From having so many contests out there, I thought it would be a good idea, for both experienced and inexperienced voters, to be shown aspects of blending, or what to look for, in each blend when voting in a contest.

1. How pleasing the blend is to the eye.
This is just how it sounds. You look at the blend and see whether or not you like how it looks. Simple as that.

2. How well the blend relates to the subject.
If you are having a regular contest about Lord of the Rings, there probably should not be a pirate or an alien in the middle of the blend. Just make sure the graphic maker took an effort to make a blend for the specific contest and not just any other blend.

3. Creativity.
People will do the same exact thing, just with different brushes, text, and textures. Look to see if someone did something out of the norm.

If anyone has any more that you think should be added, just post here.

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It would be sad if this got lost in oblivion, so I won't let it.

This tip doesn't have to do with actual voting itself, but is more for the hosts trying to get more votes:

Try to limit the chatter. Yes, we're all great friends and love to talk. We like to comment on things, offer and accept cookies, and threaten pink duckies. But the more posts someone sees when just browsing through the contests section, the more they will tend to skip it. I may see a contest with 13 replies, so I don't look closely at it, but it may only have 2 votes. I'm not saying stop talking completely, but wait to post a "thanks for voting, have a cookie" until there are three or so.

Goals are good. I've seen this on some contests and have adopted it myself. Putting [NEED 6] in the subject line actually works pretty well for getting a vote. That way people don't assume that others have it taken care of. They are more likely to stop by and help you out. Just don't forget to edit it periodically as well!

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going on a journey through my old claims