Submit

Does Stencil Archive edit submissions?

There is only one requirement for a pic submission: the image must not be faded to the point of being unreadable and/or the stencil must be well-defined. I have taken pics myself that I haven't published because I have no idea what the image is/says.

Stencil Archive also does not publish the same stencil in different pics. If you give me five images of the same stencil, then I will pick the one we like the best and publish it.

Recently, I have been given submissions of stencils that have racist/fascist/derogatory messages. I will publish these at my discretion, mostly relying on whether or not they may be of historical significance in the future.

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How should the pics be formatted?

Stencil Archive has the following standard format for all the images:

• 72 pixels per inch (96 PPI is OK as well)
• approximately 8 or 9 inches at longest side (20-23 cm at longest side)
• You can submit an image a bit larger than this (ex., 12 inches at longest side) as long as it is 72/96 PPI
• You can always send something larger, or unformatted from your camera/phone, and I'll reformat to preferred size.

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What else should I send with the attached file?

I need two two things, or it will not get posted:

• The location of the stencil (so I can put it in the right album).
• The artist, if any, who made the stencil (If you are/know the artist, then send the name you want to use to give credit.)

To save time, I put the artist name (if any) and location in the filename (for example, IL Chicago Peace Sign.jpg or Banksy UK London Sweat Shop.jpg)

If you do not send me the location of the stencil, the pic will not get published until you do so. I cannot publish it if I don't know where to put it! Don't worry, I'll reply back to ask for this if you forget.

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What format should I save my pic files as?

I prefer .jpg format, not .png. We can also take the .heic format, but will have to convert this to .jpg.

What if my pics are different than the above guidelines?

Usually not a problem. If the pic file is really small, I might not publish it. If it is too large, I will reformat it, delaying its upload to the Archives.

I'll let you know if there are problems with your files and publishing it will depend on your response time.

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What if I have a lot of pics that I'd like to give to Stencil Archive?

Submitting them isn't a problem, but having to open many ems to get the images is annoying. I can open any kind of stuffed or zipped file and can let you know if I cannot. If attaching them is a pain, online cloud services are easily available to up/download a zip. Another method is to make your own web page and post them so I can either download them or link the page.

Contact me beforehand.

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Speaking of links, what are your guidelines for adding a link?

Simple, if you have stencil art, FAQ, etc. on your site, I'll link it. I'll link anything stencil related and tend to avoid other types of art (posters, stickers, pieces, etc.). One reason I started this site was because I had trouble finding other stencil sites, so links have always been a part of it. I also now link up to social media sites, so share away if you have an Instagram account.

As a rule, I do not link to businesses that sell stencils, unless you convince me that you're stencil artist running it. There are many crafty stencil shops out there so it'd have to be a special site for me to link to. I will also routinely check the links to make sure they're live.

And I'd love it if you put Stencil Archive on your links page.

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Do you give artists their individual album?

Yes.

I'll give an album to anyone who sends me 3-4 or more images of 3-4 or more different stencils that they've made. I still need your location to put your album in it's proper Archive, but am glad to offer this to the community.

I also tend to not remember who you are, or what your email is, so please remind me of your name and location every time you submit new content for your archive.

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How do you categorize stencils? 

According to locations and artists. You can look at the main Archives page to get an idea of how it works.

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Why can't I upload my own pics?

One of the main messages that I got from the community was to keep Stencil Archive's new design from getting bloated and out of control. Basically, I am a curator with a few simple rules to adhere to. This keeps the site from getting slammed with many images, some of them being the same stencil over and over.

I will consider giving you permission to upload to your own archive, but only after you've been submitting to me for a while. Let me know if you're interested in that if you've been part of the community for a while and we'll work it out!

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Why can't I comment on the pics?

I'm not into commenting on and/or judging the art. I encourage everyone to make stencils and don't want a beginner to get discouraged from potential trolling. Whether or not you like it doesn't matter as long as it is a stencil. I also don't want the site to get bloated and out of control, nor do I want to maintain any kind of comments or message boards.

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What's the e-mail address that I use to submit to you?

To avoid junk emails, you must read these FAQs before you get to the end of the rainbow. Otherwise, the main Stencil Archive email is at the bottom of this page.

If you are NOT submitting stencil photos, you can also send direct message(s) via social media streams (Instagram, flickr). Links are at the top of the home page.

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How do I submit a pic?

You can find the information in this FAQ. Just look for a similar question above.

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When will you accept pics again ?

We're accepting them now. Since the site is a no-profit labor of love, I have had problems keeping on top of posting the submissions that I get (sometimes hundreds in one email). But if you submit, I will post them. Please check out this FAQ for details on how to submit.

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When do the albums get updated?

Right now, I am updating them as often as possible. I have a "Stencil Archive News" category for the main page feeds, and sometimes on my social accounts. The posts are clearly titled for you to find links to the newest image content.

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When I click the link for the email to submit a image it doesn't work could you email me the address?

Hmm, I just checked this and the link in the FAQ worked for me.

The submit email is at the bottom of this page. This is the only place it exists.

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This may be painfully obvious to most but, where does one click to submit a picture?

Again, there's only one place where it exists and it's on this page.

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I cut stencils myself but the only ones I've done are the OBEY stencils. Is it okay for me to submit those or make something of my own?

That's a good question. Stencil Archive has a policy that accepts anything that is a stencil. Whether or not you made the art isn't an issue with us, but a few artists have contested stolen work, asking us to take the copied piece down.

I have personally photographed OBEY stencils in many different cities and have no idea if Shepard Fairey did them himself. They're all on this site. I also recall that he encourages people to make OBEY stencils and put the up, so I have no problem posting your submission. This site also has plenty of Banksy knock-offs, which are easier to note.

All this being said, Stencil Archive encourages artists to try to make their own pieces. We believe that the art form is fun, and being creative with it can only make us all feel better about ourselves and our creative potential. No matter what the piece looks like, or how you judge it yourself, Stencil Archive will publish it as a historical document of your talent, and of the artform as a whole.

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I keep trying and I can't upload my pics... I would like to know what EXACTLY I need to do to upload my stencils?

The only way is to give them to me to upload. This is a curated site, with a few rules to go by when submitting. Regular, heavy submitters can eventually get permission to curate their own archives as long as they post one image of a stencil that is easily recognized as a stencil.

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