I would like to introduce you to a new Photoshop contest style community website that launched earlier this summer that looks to be one of the best contest interfaces around, and has a HUGE amount of contests and content constantly on the roll. Welcome to the world PhotoshopTalent.com! Please note this is a sponsored review, however it is also honest… if this site was a waste of time, believe me, you wouldn't be hearing me talking about it other than perhaps a stifled yawn. I've actually registered and snooped around, played with some of the options and lurked on their forums and competition area so that I could give you a good idea of what to expect, especially for you folks that have never participated on a contest site. So, without further rambling, let's get in to it!

You might be asking yourself "What exactly is a Photoshop contest site?" and I can tell you when one of these sites is put together properly, they are a lot of fun to use. Simply put, it's a site where Photoshop (or other 2D programs) users get together and enter contests to see who has the best skills, ideas and sometimes sense of humor when pushing the pixels. You don't have to be an expert either, there are all sorts of skill levels and some contests are very simple and almost anyone can participate. As your skills improve, you can work faster, and compete in higher skill levels. These sites also normally have a scoring system, prizes and of course, bragging rights. If you have a bit of extra time on your hands and want to have fun competing with artists and increase your skills, these contest sites are fantastic.

Now, let's talk about what PhotoshopTalent.com has to offer.

Let me start off by saying this site is free to compete… that's important because many of these sites require a registration fee to get started. With these guys, you can start earning credits right away without paying a nickel. Credits are what you earn when you win a contest, and you can cash in credits for real money, participate in higher skilled, higher paying contests that require credits to enter, get in on large jackpot drawings and more. 100 credits are worth $1, so the more you enter, the more credits you can rack up, and if you're participation is pretty heavy, you can put together a pretty nice pot.

Even more fun is the ability to challenge other members in to 1 on 1 contests for a specific amount of credits… think you're better than me? Prove it with a bet!

The site also have a VERY detailed community based CMS, with great contest tracking and participation options. You can create you're own albums, set faves, talk with other members, track your contests and much more. Don't feel like working on a contest? No problem, you can also surf their growing list of tutorials!

Another important factor is how active the site is. Sure there's lots of other contest sites out there, but 99% of them have about as much activity as a snail… a DEAD snail! PT is VERY active with loads of new contests in all their categories and skill levels, so it's pretty hard to get bored. In fact, all you have to do is go to PhotoshopTalent.com and you can immediately see they've got some really fun themes going and many of the entries are awesome!

Even if you don't feel like participating, you can still sign up, comment and vote on contests, chat it up on the forums or just host your art portfolio. Here's some handy links to check out as well:

1. For questions about what they do, how they do it, and when they do it, check out their FAQ sheet.

2. Be sure to read their contest guidelines to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.

3. For the best of the best on this site, check out their hall of fame.

If you've been toying with having some fun with some friendly "Photochop" style competition or what to find out more about it, be sure to check out PhotoshopTalent.com, one of the best contest sites I've seen in a long time.

Enjoy!
Dan