Ever put a ton of effort and time into a piece of Disney Create artwork, and then discover that it didn't get approved? Feeling sad or frustrated because you can't seem to figure out what is wrong? This handy guide will let you know the most common reasons your art just can't seem to get published!
Basic Guidelines
There are a few things to think about when you create your art for this Disney website. First off...it's DISNEY. That means you should aim for something appropriate to that audience. Keep it PG (or even better, G rated!) This means nothing a mom (ANY mom) would see thier child looking at and go "Goodness gracious! I'm going to email Disney about this and maybe even SUE them!"
That scenario is pretty much EXACTLY what Disney Create is tryng to avoid, so they are even MORE careful on the website than they are in thier movies! Think about anything that might be conisdered "edgy", now file that into "things that might not get approved on Create". This doesn't mean you can't do anything new and exciting, but just know that these are the things that might get your creation on the no-approval list!
A more specific list of things to avoid are as follows:
- Kissing on the lips
- Fishnet stockings
- Bad Words
- Words like "kill'" or "die" even in reference to family pets, or backstories for characters (ex. "her parents died in a car crash when she was 6") Remember: this is supposed to be "The Happiest Place on Earth"
- Tattoos
- References to books, movies, video games, bands, musical artists, etc that might be gear more towards ages above 14, or maybe have a high amount of violence/sexy/mature stuff (Examples: Hunger Games, Halo, Usher) Remember: even if YOU might be 13+, this site is actually geared towards the 8-10 year old range.
- Depictions of violence, blood, missing limbs, etc. Even mild depictions. You might get by with a healed scar over an eye (Think, Scar from Lion King) but certainly avoid bleeding scratches or anything! Also, this means no fighting or battles! (The source of many un-approved comics!)
- Clevage or missing shirts. Yes, Ariel and pretty much every other princess has clevage in the movies, but this is something that WILL put your art in the no-go pile. Leave it out! This also goes for muscle-men and thier lack of shirts. If you gotta draw a merman, put a shirt on him, or make him generally featureless in that area.
Missing Biographies and Text
You know how sometimes your text dissappears? Well, that means that you may have put information about your identity in there. That's all. They won't get rid of bad words (they just won't publish it) they don't edit for content. Just Personal Information to keep you safe. There are bad people out there on the Intarwebs, and Disney wants you to never have to meet any of them. Also there is a law called COPPA that makes it ILLEGAL for them to allow anything that might possibly be personal information.
What does this mean for your bios?
- Don't give your last name out. This should be obvious, but still.
- Don't give your character a last name, unless it's just their species. (ex. Jenny the Wolf or Jenny T. Wolf is approved, Jenny McArthur is not.)
- Don't put your hometown and state in your submission. Just a state is fine, or a big city (think New York City or Chicago) but if it could possibly be used to find you, then it gets thrown out!
Getting Your Creation Through
Sometimes your art is perfectly fine, and there's no problem with it...but it just doesn't get approved! There is a very good reason for this. First think about how many Disney fans there are out there. Now say even a quarter of them get on the Create site and make some art. How many pieces of art do you think are made in a single day?
The answer is most certainly over 9000. Disney has to (is LEGALLY OBLIGATED to) look through every single one of these submissions. That means a real live person has to look at the art and make sure it meets all the right criteria to get published, That is to say, make sure it doesn't have anything naughty or have personal info in it. That's a lot of art to go through!
Now, the real question: how can you get your art published for all to see? Well, you know those D-points you get when you make a piece of art? The higher that number is when you save, the faster it gets looked at for review. Those are effort points, my friend!
So, the hints and tips are:
- Try to use the pen a lot. the more pen strokes, the more effort points!
- Stickers actually help a lot!
- Want to cheat? Scribble a lot before you even start your drawing. Then erase it all with the eraser and draw your picture. It'll boost your points!
- Another hint is to draw a quality picture regularly/each day. When you log into the site regularly and make new stuff, it recognises you as a 'regular' and pushes your stuff up to the top!
Ending Remarks
Please remember, Disney is never out to make you feel bad. They just want to make a safe place for people of all ages to be able to enjoy sharing artwork. So don't get mad or upset about how such and such a rule is ridiculous or unfair. they know. they probably agree, but they need to enforce these rules so that no one is hurt or scandalized by what they see on a family friendly site. If you are 13 or older, and you don't like that you can't post your busty, tiny waisted tattooed character with a tragic backstory and a last name, you should still draw it, but go post it on a different art site! Help keep DC safe, and stick to your more gentle ideas while posting to the site.
This article has been written by a Friendly artist from create. These guidelines are just what I've noticed and deduced, and aren't official or anything. Please don't get angry if you don't like something! <3