GoGoBananas said:
Thank you for your post. It was very helpful for the info. My only issue is that the deletion ratio will take forever to actually fix since I initially made the mistake of uploading images early on and now I am limited to 5 every 5 days or so (if they don't get approved), which constantly begins the case. I feel that certain images and artists are an "automatic okay" and that can drastically vary, even within the artist's drawings that are posted... I find that to be disheartening and confusing.
Here is my little note about getting promotion by posting (uploading)：
Introduction & Intended Reader
This is only my personal experience and does not represent any authority, nor is it intended to serve as any kind of standard.
This is written for those who wish to earn promotion on Danbooru through posting (uploading), and it assumes that the reader may be unfamiliar with the site’s rules or only has a basic understanding of them.
I was promoted to Contributor only in late 2025, so my experience is still limited. If anything here seems unclear or conflicts with what you’ve previously learned, it is highly recommended to consult more senior members.
By the way, when I first joined Danbooru, my upload limit was once reduced to 5 because too many of my posts were deleted.
Even so, I eventually managed to recover from that setback and was ultimately promoted.
So, stay confident! As long as you learn the right techniques and combine them with effort and patience, success will come eventually!
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Basic Knowledge
Before beginning to upload, please read:
How to Contribute: howto:contribute
Upload Rules: help:upload rules
For tagging during uploads, you may refer to:
How to Tag: howto:tag checklist
Angle, framing, and the portion of characters shown in the image:
tag group:image composition
(Thanks to Placeholder1996 for reminding me about the use of framing tags.)
Other useful resources:
Useful Threads Index: topic #8235
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How to View an Artist’s Additional Links
Click the “?” next to the artist’s name, and the page will display more links associated with that artist.
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Useful Tools
Uploading from Fantia/Fanbox:
topic #25803
Many artists release free sample artwork on Fantia or Fanbox that is often higher quality than what they upload to Twitter (X) or even Pixiv.
Pixiv duplicate checker:
https://github.com/nottalulah/userscripts/blob/master/Pixiv_Image_Searches_and_Stuff.user.js
Twitter (X) duplicate checker:
topic #16342
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Quality Checking Procedure
1. Check whether the artist uses AI
Visit the artist’s Twitter or Pixiv account and read their profile. If the profile states “illustrator” or “イラストレーター,” it is more likely that they draw by hand.
If the artist already has works uploaded on Danbooru, reviewing their deleted posts can also be informative.
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2. Check for duplicates
The duplicate detection tools mentioned earlier may occasionally miss matches. For final verification, please use:
https://danbooru.iqdb.org/
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3. Check image quality
Right-click the image and open it in a new tab. Examine the details carefully.
If parts that should be sharp (such as the main subjects) appear blurry, the artwork may not meet the required quality standards.
Additionally, some commercial or commissioned illustrations—such as MV artwork or merchandise art—may look attractive as thumbnails, but the versions uploaded to Twitter are often heavily compressed and blurry.
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4. Check for anatomical errors
In my experience, fingers, legs, and knees are the areas where mistakes occur most frequently.
Sometimes an artist may exaggerate a preferred body part so strongly that it results in anatomical distortion—for example, the legs in:
https://www.pixiv.net/artworks/126630941
This often happens with artists who have a very distinctive and consistent preference for specific body parts. If an artist repeatedly emphasizes the same area or uses similar poses, I become more cautious when evaluating their work.
In erotic artwork, exaggeration of sexual characteristics and bodily features can also commonly lead to anatomical issues.
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5. Other Factors
5.1 Presence of Background
I generally prefer artworks that include backgrounds. For pieces with only a central character and a plain white background, I tend to be more cautious.
White-background portraits offer limited visual richness and may be a negative quality factor. Furthermore, for many popular characters, Danbooru already has thousands of such plain-background images.
5.2 Cleanliness of Linework
If a line that should be drawn smoothly (e.g., an arm outline) is instead built from short, broken strokes, I examine the artwork more carefully.
5.3 Lighting and shading
For the main characters, artworks that demonstrate rich lighting, highlights, shadows, and color depth are generally stronger than those using flat, unshaded color blocks.
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About Promotion
General guidelines for user ranks:
help:users
A related discussion thread:
topic #22599
Promotions tend to occur in waves rather than continuously.
If you are curious about how your current record compares to typical promotion standards, you can check:
Promotion candidate tracker:
https://promotions.nonamethanks.xyz/#fromHistory
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Additional Notes
1. Upload Variety
When first learning to upload, many people want to focus on their favorite artists or themes.
However, the number of eligible artworks from a single artist may not be enough to sustain progress toward promotion.
This often requires searching broadly for more artwork to upload, which can be tiring, but also rewarding—you may discover new artists, characters, or styles you grow to love.
2. About uploading erotic artworks
As noted earlier, erotic content often involves exaggeration of sexual features, which makes anatomical errors more common.
Furthermore, the stimulating nature of erotic images may make it harder to judge quality objectively.
Another issue is that the point of emphasis in erotic art can draw all attention to one body part, making it easy to overlook flaws in other areas of the image.
3. Useful Thread for High-Approval Art
Danbooru maintains an Upload Bounty Thread posted by senior users with approval privileges.
It lists artworks that are considered relatively safe to upload:
https://danbooru.donmai.us/forum_topics/24186#forum_post_244548
