they're in the same position you are, and face similar challenges as well. Here's a list of FAQs regarding affiliates.

Should I limit how many affies I have?
How you view the idea of "affiliates" will directly relate to whether or not you decide to limit the number of sites. Affiliates are great for advertising your site, so you might think that you'd want a large number. The more affiliates you have, the more likely a visitor will find your button. However, keep in mind that affiliates aren't only for advertising. Directories are more useful in this regard. Anything in excess of 30 is a bit too many.

That being said, being an affiliate should have some semblance of importance to it. Things like sister/brother sites should definitely be limited to one or at the most, two sites. What's the point of having 3+ sister sites? The larger the number, the lower the importance. So, how many affiliates should you have at least? There's no right or wrong answer, and the number of affiliates might even depend on your type of site. In general, you should look for at least 10 affiliates.

Is it alright to remove an affiliate?
Absolutely! Some site owners do this, while others don't – it's completely up to you! It isn't "mean" or "rude" to remove an affiliate if they aren't being active enough or if the quality of their site has dipped.

Should I only accept high-quality sites?
If you're more interested in being advertised, then limiting your affies to high-quality sites would be the better option. High-quality sites are more likely to have more visitors in the long run. Also, your affiliates reflect your own site. Visitors sometimes think that if a site if affiliated with a certain page, then they offer similar quality content. This is completely up to you!

Do my affiliate's site need to be similar to my own? For example, if I'm a directory, should I only search for directories to be affies with?
Again, this is up to the discretion of the site owner. Do you think it's important to have sites of the same category only? Sometimes visitors will check the affiliates to look for similar pages or content, so it may be useful to affiliate with a few similar sites. Personally, I look for high-quality, active sites but they don't necessarily have to be graphic/request sites.

When applying to become an affiliate with another site, keep these things in mind...

Don't be afraid of being rejected – it happens and it's just part of the process. Don't be discouraged if another site owner doesn't want to be affiliates with your site.
Does the site owner list any conditions? For example, are they looking to be affiliate with only button request sites? Are they looking for high-quality applicants? Keep these things in mind when applying.

Buttons

If you're completely new to the site making world, then chances are you might not know what a button is. A button is a small graphic that advertises your site and is 88 pixels wide and 31 pixels in height. Here are some examples of buttons I've made:

A site is always in need of high-quality link back buttons. As the "business cards" for your page, buttons have a direct effect on whether or not a visitor will click on it. If your button is low-quality, chances are people won't be impressed, thinking that you offer similar quality content, and they'll just skip over your site. Having at least 3 or 4 high-quality buttons when your site is completely finished and ready to open is a great idea!

Take a trip to Soroptimist Directory to find button requests sites. Be sure to take a close look at their portfolio to see whether or not you're satisfied with their quality.

Convenience

Other people will be visiting your site so it's best to pay attention to things that make it convenient for them as they browse through various pages. Though you may be the site owner, the majority of your site's traffic will be from outside visitors. Here are just a few areas to focus on.

Navigation
This is an important part of any layout because the menu is what links the visitor to the content. When organizing the navigation on your site, ask yourself these questions:
- Are my menu links in a clear and easy to reach place? Or is it hidden and too hard to read?
- How many clicks does it take for a visitor to get to the content?
- Is there any way I can simplify my navigation?

Neomail links
Neomail links should go to your userlookup so that the visitor will know who to send the neomail to. If your links take them to the actual neomail page instead, be sure to include your username near the link.

In general, convenience is all about making it easier for the visitor to access content on your site. Their experience at any given site is heavily influenced by how convenient things are and may even be the deciding factor as to whether or not they return.

For more on visitor convenience, check out How To Offer Great Service.

Directories

When you feel that your site is complete and ready, you should get listed at a number of directories to spread the word. Directories are very useful; both for site owners and people who need to find a certain site or look for specific content. Getting listed at more directories means more advertising for you. Here is a list of some of the most popular directories.

The more directories you're listed at, the more likely someone will come across your page. If you only get listed at one directory, then it should be Soroptimist Directory as it's the most well-known, it's updated daily, and experiences heavy visitor traffic.

Since getting listed is about advertising your site, take into account the quality and visitor traffic of any given directory. There's no point in getting listed at a very low-quality directory that gets 1 visitor per day. Instead, wait for them to improve their site so that your own page has a chance of being well advertised.

Everything

A site isn't just about its graphics, its layout, or its requests. A site includes everything. Not only do you need to pay close attention to the big picture, but you can't forget the small details as well. What do I mean by this? Here are some examples.

The big picture

• The final "polish" of a site: when you visit a site, do you get the feeling that it's half-complete? Or are the major sections finished for the most part?
• The quality of the content: whether you're offering button requests or site reviews, offering high-quality content is important.
• Your layout: how your content is organized on various pages, how creative your layout style is, and the function of your layout (i.e. how well it works)

The small details

• Making sure your textbox aligns with the image above it. For instance, if you're providing the code for one of your link back buttons, make sure that the width of your textbox is 88 pixels. This just keeps things neat and tidy.
• Adding a "back" or "back to the top" button when you have multiple anchored pages makes navigation more convenient.
• Aligning your paragraphs to the left, instead of in the center makes for easier reading.

In essence, the big picture is what people will notice first, but the small details are the ones that people will remember.

Feedback

One of the most important things about owning a site is improving it over time and getting feedback will help you do just that. Here are some ways to get feedback:

• Ask your friends.
• Contact other site owners.
• Let visitors know that their feedback is appreciated.
• Post a topic on the help board.

Applying for a formal review

There are a lot of great reviewers out there that focus on improving sites. With so many review sites to choose from and so many different review criteria, you'll get all of the feedback you could possible want!

Here are some great places you can check out.

At the end of it all, the feedback you get are opinions and they're most likely going to be varied. That's why you need to get a lot of it from a lot of different people. Two reviewers may say completely different things so you should focus on the way they reason (the why aspect). On another note, you shouldn't be applying for a review just because you think you can get a good score. This isn't fair to the reviewer as it's wasting their time. They are there to help sites improve – not give you an A+. If you don't intend to make changes, and you aren't serious about improving your site, don't get a review.

Since the majority of review sites operate with some form of a grading scale, it's important to keep in mind that your score is a representation of your site at the moment. If you get a 54/100, it doesn't mean that you should give up, just that certain areas of your site is lacking some key features.

Understand that some reviewers are more experienced at their trade than others. They offer you more in-depth explanations and hardly ever let their own biases colour what they say. Take everything with a grain a salt and like I said above, look at how they explain their opinions. For example, "Your layout left a negative impression" is an example of a poorly constructed review. On the other hand, "Your layout left a negative impression because of this and this.." is an indicator that the reviewer is giving useful feedback as they're explaining their opinions.

Finally, you shouldn't make changes to your site if it's not what you're comfortable with. If a review tells you that your icons need more text on them and you absolutely hate putting text on icons, that's enough reason for you to keep things the way they are and say I appreciate your feedback, but I like creating my graphics in my own style. If, on the other hand, the reviewer says that your icons are low-quality because they appear blurry and have jagged edges, then this is a valid point and you could consider working on what they noted.

Graphics

Putting additional graphics here and there will add colour and brighten your page up. Using resources for bullet points is a great idea to make an otherwise mundane part of your site look livelier.

Another place people put graphics is near their introductory paragraph. Usually, things like small avatars, icons, or pixels are used.

Though graphics do make your page more colourful, be sure not to overuse it. It'll bog down loading times, increase bandwidth, and make your site look messy and less professional.

Housekeeping

So, you've started your site and it took a lot of work but now, you're about to find out that maintaining a site is just as hard. Welcome to the lovely world of site housekeeping, where checking for broken links and closed affiliates become chores site owners are all familiar with. Here's a small list of "housework" that sites go through...

• Sweeping through your site for broken links or images
• Checking for closed affiliates or directories
• Answering any inquiries your visitors may have
• Cleaning up your coding from time to time (perhaps because TNT inflicted another filter change on us)
• Updating stat-based sections of your site (ex. Rankings, your achievements)

You get the picture. Site "housekeeping" make up the smaller updates that often occur behind-the-scenes. Now, these types of updates are sometimes boring and mundane and something that we wish we could avoid but can't. Just remember that even though they aren't as major as content or layout updates, these "chores" are still necessary. They keep your site running efficiently.

Inspiration and Innovation

Ok, I slightly cheated here by including two things but they both start with i, so I'll leave it. First, let's talk about inspiration. Being inspired by a site you admire is always a great thing. It becomes your starting point and gives you something to aspire to. However, just because you're inspired by another site, doesn't mean you can copy. If you're inspired by someone's resources, that's not giving you a free pass to go out and recreate the exact same thing in slightly different colours.

So, you've seen a great site and you think they make the most wonderful buttons/banners/resources/layout/whatever. You're inspired to create your own site and offer content to people as well. What do you do now? Where do you go once you've been inspired? Well, now you innovate. Innovation (or in other words, originality) is all about creating something that is completely your own.

If you think those Faerie pixels are just the most adorable things in the world and you want to create your own, stop for a moment and think before you start up MS Paint. Think about how you're going to turn your inspiration into innovation – how you'll create something new from something you've seen. It's a hard process, because you can't just slap on a new coat of paint and say, "This is entirely my work". Authenticity is hard to achieve, especially when you're utterly inspired by something that you want to create images just like it.

Here are some important questions to ask yourself...

• Why am I inspired by this particular site? Is it because they have awesome shading in their pixels? Is it because of their unique button borders?
• What aspects of this site would I want to include on my page? Will I need permission from the site owner to incorporate this in my own site?
• How can I make this feature my own? Rather than recreate, be sure to innovate! Use your own personality and creativity.
• Is my content copying or is it a unique creation?

Just ask

Who do call when you need help? The Ghostbusters? Well, unless you have a supernatural problem, the Ghostbusters won't be able to help you with your site. As site makers, we form a "community" of sorts. Remember how site owners rallied together to help each other out during the "filter crisis"? That's just the kind of things we do – help each other out whenever there's problems at our doorstep.

Always remember: if you need help, just ask for it. Site owners you approach aren't going to bite if you ask a simple question! Really, we're a friendly folk! A lot more site owners have an open door policy, where if you need help with anything you can just neomail them. Need help with your site? Need some ideas? Want a second opinion? You've got it.

Know yourself

It's easy to get caught up in the latest site making fads, so it's important to know yourself – know what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, and probably most important, know what you're willing or not willing to compromise on your site.

Why not write down a list of your strengths and weaknesses? For instance, my strength is that I'm service-oriented and try to do the best I can for visitors. My weakness is that I tend to focus on one area of my site more than others. Putting down your strengths/weaknesses on paper will give you a better understanding of what problems you might face when starting or maintaining a site.

Compromise is a big part of any site owner's job because you've created a page that many people will be checking out. They have certain expectations for you. One of the biggest factors here is time - how much time are you willing to put into your site. We all have lives outside of our sites, so it's important to pay attention to that as well. On one hand, site owners have obligations to their visitors, whether it's updating a few times a week to making sure your graphic requests are open. Knowing how busy you are will help you effectively balance your schedule.

Lastly, know what your likes and dislikes are in terms of content. For example, sticking to your own style rather than giving in to the latest graphic/button/layout trends. Not only will you be offering something unique to visitors, but it'll set you apart from your fellow site makers as well.

Learning

Owning a site is an experience you can learn a lot from. It takes hard work, dedication, and a lot of hours.

Learning from your set-backs
Every site is going to hit a snag now and then, and it's in these moments that you can learn the most about your abilities as a site owner. Always keep your head up. Remember: you haven't failed, you're just experiencing a set-back that you'll eventually overcome.

Learning from your successes
It isn't all bad news. When your site is successful, it's a very gratifying feeling and you should remember to take a moment and pat yourself on the back. You've earned it! From the moment you get your first piece of fan mail, to when you're ranked at various sites, keep in mind what it took to get to that point.

Learning responsibility
Being a site owner is a lot of responsibility because people visiting your site will be counting on you. At times, owning a site can feel like a part-time job. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because with any job, it means you understand that you have certain obligations now.

Learning from reviews
If you've requested some reviews, take some time to really understand their views. They're looking at your site from the perspective of a visitor. The only difference is that they're talking to you about it. Their views are only opinions which can be refuted, so the important thing to learn here is how do different people view your site.

Learning to change
Sometimes, a change is needed in order to continue, even if things have been the same for so long. Take my site, How To Offer Great Service, as an example. Before I wrote that guide, not a lot of request sites even cared about offering high-quality service. Now, it's a major focus for most people. Learning to change means understanding how changes can be for the better. More places are switching their focus to their visitors instead of themselves. Changes like this can be hard, but learning that they make a difference is part of the success.

Motivation

Whether you're making a site as a hobby or hoping to offer a valuable service to other Neopians, you need to keep yourself motivated through difficult times. Some days you might not want to even touch your coding or update your site, which is completely fine. However, when it lasts for a long time (longer than a usual hiatus), you might want to starting thinking about the important questions.

Why am I losing motivation?
Though it may be hard to answer this at first, really look at the factors that are making you less motivated. For example, is it because you're not interested in making graphics anymore? Are you too busy with other things to bother with your site? Do you think you're not capable of creating high-quality content? By pinpointing the reason for your unmotivated behaviour with your site, you can work on moving forward with your site, or choose to close it down.

Do I want to continue with my site?
Sometimes sites close because of a lack of motivation. It's just the way things work. However, if you really do want to keep working on your site, then let's move on.

Trying something new. Maybe you're unmotivated because you're feeling as if you're repeating the same motions again and again. If you feel that your site has gotten a little stale, why not mix things up? Add content to your site that you wouldn't normally add. For example, if you're a graphics site, why not work on some interesting new sections, like resources? If you're a review site, try and come up with new creative rubrics. Adding something "fresh" to your site keeps things alive.

Too busy right now! The busier you become, the less likely you'll create new content for your site or even sit down to update. If this is the case, then you'll lose motivation fast. Try to keep your interest in your site up by spending a few minutes a day browsing through your pages as a visitor. Seeing your hard work can really motivate you because you'll want to add more content and new things. Or, you could put aside some time in your busy day to gradually update. For example, try making graphics in "small steps." Today you choose a specific image and crop it, and then tomorrow you can colourize it and add textures. You can even save the uploading for the day after that, and then code the next day. The point is, make time for your site because you care about it, not because you feel you need to update.

Naming your site

What's in a name? That which we call a site by any other name would smell as sweet. Er, I mean...never mind, let's move on. A name is important because for someone who hasn't been to your site before, it serves as an informal "first impression". There are many types of names and here's just a few examples:

Informative name
These are names that tell the visitor something about the site. For example, Soroptimist Directory is a great example of an informative name. It's a link directory and the site name has that word in it!

Though generally less 'creative' than other site names, these informative names are useful because they allow visitors to quickly understand what a site's all about.

Other examples of informative names: Filter Solitions, How To Offer Great Service, Teacake Backgrounds, Omii's Screenies

Story names
These are site names that relate to a specific story of theme at a site. An easy example to give is my own, The Lunch Box! The 'lunch box' is not only the site's name but it's also a central object in the story that visitors can find on various pages as they browse through TLB.

In general, story names don't tell a visitor a lot about the site if they're just reading it. In other words, it doesn't really tell a person a lot about what a site offers.

Other examples of story names: The Lodge, Frequent Flyer, Trance

Names that describe a site's content/goal
Not a lot of sites have this type of name, but generally speaking, the name is most likely a short phrase that describes what the owner's goal is. For example, Third Impression is a review site and based on that fact, it's very easy to see why it's called that (why stop at getting a second impression when you can continue on and get a third impression?).

Other examples of descriptive names: Psychochromia (a word that has Latin roots, which translates into "coloured state of the mind"),

Completely random names

The best example here is Foomanshu, a word made up by the site owners. Completely random site names need not be "made up", but can just be a random word or phrase that has no connection to the site content, site owner's goals, or theme.

Other examples of random names: Whirligig, Dark Light

Not sure what to name your site? Here are some ideas to get you started. Remember: a site name is important because it reflects your creativity, so don't be afraid to think outside the box. "The Lunch Box" might not seem like a name for a graphics site, but it's all about how I used it to create a story and theme.

These names would be great for graphics or premade sites, but feel free to use them for whatever you want! The Divine Design Primary Graphics Exclusive Momentum Optic Sense Got It! Infinite Inspiration Darkening Skies Everlasting Banners The Custom Workshop The Pixel Loft Drama Dramatic Stylistically Yours One of my favourites from this list is "Optic Sense". It's modern, catchy and really implies a visual sort of petpage. Also, when I think of "Drama Dramatic", I imagine a graphics/button request site with bold colours and eye-catching design.

These ones here would be more suitable for review sites or directories Vertical Reviews Raised Expectations First to Last Pause.Rewind Approaching Perfection The Top Floor Make the Grade Defiant Directory Hole in One The Phonebook Write it Down The Initial Report Some of these names would lend themselves to a great theme. For example, "Make the Grade" could be used for a review site and the theme could be a classroom setting. It's up to you whether or not sites get a passing grade or maybe need a little more studying.

Sometimes reading through a list of random words can also give you an idea!

Internationalist: an advocate of internationalism
Doublethink:believing two contradictory ideas at the same time
Separably: with possibility of separation or individuation; "the two ideas were considered separably
Monologist: an entertainer who performs alone
Venturously: In a venturous manner; daringly; in a fashion displaying boldness, or an enterprising spirit
Synoptic:presenting a summary or general view of a whole; "a synoptic presentation of a physical theory"
Dimensionality: the spatial property of having dimensions; "all matter has dimensionality
Sapphirine: a rare light blue or green mineral
Preconize: a public proclamation
Coastward: in the direction of the coast
Ritenuto: gradually decreasing in tempo
Avaunt a boast
Banzai: a Japanese cheer of enthusiasm or triumph
Candidature: the campaign of a candidate to be elected
Resistless: irresistible: impossible to resist; overpowering

Have you snatched up a name? Neomail me so I can take it off the list.

Final tips…
- Think about whether your site name should be one word or a short phrase. Examples of "one word" site names include Opulence, Desire, Effects, Seraphic, and Fleur. Examples of site names that are "short phrases" include Simply Amazing, Chinensis Designs, and Fine Tuning.
- If your site is going to be a guide or tutorial of some sort, stick with informative names. If you take a look at the coding and design section at Soroptimist Directory, note how all of the site names tell you something about their content. These pages are meant to inform, so the site name should do the same. Sites like graphics, reviews, and pixels are more creative in their content offering so it stands to reason that using a more abstract name would be fine.

Organization

A huge aspect of maintaining your site is organization. How your layout is designed, where you put your content, and how you organize each page is just a sample of what "organization" means. Most sites use an anchored style layout, meaning their content is only accessible through navigating the menu links. This is an extremely effective way of managing your content - you can put your banners on this anchored div, your icons in another, your sitely information in another div, and so on and so forth.

Organization also means that your main links follow a natural progression through your site. For example, let's say there's two button request sites. Button request site "A" has organized their links in this order: Home, Updates, Rules, Request, Pick-up, Portfolio, Extras, Sitely. Button request site "B" has organized their links in this order: Home, Sitely, Extras, Portfolio, Pick-up, Rules, Request.

When you go to a button request site, you're probably there because you need a button. So, if you're going to request one you'll (hopefully) read the rules. After reading them, you'll go to the request page. Note how site "A" has their links in a nice, orderly fashion that leads the visitor from one page of their site to another. Site "B" has a very strange order as it doesn't follow a natural progression".

Visual organization is another crucial factor which can make or break how visitors browse your content. Are your putting content beside each other or are you dumping them all in one long column? Click here for a quick guide on how to organize your content horizontally.

Professionalism

Creating a site is just the beginning of the very long road of maintaining a site. You'll be constantly working on it and improving it over time. Your abilities as a site owner will not only be tested in the quality of your content or your coding skills, but also by your professionalism and how you conduct yourself. From your introductory paragraph to your list of credits, every aspect of your site speaks to the visitor.

Professionalism is a very broad term but in general, it's how you present yourself on your site. Are you using proper spelling and grammar or are you using chat speak? Are you writing with an assertive and friendly tone, or are you angry and berating your visitors?

I've written loads on the idea of professionalism, so why not check out chapters on professionalism in text and visuals and the importance of tone and attitude from How To Offer Great Service.

Quality and Quantity

While most think that quality is the most important aspect of your content, you can't forget about quantity as well. What use is a site if it offers extremely high-quality banners but there's only 3 of them to choose from? Giving your visitors options and choice is one way to keep your site relevant.

On the flip side, you don't want to simply offer as much as you can without paying attention to substance. Having 50 low-quality icons is not a way to get re-visits to your site because people will be turned away by the poor content.

In general, when you're starting a site you want to focus on improving your quality to a consistent level. Once you know that you and your visitors are satisfied with the quality of your content, then focus on quantity and increasing the amount of content you offer.

Respect

Respect your visitors. As I mentioned in the Professionalism section above, your tone and attitude can convey the image of a friendly, welcoming site owner or a rude, irritated one. When addressing your visitors on your site (whether through updates or in other general areas like 'rules' or the 'F.A.Q'), be respectful. Don't get angry at your visitors

Respect your fellow site owners. We're all part of the site making community so you don't want to be burning bridges by doing silly things like being rude. Part of this "respect" comes in the form of proper crediting, which is - unfortunately - an increasing problem especially with new site owners. I've even come across owners who don't like to credit because it "doesn't look good on their page" or it looks "messy". This is not acceptable. Proper crediting is a part of being a respectful site owner because you're actively letting other visitors know "I didn't create this, someone else did."

Respect the rules when requesting. This applies to both site owners and casual visitors alike. Whenever you're requesting a custom layout, button, graphic, or review, respect your fellow site owner who is putting their time and effort into this free service. Read the rules carefully before you request - not after you neomail your form. Not reading the rules means you don't care about the wishes of the site owner. Besides, reading through the rules won't take hours!

Special events

When your site is more established and you've got a firm grasp of general site maintenance, you may want to start thinking about hosting special events. These events not only draw new visitors, but it'll also induce others to re-visit your site. Usually, most sites host these events during major holidays (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) or dates that are significant to the site (the day they opened).

Things to keep in mind:

- The amount of effort and time you put into your special event is completely up to you. The larger or longer the event, the more time you'll need to put aside. Bigger events also mean more organization on your part.

- Ask yourself whether you want to incorporate visitor interaction. A very minor way of getting visitor participation in your event is to hold some sort of a draw for custom graphics, which is the easiest way to get people involved. They simply have to neomail and you just take their names down. A harder (and more risky) alternative is to get entries for some sort of holiday-themed competition. If your site isn't well known, it's quite possible you'll have to do a lot of advertising to get a small amount of entries.

I love hosting events and here's a few that The Lunch Box has done in the past:

The 2011 Golden Sandwich Awards - This summer event lasted an extremely long time (July 1 - August 23) and took up its own petpage. The idea was to involved the entire site community in an event that paid tribute to some of the best petpages on Neopets. The GSA had visitor interaction in the form of sending in nominations, voting for sites, and commenting.

12 Days of Christmas - This 2011 winter event was held during the month of December where visitors were encouraged to show their Christmas spirit anyway they can, whether it making a holiday-themed banner or writing a poem. Like the GSA, this event incorporated visitor interaction by voting. The special thing about this event was that I held it with my sister site, Delicious!

Time

If you're entering the site community for the first time, don't expect success to come quick and easy as it takes a lot of hard work for people to get to that point. It takes time to build a successful site that offers high-quality and useful content so don't be discouraged if you feel like no one visits your page.

The way I see it, the amount of time you put into your site is indicative of how successful you want your site to be. If you're constantly putting things off, ignoring the growing waiting list of requesters, or not updating frequently, then chances are your site's level of success is at an impasse. The more time you put into things like site planning and updating, the more likely it'll stay a relevant part of the site community.

Underappreciated?

If you're a site owner that takes any sort of request (graphics, buttons, reviews, etc), be prepared for times when you feel underappreciated. Whether it's someone taking their buttons and bolting without leaving a "thank you" or simply requesting a banner and not using it, this is an issue that many (if not all) request site owners have faced.

Did someone request from you but didn't say "thank you" afterwards? The most important thing is to rise above and move on. Too often site owners completely freak out and post things like "I put in so much effort and the least you can do is thank me!!". Sure, a "thank you" is nice, but let's face it - there will be times when our work goes unacknowledged and you have to be prepared for this. If you quit because someone doesn't "thank" you, then owning a request site may not be right for you.

No one complains when a requester is truly satisfied with their custom graphic and thanks the site owner but let's not go crazy because a small handful of people forget to thank us!

Vast

I couldn't think of any good "V" words.

Okay, so what do I mean by "vast"? Well, when it comes down to it, the site making world is extremely big, it's enormous, it's limitless - it's vast. There are countless opportunities that you can take. Are you good at making buttons and animation? Why not open a button request site. Do you excel at coding? Why not write up a coding tutorial. If you're artistic, there's a huge demand for personalized drawings and custom art. Not into drawing but still want to get creative? Try your hand at making banners or icons.

The site making world is constantly growing and it's not only the type of sites that are endless, but it's also the vast creativity that owners display on their sites. One of the things I love doing most on Neopets is going to Soroptimist Directory and browsing through the newly listed sites. It's always fascinating to see what people come up with and you'll find a lot of hidden gems that you'll eventually bookmark.

Because the site making world and community are so large, your possibilities are really endless and having a site is a great way to show off your creativity.

Wish List

No, writing a wish list to Santa isn't going to help your site, but writing a list of things you want to accomplish might! What I encourage all site owners to do (especially new ones) is sit down and write a list of things they want to finish, their goals, what they hope to achieve - anything!

Instead of calling it a "to-do" list, call it a wish list. Why? Because "to-do" list sounds too informal and it sounds too much like a list of chores. For example, here's just a sample of wish list for The Lunch Box:

- Open banner/icon requests on Friday
- Get one more link back button (search for open requests)
- Write down ideas for summer event

Sometimes writing things down means getting things done, which is the best way to keep your site moving forward and not two steps back.

Xerox

What does a brand of photo copiers have to do with site owning? Well, that's a good question. Let me start by explaining that one of the most common rookie mistakes that even experienced site owners are guilty of is "losing their coding". I'm always surprised when a site closes or goes on hiatus because "coding is lost". This is because they're not creating copies of their coding for safekeeping and instead, most rely solely on the copy they have on their Neopets page.

With all of my sites and content, I use Dropbox to sync my folders on my laptop with my home desktop (this creates three similar copies of all my coding and content files). Additionally, I update my USB flash drive weekly, which is another way you can save your coding. Overall, I have four copies of my coding! There's no way TLB will ever close because I "lost" my coding!

If you're going to put in the effort to create a site, at least save a copy of your coding on Notepad or Microsoft Word. It'll save you a lot of frustration if you accidentally reset your petpage or if something happens to your Neopets coding.

Y U NO UPDATE?

Updating regularly is beneficial to both your site and your visitors. Visitors get new things to look at so they have a reason to revisit your site and your site stays up to date with fresh content. There's no set "rule" on how often you should update, but here's a very general guideline.

Sites that offer some type of small graphic (banners, icons, pixels, etc.)
Generally, these smaller items are much easier to make and take far less time than a layout. You'll want to look at how much content you already have. If your site is brand new and you only have 3 banners up, then you'll want to aim for weekly updating at the very least. Once your site is more established, you don't really have to update that often since there's already enough content to satisfy visitor choice, but you don't want to leave your site hanging for over a month either.

The most common misconception about graphic sites is that they "have" to update with new content every week. Graphics are premade, meaning that they can be used over and over again (it's not like a request site where custom graphics are only used by a single person). For example, one 'hiatus' banner can be used by several people. Asking a graphics site to update weekly is only feasible for newer sites that have less content and thus, less options for visitors.

Sites that offer requests (reviews, buttons, graphics, layouts, etc.)
The "updating" at these sites are usually based on timing - when the request status is open, then requests are made and posted, and things like that. It's very likely that a site is active and yet posts no new content simply because no one's requesting. In general, sites that offer requests for smaller graphics (such as buttons and icons) should have open requests at least once a week and fulfill at least 3 forms. As you can probably figure out, request sites are much more demanding in terms of updating than the previous category of "premade graphics" sites. This is because you're offering a service. If your requests are closed for 2 weeks straight, then you're not offering high-quality service. Sites that offer larger requests like layouts or in-depth reviews should aim to finish at least 4 custom requests per month (that's 1 per week).

With request sites, a part of updating is how quickly you finish your requests. A person should never have to wait more than a week for their custom graphic or layout. It's simply way too long. My own goal is to finish and deliver graphics or reviews within 24 hours.

Sites that offer premade layouts
These "larger" graphics not only take time in terms of design, but also coding. That being said, you probably don't want to overwork yourself and post a new layout every week since they're only premade, not custom anyway. As with "smaller" graphics, you'll want to see whether or not you're offering your visitors a healthy amount of choice in your layouts. If your site only has 2 petpage layouts to choose from, then you'll want to put some extra effort into uploading more layouts (possibly on a weekly basis). However, once your site gets more content, it's perfectly fine to update once every two weeks with a new layout.

Final tips

- If you own a request site, try to keep your updates updated. For example, if your request status is open but no one's been sending in requests, be sure to add a new entry in your updates saying "Requests are still open" with the most recent date. This lets visitors know that you're still active and updating even though no one's requesting.

- If you go on hiatus or revamp, let your visitors know instead of just letting your site sit there. There's nothing worse than a graphics site that's collecting dust and hasn't been updated in months. Visitors are left wondering whether or not you're coming back.

Zest

Zest (otherwise known as enjoyment or enthusiasm) is definitely one of the most important aspects of site owning. If you're not having fun, why would you spend hours dedicated to updating your site and creating new content? If you're not enjoying your site, then it becomes a chore and let's face it - chores are boring! Though site owning is a lot of work, don't forget to sit back and relax, and take a long look at everything you've accomplished. Give yourself a pat yourself on the back!

The zest and passion you put into your site will be completely apparent to visitors as they can tell you're truly enjoying what you do. There are many times when I've visited sites and think, wow, this person really enjoys what they're doing! I can tell they're having fun.

Textures Mini-guide

I love using textures because it gives graphics more depth and accents, but using them correctly is a tricky thing. Using too many texture layers, using them in ways that don't flatter the original image – these are the kind of things that can catch graphic makers off guard. This isn't a typical "guide", more like a compilation of tips and tricks for making the most out of the textures you have. I'll be going over some major problems that I've come across.

Before you start reading, please note:

- This page isn't meant to educate you in making graphics. It's meant to teach you the basics of using textures. I'll try to include screenshots of things that are important, but not everything will have a screenshot. In general, it'll be a text-based guide.
- I use Photoshop 7 for all of my graphics, but the same rules apply to other software as well, like GIMP.
- Drag and drop all images into the address bar for full view (or right click and choose View Image).

So, let's get started! For the majority of this "guide", I'll be using this image below:

However, whenever I make a banner I always adjust the image's basic colours first. I won't go into detail about that since this isn't a colouring guide. After editing the original image, here's what we'll be starting with:

#1) Blending is important!

The most common mistake that graphic makers do is pile on multiple layers of textures, set them all to opacity, but nothing beyond that. In order to make the most out of your textures, you need to blend the textures so that they fit the image. For this example, I'll be using the following textures from Swimchick:

You can hover over the textures to see what I'll be calling them. For example, I'll refer to the grungy brown texture as texture 1. In addition, I've used a brush that looks like a handwritten letter in #FFFFFF for one layer, which I'll call texture 4.

There are two images below. Can you tell which one's the well blended one?

Image One

Process:
Layers
All of the Swimchick textures (textures 1-3) are set to 100% opacity, while my own brush texture is set to 50% on normal.
Additional editing
For texture 4 (white letters), I ran a circle eraser (90 pixels in diameter) a few times over the usul so that the words don't cover it too much.

Image Two

Process:
Layers
Texture 1 (brown) is 60% overlay, texture 2 (blue) is 30% color burn, texture 3 (flowers) is 50% soft light, and texture 4 (letters) is 70% soft light.
Additional editing

For texture 1 (brown), I added a layer mask and set my foreground colour to black and my background colour to white. I then chose my gradient tool and used the default linear gradient in the top left corner of the image. Similar to the first image, I ran a circular eraser over the usal to lighten texture 4.

Analysis

So, we have our two images and as you can probably tell, image 1 is an example of a poorly blended banner while image 2 is more nicely textured. Let's take a closer look at the problems for image 1.

Textures don't need to be set to opacity only. Try out other layer styles, like color burn or soft light. Test all of them out and see which one fits the image the best. Some layer styles accentuate the colour of your textured layer, while others make the effects more noticeable. I'll talk more on this issue in the next section.

In the first example, the textured layers are just "sitting" on top of the image. It makes the base image feel heavier and messy. When I look at it, my eye automatically spots a few things. First, the letters in the background are too prominent. It's very conspicuous against a dark background. If you want to use any sort of writing texture, always make it barely noticeable because whenever there's text, our eyes automatically seeks it out and tries to read it.

Secondly, the bright spot near the usul's tail is distracting. By setting that particular layer to opacity, it not only over-brightened that spot, but it also makes the image appear to be more sharpened than it actually is. If we're blending this layer, I would probably run an eraser through it a few times just so that the lighting effect is lessened. In general, be careful when using textures that have lighting effects because a poorly blended layer will attract attention in unwanted areas.

Lastly, the flower pattern near the mountain at the top is too obvious and stands out. Like the other problems mentioned above, it's distracting. In essence, my eye goes to the textures first, which is not good! Used correctly, textures should appear to be a part of the original image and shouldn't have the appearance of being too heavy.

In the second image, there's more focus on blending the textures so that they work together so that they compliment the base image. A few of the layers are still a bit too harsh, but comparing it to the first example, it's a huge improvement. If you look at the second example, you'll still notice a slightly brighter spot near the usul's tail. This is where I would put text like "Moved" or "On hiatus" because the slightly lighter area will draw a person's attention to that spot.

Using bokeh textures on different settings

Base image:

Texture used:

Another common mistake is that textures are always set to overlay. While this may work for some textures, you should try to experiment with different layer styles to see which one compliments your image. For all of these examples, I leave the textures "sitting" on the image, and I won't be blending them in just so I can show you the differences between them.

Using the bokeh texture on overlay 100%

This isn't a poor image by any means, but there are problems. First, you can barely see the texture itself. Sure, it made the colours more bold and vibrant, but what we're looking for are the lighting effects that bokeh textures are meant to provide. Experienced graphic maker shouldn't be adjusting colours solely by using textures because piling them on will make the image look more cluttered in the end. However, if you're just starting out, textures are an easy way to colour an image if you're not familiar with curves or colour balance.

In this example, using overlay with certain textures will deepen the colours of the image. What if you didn't want a drastic change of colour? Well, we can set the overlay layer to something less than 100%, but the lighting effects in the texture would be too faded. They wouldn't be accenting the image because no one would see it!

Using the bokeh texture on lighten 100%

Setting the texture layer to lighten keeps both the retro blue colour of our original base image and brings in a bit of the bokeh colours as well. It also adds more depth in terms of the colour range. You can see this in the blue space on the left side of the usul. See how the soft red mixes with the blue and creates a more gradient effect?

Of course, we wouldn't be setting this layer to 100% as the lighting effects are too heavy and obvious. What if we lowered the opacity of the bokeh layer?

In the example above, I lowered the opacity of the lighten layer to 60% and it makes a huge difference. We get back some of the retro blue colour, but that's not to say that the colouring effects of the bokeh layer is completely lost. You can see hints of red in certain areas that really works well with the image. However, since the purpose of our bokeh layer is to add some light effects to the image, we need to focus on that. We can clearly see the lighting in the textured layer but it's not over the top.

Using the bokeh texture on screen 100%

The differences between lighten and screen are minute, but there are differences. Using screen, you can see that the texture layer has more of a "glow" to it. It adds more of a white colour to the overall image. The problem with using screen is that it washes the colour of the base image away. Try lowering the opacity to 60 or 70%.

Summary

• You're not using textures to cover the image. Rather, textures are meant to accent certain aspects of your image.
• The texture you chose may not work well with your image. If that's the case, throw it out and pick a new one.
• Blending the textures takes a lot of practice. There are many techniques, such as adding a layer mask and a fading gradient. Or, you could use an eraser to control which aspects of the texture you want to shine through.
• Overlay is overused. You don't have to set every texture to that style. Try experimenting with other styles and see which one looks best. One of my favourites is colour burn, which works great with grungy textures. On the other hand, lighten or screen works well with bokeh or other light effect textures because it minimizes the background colour of the texture layer and instead, emphasizes the lighting effects.
• Use effect textures primarily to add additions and accents to your image, rather than to change the colour of the base.
• Used in moderation, textures can make your image look amazing. However, too many texture layers will clutter up your image. Keep the number of layers limited to around 4 or 5.

Who's Turnip?

Quick Facts

Name: Turnip
Sites: TLB, Yooyuball Planet, How To Offer Great Service, In The News
Been playing on Neopets for: A long time. Tloef isn't my first account ;)
Ultimate dream job: Game designer at Bioware! *drools*
Platform of choice: PS3

Turnip's Favourites

Video games: Gears of War, Mass Effect, Pokemon HeartGold, Dragon Age, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, Professor Layton series, Borderlands, Resistance
Movies: Inception, Citizen Kane, His Girl Friday, North By Northwest, Big Fish, Lord of the Rings series, Across The Universe
Music: Muse, Sarah Brightman, Dragonette, John Williams, Death Cab For Cutie and so many more!
Food/drinks: Taro bubble tea with tapioca pearls - that's all I need! Oh, and Pocky too.
Animal: Pandas! But I also love chameleons.
Neopet Sites: Soroptimist Directory, The Teahouse, Otaku, Box, and many others.

Mass Effect

And because I'm such a Mass Effect fan girl...

(drag and frop for full view)

The community of site owners

You've found the secret page! Huzzah! Hmm, I suppose you were A) looking at my source code, B) randomly clicking the layout or C) used your awesome powers of deduction and realized it *had* to be in that spot. Regardless, I applaud your amazing detective skills! I wrote this opinion article a few days into the "Coding fiasco" of February where TNT changed the filters for petpages and userlookups. I decided to keep it here in TLB's coding. If you ever want to respond to my rant, feel free! I'd love to hear your opinions.

It seems the month of February has brought a lot of change that has had a huge impact on the site making community. Here are my opinions on the situation.

In all honesty, I'm a little surprise at the backlash that many site owners are facing when they voice their concerns on the help board. A lot of people are saying "TNT's just making the site safer, stop whining" which points to the fact that they are not site owners and have significantly less to lose. Please, if you are one of these people, take the time and try to view this issue from a site owner's eyes. For many people, myself included, Neopets is where I first learned how to code and design graphics. There is an established site community, full of dedicated people who spend many hours perfecting their site which many of you visit. Many of us are concerned because it seems like TNT is taking away our voice and options, little by little. How would you feel if TNT took away other aspects of the site that you use on a daily basis?

The efforts that TNT has put towards the CG/scamming issues are commendable and I'm glad that they realize it's an important issue. However, they can't just put a band-aid on the situation by tampering with the coding filters every time they feel scamming is getting out of control. They need to take a holistic approach and look at the issue from various perspectives. They need to communicate and educate through other means, other than taking options away from site makers.

For example, there's a tutorial for newbies when they first join the site, introducing them to various aspects of Neopets. How about making a flash-based tutorial about site security? TNT should provide easy accessibility to a page where users can learn about site safety. It needs to be clearly visible and not tucked away in a dark corner of the site, with endless pages of text that people won't read anyways. People should be encouraged to be proactive about their account safety and the ways in which TNT does this needs to be appealing and, like I mentioned before, easy to access.

Though taking certain aspects of coding away may - in theory - make the site safer, how does this benefit the person who doesn't know what a scam is in the first place as they follow a link off-site? It's better to spend time and resources in educating the mass instead of punishing the minority. What's that phrase? Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. This is what needs to be done, TNT. You can't block some coding and expect people to suddenly know about site security. "Oh, we blocked textareas, suddenly Neopia is safe and there are no more scammers!" Wrong. This is reductionist behaviour at best. You need to communicate and provide additional resources to educate users - you need to teach everyone how to fish.

This message goes not only to TNT, but to every single person who goes on Neopets. Site owners are often seen as the "enemy" whenever a new filter change arises, because the mass public feels that what TNT is doing is "right". Yes, TNT is right in that they are trying to protect our accounts (and more importantly, their own profits). However, like I mentioned above, the ways in which TNT is approaching this is not effective. Scamming and CGs will always exist but to minimize this, TNT has to be open about what they're doing and employ more effective techniques.

In summary, security through punishing site owners does not work. TNT needs to take a look at the whole picture and so they need to employ various techniques.

Personally, there are two reasons why I'm still on Neopets. One, is to maintain all of my sites. Secondly, I participate in the Altador Cup. These recent changes have really made me think whether or not I should quit Neopets because it's getting increasingly hard for site owners to do anything that is useful to their visitors. One example that comes to mind is graphic/premade site owners who utilize textareas as a means of giving the visitor the coding. Now that that's taken away, we are left with options such as not having textareas at all (a major inconvenience to all visitors of our sites) or using DIV boxes instead (which is still inconvenient since the visitor will have to change the brackets anyways).

In the past few days, many large sites have done on hiatus and some have even considered leaving. Alienating the community of site owners isn't going to earn TNT any fans, nor is it going to make the site safer.

Another thing I have to comment on is TNT's conduct about the filter change. Where was the topic on their official neoboard giving us a heads up? The truth of the matter is that time and time again, TNT has left us in the dark with no word on the situation at all. Thus, we are left to speculate and wonder, and the help board gets cluttered with numerous topics of the same grievances. When The Official Neopets Team Message Board was released, many people were excited. We all felt that this was finally the time when TNT would improve on its communication with the site's visitors. The idea of the official board was great for a number of reasons. First, many saw this as a quicker way of TNT passing on information whenever there was a glitch or bug.

However, this was not the case, as was seen in this situation. If they were working on a permanent filter change, they should have posted this information beforehand, and not after the fact and definitely, not in the manner that they did. After many people saw their hard work on their site implode before their eyes, they marched to the boards to see what was wrong. My first instinct was, "if this problem is on such a large scale, surely TNT would have posted something on their board". Nothing. It wasn't until after that this was posted:

Topic: Filter Change for User Lookups and Petpages
Message: We've recently updated our filters on Pet Pages and User Lookups so that they are the same as the filters on shops. If you have added any extra html to those pages to make them more interesting and more unique please make sure that you go and look at your code as you may need to make a few changes.
-The Fun Neopets Code Filtering Team

First, it's apparent that this filter change was premeditated, which means they should have been able to post a warning about it on their message board. This would definitely have reduced the mass hysteria that broke out and shed some light on the situation.

On another note, a lot of site owners aren't master coders and these recent changes have once again put them in the dark. In order to aid those affected by the filter change, TNT needs to provide the necessary resources so that people can learn how to code according to the new changes. Their current HTML "help" guide is less of a guide, and more of a waste of space with things that no one really cares about. Coding evolves, and so must their "guide".

The more TNT takes away from site makers, the more out-of-touch they are getting with the community of site owners. One of the most drastic changes was the removal of the textboxes, and if it continues at this pace, I'm sure that somewhere along the lines TNT will disable petpage editing altogether. Now, there are a lot of people who won't care, but they aren't site makers. They aren't losing anything – the site making community is losing a lot, however.

So, what can you do?

First, try to keep an open mind and understand the issue from both sides. Sure, we're site makers and we hate filter changes, but at the same time, if we lost our account to scamming we wouldn't have petpages to edit anyways. Let's use our energy more proactively - we need to show TNT that filter changes aren't the only ways in which to reduce scamming.

You can try contacting them directly, though I'm pretty sure that you'll be met with an automated message, like many users were when they inquired about the coding "glitch". Still, it's worth a shot. Remember though: be courteous and stay on target. Be passionate about the situation, without being a snarky, rude, angry ranting person.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this, so feel free to neomail me.

To end this needlessly long essay, see that neomail link up there? Just last week, I would have added the code to make it open in a new window (so it's more convenient for the visitor), and I would have coded it so that it opened directly to the neomail page, with the subject and username filled in and ready to go. Unfortunately, TNT has disabled all that so now all neomail links are directed to my userlookup. What a horrible difference one week makes.

Polling Station

guest notices a small survey tucked behind the TLB Rankings. You take it out and read the description that's written in messy handwriting.

I love getting feedback from visitors because you are the reason TLB exists! Hopefully, these polls and your answers will help me try to figure out which parts of the site I should focus on, and what changes I could make around the site for you. You don't have to answer every question - just answer as many as you want. Feel free to write additional comments as well!

1) What do you think of the new layout and why? - Love it! - Like it! - It's okay! - Hate it! - Other (explain) 2) What's your favourite part about TLB and why? - The unique story that you can find on random pages. - The resources - The graphics - The custom requests - Other 3) What would you like to see more of? - General or Not UFT banners - Fake avatars - Icons - Colour palettes - Site signs - Blank Bases - Other 4) How often do you visit TLB? - A few times a day - Once a day - A few times a week - Once a week - A few times a month - Once a month - Once every few months 5) What type of requests do you think TLB should offer and why? - Petpage requests - Button requests - Custom resource requests - Other (explain) 6) Which one of TLB's layouts has been your favourite so far and why? (Screenshots of all of them are below; drag and drop for full view) - Night Falls Over Negg Forest (v1) - March of the Meepits (v2) - Oh, you Slorgs! (v3) - Buzzin' For Vintage (v4) - Treasure Spotted (v5) - Let's Settle Things With A Laser Fight (v6) - Shepard's favourite lunch box (v7) - Shoyru Explorer (v8) - On The Edge Of The Mirror (v9) - Please Don't Be Winter (v10) - Treasure Island? More like Dead Island (current one) 7) What do you usually use icons for? (choose as many options below as you want) - For decorating my site's front page - I put icons in my updates - I use icons on my userlookup - Other (explain) 8) For fake avatars, do you like... - Animated text - Animated images - Both animated text and image - No animations at all - Other (explain) 9) Which of the following best describes you when visiting a graphics/resource site? (You can choose more than one) - I only visit a site whenever I need a graphic or resource. - I visit everyday because I want to see if the owner added anything new. - I like checking to see if the site offers any Extras, like rankings. - I visit graphic sites to get inspiration to make my own graphics/resources. - Other (explain) 10) Rank all of the following in terms of importance, with #1 being the most important aspect of a site and #5 being the least important. - The layout (i.e. how it looks, its originality, etc) - Ease of navigation (i.e. being able to find graphics/resources quickly) - The quantity of content (i.e. how many banners there are) - The quality of content - Other (explain) 11) When you visit a link directory, do you only visit the top ranked/recommend sites or do you browse through other ones as well? (choose all that apply) - I only visit ranked sites - I only click on links that are marked "recommended - I tend to visit more ranked/recommended sites than non-ranked/recommended sites. - Other (explain) 12) How often do you think a site should change their layout and why? - For this question, there aren't any "choices". Just write down a relative timeframe. 13) Does a site that have "extras" (like rankings and tutorials) appeal to you more than sites that don't have these things? (For any of your choices, please explain why) - Yes - No - Other

- You can use this spiffy textbox below to keep track of your answers. - It's perfectly fine if your answers take up more than one neomail. Just make the subject "Polling station (part 1..2, etc)". - Note: please number your answers so I know which question you're talking about. Thanks!

Featured Site & Graphic

Every Friday, a new site and graphic will be chosen and featured on this page. The featured site is where I spotlight a site that I think deserves more recognition. Creativity, originality, and high-quality content - be sure to give these pages a visit! Graphic makers also need some time to shine as well, which is why I added the featured graphic. This feature extends to all types of graphics: banners, icons, buttons, layouts, and much more!

Congratulations and be sure to pick up your award!
You can pick up a general "Featured @ TLB" button, or take the more customized button that's personalized with "Featured Graphic" or "Featured Site".

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Featured Site

Owned by: Chelsea
Type of site: untaken names

Looking for an untaken name? Check out Short And Sweet, a site that has well over 500 names to choose from! I absolutely adore the hand drawn layout by Rika - it makes the page look super charming. Not only are there tons of names to choose from, but you can also send in requests.

Featured Graphic

Created by: Mo
Type of graphic: font
Site: Mo's Fonts

Sings It's the most wonderful time - of the year! Ahem, of course I'm talking about the Altador Cup, which is quickly coming up. So, why not support your team with new fonts? I chose this Lost Desert one since I'm a huge LD fan. I love the use of different font styles and little splashes of colour here and there. Other great ones to check out include Moltara and Terror Mountain.

GET IN ON THE FUN!

The Featured Site & Graphic is now open to visitors! Is there a special petpage that you think deserves more recognition? Have you come across a graphic that makes you go "wow"? Now's your chance to put the spotlight on your favourite sites and graphics. Whenever you come across an awesome site and graphic that you think should be featured at TLB, just fill out this form and send it in.

(PLEASE MAKE "TLB FEATURE" AS YOUR SUBJECT) Your name: The site or graphic you want to be featured: Full URL of the site: Are you the owner or maker of the site/graphic? (Yes/no) Why you think it should be featured: (If it's a petpage, focus on why it's such a great site / If you want to feature a graphic, what makes that graphic special?) Other:

For a full list of previously featured featured sites & graphics, check out TLB Corner!

TLB Rankings

A site isn't just about the content or its layout - it's about the entire package. TLB offers comprehensive rankings that are based on a variety of different factors, many of which other sites don't take into account, like frequency of updates, and quality of customer service. For an in-depth look at how I choose the top five sites, check out the bottom of this page. In addition, each category includes "mini-updates" to let you know what the latest changes are (if you use the idea of mini-updates for your site, be sure to credit TLB). If your site is ranked, feel free to pick up the button below!

Mini-updates for each category: April 16

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Adoptables/Pixels

Updates
None

Competition/Rankings

Updates
- Wisteria (#2) removed due to lack of updates
- Zig Zag enters the rankings at #3
- Last two positions left unfilled since there's no other high-quality site to fill them.

Directories

Updates
- Soroptimist Directory moves from #1 to #5 due to site inactivity (remains on the list due to relevant content and quantity)
- Simple Gifts enters the rankings at #1
- The Games Room (#4) removed
- Find A Laugh moves from #3 to #2 due to frequent updates

Graphics

Updates
None

Miscellaneous

Updates
- None

Premade Layouts/CSS

Updates
- Sparkle enters the rankings at #4
- Mellie's Premade CSS (#5) removed due to site closure

Requests (buttons)

Updates
- Perfect Symmetry (#1) removed due to site closure
- Saranghae (#2) and Surcie (#5) removed due to site inactivity
- Asylum enters the rankings at #4
- Illusion enters the rankings at #3
- Oriental enters the rankings at #5

Note: For certain sites ranked above, button requests are only offered as an "extra".

Requests (graphics/layouts)

Updates
- Mesmeric (#2) removed due to hiatus
- RAM (#3) and Simply Amazing (#5) removued due to site inactivity
- Rambo enters the rankings at #4
- Glow enters the rankings at #3
- Seraphic enters the rankings at #5

Reviews

Updates
- Green Jasper (#2) removed due to revamp
- Last position left unfilled since there's no other high-quality site to fill them.

Tutorials & Guides

Updates
None

Explanation on rankings

Epilogue: The Professor

(Note: be sure to visit the ending of the story on the Sitely page before reading this)

One week later...

After you left the beach with your friends that day, you couldn't help but think about the box. The mystery of the lunch box was still heavy on your mind so you decided to do some research. As it turns out, there was a professor at the nearby university that could help. Deciding to pay her a visit immediately and get to the bottom of this, you head out.

guest arrives at the professor's office and cautiously knocks on the door. A muffled voice booms out, go away and please do not disturb me. I have very important research, you see. Good day! Determined, you tell the professor why you're there to see her. You hear a small gasp and the door quickly swings open An elderly Lenny with dishevelled hair and crooked eyeglasses gazes down at you. Hmm? Your name is guest and you want to know more about a lunch box? Well, it just so happens that I'm a professor with a degree in the history of important boxes. Here, come in. Let me get you a hot cup of tea.

As the professor heads into the kitchen, guest takes a look around. The house is completely filled with random lunch boxes. Some have famous Neopians' faces on them; others look sort of plain and dingy. Ah, here we are! The professor rushes back and places two cups on the table before taking a seat herself. I see you've been admiring my collection of lunch boxes. I've had these for quite some time. I'm a collector of such things, but there's one that eludes me. I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about and it's why you're here, isn't it? Let me begin to tell you everything I know...

I was quite the avid adventurer in my youth, so I went out one day on a lengthy camping trip. Just two days in the forest and the most horrible thing happened to me. A wild, beastly Lupe appeared and made off with the last of my food! That fellow didn't even leave me a crumb, so I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat. I figured that I should make the trip back home, but hours later, I was famished. Spotting a nice bit of shade under a tree, I decided to get a bit of rest. When I took a seat, you'll never believe what happened next! I looked down and it appeared that I sat on a lunch box!"

guest gives a small yelp of surprise. The professor looks up knowingly, yes, I see you've made the connection. I, too, have found the lunch box. I was quite surprised, seeing as how the ground was completely bare when I sat down, but let me continue my story...

It must have been my eyes, I thought to myself, yes, that's it. I didn't see the box before because I was too hungry and thirsty. Opening the box, I thought I was still imagining things. Inside, there was a bottle of water, a history novel on the origins of Mystery Island, and a tuna sandwich with the crust cut off. It was the strangest thing, since if it were up to me, I would have packed the same thing!

After devouring the sandwich and gulping down all the water, I put the lunch box in my backpack and continued my journey home. I hurried over to my friend's house to show him what I had found. I told him of my journey but when I opened up my pack, the box was gone! I searched everywhere but to no avail. It was as if I'd never found it at all. Of course, he thought I was making it up, but you and I know better, don't we? It was that one event that spurred me into my current field of study. I've scoured Neopia, looking for lunch boxes that I don't have in my collection. I vowed to find that one magical lunch box again.

There are rumours that the mythical lunch box has been owned by some well-known Neopians, including King Coltzan, Count Von Roo, and Captain Scarblade. Much recently, the box came into the possession of a Neopian named Tloef. Yes, I see you're confused, guest. I'm not sure how to pronounce her name either. She apparently goes by the name of Turnip as well. That's much easier to pronounce, in my professional opinion. Anyways, there must be something quite peculiar about Turnip, since she's had the box in her possession longer than any other. I've interviewed and contacted many people, but she's still a mystery.

Some told me that she came across the box a long time ago when she visited Faerieland. It was Queen Fyora herself that gave the lunch box to Turnip. Perhaps that is why the box behaves different for her. You see, guest, she has the ability to recall the lunch box whenever she wants! Even if it disappears, she somehow manages to find it again! I've been trying to track her down, but for the longest time I had no luck. I've been told that she has a house in The Lost Desert, but I've never managed to get a glimpse of it. Whoever this Turnip is, she knows the secret of the lunch box, I'm sure of it...

The professor gives a longing sigh as you finish your drink and place the cup back down. She hasn't even touched her tea, guest thought to themselves. Oh, dear! Look at the time! I'm sorry, but I'm late for my lecture and I'm sure my students won't let me live it down. Before guest can ask any more questions, the old professor scurries off with her briefcase. You get up to leave and just as you open the door, you look down and see a strange, old box sitting on the ground...

F.A.Q.

Is your question not here? Feel free to send it in!

What is The Lunch Box?
It's just a simple graphics site that I whipped up because I was bored, and it started on August 8th, 2010. I always intended TLB to remain pretty small, but it seems the site took a life of its own and we've been growing ever since.

Yes, yes, I understand that. I meant in the story. What is the box?
Well, if you've been following a bit of the story scattered around this site, you'll soon find out that the lunch box is anything but ordinary. It seems to appear and disappear whenever it wants but to whoever finds it for that short period of time, they can find anything they need in the box. Whether it's a flashlight, a candle, or a hiatus sign! ;) For even more info, read The Epilogue. This is the last part of the "story", so be sure to find all of the other bits and pieces before you read this.

So, there's a bit of the story on each page? What order should I read them in?
There's no particular order for the middle, but obviously the story on the first page (Home) is the first part. The very last part is at the bottom of the v page.

Why did you include this story on a graphics site?
I love making graphics, but I also love writing stories! Plus, I thought it would give this site its own unique twist.

Will you join my SOTM/BOTM contests?
Thanks for considering me, but if I do decide to enter any contests, I'll probably browse through them myself.

How do I credit your site?
You can use a spiffy Link Back button on the sitely section, or a simple text link in your credits section. For example, "Banner from TLB" or "Request sign from The Lunch Box".

How often will this site be updated?
I'll try to update as often as I can. I'll be busier throughout the school year (Sept - Apr), so like at my other sites, I will only be updating on the weekends for the most part.

What other sites do you own?
Currently, Yooyuball Planet is my oldest site. It's sort of like a fan fiction loosely based on the Altador Cup. Then there's TLB, followed by In The News, a Neopian Times link directory. Lastly, How To Offer Great Service is my newest endeavour, but it's technically not its own site as it's a subdivision of TLB.

If I request custom graphics, do I still need to credit?
Definitely! For custom graphics, I'm not putting any watermark on so you need to link back to TLB.

What programs do you use?
I use Photoshop 7 for the majority of my graphics/resources, but I also dabble in Paint when making borders and GIMP when animating.

What in the world are the lunch bunnies?
Lunch bunnies are strange little creatures that live in the mysterious lunch box. They don't have a body, but they seem fine with that. These critters come in all sorts of colours and though they're very shy at first, they'll eventually warm up to you. You can get your very own lunch bunny in the Pixel section.

Will you be making premade layouts?
Unfortunately, large graphics don't fit in the lunch box! It may be a magical lunch box, but it's still regular lunch-box size. (Other explanation: I'm pretty busy during the school year and probably couldn't devote enough time to creating a line of layouts.)

I've seen someone use your graphics without credit! What should I do?
If you've spotted someone that hasn't given credit, or they've put our graphics on their site to redistribute them, please neomail me straight away.

What happens if you spot a stealer/someone that doesn't credit?
It's always nice to give credit for graphics that aren't yours. I've seen many people on Neopets just take resources and graphics without so much as a mention of the site from where it came from. If you don't credit, visitors will think that you created the graphics, which isn't the case. On a similar note, I've also ran into a fair share of dishonest people who have taken graphics and redistributed them on their own site, claiming that they made them. If I spot this, here is what I will do:

• I will contact the person in question and ask them to put the credit up. If they are stealing, I will let them know that they are actively stealing content that doesn't belong to them and they need to remove it immediately.
• If they choose to ignore me, I will send a report to TNT with no warning to the person as well as screenies of their site and possibly neomails if this applies.

Why are your rankings so different? Why am I ranked so low?
My rankings take into account various aspects of the entire site, not just a small portion of it like most rankings. Please consult the bottom of this page for more details.

Why do you not include a lot of text on your icons?
I tend to focus more on colouring and layer balance for icons. For me, icons are more for brightening up a page than for informational purposes, like a hiatus sign, for instance. My philosophy in making icons is that they're like small photographs so I spend more time playing around with colour balance and other things like that.

Do you offer button or layout requests?
Unfortunately, TLB doesn't offer these types of requests.

Sitely

Link Back

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Sister Site	Affiliates
Delicious is an amazing site owned by the lovely Natalie. Just like the name implies, the content she offers is absolutely delicious, with banners featuring mouthwatering cupcakes and other goodies as well. With high-quality banners, spiffy resources, and custom requests, this is one bakery you should definitely check out.	Requests are: CLOSED! / Neomail me

Listed At

Credits

A Small List Angel's Directory Bia's Links Christie's Directory Dragon's Lair HOTL Directory Improve Keychain Insert Lemon Vs. Lime Little Black Book Masked OH! One Love Directory Plethora Sandstar's Directory Simple Gifts Smiley Central Soroptimist Directory The Guide The Secret Library The Shelf UTS Directory Zebbarl's Links

Layout v11 (I Choose Synthesis) is designed and coded by me for TLB only. Images belong to Neopets. Background pattern from deviantArt; textures by swimchick and Details. Images from: Neopets, Dr. Sloth's Image Emporium, dA stock images, PSDgraphics, officialPSDs, Zel's Page of Shopkeepers Textures, patterns &/or gradients from Technicality, Lost In Wonderland, Caught In The Headlights, Starlight, deviantArt, Swimchick, Outspoken-Kate, Skylineillusions, Celestial Star, Whisper Wars, 99 Mockingbirds, Nienke's Resources All buttons are linked back to their maker. Coding help from: Kitty, Al's, CSS|Guide For the decorative backgrounds, I simply recoloured them and provide the code for the background. The original patterns are all from deviantArt. Copyright 2000-2011 Neopets, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission. NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2011. ® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved.

The Final Chapter

Digging into the very bottom of the lunch box, guest pulls out another note. It seems to be written by the same person. It says,

This lunch box is magic, I know it and I'll prove it to you! Here, try something for me, okay? Whoever you are, just follow these instructions. First, take everything you think you'll need out of the box. Second, turn away and close your eyes. Count to ten, then turn around and look at the lunch box again.

guest seems a bit skeptical, but decides to follow the instructions nonetheless. You set the box down on the sand, turn around, and start to count. 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7.. 8.. 9.. 10..

As you look back, you give a small gasp of surprise. The lunch box has vanished! You scramble around, looking for the box. It can't be a magic lunch box, you think to yourself, there's no such thing! While guest was frantically searching, someone gives a shout in the distance. Oh, it's my friends, you think to yourself, I suppose this mystery will have to wait... guest decides to leave the box behind, knowing that eventually someone else will find it.

However, the mystery still lingers and you decide to do some extra research...

TLB opened on August 8th, 2010!

IF YOU'RE USING CONTENT FROM TLB, PLEASE BE SURE TO CREDIT. IF YOU SEE A BIT OF CODING YOU'D LIKE TO USE FOR YOUR SITE, NEOMAIL ME. :) -
TLOEF (TURNIP)