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Published: 2012-10-30 04:08:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 2935; Favourites: 91; Downloads: 17
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Kay, so first off I've seen a lot of really awesome adoptables out there. Seriously there are some amazing artists out there. This little thing is for those who may have just started doing adoptables and aren't sure where to start. I figure its easier to say what to avoid than to say what to do, this way it hopefully lets people know what to stay away from while allowing them freedom.
I apologize for my crappy handwriting, I hope you can read it. xD
Below I'll offer some advice for how to avoid the issues above. Starting from the top and working my way down~ This is all my opinion and of course there are things that are listed that can and do work in some adoptables. Don't think that just cause I say to avoid it you have to, I'm just trying to offer some advice. <3
I don't see this too often, but when I do I assume its because people find staying in the lines too difficult. Many art programs have a 'lock alpha/opacity' function, if you can color the lines in perfectly once, then click this box, you'll be able to stay in the lines perfectly each time you color. I really suggest becoming familiar with your art program. MSPaint does not have this feature.
Alright, so now the lines are colored within. Rainbows are very popular on designs and can be pulled off awesomely. However, I'm pointing out the problem with solid rainbow designs. First, more colors does not make the adopt more unique. Second, solid rainbow designs have been done before. It's fine if you want a rainbow, but do it in a unique way. ouo-b
I see this one a ton, and often its primary and secondary colors that are fully saturated. They also will have either solid white or black bellies, paws, tails, etc. The point being, these colors are overused. I mostly see younger people who are just starting out doing adopts make these kind of designs, and there's nothing wrong with that, so long as they don't remain stuck there.
Like the solid color one, this is more prominent in younger adoptable makers. These kind of designs generally stick to bright saturated colors in blobs usually on the feet and snout (I mostly look at animal designs).
Like, why would anyone do this? Nothing is solid black, if you want a 'black' colored character, use dark gray, that way we can see what's going on.
I don't even know what to think of these. It's usually a texture or an image overlayed on the lines. I really don't have an advice other to avoid doing this. They look cheesy. xD Sorry.
Gradients can be ok, and the ones I mostly have a problem with are the eyeblinding colors one. Toning down the saturation or brightness of the color will help immensely. Even adding random little markings along the design will help tie the design together better.
And that ends that, basically when designing something think of something that you would want to buy. If you have a hard time selling it, then you're probably doing something right.
Long description is long. :U Sorry.
Related content
Comments: 58
Onyxeva In reply to ??? [2019-02-01 19:34:24 +0000 UTC]
Glad you think so! I don't do adopts much anymore, but when I did they were a lot of fun. <3
Good luck on your endeavors~ :3
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Draekonic [2015-06-23 13:49:01 +0000 UTC]
*sees this*
ERMAHGEHD Someone made a tutorial with nyx's line-
oh
nyx made a tutorial?
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Onyxeva In reply to Draekonic [2015-06-23 13:56:45 +0000 UTC]
Sure did, a long time ago. ;D
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SheTheTDE [2014-01-15 23:20:22 +0000 UTC]
The head of that bottom one is awesome. It just needs something else for the rest of the body.
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Onyxeva In reply to SheTheTDE [2014-01-16 00:08:55 +0000 UTC]
haha i'm glad you think so xD If I were going to make it an adopt the water/goo would
definitely be a different color from the plates. ;D
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SheTheTDE In reply to Onyxeva [2014-01-16 05:55:20 +0000 UTC]
How much do you usually put on your adoptables?
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Onyxeva In reply to SheTheTDE [2014-01-16 15:18:15 +0000 UTC]
What do you mean? Like price or design?
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SheTheTDE In reply to Onyxeva [2014-01-16 22:26:36 +0000 UTC]
Price. I might get one of your adoptables at some future point.
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Onyxeva In reply to SheTheTDE [2014-01-16 22:49:31 +0000 UTC]
Depends on what kind you'd like~ They're usually 2-15$ depending on
what they are. c: (or the point equivalent)
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Demonkitty66 [2013-07-19 12:48:24 +0000 UTC]
Hey - I was wondering if you could please explain how adoptables even work? I mean, I know you draw up a bunch of different characters and sell them, but what then - does it then belong to the buyer to do as s/he pleases? I mean, I know posting this comment will make me sound like an idiot, but seriously - I'm actually kind of confused...Β
Also, what's a good price?
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Onyxeva In reply to Demonkitty66 [2013-07-19 14:56:12 +0000 UTC]
Sure~ ouo I'll see if I can explain it well enough. xD
Basically think of it like you're designing a character, you want said character to be unique or one-of-a-kind. What happens after largely depends on your rules. I personally see adopts as property, meaning once they're bought they belong solely to the owner and the owner can do whatever they want with them. Now I do have a rule about reselling for less than what the original price is. Some people don't want the owner to sell, trade or even give away their purchase. It's really up to you how you want things to be set up.Β
Pricing is a bit more complicated because you have to take into account the quality of the adopts. Adopts made of bases that are free to use are generally worth less than those drawn by hand or done on a base that you created. Sketchy line quality can sell for less as well, but so can giant black lineart. The key point for adopts is clarity, letting others see exactly what's going on with the design.
Custom made lineart or adopts drawn by hand can sell anywhere from 100-500+points (1-5$) but that's just a rough estimate. xD
I always look at what other people are making to check how well they sell. This lets me know what's 'popular' and likely to sell.
I hope that helps a bit, it's really kind of a trial and error thing, but the more you do it, the more you understand it. ouo If you have more questions I'd be happy to help.
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AtalieWeirdoYT In reply to Onyxeva [2018-10-06 11:54:01 +0000 UTC]
But what are points and how do u get them
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Onyxeva In reply to AtalieWeirdoYT [2018-10-06 15:03:08 +0000 UTC]
Points are a currency system that deviantart introduced a long while ago.
Their icon looks like this:
There are a few ways you can get them, including purchasing them with USD, having someone donate or give you points, and sometimes if you go to your badge area, there are people offering a point for a llama badge.
Points are handy though because you can convert them back into USD if you get a certain amount and have that money be sent to you via Paypal or even check (this option takes a while to get to you).
When getting points from other users, most often people will sell adoptables or take commissions for a set amount of points. From there, they can either gift the points to you directly from your user page, or you can set up a custom commission widget on your page for them to pay through.
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GreenDragon-Fly In reply to Onyxeva [2013-12-13 01:52:19 +0000 UTC]
I'm new to this stuff too. What's keeping the buyers from just creating their own characters from their own imaginations? I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I have to ask.
Or even just from copying the characters without buying them, Honor Code? No one would ever know with the generic looking ones and a truly identifiable adoptable is probably rare.
I don't do or use adoptables, I watch someone who posts a lot of them and the system confuses me.
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Onyxeva In reply to GreenDragon-Fly [2013-12-13 03:04:42 +0000 UTC]
Nothing at all is stopping buyers from creating things from their own head,
Β adoptables are sort of a shortcut for characters though.Β
I actually buy outfits for a lot of my characters cause I'm terrible at designing my own. xD
True, with the more simplie/generic looking adopts that are around it would be easy to
replicate a design, from what I've seen people seem to follow an honor code, but copying
Β does happen and there's really nothing anyone can do to stop it. With more unique designsΒ
or even species people are pretty good at knowing where the original design came from andΒ
will often let the original artist know.
I think with adoptables they're mostly an opportunity for the buyer. The buyer can simplyΒ
collect designs because they like them, use them to help build their existing characters orΒ
even entirely new characters. That's what I like about them, because you can use someone
Β else's creativity for your own needs and let the world know that they helped. c:
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GreenDragon-Fly In reply to Onyxeva [2013-12-13 03:13:34 +0000 UTC]
OK, that makes sense.Β
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Demonkitty66 In reply to Onyxeva [2013-07-27 11:54:19 +0000 UTC]
thanks ;u; that's pretty much what I thought it would have been but I was never quite sure. I guess the trouble with me is that I'd keep on creating these characters and then wanting to keep them myself!
thanks for clearing that up for me
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Skrayle [2013-03-07 01:13:55 +0000 UTC]
Yesssss thank youuuuu! I've thought of making this myself, the amount of adopts that use simple gradients or one color is insane (even more insane is that some of them wind up being bought....I mean hey, to each his own, but I don't understand it XD). Like you said, they can totally work, but it's easy to see the difference between "lazy" and "I legitimately think this looks good so I think someone would buy it". Adoptables should show *actual thought* (gasp), it's a character you're creating, not just some coloring-book stuff you threw together in 5 minutes. Or, that's how I view it.
"when designing something think of something that you would want to buy" < words of wisdom right thur c:
"If you have a hard time selling it, then you're probably doing something right" I don't want to be a random nitpicker, but shouldn't it be the other way around? If you're having a hard time selling, it's probably because no one likes it
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Onyxeva In reply to Skrayle [2013-03-07 01:52:59 +0000 UTC]
I agree wholeheartedly with you. xD I think often times people want to make a quick buck, instead of legitimately providing someone with a nice design.
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Minakie [2012-11-03 11:48:12 +0000 UTC]
Can you please check my pixel wolves adoptables and tell me if you see something wrong with them? People don't seem to have much interest on them and it sure isn't for lack of advertisement, as they've been submitted into 18 different groups, have been featured in my last 2 or 3 journal entries and are being displayed right at the top of my profile. I don't know what I'm doing wrong I know the first ones are too simple, but that doesn't explain why the others aren't getting adopted. Maybe they're just too small?
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Onyxeva In reply to Minakie [2012-11-03 16:14:33 +0000 UTC]
I agree with you that they may be too small, and I think overall the designs are pretty simple. Most have 1-2 colors for their design. I do like the ones with accessories, specially that zombie one.
The lighter colored ones kinda fade into the background (Lupe, Cherub, Angel and Striped) The first three seem to be the same color, but with different accessories.
Pixel adopts are kinda hard to sell, and often do better on sites where people can hoard them and display them in a signature.
Maybe if you make them bigger, it'll give you more room to do more interesting designs. I also suggest visiting colourlovers ([link] ) for ideas on color palettes. ouo-b
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Minakie In reply to Onyxeva [2012-11-03 21:08:04 +0000 UTC]
I'll definitely make bigger adoptables in the future, but I'm not sure I can resize these. I'll try though. I just noticed they're so small they even look a bit blurred D:
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Onyxeva In reply to Minakie [2012-11-04 02:48:26 +0000 UTC]
I don't think you'd be able to resize these without making them blurry. But everything's a stepping stone, and you will always move forward and improve. ouo-b
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Minakie In reply to Onyxeva [2012-11-04 11:38:25 +0000 UTC]
I resized them and put a not saying that DA's preview is making them blurry but that you can solve that if you use the Download button instead.
Since they're bigger now, I'll probably add some more details when I have the time ^^
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Onyxeva In reply to Minakie [2012-11-04 21:39:29 +0000 UTC]
That size looks much better. <3
More details sounds awesome, and don't be afraid of mixing random colors together~ ;D
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TheKirinLegacy [2012-10-30 20:42:42 +0000 UTC]
Unfortunately, sparkledogs and ponicorns are still the shit that sells the most.
Why can't people learn to support originality? .3.
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Onyxeva In reply to TheKirinLegacy [2012-10-30 21:54:49 +0000 UTC]
I figure that people deep down just want to fit in with others, so they buy similar stuff. xD
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SECRET-NINJA-SUPER-M [2012-10-30 20:28:12 +0000 UTC]
Awesome ^_^ This should definetly help people.
Also "WHO'S THAT ADOPTABLE?" XDDD
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Onyxeva In reply to SECRET-NINJA-SUPER-M [2012-10-30 21:54:56 +0000 UTC]
I sure hope so~ <3
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XxTRAdoptsxX [2012-10-30 20:03:44 +0000 UTC]
"WHO'S THAT ADOPTABLE??"
ohgod I'm dying x'D
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kohu-arts [2012-10-30 12:11:42 +0000 UTC]
Thank you for this, lol. ;3 Some people need to learn this stuff!
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Onyxeva In reply to kohu-arts [2012-10-30 13:16:40 +0000 UTC]
No problem~ xD I hope it helps some people out there~
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jennovazombie [2012-10-30 05:04:40 +0000 UTC]
I adopt characters that I plan on turning into stuffed animals. Like designs I -really- adore and can turn into a plush easily.
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Onyxeva In reply to jennovazombie [2012-10-30 13:16:16 +0000 UTC]
That. Is Awesome. o3o
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jennovazombie In reply to Onyxeva [2012-10-30 18:36:38 +0000 UTC]
Yeah I may not be the best at color pallets and designs, but there are some out there with a gift!
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MonstaGuru [2012-10-30 04:34:03 +0000 UTC]
interesting..never seen a how 2 adopts tutorial o3o
can you grade mine? XD *afraid to flunk Oxo*
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Onyxeva In reply to MonstaGuru [2012-10-30 13:15:56 +0000 UTC]
Surprisingly there are only a few out there, and they're mostly how to start doing adoptables~ xD
-looks at gallery-
Pff, I think you're fine, your adopts are awesome. xD
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MonstaGuru In reply to Onyxeva [2012-10-30 14:52:51 +0000 UTC]
wooots! well these are good for people who don't know where to start...or are unsure why adopts aren't selling XD
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Phendranaguardian [2012-10-30 04:19:20 +0000 UTC]
To tel the truth i've never really know the true point of adopts in the first place. They make good profits for the individuals selling them, but what's the point of buying them? To tell the truth I haven't ever seen a single person use an adopt after buying it, it's almost as is people just collect them like trading cards for the hell of it and never look at them again; it's a shame really, so many hours of work buy aritsts just to sell off the characters to people who don't even use them. It's not like the consumer can even own copyrights to the character either, they didn't make it after all.
Not trying to lower your profits or anything, just wondering if you've actually known any of your buyers to actually use their new designs they bought from you. The adopts business is a pretty good one though and can lead to good inspiration when not in the version of character recolors from existing shows/films/media.
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Neara-works In reply to Phendranaguardian [2012-10-30 04:28:26 +0000 UTC]
im curious to know the answer to this too
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Onyxeva In reply to Phendranaguardian [2012-10-30 04:23:45 +0000 UTC]
I agree with you that many people just kind of collect designs like trading cards, that's a good analogy. xD Also like hoarding, without the intervention by your family.
I've seen a few people use the designs they've adopted as characters, but mostly its hoarding them. I've done adoptables on other sites where I was much more rigorous about how people got them and when there were more guidelines or more work involved with getting the adopt, then people tend to use them more. On this particular site we had RPs, a battle thing and contests that involved the characters they made with the designs.
Honestly when I buy adopts, I tend hoard them cause I like the designs. xD Though I really do try to draw them every so often. When people buy stuff from me I've seen some of them draw them, but most just hoard them. xD
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Phendranaguardian In reply to Onyxeva [2012-10-30 05:32:59 +0000 UTC]
good for you then, but yes people mostly do just hoard them. However your method where you determine the winner by having them draw a version is pretty intellegent, it shows that they'll be most likely to use them in the future.
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Onyxeva In reply to Phendranaguardian [2012-10-30 13:15:00 +0000 UTC]
Thank you, its easier to do a draw-to-adopt or write-to-adopt on sites that have a forum, I did a drawing contest here and while it went ok, some people seemed annoyed they didn't win. :\
Having people write stories or personalities is awesome too, cause it gets them to really think about the character, then they don't have to worry about doing it later. xD
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