"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!
FAQ
Want me to rate your painting? Link it below!