od[force] gallery

[Marc]

Hey guys

I wonder if you could take a few minutes to write some thoughts on what you would want out of an od[force] Houdini/vfx gallery? I don't want to taint the thought process too much, so I'll leave the question as open and broad as that.

It doesn't have to be much (although it can be if you like), just a few points will be great.

Thanks

Marc

[abvfx]

Are you talking about the UI/Layout of what qualifies as "gallery" material?

Personally i don't like the fact you can vote or rate the images. It either is gallery material or it isn't. Also i think gallery work should be submitted via the final art forum. Then will only exceptional works make it into the galley (via mod approval). Another good feature about that is you can link the gallery to the thread so people can talk about it because in those types of gallery setups no one ever leave a comment (a thread is better suited in that respect).

I think the gallery should only reflect the best of the odforce community and its clear that some of the entries are just tests.... good tests, but tests nonetheless. Maybe a technical gallery might be needed since there is soo much good work and development that doesn't necessarily warrant as a finish piece or gallery entry but the research and development has to be noted and exposed to as many members as possible.

It may sound a little elitist but i think the gallery will represent the best that odforce members has to offer and it should be of a certain standard especially for new visitors.

Thoughts on the UI? Umm i dont know what is possible or too time consuming to develop. Im sure there are decent templates out there that might have a decent setup.

Edited June 15, 2011 by phrenzy84

[michael]

I'd like to see something very simple - simple to add images and simple to view

a "WIP Gallery" and a "Final Gallery" would be nice

WIP - for things that are a little more developed than just tests - but not final images/anim

Final - for...well...final stuff

voting etc doesn't interest me much

I think submissions to final should be moderated - the user should be required to provide details - like a breakdown...and maybe some personal info like why they made the image etc..

[Netvudu]

Will the Final Gallery be for the final stuff...or for the final stuff one tweaks after feedback and calls "Final True Final Definitive" j/k

[Adam Ferestad]

Yay, all of this hell as a web designer is going to come in handy . I would start by changing the setup so that there is more categorization. Everyone is talking about "Final" work and whatnot, but I am more worried about seeing certain types of work. Could be broad categories or narrow ones. VFX, Characters, Landscapes, etc. I always love to see what people do, but I also like to filter it. If I were going to set something up for ease of navigation and look, I would aim for something like the result narrowing options on Newegg.com. Having an approval process might be a bit harsh for some people, I am honestly intimidated by someone with a button that says "NO" to some of my work, especially if I am actually proud enough of it to submit it. I can understand though, there are many people out there who lack the humility to feel that their crap work isn't the best thing ever. I like the idea of having an open thread for the works in the finished gallery. There should be a specific section for the R&D stuff, and it especially counts for my next point.

One feature I would love to see, specifically for Houdini is the inclusion (I would like to say mandatory) of the .hip files, so we can learn from the masters and see how they put everything together. I am getting better at following other people's networks and understanding what is going on, so that would be awesome, especially if someone posts one that uses an effect that I have been trying to get working.

[dennis.albus]

One feature I would love to see, specifically for Houdini is the inclusion (I would like to say mandatory) of the .hip files, so we can learn from the masters and see how they put everything together. I am getting better at following other people's networks and understanding what is going on, so that would be awesome, especially if someone posts one that uses an effect that I have been trying to get working.

I also think hip files are a great thing for learning, but it might not always be possible to post hip files alongside the final images because if it's not a personal project there might be NDA issues involved. So I wouldn't make that mandatory.

I like the idea of an approval process as it will be a great motivation to submit something thats worthy of the final gallery. Maybe there shouldn't be a single person deciding what's good enough. There might be a voting system so if 10 people vote for the inclusion in the final gallery the image gets added.

I can see a difficulty in deciding how much of the image has to contain content that has been created with Houdini. Does it have to be rendered in Mantra?

Other than that I would like to see a good filtering system based on tags.

Edited June 16, 2011 by dennis.weil

[Marc]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I'll list what I think the common themes are and my thoughts on them and let me know what you think.

Voting/Rating: Obviously the initial idea was for you guys to effectively filter the good from the bad by voting, but everyone has decided that doesn't work (youtube, etc.)

• Possible solution: Have a 'like' button which basically just indicates that you like it. This will help us sort the most liked etc. I think we should also have an 'od[force] picks' section, where we either award images, or just add them to a group. This will help casual visitors to immediately identify the best images in the gallery.

Sorting/Categories/Tags: Tags were designed to help categorize the albums.... but I'll freely admit this wasn't fully implemented .

• Possible solution: Fully implement tags as well as adding some basic categories (WIP, Final, commercial, personal etc.). Maybe add a genre too?

I don't think we should limit what people can post, but obviously we can make it easier to highlight the really good stuff. Also I think that if Houdini was used at any point in the process then it can be posted. ie. If I'm working on something for a commercial project, the final image may only include a bit of Houdini work, but I think it's valid to post it here. All renderers are also welcome... Houdini is pretty open that way, so I don't see why we shouldn't be .

Anyway, as always please let me know what you think. My time is ridiculously limited, but I'll do what I can. (Unless anyone knows a good web designer/programmer).

Thanks

Marc

[Marc]

oh one last thing. The initial design was for adding 'albums' which could contain multiple images which were related (wip, final etc.). Do you think this is good functionality, or would you just prefer single images. Single images might be easier to manage...

[zarti]

hi ,

- i like the 'like' .. =)

it shdnt be mixed up with choosing criteria , imo .

that shows something ( subjective ) and has its importance up to a certain degree .

- choosing criteria .

i wd suggest a 'semi-democratic-system' ; a group of 5 to 10 hou-veterans and od-force members might help on giving their 'vote' for candidate pics .

oc , additionally to the 'official' jury .

- hou's partial input on any project .

i agree that there should be more than rendered images on a gallery , esp in hou's case .

the first thing that comes into my mind is to have a 'standardized' rendering style ( ex: very light grey surfaces with black and orange wireframes over ) in order to better present the hou's capabilities in animation and simulation .

no matter where those were rendered or how they finally appeared , .. looking at the naked geometry is always "5exy" .

- another suggestion :

not so important , but having an online material library shd be considered as a mini-gallery .

i personally do when i see any .

a standard scene rendered in two resolution sizes .. packed in a mini section .. 'et uala !' .

oc , this needs a lot of input from hou community and every entry shd get approved from the jury too .

a bit OT on this point , but imho ; it helps ..

.cheers

[divi]

Sorry.. I'm a lil offtopic but why is the current gallery dead? there's only like 6 pages and those images have been there forever. I have PIC that I rendered in Houdini and I want to show it to the public , but I'm not sure about that. I think the new gallery should be open to everybody... ex. even people that are noobs can use it / anything can be posted / doesn't matter if it's finished or not. Or you can make two sections Finished/WIP.

[Marc]

Hey Andy

The gallery isn't dead... possibly stagnated a little . I think that it's a little buggy at the moment, which is why it doesn't get used much. It is certainly open to all though, and it always will be.

Also I should take this time to mention that I was about 90% finished on the new working version of the gallery (hence this thread); but sadly I lost all my code on saturday night when I tried to add something and my mac decided to overwrite all my application directories.

uh... yeah. It was a bit of a tragic weekend for me.

Anyway, so on the plus side now's your chance to let me know what you want to see for the gallery v3! v2 aka the limbo version, is now lost to us for good...

M

[peterr]

I also appreciate the "like" option.

A good list of categories would be appreciated. Sometimes I'm just trolling, other times all I want to see is landscapes, or human models, etc.

Including the hip file, while a nice idea, would be a big headache and potential use up a lot of storage space. It's not just the hip file, but the models and textures and images, etc.

[fxslave]

I also thought that the gallery has died, or closed. Works that there is not already actual. In the new gallery, I would like to see something new, with a description of the method development and project file.

[Matt_K]

Hey Marc, sorry to hear about the loss of the v2... know what that can feel like!

But, here are some ideas:

1) Like button:

It would be really nice if the number of likes would bubble the image to the front of the gallery, thus keeping the best work at the top.

2) Wireframes

I would love it if there was a "standardised" way of creating a wireframe/occlusion render of the image too, and made it a requirement for the gallery - maybe a supplied scene with the Mantra node and lights already set up? I know the odForce community could set this up in a snap. And it could also perhaps be seamlessly integrated so that a rollover of the image reveals the wireframe render? A doddle to code, I'm sure

3) Grouping

An option to have the gallery display all of a users images together would also be nice.

4) Favourites

To be able to tag the images you like the most and view your favourites would also be a bonus.

5) Downloads

Maybe a watermarked version could be available for download as a desktop wallpaper, or just to put into a place where all your inspiration resides?

6) Comments

What about a Disqus-like comments section? Being able to discuss the work is an absolute must in my opinion!

Just a few ideas for now, and as always, please let me know if I can help in any way.

Later,

Matt.

[ykcosmo]

As this forum is much more technical than art, maybe we need something else rather than a " gallary " .

It would be good that there is the " industry news " above the " general ".