Introduction
UtaForum 5.0β Themes all share the common base: Tactical by ThemeHouseThis theme was chosen because I felt it had a "fun" vibe, it makes child theme development easy with an easy convenient way to pallet swap everything and I felt we could get more creative with it compared to more standard, corporate, minimalist, or web 2.0-y themes. The one thing that makes each child theme really pop is their unique and interesting Theme Backgrounds. As part of UtaForum's theme development process, I am looking to crowdsource the background art and am planning to utilize a new function "Photo contest" to allow the community to vote on their favorites. Winners that meet the specifications can be incorporated as part of a theme.
In general, submissions can be in two categories "fixed images" or "CSS composites". I will go over the specific specifications of each later but the simple version is "fixed images" are large JPG files, that stretch the length of the webpage and are displayed as whole page background. On the other hand "CSS composites" are multi-element page BGs usually consisting of a combination of transparent PNG elements and static fixed image backgrounds that are composited together with CSS to make a layered theme background.
Fixed Image Guidelines
Submissions can be Full Width, Full Height, Full-Screen Cover, or Tiled. They can be set to align with the Top, Bottom, Side, or Any Corner of the page.For full-width and full-height page BGs since they may not cover the entire BG at some resolutions, they should end in a solid color, either as part of the art or as an added gradient.
Resolution can vary depending on your art and how you want it aligned, but generally, for Full-Width designs, 2000x1500 or 1500x1500 were my test resolutions.
CSS Composite Guidelines
You should submit your CSS composite submissions in the form of a "mockup", what it would look like when implemented to the forum.When preparing the art, in order to implement it, I will need the background and layered PNG elements as separate files.
This is the most complex and creative form of submission so I can't offer many guidelines other than submit the mockups of how you want it to look, and I will do my best to CSS magic it to happen.
Photo Contest Overview
On event threads with Photo Contest Mode enabled by admins, every reply with an image attachment will be entered into the contest.Forum users can vote for their favorite submissions by reacting (hitting the like button) to any reply, this counts as a +1 vote.
Forum users can vote for as many submissions as they want. Forum users can make multiple submissions with multiple separate replies.
All of the above will be automatically aggregated by the Photo Contest plugin and display the rankings and winners.
Theme Contest Event Prizes
Everyone that makes a valid submission will earn a theme-related Medal to display on their PostBit and Forum Profile.Winner(s) will earn an additional Medal, be used as part of the theme, and be credited with their choice of link on the footer of said theme.
At my discretion, a contest can potentially have multiple winners. XenForo actually has a system to rotate multiple fixed image BGs. This is not guaranteed.
I encourage everyone to participate, even if you don't think you can win, at least so you can earn your limited edition collectible forum medals.
I am leaving this thread unlocked to answer any questions related to submissions and specifications.
