Furcadia : Let your imagination soar!

Personal Portrait Rules

	"Why should my portrait receive the standard it did?" or "Why would my portrait not be approved?"
	Portraits are approved by a small number of DEP staff. The reason we keep this number small is because reviewing portraits is highly subjective. Even with this subjectivity there is a list of basic guidelines that all reviewers must follow. These are the guidelines the reviewers follow to determine which standard a portrait gets, or whether or not it should be approved:

	1. A Broken portrait This can be caused by many things-- for example, the portrait is too small, the portrait is misaligned/cut off, the portrait is too large, or the portrait is not remapping fully. If your portrait is disapproved for this reason, it is because the reviewer had good reason to believe you would be unhappy with the way it would turn out and decided to empty the space to give you a chance to fix it. If your portrait is not approved because it is broken you might want to check it more carefully when uploading, or load it into the FOX editor to check how it remaps. Make sure, too, that it is the correct size and alignment. You can find more information about making portraits here.

	2. Copyright Violation If we have been contacted by the creator/copyright holder of a portrait, we will provide them with contact information so they can hopefully resolve the issue with you. This may lead to your portrait not being approved or cleared.

	3. Exposed Genitals E8+ : Nothing even possibly resembling genitals is acceptable at the E8+ Standard, including too much cleavage. Teen+ : No exposed/clearly defined genitals are allowed at a Teen+ standard level. M16+ : Hinted pubic hair and indistinct outlines under clothing are allowed. Exposed genitals are still not allowed at a M16+ standard level. A18+ : Tasteful Nudity is allowed at an A18+ standard level, so genitals may be shown in a non-sexual context. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Genitals may be shown. There are limits of taste and graphic appropriateness that may not be crossed even at this level.

	4. Hand Gesture Your portrait contains a hand gesture or body gesture that is crude, derogatory or offensive. E8+ : No controversial hand gestures are allowed, period. This includes anything more crude than, for example, the peace symbol or thumbs-up. Teen+ : Some hand gestures (hang loose, rock on, gang signs) may be allowed. M16+ : Many hand gestures that lack a strong violent or discriminatory meaning are allowed. ( Middle Finger ) A18+ : Almost any hand gesture is allowed. (Nazi Salute, blatant sexual gestures). AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) No restrictions.

	5. Offensive symbol Your portrait contains an offensive/controversial symbol, or a symbol which is displayed specifically for shock value or as the main subject of the portrait. The most common example of this is a prominently displayed swastika. E8+ : No offensive symbols, period. Teen+ : Some controversial but only mildly offensive symbols are allowed. (Pot Leaf, Anarchy symbol). No smoking is allowed, not even a depiction of a character holding a cigarette. No drug use is allowed, either. M16+ : Most controversial symbols and some less prominent offensive symbols are allowed (for example, a small swastika armband). Characters may smoke. Drug use is allowed. A18+ : All controversial symbols allowed, and most offensive symbols are allowed. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Almost all symbols may be portrayed in any fashion.

	6. Nipple(s) E8+ : No nipples, period. Teen+ : Very, very tasteful covered nipples may be allowed. Tape over nipples is not allowed. M16+ : Tasteful female nipples are allowed, male nipples are allowed. No nipple piercings are allowed because they draw too much attention to the nipples. Tape over nipples is allowed. A18+ : Nipples and nipple piercing are both allowed. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Whatever is left.

	7. Not Furcadia Acceptable This is a category for the un-categorized which is over-the-top. At the reviewer's discretion, a portrait's overall tone and/or subject may be found to be beyond even the AO Standard in one or many ways. Even AO portraits must be pleasing to most viewers. Anything that makes a reviewer nauseous or question the artist's sanity will be disapproved for this reason.

	8. Nudity E8+ : 'Bugs Bunny' cartoon nudity is all that is acceptable. Teen+ : 'Fur Covered' nudity may be accepted if the character is not too provocatively posed. No genitals or nipples may be showing. M16+ : Similar to Teen+ but allowing for more provocative posing. A18+ : Tasteful nudity is allowed. Portraits with multiple characters must not depict those characters in sexual situations. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is Implemented) Nudity is allowed.

	9. Profanity Your portrait contains written text or symbols that convey strong language. E8+ : No profanity is allowed, period. Teen+ : Very mild profanity is allowed. (WTF, Heck, Damn, GTFO) M16+ : Non-explicit profanity is allowed. (F-word in isolation, most 'swear' words) A18+ : Most anything is allowed that is not racist or prejudiced or could be considered targeted harassment. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Explicit language allowed, but it still cannot be racist, prejudiced or targeted harassment.

	10. Remapping problems Oops! The reviewer looking at your portrait sees that it's a remap-ready portrait, but it's not remapping! If your portrait returned for this reason make sure you're uploading it in a .FOX file, and check the options very carefully when you resubmit it. Everything should be fine the second time around if you set it up right.

	11. Reupload of Rejected Your portrait has already been sent back for revision at least once. If you're getting this message you should really consider significantly editing your portrait or changing to a different one all together before re-uploading. If you continue to upload a returned portrait without attempting to fix the problem your portrait space may be frozen.

	12. Sexual Content Your Port's too sexy for its space, too sexy for it's space... ahem Your portrait may be elevated for this reason if its content is too sexual, whether or not genitals/nipples are present. There are some poses, especially when multiples characters are involved that are simply more sexual than others. This can also indicate an excess of bodily fluids. E8+ : Hugs and snuggles are allowed. Teen+ : Non-sexual kissing and some clothed cuddling allowed. M16+ : Kissing and non-explicit, non-sexual physical interaction allowed. A18+ : Extremely suggestive kissing and non-explicit sexual interaction are allowed. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Tastefully explicit sexual interaction is allowed. This is not the place to advertise any extreme fetishes.

	13. Violent Your portrait may be a beautifully rendered depiction of your budding warlord subduing and disposing of his most recent adversaries, but it's just too much -- or a little too blood-splattered -- to be acceptable under the Teen+ Standard. You might also be elevated for being too violent for depicting a gun pointed directly at the viewer, as this is not quite Teen+ behavior. E8+ : No guns. Cartoon skulls and crossbones are acceptable (yay, pirates!). Non-threatening swords/hand weapons are allowed. No blood. Teen+ : Guns and other weapons may be held but not pointed at the viewer, or any character in the portrait. Small amounts of blood may be allowed. 'Comic violence' (Biff, Sock! Pow!) allowed. Tasteful undead allowed. M16+ : Realistic blood allowed, Open wounds and mild gore allowed. Moderate Character-on-character violence is allowed. Slightly graphic "undead" depictions are allowed. Guns may be pointed at, but not fired at a character in the portrait. Guns may be pointed at the viewer. Graphic (but not excessively so) "undead" allowed. Violence and sexual content cannot be mixed. A18+ : Same as M16+, only more so. Minor amounts of violence may be present in sexual context. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) There is an upper limit to the level of violence allowed in Furcadia portraits. No Actual photographs of grievous harm toward humans or animals will be allowed, ever. Portraits are meant to be appealing in addition to a form of self expression. When in doubt, tone it down a little.

	14. Bodily Fluids So we've already mentioned body fluids in #12 and blood in #13. So why does it also get its own section? Because often the only thing wrong with a picture is that it's a little too "sticky" overall. A snarling, salivating wild ferian is likely acceptable at Teen+, but an excess of spittle in a sexual situation is more A18+. Furres bleed when you poke them with sharp things, accidents happen, vampyres are often depicted crying bloody tears-- and this is Teen+ or below. However, excessive bloody splattering, gushing, or leaking is considered M16+ or higher. Less is more. Less is especially more readily acceptable. E8+ : Tears, sweat drops and comical spittle are allowed. Blood is not. Neither are sexual fluids. Teen+ : Some blood or saliva is allowed, but not together. No sexual fluids. M16+ : More blood and bleeding wounds are allowed. Saliva and blood are allowed in the same port. Cartoonish, non-sexual urination, defecation and vomiting are allowed. No sexual fluids. A18+ : Realistic Blood Allowed. Saliva transfer between characters is permitted. Implied sexual fluids, non-excessive urination, defecation and vomiting allowed. AO : (Not available until Adult Verification is implemented) Some excessive blood allowed. Minimal sexual fluids allowed.

	15. Animation Moving images are more evocative than still ones. Therefore there are some extra, special rules that apply to animated portraits. E8+ : Squeaky Clean. (Eye blinks, animated backgrounds, shimmer effects, moving clouds.) Teen+ : Nothing suggestive, gross, or controversial. Non-sexual dancing allowed. M16+ : Dripping/spurting non-sexual fluids. Non-gory, violent actions. Smoking. Crude gestures. A18+ : Suggestive dancing, Tasteful violence may be present as a minor factor in sexual context. AO : Animated hardcore images are not allowed, even at the AO level.


As is obvious, there is a lot of area for overlap in these categories. Portrait approval, as mentioned earlier, is highly subjective. Keep in mind, however, that the vast majority of portraits are approved as E8+ with barely a second glance. It's only a small percentage that require any thought at all because they're close enough to 'the line' to be questionable.

Also keep in mind that at any time in the seven days from when a portrait is FIRST approved, you can contact us to have it cleared for any reason. Barring extreme exceptions, this service will only be provided once per portrait space unless you are a Silver Sponsor and have paid to have the space cleared, thereby resetting it.

Keep in mind that an elevation of your portrait's standard doesn't mean that the portrait is 'bad'. Many beautiful, cute, handsome, and well-made portraits are elevated simply because their content is just a little too much, not because the reviewer doesn't like them.

Most of the time, especially if a reason is given, a portrait rejection means 'this needs revision, try again', not 'no'. If you find a portrait returned more than a couple times feel free to send a FSH copy of it into portraits@furcadia.com and we shall do our best to provide you with an exact description of what needs to be changed before your port can be accepted. We love to see your art and appreciate what it adds to the Furcadian Community!

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