/r/polandball Official Tutorial

The Official Polandball tutorials (manual of style) are a series of images and descriptions produced on /r/Polandball that describe how a Polandball comic should be designed and submitted (according to their policies). Amongst these tutorials are what is referred to as a "Joke Life Preserve", which is a list of features of Polandball comics not to be posted on the subreddit. It is created using an annual, which allows frequenters of the subreddit to vote on things they don't want to see in Polandball comics. The options that receive the most votes are added to the Joke Life Preserve. The self-described purpose of the JLP poll is to "preserve the comedic value of certain polandball in-jokes and prevent them from being forced and overused". A set of subjects have also been "Deported to Syberia", meaning their usage is permanently prohibited on the subreddit.

The list of items that are included in this list are :


 * Classic jokes
 * Template comics
 * Turning existing comics into polandball comics (plotless adaptations of existing stories, with characters replaced by countryballs)
 * Internal affairs of US states and territories (click link to see the subreddit for this)

The current Joke Life Preserve poll includes the following things:


 * 1) "Hue" as the punchline (Laughing as part of the joke for an ending of a comic)
 * 2) Faux Script (Using cryllic/other text for acryllic English)
 * 3) Comics where most of the plot is in a dream
 * 4) High Netherlands (Netherlandsball cannot be portrayed as on drugs)
 * 5) Kawaii Japan (Japanball cannot be portrayed with "Kawaii" distinctions)
 * 6) Grey Poland (Polandball cannot be grey instead of white)

Overview and list of rules
The primary tutorial describes the design of a Polandball comic, and the details it should and should not include.

It prohibits the following:


 * Adding pupils
 * Adding arms and other limbs
 * Ears, mouths, pupils, hair, mimic wrinkles, bears, eyelashes and moustaches.
 * Adding black lines between color borders on flags
 * Drawing a countryball in a shape other than round, unless it is an exception like Reichtangle, Israel, Tringapore, Kazakhstan, Nepal or Ohio or others.
 * Usage of circle and line tools
 * Drawing the Poland flag correctly (white on top)
 * Copying and pasting pictures of the internet (this includes, copying and pasting panels/drawings, everything must be mouse-drawn)
 * Drawing one panel comics with no plot, storyline or point
 * Using any meme, such as and especially "Le", "Rage faces", "Trollfaces", "Forever alone", "Doge/Shibe", and others.
 * Using fonts like Comic Sans, Curlz or Papyrus
 * Using advanced image manipulation tools
 * Any non-countryball, this includes cityballs, non-governmental organisations, siteballs, gameballs (for e.g. Xbox, Playstationball...) Note: states, provinces, intergovernmental organisations and unions are allowed!
 * Making Polandball genuinely into space.

Countries with permanent attributes and shapes
The "worst" (often those that most blatantly ignored the rulees) submissions the subreddit has received are put to shame on a page section called "The Pillory of No-Gos" to show what NOT to do.
 * UKball and Hongkongball must always have a top hat and monocle.
 * Israel and all his subdivisions and ancestors must be cubes. Also Jewish Autonomous Oblastcube, Michigancube and every jew country follow the rule.
 * ReichRawr, Warmia-Masuriatrapezoid, Indiasaurs, Nepal, and Ohio and every non-quadrangolar shaped flags-owner must be shaped like the actual flag. Teeth are optional and reccomended.
 * USAball always wears sunglasses.
 * Kazakhstan and all his subdivisions and ancestors are always drawn as bricks.
 * Tringapore, Bermudatriangle, and Nariñotriangle and all their ancestors and subdivisions are always drawn as triangles.
 * Reichtangle (which represents a possible 4th reich, though is also used to depict the German Empire during World War I) is as the name says a rectangle with small, white dots as eyes.
 * Billiard Balls are used to represent ambiguous, non-colonized (or prehistoric) indigenous communities. The 8ball represents Africans and other dark skins. The 7ball represents Native Americans and/or Austronesians and is usually accompanied by a feather atop its head. 6ball represents aliens. 1balls represent prehistoric or indigenous East Asians and are accompanied with slanted eyes.
 * Polandball is depicted red-top, white-bottom pattern, rather than the actual white-top, red-bottom pattern as depicted on its flag. Sometimes the white part is depicted light gray. Also, Poland cannot into space.
 * Indonesiaball wears a rice hat or peci to differentiate from Polandball.
 * Monacoball wears glasses to differentiate from Polandball.
 * Chadball Chadball's eyes must be 8ball s
 * Trilluminati Trilluminati must be a triangle with one eye

Phrasing
From the document:

Countries never refer to each other as "balls" (e.g. polandball, usaball, russiaball, germanyball). Country names only.

Grammar and spelling is supposed to be incorrect for everyone but Anglophones. Native English-speaking countries speak perfectly, and all other countries speak "Engrish".

This Broken-English is all about broken grammar rather than broken spelling (i.e. no Dolan spelling), and incorporates bits of each country's native lnguage when it speaks. Lurk around to get a feel of the language. (Try translating the phase the the country's language with google translate, then translate it back to english.)

Comic Sans is absolutely not allowed. Same for any comic script or goofy font like "Curlz" or "Joker".

Here are some good and bad examples of how to do polandball

April Fools 2014
As part of the /r/polandball 2014 april fools prank, the tutorial was changed to fit 'new rules'. These included allowing (and even highly encouraging to) addings lines between flag colours and adding any hair. The colours of the flags were also changed to flashy, default MS paint colors, rather than accurate flag colours.

Impact on Polandball itself
Outside of /r/polandball, the tutorial is not typically followed, but often referenced. Drawing lines between colours, circle/line tools, countries referring to each other as "-balls" (e.g. Polandball, Germanball, Swedenball...) and using memes are all commonly practiced in sects of other communities. However, communities at large outside of /r/polandball tend to be familiar with the rules, largely thanks to this tutorial.