hi i'm looking for some advice on how to get more viewers for my pictures, and how to get more feedback if you take a look at my gallery (http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=MartinW) i do okay for viewers and comments, but i would like to get more anyone got any suggestions on what works best? i've tried looking the 'most viewed' and it seems to be fantasy/sf/pinups, naked & female are the most popular types tia as always martin (nudity tag because there's lots in my gallery)

Well the saying "The tits get the hits" is only true up to a point. For viewings controversy gets more than nudity.

For more feedback it seems that the more you comment on others images, the more they comment on yours. Whether or not those comments are useful or not is up to you to judge for youself

Message edited on: 03/23/2006 10:23

Do a search in this forum. People have come up with all kinds of ways to get more views: everything from showing nudity in the thumbnail to using a close-up of a character's head.

One of my favourites is the bait-and-switch. Back when I had a gallery here, the thumbnail showed a semi-naked woman in shadow viewed through venetian blinds. You click on it, and the main image is her very angry father, threatening you with serious bodily harm if you look at his daughter again. That one got more hits in a 24 hour period than anything else I'd ever done.

But isn't the bait and switch only a 1 shot deal and not sustainable? It might get people to click on it the 1st time but it'll alienate most of them so they won't want to fall for it again. Good for a spike in viewings but not for repeatable success.

In my humble opinion the best thing one could do, if you're at all serious about doing well with 3D art, is to aspire to improve on the artistic level, not to care much at all about number of hits. I realize that it's gratifying to receive feedback and views. I appreciate it and often thank people who leave comments and constructive criticisms, but when at some point I realized that I was posting some "cheesecake" images just because they'd get lots of views, I deleted them from my gallery and just focussed on what I really wanted to do, which every now and then does include cheesecake pinups. :-)

For me, getting a large viewing hits becuase of nudity or because of some gigantic female feature is not worth it because it really doesn't tell you what they think about your work. Even if I get considerably less hits because they are not naked, those hits carry more value to me because they actually took the time to look at my work for what it is.

Sometimes, I do however try to mix in some skin and show little more expossure of the body because it does create some excitement to the work and to break the norm.

As far as comments go, I am not sure how you can increase them because it looks like some images are commented quite alot as soon as they are uploaded and others are stranded and left alone even though they look quite stunning (at least to my eyes). I've seen some excellent renders by bryce and vue that had zero comments probably because they were not uploaded in poser section. So I guess number of comments doesn't really tell you how good or bad the work is.

It seems you have to make a lot of friends first...

Hi,

Once I, too, used to crave the viewings and the comments but now I just strive to produce the sort of images that I would like to collect for myself. If I only get one comment or ranking, then I am well pleased.

It is also worth noting that the R'osity Gallery viewers are not as predictable as you might think. One of my most commented images was a humourous image (for ladies) with three almost nekkid men in a locker room - but it didn't get a huge number of viewings. Conversely I have images (with nekkid pin-up ladies) with over a thousand viewings that have had few (if any) comments. I guess women are generally more communicative than men. Also remember that the nudity tag will cut out a shed load of viewers, so you might get more views, rankings and comments by ditching the nudity and doing sexy (but clothed) scenes instead.

The best sort of recognition is when someone adds one of your images (or better yet, you as an artist) to their favorites - and it is just brilliant if they don't have many favorites.

Gotta agree with Argon18, controversy is a sure bet. Now if you could just manage to arouse the level of controversy with your images that Doc Legume managed way back when, not only would your views be through the roof you'd eventually get banned and possibly like him become the stuff of legend around here. Oh how I could use a MPP fix.... :P

Well yes but just look at Madonna's career, that level of controversy is hard to maintain since you always have to top yourself to get the attention back when the controversy goes stale. I agree with RGUS it helps to make a lot of friends to get comments consistently, Prog is friends with everybody and he gets hundreds of them for everything he does.

Hi, Thanks all for the comments. I've now had about a dozen people add me to their favourite artist lists - and I found that the best compliment of all. I've also noticed that some images which I worked hard on and am very proud of have had the least number of viewings or comments, whilst some that I did either long ago or very quickly without stretching my talents seem to have had more response. I like to have humor in my images, to challenge expectations, and I will keep on doing that. One thing I am going to do more is follow chinnei's advice of getting away from nudity to get more of an audience that way...and I have something I'm working on at the moment which might do just that. Once again thanks all and happy renderings Martin

As others have said, nudity and sexy poses will get you some extra hits. But I think to get more reaction, you have to give reason for people to react. There are hundreds and hundreds of "good" to "great" renders posted every month. People become inured to greatness at those rates. I can't say for sure what's working for me, but I know what I try to do in every picture. 1) Technical merit. I never post a picture that was easy to make. I try very hard to use the technology well and I usually explain why the picture was hard to make. As a result, I get others who have had the same technical problems issues reacting to the information and the results. I post a lot on technical issues and solutions in this forum as well - I think that has made me more visible. Your render "Serendipity" displays excellent technical merit. Notice how the comments focused on the realism? 2) Unusual artistry. I'm no artist (I'm a software engineer) but sometimes I accidentally make "art" - at least people occasionally use that word in their comments to me. The first time it happened, I was flabbergasted. Now I'm starting to get a feel for what is dramatic and differentiated. Your render "In the loft" is art. The figure and pose is nothing special, but the composition, setting and the lights make it interestingly moody. You got plenty of good response to that one about those very things. "Serendipity" is also art, in my opinion, because your choices of color and camera angle were spot on, guaranteed to get a reaction. In fact, that one is really stunning. Too bad about the ugly hair :) On the other hand, your render "You lose..." focuses on funny (mildly). Funny doesn't get much bang. Plus, there is little technical merit in that one and not much in the way of "art", whatever that is. So no comments. Your render "Regret" has promise. But from the technical side, the skin tone is dull and the figure and couch are not anchored to anything. Artistically, I like the pose, but the stark white background negates the mood created by the figure and the composition is just unhelpful. However, some of your comments in that one say the opposite. Why didn't I write my comments in your picture? I don't know. Seems like an unwritten rule that we not criticize each other too hard. Especially when people can see art so differently. So I don't comment too much on the artistry. I do frequently comment on technical problems, and I always post a link to a forum topic that offers solutions. In fact I think maybe since I comment a lot, I get commented a lot. What goes around comes around I guess. I wouldn't think its fair to say that I've made friends, though. Mutual fans maybe. With my last few pictures, people started adding me to their favorite artists and images lists. Now when I post a render, they comment on it pretty quick. So I think its a matter of building up a body of work until the point where people who like your style start to notice and make a point of keeping track of you. I think that's whats going on for a lot of posters, especially the superstars. Now you've got your own fans, so looks like you are on your way!

nude boobs in the thumbnail will get the most hits, just to repeat what the others said. technical excellence would also be nice, but it's not necessary or sufficient.

Martin, last thing I wanted to do is pass a judgement about someone's work regardless how they did it. I hope you didn't take it the wrong way about me saying how I like to present my work. I wasn't trying to come off as some snob telling you what not to do :)

With that said, please do continue to present your work however you please to. I just looked at your gallery and you do have your own distinctive style and you should continue to expand on that. Like some others already said, maybe all you needed was a little bit of publicity to gain that impact.

Happy renderings likewise!

Hi chinnei No, I never took your words as criticism, only as advice on a route to take. Frankly, the reason I have run so many nudes lately is that, much as I love the various figure morphs I have, getting them dressed is a nightmare as there are never the right or enough morph targets, I'm not so skilled in that area, and I've never (yet) tried magnets. As may have been suspected, I've been experimenting with my thumbnails and found that boobs=clicks. I've also learned that naked men do not get the attention that naked women do... Anyway, once more, thanks to everyone for their insights and comments and if you're not busy, stop by every now and then to see how I'm progressing regards martin

What a coincidence - one of my pictures, "Spanish Tourist Attraction (Encore)", just crossed the 1000 viewings mark. Woot! And yes, it features big boobs, but strangely I didn't show them on the thumbnail. I showed her legs instead. In fact, of my 12 pictures, the 3 that show legs in the thumbnail have the most views. So there's your answer - SHOW THE LEGS!!!!

One thing I've noticed about images that have dozens and dozens of comments is that it's usually the same people posting in each other's galleries. Start posting in people's galleries and chances are they will check out your gallery and maybe even leave a comment. Keep in mind that art is subjective and there is no way to make something that everyone will like. We all have our likes and dislikes and what we think is asthetic to the eye. For me when I create something, I create it for my eye, no one else's. So long as I am happy with what I see, that's all that really matters in the end. To be honest with you, I'm sick of seeing naked figures plastered all over the gallery because it gets to be "same old, same old". Artistic nudity can be very nice to look at, but so many of the gallery nudes aren't artistic; they are there for the same reason you started this thread...to get higher viewing numbers. And that's sad! I have been browsing the galleries lately, and I totally skip right on by the thumbnails that have naked boobs and butts, because chances are the images aren't going to be any different from others of that sort.

I've been doing that with portraits too, since there is a whole lot less variation with portraits than with the combinations of nudity. So I wouldn't do any protraits either if you want more views or comments

Something just occurred to me that might put things into perspective when it comes to viewings... Let's consider the artist stereotype that lives in an abandoned warehouse loft painting away their days. Do you think he/she dwells on how many people are going to be looking at their paintings? Nope! They're all about the creative aspect of it. They paint what they like and stop when they're happy with it. Trying to create on "demand", or for a certain "venue" just for the sake of getting more views is one sure way of taking the fun out of creating :)

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=tainted%5Fheart

Strive to push the limits of your tools. Create from your heart. Try to be original with your images, remember there are tons of people using the same products you are so you need to strive to move out of the mainstream of images. Use an "artful" thumbnail, and comment on other peoples work.

some things that work for me:

1. bright colors (primary, warm colors)
2. cropping for a thumbnail - either including the 'focus' of the pic, or just enough to wonder what the rest looks like
3. eyes -dialated slightly, and fixed on the viewer
4. sexy expressions (don't really do newduhtee, because I can't check on things at work, and the missus looks askance at it..;)
5. (sadly)- the more of someone else's stuff I put in, the better the viewings (probably my modeling skills..;) I once put Sixus' cat, Level 19 in, and a cute title, and got 300+ hits (for me, that's darned good..;) go figure. 6) Detail, or implied detail- lots of interestin' l'il bits to cause the eye to linger..;)
   hope this helps.

just do what the popular "in-crowd" does.. comment, comment, comment and brown nose other peoples work regardless if it's good or not.. ..(probably works best if you do it on the popular peoples images) just put "ohhhh that is amazing" excellent! VOTE! " and you'll end up in the hot 20.. sadly that seems to be the best way to do it.. very few seem to actually care what the actual image looks like anymore :( I should add that doing this, might not nessesarily make you gain respect.. but you'll have lots of praising comments. To get viewers that actually help and critique is a bit more tricky

Attached Link: The general rule of the galleries

A few other people have suggested that since it does indeed seem to work best. but ***To get viewers that actually help and critique is a bit more tricky*** is a whole lot more than just tricky around here it's extremely formidable since most of the time what Germaine expressed it more likely.

I've always thought the comments in the gallery were a bit of a waste of time. Most of them seem to be either: "Cool. Where did you get the hair tex?" or the dutiful-mutual-fan-club variety: "Wonderful as always, talk to ya soon my friend, (or 'hon')HUGZZZZ " etc Once the fan club has gushed and given the image an 'Excellent' rating (as they must) there's not much chance of anyone else posting an honest criticism. The fan-club posts become self-defeating in a way because they just say "I have 15 huggy friends who say my picture is good, wanna argue with that?" I think the only way to get good, constructive criticism is to approach a few artists whose work you respect and ask them for useful feedback, NOT a pat on the back. Once you have 3 critical comments you'll probably get more in the same spirit. Ob <--- who doesn't have any friends :o) Edited to add: LOL, whil I was typing this 2 other cynics said much the same thing, just better. Hey, lets form an honest cynics clique, not a huggy one. I'll look at yours (even if there are no titties) and I'll be honest about it if you're honest about mine, that sorta thing ;o)

Message edited on: 03/24/2006 05:25

If you're looking for helpful comments and ways to improve your work, you're probably better off asking for critique within this forum.

Employ Key Elements in yer renders as above ;) EDIT: No didnt do this for this thread, actually had this sitting on hard drive still from a previous thread and just couldnt resist reposting. Dreadfully sorry.....

Message edited on: 03/24/2006 16:07

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=1180721&Start=1&Artist=Silke&ByArtist=Yes

The trouble is that even if you post something good that people like, most people only look past the first 2 pages (if that) when they view the gallery. However, sometimes the image does get a bunch of hits even after it has scrolled. The one I am linking had 273 views, 8 comments and 13 rankings at the time I'm posting this message. It was added a whole bunch of times to favorite images as well (seeing as I get an email about it when that happens) but since it has scrolled now... there is usually no movement unless I post a new image and someone goes to my gallery and views previous images. I guess the more prolific you are, and the more your images appeal to people, the more they will check out your gallery - and the pictures get hits/comments/ratings. As for critique via the comments? It doesn't usually happen. :) Best, Silke

Actually, Ob, what you suggest is something I really like. Who's up for a "Critique Club"? :)

as the guy who started it and who is learning a lot from those who post and the galleries of those who post i'd just like to say thanks to you all i also agree that the idea of a 'critique club' or somesuch where you could post pictures and get back positive (though critical if necessary) feedback for the meantime, i'll continue to IM everone who adds me to their favourites list, as this way i (hopefully) find out what it is that people are looking for, or hooked by, in my images happy renderings martin

Well I don't render all that much (things to do, computers to wreck!) at the moment, but I can easily set up a "critique" gallery (with comments etc) if there is serious interest of doing this. IM me if ya want. :) Silke