this is decode,

The hottest new review site in Neopia, run by Sara. Here's where you travel to (on a flying carpet) if you want a review that will actually help you improve your site. I'm not going to tell you just what's wrong with it, and I'm not going to praise you for having done right (because that's what you should be doing anyway). But I'm going to give you hints and tips that will help you see what needs fixing, and how to improve. My reviews aren't harsh, but they're not cupcake sprinkles either. This review site is for those who are serious about their graphics and pixel sites, and just want some advice.

I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been active... at all. My graphics/resource site moved a month or two ago, and trying to figure out wordpress layouts and meeting rigorous update standards is quite hard, and I'm not on Neopets much anymore so I forget to update. I'll try to get some reviews done soon.

yeah, I've got rules

1. You may only apply for a review if they are open. If you apply while they are closed, I won't ever review you. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I'm not reviwing people who can't follow simple instructions.

2. I'm only reviewing sites on neopets. No freewebs, no domain, no subdomain. Not even if you have a link to it from a neopets petpage. Reason is, this is a neopets review site. I'm not reviewing off-sites, sorry.

3. As soon as you're accepted to be reviewed, do NOT go on hiatus, for whatever reason. Even if you warn me in advance, I will take you off the list. If you were planning on going on hiatus for revamp, or otherwise, do it either before you apply at all, or after you've been reviewed. Common courtesy.

4. Please please please do not complain about your review. You asked for my opinion, and I'm giving you my most honest thoughts. I will never lie to you about what I think, nor will I leave anything out. The site was not meant to be harsh, it was meant to help you make your site the best it can be. However, if you don't like your review, you may ask for it to be sent to you, and removed from the site.

5. If you ask for a review, you must put my button up. As I'm giving your site publicity, it's only polite to give me some too. Also, this way your visitors can see what I had to say.

6. Do not try to bribe me for a better review, I won't take them in whatever form you dish them out. I can't help you out if I'm lying.

7. Unlike some other sites, I have no problem re-reviewing your site. However, you can only get two reviews after your first one, there needs to be a month between each review, and I have to be able to tell that you added some quality content. I reserve the right to turn you down for a re-review. Also, I will never take down a previous review. You need to see how you're improving.

8. Please do not improvise on my application form. I made it for a reason, and that reason was for it to be filled out as is. Thanks you for understanding this.

9. I will never refuse anyone a review unless they're closed, or if your site is full of redistributed graphics, explicit content, or if it is off-site.

10. Please be patient while I review you. I may take some time to see what new material you put up, or I might just be busy. I run two other sites (a graphics site and a pixel site), and I have a lot of school work as well. Please don't neomail me to rush my review, and if you decide you absolutely cannot wait for your review, you can ask to be removed from my list. if you read all the rules, when asked for if you have, please put paramore in for the answer

what am I looking at?

Before I give what I'll go over in the critique, I have a disclaimer. I only give number scores to those who want them. If you do not, I won't use the number values when reviewing.

first glance 10|10
layout 15|15
updates 5|5
spelling/grammar 5|5
content quantity 15|15
content quality 20|20
uniqueness 15|15
credit 5|5
miscelleaneous 10|10

100 total

reviews are closed

Here's the application. Fill her out.

and neomail sara

buttons and awards


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100-90 | 89-80 | 79-70

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extras

tip of the week
When creating your site layout, keep this in mind: using more appealing colors, and colors that go well together (for inspiration, check out some palettes that some sites have) to keep it looking nice, and professional. Pleasant colors catch and keep visitor attention, and visitors won't be in a rush to get away from your site. If you don't know if a color will work, use your better judgment. If you wouldn't want to look at large quantities of it, chances are, your visitors won't want to either. ~sara michelle

[i'll update this when I find a place to put the old tips, so you can still view them]

site in the spotlight
Once I start reveiwing sites, I'll put up a site that deserves recognition. If you're a new site, under four months old, you'll be at the top of my list, but any site just might make it. And to make it more exciting, sites I choose will get a special award!


must have graphics grab
Sometimes I might add some graphics I especially love from different sites, with their permission of course. If you want some more publicity, you can neomail me if you would like me to add one of your graphics. I will never post a graphic without permission, and the sole purpose of this is to spread the word about your site. Kind of like extra publicity. if you ever decide you don't want your graphics on my site, please tell me. I will cycle through graphics every once in a while, spotlighing unique or especially well done creations.

current graphics trends
Do you want to be on the graphics bandwagon? Or would you rather make something no one else is? Here's where you can find what's currently cirulating everywhere!

Icon textures are the latest fad (I have over 200 of them on just my site). They're easy to make and should fit over any 100x100 icon. They spice up the pictures and make for a more professional-looking icon, and since it's nice to have such a diversity of textures, people all around are making them, and you can borrow them, so long as you credit later! PNGs are easy to make if you have the right tools. MS Paint and GIMP are not right for this, you'll want something more advanced, like Photoshop, or anything with the magic wand and the add feature (this just means that you can click on your PNG mutliple times, and it will add to what's already there, and not picking a new section each time).

waiting list

Katie | Raging Chaos status: done
Megan | Stratosphere status: done
Misty | Turbulence Graphics status: done
Interl | Disney Animations and More status: done
Mocha | So q Graphics status: pending
Mel | Mel's Customs status: waiting
Jemz | Jemz Petpages status: waiting
Rach | Superfly CSS status: waiting
Lauren | Blossoming Babies status: waiting

have you been reviewed?

Raging Chaos

First Glance 9|10
When I first stepped into Raging Chaos, my first thought was I love your blend. It's made up of gorgeous, very inviting pictures that are well blended. Well done. However, I'm not in love with your background color. Something a little warmer would have done nicely; try picking out colors directly off of the blend, it can help tie it to the rest of the layout. My second thought was, why is the 'welcome' column higher than the 'blog' column? Since they're at such a similar height anyway, it will look more professional (and help my OCD) if you simply bring the 'welcome' column down a little. But that's what I thought at first glance

Layout 12|15
I've already addressed some of your layout, but on closer inspection (and taking CSS into account), here's what I have further to say. One, I noticed your CSS credit was not you. It's nice CSS, but it would be better if you did it yourself! ;D I know you can code, too, because you offer site layouts, so what happened here? Or am I simply misunderstanding the credit?
Now to how it all looks. First of all, I love your headers, they're simple, yet cute. The only problem I have is the pink bottom-borders don't match the color of your background, and they don't look astounding together. Try a pretty light blue, or a yellow. Now on to your bold italics and underline. Your bold and italics are very pretty, the colors match both your blend picture, and each other, and they look decent with your background color. However, I have a little issue with your underline. With the two border-bottoms, the underline messes with whatever is written underneath it, which looks a little sloppy. If you're going to add extra border-bottoms to your underlines, stick with just one. Next, and this is a little thing; because of the way you have your layout set up, with each section disconnected with the next, your border-bottom, again, should match the headers. (The border-bottom I'm talking about is this color: #ce92b2, and your headers are this color: #ef578e). Again, it's about tying everything together. Lastly, links. Well, your affie ones. A big tip I have for when coding links, is, do whatever you want, but when you hover over the link, it shouldn't change size. When links change size, they end up having a lot of issues. For example, if you hover over in the wrong spot, the links blink back and forth and you can't click on anything, because you're going through two or more links over and over. Another issue, is when links change size, is it changes EVERYTHING underneath it. So when they get bigger, everything shifts down, and when they get smaller, everything shifts up. Link coding is at its best with something simple, like a color change, or a cursor change.

Updates 5|5
Oh dear! You updates everyday! That is very impressive, and I love how you say exactly what was added (meaning saying Miley Cyrus PNG, instead of just PNG). Do you delete updates from previous months, though? I would suggest you keep them up there, but I'm not going to take any points off for it.

Spelling/Grammar 4|5
I saw one grammar mistake, in your October 18 blog, under the edit.

Content Quantity 8|15
You have a good amount of sections, but what is in the sections is rather lacking. The most you have of one type of graphic (excluding your site names, which are plentiful), is twelve PNGs. Spend some more time beefing up your sections. Here's a tip, focus on one section at a time, making as many as possible while you're inspired to do so. Once you've got a good amount of graphics made for that section, pick a new section, and work on those. When you've gone through all your sections, go through the cycle again. Another tip is this: before working on sections, decide what you want to make more of. Spend an hour or two finding pictures you might want to use, and put them in a folder for 'future graphics'. That way, when you go to start the actual making, you won't be spending too much time searching for just the right picture, and you can focus on putting the graphics together. making graphics in bulk is the best way to go, I find that when I make graphics in bulk, I get more done.

Content Quality 18|20
Most people know that this is, without a doubt, the most important part of any site. Your content is what will keep visitors coming back for more. But before I get into the quality, let me make this observation: your previews are very, very small, even when you drag and drop them. You can resize them for the site, but when people drag and drop, they want to see the graphic better, and they can't if the graphic is too small. I understand that what they may be actually taking away is probably bigger than your preview, but people want to see exactly what they're getting. For example, you're a visitor, and the first is your preview, and the second is your graphic (below). Which would you rather be looking at if you've never seen the piece before?

Now, your blends. I notice you save in .jpg format. That tends to be a bad quality format, I suggest saving in .png, or a higher quality format. Overall, your blends are very good. But here's what I meant about a bad-quality format:

Did you mean for it to look colorized like that? Most visitors would perfer a crisper picture than this. Your Blake Lively blend is gorgeous, on the other hand, well blended, and great quality. Your buttons are on revamp, so I can't say much about them. :D
Guild Layouts are next, but uh, they're not really layouts, because it's just the picture, (which are amazing, by the way). Unless you're going to code them, you need to point out that they're uncoded guild layouts, to avoid confusing people. But, they're very well done, and I can't wait to see more!
Your icons are good, you use just the right amount of gradients on all your graphics (something most people have a problem with, including me, is overusing and under-using gradients on icons). However, I don't like your Alexis bBledel icons very much. The pictures are not flattering, and the effects don't make them much better. Try finding pictures of her that show off her beauty, and not paparazzi pictures that shouldn't have been taken at all. Also, while the quality of the rest of your icons are astounding, spice them up a little bit with some words, and remember that not all icons need to be celebrities.
Your PNGs are very well cut, all of them, so there's not much about them I can say, because they're some of the best PNGs I've seen in a long while. Try to get some full-body PNGs that are available for your visitors, and you'll be the go-to place for PNGs.
Lastly, your site layout was extremely well done. The coding was very pretty, and the picture was well blended. You should really make more of them!

Uniqueness 10|15
I wouldn't really say your site is all that unique, what I've seen there I've seen at many other sites, but you do have more site names as I've ever seen. Try adding something that you haven't seen at any or few others sites. And that doesn't have to be graphics! Fun little extras can really make your site something special.

Credit 5|5
Looks like you credited everyone!

Miscellaneous 10|10
Your site is super organized, and very cute. I had no problem getting around, or finding anything. If you have any more questions, or are confused by your review, be sure to tell me, I might be able to clear it up!

total 81/100

Stratosphere

First Glance 10|10
I "step into" your site, and right away I'm blown away, even while I wait for your layout to load (by the way, thank you for warning your visitors it would take some time to load). It's so well done, and when the layout is finally complete, it's even more amazing. Now, I'm a huge fan of Innocense, but I have to say I think your layouts may be better than hers. The colors all match pretty well (I've never been a fan of green and orange together, but you make it look decent), everything is obviously organized, and it all very professional. Well done!

Layout 13|15
Like I said, your layout is amazing, maybe try softening the blend by not pixeling where you added a new picture. Instead, let them fade into eachother. I have a friend who is in a photography class at school. For their last project, they had to take cutouts of different pictures, and merge them into one picture by hand, not on computer. The final products were amazing, unless you got up very close, and got past the tricks your eyes played on you, you couldn't tell that these were cutouts. They looked, 100%, like one single picture. And that's the goal of a blend: not to be able to tell without much difficulty that there were more than one picture blended together.
I've never liked it too much when on-site sites split up their site into more than one page (I think I overused the word 'site' there), it gets confusing as to where to go, and after sitting to wait for your layout to load in the first place, visitors are whisked away to another page, where they have to wait (again) for it to load, then if they got it wrong, they might have to do it again. If you insist on splitting it up, may I suggest that drop-down menus might be helpful for your top four link, even with your navigation, people might get confused.

Updates 5|5
You are very good with the updates. However, maybe add a blog if you want to go into more detail with what you've done. I noticed some updates that extended for lines and lines and lines in that small space, where you were simply detailing the 'why'.

Spelling and Grammar 5|5
Your spelling and grammar is fantastic.

Content Quantity 14|15
You have an immense amount of graphics, but it seems as though you spend more on one group than another. Try to update them all as equally as possible, so that you won't have one group with three graphics, and one with thirty two.

Content Quality 17|20
Normally, I'd go through each different type of graphics you offer to help you improve, but for most of it, there's simply nothing to improve on. You are amazingly talented, and there were few things I could find faults in. For one thing, your backgrounds (other than the glitter ones), and very... unoriginal, try making some that aren't found in simply every graphics site.
Your icons are very very very good, I get the sense that you're either a vegetarian, or very PETA friendly :D

I'm a veg, and this is just too cool.

Now, onto your blends. They're good... they could be better. Some of them are just overboard, like this one:

and the blending isn't fantastic. I would suggest brushing up on your skills (I'm not saying you're bad, I mean, I stink at blends, but for this review's sake...), or using more "compatible" pictures, that would blend more naturally.

Your resources, again, amazing, no complaints here.

Your userlookups and petpage layouts were good, I didn't particularly like this one, though, , it looked rather unprofessional, but that's just my opinion. You're good with the coding, keep up the good work.

Uniqueness 13|15
Overall, your site is pretty unique, like that it is maily a neo-related site, instead of the celebrity site that have taken over. But the content ideas are things that you see everywhere.

Credit 5|5
All in order, congratulations.

Miscellaneous 9|10
Your site is a little hard to navigate, everything is so compact and small, but you're organized, and you're talented. Keep up the good work.

total 91/100

Turbulence Graphics

first glance 5|10
The first thing I noticed when I pulled up Turbulence graphics was the blend. I mean, it's a good blend, but it's not something I would recommend you use as the main picture of your site. It's not very... dynamic, and it doesn't showcase your talent. And then the print behind it, that only sticks out to one side, is not very appealing, and it gets in the way of your Top Affies, which needs some CSS with it. The overall affect is not very appealing, and could potentially scare away visitors.

layout 10|15
First things first, the coding for your layout on Firefox doestn't work as it does on Internet Explorer. When you're coding, make sure it works on both. I had to use IE to do the review, and that's never fun. Next, some things you could code a little better, are the links and the text. Your text isn't all that appealing, and the font isn't the easiet to read. Try arial or tahoma. It's a little bit smoother, and looks more professional. Your links need to be coded, period. The generic underlined blue links that turn the ugly maroon color after clicking aren't at all pretty, and it would be better if you did something about it :D. If you don't know how to code links, Amy has the best tutorial on Neopets. Your navigation links also need a lot of work. Essentially, they look fine, but when you hover over, it needs some work. The size, width and height, need to be consistent with the original look. I don't know if that was just a mistake in coding, or if it's the change in font size and family.
My next issue is your color choices. The maroon color in the background is fine, now find colors that work with it to build the rest of the layout. The tan clashes, and if I may suggest, maybe a cream or white might just look better. Also, try building your blend around the background color too, or vice versa. It's best to have a palette you can base the colors in your layout off of, but be careful, the colors need to work well together.

updates 5|5
You update a lot, I can tell, and it's good that you don't delete your updates. People like to know how often you update.

spelling/grammar 2|5
Misspellings in Oct 12th blog, Sept 9th blog, Sept 6th blog, Aug 8th blog, Aug 7th blog, Aug 6th blog, July 17th blog, userlookups, full page guild layouts, etc. Also, you use a lot of slang, like "gonna", "affie", etc. It doesn't look very professional using all that slang.

content quantity 15|15
You do very well with this. You have a ton of graphics in every area, and a lot of different sections. But you don't always need to keep adding to the things you have, it's always good to introduce more graphics, and get a better diversity.

content quality 13|20
This is blunt, but point blank, a lot of your graphics aren't at the quality they should be. I'll start at the top, your blogs. The coding is nice, but the visual, not so much. What I mean is, instead of smiply taking an image and putting a textarea and a header on it, maybe make a blend, add some textures or gradients. Make them more dynamic to look more appealing.
Next, color palettes. Amazing. They look really good, I like the font, and I really love how they each have a name. Good work.
Scroll bar codes. It's a good idea, but expand on it. Make some more, with different colors. Maybe make them match your palettes, so that way visitors wanting to code their own layouts have two resources to make their layout with. Another tip with the scroll bar codes is when you're putting up screen shots of how they're going to look, make them the same size. Different size graphics tend to look sloppy, so, and this goes with everything, resize each type of graphic preview to a standard size.
Icons next. Some are good, others not so much. The quality really differs here, and with some other sections too. Really try to keep consistency. Anyway, some of the icons I really like, like this one:

Some I really don't understand, like this one:

And some I can't read, like this one:

A lot of them are really bad quality, so go back and if you wouldn't use it somewhere else, take it off. Some of them are good, and just need some fixing, like the Lindsay Lohan one. The pictures are all different sizes, and you can tell when they're cycling through. The pictures themselves are also bad quality, so things like that can be worked on. But some like your giraffe are adorable, and good quality and good pictures. There definitely not a balance there, so go back through, and make the appropriate changes.
I like your backgrounds. They're not the best, or most unique I've ever seen, but they're good quality. My only suggestion is that, as I said earlier, make all your previews for each type of graphic the same size.
Your name tags are, on the other hand, really original. I haven't seen them anywhere else, and from far away, they're pretty good quality. On closer inspection, you can see that the entire background isn't 100% white. Try saving your files as .png or .bmp for better quality. Pictures saved with these extensions are usually cleaner and crisper, less fuzzy and discolored.
Your userlookups and guild layouts are all very well done. They showcase some real talent, so be sure to put as much effort in everything else as you do with these!
Your petpage layouts are good. Well, the first two styles are. They're some really good coding, maybe not the most original, but well done, nonetheless. As for your third style, I didn't like where you were going with the layout. I didn't like the fonts, and the overall effect. Your fourth style of coding was a really good thought, but there are some things that need improving. First of all, your side area, with the navigation and such is on two different colors, and that doesn't really look all that good. Put a background there, it will really help. Also, while the picture is really good, you can see where it doesn't line up at the top, and when the picture ends. This makes the whole layout look rather sloppy. Your "plain" petpage layouts are amazing. That's some really good coding, appealing to the eye, and while some link need to be customized, they're the best ones you offer. Your special petpages, too, are unique and very well done.
Your enter signs come next, and boy do they need some tlc. Here's the low-down of what I'm seeing: bad pictures, too much gradient or effects that don't match the picture, clashing colors, ugly fonts, bad blending, and on one of your signs, there a white strip at the bottom. Go back, take them down, and go on a mini-revamp. Try checking out some other sites for inspiration (do not copy), find some better pictures (more appealing, better quality), use textures and gradients in a sane manner (if you want to use a really bold gradient, it might be best to lighten the opacity.
Your brushes could use some work. They aren't the best quality, and a lot of them look like you were just scribbling on the image. If you wouldn't use the brushes, take them down.
Your banner templates are fairly good. The first three are very good quality and creative, but after that, I don't like them all that much. Make some more like the first three, and it'll be better.
You blank buttons could use some work. The picture choices are good, and you have a good selection of sizes, but to make them look more professional, put a border around them. Also, your 40x60 buttons are all different sizes o.O
Your PNGs, oh dear, they're not really PNGs. PNGs are cutouts, that don't have any kind of background. You can put them on a layout, and it just be the target object. Your PNGs have a white background, so they're not useful. When you're making PNGs, make sure you delete the white background after cutting them. If you have layers on your program, pull up the layers menu, and delete anything underneath what the PNG is of.
Your splat base is very good, keep some more coming, and remember that you don't need all that splat over the design.
Your icon textures are also well done, just don't make them over the entire image, they'll suffice with just a little texture, and not one that will fade out the entire image.

uniqueness 15|15
There are definitely some unique things about your site, like your name tags, scroll bars, and your "special" petpage layouts.

credit 5|5
You credited everyone! Good job.

miscellaneous 8|10
I noticed you have some 'back to top' links on some of your sections. If you're going to put them on some, you need to put them on all. Also, while your navigation links all work, you have some links to things not on your page, and some things don't have links in the nav. Some people look at your links as all that you offer, and if you don't link to it in the navigation (and you have a navigation), and that's what they're looking for, they'll leave, and look somewhere else.

total 73/100

Disney Animations & More

First Glance9|10
My first thought when I came to Disney Animations and More was wow this takes a long time to load. I got bored and did some other things as I waited, and therefore, I suggest making a layout that doesn't take up so much space, because that's what was taking too long, and it delayed everything else from loading, and it was just a long load time. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the layout, it's simple, cute, and on theme, but it is a little too large for a neopets site. Maybe scale the Beast down (which, by the way, is amazing), and make 'graphics made by interl' a little smaller and better placed (maybe right under the site name, in one line). But you've got a good thing going here, and I like the idea.

Layout14|15
Again, I love the layout. I like the simplicity of it, and the colors match, and you stay on theme throughout the entire layout. I like background pattern, and how the pattern is used over everything. My few suggestions are that the text not be in blue, because it's kind og overkill. Everything else is blue, and a black text over such a light background makes it easier to read. Also, your section with the 'Lost Boys Rules' should really be lined up with the section under it. I would think of decreasing the space between the three main areas in the bottom, because not only does it take up too much room, but it stretches out the screen and makes for the unseemly scrollbar at the bottom of the page, which doesn't actually do anything in this layout except make it look sloppier. So back to what I was getting at: if you don't space the three main areas out so much, you can line the third up with the one above it and rid yourself of pointless scrollbars.

Updates5|5
Wow. You update a lot. And I really love how you show what's been added and provide a link to see the rest of it. The only thing I have to add is that it seems that you delete after a certain point, because they only go back until November. You've been on my waiting list for longer than that...

Spelling/Grammar5|5
I didn't see any mistakes!

Content Quantity15|15
You have a lot of graphics, and that's a really good thing. I love that each and every section has lots of graphics and that you're consistently updating them. Well done!

Content Quality19|20
You are just really good at what you do, you know that? Your quality is all-around better than some of the most famous graphics sites out there. Everything is well made, well coded, well presented on the site. It's just incredible that the only thing I can say to help you is that you went a little too gradient/texture friendly on your icons, and to soften and decrease the opacity of anything you put over the main image. Continuing on that thread, be careful. Some textures really compliment your icon, like here:

Where the texture fits around Aurora perfectly. And there's this one:

Where you can't tell what the picture/text is for too much texture. But that's all I have to say.

Credit5|5 Everyone is properly credited!

Miscellaneous10|10
This is one of the best sites I've seen in quite some time. Congratulations, and keep up what you're doing!

TOTAL 97|100

where'd the help come from?

css credit sara michelle
layout credit sara michelle
owned by conceptualfire | sara michelle




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