/tg/Station 13

Did you know that you can view all persistent paintings added to the library? It's true! Every time you add a painting to an empty frame in the station's library, it gets saved and shared with future stations- and you can view and rate them all in Statbus! They are ordered from oldest to newest, so scroll to the bottom to catch up with your favourite server's art scene.

"But how can I be sure that MY painting flatters the incredibly precise tastes of Farquaar, the premier /tg/station art critic?"
I'm glad you asked!

A Distinguished SS13 Painting Critic Uses the Following Formula
1 Star: Reserved only for paintings with little to no effort put in. Usually, crude scribbles, or a line of text. (Example 1, Example 2)
2 Star: The minimum value for paintings that display an honest effort at making something appealing. Usually made with crayons or flat colours. Medium-effort memes also end up here.
3 Star: The standard. It's a decent painting, but there may be some clear deficiencies in the colouring, shading, or composition that reduce its aesthetic appeal.
4 Star: A great painting, by all accounts. It should exemplify good pixel art technique, or should have artistic value beyond the technical skill involved. However, something holds it back from being a 5 star. See the score modification section.
5 Star: An outstanding painting. It has excellent composition, intricate colouring, and artistic merit. The artist actually created something new and aesthetically beautiful/interesting.

If you notice, these metrics mostly just measure effort. That's where dynamic score adjustments come into play.

Score Modifications
Minus 1 Star
Work is signed (A true artist needs no clout)
Work depicts or references a named static character. Note that if the static is not named, it usually gets a pass. (Example 1, Example 2, Static Portrait Done Well)
Work includes crude and/or tasteless nudity (Low Quality Example, High Quality Example)
Work depicts a meme (Low Quality Example, High Quality Example)
Work is a pixel-for-pixel depiction of an in-game sprite (The SS13 equivalent of tracing)

Plus 1 Star
Work is related to SS13. This is negated if you name the static character you're portraying. (Simple Example, High Quality Example)
Negative space is filled with more than just flat colour. Mostly only relevant for still life paintings and portraits in the 1-3 range. A 4/5 painting doesn't become 5/5 because there's a gradient in the background. (Example 1, Example 2)
Work demonstrates a level of creative artistry (Simple Example, Sprite Example, Abstract Example)
Creative Use of Title (Example)
It made me laugh. A subjective criteria, but you gotta reward good humour.
Work otherwise evokes visceral emotion, even if it's disgust.

How does this work in practice? Let's take a look!
From the get go, we can see that this painting is very high effort, with masterful colouring and shading. That gives it a base score of 5/5. The work is signed, so that knocks off a point. It depicts a named static character, so that knocks off another. However, this is an incredibly creative portrayal of an in-game species, which adds a well-earned star. Thus, the end score is a 4/5.
It's pretty low effort. There's no shading- it's just a crudely drawn banana with text below it. This gives is a base score of 1/5. However, the work is related to SS13, so it gets an extra star. The banana is also the artist's original creation, and although crude, receives no point deductions in that regard. The end score is 2/5.
This painting appears to be medium effort. Over ten colours have been used, and it isn't bad on the eyes. Let's give a base score of three stars. It's related to SS13, which earns it a star. However, it's a pixel-for-pixel recreation of an in-game soda sprite, which takes off a star. Finally, the colourful gradient in the negative space makes this still life really pop aesthetically, adding one star. Final score: 4/5.


FAQ Drop your thoughts on this super-objective evaluation system below. Don't forget to share paintings that you personally love/hate, and why you love/hate them!
Want me to rate your painting? Link it below!

This painting, though subtly simple, feels like a real work of art. It's composition and use of shadow earns it a 4/5 as a base effort-score. The art depicts an SS13 cargo tech, but doesn't explicitly name them beyond "Sam". A bit of a grey area, but given how generic the name is, it really could be anyone, so it gets a pass, earning one extra star. The subject is a bit too similar to the in-game sprite, and while not a one-for-one recreation, I'm still going to have to take a star off. Still, the creative use of negative space is used to great effect, highlighting the brightness of the bulb and the dim glow of Sam's cigarette. Final Score: 4/5

The image is a crude scribble, giving it a 1/5 base score. However, it does depict something related to SS13, earning it a pity star. Final Score: 2/5

In terms of technical skill, I'm very comfortable giving this painting has a base score of 3/5. The shading is simple, but every pixel has a purpose. Though the painting is related to the /tg/station community, it is not explicitly related to SS13, so no points there. The painting is funny though, and made me breathe out my nostrils aggressively, so that earns an extra star. Final Score: 4/5

It's a trollface being peed on. I'd give it a 2/5 for effort, since it more than just a scribble. The image depicts the trollface meme, which knocks off one star. However, it evokes in me powerful feelings of disgust, which adds a star. The image appears to contain a crude depiction of the female genitalia, which knocks off another star. Finally, it made me laugh even though it shouldn't have. Final score: 2/5

The Event Hall gallery is small, and often gets overlooked. This is a garish piece, with mostly flat colour and little shading outside of the wig and nose. It earns a base score of 2/5, mostly due to its plainness. However, it does relate to SS13, giving it an extra point, and it isn't a one-to-one recreation of an in-game clown. Final Score: 3/5

I'd give this a base score of 3/5. It's a simple sprite recreation, which knocks off a star. However, the choice to go greyscale is a creative choice that adds to this piece's uniqueness. Finally, it relates to SS13, which is always a plus. Final Score: 4/5.

No good bagil paintings? time to log on and make a good ass painting

Now this? This is a good thread.

I hope more paintings get posted in this thread and rated.

I will take this opportunity to ask how the fuck do you get all that wide array of colors. I asked in-game and got told that you can only use either the roundstart crayons or order spraycans from cargo. So you can't count with a nice variety of colors roundstart, or am I missing something? Art storage only has the crayons...

And yes, I think it's a silly but fair system and I also want to see more drawings.

brb boutta sign my paintings in the image itself instead of the title to spite you

Agux909 wrote:I will take this opportunity to ask how the fuck do you get all that wide array of colors. I asked in-game and got told that you can only use either the roundstart crayons or order spraycans from cargo. So you can't count with a nice variety of colors roundstart, or am I missing something? Art storage only has the crayons...

And yes, I think it's a silly but fair system and I also want to see more drawings.

Use a spraycan, you can change its colors unlike with crayons

Excited for more

Agux909 wrote:So you can't count with a nice variety of colors roundstart, or am I missing something? Art storage only has the crayons...

I regularly break into cargo to print one spray can off at the autolathe in cargo, and if you take the tagger quirk you'll start with a spray can in your bag.
Painting doesn't actually expend uses on the can, so you get the entire range of colors available in the color picker for the can. You just use it the same way as you would a crayon.

ArcaneDefence wrote:

Agux909 wrote:So you can't count with a nice variety of colors roundstart, or am I missing something? Art storage only has the crayons...

I regularly break into cargo to print one spray can off at the autolathe in cargo, and if you take the tagger quirk you'll start with a spray can in your bag.
Painting doesn't actually expend uses on the can, so you get the entire range of colors available in the color picker for the can. You just use it the same way as you would a crayon.

just get the artist trait helps if you're an antag and need a base(color windows black), blinds people get people high very nice trait.

With love

Jonathan J Gupta

Jonathan Gupta wrote:

ArcaneDefence wrote:

Agux909 wrote:So you can't count with a nice variety of colors roundstart, or am I missing something? Art storage only has the crayons...

I regularly break into cargo to print one spray can off at the autolathe in cargo, and if you take the tagger quirk you'll start with a spray can in your bag.
Painting doesn't actually expend uses on the can, so you get the entire range of colors available in the color picker for the can. You just use it the same way as you would a crayon.

just get the artist trait helps if you're an antag and need a base(color windows black), blinds people get people high very nice trait.

With love

Jonathan J Gupta

Thanks. I was told that you could print them from cargo before these posts but I had no idea about the quirk, I always ignored it. Very useful, since you can toggle it and then you just head straight to the room and start drawing.

lmao he's not getting pissed on he's being covered in oil

Such perverted mind from the OP smh my head...

oh shit oh fuck stonetoss

The positive reception has been noted. I present to you another lot of painting reviews.
This piece is an interesting one. While the shading isn't as clean as it could have been given the spherical nature of the ball, these small hiccups are only noticeable upon close inspection. I'd give it a base score of 4/5. Note that this is not a recreation of the SS13 basketball sprite- this is a unique work. It gets a point off for being signed of course, presumably by Filipe Dupont. What makes this work special in my eyes is the captivating title, earning it an extra star. Was this steal merely a turnover in a friendly game of BBball? Or was the theft of a more sinister kind? There's a mystery and a story there.
A fairly recent work coming out of Bagil's fledgling art scene. It's a bit flat, given the badankadonk nature of the subject depicted. A pensive 3/5 base score is warranted. It's a medium-effort meme, albeit an obscure one, earning a point deduction. The work is signed, earning another deduction. The piece's success is found within its comedic value, which definitely adds a star. While most audiences may not recognize the streamer, anyone can acknowledge that oversized butts are funny.
An early work from Sybil's Public Collection. It's a flat depiction of an diaper-clad monkey boasting a chef's chapeau and a cigar. The plainness of the execution earns it a base score of 2/5. The diaper-wearing monkey is an SS13 staple; this painting may very well be a depiction of Pun-pun himself. Naturally, a bonus star is warranted.
A scribble indeed. Unlike Terry Sec, this pissing penis does not even have the benefit of relating to SS13.
One shouldn't be under the impression that all Terry paintings are trash. This set of Japanese-style paintings, likely all by the same painter, epitomizes why the anonymity of the artist is a beautiful part of this medium. Each of these five paintings earns a solid 4/5 base score: they look gorgeously minimalist, with excellently executed shading and colour choice. The first, Sunrise over a japanese Castle, earns an extra star for its creative use of lighting to create a captivating silhouette effect. Well done, anonymous artist. Well done indeed.
Our final review today will cover one of the many fine landscape paintings found across the /tg/station galleries. This homage to famed American Impressionist John Singer Sargent is more than a mere pixelated recreation. It displays a strong grasp of pixel art technique and individual creativity, earning a base score of 4/5 without a doubt. It's only shortcoming are the checkered edges that crop the sides. Were the painter confident enough to extend the landscape outward, this piece may yet have been a contender for a coveted 5/5 score.
Edit: Spelling

Qustinnus wrote:lmao he's not getting pissed on he's being covered in oil

Agux909 wrote:Such perverted mind from the OP smh my head...

Naturally, I considered the possibility. I also considered the possibility that it was vomit as well, considering the three pixels in the top-left corner of the piece that resemble a nose. However, my ultimate conclusion was based off my experience playing Minecraft classic in its nascent years. If it's pure yellow, arranged to mimic the physics of a liquid, and you can't tell what what it is, it's probably pee. And you'll likely find the offending anatomical sculpture right around the corner.

it's definitely pee

Beach in Algiers was actually inspired by The Stranger by Albert Camus. If you look up the cover art you'll understand the inspiration for the border. One of these day's I'll do a version where the sand is bloody.

Wow, Sam on Break in Blue is my character. I didn't do the portrait, though. I wish I remembered who it was. They had a booth on MetaStation where they were doing portraits for people and I submitted mine to the art gallery. The character was an engineer.

I always wanted to add voting to paintings but never got around to it. Different frames for paintings with better scores. Paintings with really low scores could be automatically removed from persistence. Maybe the Saint Brenton Tarrant portrait might get removed? I wanted to add authors to the frames so people didn't have to add their names to the painting name to be credited too.

It's been a while. Let's check up on the /tg/station art scene.

There's beauty in simplicity. Hills of Lime, Sun of Pink deftly showcases how good colouring technique can transform a drab scene into art that grabs and grips the eye. The alien landscape also inspires the imagination. Perhaps we might visit such a planet in SS13 one day? The piece easily earns its 4/5 stars, with no applicable score modifiers.

Perhaps it's just me, but I've noticed that some servers explore the role of security through art more than others. This peculiar piece is from Terry's modest, but surprisingly high-quality Secure Collection. The attention to detail with respect to subtle differences in shade earns it a base score of 3/5. While it's definitely SS13 related, the piece is an amalgamation of two in-game sprites, leaving its rating at 3/5.

As Halloween approaches, it behooves us to examine the festive paintings in the server galleries. This particular piece depicts the image of a sinister Jack O'Lantern that's met its end upon the cold, hard ground. Yet, the painting evokes warmth, almost mirthful humour. Despite this, I feel as if the background could have been better utilized to explore these themes. As it stands, this piece sits at a firm 4/5.

The Bagil gallery has not seen a great deal of growth since the April. It's a real pity, as the art of Bagil takes the lead in terms of raw humour. This series of parodic paintings illustrates this trend quite well. While the paintings are not exceptional from a technical level, they do earn a high 3/5 base score. The less-than-subtle replacement of these famous subjects with SS13 aliens earns an additional star. One might easily imagine a dejected mothman, hopelessly in love with old Earth-art, attempting to place his own form within the works of the great masters.

Our last piece today originates from the Sybil gallery. The technical virtues of the art itself are mundane and and unremarkable- earning a mere 2/5 stars. However, its true value is found in how the artist contextualizes the pixels on the page. The title, "IC Issue" instantly reveals the scribbles to be a darkmode chatbox. The subtle humour and meta relevance to SS13 earns two bonus stars. Sadly, the work is signed, robbing the piece of the anonymous mystery it deserved and knocking off a star. One can only wonder what was said over the common, security, and command radios that led to such mad inspiration.

In the weeks to come, I hope to review a host of spooky and Halloween-themed paintings, giving preference to newer works. If you have any works that you'd like to see reviewed, or if you've made a painting that you'd like to share, don't hesitate to link it here.

you should give paintings whatever amount of stars you want imho

stairmaster wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 1:46 am you should give paintings whatever amount of stars you want imho

Perhaps that's okay for the average painting fan. But as a distinguished artwork enjoyer, I hold myself to the highest standards of critique.

IC issue is clever and funny

As promised, here's a sneak peak into the latest spooky, creepy, and all-around Halloweeny paintings coming to a station art gallery near you. No paintings from Bagil because you lazybones didn't paint anything to celebrate the season. Get it together, Bagil.

Let's kick it off with something that evokes some old-school Neopets vibes. Spoopy Tree may appear simple on the surface, but the subtle shading really gives it lasting appeal. This veritably spoopy tree and its haunting orange sky earn a strong 3/5 stars.

A chaotic, frenzied work that really captures the soul of its subject, in large part to the static overlay effect. A base score of 3/5 is in order. A bonus star is awarded for depicting a spookerific SS13 item. If the background were more elaborate, I could see this artwork earning a coveted 5/5, merely on account of its evocativeness.

What's more spooky than post-apocalyptic ruins? One might assume this to be an SCP reference, though it veritably could be set on any world with a blood red sky and dark, ashen rock. The subject itself captures the imagination. Is it a dead tree? An effigy? This work's use of light and shadow is particularly well-executed. A base score of 4/5 is certainly warranted at a minimum, with a bonus star offered for the creeping feeling of hope and dread it instills within this reviewer.

Hudson's work can be a mixed bag. Some of his paintings really demonstrate creative artistry, while others... eh. This is not his best work; perhaps the station exploded before he could add shading or texture. Merits-wise it earns a base score of 2/5, with a point subtracted for signing. Sorry lad, but rules be rules.

Spookerific work, to be sure. This body-horror work deftly depicts a writhing mass of flesh with its singular, bloodshot eye staring hauntingly askew. Is it in pain? Or has it ascended? Note the use of differing shades of red to form a sinewy, vessel-ridden mass with the limited pixels available. A I would warrant this beast a 4/5 base score. While a point is deducted for signing (by a mime, no less), the masterful use of monocolour certainly exposits a level of creative artistry, earning a bonus star. Pray you never come face-to-face with the "flesh".


Did I miss any spooky or Halloweeny paintings that you wanted to see reviewed? Post 'em here.

A few people have reached out to me wondering when Farquaar's famed painting reviews will make a return. Unfortunately, Legacy Statbus' Art Gallery is broken, and new Statbus' Art Gallery isn't functional yet. Until it gets fixed, I can't properly browse and link paintings for you all to enjoy, so Farquaar's Definitive Painting Evaluations™ are currently on indefinite hiatus.

Farquaar wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:04 pm A few people have reached out to me wondering when Farquaar's famed painting reviews will make a return. Unfortunately, Legacy Statbus' Art Gallery is broken, and new Statbus' Art Gallery isn't functional yet. Until it gets fixed, I can't properly browse and link paintings for you all to enjoy, so Farquaar's Definitive Painting Evaluations™ are currently on indefinite hiatus.

eh whateva Ill make paintings while I wait.

There's a demo of the new painting gallery at https://tender-keller-12c12a.netlify.app

Doublepost: I just added a little bit of code to copy the BBcode so you can easily embed a painting Here's what it looks like:

Grady Fleming vs. Silence the Mime
by redtrogdor on basil

Atlanta-Ned wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 3:11 am There's a demo of the new painting gallery at https://tender-keller-12c12a.netlify.app

I like it, Ned! I like it a lot! I especially appreciate how the medium indicate is indicate on the individual pages for each artwork.

Question: Do you plan on including info on the gallery the artwork is sourced from (i.e. Public Gallery, Secure Gallery, Private Gallery)? It would be cool if I could sort paintings by gallery, but I'd settle for the gallery being listed on the artwork's individual page as well.