The following guide is intended as a resource for both Artists and the MAST Tagging Team, to help you know which tags apply to pages featuring artwork. Since a description can only go so far, we've added three example images for every tag, and tried to showcase a wide range of different artists. Refer to the How to Post Your Art to the SCP Wiki guide for a more comprehensive overview of creating an art page - this will just explain tagging.
This guide is focused on the tags that have been created specifically for artist and artwork pages, although there is also information about the illustrated tag, for original artwork posted on other pages. While the intention was for art tags to be easy for artists to apply to their own work, please leave this to the tagging team if you're uncertain.
Other Tags may also be applicable to art pages, particularly the tags for Groups and Characters. If a page features art that prominently depicts a specific Group of Interest, Foundation Department or Character, that tag can also be applied to the page. If the artwork depicts events or characters from a specific canon or is set in a fictional location, Canon or Location tags may also be applicable. A Laymen's Guide to Tagging provides more information about applying these more general tags.
New art tags can be proposed in the Tag Proposal Thread in this forum, and will be added to this guide if approved, ideally with three example images. New art tags should be applicable to at least 15 different pages (including artist, artwork, or comic pages), and should meet the following criteria:
- Objective - two different readers should generally agree on which artwork tags to apply.
- Accessible - people with minimal artistic training should be able to understand and apply every tag.
- Navigationally useful - people should actually want to search for the tag.
Pages Featuring Original Art
Artist and Artwork pages
artwork - artwork pages host Foundation-related artwork created by community members, whether as individual pieces or collections.
artist - This tag should be used for artist profile pages. If a site member wants more than one artist profile page, they must get staff permission first.
The primary use for art tags is on pages specifically created to display artwork. It is up to artists whether to post each individual work on its own artwork page, or to post multiple works on the same artwork page. Artist pages can be created to showcase an artist's entire portfolio, but are often used as a hub for the artist's other works, which may be posted on separate artwork pages.
Comics
comic - For stories that are primarily told via sequential art.
This tag can be applied to tales (and more rarely to SCPs or GoI formats) as well as to artwork and artist pages, as the decision of whether to classify comics as artwork or tales is left up to the individual writer/artist. In the absence of other information, it generally comes down to whether or not the page is posted in the art: category. Comics are eligible for art tags, regardless of whether or not they are posted as tales or as artwork.
"Two and A Half Anomalies", a series of comics by MyNameJers featuring SCP-682, SCP-079 and SCP-053.
Illustrated Articles
illustrated - Article has an illustration specifically created for the article, including photobashes and other forms of photo manipulation.
This tag is applicable to all other pages featuring original artwork, including SCP articles, tales, GoI formats, hubs, resources and author pages. This tag should only be applied if the art was created for the article, and not to the inclusion of artwork found elsewhere, although it's fine if the art was initially posted off-site before the artist chose to use it as an illustration on the SCP Wiki.
This includes art created by the author or by one of their collaborators, as well as art they commission for the article. It does apply to photoshopping images, although only if it goes beyond simple edits - see the section below on the image-editing tag for more information. It also includes logos, but only if they were created for that article - subsequent uses of the same artwork elsewhere shouldn't count for this tag.
Since there are so many articles illustrated in some way, the application of this tag is currently incomplete. If you notice it is missing on an older article and are confident it applies, feel free to add it.
Illustrated pages are not eligible for Art Style and Art Content tags.
Style Tags
The following tags are some of the most common and recognisable art styles we see on the SCP Wiki. It's possible that more than one of these tags may apply to a page, since there may be multiple pieces using different styles on the same page, or even individual artworks using multiple art styles in the same piece. It's also possible that none of these tags are an appropriate descriptor of the artwork, in which case you can simply not apply any of them.
Although there are not art style tags specifically for videos and music, those can still be posted on artwork or artist pages. They should be labelled using the audio and video content markers, and some of the art style tags listed below may be applicable to videos.
Animated Art
animated - artwork is animated. Generally applies to .gif files. Superseded by interactive and video.
We have separate tags for interactive games and videos embedded within the page, so this should only be applied to simple animated loops like the ones shown below. These are usually .gif files, although this tag would also apply to other file formats such as .svg animations.
Cel-Shaded Art
cel-shaded - artwork with outlines drawn, then shaded using solid blocks of color or gradients. The characteristic style of animation, comic books and manga.
While off the wiki this term is mostly used to describe digital animation mimicking traditional methods, we would apply the same tag to work that is physically drawn and inked. The distinctive characteristic of this style is having clearly distinct blocks of color, although there may be some shading or gradients.
Image Editing
image-editing - artwork created by altering or combining existing images.
This is for artwork created through image editing - photoshopping images is a common example, but it also applies to collages created from multiple sources, and to vector graphics based on existing assets. It doesn't apply to basic techniques like cropping, or to digital artwork originally created by the artist and edited as part of their process. Any images used should be compliant with our site license (CC BY-SA 3.0.), and the artwork should be accompanied by information about the source of the images used - see our Image Use Policy for more information about this.
Painted Art
painted - artwork created using paint or pastel, or using digital brush strokes to blend colors and mimic the appearance of paint.
For this tag the appearance matters more than the actual medium used to create the piece. Artwork should get this tag if there's deliberate blending of colours, in contrast to the distinct blocks of color seen in cel-shaded art. Both tags may apply to the same artwork, for example if cel-shaded characters are placed in front of a painted background.
Pixel Art
pixel-art - artwork created by drawing individual pixels, or by deliberately pixelating an existing image.
This should be easy to recognise, as the defining feature of pixel art is that you're meant to be able to see the individual pixels.
Sketched Art
sketched - artwork drawn with pencil, pen or crayon, or created digitally in a similar style. May be shaded, or left as a line drawing.
This tag is intended for stylised and simple drawings, generally without much color. This is mostly for freehand pencil sketches, but also applies to simple digital lineart.
Content Tags
The following tags describe what the artwork depicts, in very general terms. More than one of these tags may apply to an individual artwork, or to different artworks on the same page.
Logos
logo - artwork depicts one or more logos or other symbolic graphics, such as insignia, flags and coats of arms.
This is for artwork that represents something, somewhere or someone. Usually these are created through vector graphics, but the tag would also apply to logos created by hand.
Posters
poster - artwork depicts a poster, infographic or advertisement, using a combination of images and words to convey information.
If the artist doesn't specifically describe something as a poster, then this tag should only be added if that's the obvious intention of the artwork.
Groups of Interest (GoI)
goi-art - artwork depicting characters, objects, or themes from a specific Group of Interest. Also applies to GoI logos.
If an art page focuses on a specific GoI, it should also be tagged with the appropriate Group of Interest tag. There's also a section of the Character Tag List for Persons of Interest associated with specific GoIs, who may also appear in goi-art.
SCP Foundation Mobile Task Forces (MTF)
task-force-art - artwork depicting members of one of the Foundation's Mobile Task Forces, or their MTF insignia.
This is for art related to one of the Foundation's many Mobile Task Forces, including depictions of them in action as well as logos created for a specific MTF.
SCP Foundation Personnel
personnel-art - artwork depicting specific SCP Foundation employees.
While this is often for art depicting doctors and researchers, the tag also applies to depictions of other site staff and field agents, as well as directors and O5 Command. Depictions of anonymous members of a Mobile Task force should be tagged task-force-art instead, but the categories can overlap if named characters are depicted as part of a Mobile Task Force.
While artwork depicting well-known characters like Doctor Alto Clef is an obvious use for this tag, it is applicable to any art focusing on the people that work for the Foundation, including original characters created by the artist. Check the list of character tags for Foundation Personnel with their own character tags, which can be applied to artwork in addition to the personnel-art tag.
SCP Objects
scp-art - artwork depicting one or more SCP objects or entities.
This is the SCP Wiki, so obviously we get a lot of this! Famous SCPs like SCP-173, SCP-682, and SCP-049 get the most attention, and artwork depicting them can also be given their specific character tags - there's a section of the Character tag list that contains all SCP objects with their own character tags. However, the scp-art tag can be applied to any illustration of any SCP, including SCPs that are inanimate objects, locations or events.
