You must provide at least one of the following which needs to be used in all entries:
- A lineart (or part of a lineart for contestants to complete).
- A proper background which features scenery and/or items (Colour-fills and gradients are not considered to be proper background).*
If you don't provide something for users to edit, your contest will be moved to the regular Art Contest board. You should post your contest in that board if you don't need users to color in something specific, or want to include art made in other programs.
You must also follow the other Oekaki Rules.
*If you have trouble coming up with a background for your lineart competition, feel free to use either of these pre-made background packs: pack 1 & pack 2 (regular canvas) & pack 3 (larger canvas).
For contests offering a prize/prizes to the winners:
Most people choose to enter a contest based on what kind of prize they have a chance to win. These rules are designed to protect players from being ripped off in contests which change or don't deliver the promised prizes.
- Don't offer any prizes that you'll regret losing. If you're not happy to give something away, it shouldn't be a prize.
- Your contest must offer a CS pet/item/currency prize. Contests that only offer prizes from other sites are not allowed, as CS staff cannot help/provide a prize if the contest is not judged by the host. You may not offer real money/USD as a contest prize if it is hosted on CS. (New rule as of August 23, 2020)
- Any prizes you offer must be awarded to winners at the end of the contest - even if you cancel or close the contest early. If the entries were disappointing or you didn't get many to pick from, advertise and bump more to try and get more entries before you close.
- You can't list any prizes that aren't definitely going to be given out. This means you can no longer list conditional prizes (e.g. grand prizes) which you'll only give out if you get a particularly good entry. Every prize listed must be awarded at the end of the contest if the entry conditions are met.
- You can't change your promised prizes, unless you are changing them to something of the same (or higher) value. Any changes made must be accepted by the prize winner or contestants involved.
- If the prize is a pet you must link to the pet's profile page. This is to ensure that you actually own the pet and that there is no misunderstanding about the prize. Linking to pet groups is not sufficient regardless of how many total pets are involved. (New rule as of January 23, 2015)
- You can't trade or auction pets that you're offering in a contest.
- Contests without an advertised end date must end within 3 months. The end date can be changed or extended, but if the contest has been open for a long time without any activity from contestants or the contest holder than it may be forced closed by staff.
- Contests in total may not run more than 1 year past the original creation date. This is the maximum amount of time a contest may run and they may not be extended any further. (New rule as of February 6, 2017)
