Quick AP Reference Guide - Art RPG Event - Dracostryx

Welcome to the AP Guide Overview

Revised 8/07/2023

Coverage, Coloring, and Shading Guide

To qualify for a Headshot, images must at least display the full head and face, and may optionally include the neck and chest area.

Headshots, therefore, can fill 1-2 quadrants (green and yellow) to qualify for the AP.

Full Body images must include, at minimum, 3 quadrants, such as the head and chest, and both wings (green, yellow, and red) If you only draw the shoulders and wrists of the wings, it will only count as a Headshot.

Alternatively, Full Bodies may display the head, chest, legs, and primary tail (purple), in the instance of images where the wings are out of frame/not included.

Overall, full bodies should always include 3-4 quadrants in order to qualify for Fullbody AP.

The rule is that 75% of the Stryx must be shown to count for Fullbody. So if an image happens to show the quadrants of orange, purple, blue, and red, even if the head and chest are missing, this will still count as Fullbody. Of course, the Stryx must be recognizable, as always.

Keep all these guidelines in mind when expecting to claim Headshot or Full body AP.

What counts for the coloring bonus?

In order to count for the Colored Bonus, the stryx must be immediately recognizable as the stryx shown on the Import. You do not have to reproduce the markings exactly as they appear on the Import (i.e. the exact fleck pattern or exact placement of cloudy) but you cannot drastically change the color or markings of the stryx to the extent that they look like a different individual. If you draw a bird and leave out a lot of its markings it may not count as AP for the bird at all and you may be asked to refine.

Going forward we will be allowing grayscale as “colored” as well as like single color images and ect. They will have to show all of the markings still to get it to pass. Same with images with lighting effects and ect.

Examples of Color Bonus:

What would qualify for the shading bonus?

Shading should be immediately obvious even from the thumbnail view of the image; ideally, there should be a clear light source. Your light source does not need to be accurate, but avoid "random" shading with a burn tool.

Even if your Shaded work has no color, markings must still be clearly depicted. If your stryx has markings that may resemble shading, i.e. scorch, sable or shadow, make sure the difference between the stryx's markings and shading are obvious.

If we cannot tell there is shading on your entry we will not count it and have you refine the shading.

Examples of Shading:

The Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s

You may draw and write about stryx however you see fit but for it to count for AP they have to be identifiable as a stryx (their assigned species) They should resemble the silhouette of the assigned species.
Can draw/write with or without corruption mutation. If they had a design before corruption you may still draw them like normal since it's not required to update the stryx’s import to show corruption.

Don’ts

They can not add extra limbs that the stryx doesn't already have or resemble a different creature.
They can not be drawn as copyrighted characters due to legality.
Photography backgrounds no longer count for background, seasonal or biorhythm bonus. You can still reference the photos but not directly use them. This includes rendered versions of a photo. Photos do not count for activities anymore, images with such backgrounds posted before this update are fine. (as of 3/23/2020)
The use of AI images is not allowed.
If you have changed the stryx’s design completely you cannot draw the earlier version to get AP.
You cannot draw or write about them having mutations/markings that they do not have on their import.

- Flat Rate AP -

The flat rate number is based on Full Body, Color, Shaded, & Background for a single stryx in the entry. This does not include any other AP bonuses

Flat Rate: 28 AP

Flat Rate AP is for activities that require a background.
Players will have the choice to choose between a set amount of AP vs counting out all of the AP bonuses. However, if the player wants more AP they can count out all of the bonuses when they are filling out the form

This bonus will only be used for the following:

Recurring Activities (Hunting, Fishing, Scavenging, Quests)
Monthly & Events
Tributes, Bonding, & Careers

- Base AP -

Headshot Line Art: + 3AP

If you are just requesting full body only (like just the line art or cleaned sketch) the stryx's hard edged markings have to be drawn for lineart bonus

Colored: +3AP

Shaded: +3AP

Examples:

Full body Line Art: +7AP

If you are just requesting full body only (like just the line art or cleaned sketch) the stryx's hard edged markings have to be drawn for lineart bonus

Colored: +7AP

Shaded: +7AP

Examples:

- Literature -

+3AP per 100 words (+1AP per 33 words)

Note: Since the math gets a bit weird we are rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of 100

Literature does NOT gather Base AP or Background bonuses. You do not need to specially format or highlight your work anymore, we factored those bonuses into the base word count so creators don't need to mark up their work and admins don't need to check for extra bonuses.
Event, Activity, Buddy, and Companion Bonuses may be gained.
Literature must be about the Stryx to count towards AP! The easiest way to make that apparent is to name the stryx in the story. If you are using nicknames or a different name than what the Import shows, make that clear in the form that you fill out when you submit it to the queue.
When a stryx is not the protagonist of the story but features as a character, only scenes that directly involve or reference the stryx can be tallied for the base word count. Make sure the stryx you're claiming AP for plays an active role in the story! Minimum must be 300 words in the story to qualify for AP. If a stryx only appears as an NPC and is not central to the story, it may not earn any points.
If a group of stryx are featured in a story, please do not lump them together i.e. "Jim and Frank both spread their wings and launched themselves into the air as they were hunting for ducks" throughout the entire story. This makes it hard to tell who is doing what task. To help with multiple stryx doing the same tasks (or have the same goal), you can have them do individual tasks that help out with the one goal will help them participate in the event, challenge, story and help it go forward. This also helps with word count if you are running short on the minimum word count.
Each Stryx in the story of an activity should engage in 5-6 sentences (about 100 words) minimum of active hunting/fishing/quests/bonding/career prompts
Event maximum is 1,200 AP (Poll results from 1/08/23)

- Bonus AP -

Background: +14 AP

From 4/3/23 onward background, Biorhythm, and Seasonal bonuses have merged into one bonus. This will cut down on some of the confusion and give more artistic freedom to draw your stryx without restrictions.
Backgrounds must be drawn by you and is a semi-complex which doesn't have to be extremely fancy, but more than just ground shapes/blobs/gradients. This generally means you must have 3-4 elements for your background (not just a ground and sky). If using stamps/brushes you must also include at least one or more hand drawn elements.
More information on how detailed background guide here

Buddy Bonus: +4 AP. This is Extra Stryx, Starter Stryx, Other ARPG, Rider/Handler, Bonded, & Flockmate

These bonuses can stack, however, you cannot use the same one twice
How to Stack:
- Say if the extra stryx you decide to include in your entry is also bonded to your stryx. They will only get one of the Buddy Bonuses instead of both. If you add in another extra stryx that will count for the extra stryx bonus.
- You would only be able to get this bonus up to 5 times. So it would be like Extra Stryx, Bonded stryx, and other arpg in the image. You can have more than one but it will only be capped to 5.
Bonded Stryx, Bonded Riders/Companions, and Flockmates also give a +2 AP ontop of the buddy bonus. Click the links to learn more about Bonding and Flockmates.
- Extra Stryx, Bonded Stryx, Starter Stryx, and Flockmate counts only for stryx that you do not own.
When submitting the form to the queue you do NOT have to link the extra stryx anymore since they should be tagged in the submission when you upload it onto PD. If the stryx isn't tagged and you claim the buddy bonus and its not tagged, you will not get that bonus.
- However, please still link the other arpg creatures when claiming the buddy bonus for them.
If you extra buddy is a rider, they have to be at least 50% in your entries. Here is a playermade visual guide for what would be considered a rider/handler.
All other buddies must be full body in order to count.

Modifiers

- Personal -

Personal: +3

This Bonus applies when you draw/write about your own Stryx. This applies to the player that owns the stryx only! If the Stryx changes hands, the bonus is lost if it entry has not already been counted previously

This bonus counts when:

You create work containing your own Stryx
If the image or literature is a collaboration between multiple players containing multiple Stryx owned by different players, each player receives this bonus.

- Simplified -

Simplified: /2 When artwork is either very small, or overly simplified compared to the artists' usual style, it may be counted for half points. Any art that is under 300 x 300 pixels will be considered Simplified. Simplified artwork is always rounded up to the nearest whole number.

I.e. the circle is 300 x 300 px wide

- Recolor -

Recolor: Total AP is halved

“YCHs” of F2U (including small edits to the line art to these) or recolored sculptures will get this bonus

Example:

- Career AP Bonuses -

Career: +2 per appropriate career entries

Stryx must meet the activity requirements to claim career bonuses below. Other players may gain this bonus for their stryx if they link proof of your career.

Breeder- Bonding images made by you. If the image is made by someone else, it applies to only your stryx.
Survivalist - Hunting, Fishing, and Scavenging entries made by you. If the image is made by someone else, it applies to only your stryx.
Champion Battle/Show/Race entries made by you. If the image is made by someone else, it applies to only your stryx.

Activities and Events

A single piece may only count for ONE bonus from the Activities and Events section.Pieces will only count for these bonuses if they fulfill the prompt requirements.

- Lifetime Awards -

Training and Tribute completion bonuses may only be earned ONCE per stryx.

Tributes: +30 AP

The EoG stone is proof that the completion bonuses was given after submitting all 3 prompts to get redeemed

Basic Training: +20 AP

The Basic Training Trophy is proof that the completion bonuses were given after submitting all 5 prompts to get redeemed.

- Events -

Events: +4 AP per entry

Animated Event: +8 AP per entry

You must clarify what prompt you are doing if there is more than one prompt in the event.

Examples of past events include:

Great Harvests
Festival of Frost
Anniversary
Gryph Event, Cara Chase, ect
The Stryxmas Tree, and ect.

How we handle game and event entries have changed.

We require that they must be uploaded onto the PD during the duration event. They also must be submitted into the AP Events Art Judging queue to be counted during the duration of the event. After they are counted, you will have UP TO 2 weeks* after the event ends to redeem your rewards. This will keep us from getting confused since past events are being submitted during a current event.

*If the counting process gets behind we will announce a deadline to get things submitted by.

Any events before 11/28/2021 will go by the old rules which can be submitted into the event queue anytime and get the rewards at any time.

Your old participation comment must be linked. This is the comment you used to submit the image to the event (if it was a part of an old event like on dA) The image must qualify for the event. If it doesn't count for the event, it doesn't count for the bonus!

- Activities -

Activities: +4 AP per entry

The list of what falls under activities are:

To be eligible to get this bonus the stryx depicted have to be doing any of the activities above. There are special requirements for each activity so please refer to their guides on what exactly needs to have for it to pass to be counted and rolled for loot!

As of Sept 5th, 2022, any of the activities above cannot be in sheets

These Bonuses NEVER apply to Training or Tribute images, even if the stryx in the Tribute/Training is a companion. Career training images do not qualify for this bonus.

The prey item cannot be another Stryx. There is no leniency to this rule. Out of consideration for other ARPGs, do not use other ARPG species as prey either, even if the hunted individual belongs to you.

Monthly Challenge: +4 AP per entry

The Monthly Challenge Bonus applies when a few requirements are met:

The Challenge must be linked! Please include the link when you fill out the form in the PD queues. If you are submitting old entries to be counted or rolled you must link the challenge in your Offsite tracker or when you submit it to the offsite art queue to be counted. The current Monthly Challenge can be found near the bottom of the Dracostryx front page, and past Monthly Challenges can be found in their respective folders in the left hand column here.
The entry must follow the prompt of the linked Monthly Challenge. If it doesn't count for the Challenge, it doesn't count for the bonus!
A player can only earn the bonus once for one of their birds per month. So if you draw two of your birds in the challenge, only the one mentioned in your participation comment will earn the bonus. If you have two birds belonging to two owners in one image, each can earn the bonus if you link the comment.

Base & Blind Training + Arena Training: +2 AP per entry

To be able to earn this bonus your entries must meet the requirements listed out in the training guide.

A Stryx may only earn the Basic Training Bonus five times total per stryx. Which is once per tier.

This means that regardless of whether your Stryx is accompanying, guiding, or participating in another set of Training entries, they may only ever receive the Bonuses for their own images.

If a stryx is blind you will have to complete those prompts as well and they can only get the Blindness training bonus 3 times.

Arena training entries work a little bit differently. You are allowed to submit 10 arena training entries per month.

Miscellaneous AP

- AP Sheets -

AP Sheets A Lot of AP. At Once.

AP Sheets are a common way to accumulate a lot of AP at once. To make sure you are able to claim all that AP, follow these guidelines:

To claim stacking background bonuses, backgrounds must be separate and distinct. See the section on Backgrounds.
Poses and drawings must be unique! They must look obviously different from one another. These also cannot be reused for activities, events, and ect.
If your stryx does not appear in every image on the AP sheet, please label where they appear when you submit to the PD queue i.e. "Panel One" or ect.

Below is an example of what a sheet could look like. The max number of stryx you can have per sheet is 3. However you can only have 10 images (the same or different ones) per sheet. These can be a mix of headshots and full bodies through the whole sheet.

Example:

Example of activity sheets:

All image activities will be treated as a single canvas. If you have your activities on a sheet, please follow these rules. If you wish to have each panel rolled, Please either submit each image separately or "fade" panels out like this example below. The admin counting your sheet will only be focusing on the one that is not faded out. The faded out ones will have to be submitted separately if you want those to be counted as well. You can use PD's stash feature if you want to show them in your gallery.

- Anthro Stryx-

Stryx on two legs! Wait…

Anthropomorphic Stryx may count for the same basic AP and some of the Bonus AP as Feral Stryx. Anthro stryx are NOT eligible for activities of any kind. However, you may use an anthro stryx in place of the rider or companion stryx requirement, must be full body to qualify for the “buddy bonuses”

- Companions-

Passive Companions: +1 AP

Kirins
Wisps
Pet Rocks
Komodos (hunting only)
Wo’A s+1 AP to the assigned stryx. Voidrae one is +1 AP for Lit only.

Depicted Companions: +3 AP

Bats
Songbirds
Kirins
Silverbacks
Windhounds

MircoStryx

Headshot: +1 AP
Full Body: +3 AP

Must be depicted with their assigned Stryx and must be full body and bigger than 100 x 100 big as well to count.

Case by Case

When this is counted the Base AP of lineart and coloring is already included in the number. Shading and Bonus AP can be added on like normal.

- Comics-

Comics:

Comics will ALWAYS be in the sheets queue. If you make an activity with your comic, the comic will be rolled as a single roll no matter how many panels are there. If you would like for them to be rolled please either submit that panel separately or do the fade out example located in the sheets area of this guide.

Headshot Panel +4AP
- Shading: + 3AP
Full Body Panel +6AP
- Shading: +4AP

- Animation/Animatic-

The “simple” and “not simple” is replacing the headshot vs full body as the BASE AP. Background and other bonuses can still count as long as it follows the guidelines listed above.

Animation/Animatic:

Simple: +10
- Colored: +10
- Shaded: +5

Example:

Not Simple: +30
- Color: +20
- Shaded: +10

Examples:

We have combined Average and Complex to be the same since it is hard to judge what exactly average vs complex when sometimes they look the same.

- Sculpture-

What counts as a sculpture? Well this typically means anything like clay, foam, plushie, or even digital 3D images! Basically anything that is handmade that is not 2D. Sculptures cannot qualify for activities; they will only be able to get the base AP bonuses.

Sculpture:

Headshot: 25 per new sculpture
Full Body: 40 per new sculpture

Note: This includes it being colored/painted. If any are recolored it will fall under the recolor modifier

Feedback and Help

If you'd like more personalized feedback on any questions you have, we'd recommend joining our Discord! We have lots of helpful admins and community members who are ready and willing to help you.

However, we cannot say a lot outside of the queues!