Help/FAQ
- Basics
- References
- Signup Details
- Technical questions
Basics
- What are the requirements to take part?
- You need at least two different characters that you made up, and have drawn images of.
You need to be able and willing to draw an image for someone without knowing beforehand what kind of characters (humans, furries, animals...) they have, and to have it uploaded, within a month. - What are the steps if I want to take part in the exchange?
- You register
- You leave References of your characters - that can be as little as one link to your website, if you already have one.
- You sign up to the next Round.
- When the Round starts, you will receive an email with a link to another participant's profile.
- Pick at least one of that person's characters, and draw an image of them.
- Finish and upload the image here before the end of the Round.
At the same time another participant (usually not the one you draw for) will draw an image for you.- What's the timeframe for rounds?
- Generally a round starts at the start of a month, and the images are due by the last day of the month.
- Are the images exchanged online only, or via snailmail?
- The "official" part is online only, but of course people can exchange originals if they want to. Note that usually in one round you will not draw for the same person who draws for you.
References
- What are "References"?
- A reference is something the person who draws from you can draw information from to base their art on - for example a character profile with attached images, or a good reference image with attached comments about the character.
You can leave references in various shape here:
- A link to a list of character profiles, if you have built one already. Examples: The cast page of a webcomic, or a writing page with character profiles.
- Links to individual character profiles. Example: A link to a character sheet with comments in an online gallery, or a link to a character profile on an RPG/collaborative writing site.
- Character profiles written on-site (an offer for people who don't have a website of their own, or want to offer profiles "optimised" for art trade purposes)
- Can I take part with only written descriptions of my characters?
- You can include characters that have only written descriptions, but there must be at least two different characters of which you have drawn images which are easily accessible from the character profile.
- Do I really have to write profiles? Aren't reference images, or a webcomic enough?
- You don't have write a lot if you don't want to, but it's highly recommended you at least write a short paragraph or a few bullet points about a character's personality and background. You're more likely to get something that is not only a bland portrait if you tell the people who draw for you something about your characters.
Please do not expect people to read your entire webcomic or prose serial to get an idea who the characters are, or to dig through a gallery with images of lots of different things to try and find your characters.
Signup Details
- Can I change my mind after signing up to a round?
- You can sign out of a round as long as signups are open. Once they're closed, signups are locked in for the next round.
- Do I have to take part in the exchange every month?
- No. You can decide each time if you want to sign up.
- If I want to take part each month, do I have to sign up every time?
- No, there's an option for that. On the "Sign up to Rounds" page, tick the checkbox marked "Autosignup". You will be automatically get signed up to each new round as it is created/opened for signups.
- If I'm on the Autosignup list, can I opt out of a round?
- Yes, you can sign out of a round at any time before it starts. Just remove the tick from the checkbox for that round on the "Sign up to Rounds" page. If you leave "Autosignup" checked, you will be added to the next round after that.
Technical questions
- What is OpenID?
- OpenID is an alternative to storing a password on our site. Instead, your account is linked to another website that provides your OpenID, for example Livejournal. When logging in here, characterartexchange.com checks with your OpenID provider if you are logged in there, rather than asking for a password.
You can find out more at openid.net - How do I create an account or log in with OpenID?
- You enter the link/url to your OpenId account in the OpenID field in the sidebar.
For example if you want to use your Livejournal account, that would be yourusername.livejournal.com
An account will be created automatically the first time you log in. - How does the html formatting of texts work?
- <a href="http://www.google.com">search</a> shows up as search
<em>em</em> or <i>i</i> produce emphasized/italic text.
<strong>strong</strong> or <b>b</b> create strongly emphasized/bold text.
<ul>
<li>List item</li>
</ul>
produces unordered lists (= bullet lists)- List item
<li>List item</li>
<li>List item</li>
</ol>
produces ordered lists (=numbered lists)- List item
- List item
Policies
- What about image rights?
- By submitting an image for someone else to the site you agree to leaving it available here indefinitely - you can replace it with a different upload, but not delete it entirely. (If you upload a reference image of your characters, you can delete that any time.)
The general assumption is that you do not use images showing someone else's character commercially (selling prints or the like), and that you are OK with the owner of the character you drew can upload your image to their website if they wish, provided they give you credit. - What about privacy?
- Your email address is at the moment not shown to anyone, and when/if an option to display contact information will be added, the default will be "don't show".
You will receive an email when a round you signed up to starts. You will receive a reminder email if the deadline of a round passes and you did not submit an image. All other email notifications are opt-in.
Your email will not be passed on to other parties.
Your profile, including the displayed name, are visible to any visitor, not only logged in members. The same is true for images, and character profiles.
What if I have questions?
You can email - the address is at the bottom of each page - or leave a comment on a post on the old LJ community