Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=439769&Start=55&Sectionid=2&filter_genre_id=0&WhatsN

The reason I ask is, I posted an image yesterday and it has had 37 viewings, which I find very pleasing, but just one comment, so it`s the ratio of viewings to comments I find disappointing. When I posted the wip here only Caitlin replied. Don`t get me wrong, I`m not saying it should have got more attention, it`s nothing spectacular but I was satisfied with it and I`m always surprised that some pics get loads of comments while others seem to be ignored. If you`d care to take a look at the thing, the url is included. Gawd, this sounds like a plea for sympathy but I`d really like to know what you think. Is it a yawn factor? Is it poorly executed? Is there nothing to say about it? Without feedback it seems pointless posting to the gallery.

I sometimes don't comment because I simply can't stitch together the words I need or everyone else has said it for me. The comments box asks for 'helpful' comments. On that score maybe I don't have anything to offer.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=439024&Start=1&Artist=RobertJ&ByArtist=Yes

Well, i don't know for sure, but i don't think you can blame it on how the picture is made, most of the time you can't see from the thumbnail what the picture looks like, as a matter of facts sometimes the thumbnail looks even better than the picture behind it.

I encountered the same problem with my latest work that i posted, at the moment that i am typing this i had 59 views, on itself no bad but when you see that a Bryce-picture that has been posted around the same time gets 4 times that amount of views and ditto comments.

Should i put nekid (read Poser) chicks in my pictures next time?

So what i mean is, you can't judge a picture from its thumbnail, but appearantly a lot of people do.

I try to comment on most,,, but i think robert has a good point. for someone like me, I dont have a whole lotta time to sit and critique every single image (and there are a lot uploaded each day), so I click and view thumbnails that grab my attention. I do however make a point to comment on the ones I view. I have wondered the same thing myself. Everytime I post an image, I always type a message..... "please leave comments!!", but It doesn't always seem to work. Or, I get a bunch that say.. nice job, or good work, which are very flatering,, but hardly helpfull.

I have a crappy monitor, so I don't get to see the way the pics really look. Therefore, I feel really uncomfortable commenting, unless its something I can really see. Also, I tend to comment more in the forum than the gallery. I don't have time to go thru there, I'm still working on putting as many people into my favorites so I can catch when they post a new image to the gallery. Also, I posted a pic in the gallery to which someone was nice enough to email me about with tips on helping it. But no comments were made so, I figure it needs some fixing up when I have time :-) Oh and I haven't had a chance to follow your link yet, will try to take a look during my lunch break. Take Care, Ang

Very interesting thread and I've wondered this myself to be honest. I've tried to get down to the 'science' of it and try to guage when the most people will be on Renderosity surfing the galleries when I'll release a new image. It hasn't really helped, or maybe a little bit anyhow, but largely doesn't because of how everyone is from a different time zone. I usually have found that releasing a picture early in the AM (around 9 or 10am Eastern Standard -5:00 GMT) is a good time, or releasing it later in the evening around 8pm has done ok too. When I am surfing the gallery, what catches my eye the most is a thumbnail that APPEARS to be full of detail, a great POV, or looks photo-realistic (I'm a freak for photo-realism.) Sometimes I click on a TN like that and then it's like eh...not that great afterall and looks better at a 175x82 dimension. But other times I'm happily surprised by a great image. If I run across an image that I don't think is completely hot, I'll try to come up with something that I find is good in the image and leave a message, to kinda bring up the spirits of the artist. I do mean them, but those comments I leave have dual-meaning. Nothing hurts me more than to be fired up about a picture only to get a so-so amount of views, a few comments and only a few rankings, so I try to bring up the artist that is experiencing that same thing. Sambucus, in the case with you, I probably should have left something in the WIP area since I caused the whole uproar about the Bryce/Poser debate...while I found the image done nicely, I at the time (in a hurry at the time) couldn't come up with the right words right away. I hadn't realized it was uploaded to your gallery because I haven't surfed the new uploads yet. But excuses aside, it was a well-composited image in the short amount of time that you had and did show that it is possible to do a respectable image without using Poser (although in a way you can tell the animals are on 2D planes but that's what sucks about the 2D...I never like to use it but sometimes I gotta (if I could ever figure the damn feature out.)) Drac will be proud, I'm using paragraphs...hehe Anyhow, back to the topic...I think I tend to click on thumbnails that APPEAR to appeal to the kind of image I like...photo-realistic, high detailed imaging. Although also, I'm intriuged by the pictures that appear to have lots of views and a low amount of comments...it causes me to look deeper and see exactly why. So Sam had I come across yours, I would have left something (and will as soon as I get that way.) I'm not taking away from others' images and creations...if they're new to the game, I love to leave a comment. I remember my first couple of pictures, someone left a comment and a RANKING...OOOOH...hehe...but I was so excited, and kept me wanting more. As time went along, I kept wanting to do better images because I wanted to be more popular among the Bryce group here, someone that would be valued here by the others in the community. Seeing how some of the big dogs here like Rochr, AS, ICM, Doublecrash, Alvin, etc...how they all get an enormous amount of views, rankings, Hot 20 votes, etc...that just keeps me pushing to do better so I can someday be in that category. Everyone here should find something like that to motivate them for more. Before you know it, the gallery will be filled with tons of great imaging. To finish up, I think every person here has a certain thing they like in a picture...whether it be intense photo-realism, an excellent use of booleans, colors or topics...we all have SOMETHING that causes us to click on a thumbnail to get more. Sometimes we're impressed, sometimes we're left wondering what to say. In either way, it's always gonna come down to a yay or nay. (I could go into thumbnail tricks like zooming in on part of the scene, or for those people that don't use thumbnails (which I can't stand but at any rate)...I hope this shed a little light on my views of the topic. Regards, MD

quit it. Drac.

Strange thing about thumbnails. The picture of mine which has the most comments and views by far is the June challenge entry, but I suppose that had something to do with it, but in thumbnail form its like a dark blob. Even more so one I posted a while ago called "Igor, dont play with your dinner" which did quite well, (for one of mine) in the response stakes even though I cant recognise it from the thumb, and I made it! Perhaps its the name that catches the eye. Ive noticed a couple that have used a part thumb, or none at all and have a, shall we say, titillating title and theyve been very well looked at. Usually with some dissapointment if you were expecting something rude like the title promised. He he, yes I looked. I got a few comments on my earlier work, before I learned about PSPs export jpeg function, that the thumb didnt do justice to the pic etc, but it didnt seem to stop people looking. Also I suppose those people who have work to go to, (lets me out :o)) and with slow connections will understandably only have time to look for their favourites. Ive found this to a degree on the photography forum. Ive recently been posting macro shots in there and got a few comments etc but look in the hot 20 at some of the macro shots , which get raves, and I feel like shouting, "but its not bloody sharp". Still, thats not something that can be aimed at the Bryce hot 20. Everything there seems to be there on merit. (Note to self. better not go back to the photography forum for a while)

Hi Sambucus, I very seldom comment on images because I just don't see very well. I have read comments that point out s subtle object or jaggies and have to search with a magnifying glass to find them. I just don't see all the details in any image. I guess it just comes down to I'm not confident enough at what I'm seeing to really comment unless its something with a desigh element or something that really looks out of place. On the brighter side (I hope) I am having a cornea transplant on Monday so maybe I'll be able to see better soon and thus feel more confident in commenting.

Sam...I understand your beef there. Not that I feel my images are that great yet, but I sometimes see pictures above others in the Hot 20 that I wonder just how the hell they get to be that high. I think most of you can relate to me on that point...while they may be worth of a Hot 20 ranking, sometimes ya wonder just how they got higher than the images others create that are lower. Of course, wahhhhhhhhhhhh for someone to say 'I only got #17' or something...haha...must be NICE. But they got up there for a reason, I guess for the reason pointed out before, that some people see an image a different way than others. That's the only explanation I can possibly come up with. That and the Hot 20 has repeated visitors...with may bring the merit thing to light too...I'm not sure though, but a good debate topic. MD

The whole thumbnail thing is something I agonized over for a while when I started posting. I tried part of the pic, the whole pic, etc., and finally decided that other than the fact that pics with thumbnails get viewed more often than ones that don't have thumbs, it really doesn't matter (thumbs that even HINT at nudity get more hits, but going there on purpose cheapens the whole thing for me :^P) So I went for what I wanted and designed a logo pic that incorporated my image as a framed painting on the wall. I feel that for me it gave all of my work a standard look and feel (especially when you look at one of my gallery pages). Other than trying to make thumbnails eye-catching, in the end try to please yourself, and only yourself. The same goes for the images you make. Do the best work you can, and if people don't look at it or comment on it, well it's their loss. If you've got something to say through your art, say it, and don't say just what you think other people want to hear. On the subject of comments, I look at a lot of posted art whenever I get the chance, but because I'm on a very slow dial-up, I don't spend a lot of time commenting. But when an image just floors me, I comment.

it's always nice to get comments, and I thank everyone who sends me one, but sometimes the picture's pretty self-explanatory, and there isn't much to comment on. I, being the nutty bloke I am, tend to respond to misspelled or poorly grammaticized titles (often lending the pic an ironic touch the artist never intended)..but I'm not mean about it..;)
Also, if I see a pic that's nearly there, and just needs a quick tweaky, I'll remark on it, and go by.
If you post enough, you start to get a sense of how many comments and views you're likely to get..though you can still be surprised by some of them..as you get added to 'favorite' artists by some folks, you'll see the same usual suspects dropping by..;) Just remember that you're the critic that needs to be pleased the most, before you ever post, (poet don't knowit..;)). Also used paragraphs, and even italics..;)

Gregsin,Good luck with your operation, hope it goes well. MadDog-I think that some artists get a following and justly so. Which means for instance if I had a particular artist I followed I would automatically vote for him/her each time they posted. This is not wrong as long as the work is exceptional. Which you got to admit the top 20 images are fantastic. But one being higher up than a less great image may boil down to how many followers an artist has. ok, my silly .02 Sambucus, I liked the image artistically, but having foxes in the city, I'm sure it happens but I don't think it looks natural. The only other crit I have is with the colors of the building behind the car. It doesn't look dark or dirty enough, too pastel for my taste and speaking of taste, are those heinkens? Love foreign beers that come in green bottles or cans :-D The trash heap is absolutely fantastic, I'd have a heck of time positioning that stuff. And one last reason I don't like to comment on images like yours is you're so far advanced above my level that I don't feel qualified to make comments.

First things first. Gregsin, Ill be keeping my fingers crossed for you, buddy. Look forward to your first comment on a pic of mine that you can see clearly. Ang, youve given me a clue to how I can get more comments on my pics. Use the Heineken cans. Thats the second pic Ive used them in and the last time they got more (negative) comment than the rest of the pic. LOL. Its not that bad if you chill it enough so you cant taste it. As to foxes in the city, they are certainly in London, including centrally. I live on the outskirts and a vixen often keeps me awake at night. Have you heard those things? Take your point about the buildings but I wanted them to fade into the background. And everyone is qualified to comment.

I surely can relate to what you are saying Sambucus, I'm sure most of the people here in the forum have probably faced this dilemma before; how to get people to look and comment without selling out. I did look at your picture, and I really like the elements and the colors that you have there. There was something that seemed just a little off, and I couldn't quite say at the time.

Now, having looked again, I realise what bothers me about the picture. It seems that the stop sign, traffic cone and wooden fence seem somewhat out of proportion to both the foxes and the left side of the picture. Don't know about the UK, but traffic cones and stop signs in the U.S. are usually at least 2 ft., or .6098m. in height, unless they are miniatures, or toys. Thus, the foxes look more the size of a large coyote or wolf to my eyes. I can only tell you my observation which is admittedly subjective.

Urban wolves, now theres an idea. Yeah, I think youre probably right, danamo. The pic started out as a playaround following maddogs post about Poser figures in the Bryce gallery. I hadnt used the 2d plane technique much before but it turned out a bit better than I expected so I carried on adding some stuff but probably didnt pay enough attention to details. I think it`s best to construct the background and place the figures in it rather than vice versa. :o)

While I'm on topic, I think I'll call my next image NVIAVLWS (Naked Vicky in a Vacant Lot with a Sword) I'm confident that a lot of people would check it out! ;-)

Danamo...THAT'S what NVIAVLWS stands for! haha...I was going to ask but risking sounding way too stupid, I refrained. That's a very good abbreviation though. Very truthful too. MD

I comment if I have something to offer as 'helpful' for improving the image, but more often than not the ones I comment on strike an emotional or visual chord, the subject matter reaches out and grabs my attention, your june entry did that, I could feel the type of life the monk chose. And if everyone else has said what I'm feeling six ways from sunday, then it's said, but I still enjoy the experience of viewing the image...I appreciate the time that someone takes out of their day to view my image as much as their commenting on it, (comment are nice, votes are better)

i have a simple reason why i comment on pictures... "I LIKE IT!" what does the i like it composed of? well first i look at the thumb... im not looking for a great thumb, just the composition on the thumb... coz hidden might be a great image... or a bad one. when that is done... i look at the image.. irrigardless of the name/author. How is the composition? the modelling? the story behind? the concept? I dont usually judge on the beauty alone... since that is certainly not everything. Each picture has its own greatness. Others are good at modelling yet bad in compostion or final rndering or postwork.. and blah blah... its no brainer actually... if i like it i'll place a comment on "WHAT I LIKED" thats it... pretty simple huh?

I don't usually browse the galleries, so if I comment at all, it's because someone put a link in the forum and said, 'Hey, look at my pic!" I may look but not comment if I don't have anything to say, or don't know how to say it, or it's already been said many times. I will comment if I think it is useful, or if there is a dearth of comments. I mostly hang out in the forum, though. Lin PS Sambucus, is your picture title 'Naked Vixen in a Vacant Lot with a Stop sign"?

I seldom get much viewing or many comments, but it doesn't bother me. To me what is more important is seeing my progressively better images. I am also pleased when someone I admire comments on my image. It is funny, though, I have been doing 2D and 3D images online for 7 years and it is always the ones I just whipped out that people like. The ones I love and slave over are ignored. Diane

Attached Link: Click here and jesus will bless you. (insert sarcasm here)

Hmm, Now I find this topic quite interesting. because I recently posted a final render of my explosion in my gallery, all feathered out and smokey like. And I thought it looked pretty good, better than some of my other renders. And the thumbnail looked decent. I assumed explosions really appealed to people =P, so I was suprised to find after nearly half a day I had accumulated 8 views and one comment.... lol... I don't get it... Most of my images accumulate appr 10 comments, maybe 8-10 votes, appr 75 views in the first 24 hours, and this one got 8.... I find this rather interesting. Not that I am bitter, more curious as to why this happened...

I recently posted a couple of images and I didn't post any links here, I wanted to see a real response so to speak. What I found and granted this is only on two pics, is that the one image that I first posted here in the forum and made adjustments to thanks to the people here helping me got a lot more views than the one I just did and put in the gallery. I also got a couple of comments (positive) from people who don't frequent this forum. The other image got notta as far as comments go. This is telling me I still need advice and the best place to get it is here in the forum. I don't think the statistics I got on my two images are a fluke. Thats all, Ang

I find the last two posts rather interesting, I can relate to both also. In Ornlu's case...I experienced the low view total with my softball image that I did for the June Challenge. It got a fair amount of comments and rankings (in relation to my other images as of late) but the views were way down from normal. It made me wonder why...maybe it was the lack of detail, maybe it was that not as many carry an interest in softball, since it's mainly an American Icon (yes I know they DO play it elsewhere...but it's life-after-baseball here in the USA.) I've found that posting a link at the Bryce Gallery (a seperate Web site) has gotten me more views, and even a few more comments...although I'm not sure how MANY comments came from my links there, that largely depends on the viewer and if they're Renderosity members. But it's more exposure for my gallery. I'm still waiting for that breakout picture where I can get 300-400 views and in the 25-30 comment/rating range...but I need to develop a cult following first. ;) And that, I'm very far away from yet. As for Ang...WIPs are a good idea...it surely has helped you out...especially in your case where you have an older computer where you would rather make changes in a large fix than a bunch of small ones for rendering purposes. I wish Bryce had an option to only render objects that are effected by a change, but there isn't (I hope I'm right here...heheh.) I've refrained from WIPs in the forum because for me, I'm too afraid it'll take the initial sting away from the time where I release it into the gallery and you guys see it for the first time. Maybe it's a bone-headed move, but I use others outside of the Renderosity realm for WIP ideas and comments. It's a different bunch...a group of my closest friends (friends that I've known for years) and my dad...my friends don't have much artistic talent at all, but they notice some of the obvious things that need to be changed or added. My dad has a creative mind, so he can notice some of the finer points. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing against ANYONE here...I just like to have the excitement of uploading an image for the very first time for you all to see when I get one done. There will always be times where I might post a certain portion or a model to be critiqued because I need a 3D person's expertise...but outside of that, I try to outsource my WIP C&C's. I'm rambling again. I hope I made some sense! :) MD

Hey MadDog, thats great, I don't have but maybe one non-brycer who expresses any interest in my images. You are lucky, at least I think so. Anyhow, your work has become exceptional. Keep up the good work, Ang

Thanks Ang for the compliments. :) I wasn't looking for any but hell, I'll take one when I can get it! ;) I'm just trying to shed some light on what I feel about the topic...sometimes I get pretty windy though...hehe... MD

Sometimes it's the psychology behind the image, rather than the image itself. My most looked at render features a button with "Do not push this button" label on it for the thumbnail. And the render itself shows the consequences of the button pushing. By all means, the quality of that render isn't my greatest work. But heck, I had fun doing it. Sometimes it's not always the image, but the message behind it that results in your viewings and comments. Sometimes images are good, as well as the meanings behind them. But perhaps they aren't commented much, as occasionally it's not always easy for the viewer to figure out what to say about them (usually those are sad "touchy-feely" type pics.) Other times it's good quality stuff, but there's not much which is original or invokes emotion. I'm sure after the n'th NVIATWAS or fairy picture, there isn't too much to say unless somebody adds something really clever to the mix. But my rule of thumb is that to get comments you've gotta do two things. Make a series. If it's any good it'll garner a following. Having catchy characters, a decent storyline, or both is good. The other thing that seems to work is humor. If it's supposed to be funny, usually most people find it easy to come up with words to describe their feelings. Most people appreciate it when you lighten up their day. If you do both of those, I think you'll start seeing a lot of comments. (If all else fails, the option of last resort is "poser porn", in which drooling adolescents comment on how hot your virtual Vicky is. LOL.)

its really simple for me about this subject (the orignal subject anyway, we tend to wonder a little bit), i don't expect any comments at all (mostly cause my art sucks but thats besides the point) That way when someone accually does leave one i'm happy, (reguardless of if its just a "great job" comment, or helpful one). i don't leave many comments myself though, cause i'm horid with words and would end up just saying "nice job" a lot.

i try to veiw ever image that is uploaded (and beleive me it takes a long time sometimes) but i only comment if i find something about the image that really apeals to me, or i know a way to help the image look better (rarely happens). thats why i don't comment a lot, which may be the same case for others.