Pixel Joint Forum: "Too minimal"?

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Hello, I submitted a 32x32 four color drawing I did, and was told that it was "too minimal for the gallery". It was a finished piece, a portrait of a person, and I see nothing in the guidelines about minimalism being a no-no. Is there a certain number of pixels/color complexity that you have to have to submit? Isn't minimalism a legitimate art style?

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AndHeDrew Seaman Joined: 18 December 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Topic: "Too minimal"? Posted: 20 December 2017 at 1:20pm
	Hello, I submitted a 32x32 four color drawing I did, and was told that it was "too minimal for the gallery". It was a finished piece, a portrait of a person, and I see nothing in the guidelines about minimalism being a no-no. Is there a certain number of pixels/color complexity that you have to have to submit? Isn't minimalism a legitimate art style?
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eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 20 December 2017 at 5:55pm
	By "minimal", what was likely meant was that it wasn't substantial enough - there just wasn't enough there to warrant more than a passing glance. Such pieces are expected to be submitted as part of a set rather than individually.
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Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 20 December 2017 at 5:57pm
	Hey AndHeDrew, Thanks for bringing this up! You're right, there is no official rule against minimal artwork. However, there is an unwritten rule against low quality work which we apply, and on top of that some works might not get in the gallery because of low voting in the queue. Super tiny art such as your 32x32, 4 color portrait becomes harder to judge on quality, and minimal icons do not contribute much to the gallery in my opinion. This is why I've decided to reject the portrait. However, you'll find that our rules and guidelines are being applied very subjectively and by various moderators, some times pieces like this will get in so feel free to keep on trying with similar works. Also, minimalism is a legitimate art style and your portrait is a legitimate artwork, just probably not suit for the PJ gallery. If you're interested, we're currently discussing our gallery standards for the future, feel free to add your opinion if you like. EDIT: If only I had an editor like Eishiya on all my posts ;). Yes, substantial is a much better term, thank you!
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king_bobston Midshipman Joined: 21 October 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 54	Posted: 21 December 2017 at 11:20am
	For future reference, it would be nice if you could post your piece when you ask question like these, otherwise the only input others can give are assumptions. (Except of course the Mod who deletes it reads your thread, like here).
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Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 21 December 2017 at 4:54pm
	Any mod can see artwork that is sent back, until it's deleted from the gallery. Yes, that makes answering these questions a bit trickier for members, sorry :/ In this case the image discussed is found here: http://pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/2017121910.36.50.png
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king_bobston Midshipman Joined: 21 October 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 54	Posted: 22 December 2017 at 12:16pm
	@Hapiel Oh, I meant OP and any reader who might come into the same situation. It gives opportunity for other members to give feedback. @AndHeDrew With many small pieces it can have a bigger chance to get through if it's multiple saved as one picture although if a small piece has a high enough quality it usually also get accepted. Of course it can be hard to show ones care in certain styles like minimalism :(. You can post in the WIP section if you want feedback, maybe even a mod can say when it would be at a stage were it would be accepted cough, cough.
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