What is the secret to getting folks to view an image..initially...the first thing seen is the thumbnail of course....but what exactly drives someone to take a look at an image beyond the thumbnail??? I imagine artist reputation is part of it..name recognition. The rating system I'm sure plays a part in it, as time progresses. Is it necessary to have Va Va Voom breasts, or a sneak peak of peaks...or perhaps the "nudity" warning? If you look at the gallery....lets just stick to Poser, but its pretty much the same in any gallery, there are some images that just seem to get looked at a lot...others barely get any views....this fact does not always have a bearing on the quality of the piece...I've seen some pretty mediocre work get tons of views, and some real good ones get totally overlooked. I have a couple that , quite frankly, aren't all that good, that have a fair number of views, and a couple that IMO should be looked at a bit more but aren't.

different answer from each person, but there has to be something in the thumbnail that catches my eye, really dark thumbs don't get the attention. doesn't really matter what is in the thumb, if it has something that stands out against the dark background of the page it gets more attention.

Well, you need 3 elements: a temple, a naked woman and a sword. Everyone knows that's the rule around here. But seriously, I don't get it either. I like to see images that make me think, are surreal or well composed. Honestly I can do without all the nearly naked femmes littered about. I would like to say that age has something to do with it, as I am in my 30's, but I gave up trying to figure out mankind (and particularly my fellow Americans) a long time ago...

I don't think there is any direct corollary between hits and quality of work. Thumbnails that indicate women rather than men usually get more hits, nudity usually gets more hits. If what you honestly want is hits, then do nudes, maybe put it in the title, show some nudity on the thumb, make sure it's female. But there are plenty of pictures int he galleries languishing that are very fine and have few hits, maybe a bit more comments, sometimes none, because they are not pretty or naked or both. All depends on how you measure success. Most probably if you get better, people will notice. Seems that way. I've been here since January and there is a trend to notice good people eventually. An enigmatic thumbnail that is a little tantalizing and well composed is crucial to get any hits sometimes. Don't just reduce your whole image-- not that you do already, but others are reading his, maybe-- because then we've already seen it. Good luck, liked the POW piece. Emily

I'm going to sound like the "oddman out" here. I gave up worrying or thinking too much about how many hits my images get. Yes, my nudes probably get the most hits. However, I am most impressed or satisfied by the comments and great constructive criticism provided by the people who take the time to leave comments. Some people appear to regularly check my gallery and provide those comments. I'm most impressed and flattered when my friends take the time to checkout my gallery. And yes, I'm impressed when someone suddenly visits my gallery and leaves comments on many images. In the long run, I'm very happy with the comments and feedback I've been given. I love compliments, and constructive criticism helps me learn. **** I don't visit the gallery much myself these days. I just don't have the time since I got my job. I'm sorry, but people can understand. It's nice to let my wife know I still care, rather than spending all my time on the computer. Ron

The T&A aspect has already been well-covered. ^_~ Now, if you don't want to cater to that crowd, what catches my eye when I take a rare spin through the gallery is a thumbnail that suggests the picture is something I haven't seen before. T&A turns me off because, while there is quite a bit of it that's good, a LOT of it is slapped together for a cheap thrill. "Flat drab passion meanders across the screen!" If the thumbnail suggests the picture is original and different, I'm more likely to check it out. Also, an ironic observation with the "don't just reduce your image" advice. That's what I did with "Longing for my Better Half". I figured since it's "just a 'woman staring longingly into space' image that most people wouldn't care about without knowing about the character, I'd let them know what they were getting into right off. Of the six images in my gallery, that's got the most hits at a good 25% above the runner up. Of course, the runner up is a bowl of oatmeal, so go figure.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=197284&Start=1&Sectionid=1&Form.Search=maniki

I think the gallery is about marketing. As mentioned the thumbnail is all important to initially grab the viewer. I did a parody image this week called " Clothes as Kryptonite" (see url) which was making light of the fact that naked pics gather the most amount of hits. To my chagrin its' gotten almost 700 hits. The largest number of hits I'd recieved on an image prior was 400. This was sort of unsettling as you can follow a formula to get hits, but what is its worth? There was also the realization that the poser gallery culture is what is feeding and sustaining the naked chicks in the temple syndrome. If a person spends alot of time doing a artful render and get 40 hits and someone else slaps togather a nude Vickie at the library and get 500 hits, they are either going to quit or convert to the formula that will get hits. When the culture changes so will the gallery entries.

ah shit(1)... I just wrote this great comment...reviewed it, went back, and its gone....ah shit(2)... well, good words only happen once a day so I can't redo it. Anyway...Manikin Flesh---I like your poetry on that image...its a hit maker for sure :) Perhaps Remderosity needs a "thought provoking" category for none T&A images.

I don't know why people complain about nude pics so much. Sometimes I'm just plain bored, and all I want to do is look at naked ladies. I get pretty frustrated when I need to scroll through several pages of the gallery to find some nudes! Now they can't be that overly abundant, or I'd get my cheap thrills on the first page, and get off the computer.

And sometimes I just want to see pretty. It's late, just before bed, I want eye candy, doesn't matter if it's naked or not, as long as it refreshes my eyes. I reiterate again. Hits don't matter. As long as someone is looking and your improving word will get around. FyreSpiryt, I looked at Longing for my Better Half-- it was very good. That's why I looked. That, and you couldn't see much in the tiny thumbnail even if it was the whole thing.:) I don't remember if I commented. Sometimes I do, sometimes not, if that part of my brain is dead. Emily

A few weeks ago I went through the Poser gallery with a pencil and paper and studied the thumbnails to try and answer this question . My images have just not had the viewings that I had hoped and I was determined to find out what it is that I am doing wrong . I came up with a list of things that seem to work most of which has already been covered . 1-nudity 2-a teasing close up 3-eye pleasing reflections seem to draw a crowd 4-anything with a theme such as star wars , superhero's, etc. 5-naked fairies 6-photorealistic textures 7-Good face close up's 8-really bright colors Also the number of images an artist does probably has a lot to do with it . Some people do several images a month while others like myself , make maybe a couple all year.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Y&Artist=JHoagland

Of course, images with a "violent content" warning also seem to get a lot of views- maybe because people want to see something that they're being warned not to? Just an off-topic observation: there is a "nudity" flag that you can set when uploading images (so viewers won't be offended by the thumbnail or full-size nude image) but there is no "violence" flag. They're "forced" to see the thumbnail. Hmm... Anyway, in my own gallery, the picture with the "violence" warning has more than one and half times more views than the next most-viewed image. And, on the other end, my "Far Side" cartoons (which *I* think are funny!) have received only a few hundred views. So, you can either: 1) Make a thumbnail with a naked lady, which should really be a photo-realistic Vicky in a fantasy setting. Keep in mind that the thumbnail is just to get the viewer's attention- the full-sized image can be whatever you want. Remember, you're going for sheer number of views and you shouldn't worry about image quality or the "ethics" of having your thumbnail image not match the full-size image (the bait & switch approach). -OR- 2) We (as a community of artists) should not care how many views our images receive. Ask yourself: are you making the image because you enjoy making it or are you making it to please the masses? If you're making an image because you enjoy the process, then don't worry about how many views you get. If you're making it for the masses, then a nude woman (preferably a pre-made character) in a pre-made pose, standing in front of blank/ white background will probably be fine. Throw in a fantasy setting or the latest "item of the week" (you know- the new item that suddenly appears on in every other picture) and you've got yourself a winner! (Okay, maybe not a "winner", but definitely a most-viewed!) --John

i usually lok at the images that seem to have the most work put into them and the most realistic detail. By now everyone has seen or done the naked vicky with the default or store bought textures, everyone has done the zygote dragon with no morphs and the same textures. there are things that have the same models and the same scenes as every other picture, i dont usually look at those. Thumbnails that dont show the entire picture but make the viewer WANT to know what is going on is a good way to grab viewers. You could just stick a nude photo in there and get a ton of hits, but that wouldnt automatically make it a great piece of art, though i do believe the female body is a very beautiful thing, im looking for quality work, not cheap thrills. The title is another important part. If it doesnt sound interesting, it probably wont be looked at. I think the best thing is not having everyone look at it, but having a very good and well respected artist look at - and then compliment you on it. Find an artist who's work you admire, and ask them to look at it - if your work gives a good impression, word will get around.

JHoagland, I skimmed through your gallery, and was reminded of some of the really depressing renders you've produced. You have one where a guy has a gun in his hand, and contemplates suicide. A few months ago I viewed one such image, and really worried about you'; I posted that concern in the comments for that image. I never received any response. I am glad to know you're still alive. You've also chosen to disable comments in a few of your gallery entries.

This comment,(from ronknights), has me going in different directions ..also off the topic. ....I checked out the gallery of JHoagland...hopefully by expressing what is commonplace in our society is not indicative of the artists state of mind....but reflection of what is happening all around us...a concern. My work, which all is not present in the Renderosity gallery, is much in the same vain, at least the depression/societal/violence work.....it is important that this type of emotion is brought out, so we understand that it exists, and hopefully can do something about it. Our society does not show compassion for those in need,(this is a broad stroke, but you know what I mean), but more often will continue the path for the individual by pressing them down even further, until they feel they are suffocating under the weight....then snap.... Even though, we, as a society, insist we care for each other...I think many do not understand what their actions and words really say to each other, or perhaps really don't care as long as they have and get what they want. Those with power directly suppress those who don't...those physically stronger supress those that aren't....and the words of many of us suppress other's minds. Sometimes it takes someone who is suffering to show the rest of us the reality. For those that are suffering, please talk about it...for those causing the suffering, please look at yourselves and understand what you are doing.

Hmm, glad I didn't get tired of seeing naked women at 30. I'm intrigued by the comment about the "Poser gallery culture." I'm not exactly sure what that means. As for things changing when the culture changes, I suspect that 100 years from now it will be much the same. As long as most people wear clothes most of the time, and as long as the human libido remains the same, there will be a fascination with the unclothed form. This is especially true in a culture where so much of human sexuality still has an air of taboo. I've read various comments about adolescents viewers being the cause of so much rampant nudity. I don't buy it. Any adolescent who knows how to use the internet can find plenty of real nudity and a lot more sex than they'll find here, why bother with Vicky. I think counting hits is as poor a method for judging your artistic success as counting money is for judging money is for jusding how successful you are in life. According to a news magazine a while back, the world's best selling artist grinds out pictures of cottages, endless variations on them. When has "great art" ever appealed to the masses? Everyone wants to be noticed, admired and appreciated, but I wish people would get over this hang-up of 'nobody looks at my pictures because I don't do naked Vicky.' Forget it already. Lamenting adolescents, phillistines and the decadent culture accomplishes nothing. If you are fulfilled by what you create and you are a true artist, then by definition that is enough. If you want fame and acclaim then start producing what the viewers want to see and resolve to do it better than anyone else.

http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=201328 Some of the criteria for a few hits....I've missed a couple, but what the hey