The Ultimate Gallery Guide by charlene31 |  |
YOUR GALLERY - Neopoints weren't made to sit around unused in bank accounts.
Some people give Neopoints to the poor, some spend it to get more Neopoints,
and some build up their NeoHomes. Me? I spend every spare Neopoint on my gallery
and I know I'm not the only one. I've been an avid and addicted gallery builder
since April 2001. Before Neopets, I didn't know a tag of HTML, but over these
past 2 years I've learned quite a bit about gallery construction and web design
and I went on to win the first gallery spotlight. I decided to write the ultimate
guide to gallery building after all the Neomails I got from people asking for
gallery advice. We'll go over the 5 points of gallery construction:
Choosing a Theme
The single most important decision you can make concerning your gallery is
your theme... without this your gallery is a lost cause.
Have you ever been into one of those galleries where there are a million items
in a size 300 shop? We all have. They take forever to load, and are rarely ever
interesting at all. Pick a theme for your gallery that you find interesting
because if it holds your interest then it's very likely that it will hold someone
else's interest too. Some ideas you could think about building a gallery around:
a holiday, a neopet, a color, a shape... anything goes. Try to pick a theme
that either no one else has, or that at least very few people have, and your
chances of winning the spotlight will be much greater. Also, before making your
final decision on your theme make sure that you've checked out all the possible
items that could go into your gallery with a given theme. Are there too many
items? Too few? Maybe you need to broaden or narrow your theme. Are most of
the items within your price range? It would be useless to start a Hidden Tower
item gallery if you only have 100 NP.
Decorating Your Shop
I see way too many people abusing this option. Here's what I suggest. Go visit
galleries of all kinds and see the types of decoration you like and the types
you dislike. Here are a few big don'ts from my book:
- Don't put quiz results in your shop gallery... ever. The people
who visit your gallery don't know you and chances are that they couldn't care
less whether or not you are a dark Faerie, Pippin Took, or a toaster oven.
Quizzes make galleries look cheap and cluttered. End of story.
- Don't put in dolls. Really. Why? Just don't. They also make galleries look
cheap and cluttered and you'll wind up isolating your visitors. For anyone
who is not a girl between the ages of 11 and 14 dolls are a sight for sore
eyes.
- Do not under any circumstances put too many pictures in your gallery. Too
many pictures make your gallery slow to load and they clutter your layout.
Plus, people visit your gallery to see your items... not the 50 pictures you
found while browsing the Internet one day. Keep the graphics to a minimum.
Things that you should always do or keep in mind:
- Make sure that every piece of decoration in your gallery goes
with your theme. This unifies the gallery. If you put in graphics that aren't
connected to your theme you'll confuse your visitors... they won't be sure
exactly what your theme is. This is a simple rule. If your theme is Spooky
Food then don't put pictures of faeries in your shop.
- Pick out a good background. The background should either be neutral or pertain
to your theme. Make sure the background is nice and clear too... don't pick
a tiled background that isn't seamless or is low in quality. Also, make sure
the background isn't too busy or it will take attention away from your items
and make your text difficult to read, which brings us to our next point...
- Now about adoptables... only use them if they go with your theme and if
you decide to use them then only put in one. You don't want to cheapen your
gallery or take the focus away from your items.
- Make sure your text is easy to read. If you have a dark background then
you need light text. Try not to pick clashing colors either. If your background
is green, for example, don't pick bright red text. You don't want your gallery
to hurt people's eyes, right? And just like the rest of the decorations you
should make sure that everything you write in your shop description has something
to do with your gallery or your theme.
- Advertisements... be very careful when putting any of these into your shop.
Make sure that if you do put any in that they are discreet. Simple text links
or small buttons/banners will do if you want to link to your friends' galleries.
As for guild ads... I really don't recommend them. If your guild matches up
with your gallery theme then it might be alright. But never put one of those
huge guild ads up in your gallery. Okay? Kay.
Now about your graphics... where can you get them? You can use any image on Neopets
in your gallery and Neopets has a sweet selection of images in their Fun Images
section. You can also make your own graphics and upload those onto an image server,
if you have the means. Some Neopets fan sites also have images that they will
let you use. If there are any images that you come across online that you think
would go great in your gallery, ask the owner of that image if you can have permission
to use it. Don't steal.
What About Music?
Music? Don't do it. Music can crash some people's computers and make your gallery
difficult to load. Music also tends to annoy the bejeezus out of people. Imagine
that you're playing Neopets as you listen to a CD. What happens when you come
across a gallery with loud, blaring music? Wouldn't that annoy you? There are
very few cases where I think that music is alright. Sometimes it adds just the
right touch to a gallery. Check out Ye Olde Neopian
Candy Shoppe on the account candy_shoppe. This is a perfect example of music
put to good use in a gallery. The music matches the theme and the MIDI is of
good quality. This person's theme is candy so they put in a MIDI of the song
"The Candy Man Can" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
You should only put music in your gallery if you feel that it is necessary to
your theme or would be extremely helpful.
If you do decide to put music in your gallery here is some advice. Try to match
the song with your theme or just pick a neutral tune. Pick a non-irritating
MIDI. Some MIDIs are just downright annoying. In other words... pick a MIDI
that is smooth and melodious rather than one that uses a lot of bells and whistles.
But again I'll remind you, I really don't advise using music. Usually only a
person with a lot of experience with HTML and galleries should use it, and even
then they should exercise great caution.
And About HTML...
Learn it, love it, and apply it... liberally. We're back to the subject of
clutter. You don't need to put in a ton of fancy HTML to create a great gallery,
but you do need to know how to use it before you, well, try to use it. I've
seen too many galleries out there where the owner tried to bite off more than
they could chew by putting lots of HTML in their shop without knowing how to
use it. If you don't know HTML, and aren't willing to learn it, then don't use
it. It's that simple. You can create a nice gallery without it.
For those who want to put in a few graphics, a background, borders, and change
the colors of your text and scrollbars, then you'll need to know some basics.
Neopets has a great HTML tutorial in their Help section, or you could visit
one of the many tutorial sites online. Your local library or bookstore will
also have HTML books for beginners, so you might think about looking into that.
Once you know the basics of HTML and web design, learning the rest is a piece
of cake. HTML can help you have a more organized and unified gallery... just
don't get too caught up in it, and make sure you know what you're doing.
Once you know how to use HTML and decide to use it in your gallery, then try
to create a shop motif/layout that is easy on the eyes and easy to follow. All
the HTML trappings in the world won't fix a shop layout that is confusing. Know
how you will layout your shop before your write the HTML. Sometimes drawing
it out on paper first helps. And please, please be careful where you place your
graphics. Don't just put an image in there because you feel like having an image...
make sure that it is aligned and positioned in a good spot. Oh, and don't steal
other people's HTML. I think it goes without saying why you shouldn't steal.
Finding Your Gallery Items
There are many ways to go about this. I have a Lupe gallery, so one of the
best ways for me to find Lupe items was to type in 'Lupe' in the search box
at the bottom of Neopets' yellow navigation bar. That search would bring up
a list of items with the word 'Lupe' in them. This method can be used to search
for all kinds of gallery items. Another method I've used is gallery browsing.
If, for example, you are doing a red gallery, and you want only items that have
a lot of red, then you could find a bunch of those large, boring galleries with
a million different items in them and browse through them looking for red items.
Keep a notebook of items that could go in your gallery. You can find these
galleries by searching for old, unbuyable items on the Shop Wiz and then visiting
the shops that pop up. You're bound to find a large gallery sooner or later
if you follow this method. Search for words like 'fish negg', 'job coupon',
or 'rose wine' to name just a few. You could also ask your Neofriends to keep
an eye out for any items that would go with your gallery theme. Make sure you
check the News page every day for new items that could go in your shop.
I recommend knowing what is going to go into your gallery before you actually
start buying the items so make sure you keep a list of the items you find. When
it comes to actually getting those items you have several choices. First and
foremost is the shop whiz followed by the auctions, main shops, and trading
post. I always buy my cheapest items first so I have a good start for a gallery.
When you've bought all the items you can afford easily, then it's time to move
on to the more expensive items. A few bits of advice for your search:
- Know the worth of the items you're searching for because that
makes it easy for you to spot a good deal.
- Search for these items A LOT! If you're on Neopets everyday then do a search
for these items a couple times a day. Sometimes people misprice things or
have a sale. It is possible to find an item worth 50,000 NP for sale in someone's
shop for 5,000 NP. Just keep your eye out for good deals on the shop whiz,
auction, and trading post.
- Don't buy items that have just been released. Wait about 2 or 3 weeks and
the price will drop a lot. You can save money for your gallery this way.
- If you are going through the trading post then make sure you are getting
a good trade. Know the worth of your items and the item you are trading for
so that you don't get a raw deal.
And there you have it... 5 guidelines to follow while building a gallery. How
you maintain the gallery and fund it is entirely up to you though. I hope that
this article helps someone create the gallery of his or her dreams.
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