i’ve seen a lot of good guidelines and advice on writing character permissions for artfight, so i decided to compile some with my own and make a helpful guide for anyone who might not be sure on what to include in their general and character specific permissions.
First and most importantly: your permissions should be easy to see, easy to read, clearly separated, and preferably color coded. This will provide whoever sees your characters with a clear chance (and expectation) to read them and adhere to them.
Global Permissions: these will be visible for all your characters unless toggled off.
Hard Boundaries: your big “NO”s should be here, including anything that might trigger a phobia or disorder. Even if it’s already stated in your profile, you can put it here too so that it shows up on your characters page. You do not need to include things that are illegal or against the rules, but it’s kind of understandable if you wanna remind anyone who decided to Not read the rules.
Social Media: some artists aren’t okay with their original characters being uploaded to certain social media sites, especially with things like AI filters integrated into them. Let artists know if you’re okay with them posting their art of your character to sites like instagram, or other media like speedpaints on youtube, livestreams on twitch, or progress vids on tiktok.
Character Specific: if any of these are hard yes’s or no’s that apply to all your characters you can put them in your global permissions. While the ‘no/discouraged/do not’ section is probably the most important, i use the ‘yes/encouraged/go for it’ section for specific things or levels of content that are okay with that character that might not be clear in the no section. ‘Levels of content’ here refers to the level to filtering needed for certain content. Not everything here will apply to the character or your preferences, but theyre something to consider.
Gore: be more specific on just how much gore is okay, light, moderate, or extreme; light gore might not include a filter on them depending on how much blood is shown. You can also include whether or not certain subgenres of gore, like flower, candy, and robot, are okay in the ‘yes’ section.
Violence: this doesn't have it’s own filter, it’s considered ‘sensitive content’, but you can include it for characters with weapons or in stories where violence is present. Be sure to also include levels of violence that you’re okay with; mild or explicit. this one is also tricky because it can also include hard drug usage depending on where you live, which you can also include- though you might need to be specific on what kinds of drugs or categories of drugs would apply to the character, and which ones you’d be uncomfortable with.
Body Horror: artfight has a more specific definition on what body horror includes; though i would also include whether or not youre okay with things hyper realism or psychedelic imagery.
Nudity: artistic nudity is defined differently than suggestive or sexual art, there are also levels of nudity with levels of filtering that apply to them. If youre okay with the upper body being exposed but not the lower body feel free to specify that. (Note: minors CANNOT see extreme nudity due to the filter, kids as young as 13 are allowed to participate so you NEE to use the filters appropriately)
Suggestive Material: this one includes sexually explicit material (which you CANNOT encourage or allow if you are a minor)- yo can specify your level of comfort with things like exposure or situations the character might be in.
Eyestrain: this often goes unmentioned but you should always filter characters and attacks containing eye-straining colors, Especially red and/ or blue. Few people will probably feel the need to say “no” to eyestrain- but if you Aren’t okay with eyestrain or certain pallets being used be sure to mention it.
“Sensitive content”: this category covers a lot of ground but is generally character specific, i would include imagery that depicts sensitive topics like murder and suicide. ‘Sensitive’ content includes explicit violence, though doesn't include art of weapons alone. (Things like cannabis and alcohol are not considered sensitive content) (note: certain sensitive topics are discouraged or otherwise not allowed on artfight)
Other General Permissions: these ones arent super necessary to include in your character, but do often apply for things like fan characters and characters with complex designs.
Shipping and pairing: this is a big one in fandom communities, but i’ve also seen it apply to characters with personalities that are flirtatious. Shipping and pairing usually includes anything that would depict a relationship that was more than platonic. If it wasn’t already stated in your profile and global permissions, i would include whether or not youre okay with your characters being drawn with other peoples OC’s at all, including mass attacks.
altering or simplifying design: this ones usually reserved for characters with a specific body shape or characters with a complex outfit. For the most part, artists are encouraged to represent the characters to the best of their ability, though if you Are okay with them simplifying or altering your characters design, i would include it in your ‘yes’ section.
Meme Art: not everybody includes this but there are attackers out there who love drawing memes or recreating meme templates. You can either encourage this, or ask the artist to not create meme-style art based off of your character.
You probably won’t need Every permission here but these are the ones i found most applicable to most characters. Remember; carefully read the OC owners permissions and if it doesnt mention it, don’t draw it. If an attack clearly breaks the content rules of Art fight, or if you receive an attack that offends you, goes against your permissions, or disrespects your character, you can report it. Otherwise if you like the attack, remember to say Thank You to the artist that took the time to work on it. Happy Artfighting!
gracieabrams
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
germansingergirl
ellievsbear
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