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welcome

Greetings! I see you've found my page, and if you haven't already noticed, this page is dedicated to helping you adopt a pet. I'm going to explain some ways to improve your chances at being selected as a new owner for a pet and I'll explain what to do if something goes wrong.

Updates
March 13, 2009 - updates section added

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simple tips

The most simple tip, which is often overlooked by many people is to read the rules, if a rule page is given. Make sure you know the rules fully, and if you aren't sure on something, double-check or NeoMail the owner. You should also make sure you know the pet's name and gender by heart, and if you are giving the pet a nickname, tell the owner in your application. Also, if you aren't accepted for the pet, don't constantly pester the owner, it doesn't help anything.

Be yourself! Don't intentionally change who you are just to adopt a pet. But this doesn't mean you want to be unprofessional. When it comes to layouts for your application, you should make one yourself. I've included pre-made templates on my page, all you need to do is put graphics in or change the numbers if the layout needs to be larger, smaller or the box needs to be elsewhere.

Premades are fine, as are customs... But if you make a layout yourself, it shows much more dedication. If you have plans for the pet, you also shouldn't just tell the owner about them - You should show you are willing to act on them. Don't buy anything for the pet, but telling the owner that you have enough NeoPoints, or are at least saving can show them that you are ready to act. If you really want a gallery dedicated to the pet, what I always do is I look through my Safety Deposit Box for items that make me think of the pet, and then I put them in my Gallery. It saves me from spending NeoPoints, which is a bad idea in any case.

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dedication

There are many ways you can show dedication to a pet. You don't want to over-do it with any dedication. This doesn't mean you can't do all of these things at once. What this really means is you don't want to say things like 'I love PETNAME like she is my own daughter' and so on. It's silly, and most owners probably won't react well to it. Mentioning the fact that the pet is adopted in stories and quotes also isn't a good idea, especially if your entire story revolves around you finding and rescuing the pet! How can you show dedication? There are a few simple things you can do, but some are more complex.

Dedicate your font and signature to the pet
This is a simple, easy way to show how dedicated you are. I always like to pick an avatar with the pet on it, or with a related pet or image on it, and state 'we're waiting for you, PETNAME' or some other such message in my signature, or put some line from the story I write in my signature with a link to my application.

Make a Gallery
You can always make a gallery dedicated to the pet, as I explained in the previous section. Making a Gallery layout is nice, too.

Make a Pet Lookup
Make a pet lookup for your new pet. Put some text on it, put it on one of your pet lookups and it really helps show how much thought you have put into your application.

Put the pet first
What this means is that before you ramble about yourself, your pets, your friends, your friends having pets and anything unrelated to the pet, say something about the pet. You want to sandwich yourself or unrelated information between the pet. An example application outline could be like this...

Welcome / Introduction
Roleplaying Stats
About Yourself
Plans
Current Pets (with the pet you're applying for included)
Art
Roleplay Examples
Story
Goodbye / Thank You

Always plan your application outline before doing anything else.

Make a user lookup
Dedicate your user lookup to the pet. Make one with the pet on it, so they can see you're willing to show that much dedication.

Design
This step is hard for some people, but I'll illustrate my point with pictures.

Which of these pictures is more interesting and unique?

The default Shadow Draik?


Or a Shadow Draik with a design?
(Art by me - If you steal my design or picture I will not hesitate to report!)

If you haven't gathered what this section is about, don't worry! I'll try and put it in the most simple terms possible.
Make up a new and unique appearance for the pet.
This is called a 'design'.

The ref sheet, the ref sheet *weeps*
You should always include a design, but reference sheets, which are commonly referred to as ref sheets, help the owner as well as artists see what exactly your design looks like.

(pictures of ref sheets are coming soon to demonstrate this)

Roleplay
Ask your friends to roleplay with you. You can roleplay the pet, make up a personality and design. If you don't know how to roleplay, you can always ask on the Help Boards or Roleplaying Boards.

Alot is not a word
A lot is two words. Show how dedicated you are by running your application through spell check! Firefox and Microsoft Word should be used hand-in-hand.
(this has been a friendly reminder from your disgruntled friendly neighborhood literate roleplayer)

OMG UFA LOL ROFL
Don't use chat speak in your application. Type out your words in a clear and legible manner.
(this has been a friendly reminder from your sardonic friendly neighborhood literate)

But what does it MEAN?
If you're not sure what a word means, look it up to make sure you're using the right word, and if you use the same word repeatedly, use a thesaurus to find a new word, but you should still look it up.

I admit the last few sections here weren't directly about dedication, but please try to understand that they are very important as well!

And to everyone reading over this section wondering how to make a layout... Click on the 'templates' link in the navigation bar.

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art guide

I'm not claiming to be the best artist out there. If you don't want help with your artwork, you may skip this section, but I know that some people like to read art guides. I'm always ready for suggestions on what to add to this section if you're willing to give them.
Art is a key part of some applications, depending on what you're applying for, and the owner themselves. I'll explain a variety of techniques I use. This section is divided into two subsections. One is for use with a tablet, and one is for use without. I use a WACOM Graphire Tablet, with Adobe PhotoShop Elements 3 for most of my work, but since some people may not have access to PhotoShop, I shall use Microsoft Paint and OpenCanvas 1.1. Microsoft Paint and OpenCanvas 1.1 are both free, and if OpenCanvas 1.1 does not work with a Mac, you can always get Boot Camp, which can make your Mac run Windows, which is what I use on my MacBook.

Before you start...
If you're on a family computer, friend's computer or public computer, ask before downloading or installing anything so that you don't get in trouble. Also, try experimenting with different tools in Paint and OpenCanvas before continuing, because I'm not going to explain any of the tools in too much detail, I'm assuming you have at least a basic knowledge of graphics programs such as Paint, and the ability to use a mouse. In the case of a public computer or being at a friend's house, don't save anything unless you have a memory stick with you, as this is common courtesy, and saving things on any computer that doesn't belong to you can be quite rude.

The following tips may be applied to artwork done with a tablet or mouse.

• Zoom in, and view a thumbnail of your image. This helps you keep your lines neater, and also it can help you make your image smaller.
• The smaller your lines and overall picture, the cleaner your drawing looks.
• Try not to draw long lines without stopping. It can make your drawing look forced and messy.
• Try drawing shapes and writing sentences before drawing. This helps you learn what to do for certain types of lines when you are drawing.
• Start with simple pictures. This will help you learn how to draw. The more complex your picture is, the harder it will be.
• If you're scanning something in, or took a picture of your picture, go over the lines in Paint or OpenCanvas and delete the picture below it. This takes a long time sometimes... But I think doing it is worth it.

A lot of the tips above were actually given to me by my good friend, Kitsu. She was the one that taught me about OpenCanvas, too.
Kitsu is one of the most helpful people I have ever encountered when it comes to art, and in addition to helping me with my own work, she has been quite generous and has drawn me many pictures.

In the case of showing off your art...

• If other people don't like your art, don't listen to them. Trying is the only way to learn.
• If you ask for someone to rate your art and they insult you or give you a low rating, ignore what they say. What matters is what you think! This doesn't mean you can be rude. Don't start a fight!
• Try to take comments on what you could improve on well. People want to help you improve. And if you get comments on how well you have done, thank the people who think you did well as well as those who give you hints on how to improve.

If you're rating or commenting on another artist's work...

• Be honest.
• Don't be rude, even to others if they are flaming the artist. Two wrongs do not make a right.
• If you have suggestions or things they could improve on, try to sandwich them between two things the artist did well... For example...
  I love the colors you chose, but some of them are a bit bright. You did very well with the hair, though!

Paint : With a Tablet

• Use the pencil tool and fill tool together. Generally you should draw an outline, and then fill it with color.
• Pixel art is still an option. You're always able to do pixel art, no matter what type of mouse or tablet you're using.
• Use a reference if you struggle. You can always look for pictures of what you want your subject to be posed like, and then try to see if you are able to mimic the pose.
• There are also tools you may use. If all else fails, I use my miniature mannequin, which I am able to pose and use as a reference. I also use how to draw books of all types as references.
• And last of all, never underestimate paint! It depends on how hard you try, your skill level to begin with, and how much you want your art to succeed.

Some pictures of art are coming soon to illustrate my points given in this section. Permission of Kitsu to use her artwork is pending.

Paint : Without a Tablet

• Pixel art can be best sometimes. If you struggle with 'normal' art, pixel art is often an easier route to take.
• Use a laptop mouse if one is available.

Just to give you an idea of what Paint can be capable of, here's a picture my friend drew for me.

(art by least)
(to view the full size image, drag and drop the image into your address bar)

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The content below is not yet organized. My guide is still under construction. Layout Templates:
Change the colors as needed, as well as the size. Anything that looks like this is a color...
#FFFFFF
It may not be identical to that, some differ based on the color. The format is six characters with a number sign on the start.
Positions and sizes are usually in this format.
500px
The number varies, but px is always on the end, to indicate pixels.
Sometimes fonts are sized like this.
11pt
The pt can be replaced with px if you want.

If you are having trouble after reading this, NeoMail me. However, I will be able to tell if you did not read this, and I may refuse to help you if I don't have time to explain.
Do not request custom layouts!
I've provided the templates to avoid getting requests, so if you request, it's evident you did not read this.
(text-based, column)
<style></style> #overallpage{align:center;} #d1{width:460px;height:auto;background:#FFFFFF;padding:10px; border-color: #333333; border-style: solid;} #d2{width:500px;height:auto;background:#FFFFFF;padding:10px; border-color: #666666; border-style: dashed;} #d3{width:540px;height:auto;background:#FFFFFF;padding:10px; border-color: #999999; border-style: solid;} TD,P,BODY{color: #000000; font-family: veranda; font-size:13px;} b,u,i{color: #333333} a:link {color: #333333;} a:visited {color: #333333;} a:hover {color: #990000;} a:active {color: #333333;} h1{color:#333333;font:11pt arial;padding-bottom: 2px;border-bottom: 3px dashed #990000;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;text-align:left;background:none;text-transform:uppercase;} table,td{background:none} body{ overflow-x:hidden; background-color: #000000;} /> <div id="overallpage"> <br><br><br><br><center> <font style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 40pt; color: #990000; line-height: 20px; letter-spacing: -5px;">TEXT</font><br><br><font style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 30pt; color: #DD8822; line-height: 20px; letter-spacing: 3px;">MORE TEXT</font><br><br><div id="d3"> <div id="d2"> <div id="d1"> <font style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 13pt; color: #990000;">BEFORE YOU USE THIS LAYOUT, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW.<br> FIRST, YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T ALTER ANYTHING UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT IT DOES. SECOND, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE ME CREDIT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO, JUST DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE THIS LAYOUT CODE WITHOUT ASKING ME. IN OTHER WORDS, DON'T MAKE GRAPHICS PAGES GIVING OUT THIS CODE, EVEN IF YOU ALTER IT! THIRD, EDIT THE CODE IN NOTEPAD OR SOMETHING BEFORE PUTTING IT ON YOUR PAGE. THIS HELPS YOU IN CASE OF A MISTAKE. OH, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CONTENT, THIS WON'T STRETCH OUT.</font><br><br><h1>You can divide a section like this</h1> all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! all of your content would go here! <br><br> Link Back:<br><textarea rows="1" cols="5"><a><img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/1z1fi3d.png" border="0"></a>

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