=========================================== Neopets Themed Gallery FAQ/Reference (v1.1) by Angela Sabas (angelamaria) http://seasonalplume.net =========================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Version Information III. Starting the Gallery IV. Prettifying your Gallery V. Maintaining the Gallery VI. Resources VII. FAQ VIII. Contact Information IX. Credits et al. --------------- I. INTRODUCTION --------------- Finally, a FAQ for the wannabe Neopets gallery owners out there! Have you ever wondered how to create or maintain your gallery, or wondered how to go about making it successful? Finally, this FAQ will attempt to answer those questions and help you out. :) Archiving of this FAQ is permissible only by me. If you want to post it somewhere, ASK PERMISSION. My contact information is below near the end of the FAQ. Currently, this FAQ may only be seen at: . GameFAQs (http://gamefaqs.com) . Seasonal Plume (http://seasonalplume.net) . NeoGallery Directory (http://neogallery.seasonalplume.net) ----------------------- II. VERSION INFORMATION ----------------------- VERSION ONE.ONE (08.23.03) Fixed some typos, added a few more resources (for image hosting), reorganized the IVth section and added HTML fragments. VERSION ONE (08.22.03) Started the FAQ. :) ------------------------- III. STARTING THE GALLERY ------------------------- This section covers whatever you need to know about starting a gallery and about galleries in general that you will potentially need to know to succeed. A. What's a gallery? -------------------- A gallery is simply a user shop (that can be accessed in the URL neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=USERNAME) where the items in the shop is for display (priced 100,000 NP and above). There are two types: a themed and a unthemed gallery. Themed galleries are (typically) harder to finish, and are more rewarding, because each item within the gallery should follow a certain theme, i.e., a blue gallery would contain all Neopets items that are blue, a krawk gallery would contain all items that are krawk-related, and so on and so forth. Unthemed galleries are the opposite-- there is no set theme, and more often than not, these galleries also serve as user shops (where you can actually buy items as well). Examples of these items are "angelamaria's favorite items" or "gifts angelamaria received" or whatever. As evident, this FAQ is focused on themed galleries. Why? Because they're more challenging, typically cost more money, and are more rewarding (when you finish it). B. Why start a themed gallery? ------------------------------ Because everyone's doing it! XD No, actually, starting a gallery MUST be something that you have thought about quite thoroughly before you start. Why? Because it takes commitment to create a good gallery-- commitment with regards to time, effort, AND your valuable neopoints. Reason #1: Reach for the moon. Having a goal in Neopets is somewhat important. Somehow, if you go online just to collect your interest, it grows old. You tire of it quickly. While some people have goals such as "be the strongest pet" or "buy a Turmac" or "be in 50 high score tables" and so on and so forth, having a gallery is another goal-- and it gives you a purpose to work for. Reason #2: I've dunnit! There's a certain sense of accomplishment when you've finished a gallery, a sense of completion, of elation that wow! I've done it! Reason #3: Friends, friends, and more friends. I've met a LOT of people because of my gallery. Yes, I already know a lot of people beforehand, but the gallery made me closer to them, bound us together in a way that ordinary chats don't. Reason #4: Gallery spotlight, here I come! There's a gallery spotlight going on at Neopets, in case you've never noticed. If you win, that's another trophy for your cabinet! Reason #5: Spend your hoard! Well, I've heard from other people that they've started galleries because they had NP to spare but didn't know where to put it. This is a good investment. If you're not a BDer, where else would you spend your money? You can open a guild, or-- you can start a gallery. ;) C. Alright already, HOW do I start one?! ---------------------------------------- 1. Choose a theme. It's assumed that you've already thought of a theme (since you're interested in starting a gallery) but here are a few thoughts to consider when you choose a theme: . Take into account your money, and how much you earn, and make sure that your chosen theme will not make completing that gallery an impossibility. If you're low on NP, and aren't a good restocker, for heaven's sake don't make an unbuyable gallery, a rarity 99 gallery, a morphing potions gallery, etc. -- you'll end up ditching the idea because finishing it is impossible. (I should know ;_;) . Give yourself some challenge. I know a bottles of sand gallery would probably be sooo easy to complete, but honestly, no one's going to rave and congratulate you on completing the gallery :P . Research a bit on what types of items you're going to be needing. For example, lots of people go for omelette galleries thinking it's uber- easy to finish (like the above situation)... but forget that there are magical omelettes et al. . Be original! For example, think of any two items, look at them, and find out what is common to them both. For example, you have a starberry and an orange fuzzle. How about making a gallery of items that have orange stars? (Just an example, I don't even know if there's such an item, LOL.) EXAMPLE: Don't imitate what I did. :P I have a mystery-island-themed gallery (mysteryislegallery). First off-- I'm NOT rich. I can't restock for the life of me. I didn't know there were so many items that were unbuyables and retired! Not to mention stuff like the Gadgadsbogen weapons. :P This was because I didn't do any research on the items I would be needing to buy for it :P Second: it's not original! A lot of people are working on other galleries with the same theme as mine-- I'd have to work extra hard to make it stand out, to make it unique. 2. Create a new account with an appropriate name (optional). This "step" is optional, but you may want to do it anyway, ESPECIALLY if you earn money through restocking (buying from the main shops and selling it in your own shop for a higher price). That way, you can display your gallery items and let your buyers get to the items they want without having to pass by everything else. NOTE: You can only have 4 alternate accounts in Neopets. Don't blame me if you go over and then pay for it by getting frozen. And PLEASE do NOT earn NP at ALL in your gallery account; do not collect freebies, do not play games, etc etc. If you do this and you get frozen, I AM NOT LIABLE FOR IT. 4. Create a shop in the gallery account. Click on "Shops" in the main menu, and click on the second icon on the top menu when you get to that page-- that's your shop. Create it, write something in the description, add a few of your gallery items. 5. Give your shop a new look! Prettify your gallery :) Please see the section below about this. :) 6. Start stocking, and start advertising! ---------------------------- IV. PRETTIFYING YOUR GALLERY ---------------------------- Making your gallery pretty is largely up to your own tastes and wants. Doing this requires that you know a bit of HTML and have a bit of the artist in you to know what looks good and what should be dumped in the trash. You can edit how your gallery looks like by going to the Edit/Create shop page (neopets.com/market.phtml?type=edit) and putting HTML codes in the description textbox. This FAQ won't teach you how to use HTML, that's quite too broad a topic, but we'll cover what you SHOULD do, what you should HOPEFULLY NOT do, tips on what you can do, and some HTML fragments you might find useful. A. What you can't do or limitations when working with shop descriptions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . You can only have up to 4000 characters, including spaces. . You cannot link to other sites on your shop description. B. Must-Do's ------------ . Give us SOMEthing to look at. Don't just leave your gallery plainly like that! Give us some graphics to look at, text to read... etc. . Add important or potentially important sections to your shop description. Sections include donators' list (if you have donators), what item you're currently looking for, how many items your gallery has, etc-- and especially what your gallery is about, and what new item you included! C. Bad design practices Neopets teaches us (what NOT to do!) ------------------------------------------------------------ . Don't litter your shop description with animated GIFs. PLEASE don't do this. For one, it hurts the eyes, and two, it can slow loading time since GIFs have to load frame by frame. :P . Do away with background music if it's possible. Unless it's something central to your gallery and design AND leaving it out DRASTICALLY minimized your gallery's design, LEAVE IT OUT. It's slow. And numerous users get irritated if they hear some low-class midi file over their nice CD audio or MP3s. Personally-- when I hear music on ANY, ANY, *ANY* user shop... I don't even stop to look at anything. :P . Don't use neon colors. ...especially on dark backgrounds. :P Unless your gallery is a neon gallery, your gallery hurting our eyes does not make for a good design. D. Tips ------- . Minimize loading time. Especially if you have a big gallery, make sure that your design loads quickly. . Don't use a background color or background image that makes the text hard to read, even on the items below. E. HTML fragments ----------------- This section will cover some HTML fragments you might find useful. HOWEVER, I *refuse* to include codes to embed background music and the link because I just said it above: it's annoying, and ideally should have no place in a gallery :P . Your text in bold type. . Your text in italics. .

This text is centered.

. Inserting an image: Where: domain.tld - your web server (i.e., google.com, that allows you to hotlink your images; must be on the Internet) directory - whatever directory/ies you need to get to the directory where your file is image.ext - your image filename . Specifying a background color for your shop: Where: RRGGBB - HEX code for the color you want... RR - amount of red in the color GG - amount of green in the color BB - amount of blue in the color . Putting a background image into your shop that tiles/repeats: Same as above but add this code to the BODY tag (or replace "bgcolor"): background="http://domain.tld/directory/image.ext" Where: domain.tld - your web server (i.e., google.com, that allows you to hotlink your images; must be on the Internet) directory - whatever directory/ies you need to get to the directory where your file is image.ext - your image filename . Putting a background into your shop that doesn't tile/repeat: Same as above but add this code to the BODY tag (do not remove the code you added above): style="background-repeat: no-repeat;" --------------------------- V. MAINTAINING THE GALLERY --------------------------- Or, the "more tips" section :P To maintain your gallery, you have to keep buying items for it. I know we all have a life, but since we enjoy Neopets, this shouldn't be too much of a hard thing. Find out what's new every once in a while, and find out if any new items fall under your gallery theme. If you're buying items for your gallery, it's a good idea to buy directly from the main shops-- while it would be harder to get (all those other restockers, you understand), it will usually be cheaper. Make sure, however, that it IS cheaper than if you buy it on the Shop Wizard or on the trades. Frequent the shops that contain the items you need. Or, if you can't restock-- wait a few weeks when a new item is released and you need that for your gallery. Chances are, the prices will drop, sometimes, as soon as the next day (when people find out it's a useless item XD). Once you get a new item, put it up and write so in your gallery "updates" list. Especially if someone donates an item to you-- make sure you put it up IMMEDIATELY and that you IMMEDIATELY credit the giver on the donators' list! Change your gallery design once in a while, as well. So that people have something new to look at. ;) Also-- try out for the gallery spotlight! Gallery spotlight is on a weekly basis-- and if you don't win this week, send another submission the next week! Also, try to make sure you submit during a particular special occasion that your gallery fits under; for example, if you have a krawk gallery, make sure you submit the week before/during Krawk Day! ------------------------------ VI. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ------------------------------ If you have any questions, send them to angela @ seasonalplume.net (remove the spaces) AND put in the subject line "GameFAQS: Neopets Themed Gallery" so that I don't accidentally delete it. I will reply to you if possible and include your question here if need be. 1. Can you donate items to my gallery? -------------------------------------- No. I am poor, and since I have already been a victim of someone who I donated to but tricked me, I won't be donating items to people I don't know anymore. -------------- VII. RESOURCES -------------- This is a list of website resources that you may be interested in if you're starting or maintaining a gallery. If you know of a site that should be here, email me and I'll include it. The NeoGallery Directory - a directory of Neopian galleries http://neogallery.seasonalplume.net NeoItems - contains listings of every item in Neopia http://www.neoitems.net Village Photos - free image hosting for 25 images (upgradeable) http://www.villagephotos.com/ PicServer.tk - free image hosting http://picserver.student.utwente.nl ----------------------- VI. CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------------- Email: angela@seasonalplume.net Site: http://seasonalplume.net Please read through the whole reference before asking me questions. Constructive help, suggestions, and the like are welcome, as well as anything you think should be placed here (you'll get credit, of course). Also, if you have a gallery, I'd like to personally plug the NeoGallery Directory, which is a listing of galleries in Neopia. :) http://neogallery.seasonalplume.net Shameless plug: My Mystery Island Gallery is at http://neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=mysteryislegallery (heehee) ------------------- VII. CREDITS et al. ------------------- Thanks to... milez1305 - for typo checking and suggesting I add resources to image hosting sites, and add HTML fragments NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2003. All rights reserved. This FAQ, however, is created by me, Angela Sabas/angelamaria, and may NOT be reproduced without explicit written permission from me.