Warning: *Image Heavy*

Alrighty! So as the title states this is for the Generator! The Generator is a great tool- it's original use was to plan breeding projects, but has also branched out to Design Competitions which have a variety of prizes. As the titles states this is more a compilation than a actual guide, so it's all up in the air if you want to actually use this or not. Also firstly, as a general disclaimer this is all my personal take on all of this- so this is not the only way to do it. There are hundreds of ways to get the exact same result and they are all equally valid and accurate. Making designs are super biased and opinionated because it's all based on your personal preference. Everything is based on your own personal definition of beauty, which could be the exact opposite of mine. If you disagree with everything in this thread and think it's the worst in the world, that's fine its your opinion that counts :). I just tossed these out here if anyone was interested.


Please read this post before anything else on the Table of Contents

Table of Contents
It's way too hecking long

0.5 How to Post a Image
XXXX- Image resizing

1. Generator Basics
XXXX- Creating a Template
XXXX- Getting Inspiration
XXXX1.2. Generator Quirks
XXXXXXXX- How Saving a Design Works
XXXXXXXX- Names

2. Design Contests
XXXX- Entering a Contest
XXXX- Starting a Contest
XXXX2.1. Details in Designing
XXXXXXXX- Name
XXXXXXXX- Sizing
XXXXXXXX- Showing both Genders

3. Theme Tutorials
XXXX- Theme Advice/ Walkthroughs
XXXX- Please go to post for information

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

!!! IMPORTANT !!!
While I know this is general knowledge, some people miss the memo on Design Theft

Whatever you do, do not use someone else's design without their express permission! For anything including: contest entries, breeding pairs, or anything really. Also make sure to say exactly what your going to use the design for! Here's the basic run down why.

1. Just because its on the Generator does not mean you can just take it! The Generator is to share designs!!! It's to show people your personal creativity, it is a gift!

2. Right under the design is the frigging date and the username of the creator! So its pretty obvious if you claim the design as yours and their design appears before yours.

3. Renaming or slightly recoloring the design without permission still counts as design theft. If the design looks 99% the same THAT'S DESIGN THEFT. There's plenty of times similar colors are used but if its literally the same colors and traits then its pretty obvious where it came from.

4. If you liked the designs that much to use it you could've asked straight up. Most people would love it if you asked/ showed you liked it enough to make it a real design/pair to spread to the rest of the world.

5. Its not that hard to ask for permission and promise to provide credit!!!

So yeah, don't do it to anyone cause its not nice/ no one likes their ideas stolen. Also since design theft isn't common in this game its pretty easy to keep track of design thieves.

If you think you or someone else's design was stolen, I would recommend to politely ask them to stop/ find the truth. Also report it to the ~Design Theft Opposition~ group which is trying to crack down on this problem.

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

0.5 How to Post a Image
But you said this was about the Generator?! Weeell this a very important thing to learn and is relevant to the rest of the Guide since it's image heavy. Also all design contests require the Design Image, cause the judge doesn't want to look thorough the Generator to find your design :I

1. Right click or double click on an image
2. A pop up comes.
3. Select the image address, image source ect.(different of every system)
4. Copy the Image address/source
6. Write this code [img*] [*/img] but without the *
7. Paste your image address between the middle brackets
[img*]https://www.sylestia.com/image_builder_pet.php?species=ny%27vene&breed=sylesti&gender=female&gd1=GG&gd2=AA&gd3=CC&md1=HH&md2=KK&md3=AA&ec=fc9503&c1=024e72&c2=f78907&c3=032f45&gd1c=045072&gd2c=f78b08&gd3c=fe9302&md1c=fbefdd&md2c=fff4e2&md3c=007fba&ac=e4e9df&ac2=e4e9df&maturity=648&costume=0[*/img]
Again without the *
If right you get an image when you post!!
(This is Miss She V)


Image Resizing
Sometimes contests require the image to be at 250, here's how to do it (after steps 1-6)

1. After the image address has been copied add size=250 at the end of the blurb
[img*]https://www.sylestia.com/image_builder_pet.php?species=ny%27vene&breed=sylesti&gender=female&gd1=GG&gd2=AA&gd3=CC&md1=HH&md2=KK&md3=AA&ec=fc9503&c1=024e72&c2=f78907&c3=032f45&gd1c=045072&gd2c=f78b08&gd3c=fe9302&md1c=fbefdd&md2c=fff4e2&md3c=007fba&ac=e4e9df&ac2=e4e9df&maturity=648&costume=0&size=250[*/img]

It should appear like so:


The reason this is often used/required in contests is because
1. It takes less time to load smaller images, and having a huge neon design suddenly pop up is a eyeburner which could have been lessened
2. You can have two designs on the same space which is used to show the male & female versions


<sub>Thank you Dramrkopa for letting me use your version of how to post a image

.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials</sub>

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

1. Designs and You
This section cover's ways to make Design's more efficiently and quicker, a basic design making walkthough, and some coloring tips that are usually taken for granted.

Creating a Template
This is just to save a minute, when you first load up a species... say a Ny'vene you start with this:

Wonderful, now if I select traits like... G1: Dilopho markings G2: Petal Markings, G3: Nebula, M1: Frozen Spikes, M2: Ornate Horns, M3: Demonic Essence I get this

Yay! I can't see anything! What's happening? Well this is why you could save a template! Save a design with set colors with no genes! That way you can save a couple of seconds getting your colors
Here's my template I've saved:

And applying that to the above design here's what you get!

Now all the traits and colors are easy to see without being mixed together! I have this saved privately on the Generator so I can just load that up without wasting time setting the colors up. The main trick is to keep using it and you'll eventually get used to a set color being in a set trait slot which makes it easier to change the colors.



Getting Inspiration
Okay so depending on you this may be the easiest or the hardest thing to do! So here's my general steps I take:
1. Load up the template and then choose a species!
2. Scroll through each trait list and select a trait for all six slots that sound appealing
3. Choose one trait from the chosen and decide a color you want it to be
4. Base the rest of the design around that specific trait and color
5.Continue until every color slot has been changed _{will be covered in depth later in Appeal}
6. Name it something fancy sounding

Another alternative to step 3 is to just do what you feel like doing and make some colors to match.

Alright here's it in action! I'm using the previous design I made from the template...
1. Chose Ny'vene as my species

2. The Traits are...
G1: Dilopho Markings
G2: Petal Markings
G3: Nebula
M1: Frozen Spikes
M2: Ornate Horns
M3: Demonic Essence


3. I like the Petal Markings so that's going to be my base color to change... since Petal Markings is a two color gene I'm going to make it teal and beige


4. I then change the other color slots to be in similar shades of teal and beige...
_{commence color montage}


5.And tada! The final design Ivory Sea. Even though the color montage made it look like I knew exactly what color I wanted, I didn't, sometimes I have to change the color several times.



_{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

_{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

1.5. Generator Quirks
Okay this is pretty straightforward, but some parts of the Generator can confuse people so here's a Q&A of various mistakes and other related things.

Q: Why do all the designs save/show as the Female version?
A: That's simply the default setting for the Generator, if you want to see the male version simply change the View as: option to female instead of male and then click Update List, or if your in the Load Generator Section toggle the female switch to male besides the 'select species' tab.

That said, you do not have to save a male and a female version of your design! Just switch the settings as listed above.

Q: How do I load a design onto the generator from the forums?
A: Same way you get the image address (see How to Post a Image if you don't know) and then on the generator page in the bottom left corner click "Load Design by URL"

This is mainly used in for regen and breeding contests since the winning design may or may nor be saved on the Generator

Q:What's the Difference Between 'Public' and 'Private' Designs?
A: Public means everyone can see it, if you have private that means only you can see it.

This is used in some of the more complex contests to stop the chance of a biased vote. Otherwise it's used to save personal designs you don't want anyone else to see.

Q: How do I delete a design?
A: Click the in the upper right corner of the design- note if you delete it, it is gone forever

Other Notes:
-As of 2018, you cannot Rename or alter your design without saving it as a new design
- The Generator allow's up to 24 character's to name a design, sadly symbols do not register and appear as a blank space

_{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

**This is a incomplete section, if you have hosted a contest please ping/ pm me so I may add more information**

2. Design Contests
Most of these are pretty easy once you get the hang of it, so these are mainly optional pointers

Entering a Contest
This is generic-ish advice, all input is helpful!

-Read all the rules, and then read them again. Some contests have specific rules or guidelines, if you don't follow them you then 1. look foolish, and 2. are disqualified/your entry is skipped over.

-Bookmark the contest, or save it somewhere, it's pretty easy to sign up for a contest and then forget about it

-Always Ping the contest owner unless specified not to, the owner usually checks the post every once in a while. But yours could be skipped over quite easily without the owner noticing.

Starting and Running a Contest
-Make sure the rules are simple and clear, also don't make them a paragraph long. Having to read fine print is a sure way to lose contestants

-Possibly link a tutorial on how to post a image, there are tutorial's everywhere but someone always manages to miss the memo, so idk copy and paste this link for a image tutorial (just links to .5.)

-Set a date, or post somewhere when the deadline is. Also putting open/closed right at the top of the first post helps people from accidentally posting before/or after the contest is ready. (I have done this several times ':D)

-Try to set a reasonable deadline, if you want lots of entries don't have a deadline of 3 days! Especially during the weekdays. Maybe try to have a week or two. Setting a really long deadline (like 3 months)is also a problem as you may forget the contest.

-Bookmark your contest, I cannot count how many people start a contest and then forget about it, kinda awkward pinging them about it...

-Having a pinglist, not necessarily important but it's nice to notify everyone when the contest is over

-List the prizes when the winners are announced, more a personal quirk. My memory is terrible and I always have to reread the prizes, and then hope I got them right.

-Keep bumping the post, usually after page 5-6 the contest's are closed/ are a long term and for a select group .



_{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

2.1. Details in Designing
This is mainly just to look a tiny bit more professional/ neater in design contests. Not to mention that some contests require some of these, so just get into the habit every time helps.

Names
Give everything a name! Makes it look like you put a tiny bit more effort into the design. It's not that hard, just find a descriptive adjective and a noun (aka a pretty word and the theme you have). Here's an example



This design was originally based off the song Fly Away by TheFatRat, but here's some alternative names if it wasn't specific.
Starry Night
Icy Gust
Winter's Song
Frozen Hopes
Ethereal Dreams
Polar Space

Ice themed? check, Night themed? check, Wind themed? check, Deep-whimsical-meaning? check, I'm literally just describing some of the design's features

Sizing

Just in case you missed it the post from .5. How to Post a Image, here's a repeat.
Sometimes contests require the image to be at 250, here's how to do it (after steps 1-6)

1. After the image address has been copied add size=250 at the end of the blurb
[img*]https://www.sylestia.com/image_builder_pet.php?species=ny%27vene&breed=sylesti&gender=female&gd1=GG&gd2=AA&gd3=CC&md1=HH&md2=KK&md3=AA&ec=fc9503&c1=024e72&c2=f78907&c3=032f45&gd1c=045072&gd2c=f78b08&gd3c=fe9302&md1c=fbefdd&md2c=fff4e2&md3c=007fba&ac=e4e9df&ac2=e4e9df&maturity=648&costume=0&size=250[*/img]

It should appear like so:


The reason this is often used/required in contests is because
1. It takes less time to load smaller images, and having a huge neon design suddenly pop up is a eyeburner which could have been lessened
2. You can have two designs on the same space which is used to show the male & female versions


Showing both Genders
As stated as above it looks neater and the male and female forms show different parts off. For example kinda obvious example, Lighria Males and females are different. If I just post the male then I've made you think more than necessary as a judge



Additional Tips
If you are entering multiple designs, keep it consistent! Please, please do not post multiple designs all in different sizes! (yes I have seen this done)

Here's an example of image sizing

Starfire Scatterer


Fire Night


Shocking Riptide


Why?? Just why..?

I would suggest instead, having the designs centered with pairs, this is the format I do when I enter contests (you can totally ignore this if you don't like it)

Starfire Scatterer


Shocking Riptide


Fire Night


Looks a bit nicer right? In fact some people add nice lil dividers in between each entry, but it's totally up to you


_{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Generator Basics | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Details in Designing | 3. Theme Tutorials}

Theme Tutorials
The rest of this Guide is devoted to random walkthroughs on making a specific theme for a design. Firstly I would like to say there is no one way to do it. This is just the way I create designs, so if there's places you think are important that I've missed/ you have a different method/ you absolutely disagree please tell me so I can improve this as much as possible :). Also if you want a specific tutorial that's not not the list please lemme know!

Note: There are actual themed pets for festivals, if you want to know how to make on of those go check out Scathreoite's very detailed and indepth Guide here.

Directory
_{FYI I start with a template as mentioned in 1. Generator Basics, which skips the default white coloring}

Post 1
XXXX-How to Base a Design off a Picture

Future Plans: Fire, Metallics- Gold & Silver, Space

Small disclaimer: several designs are borrowed from other users with credit listed at the end of each tutorial, so don't panic, otherwise all designs are by me.

Reserved Posts
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Basing Designs off Pictures
It's not as hard as it seems, In fact BobRoss made a wonderful in depth guide when they were hosting The Joy of Designing Contest and had additional Workshops. But I'll do my own version here also.

1. Find a picture, really not hard, especially for contests who want this sort of thing. For this one I'll use these nice crystals.


2. Find a Sylesti that has some traits that are similar to the picture- in this instance the first thing that catches my eye in the photo are the purple crystals. For those I could use traits that are ice or crystalline looking. Here's my list I could use (theoretically)

Aurleon's have M1: Ice Crystals and M2: Ice Armor
Drayel have M1: Ice Wings and M3: Thorny Armor
Faelora possibly with M1: Ghostly Aura as it has nice gradients
Ferrikki possibly as they have crystals but are not as prominent as I would like
Griffi have Ice Wings as default plus additional M3 wings
Kelpari possible with M1: Nightmare Spikes and M2: Central Wings spiky effect
Luffox with the Frosted Kitsune traits
Lunemara with M3: Gem Wings
Lupora with the Crystal Ice traits
Morkko with Frozen Plate traits
Nephini... possibly? No obvious crystal traits but could work with effort
Ny'vene with M1: Frozen Spikes and M2: Frozen Horns
Nyterkie with M2: Icicle Feathers
Puffadore with M3: Icicle Wings
Quitari with M3: Sugar Plum Wings
Ryori with M1: Glimmering Jewels and M2: Icicle Orbs
Sylvorpa, possibly? the Lotus traits have nice gradients
Vulnyx with Arctic Nomad traits
Zolnixi, possibly as it has a lot for traits that could be combined

As you can see there's many options, I'll start with the Ny'vene but also do a example with Aurleon and Morkko as a additional example.

3. Alrighty as mentioned before Ny'vene has some nice traits with Frozen Spikes and Frozen Horns so I'll start there.



Now I'm going to M3 to find a trait that goes with M1 &M2/ the best fit would be Crystalline Essence for more crystals or Essence of Wind for the pretty color smears in the background of the picture



While Essence of Wind looks nice, it's a bit to solid for my tastes and I could use the G3 wing patterns for the color smear. On the other hand Crystalline Essence really makes the crystals obvious.

Continuing to M1-M3 I choose Tiger Stripes for the similar pattern to the color smear, Imperial Dragon's Blessing to break up the solid part of the chest, and Nebula for some extra sparkle.



Now that all the traits have been chosen, to the important part- coloring! So I'm going to focus on the crystals first, because it's the most noticeable part of the picture. So the crystals have a faint gradient from left to right (purple-pink, purple, purple-blue), but the main color is that purple- I'm going to assign that to M3 because those crystals are the most eye-catching part.



Next is the eye color (black) because it affects M1 -M3 for this I'm going to to make a purple-blue since it's shading the M1-M3 and the stars in G3 Nebula.



Moving on to M1 Frozen Spikes and M2 Frozen Horns, I'm going to focus on the purple-pink and purple-blue. The purple-pink is pretty bright so I'm going assign that to the Horns because the pink is a reflection. M1 will be a darker version of the Eye Color to add to the purple-blue.

^{.5. How to Post a Image | 1. Designs and You | 1.2. Generator Quirks | 2. Design Contests | 2.1. Appeal | 3. Theme Tutorials}

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