Signature grading

The current rubric and pay scale is as follows:


1 – User demonstrates a basic level of Photoshop (or any other photo manipulation software) and has the necessary elements required in a signature. The signature includes a photo of a player, a background, and text. $300k  

2 – User demonstrates a baseline knowledge of the tools within Photoshop and shows some understanding of lighting, depth, flow, and other artistic elements. User has shown they have surpassed the beginning levels of Photoshop. $600k

3 – User demonstrates effective use of Photoshop tools to create a quality signature. All aspects of lighting, depth, flow, color, and creativity are present within the signature. There is still room for improvement, but the user now has a good understanding of sig making. $900k

4 – User demonstrates an advanced knowledge of the tools in Photoshop. They are expertly utilizing artistic elements such as lighting, depth, etc. to create a high-quality signature. $1.2M

5 – Cream of the crop. A very rare score for an expert-quality signature that demonstrates a high level of artistic ability and cohesiveness. $1.5M

The graphics graders grade as a panel. That means that several graders will grade each submission individually using different grading categories and the median value of those individual grades is being used as a final grade (rounded up to .5 if necessary). 

Grading explanations for signatures:

A signature can get a maximum of 10 points from these categories which equals a 5/5 grade.

- Player Render (max 3 points)
- Text (max 2 points)
- Composition (max 1 point)
- Lighting (max 2 points)
- Effects (max 2 points)

Details and examples:

Player Render

Points	Description	Links
0	No render is included in the submission or the render is of poor quality  (e.g. the render is blurry, poorly cropped or out of proportion).	Example
1	There is an unmodified render of good quality (e.g. no attempt has been made at a jersey swap).	Example
2	There is a render of good quality with a basic jersey swap (e.g. a logo swap has been done but it has not been blended onto the render).	Example
3	There is a render of good quality with a good jersey swap (e.g. a logo swap has been done and blended with the existing render by adjusting the shape and lighting).	Example

Example explanation:
0 - In this submission no player render is present.
1 - In this submission there is a good quality player render but there has been no attempt to change the jersey.
2 -  In this submission there is a good quality player render and a jersey swap has been done. However, you can see that the team logo is flat and does not conform to the jersey shape and the logo overlaps the armpit mesh and also extends off the players chest.
3 - In this submission there is a good quality player render and a jersey swap has been done. You can see that not only has the team logo been added but it has also been adjusted to match the shape of the jersey, the color and lighting has also been adjusted to match the jersey.

Text

Points	Description	Links
0	There is no text or the text is unreadable.	Example
1	There is text present in the submission which may include basic effects (e.g. gradients, glows and textures).	Example
2	There is text with advanced implementation of effects (e.g. under/overlays, lighting, gradients, glows, shadows and distortion).	Example 1 / Example 2

Example explanation:

0 - In this submission it is very hard to make the players last name as the color used makes it hard to distinguish between parts of the background and player render.
1 - In this submission text has been added that is clear and with a glow effect but this lacks advanced graphical elements.
2 - Example 1: In this submission multiple elements have been well used to create the player name. Different color font offsets have been used to distinguish between the first and last name, a large dark shape has been used to add contrast and draw focus to the last name and multiple brush overlays have been added on top of the text to create depth.
Example 2: In this submission the text has not just been used to display the players name but also to add a pattern to the signature. Part of this text then breaks away from this pattern with a color change to highlight the name and draw focus. This is combined with an additional light text overlay to create additional depth to the text. The colors used for font tie the elements in both the background and foreground together.

Composition

Points	Description	Links
0	Elements are positioned in a way that appears unbalanced.	Example
1	Elements are balanced.	Example

Example explanation:

0 - In this submission the signature is broken up into 2 sections, the first section on the left contains 6 separate headshots, the second section is a single larger headshot on the right. This distribution of headshots makes the submission appear unbalanced. Through the centre of the submission there is a line of text which also creates separation between the top and bottom row of headshots which increases the feeling of imbalance as the headshots on the top row are larger than those on the bottom.
1 - In this submission a larger player render is featured on the left of the signature, this is balanced well by a large section of font on the opposite side of the signature. The submission is evenly populated with no large areas of empty space that create imbalance.

Lighting

Points	Description	Links
0	No attempt has been made to blend element lighting.	Example
1	Attempts have been made to blend element lighting but there is room to further improve (e.g. changes made make elements overly dark/light and not cohesive).	Example
2	Submission lighting is cohesive.	Example

Example explanation:

0 - In this submission there are multiple layers that have been used. These all retain their original lighting. With no changes made to the lighting, each element is distinctive and reduces the cohesiveness of the submission.
1 - In this submission there were attempts made to enhance the lighting on the elements. This can be seen by the shading added to the borders of the submission. However, the render on the right clearly shows a light source coming from the left side of the canvas. The render on the left is not affected by this light source and the lighting is flat. Further work could be done to add not just highlights, but also shadows as a result of the light source.
2 - In this submission a light source has been added under the player name, this radiates primarily from the J and highlights have been added where they would naturally fall, highlighting the player’s face. This is used as a mechanism to draw attention and establish the focal point of the signature. Shadows have been added as the distance to the light source increases.

Effects

Points	Description	Links
0	There are no graphical effects present.	Example
1	Graphical effects or animated elements have been added but further efforts could be made to improve how they were incorporated into the submission (e.g. a glow is added to a render but the glow is too large and has not been blended thus taking away from the submission).	Example
2	Graphical effects or animated elements have been added and are incorporated into the submission (e.g. a glow is added to a render and the size and transparency has been adjusted to suit the image).	Example

Example explanation:

0 - In this submission we can see a render, logo, background and text have been added but no further graphical effects or techniques have been used to bring the submission together.
1 - In this submission the secondary render has had the color saturation reduced in an effort to create depth. To further this sense of depth, brushwork has been added behind the primary render and text.
2 - In this submission multiple shapes and patterns have been used to create depth incorporating the background, player render, text and foreground. This has been accomplished by effectively layering these shapes behind and on top of each element. An overlay has also been added across the signature to give the submission texture.

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Misc graphics grading

Hockey Card Style Graphics

1/5 - $70,000
2/5 - $140,000
3/5 - $210,000
4/5 - $280,000
5/5 - $350,000

A max. of 6 hockey card style graphics may be submitted per week. This is the only exception where more than 4 graphics can be submitted per week, however, you cannot add other graphics if you submit 6 hockey cards.
Cards will be awarded points on this criteria: text (2), aesthetic (2), and cut (1). An SHL or SMJHL league logo should be included on the card to be awarded full points.


Jersey Style Graphics

1/3 - $300,000
2/3 - $600,000
3/3 - $900,000

A max. of 1 full jersey set (containing a home, an away, and an alternate jersey) may be submitted per week. Each jersey graphic will be graded individually. To score 3/3 the design must be aesthetically pleasing and be unique (jersey style changed along with colour), for a 2/3 the design must be aesthetically pleasing and a 1/3 is reserved for submissions that are low effort or look poor. A bonus of $300,000 will be awarded for a submission of 1 full jersey set that scores a 3/3 overall. A jersey set counts as one submission and three additional graphics (e.g. 3 signatures or 3 hockey cards) may be submitted in addition.

Logo Style Graphics

1/3 - $300,000
2/3 - $600,000
3/3 - $900,000

A max. of 4 unique logo style graphics may be submitted per week. 3/3 is a logo that wouldn't look out of place in a real life professional league, 2/3 is an average SHL logo, 1/3 is a logo that SHL/SMJHL teams most likely would not use but obvious some effort was put into designing these logos.

Art

1/3 - $100,000
2/3 - $300,000
3/3 - $500,000

A max. of 4 general artistic graphics may be submitted per week. This category has been introduced to more consistently cover and reward creative contributions that don't fit traditional digital media (ex: 3D printing, posters, drawings, etc.) Hand drawn art (physical or digital) will be awarded a 2x bonus.

Wallpapers

1/3 - $300,000
2/3 - $600,000
3/3 - $900,000

A max. of 4 wallpapers may be submitted per week. The minimum size should be 1920x1080 pixels for a desktop wallpaper. A desktop/mobile matching submission will be counted as one (1).

For a 1/3 the submission must have the appropriate dimensions and must relate to the SHL/SMJHL. For a 2/3 the previous qualifications must be met. Notable visual enhancements must be made. Additional consideration should be made that indicates the submission is a background (consideration of folders/icons/etc). To score 3/3 the design elements must work together cohesively. Shape, color, form, and space; as well text and other assets must display an elevated knowledge of design.

A set of matching desktop and mobile wallpaper will receive one grade, but an automatic bonus of $200,000 will be added for the mobile version regardless of the final grade. It is also possible to only submit a mobile version instead of a desktop version.

You can download a blank 1920x1080 px template for a wallpaper here.

Site / Championship Banners

Banners for SHL/SMJHL/IIHF/WJC championships will be graded on the same scale as signatures and will be paid out at a bonus 2x the sig value when submitted for grading. Alternatively the artist may request a flat 2M payment from HO.

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Video Grading

The video grading submissions and scale can be found here.

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The submission guidelines are as follows:

• Every graphic needs to be related to this league (SHL/SMJHL/IIHF/WJC) to be graded and paid.
  
• Each user is allowed to make one thread for submissions per week in the Weekly Submissions subforum. Weeks begin/end Sunday at midnight EST.
  
• The name of the thread should consist of your forum user name, followed by the date of the upcoming Sunday, written as MM/DD, example: User name 08/19 
  
• Each weekly thread can have a maximum of four submissions. You are free to edit your submission post and add more graphics at any time before the submission deadline on Sunday. 
  
• Submissions users have made a profit on elsewhere (e.g. signature shops or site banners paid by HO) on the site may not be submitted for grading.
  
• Submissions that feature an overwhelming likeness to previous submissions will be prone to payment deductions, at the discretion of the graphics team. If a graphic is found to have an egregiously borrowed element (including borrowing from oneself), a 50% pay reduction will incur on all of the secondary submissions (the primary will still be paid at 100%).
  

The graphics team has the right not to grade submissions that don't follow these guidelines.

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Hosting graphics

Uploading images to Discord and then linking them on the forum won't work anymore since the images have parameters in their URL that will expire and thus create broken links (see announcement about it). Try hosting them on image hosting sites like imgur or imgbb or whatever hosting site you like.

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First submission bonus and draft week bonus

Every season both the media department and the graphics department hold a "draft double" week during/after the draft week. Every graphic submission that is related to that season's drafts (SMJHL/SHL) will receive a 2x payout. Look for an announcement during that time that explains the exact dates.
Every user who submits their first graphics on the forum is eligible for a 2x bonus payout, but it has to be mentioned somewhere within the post so the graders can recognize it as a "first submission bonus". 
These two options (first submission & draft bonus) cannot be combined. You are allowed to use your first submission bonus at a later time (for your second submission) if your first submission happens to be during draft double media week.
The 2x bonus will be added to the final payout sum of your weekly submission.