Beauty Contest Guide: The BC From A To Z

     Just like any place on Neopets, the Beauty Contest has its own set of vocabulary. These things may seem hard to understand if you are just beginning to enter the contest, but as you get accustomed to entering, these terms will become second nature to you!

     I have gathered a list of terms and acronyms to help you get acquainted with the Beauty Contest (BC) lingo before you begin to enter.

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     Advertising - This is crucial to do in order to get votes for your entry. Go to different topics on the NeoBoards and have the link to your Beauty Contest entry in your NeoSignature. On the Art Chat, you can find free vote boards to comment on for others to see your entry and hopefully vote.

     Advertspam - Same as "Advertising", but this term is usually used with negative connotations, such as saying the same thing over and over to get votes.

     Anthro - Shorthand for the word "anthropomorphic." A pet who stands on 2 legs and has more human-like characteristics.

     Art Chat (also known as: Art Board or ArC) - NeoBoard forum where you can advertise your BC entry, vote, and talk about all things art!

     BC - Abbreviation for Beauty Contest.

     BC Bingo - A user-made game in which you set a goal to enter certain species in the BC and then check them off when you get a trophy. Examples include: entering every pet of a certain colour, entering every UC pet, or winning a trophy for each species.

     Beauty Contest - A weekly competition in which you enter a piece of art of your pet that you drew. The number of votes you get from other members of the neo-community determines if you place. You can win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in individual species or in the overall contest for all entries.

     Competition - The other entries that are in the contest. This mainly applies to pets in the same species category as you.

     Contest Judge - The TNT staff member who oversees the Beauty Contest. She allows entries into the contest, answers questions, and removes entries that violate the rules. Also known as Kikocat.

     Critique (abbreviation: crit) - Offering advice on a person's picture. A good critique will include things the person did well, and things the person could improve on.

     Digital Art - Used to refer to art that was drawn on the computer or other electronic device. Examples are Photoshop, Procreate, or MS Paint.

     Entry - Your Beauty Contest artwork that you have submitted for a specific pet. If an entry (artwork) has won gold, you cannot enter it into the contest again.

     Filesize - How much space your file takes up on a computer's disk. This does NOT mean the physical dimensions of the image.

     Filetype - The specific format of your artwork. Accepted filetypes for the BC are .jpg and .gif.

     First Come First Serve (uncommon abbreviation: FCFS) - Voting for whoever gets to the topic first.

     Free Votes - Usually in a topic title telling people that they have votes that are unused. Post your entry here!

     Goldban (past tense: goldbanned) - If you win 1st place, you can't enter the contest for another 30 days. This is to prevent repeated winning by the same pet/person and gives others a chance to win gold.

     Kikocat (abbreviation: KC) - This is the name of the TNT staff member who is in charge of the Beauty Contest (and Art Gallery). Also known as the contest judge.

     Manual Voting/Votes (abbreviation: MV) - Going through the entries on the BC voting page and picking which entry to vote for in each species. When a person does this, they usually are not voting based on advertising, but based on which entry in each species they like the best.

     Non-Silent Voting/Votes (abbreviation: NSV) - The voter is telling you who they vote for. Usually by posting: "Your vote has been cast for ____".

     Preview - An entry that is not currently in the contest yet but will be in the future. Sometimes people post their upcoming entries to gauge interest and let others know which species they will be entering the contest with.

     Quad - A shorthand for the word "quadruped." The pet is more animal-like, generally on all four legs.

     Repeat Entry - An entry that has been in the contest over and over. Although not against the rules, unless your entry has won gold, it is frowned upon by the community to repeat your entry if it has won a trophy before.

     Silent Voting/Votes (abbreviation: SV) - Not posting on the board who they have or haven't voted for. Usually done to prevent others from getting upset if they didn't get the vote.

     Spam - Commenting the same thing on different board topics, or commenting without looking at the first post. Frowned upon and can get your BC entry removed from the contest.

     Traditional Art - Used to refer to art that was not drawn on the computer (with programs such as Photoshop or Paint). Examples are watercolours, coloured pencils, or markers.

     WIP (abbreviation for: Work in Progress) - An unfinished picture that someone is still working on. Someone may ask for advice on the piece before they finish it.

     Hopefully, this information was helpful to you as you begin your journey in the Beauty Contest. Stop by the Art Chat for more tips, tricks, and answers to your questions about the BC! The Art Chat is welcoming and helpful to newcomers to the BC. We want to see this contest thrive and are always willing to help out first-time enterers.

     Welcome to the BC, and good luck in your first contest!

     Check out future issues of the Neopian Times for more BC Guides from yours truly!