SmashWiki:Artwork

The purpose of the artwork of a character is to show users what inspired the design of said character. All users should adhere to this policy before uploading official artworks of characters from any series and putting them on their articles.

Playable characters

 * The image must have inspired the design of the character in at least one Super Smash Bros. game.
 * There can be more than one official image of a character, so long as that image in some way influenced the design of said character in another Super Smash Bros. installment. Mario, for example, has artwork from Super Mario 64 in a thumbnail in his page's description section. That artwork is relevant because it's the basis of his designs in Smash 64 and Melee, featuring a slightly thinner and more rounded head. Since his updated look from Luigi's Mansion hasn't changed since implementation in Brawl, the artwork feature in the infobox should be from the most recent game in his universe.
 * Should a Mario game be released that shows Mario with a vastly different design (such as in Paper Mario), that artwork would not be relevant, and would thus not merit a spot in his page's infobox.


 * For characters like Ganondorf, Link, and Zelda, their infobox artwork should be that which is from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, since their design from that game is used in Super Smash Bros. 4 (and was also used in Brawl).
 * While Link and Zelda don't look much different in the following home console game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, they should still use their Twilight Princess artwork because Ganondorf does not appear in Skyward Sword, and is a major member of the Zelda universe. So, for ultimate consistency, all three characters should have their artwork from Twilight Princess in their infoboxes.


 * If a character's design never changes or has changed in his or her universe's main series games, as with each playable Pokémon (except Pikachu, who is only slightly thinner now) or Captain Falcon, either due to intentional design consistency (Pokémon) or lack of activity in the series (Falcon), the artwork in the infobox should be constantly updated (Pokémon) or an old image should be kept if no new artwork surfaces (Falcon).
 * Note that while C. Falcon's design has been reworked (his scarf is free, and his helmet has a new ridge near its back), his artwork from F-Zero GX should still be in his article's infobox, despite more closely resembling his Melee design.


 * An example of prohibited artwork would be that of Young Link in the the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. His artwork from the original is more relevant because it shows his wooden sword and Deku shield, and it was made before Melee, which is the last Super Smash Bros. game Young Link appeared in in any capacity besides a sticker in Brawl (and even then, the sticker refers to him as simply "Link with Goron Mask").


 * Another example of prohibited artwork would be that of Link from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, which has too many differences from Link's Twlight Princess design to be legitimate. Since SmashWiki doesn't draw the line on a characters' series' activity, the latest game that Link appears in will be mentioned in the infobox. Using the link to the Zelda Wiki, a user can go there to find information on Link's latest game, as well as see any artwork from it.


 * Multiple artworks of a character from one game is strongly advised against due to there being no need for extras, but not explicitly prohibited.


 * If artwork from a Super Smash Bros. game happens to inspire artwork of a character in one of their home series games, as with Falco's ' artwork (and Pit's ' artwork before Super Smash Bros. 4 was announced), it is automatically bestowed relevance and should be added to their article.


 * As a general rule, all artwork that shows the front and full body of a character is optimal. A picture of Bowser with his back turned (as in ') or a picture of only half of Wolf O'Donnell's body (as in ') are examples of bad artwork choices, even if they are the most recent.

Other characters
Other characters such as enemies not originating from Brawl ' s Subspace Emissary, Poké Ball Pokémon, Trophy- and Sticker-exclusive characters, and Assist Trophy characters don't have the same status of relevance as playable characters and thus do not warrant official artwork from their original games, at least not until they acquire playable status (as with Charizard). Trophies are more important than stickers, so in the cases of Pichu and Mewtwo (as both were playable in Melee, cut from the roster, and appeared in Brawl as trophies), their current artwork is justified (however, any artwork of them for any later game that changes their appearance in any way will be prohibited), and in the case of Young Link, who, as mentioned above, has only appeared as a sticker since being not returning from Melee, most recent official artwork is prohibited.

Other artwork
"Other" artwork is any artwork either not having to do with a character (like a stage or an item) or having to do with only a part of a character, like a weapon or a specific attack.
 * If artwork of this sort is to be uploaded and placed on an article, it must show a design relevant to Super Smash Bros. (i.e., the Fire Flower using artwork from ' and not ').


 * If the attack or weapon originates from artwork different from the most relevant artwork (normally from a different game), then said attack or weapon's artwork is justified to be used in a gallery or a specific section. For example, Bowser Jr.'s Super Smash Bros. 4 design shows him in the most common variant of his Koopa Clown Car (which is called the Junior Clown Car), but that model is not normally capable of using boxing gloves to punch. Thus, his article includes artwork of him from New Super Mario Bros. U in a lower section, which shows him in a modified Koopa Clown Car that actually has boxing gloves at the ends of its arms (as it's the only model with such a modification). Since Bowser Jr. uses boxing gloves to attack in Super Smash Bros. 4, the NSMBU artwork is justified, but only for that section.

Aside from items, original artworks for stages and attacks aren't very common, so screenshots or animated gifs from their source games are often used instead, as in the galleries of the Fireball and Boomerang articles.
 * If no official artwork for an Assist Trophy character exclusive so far to Super Smash Bros. 4 surfaces (only screenshots), then non-Smash official artwork is the next best option, as it would be required to show users the basis for said Assist character's design. Once SSB4 artwork does surface, however, then it will replace the existing artwork.


 * Box art for games appearing in Brawl's Masterpieces mode are legitimate, since there is no other way beyond unfitting screenshots to properly represent said games.