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Question

My PNG illustration was rejected for Quality Issues (Soft focus). Need feedback.

Forum|Forum|3 days ago
July 25, 2026
7 replies
90 views

Hi everyone,

My PNG illustration was recently rejected for "Quality Issues" (Soft focus / Noise).

It is a transparent PNG hand-drawn illustration with black and white shading/gradient details inside. I have checked the edges, and they are completely sharp and clean at 100% zoom with no stray pixels.

Could you please help inspect this image and share your feedback on why it might have been flagged?

Thank

you!

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

I should probably mention there is a considerable amount of competition in this keyword.

Stock contains over 2 million mandala designs. With so much content, the risk of refusal for “similar content” will be higher.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=mandala

Good luck.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

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∀Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you, Professor, for the information, which points out just how boring those canvases are. They only offer symmetry, which becomes increasingly tedious the more you look at them—unlike human-made works where every line is uniquely different and seems lifelike (I'm just deceiving myself, of course). Nevertheless, human-made work will undoubtedly increase in value in the next few years. Therefore, I choose this path—a reject of AI.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

We can’t critique tiny thumbnails or screenshots.
Stock reviews assets on full--sized displays at 100% magnification. A phone screen cannot properly assess the quality of commercial artwork.
Illustrations & drawings should be submitted as math-based vector graphics (ai, .eps or .svg). Rasterized JPEGs and PNGs are pixel-based images that don’t maintain sharp, crisp edges when upscaled. For this reason, rasterized images don’t have as much commercial value to global buyers.

Read the 7-part section on Vector requirements from your Contributor User Guide, starting here:

Hope that helps.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

O

oleschwander

Legend

Is it hand drawn by you? It certainly looks like AI ...

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∀Author

Participating Frequently

I sincerely apologize for subjecting your eyes to these images. However, I drew them using actual human fingers, so they aren't perfectly symmetrical. I’m not even sure if human-drawn work like this will hold any real value in the future; I’m simply gaining experience using an old phone and a free app. It’s hard not to feel resigned, though—how can a new artist possibly compete with those using AI?

daniellei4510

Community Expert

May I ask which free app you used? Many require a subscription if one wishes to sell their assets commercially. Free use is often for personal use only.

Adobe Community Expert | If you aren't submitting your assets in sRGB, you probably didn't read the rules.

O

oleschwander

Legend

The elements in the ring pattern are not drawn properly and they should be even. The whole drawing is not cut out properly.

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∀Author

Participating Frequently

Every image probably looks like AI these days, given the people using it to turn a profit—selling out the soul of art just to pad their bank accounts. Or maybe I should sell my soul like them, too? Just a thought...

daniellei4510

Community Expert

The quality issues listed to not necessarily contain all the reasons for rejection, but if soft focus is indeed the issue, this would certainly apply here. But as mention, the full-sized images, not screen shots, are what we need to see to be of better assistance.

Adobe Community Expert | If you aren't submitting your assets in sRGB, you probably didn't read the rules.

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∀Author

Participating Frequently

RALPH_L

Community Expert

How do you know “soft focus”? Adobe only says rejected due to “quality issues”. If you want us to review your work, you will need to upload an original asset that was rejected.