Secret Santa 2025 Sign Up!


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It's sign-up time for...

(21st ANNUAL)


Do you know what time of year is coming upon us? That's right! It's Secret Santa time! This year marks PJ & Pixelation's 21st annual Secret Santa.

Unsure of how the Secret Santa works? You sign up here within the sign-up time. When sign-ups close you get assigned a random partner (giftee). Before the deadline you check their wishlist and make a pixel art gift for them. But SHH it's all a secret who you're pixelling for - you are the Secret Santa!!! When finished you send your gift to Mirre. In turn, somebody else (you don't know who) will be making a gift for you! Gifts will be revealed on December 27th on the forum, in the PJ News, and in a Twitch livestream hosted by Mirre.


Take a look at the previous years' Secret Santas here:

20242023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014

2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005
 

Taking Part
  • After reading the instructions below, sign up by putting a message as a comment to this news post, simply saying "I'm In"!

  • Only sign up if you're sure that you'll be to able to complete your gift, by checking the dates below. If you don't complete your gift you won't be able to join next year's Secret Santa and make someone very sad. Also you will miss the unique Secret Santa profile award.
     
  • Provide some indication of your likes/dislikes: this is important! You can be as specific or broad as you like, but be aware this is all your Santa has to go by if they don't know you!
  • If you have at least a few pieces in your PJ gallery, your Secret Santa will know you better.
  • You'll receive your partner's name via private message (gallery PM). Consider turning on email notification for this in your profile settings!
  • Start making your gift, you have over a month!
  • Submit a gift box to the gallery (not the artwork!), and send your gift artwork in a message to MirreSee the submission guide below.
  • Here's a sample post if you are somehow still lost.  You can format however you want, however please include "I'm in!" or something similar in your post.

        "Count me in!
        I like:
        hating fun, being a curmudgeon and getting free stuff!!!!
        I do NOT like:
         chocolate, childrens' smiles, and also Christmas (which probably makes things a bit awkward, really, but oh well)

        Thanks! P.S. no spiders"
 
Submission Guide
 
Important!!! Follow these submission instructions carefully, to not spoil any surprises:
  • When you've finished your gift, first choose Submit Pixel Art from the main site and upload your gift wrap (see Gift Wrap section below) as the preview (small) image and do not upload anything else. The description should only say “Secret Santa” and should not include the name of the person you’re gifting, at least until the official reveal.
  • Note: For the Secret Santa purposes, you can upload the template gift wraps below. Still, custom wraps rock!
  • Now, send your real gift to Mirre by PM or email. You can use imgur.com, or if you can't, you can send it in a DM to her on Discord or to linnaeahl@gmail.com. We will edit and change your pixel art submission with the real one, so we can reveal all presents at the same time. Please don't post your gift anywhere else before December 27th, that would spoil the surprise.
 
Dates
  • November 7th ~ November 20th - Sign-ups in these weeks only! Send this post to your friends, share on Twitter or Bluesky and post in your Discords. If there's anyone you'd love to get a gift from, send them this thread!
  • November 21st - A PM with your partner's name will be sent out to you; keep it a secret and start early!
  • November 21st ~ December 24th - You have nearly a month to make and hand in a beautiful pixel present!
  • December 17th - if not already all done, you need to send Mirre a WIP of what you are making by this date, to show that you're working on something. 
  • December 24th - Last day to send in your gift!
  • December 27th - PRESENTS !!!
Feel free to ask questions under this post, or PM Mirre if you're confused about anything or have any questions to ask after consulting the FAQ below.
 
Santa's Help Desk

What kind of gift do I make?
Anything you want, just so long as it involves pixel art. Tailor it to your partner's listed interests, or towards them and their work if you are familiar. Any subject you think will be well received is fair game. You can make them a mockup, animation, sprites; you name it! If you're worried about time, don't overly complicate things, relax and do what you do best.

But I'm quite likely to be embroiled in some sort of ~festive revelry~ around the end of December; can I still take part?

You can send your gift in as early as you like. The 24th is the deadline, but submissions will be accepted from the time you receive your partner's name via PM, up until the 24th. It's not fun to try and rush this stuff leading up to Christmas, getting it done with time to spare is highly recommended.

I'm not going to manage finishing my present in time, will I still be banned from next year's Secret Santa?

WIPs will be OK temporarily... It's better to have your WIP under the tree than nothing, but please finish quickly afterwards to avoid consequences. If you know you won't be able to finish, for whatever reason, let Mirre know ASAP so that something else can be sorted out for your partner.

I think making a present for so-and-so would be really fun, I wish I was their Santa!
If you finish your present early, you're more than welcome to make gifts for multiple people. Spread the holiday cheer! But concentrate on your partner first.

 
Gift Wrap!

You can use one of these generic gift wraps as the preview icon of your gallery submission:



Alternatively: Make a custom wrapping for your gift; in this way you can have a bit of fun teasing the contents within. Just submit this in your gallery as the preview image. So it should be max 100x100 px. Here are a few examples from previous years... with a link to their gifts, for ideas. (you can't use these! come up with your own!)

by Jeremy
 
 

Still awake? Read everything? Great!! If you sign up below before or on the 25th of November, you'll be added to this list. After you submit your gift, we'll mark you on our list with a little  


Posted by Mirre @ 11/6/2025 13:53  |    60

Discussion

If you would like to comment you will need to be logged in. Register now. It only takes a moment and it's free.


user
Mirre (Level 9 Whale Shark) @ 11/21/2025 14:27

Closing the Sign Ups now! 


user
AlexL (Level 5 Irish Elk) @ 11/20/2025 03:23

Last minute (almost) to sign up

I'm in!

Likes: 

extra terrestrial

The X-files

Cute things

Colourful/ Cartoonish pixel

Dislikes:

Nooooo, just draw what you want is fine!


user
TooMuchAbstraction (Level 2 Kukyu) @ 11/19/2025 13:18

I'm in!

Likes:

- Metroid

- Weird l'il creatures

- Anticapitalism

- Spaceships and alien landscapes

Dislikes:

- Body horror

- being overly cutesy


user
JeffinVelcros (Level 3 Chupacabra) @ 11/18/2025 23:19

I'm in 

Likes:

- Beaches
- Cool breezes
- Green and blue
- Burgers
- Riding my bicycle
- Airports
- Medieval Armor
- Science Fiction
- Lovecraft

Dislikes:
- Politics
 


user
Trigonomicon (Level 10 Archaeropteryx) @ 11/18/2025 16:10

I'm in

  • Weird little guys
  • Clunky and boxy mechs and robots
  • Dragons, dinosaurs, and other cute stuff with big maws full of pointy teeth
  • Birds, particularly owls, velociraptors, and all kinds of corvids.
  • Overgrown ruins and strange mutants
  • Folklore and mythology
  • Historical artstyle/art-trend funtimes
  • Mushrooms and moss

user
Omegan's Domain (Level 3 Private Eye) @ 11/18/2025 07:55

I'm in 

Likes: 
- steampunk, 
- Lovecraft 
- black comedy 
- dark fantasy 
- zombie and happy goths (example: Nemi) 


Dislikes: 
- anime/manga 
- sweet things like kittens
- policy


user
discGator (Level 3 Game Boy) @ 11/18/2025 05:21

I'm in 

Likes include:
- cityscapes
- warm colors
- Persona 1 & 2
- aquatic themes
- dolls (particularly a fan of classic porcelain dolls and ball-jointed dolls)
- the Commodore Amiga and the NEC PC-9801 series (the computers themselves. As far as hardware constraints in pixel art go, my favorite is the Commodore 64)
- art focused on characters/people

Dislikes:
- modern military themes


user
ThrillhouseSSB (Level 3 Litter) @ 11/18/2025 01:14

I'm finally getting around to joining in one of these.

My likes include:
- Body horror (I'm a fan of Junji Ito's work, Tomie is my favourite specifically)
- Earthbound/Mother 3
- Pokemon (Swampert is my favourite, Salamence, Togekiss, Duskull, Clefairy, Azumarill are a few others I also like a lot, otherwise I generally like Water types and Ghost types the most)
- Birds, king parrots are my favourite but I like most birds
- Rats
- Metroid
- 2d Fighting Games
- GBA/DS era pixel art
- Spooky stuff that's not inherently scary (although scary stuff is also good)
- skeletons
- vibrant plant life
- If you're partial to anime style, then my style preferences would be things like Soul Eater, Gachiakuta, and Bleach
- Indomitable human spirit
- Elder Scrolls
- Uncanny stuff
- Fictional Creatures, Urban myths, cryptids
- Early Simpsons


Dislikes are:
- Bananas
- Big mechs (evangelion is an exception, and I also don't mind small scale biomechanical stuff)
- Nothing overtly sexual please
- political figures
- Modern Military/War stuff


Hopefully there's enough here to spark an idea for someone without being overwhelming. Take as much or as little inspiration as you like, even if you have an idea based just off the vibes this list gives I'm sure I'll love it :)


user
AdamF (Level 11 CEO) @ 11/17/2025 20:32

Let's gooo! I'm in 

Likes: Fantasy, dark fantasy (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Game of Thrones, etc.), knights, castles, vast landscapes, mountains, Romanticism, Baroque, owls, naturalism / realism, academic drawing, anatomy / figure drawing, sci-fi, dragons, etc etc 

Dislikes: the more years I do this the less I really care about dislikes, lol... tbh I'm happy with whatever someone has the time to make. If I had to pick, maybe cutesy / cartoony stuff / super saturated bright colors


user
Tipleloop (Level 2 Quiet One) @ 11/17/2025 19:49

I'm in!
What I likes:

  1. Post-apocalyptic word (Emphasize on "Decay", it must feel nature already take over) modern ruin building with plant and wild animal already settle in, or maybe just a rusting car on the side of empty road, like human are just suddenly disappear).
  2. Warm and cozy things (person or animal drinking hot Choco with think sweeter, or maybe someone reading book in book nook, the lofi girl's vibe with cat and all). Cozy camping with bonfire in middle of forest/snow with hot drink. (it doesn't need o be human.
  3. Beautiful tropical plant (leaf or foliage), small pound with water lily with duck/fish swimming around
  4. Neon cyberpunk city. (at night with a lot of Neon light)
  5. Cute things, search "Food cat drawing, "cute creatures" in pintrest (it doesn't have to be"cat" but you get the point)

user
stayingshrimpy (Level 3 Nasturtium) @ 11/17/2025 13:08

You know what.... I'm in! 

I like:
- Nature imagery, landscapes, liminal spaces and buildings
- Slice of life scenes and still life setups
- Cats (not in a furry way, but like, if you were to place a cat in your scene casually, I'd go nuts for that)
- Hot dogs 
- Food in general (I enjoy a good depiction of meals and sweets)
- Pastel gothic vibes
- Sunsets and sunrises, small moments of peace and tranquility
- Hollow Knight, Silksong, Hades, Animal Crossing (Canberra my beloved villager), Fortnite
- Bees, insects, beetles, bugs of all kinds
- cute things
- limited palettes (obviously optional, but I strongly love pastels, especially the colours sunflower yellow, orange, light blue, green of all shades, purples, and pinks)
- when people make art they love and are proud of that leans into their strengths
- creativity, fun and whimsy !

AKA, feel free to ignore the prompts list if nothing there vibes with you. I'd much rather you had fun with this! 

I dislike:
- gore / overly creepy, gross, or shocking things / war / political imagery
- NSFW (can be acceptable if tasteful)
- neon colours (they hurt my eyes)


user
lvlark (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/16/2025 14:29

I'm In!

I like:

'Risk of rain, hollow knight/silksong, deep rock galactic, wallpapers

I dislike:

nsfw, also anything that's considered gross or overly gorey 


user
SurrealEmber (Level 6 Mooncake) @ 11/16/2025 11:07

I'm in!

Likes:
- Shadowy people, spooky and eldritch or cute and friendly, or both (Hatman, Vivi, King in Yellow, Shadow Wizard Money Gang, that sort of thing) 
- Demons (may be combined with 1st item)
- Robots (visibly robotic, not DBH type, think Daft Punk, Kay/0, etc.)
- Knights/warriors in full coverage helmets (it's like a creature!)
- Monsters with a masculine humanoid aesthetic, especially together with each other :)))
- Masks, robes, staves, orbs, tomes, different shiny baubles and neat-looking magical artifacts
- 70s sci-fi/fantasy artstyles, colorful surreal/alien landscapes, floating islands, Myst vibe
- RPG Maker or other horror game aesthetics
- Old weird tech, keitai phones, Sony Vaio P
- Nice-to-have but very optional colors: black, burgundy, dark magenta, dark cyan/emerald green, burnt orange

Dislikes:
- Overly sexualized women, bikini armor (on women. feel free to put one on a guy :p)
- "Soviet decay" aesthetic (I have enough of that IRL)
- Toilet/Gross-out humor, crazy caricatures (sorry)
- Post-WWI military
- Decay and rot
- Brainrot memes (time and place)
- Certain fandoms (Harry Potter, Marvel/DC)


user
Birds Probably (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/16/2025 06:47

I am in!

I like:

- Video games: Kirby, Sonic, Portal, Undertale/Deltarune, Hollow knights, in order of most to least beloved
- Weird/unexpected places/architecture (liminal or otherwise, also whatever they had going on in the first Digimon Adventure anime)
- Dark and gothic aesthetics
- The creature designs from Digimon
- Ruins
- Tense, subtle, or otherwise restrained horror
- Togedemaru
- The visuals I like sit anywhere in a triangle drawn between Kirby, ENA and Bloodborne


I dislike:

- Mean spirited and purposefully upsetting things
- Gore for pure shock value
- Food in the sink like who does that who put food in the sink it's gross

(PS: I'm fine with nsfw themes and artistic nudity as long as it's tasteful/respectful.)

Bluesky if you want to pry additional information from the corpse of my social media presence:
 https://bsky.app/profile/birdsprobably.bsky.social
 


user
Sarahboev (Level 8 Odds and Ends) @ 11/16/2025 05:33

I'm in!

(Once again, don't mind the copy-pasted list. :'D)

I'm kinda all over the place for likes but you can look through my tumblr for some ideas too.

I like: (in no particular order)
-Colorful stuff! Especially with pastels or rich colors!
-Cute/interesting critters/creatures (I'm a big fan of Pokemon! Here's a list of my favs)
-Harlequinesque/jester/clown stuff, think like Jules Chéret, George Barbier, Armand Vallée etc. 
-Old school fantasy illustration stuff like Warwick Goble, Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen, John Bauer etc.
-Memphis Group design :'D
-Imps, demons and devils 
-Puffy Dresses! (cool/interesting fashion in general)
-"tasteful" gore/body horror (examples)
-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure :'D (Part 4 is my fav lol)
-Studio Ghibli films (my favorite is Kiki's Delivery Service)
-Katamari! 

Dislikes:
-Mean spirited stuff
-Bleak dystopian/war stuff
-Politics
-Overtly sexual stuff (a cute pin-up is fine though)

So excited to join in on this!


user
Irenaart (Level 10 HP Lovecraft (Author)) @ 11/16/2025 03:05

I'm in.

Love animals, especially cats (most in the world), nature overall.

Dislike gore, violence.


user
myrmyxo (Level 4 Rubbish) @ 11/13/2025 14:09

I'm innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ! 3rd time yeeheheheherufdjwclxk. Copy pasting my previous message cuz im lazy asf lmao

 
Fav games :
- Rain World best game of all time
- GHOST TRICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK i've played/seen people play it 3 times I always cry at some point through it
- Lobotomy Corporation (gameplay kinda zzzz but I love the lore and athmosphere) (I adore Knight of Despair and Dreaming Current)
- Yume Nikki (I love Monoko especially) and its fangames, love LCDDEM and Yume Graffiti
- the What Did I Do To Deserve This My Lord/No Heroes Allowed video games series (that sadly only 3 people in the world know about lmao)
- I really like Look Outside too especially Joel  ! ! ! 
 
Other stuff I love :
- every animal. Biolgogy
- VOCALOID and UTAU ! Kasane Teto is my fav UTAU (love K also), and I love Luka and GUMI in terms of Vocaloids 
- My favorite composer is KIKUO he's very kikuific
- In terms of graphic(al?) artists, si_ku is my favorite, I'm in love with everythig she does, I love TEASUNNH and his imagery, Daiyou-Uonome as well for his insane rendering, Funamusea's style, Heimantahei's style too... 
- Body Horror stuff (I find it HELLA cool when it's done well)
- I love Touhou, Alice is my fav characters (I really like epic psycho grandma Nemuno too)
- MADs/YTPMVs
- Animation
 
I'm not really into :
- Furry stuff I guess ? I don't mind it but that's not my kinda stuff I guess, same for bronies and all idk
- idk really I like a lot of things
 
If i'm your secret santee, first of all hello :D, and second of all (all is 2 things but hwatever) DRAW ANYTHING YOU WANT ! !! ! Not Safe for Waluigi, Cutesy, gory, horrible, not horrible, adorable, tooth enamel..... I love animation too, feel free to make an animated gif if you so desire
 
Goot luck on the drawig !!!!

user
Theodote (Level 3 Game Boy) @ 11/13/2025 10:48

I'm in! It seems I only do santa these days.

Media I love:
- Deltarune!!!
- Death Stranding 1& 2!!!
- Remembrance of Earth's Past! (aka the Three Body Problem trilogy)
- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou!!
- BLAME!
- Control (2019)
- Ashita no Joe
- JJBA (especially Steel Ball Run)
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Last Exile!
- Project Hail Mary

Miscellaneous likes:
- Wallpapers!! Anything 16:9 to put in my slideshow folder
- Floating islands!!!
- Electronics!!! PCBs, schematics, components, silicon dies
- Old web!!!
- Göndola the bear!!
- Old phones!! (think pre-android java phones circa 00's)
- Post-Y2K PC & electronics aesthetics!! Win7, CRT monitors, Vaio netbooks, you name it
- Platonic solids and related polyhedra
- Smith Chart
- Futurism and retro-futurism, especially Soviet-esque and space-themed
- Brutalism!
- Dieselpunk
- Cats
- Frogs

Dislikes:
- Gore
- Violence
- Horror


user
toz (Level 2 Moon) @ 11/13/2025 00:16

Hello, I'm in!

> In:{
Desolate and Liminal Spaces,
Anomalies or Unknown objects,
Cosmic Horrors,
Dungeon Crawling,
Casette Futurism.
}

> Out:{
Politics,
Memes,
Too Much Colors.
}

And you can draw whatever you like to if you aren't having fun with the themes I said. I'll be happy with anything you loved making! 

 


user
QueenKami (Level 11 Godzilla) @ 11/12/2025 16:55

Hi! I'm in!

I like:
Anime (Jojo, Chainsaw man, Dandadan, FLCL)
Vocal Synth (Hatsune Miku, Kasane Teto, Zundamon, KAFU, MAYU, etc.)
Gothic/Dark Stuff
𝓢𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓷
Furries
Cute Stuff
Video games (Pokemon, Digimon, Undertale/Deltarune, OMORI, etc.)
Gore
(NSFW is fine too :3c )
 
I don't like:
Mechs
 
If you want to have a safe idea of the thing I'd want, I always love getting art of my online persona/fursona who is basically me but as a furry :3c Her name is Kami and she is a cougar, I have a few pieces in my gallery of her and I'm sure you could find her if you look around the internet for me lmao If you hate furries or whatever or just don't want to draw her that is totally fine!! I will be happy with whatever you choose to do, have fun with it ^^/ ♥

user
phenomenician (Level 2 CGA) @ 11/12/2025 11:33

I'm in!

Likes: 2bit, abstract, portraits &figure drawings, anything really!

Can't think of any strong dislikes :) 


user
pixeltim256 (Level 2 Labradorite) @ 11/12/2025 05:58

I'm in!


I like (pick one or more):
  • Sci-fi, robots, mechs, circuits, rust
  • Biopunk, biotech, organic, meat, gore
  • Magic, gems (raw / polished) , orbs, wands, books, potions
I dislike: anime, politics

user
kumori (Level 2 Wolpentinger) @ 11/12/2025 02:50
IN:
  [MOE]
    VampireHurts, kirisiki sunako, touhou, tenshi no tamago
    y3k, retrofuture, cyberpunk, eva, automata, Ender series
    gijinka, kemomimi, yume/guro/kimo kawaii
    weird/surreal/unsettling chara design!
    little girls. They make u feel so moe
    twisted dark fantasy horror
    corpse, b.j.[doll], mecha
    rust, weird organism
    tsutomu nihei, Deino Calcium
    mini monoplayer offline aktion roll p[l]aying game
    chill desolate secluded isolated hidden secret place
    post-apo, overgrown forest, abandoned old wooden builing
    liminal, empty closed world, gridless mock-up, diorama, mini-garden
    ambient light, lantern, sun, moon, sky, cloud, water, drizzle, endless cold rain
    subtle animesyon, sprite
    make me sad
    original
  [\MOE]
  ...
   
//OUT:
  the, common thing, soda, supaahiro, furri, jo, centaur, 'green'-aLien,e-ay, pinup, KOMEDI, nazionalism, 801, dekatiti, y2k25, 
  goto IN

user
b236 (Level 11 Bonsai) @ 11/12/2025 01:55

i'm in!
i like sci-fi. alien worlds, space stations, robots, that sort of stuff.
not much a fan of fantasy. i don't like gore and spiders.


user
Gecimen (Level 11 Sphinx) @ 11/11/2025 12:17

Innnnn

As always I'll be specific. This year I want a toy-turned-to-monster. It can be a scene, just the character or even a game sprite. 


user
Eggy (Level 6 SWAT) @ 11/11/2025 02:22

Joining again this year because I like SS.

Things I like

  • Gargamel (cartoon/comic version). If you know me well enough, you may have seen this one coming - he is my top pick always.
  • Barnaby from the upcoming game Billie Bust Up
  • Vodyanoy from The Flying Ship 1979. Big blue guy with a hat and white hair. Video clip of him and his song
  • Animals - here are some I like more:
    • Birds, particularly parrots (especially cockatiels) and owls (especially barn owls)
    • Alligators and crocodiles
    • Cute lil lizards
  • Colorful palettes (not neon or excessively saturated)
    • My favorite color is purple.
  • Splatoon
  • Crossovers!
    • Note: If you draw Barnaby and Gargamel interacting together, keep in mind that Barnaby does not like Gargamel (I have the voice clip to prove this hehehehehe)
  • Sushi
  • Fantasy and mythical creatures in general
  • Pokemon
    • My favorite, period: Weavile
    • My favorite out of the starters: Torchic line, especially Blaziken
  • Rain World (no worries about any spoilers btw! I beat all the campaigns)
    • The Prince would be a top choice regarding Rain World.

Things I don't like

  • Toilet humor
  • Shock humor
  • Excessive/detailed violence
  • Drab/dirty colors (specifically: grey earthy tones)
  • Plain old realism (fantasy/cartoon/game characters made realistic is ok) 

user
marceles (Level 5 Soldier) @ 11/10/2025 12:13
I'm in!
 
I like: 
-phtalo green and blues close to it. (and color theory)
-architecture
-trees
-anatomy
-old maps
 
dislikes:
-anything and anyone that steals land from others
-fascism and such

user
werebike (Level 6 Blue Crab) @ 11/9/2025 19:39

I'm in!

I like:

-animals of any kind, fictional, wearing clothes, on four legs, whatever you name it! especially goofy looking ones. yes, even bugs though in that case maybe just a little less realistic looking

-non-humanoid races- related to above slightly.

-limited colour palette

-tokusatsu, especially showa era (I am most familiar with Ultra series and Godzilla)

-fictionalised knights

-robots/cyborgs

-men (as in like *like*)

-worldbuilding, especially if it focuses on mundane details, for example how elegant outfit would look like for orcs

-style studies (for example: drawing non-kirby characters in the first kirby's game style)

I dislike:

-gross-out humour

-anything military related thats not at least 3 centuries old


user
Flinigan (Level 6 Bird) @ 11/9/2025 19:13

I'm in!

Likes: Common magpies, birds (especially corvids), cats, rats, scarves, autumn, winter, sci-fi, medieval fantasy, luminism, clouds, idyllic or bittersweet/thought-provoking moods


user
Normal-Neighbor (Level 3 Nasturtium) @ 11/9/2025 19:08

I'm in!


Likes:
-Traditional paintings of landscapes and outdoors(I love Ivan Shishkin)
-Classic illustration (Arnold Lobel, Paul Rabut, Earl Norem)
-Classic horror illustration( Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein works are stunning)
-Animals in their natural environment
-Abstract elements mixed with realism
-Crazy faces
-Cartoon abstraction/surrealism




Dislikes:
-Political Figures
-Depictions of war
-Anything cutesy or kawaii
-Anthropromorphic animals
-NSFW
-memes

Feel free to make it stylistically your own, I know my taste is largely "overly detailed illustrations", but it doesn't need to be that way! Thanks so much!
 

user
orangemagik (Level 6 Time Traveller) @ 11/9/2025 17:05

I'm in!

 
Likes: retro hard science fiction, post-apocalypse, tasteful pin-up, female warriors in realistic practical armour, vintage dark fantasy
 
Dislikes: furries and lazy work.

user
Metaru (Level 8 Spaceman) @ 11/9/2025 09:57

I'm in!

digs: space & spaceships, something I could use as a phone wallpaper would be cool so a scene with a vertical focus with these two items would be really nice(you don't have to make something incredibly complex or animated, but i enjoy the "rule of cool").

yikes: yellow


user
Umbohr (Level 7 Merfolk) @ 11/9/2025 08:40

I'm in !

I like

First thing first is if you don't fancy any of these themes feel free to do whatever moves you! I like all these but i like even more art, pixel art, so go for it

portraits, gestures, landscapes are fine too especially if it features some characters.

Fantasy setting with no Manichaeism (like no "humans good, orcs bad"), mythical or folklore creatures like chimeras, harpies etc..

19th/20th century, impressionism/ post-impressionism, expressionism, belle époque and pretty dresses and costumes.

Circus golden age/ western stuff. If historical, anachronisms really welcome 

Sci fi too (Final Fantasy 8!!, Ursula k le guin,  outer wilds, the expanse, disco elisyum, etc...)

Children book style illustrations.

Nudity welcome but really not necessary.

Don't like :

Toilet humour, caricatures are risky too, nationalism 


user
Zorreta (Level 4 Peony) @ 11/9/2025 02:33

I'm in! 

I like:

- birds

- mountains and all sorts of landscapes 

- everything related to hiking, mountaineering and adventures

- I'm a huge fan of Disco Elysium and Like a Dragon game series

- Team Fortress 2

- Golden Kamuy manga

- colorful pictures

- medieval stuff, knights espesially 

- fonts design, calligraphy, typography and everything related to it

- modern orthodox iconography 

I do not like:

- nsfw 

- war and military stuff


user
Yantar (Level 3 Dodo) @ 11/9/2025 02:24

I'm in!

Likes:

  • Moody landscapes
  • Historical stuff - especially medieval
  • Cool and interesting plants
  • Cool and interesting fungi
  • Steampunk/Dieselpunk
  • Folklore
  • ORCS
  • GNOMES
  • Your unrestricted creativity. Feel free to ignore any of the above (or below) if you have a cool idea :)

Dislikes:

  • Nudity
  • Gore/Body Horror

user
fortuna0800 (Level 2 Peon) @ 11/8/2025 08:01

I'm in 

I enjoy fantastical maps, fortresses, cities, geographies, landscapes, monuments, machinery, tools, equipment and character archetypes. There isn't much i particularly dislike. I'm particularly fond of the weapon designs of Paladins and Team Fortress 2.


user
Space-AgeWrangler (Level 8 Queen) @ 11/8/2025 07:56

I'm in!

I especially like:

  • Something that's out of the ordinary. Whether it's subject matter, colors, texturing, style, or a complete disregard for pixel art common sense, I don't care how stupid or ugly it looks, surprise me (if you dare!).

Since that's a bit general, some other things I like:

  • Trees, especially really big, gnarled, old-looking ones, and forests.
  • Frank Zappa.
  • Expressionism (Kokoschka, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Alice Neel...), and other early 20th century movements (post impressionism, early abstract stuff).
  • Cathedrals.
  • A portrait of me, but you do it without knowing what I look like.
  • Fantasy and sci-fi are ok too.
  • Assorted list of media: Rain World, Minecraft, Cardiacs, Sergei Rachmaninoff, MF DOOM, Akira Kurosawa, Fritz Lang (Die Nibelungen!), Salman Rushdie, The Karamazov Brothers.
  • Islamic patterning and architecture.

Dislikes:

  • Would rather have something original and not a master painting study.
  • Studies of skulls. I'm kinda tired of them this year.

You don't have to do all of these at once of course, just pick what you feel like, and don't worry too much about the style, I like pretty much everything as long as it's made of pixels.


user
Reo (Level 11 Sphinx) @ 11/8/2025 05:54

I'm in!

I like dark dungeons, weird knights, studs, spikes, witchcraft, sorcery, landsknecht style mercenary outfits, rotten atmospheres, detailed sprites, tiles, unique palettes, cursed items, helmets, towers, abondoned machinery, ruins, lil houses, mollusc spirals, strange doors, crustacean creatures, tunnels, statues, wires, fucked up tanks, horned beetles, scythes, bizarre skulls, secrets, lottsa lil guys. 


user
Weerdmeester (Level 8 Mongolian Death Worm) @ 11/8/2025 05:47

I'm in!

Likes;
Original works with some form of storytelling in them.

Take inspiration and make whatever you like. I enjoy a surprise.

Dislikes;
Transparency/things without a background.
Remakes/redraws of existing media/paintings etc.

But most of all! Have fun!


user
TheTrampeter (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/8/2025 01:34

I'm in!

I like:

- bridges and the liminal

- moody landscapes

- medieval knights 

- moody video game mockups

I dislike: subjects and things that people would call you a degenerate for if you drew them.


user
Sazdx (Level 3 Swiss Roll) @ 11/7/2025 22:25

I'm in!

I Like: ...dang, a lot of things XD. I like anything DnD or Videogame-related, specially retro (Snes era). my favorite games are Megaman (Classic and X), Terranigma, Zelda, Odin Sphere and Chrono Trigger/Cross, so anything akin to that would be amazing, specially Terranigma and Megaman inspired art! Regarding styles I like Fantasy, Steampunk and also Mecha (Think Gundam or Eighty-Six), so you can choose your forte ^^. Adding more possible things, I love Wolves, Owls, Dogs, Cats, Tigers and colorful birds :3. My favorite colors are blue, purple and teal.

I dislike: gore, nsfw, abuse/violent scenes and while I don't mind antropomorphic or furry art, it's not my preference unless it's like a DnD inspired character like a Tabaxi, Frog and the rest of the antropomorphic characters in Chrono Trigger and Cross or a Charr from Guild Wars to give some examples. If it's tasteful and cool, I'll love it :3!


user
Grimm_Dingo (Level 4 Shoggoth (The Mountains of Madness)) @ 11/7/2025 21:43

I'm in!


I like:

giraffes (regular or anthropomorphised* lol), macabre elements, dark fantasy, anything whimsical magical or liminal feeling, pre-modern cultures (if anything is remotely modern or urban mix with fantasy or clearly some alternate divergent universe), strongly stylized representations, anything rusty gritty grungy, creative uses of color, depictions of desolation but with strong creeping hints of beauty & anything surreal and or sublime.


I dislike:
anything too mundane, pop culture, memetic internet culture, modern warfare, anything political & anything gratitiously sexualized (tasteful nudity is fine).

(*my preference for anthro is qualified, ideally nothing furry-coded but oldschool fantasy <animal>-folk style)

user
pixelglade (Level 2 Tulip) @ 11/7/2025 18:00

I'm in!

I like:

  • stylisation, cute or cool things
  • anime
  • nature imagery
  • retro gaming (SNES, GBC)
  • slice of life scenes
  • classic sword and sorcery fantasy
  • solarpunk themes

I dislike:

  • animal based foods or animal exploitation (I'm vegan for context)
  • excessive or frenetic motion
  • nsfw imagery
  • gore and violence
  • horror (no ghosts, zombies)
  • hyper-realism


Pixel Art Restrictions

  • limited colour palettes (1bit, 4, 8, or max 16 colour palettes)
  • canvas dimensions and size (small or medium, maximum size 640x400)

user
bluexel (Level 6 Tsathoggua (The Horror in the Museum)) @ 11/7/2025 17:51

I am in!

I like:

-limited palette

-small format

-vibrant color block compositions

-stylized dithering

-atmospheric scenes

-visual tension

-lanscapes

-botanical elements.

I don't like:

none,just have hun!


user
Mirre (Level 9 Whale Shark) @ 11/7/2025 16:51

I'm in!

 
 
Loves:
- My original characters: https://www.linneart.com/characters.html (Seren & the Witch are my faves at the moment)
- Myself inserted into anything related to the below likes (for example: me as a Pokémon Trainer...) If you need any reference material of me, there are photos in my instagram, also there's my PJ avatar, PJ class photo 2025, and PJ Photo Board Collab in my gallery.
 
Likes:
- Mermaids
- Pokémon (especially water, dark, and ghost types, some favourites: Wooper, Mudkip, Ditto, Sableye, Cosmog, Shinx/Luxio/Luxray, Vaporeon, Espeon, Lunala, Misdreavus/Mismagius, Popplio/Brionne/Primarina, Shuppet, Gastly/Haunter/Gengar, Drifloon/Drifblim)
- Purple, blue, green, teal
- Dinosaurs; especially pterosaurs, triceratops, stegosaurus
- Frogs, Salamanders, Geckos, Axolotls, Bats, Black Cats
- Fantasy, Sci-fi, Steampunk, Cyberpunk
- Folklore, Witches, Knights, Monsters
- Mockups, scenes, ISO, RPGs, strategy/turn based/puzzle games
- Mushrooms, crystals
- Tasteful nudity (for example: topless mermaids)
- Stardew Valley, Ace Attorney, LoZ: The Minish Cap, Sea of Stars
 
 
Dislikes:
- Religious themes
- Orange
 
(I'm pretty sure I'll like whatever I get though, so please have fun with this!)

user
trawlixn (Level 4 Button Man) @ 11/7/2025 16:44

I'm in,

I like

  • Any of my original characters 
  • High contrast saturated colors
  • Cyberpunk
  • Webcore
  • Speculative fiction
  • Sci fi or Sci fantasy
  • Elden ring or Dark souls or Blasphemous styled Dark Fantasy
  • Moody Landscapes
  • Biblically accurate angels or other divine Abrahamic creatures
  • Pagan folklore

I don't like

  • Cutesy pastel art

There isn't much I dislike, but you have a lot of leeway to work with! Go ham.


user
jeremy (Level 11 Sphinx) @ 11/7/2025 16:12

i'm in

i like
birds, flowers/plants/fungi, broken statues, haloes, joan of arc, interesting palettes, patterns, james turrell, félix vallotton, mythology, retrofuturist sci-fi, a sense of scale

i don't like
epic pop culture mash-ups
"internet culture"


user
shm31 (Level 7 Baklava) @ 11/7/2025 13:38
Sign me up ! 
 
What I like this year (you can merge these elements in the same scene) :
  • Taverns, Potion shops, Antique shops etc
  • Collections of icons of any kind
  • Wizard doing wizard stuff
  • Barbarians doing barbarian stuff
  • 90s-00s Point & Click (Leisure Suit Larry, Sam&Max Hit the Road etc)
  • Rainy or cloudy or moody scene
  • Old run down tower
  • Comfy room with rain outside
  • Vehicles of any types (bonus if it's an idle animation)
 
What I dislike:
  • Dentists (Allowed it if it's in a funny point & click scene)
 
My favorite resolutions (not an obligation, more of a suggestion if you have a hard time choosing a canvas) :
  • 240x160 Game Boy Advance
  • 320x200 Old DOS

Use any palette you feel comfortable with, but if you have any trouble I recommend these :


user
amberMechanic (Level 5 Harbor Seal) @ 11/7/2025 12:05

I’m in.

Some things I like:

aardvarks, birds, cityscapes, dynamism, exoplanets, fantasy adventures, 
giant robots, hidden worlds, imaginative details, jackalopes, 
keas, large robots, magicians, nineteenth century art & illustration, 
one-bit dither, personal vision, quite small robots, robots,
silksong, tasteful melancholy, ultra tiny robots,
very impressive clouds, William Gibson, xenon 2, yaks,
zebras or zebroid animals that are secretly robots after all.

And some I don't:

brand name TV/movie scifi (Star Wars and Treks etc.)

user
hby (Level 5 Elder Thing (The Mountains of Madness)) @ 11/7/2025 11:58

I'm in!!!!!

I like, in no particular order:

  • somber+overgrown+abandoned man-made structures
  • sunny or rainy (or both?!) atmosphere
  • "weird fiction" type horror (chambers, lovecraft, etc. but prefer more creative and subtle horror instead of a bunch of eyes and tentacles)
  • twin peaks (particularly the "other world")
  • silent hill 1-3
  • evangelion
  • eureka 7
  • cyberpunk (gibson, adam jensen DX, 2077)
  • liminal spaces
  • miyazaki movies (especially Nausicaa)
  • insects/bugs/spiders

I dislike: not much really. Feel free to lean into your strengths.


user
vemigvan (Level 3 Nasturtium) @ 11/7/2025 11:45

I'll just copy last year requests

love:

  • Plants, mold, mushrooms
  • Ocean life, especially non fish ones, like molluscs, echinoderms, worms etc
  • Stanislaw Lem's kind of scifi, exoplanets, xenobiology
  • Horror, Giger's artworks, body horror, biopunk, "meat and veins" stuff
  • Post-soviet aesthetic, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games
  • little girls. They make me feel so 
  • I also really love mockups, NES/GBC-inspired styles, topdown view, item sets etc., so if you draw things like this from time to time, would be really cool to see this kind of work from you! Though if you don't, I'd prefer any type of piece you usually do

Things I don't like do exist, but I don't want to hit the things you like drawing. Really hope even if you don't like my themes you'll make the piece the way you enjoy


user
Terff (Level 6 Serial Killer) @ 11/7/2025 11:40

I'm in!

I like many things. 

  • Whimsical forest creatures, gnomes and mushrooms
  • Brutalist architecture
  • The color purple
  • Bionicle Legos
  • Crabs
  • Japanese Cars (Favorites are the Subaru WRX, Nissan 240z and R32 GTR)
  • Skulls
  • Chiikawa
  • Final Fantasy (6 is my fav, dislike/indifferent to anything after 9)

I dislike:

  • Raisins (feel free to include them it they're being harmed in some way)

In the end, do whatever inspires you.  Add your own flair.  

 


user
gragmet (Level 2 Corporal) @ 11/7/2025 11:06

I'm in!

Likes: 

  • I really love seeing artwork where I can sense how much the artist enjoyed creating it. Feel free to get inspiration from my works or don't
  • To be a bit more specific, I really love the atmosphere in David Lynch’s movies. I like to feel as if I’m in a place when I look at an artwork.

Dislikes: 

  • None


user
Pyxis (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/7/2025 10:49

IM IN!!!

Likes:

  • Nuclear bombs and huge guns
  • evangelion (specifically 3rd impact from the end of evangelion)
  • Mathematical objects embedded in art
  • Frutiger aero/dorfic
  • Breakcore/jungle
  • Berserk
  • Raw personal expression

Dislikes:

  • Art that takes itself too seriously

The more contrasting concepts you can fit into one piece the better!!! I love insane drawings. :)


user
SeDiceBisonte (Level 8 Spaceman) @ 11/7/2025 10:41

I'm in!

Likes:

  • Pictures of people or with people prominently featured.
  • Atmosphere, emotion and personality. I'd love to see your personality and style in this as much as anything I've asked for.
  • Original artwork as opposed to fanart (I know I have more fanart than original work in my gallery but you're probably more imaginative than I am).
  • Pre-Raphaelite artists and others associated with them. I particularly like John William Waterhouse.
  • Fashion.
  • Retro aesthetics. I have a fondness for a lot of design from the 60s to the 80s.
  • Horror films. I like these more for their surrealism, social commentary and atmosphere than for the scares themselves or the monsters. Favourites include Suspiria (1977 and not the remake), Alien, George Romero's Living Dead films, CandymanThe ThingHouse (the 1977 Japanese film) and The Shining. The more colourful and dreamlike, the better the film!
  • Near-future and Soviet/post-Soviet sci-fi. Think chunky designs and a relatively down-to-earth feel. Examples include Stalker (the Tarkovsky film but I did also like the first game), the Strugatsky brothers, Stanislaw Lem, Blade Runner, the first Deus ExCyberpunk 2077Technobabylon etc.
  • The city of York in the UK.
  • C64 art (I put this in every year because I like it, but really don't feel you have to go there. I know it's a big ask).

Dislikes:

  • Spiders. Seriously, no spiders.
  • Fantasy.
  • Anime art for the most part, but I will add that I love some examples so it's not a hard and fast rule either.
  • Anthropomorphic animals.
  • Superheroes.


user
hintoflime (Level 3 Swiss Roll) @ 11/7/2025 10:39

I'm in!

Likes:

  • Sci Fi and fantasy
  • Whimsy
  • Cryptids
  • Analog technology
  • GBA-era sprites
  • Roller skating
  • Rabbits
  • The color green
  • terraria/minecraft
  • dungeons and dragons
  • 90's and early 2000s internet, AOL days
  • Anything else you want to draw!

Please don't:

  • Politics
  • NSFW

user
The Doge (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/7/2025 10:39

I'm in
.
I likes: Bug (especially Beetle) ,Uniqued Fantasy Weapon ,Eldritch Monster, Silkweave Pallete, Turquoise, Dark purple
I dont like: What i see when i stand infront of a mirror, Fish eye perspective, industrial product


user
Silwra (Level 2 Flatfoot) @ 11/7/2025 10:35

yeaahh

Likes:
Unbounded self-expression

Dislikes:
descriptions writing


user
skamocore (Level 11 Dolphin) @ 11/7/2025 10:23

I'm in.

Likes:
 

  • Dolphins
  • Weird/surreal/unsettling creature designs. 
  • Weird stuff in general
  • Dark purples
  • The CGA palettes
  • 1970s interior design - especially conversation pits & orange/brown/wood-panelling aesthetics.
  • Space sci-fi


Not necessarily all at once.


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