Frequently Asked Questions

Artells Media is a growth platform for visual creators: photographers, fine and digital artists, illustrators, models, stylists, makeup and hair artists, fashion and set designers, art directors. Behind it stand five international fashion & art magazines (Artells, Artego, Marika, Figgi and Quadro), published in print and digital worldwide. You publish work, enter contests, get chosen by real editors and build a public, merit-only reputation.

The core of the platform is free: creating a profile, publishing to the Open Feed, entering the Awards contests, writing stories and submitting a series to any magazine cost nothing. Paid options exist only as upgrades (covers, interviews, promotion, extra upload slots), and they never influence editorial selection.

Continue with Google, or enter your email anywhere you see a sign-in form. We send a letter with a sign-in button and a 6-digit code you can type on the sign-in page instead. No password needed. The same email always opens the same account, so "registering" and "logging in" are one door. You stay signed in for 90 days, and Sign out is in the menu in the header.

Profiles appear on the public boards once they are real: an avatar photo and at least 3 works in your portfolio. Add both in Account → Settings and you'll show up immediately. The same completeness also unlocks referral rewards for whoever invited you.

Every Monday a new theme opens. You can upload up to 2 works that week, free (PRO members: 10). The editors of all five magazines browse the feed and pick their favourites. A picked work gets the magazine's badge, may appear on its social channels, and earns you +50 Creator Score (every post earns +5).

Yes, a few ways: go PRO (10 a week), invite friends (each invited creator who completes their profile, an avatar and 3 works, adds +1 slot for the week, up to +3), or buy an extra slot for the current week. And if you joined through a friend's invite link, your first week already comes with one extra upload.

A new themed round opens every month. You start with 2 entries (PRO: 10); the work is judged blind (nobody sees whose photo they're rating) by the community and the editors' jury, whose votes carry extra weight. Entries need at least 3 votes to rank.

Rate other entries: every 20 ratings earns you one extra upload for the round. Once your included entries are used, you can also buy more ($10 each, or a pack of 5 with a discount). Bought entries never affect how your work is scored.

1st place: the Artells cover, a printed publication and +300 Creator Score. 2nd: the Artego cover, social media placement and +200. 3rd: a cover of Figgi, Quadro or Marika, whichever you choose, and +150. Places 4 to 10: social media placement and +50 each. The editors' own Editors' Pick adds +150.

When the round closes, everyone who placed gets the results by email and in their account. The top three also get a personal prize code, valid for 7 days. The button in that letter opens the submission form with your cover chosen and the code filled in: upload the full-resolution winning work (one photo is enough) and send. Nothing to pay, the monthly submission limits don't apply, and the editors place it in an issue.

Places are never shared. On equal scores the entry with more ratings goes ahead, and if that is equal too, the one entered earlier.

A public, merit-only reputation number. Every action earns points: a feed post +5 and a contest entry +10 (both count only for your first 2 free slots per week or round; bought and PRO slots add 0), an editors' pick +50, a win +300, a published story +50, a magazine publication +200, a complete profile +10 (photo, name, specialty, short bio, a link and 3 portfolio works, kept while the profile stays complete), and so on. Every point is traceable in a public ledger on your profile, and not a single one can be bought.

Emerging (0+), Rising (100+), Featured (400+, −5% on paid options), Master (1000+, −10%), Icon (2500+, −15% and priority review: the editors see your work first). Levels are recalculated live from your score.

Pick the magazine your work belongs in and submit a series. It's free. The editors answer within 7 days; accepted series run in the next month's issue, in print and digital, shipped to 189 countries, and earn +200 Creator Score.

Each magazine accepts one of your series per calendar month (PRO members: two). You get up to 3 tries at each magazine per month (PRO: 6). A new try opens the moment the previous one is declined, and only one of your series can be in review at a magazine at a time. Used all your tries, or want to aim for another placement after an acceptance? An extra try is $10: it pays for the review, never for the editors’ yes, and is not refunded on a decline. Windows reset on the 1st, and all five magazines have their own windows.

The editors aim to answer within 7 days. An accepted series runs in the next open issue, typically the following month, and tear sheets arrive within 30 days of release. The usual path from submission to holding proof of print is 6–10 weeks.

Each magazine gives you up to 3 tries a month (PRO: 6) and accepts 1 of your series (PRO: 2). A decline counts as a try, and one series at a time can be with each magazine's editors. Every magazine has its own window, so there is no overall monthly cap. Need one more try at a magazine? It's $10, paid before you send. Windows reset on the 1st.

No. Publication is free and decided on merit. Paid options (a cover, a feature, an interview, promotion) are optional upgrades: features from $19, extra slots $5–$10. Some are marked "refunded if rejected": if the editors decline your work, that money comes back.

Official pages of the printed issue with your work, delivered to you after publication. They're standard industry proof that your work ran in a real magazine, ready for your portfolio and client conversations.

We ship to 189 countries: United States, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Costa Rica, Côte d'ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Republic of, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Moldova, Republic of, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, province of China, Tanzania, United Republic of, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, u.s., Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Russia (served through a separate distribution channel). List per our print-on-demand partner, checked September 2026.

Published authors do not receive a free print copy: the magazines are print-on-demand, so every copy is printed when someone orders it. You can order the issue with your work from the magazine page ("Where to buy a copy"). What you always get free: tear sheets, the PDF pages of the issue with your work.

Artells, Artego, Marika, Figgi and Quadro are read by photographers, models, creative teams, agencies and art buyers. Print copies ship worldwide (189 countries) through print-on-demand distribution; digital editions are available online. Each magazine page links to where the current issue is sold.

JPG or PNG. For magazine submissions and contests upload the largest files you have: we store print-quality originals untouched (the web shows optimized copies automatically). iPhone photos in HEIC are converted to JPG automatically when you upload them.

Write long reads (behind the scenes, process, interviews) with up to 12 photos woven through the text. Stories pass a quick editorial review (usually a few days); a published story earns +50 Creator Score. There is no monthly limit on stories: write as many as you like, one in review at a time.

Yes. Every profile has a Message button, and you can connect with creators you like. Anti-spam protection is strict: daily limits, AI screening of first messages, and block/report tools, so the inbox stays worth opening.

Priority review everywhere, 10 feed uploads a week, 10 contest entries per round, 6 tries and 2 accepted series at each magazine every month, and −10% on every paid option, plus PRO-first placement on the Community wall, in the Portfolios directory and in the stories on the home page. PRO never adds score points: reputation stays merit-only. PRO is available from your account, from $49/mo, cancel any time.

After you order, we email you to complete the payment, and the order appears in your account. Once it's confirmed, the option is activated and the editors are notified. Options marked "refunded if rejected" are refunded in full if the work isn't accepted.

No, and this is by design. Participation points count only for the free slots (your first 2 feed uploads a week and first 2 contest entries per round); bought and PRO slots earn zero points. Judging is blind and votes can't be bought. PRO buys volume and visibility (more shots on goal), never points, votes or the editors' yes.

No. The best single discount applies: a promo code, your PRO −10%, your level discount or the −5% for following the magazine, whichever is highest.

Every account has a personal invite link. Send it to a photographer, a model, a stylist, anyone whose work you'd love to see here. When they join, you both get something: they get an extra Open Feed upload in their first week, and you collect rewards as they settle in (see below). Your link lives in your account, in the Invite & earn block, with a Copy button.

Your name, on every page of the site, in a slim bar with a gold star at the top: "{your name} invited you to Artells Media". On a phone it's one line, so it never covers the page. They can close it with the ×. One tap on Join and they're in.

Two things.

• +1 Open Feed upload for the week when your friend completes their profile (an avatar and at least 3 portfolio works). Up to +3 a week, so three friends, three extra uploads.
• A one-time discount code when your friend makes their first purchase: 10% off, or 15% if you're PRO. It arrives by email and also sits under My codes in your account.

One extra Open Feed upload during their first 7 days, on top of the usual 2. A nice way to start: two photos for the theme and one more because a friend vouched for them.

Yes, within reason. Your link is remembered in their browser for 30 days, and every way of joining counts: signing in with email, with Google, or sending a series to a magazine. They don't have to press Join in the bar. If they request the sign-in email on their laptop and open it on their phone, it still counts too.

It won't count if they already had an account, if more than 30 days have passed, or if they opened your link on one device and then signed up on another one where they never opened it. The simplest fix is to open the link again on the device they'll sign up from.

Type it into the Promo code field at checkout. It works for any one purchase: a paid option for your series, PRO, extra uploads. The code is tied to your account, so it only works when you're signed in, and it's single use. Discounts don't stack: if you have several, the best single one applies.

In your account, in the Invite & earn block, three counters: Joined via your link, Completed a profile and Made a purchase. Codes you've earned are listed under My codes with their status: ready to use, used or expired.

Please don't. Invites are for real people, and extra accounts made to collect rewards break the Community Guidelines. Rewards from such accounts don't count.

Yes, for modeling agencies, PR agencies and photo schools: a personal promo code that gives your clients 6% to 20% off, depending on your monthly sales volume. You can also use it yourself when you buy services for your clients. Apply on the Affiliate Program page; applications are reviewed by hand.

Yes. Many authors use print publications as evidence of professional work. Every publication and award has a public verification page, and from your account you can order official documents: a signed confirmation-of-publication letter on the magazine letterhead ($39, PDF) and an award certificate ($15, PDF). We confirm facts exactly as they happened.

Every uploaded photo and story passes AI review for prohibited content before appearing publicly, and the editors can remove anything that slipped through. Accounts that break the rules can be blocked; a blocked creator can appeal once, from inside the platform.

Digital and AI-assisted art is welcome: we publish digital artists and illustrators alongside photographers. Present it as what it is (in an art category, not disguised as photography). The one place AI images are not eligible is the Awards photo contest: it is a photography competition, judged blind, and that fairness is the point. Tasteful nude work may be considered where it fits a magazine's character; explicit content is declined. Every recognizable person needs a model release; for minors a parent's or guardian's consent is required, and sexualized content involving minors means an immediate ban and report.

You do. Copyright always stays with the author. By submitting you grant the magazine a licence to publish the series, as described in the Submission Rules.

In your account Settings, at the bottom of the page, you can download your data and delete your account yourself. If you can't sign in, write to team@artellsmedia.com from your account email and we'll do it for you. Details are in the Privacy Policy.

Ask on the Contacts page. Questions are first answered instantly by our assistant, and anything it can't answer goes straight to the team's inbox.

Yes. PRO members can switch on Open to commissions in their profile settings. Your public page gets a "Commission this creator" button; clients (and AI agents scouting portfolios) send a brief with a budget through the platform. Your email and phone stay hidden until you answer "Interested", which opens a direct conversation. The platform takes no commission on these deals for now.

The platform was created by Marina Abramova, Editor-in-Chief of Artells, Artego, Marika, Figgi and Quadro for the past seven years, with a deep background in photography and a career in art and creative work since 2015. She built Artells Media with one goal: to give creators a place to tell the world about themselves, grow professionally, and find each other, and their clients.