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The purpose of our group is to first and foremost encourage artists of ALL skill levels to learn, grow, and interact with the group and the photomanipulation community in general. We also like to showcase outstanding artists and efforts by members of our community.

Are you interested in joining our group? There is a hidden phrase located in our Gallery Descriptions. You must include in your join request in order for it to be accepted. This will let us know that you have read and understand our rules and gallery system.

We have rules at The Art of Manipulation to ensure that the purpose of this group is not ignored. Please read these rules  carefully before submitting to make sure your submission is not declined.

Submission Rules

Our basic submission rules are about the same as any other photomanipulation group:

Members with no activity in over six months will be removed from the group. Activity is considered submitting works, voting and/or commenting on polls, commenting on group journals, etc.

Deviation must be categorized as Digital Art>Photomanipulation. AT LEAST two photographic elements must be used for a work to be considered a photomanipulation. This does not include brushes and textures.

We will accept works using 3D elements provided that they follow our group rules and contain at least 2 photographic elements.

Submissions must contain less than 50% digital painting and/or 3d elements in the work to be accepted.
    *Note: You are welcome to submit all other digital artworks to our favorites folder.

Use only legitimate stock resources. Images that you do not have permission to use as stock (ie - Google and other web images) are not allowed. Flickr does allow some images to be used as stock now.    If you're not sure about the validity of an image, it's best to refrain from using it.

Credit all dA resources with a link directly to the stock used. For non-dA stocks we prefer a direct link but it is not mandatory. Please note that while dA policy does not require direct links for outside stock, they strongly urge directly linking to all resources used in a work.

We do NOT accept works which use a premade background. We are a learning-based group - we want to see your work, not someone else's. Rather than rely on the work of others, why not learn and get better creating your own backgrounds?

Member submissions are NOT accepted in the following folders: Featured, Expert, Phenomenal Finds, or Art by the Admins.
   *Note:  Please add outstanding manips to our "Favorites>Featured" folder for consideration as a Phenomenal Find.

Gallery submissions are limited to ONE per week. This does not include submissions to the group favorites.
    
Try and be honest with yourself about what level your artwork is. If we do not agree with you, we will ask you to withdraw and resubmit to the correct folder. If your work is accepted in another group as intermediate or advanced, that does not automatically mean we will accept it to the same level. Our standards may differ from other groups. Also please note that your level is not an overall judgement of you as an artist, but of the individual piece, and your level could (possibly) change from piece to piece.

If your work is declined, you can request an explanation in your deviation comments; however, please do not attack the admins.

Get involved! You will not gain anything without an attempt to engage with other group members.

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