Talk: Armor galleries project

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Quick notes for taking good armor shots

1. take everything out with you before you leave. make sure you have the full set of armor, enough dye, and anything else you might need to show the armor off.
2. find a place with clean, natural light and a neutral background. the isle of the nameless has white light and many places that overlook sand and ocean, and pale tan and pale blue backgrounds highlight the foreground.
3. turn off post-processing effects. they add a halo and a glow to the character, obsecuring details in the armor.
4. put all the graphics options as high as they'll go. even if you have to shot through a slide show, it will provide a better image.
5. unequip weapons, sheilds and off-hands, turn off your guild cape, and turn on your helm/mask/hat.
6. don't use /attention. it looks odd, and causes cliping issues. use the natural pose.
7. consider turning off your skill bar, or any other UI elements that are close to the center of your screen.
8. position your character with the background behind them, zoom in until the feet of your character are just above the bottom of the screen (just below the skill bar, if you didn't turn it off), and use the right mouse button to rotate until you get a good image.
9. take body shots by aligning the shoulders or hips with the camera, not the look direction. this gives a flatter, more even view of the armor.
10. take helm and mask shots by aligning the face with the camera, not the horizon. this gives a better view of the details of the mask/hat/etc.
11. use shift-printscreen to disable the user interface and take a shot. this will temporary disable all UI, take the shot, then turn UI back on.
12. use a high quality graphics editing program to crop and size photos. The Gimp is a good one.
13. pick a standard size and aspect ratio for all your images. most armor body shots should be around 200x600 pixels, but this varies by profession, character scale, and armor set. most headgear photos should be around 200x200 pixels, again, varing by armor and profession.
14. save your image as a JPG, with low or no compression (for The Gimp, use about 95 for the jpeg compression slider).

obviously, your milage may very, but i hope this helps. --Honorable Sarah 02:27, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

I just noticed that you could turn shadows off instead of leaving it on high though to avoid the large body shadow generated from having it on high - the setting only seems to affect this and not any shading on your armor. Thus, you could also probably add this to the list as it can be more distracting. Jennalee 10:38, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Do it if you wish, it's a neat touch, but it's more trouble than it's worth for users whom this guide is meant for (a.k. new editors), so leave it out of the guide. RoseOfKali 14:30, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Necromancer Dwarven armor

I have spent 3 hours today working on Necromancer Dwarven armor, Gloomcrest Tunic, Grim Gloves, Deathlace Leggings and Demonhorn Boots pages. I did a lot of reorganization and all of the female pics, as well as reuploaded some male pics with better names. What do you guys think? And does anyone have this armor on Male to replace those horrid male images? RoseOfKali 16:59, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

LOOKS great—♥Jedi♥Rogue♥ 17:01, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Glad you like it! This is the worst armor set to work with, took THIRTY separate screen shots for all the pieces... >_< And had to come up with its own template for all 5 pages, since the standard armor one can't be used here. After all that I wouldn't dare to ask anyone to do the other professions, but it does need to be done... If it's still messed up like a year from now and GW2 isn't out yet, maybe I'll do them. ^_^ RoseOfKali 17:20, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Immediate attention

I have a proposal to add an icon that will be a red exclamation point with orange lines around it, like a "screaming" exclamation point, in addition to . This would denote the pathetically incomplete galleries, like Elementalist Elite Flameforged armor/Male, which are in desperate need of attention far more than anything else... Anyone care to draw one? RoseOfKali 18:54, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

I phail at imaging RT | Talk 18:54, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

So do I... but this is my idea of it being drawn in MS Paint in about 15 seconds... RoseOfKali 18:57, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm... Kinda looks like a bug... :( RoseOfKali 19:01, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

? --- -- (s)talkpage 19:14, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

All of them are used at 16px. Looks good for now. :) I will go back through all the galleries and update the signage. I will also upload it as Attn.png, shorter to type. RoseOfKali 19:22, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

I have reviewed Warrior, Ranger, Monk, and Necro. Changed quite a few icons, many became the new "desperate attention" one, mostly the ones that just plain hurt to look at. Will check the other professions later, and try to work on the Maybe's, since all they need is some code. RoseOfKali 21:32, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

ranger asuran

female headgear need to be retaken pretty badly RoseOfKali 20:26, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Updating completion icons

Please try to comment with a description of what you're updating (I think you know who I'm referring to ^_^), the section header (profession) will already be there, please add armor type/gender of your updated icon, and reasoning if you're not 100% sure about your decision. Thanks. RoseOfKali 21:41, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Female Elementalist

I've recently brought all Armor Sets available to a Female Elementalist (bar Obsidian...that can wait...). Anyway I am planning on doing all of them without the /attention and from an 'armor front on' persepctive. Is anyone totally against me updating all of them? Personally I think if all the galleries are the same, it'll be better for comparison and overall aesthetics.

Thoughts? Khazad Guard 15:48, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

If you can, go ahead. Just make sure all your screenshots are good. :) Cress Arvein 15:54, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Would be great, I am planning to do the same for female Necro standard armor (got all the elites already). One issue you will face is the image size. Female ele hands point outwards (especially with some gloves sticking out even further), which will make the image very wide, or give A LOT of sky overhead if you do 1:3 ratio. I did Elementalist Elite Iceforged armor/Female with wider images, reducing the sky overhead. I don't think the 1:3 ratio needs to be enforced here, especially if you keep all image sizes consistent between all the galleries. The main galleries, like Elementalist armor, have been modified to keep all the image heights the same, so ratio is not as important now as it used to be. Pick the armor set with the "widest" gloves and do it first (Iceforged is one of them, Luxon and Primeval are the worst, I think), then make all the others the same size. Good luck. :) RoseOfKali 04:27, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Just uploaded a sample for the whole image size thing ( [[:Image:Female Elementalist Picture Size Test.jpg]]). Elite Kurzick is the widest picture I would have (the gloves are pointing out more than the others). If I did do the 3:1 ratio, then the picture would need to be 250x750 which would look really odd. Would it be alright to do the whole Ele gallery as 250x525 or like 250x550? I just dont want to have three sets as 200x525, four sets at 220x525, etc. Mainyl want them to all be the same size throughout each gallery. The main area affected would be the actual gallery themselves, where we are meant to have them 125px wide. Khazad Guard 12:27, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

That size looks good. Yes, make them ALL the same size, don't vary gallery to gallery. Also, if you wish, you can make it a teeny bit taller above the head, like another 25px, but the width is good. Upload just one gallery first and let us see, and if it's all good (I'm sure it will be) you can do the rest the same way. RoseOfKali 18:56, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Awesome, I'll do it when I get home. Also add those extra pixels (so it doesnt squish my ele). Anyway all the dye charts are done in yellow, except the Elite Nightfall sets which have all been done in green to keep them consistennt (Vabbian, Ancient and Primeval dye horrible yellow, so I chose green). Also is their any set size for the earring shots? I was thinking just having them the same width as the picture (to make the table line up etc.) Khazad Guard 02:20, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Head shots will of course be of a different size. Personally, I used a square. Oh, and I used the Dye preview for the head shots, because you can get a closer zoom on the head there, then on your player model (Unless you back up against a wall somewhere...) — Poki#3 , 08:55, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Well here's the mock up User:Khazad Guard/Sandbox. The earring shots were done in Isle of the Nameless at the same time as the armor. Not sure about what Poki said, but my dye preview doesnt offer a closer zoom than regular scroll button. The earrings did have a shot of 250x250 that focused on the whole head, but when they are brought down to 125px you can hardly see them, so I reuploaded them. You can still check the old version, and tell me which one is better. Thoughts? Khazad Guard 09:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Heya, those look great! With the earrings, the 125x125 px should be enough considering nothing much else seems to change and it draws your attention to them more rather than the head in general. Jennalee 09:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Beautiful. Can't wait to see them all done. :D And you're as much of a perfectionist as I am (if not more). Yay! RoseOfKali 19:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Too bad the character is "twisting", but you can't do much about that (since it looks like people don't like /attention anymore :( ) — Poki#3 , 21:06, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Okay thanks guys. I'll start to edit/upload them all soon (uni assignments...) and upload them in batches (Tyrian, Tyrian Elites, Canthan, Canthan Elites, etc). Khazad Guard 00:02, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh, final thing. Remember to use the template (like this) an not the whole syntax like you did in your sandbox. You may already be aware of this, but just making sure. — Poki#3 , 00:35, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Did the first batch (Core sets and the Canthan sets)...feel like dying now after having to upload a heap of pictures due to poor naming before...Only problem would be calling Elite Luxon ascended luxon...may have to change that later on, but not now... Next batch will be up in a week or two *faints* Khazad Guard 15:50, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

If you want, I'll re-upload them with the proper names, but then the uploader credit will be for me and not you, I can just put a note there like "Original image by Khazad Guard" or something. I also posted about this on your talk page, on how to get the new image names right. RoseOfKali 15:59, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Told you to use the template T.T — Poki#3 , 18:26, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

He did, it was just made for old galleries so that people wouldn't have to re-upload the images just to rename ascended to elite. But sice he's uploading new ones, makes sense to rename them afterall. RoseOfKali 18:34, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

/sigh I did use the template...The only problem is, as I stated above, I uploaded the Elite Luxon as Ascended Luxon instead. I'll fix that now.

Added the next batch in (Sunspear, Istani, Asuran, Monument and Norn). As for Dwarven I was thinking a front and back of each piece, a Front, Back and Profile of it all together, and a Front, Back and Profile of it dyed. Is that alright? Khazad Guard 14:59, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Check what I did with Necromancer Dwarven armor and the subpages (female, mostly). Yes, there were A LOT of screenshots, but I think that was the best way to do it, if you're willing to put in the effort. RoseOfKali 16:16, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Just finished all of the armor sets I have (still working on obtaining Obsidian). The main issue is Elementalist Dwarven armor/Female, I included back pictures as well. I should have done it similar to the other galleries (Chest & Feet, etc) but at the time I did all the screenshots I wasn't thinking correctly. Several of the dyed versions also aren't facing exactly the same direction, but I guess it's more about seeing dye-able areas than the armor. If you don't liek the Dwarven set up, feel free to change it. Khazad Guard 07:38, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

You forgot to check the individual piece links: Thaumaturgic Robes Yeoryios Gloves Exquisite Leggings Majestic Shoes. Some unfinished images there, and that's where the front/side/back/dyed images actually belong, I think. The main Ele Dwarven armor page has the fully equipped gray/dyed front/side/back, and the front view of each piece. Please check how I did Necromancer Dwarven armor and its subpages. The subpages are what makes these armor pages a pain in the @$$ to complete... RoseOfKali 18:00, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Female Mesmer

I've uploaded now pics for Norn armor and athough i'm not really pleased with the outcome i think they look a lot better now. Also could do shots of Kurzick 15k and Canthan 15k although they're already dyed. --Rotfl Mao 20:33, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Background is lame, each picture is a different size, mask is missing, dye combination is weird... — Poki#3 , 21:02, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Yeah... It's better than what it was, but it's still far from good, sorry. Please look at some completed galleries marked "Yes," like Necromancer Norn armor/Female, for how it should look, and try to not use dye combinations if they look "funny," use a plain color instead, like green, which used to be the base Mesmer color back in the day and usually looks good on Mesmer armors. Look at the top of this page for a guide to do an armor gallery and on the best location, or PM me in-game "Rose Of Kali" for help (I am afk a lot, but if I'm there, I'll help). RoseOfKali 04:09, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

New pictures added, according to the guidelines. The antialiasing went off on one of them, don't think that's much of a problem. Dyed yellow. Please check and change the armor status in the project page if the current shots are satisfactory. --Rotfl Mao 16:25, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Great. The positioning is still a little off due to the whole female body twisting issue which you can read plenty about all over this wiki's talk pages, but other than that it's good. Will mark as done for now. RoseOfKali 17:47, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Namely, I'm talking about number 9 on the guide at the top of this page: "take body shots by aligning the shoulders or hips with the camera, not the look direction. this gives a flatter, more even view of the armor." Do not align with the face of the character, as they look to the side of their body. RoseOfKali 17:51, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

While we're in the Female Mesmer talk, can anyone upload a profile of the Primeval Mask? The gallery is done, but you can't see that the mask actually has horns sticking out of it, need a profile view. RoseOfKali 19:20, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Necromancer headgear

I just updated all of Nightfall male and female headgear. Turns out that you can wear other people's armor in the dye preview, so I used my female's elite scars to do the male ones, and made a female without hair covering the face and with darker skin for the NF ones. That was enough uploading and cropping and previewing and printscreening for one day, so I'll do all the others some other time. Anyway, if anyone has headgear that's missing for the other sex, well, you can upload a dye preview on a PvP char using your other char's headgear from storage. Just has to match the profession. (no duh...) Same with monk tattoos, if you have one on a "hairy" char, make a bald PvP one and use preview on him/her. Thought I'd share this with you. RoseOfKali 18:41, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Elite Kurzick/Luxon 'Cost'

Arguing over Elite Kurzick/Luxon tagged as 'Expensive' instead of 'Prohibitive'

Cost- Elite Luxon and Kurzick need 70-80 Jade/Amber, at today's price that's around 14k-16k (based at 200g ea, which is rather generous). You need to add this onto the other costs 60-75k base + Amber/Jade + other materials (350 normal craft materials+ 35-50 Rare materials).

Requirements- Requires Leviathan/Vasburg. If you have finished Gyala/Eternal you are three missions from completion of Factions (and Elite Canthan which is classified as 'Prohib'). Also requires more faction of one alliance than another, sure it's not hard to do that, but it's another hurdle to leap.

Thoughts? Khazad Guard 05:02, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

/agreed. All in all, this armor is not much more expensive than other Elites, but you do need to jump over the initial 10k Faction to get there, and it is pretty close to the end of the campaign... RoseOfKali 06:07, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Necro Dwarven armor

Necromancer Dwarven armor and its subpages (Gloomcrest Tunic, Grim Gloves, Deathlace Leggings, and Demonhorn Boots) are almost complete. I've done all I could, even made dye prevews of a male wearing my female's armor, but I cannot do a fully equipped view of the male without crafting the armor, and you can't blame me for not wanting to. If anyone has the male armor and could update the full view male pics, it will be complete. Just bringing this to eveyone's attention, since this monstrocity-of-an-armor-page is only 6 shots away from done. RoseOfKali 20:51, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Mesmer Monument Female

New pictures added, according to the guidelines(kind of....). I missed the "dont use attention" part -.- . Please check and change the armor status in the project page if the current shots are satisfactory.--Rotfl Mao 22:56, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

All said and done, it is DONE. Though, /attention is not desirable, and your character seems to grow and shorten inbetween the images, but that's my best shot. :P Not bad at all, though. Nice work. Will mark as "done" and hope that someone someday decides to redo them w/o /attention and growth hormone variations. ^_^; (really, nice work :) I mean it.) RoseOfKali 05:18, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, i've forgot about the attention thingy and honestly don't know what's wrong with her height ^.^;; On top of that before i started i couldn't turn antialiasing on and had to spend about an hour trying to figure out why. In the end i've changed something about transparent edges antialiasing in the nvidia panel and it worked ^^ --Rotfl Mao 08:34, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

There's nothing wrong with her height, but seems like you zoomed out for the back shot, so she looks smaller than in the other images. :P RoseOfKali 14:34, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

"Image requested" image

There are many galleries that have been adapted to the new armor gallery template, but are missing images. Because of this, there are these looooooong red links that screw up the alignment of the existing images, and, in general, just look bad. I was thinking that someone (not I, due to my miserable lack of proficiency with creating jpg's in Photoshop), could make a small 125x125 image that simply says "Image requested" or "Screenshot requested" or something along those lines. These can be uploaded into the red links to organize the gallery and point out to potential visitors that a screenshot is requested and maybe get someone to take it. Most people would respond to that better than just a red link, I think. RoseOfKali 16:50, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

'sup --Rotfl Mao 17:49, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Isn't there a way to edit the template that if a red link is "detected" it changes it to something else? — Poki#3 , 18:13, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

That would be a pain in the... neck, and way beyond my abilities, that's for sure. Similar code already exists to detect if there is a "dyed earring" image in the headgear templates 0e and 1e, but just looking at that code made me sick... And that's just for ONE image... The template would triple in size, or more, if you wanted to implement that code for each image. So no, I don't think that's a viable idea, at least not with the current capabilities. I'll see what I can do with the "screenshot requested" image... RoseOfKali 21:09, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, here's my crappy MSPaint version, until someone makes a better one. Let's see how this ends up looking in Necromancer Luxon armor/Male... RoseOfKali 21:19, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

... looks rather... not very good, so I'm not gonna spread it past that page until someone makes a better one... At least, you get the idea of what I'm trying to do. RoseOfKali 21:24, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Mesmer Asuran Female

New pictures added, according to the guidelines. One picture looks like she's disfigured or something -.- . Please check and change the armor status in the project page if the current shots are satisfactory --Rotfl Mao 11:46, 7 June 2008 (UTC)