Calling fanartists! Tell us about your ideal archive!

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2010-04-06 21:11:39 UTC

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The Archive of Our Own entered Open Beta in November 2009; in the six months since we've had 18 code releases and have seen 5929 users, 5031 fandoms and 64347 new works added to the Archive. \0/ We've had a bunch of new features, big and small, and have made big improvements in performance, cross-browser compatibility and accessibility. We still have some big features to roll out, but now the first rush is over, we're planning further ahead. One of the key things we're thinking about for our longer-term planning is opening up the Archive to fanart and other media, and we're looking for ideas from artists!

Fanartists - what features would you like in your ideal archive? We want to know:

If we were to replace the story box with an upload tool, would that do most of what you want, or are there other things you need?
What sites would you like to be able to import from automatically, and how should a multi-upload tool work?
What types of art would you want to host on the Archive? What special requirements would these have?
What things about the existing interface would work well for you, and what would you need to see changed / added?
What are your DREAMS? Whether you've seen a cool feature on another Archive, or it's something you're not even sure is possible, we want to hear from you.

Hosting fanart and (eventually) fanvids has always been an important part of the plan for the Archive, but up until now we've focused on building the text-based aspects of the site because, well, we had to learn to walk before we could run! Hosting other media represents a much bigger technical challenge, as well as additional legal complexity, and actually hosting fanart on the Archive itself is still some way off (we need to learn a LOT more about performance). In the meantime, though, it's really important to us to make the Archive a more welcoming place for the whole fannish community, and we want to make sure that our design and development is working towards a truly inclusive site. So - tell us your dreams! We'll work to make them a reality (and if you'd like to help in that work, we always welcome volunteers).

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zelempa Tue 06 Apr 2010 09:43PM UTC

* Multi upload should definitely allow ctrl+click on multiple files to upload in one go.
* It would be great to have subfolders or collections for associated items (ie. pages of a comic book.)
* My dream? I would love a web-based thumbnail/preview-image making tool (similar to the tool used to make a user icon in gchat), where you can create an automatically-sized, personally-cropped version of the image to use as the thumbnail or preview image. I usually do this manually in photoshop, so if this is too much to ask, it would still be neat to be able to upload a full version of your artwork, as well as a custom thumbnail or preview image to display on your main art page and automatically link to the full version.
Hope that helps! :)

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1. Grey_Bard Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:05PM UTC
  
  Yes on the comic book thing! It would be amazing if you could click through an online fancomic on the archive the way you would click through a .cbr file or a webcomic.
  
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2. telophase (Guest) Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:54AM UTC
  
  Thirding the comic-pages function.
  
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3. Pitseleh Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:58AM UTC
  
  Fourthing the comic option. To my knowledge, that would make the AO3 the only place to feature or have a spot for fancomics, which would be... awesome.
  
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4. 1. Aiffe Sun 16 Sep 2012 11:28AM UTC
    
    Paperdemon has pretty good comic functionality and allows fanart, for the record. But I'd love to see that on AO3 too.
    
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5. Account Deleted Wed 07 Apr 2010 04:45PM UTC
  
  +1000 on the comic book feature!
  
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Waldo Tue 06 Apr 2010 10:09PM UTC

I'd love to see icons (and/or other small art) arranged in a table (or some other form or organization) on one page. Maybe make it so that artists can create a page for each fandom (or other organizational schema) with all the icons on one page. I'd hate to have to click back and forth to see all the icons a given artist has done, one on a page.
Along with that, a place where an artist can detail their use-permissions would be great. Maybe a check box (like the warnings section of the fic archive)
- look, don't touch.
- use, but credit and comment are expected
- use and leave comment
- use and give credit on your LJ/DW/whatever
- have at 'em
Or something...

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1. Grey_Bard Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:03PM UTC
  
  Yes! That would be seriously cool. Sort of like the different varieties of Creative Commons licenses, only fannish courtesy, not national legal. Actually that would be awesome for fics too. Not that the archive should enforce these, or that anyone should, but that viewers and readers would know what the creator's feelings on the subject were.
  
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2. softestbullet (bbgulrot) Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:50PM UTC
  
  Yeaahh!
  
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3. sasha_davidovna (Guest) Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:16PM UTC
  
  I agree that being able to group related icons into tables would be great. For the user permissions, I think it would be really helpful to add something specifically about modification rights. Some wallpaper artists I know don't want their wallpapers cropped for use as icons, and others are fine with it, and some icon artists are okay with people adding text to textless icons (or even specialize in creating bases for others to modify), while others don't like that. I'm sure there are similar issues with other fanart types, but those are the two I'm most familiar with.
  
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4. 1. Elysandra Fri 01 Jul 2011 09:57AM UTC
    
    Yes!
    I would find it really annoying to view like 20 or even 50 or more icons one after another. I also like the table idea, though I would create it on my own if it wasn't available. What I would really like are those check boxes for permission to use. Though just general 'use' is too broad, imo. I would like it to be more detailed, like suggested above concerning modification rights.
    
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5. godtiermeme Thu 30 Aug 2012 09:04PM UTC
  
  I completely agree with the options. As already stated, something similar (but not the same) as the Creative Commons license.
  
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Deleted_Scenes Tue 06 Apr 2010 10:31PM UTC

Honestly, I suggest making the interface similar to DA or Sheezy. I am in no way saying these are perfect systems, but familiarity breeds comfort.
I do like the shiftClick idea for multi-uploads.
For the upload tool I personally would like to see a text box where one could simply type in the fandom.
I would like, if possible, to be able to import from DA (Fanart-central does that already), Mediaminer, FurAffinity, Fanart-central, Sheezy, and elfwood.
I would like working filters! This is a big one. I really, really don't need to see _insert popular fetish here_ and likewise you don't have to see mine.

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1. Hokuto Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:47AM UTC
  
  I have to second your first suggestion - I've been on DA for, well, more years than I like to admit, and a layout similar to DA's would definitely make for an easier transition to uploading art to the Archive.
  
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2. Lizfu (Guest) Thu 08 Apr 2010 05:17PM UTC
  
  Filters - YES! Y-gallery wound up doing this a few years back, which made viewing the site much better. While I'm a fairly tolerant person when it comes to viewing mind-searing themes, there are somethings that cannot be unseen.
  
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3. 1. Deleted_Scenes Thu 08 Apr 2010 05:26PM UTC
    
    Yeah, I don't need to see no Jubilee/Sabertooth guro, thanks. *She says as she draws X-23/Deadpool guro.*
    
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Beth H (bethbethbeth) Tue 06 Apr 2010 10:35PM UTC

Not an artist, but I've been given quite a lot of art over the years, much of which I embed in my stories. At present, I make sure to credit the artist and add hyperlinks to their main art sites, and it would be great if typing in the AO3 user names would generate credit/links.

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1. Grey_Bard Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:00PM UTC
  
  This. I have a few cases of this myself.
  
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2. godtiermeme Thu 30 Aug 2012 09:05PM UTC
  
  Perhaps the Archive could create a system that links automatically and displays the source (website, username, or both) when one hovers over the image.
  
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Cluegirl (Guest) Tue 06 Apr 2010 10:38PM UTC

What I'm dreaming of, is an archive in which I can place both my writing AND my artworks, so that people who go looking for me can find both, OR EITHER. I want to be able to receive comments and feedback for my artwork similar to what shows up on my fanfic in its various archives. I want e mail notifications, and a certain amount of download protection (i.e. watermarking ability, either standard, or as an option.) I want thumbnail browsing for the images rather than title based browsing, possibly with a couple different viewing sizes, a la Deviant Art. Actually taking some cues from the archiving/organizing model of Deviant Art might not be a bad thing, since it definitely makes it easier to navigate the art by category that way. (Digital, real media, comic style, manga style, photomanip, and so on. Not only does it help the artist with sorting, but it also makes browsing by style and type of image easier. Sometimes viewers don't want to browse by artist, but rather to find something cool and new. Category browsing allows for that.)
I also want the ability to link artworks together with stories in cases where one is a direct illustration of the other. If possible, to actually embed said illustrations into their stories would be top-optimal for me.
Above all though, and this is a HUGE thing for me -- to the point of being a deal-killer, -- I have to have a way to keep spam bots out of the comments. I have to be able to delete, and to either ban, or at least to report bots. This is particularly important with visual arts, because spammers tend to target art sites at like ten times the density of word sites -- says something about their opinions on the intelligence of their target audience that they only think they want to look at pictures instead of actually read, but there you have it. Spam control is CRITICAL to me, and it has to be something that is simple enough that I can do it myself, without having to go hunting for an admin who might be too busy with a dozen other things to help me sort it out.
And a pony too!

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1. sleepyowlet Sat 09 Jul 2011 06:14PM UTC
  
  The link artwork to fanfic thing if it's an illustration - that was my thought too. Maybe we could go even one step further and add a little thingy that allows a fanfic writer to add a pic to their fanfic if it has been specifically created for them, and the artist who drew/painted/sculpted/sneezed the work is OK with that.
  Other than that, a checkbox for constructive criticism (want/don't want) would be nice too.
  
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2. 1. godtiermeme Thu 30 Aug 2012 09:07PM UTC
    
    I really enjoy the constructive criticism idea. I think it would prevent a whole lot of hurt feelings and mangled toes. There are those people that just can't seem to handle constructive criticism.
    
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Grey_Bard Tue 06 Apr 2010 10:58PM UTC

I use Squarespace in my nonfannish life and it has the wonderful feature where - if you are not ready to hit post - you can hit save. If you hit save instead of post, it is automatically save privately as a draft. That way if your computer stops working in the middle of a post, or you are called away, you don't have to lose it.
I vid and I would love A03 to someday, in my dreams, host streaming video or at least allow users to embed it or connect it in some way to their accounts.
I like the story box and would like it to remain as an option alongside the upload tool, However, I would love it if either the story option or the new upload tool stopped automatically changing and removing extra indents and paragraph spaces with no recourse for the author other than to go back in and handcode all of it.

Last Edited Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:05PM UTC

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1. Rebecca Wed 07 Apr 2010 07:29AM UTC
  
  If you click cancel during the upload of your fic, it gets automatically saved as a draft for a week or so. But yes, it could be made more clear.
  
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krityan Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:07PM UTC

As for sites I'd like to be able to import from? Flickr. MOVING ON.
I'd love there to be a multi-upload option, it would be an important function for comic artists, and people who create 3-D arts and require multiple angles to share online.
I'd personally be sharing textile items: embroidery, garments/cosplay and the like. So I need way to connect multiple files into single projects: like fic chapters, but visual. It would also keep down "spam," the posting of progress-pictures and stuff can flood a gallery, but the ability to connect files together would be wonderful.
I like the idea to include the ability to tag with use permissions. Really, I look forward to seeing the tag system applied to art in general. Like, almost exactly how it is on the fic side.
OH. The thing I was going on about above? The desire to group images together? It would be, officially, the greatest ever if you could eventually group all kinds of files together. If you could combine a fic with some scene sketches AND a vid? How cool would that be? Fanwork immersion.

Last Edited Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:08PM UTC

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1. softestbullet (bbgulrot) Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:53PM UTC
  
  Really, I look forward to seeing the tag system applied to art in general. Like, almost exactly how it is on the fic side.
  Me too! The prospects are exciting.
  
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2. semielliptical Wed 07 Apr 2010 12:18AM UTC
  
  I would also be using this for fan textile projects (knitting), so I mostly wanted to second krityan's recommendations for grouping multiple files (of multiple types) into a project.
  Ravelry offers great options for collecting knit & crochet project information in a way that's useful to other crafters, but it's not really ideal for showing off a project to non-crafter fans. I wouldn't want to put all of the same technical details about needle sizes etc. into AO3, but would want to be able to point knitters from the AO3 info to the same project on Ravelry. That seems like it would be pretty straightforward now that Ravelry lets you set share projects publicly.
  
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DarkEmeralds Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:10PM UTC

This is by no means a huge deal, but if I could upload test somehow right from GoogleDocs, where I do all my writing, that would be fantastic.
Alternatively, the ability to a) upload directly from my local computer and b) reupload corrections that would overwrite the existing upload (for that rare, rare, RARE occasion when I make a little boo-boo) would be most welcome.

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Lilith Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:22PM UTC

\o/ Have to pause for a second to tell you guys how pleased and excited I am about this. The AO3 is everything I've ever wanted in an archive, and that's as a fanartist even more than as an occasional ficcer.
There are some great ideas throughout these comments! I pretty much agree with all of them. A few wishes of mine:
-thumbnails, and also maybe ... deviantart allows you to view images in a smaller (not thumbnail, but definitely fitting any screen) and larger ("full view") size (and even has a "download" option to view really huge pictures on their own, similar to your standard right-click "view image" option). It's handy.
-tags for media type (b&w ink, digital painting, photomanipulation, comic, knit item, video), kept separate from content (fandom, pairing, theme) tags?
-not only subfolders or collections, but the ability to go directly from page to page within them (via arrow keys or the like) - very useful for comics.
Sites I'd most like to be able to import from would be deviantart and photobucket.

Last Edited Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:24PM UTC

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Azurite (Guest) Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:29PM UTC

I typically use DA and occasionally MediaMiner.org and AnimeXX.de to host my fanart, but DA, while it has many strengths, is godawful annoying in many respects. I do like the idea of being able to favorite/collect fanart and comment on it. I can't stand their categories, because there's no consistency among categories as to what art goes in what categories, and so much of the same stuff is spread out. Rules about where fanart should go (and even what kinds can be uploaded) are hard to understand and rarely enforced, it seems.
I personally do a lot of digital art, taking a base and modifying it heavily in Photoshop to make something new and fannish (think kisesae dolls, Flash doll builders, etc). I'd like to know what kind of restrictions would be in place for that kind of art, since DA is a site that's very inconsistent about it. If the original creator says it's okay to post and share works created from the builder as long as there's credit, is that okay? What about if you take a creation and modify it in Photoshop or another program? That's the kind of thing I'd like to know about if we had this kind of feature on AO3.
DREAMS
What about an importer tool? Facebook, Flickr, etc. have these kind of things that can embed into your photo programs so that you can upload with one or two clicks, adding all the metadata from within that tool. That way people don't necessarily have to visit the site to add something (although it would obviously be an option). I use iPhoto on the Mac, and finding the art I have organized in it can be time consuming. But if there were an importer tool, I could be using it from within iPhoto and just click an "AO3" button to upload that selected art (possibly with the existing metadata from the photo pre-loaded into the fields for AO3, where applicable) to my account right away.
I imagine this is a much bigger project than just supporting art itself, but if it got even a little consideration, that'd be awesome.

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1. krityan Tue 06 Apr 2010 11:33PM UTC
  
  If an iPhoto client ever happened, that would be AMAZING.
  
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2. Rebecca Wed 07 Apr 2010 07:45AM UTC
  
  Re importer tool: There was this post linked on metafandom lately, where someone suggested a bunch of geeky features. One of it was a public API (programming interface) for the archive, which would enable everyone to program importer tools/plugins for their favourite applications/programmes. So the actual plugin programming needn't be done by A03 programmers, and the possiblibities what can be done with an API are huge.
  
  Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 07:46AM UTC
  
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3. 1. Elizabeth Perry (watersword) Wed 07 Apr 2010 11:27AM UTC
    
    AFAIK, API is in the plans, it just hasn't been built yet!
    
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  2. Azurite Fri 09 Apr 2010 12:41AM UTC
    
    Ah, I saw that post! Yes, an API would make the creation of an importer (along with all sorts of other neat AO3 goodies, I hope) a lot easier, but I do hope that I'm not the only one that wants it specifically for easy uploading of fanart (though I'm sure it could have other uses).
    
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beet Wed 07 Apr 2010 12:16AM UTC

I'm adding my $0.02. I love a lot of the ideas of other commenters and have a few more to add. I'm so, so happy to see AO3 soliciting ideas. You guys are so awesome!!!
1+ thumbnail browsing (and why not let the viewer decide if they want 50x50 or 200x200 thumbnails? Though...hm. I often crop my thumbnails to cover explicit bits while still giving a sense of the image. Automation would not be able to do that.)
2+ batch uploading with control/shift clicking. (OMG. Please!!!)
3+ Creation of grouping (chapter-like?). I often do several pieces in a theme or that follow a particular universe. I want to group them together, and be able to put them in order.
4+ The ability to have text and art together. I write snippets for my art and I want to keep them together, and keep the story separate from the notes.
5+ Embeddable art in other people's stories, while still maintaining separate ownership. It would be incredible to be able to embed my image in someone else's story (at a specific place) when I am collaborating--and have it work in a way that readers can comment on the image or go to a larger version of the image without leaving their place in the story. It has been my experience that (for example) bigbang artwork doesn't get as many comments as the fic it accompanies. I think part of that is the lack of a good way to comment easily and immediately on the art.
6+ Use standardized labels for reuse. It would also be cool to let artists announce their wishes for reuse/remixing.
7+ Please don't remove any of the fic-connecting tools from the art toolchest! I love the way that you are building an archive that will let fen show what has inspired them, if they have remixed their work from someone else's, if they are in a challenge, if they are in a collection, etc. Art does all that, too!
8+ tags/filters should include art size and some kind of option for medium--though (of course) that may be controversial or muddy. Maybe ticky boxes for all that apply?
9+ Art and stories should show up in the same searches, particularly art that also has story in it. Though searchers can filter either out.
10+ No one has said it, so maybe it is too obvious, but actual hosting of the content would be amazing. It makes me sad to think of all the art that has disappeared. Having the "orphan" option and a hosting home for art might prevent that.
11+ The ability to use the content hosted on AO3 to create thumbs/previews of size of my choice on my journals. (Embeddable thumbs/previews? Widgets?) It's fine to have it link back to a full version on AO3, but the ability to promo it in other places would make my life so much simpler!
12+ I don't know how much this also applies to fic writers, but it is common to have a generic credit statement listing where a digital artist might get their brushes or screencaps or textures or what-have-you from. Because this can be difficult to keep track of on an individual art basis, it often appears on the profile page of a journal. It would be nice if there were an icon or a link for artistic credits that could be linked (as an opt in) on each individual art post.
Edited for more whitespace.
ETA: Man! Why can't I bookmark this news post to see what other awesome ideas people have? I'd like to be able to bookmark news items on the archive, too, please!

Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 12:19AM UTC

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rivkat Wed 07 Apr 2010 12:55AM UTC

Just a design suggestion: a thumbnail page may well need a rating (including choose not to rate, of course) and a warning; right now we don't, AFAIK, have ratings on non-work pages. Suggestion: have the thumbnail page treated somewhat like a work page, but automatically inherit the highest rating for the individual art, or the choose not to rate option if at least one work has that option. Likewise for warnings.
You guys are, by the way, amazing!

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darthneko Wed 07 Apr 2010 01:05AM UTC

Zelempa and Waldo said most of what came to my mind right off the bat -
* multi upload
* some way to thread comic pages together like chapters
* some way to crop a preview image (especially for NSFW art!)
* some way to group some or all art so that the previews display together
* some sort of use permission (especially for fanart created as a gift)
I don't have any preference on importing (I don't see myself using it, as my stuff is scattered high and low all over the place) but oh MAN is the idea of having all my fanart and fanfic available in a one-stop-shop place attractive!

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1. zelempa Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:45AM UTC
  
  I know, it's going to be so great - not only putting my fanart and my fanfic together, but linking up my fanart with, say, other people's fanfic that I've illustrated.
  Can't wait!
  
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2. 1. Pitseleh Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:06AM UTC
    
    Oh, I love that idea!
    
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  2. Lilith Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:14AM UTC
    
    Ooh, hey, yeah - building on this, it would be neat if there were a way to associate fic illustration with the fic in question, even when it was, say, drawn as a gift after the fact. I know that in some of my fandoms, certain fic have inspired large amounts of fanart, which the author would not necessarily want to embed within the text; it'd be great if they were linked up in some other way.
    This could also apply to some fanvids that have inspired fic (and vice versa), and so on. Not to mention those occasional epic fanwork "universes" that have basically become fandoms of their own (with all kinds of spin-off fic, fanart, and other associated media).
    
    Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:21AM UTC
    
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  3. 1. mensuramjr Sat 23 Nov 2013 01:38PM UTC
      
      Especially if you could link to the exact sentence or paragraph drawn.... mmmm. That would be great.
      Like if you click a drawing you'll be redirected back to the section it's inspired by!
      
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Pitseleh Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:05AM UTC

I think it would be really great if all submissions to the AO3 could by default be called 'fanwork', and then the creator themselves could pick if they are specifically called fanart or fanfic or fancomics or graphics or fanvids or what have you. And when you search, by default you'd get all the fanwork options (if I went to the Star Trek section, I would automatically see all fanart or fanfic or fanvid or whatever) and then I could select an option if I were only looking for art or vids or fic or graphics.
Or perhaps in my profile I could select an option so I would by default only see fanart, or only see fanart in certain sections (whenever I went to the Star Trek section, I would always automatically only see fanart, unless I selected a different option).
Likewise, the option to put multiple types of work together in a series. Like, if I have a fic, and I've drawn pictures of it, and then maybe made a vid for it, too, I could put all of them together in the same series.
IT IS A WEIRD IDEA, I KNOW, but I think the journal-like setup lends itself to all kinds of fanwork very well (with a bit of tweaking, like for uploading vids and watermarking art), and the inclusiveness of all kinds of fanwork would really give the AO3 a head over its competition? A-and make it easy to use ...etc?

Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:07AM UTC

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1. melannen Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:17AM UTC
  
  I really like this! It cover most of what I asked more in a much simpler way.
  
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2. Lilith Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:23AM UTC
  
  This doesn't strike me as a weird idea at all! Mostly because I was just thinking about the same kind of thing (only with multiple creators contributing to the "series"). ;)
  
  Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:23AM UTC
  
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3. whetherwoman Wed 07 Apr 2010 07:05AM UTC
  
  I am not an artist, and am in fact mostly a lurker, but THIS. As a consumer of fanworks, this is what I want in my browsing experience.
  
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4. Rebecca Wed 07 Apr 2010 08:23AM UTC
  
  Whoa, this would be sooo cool! Because I think one of the reasons I don't seek out all kinds of fanwork equally is not necessarily that I wouldn't like to see those works, but that I'm just too lazy to search different hosting sites/comms, especially for smaller fandoms.
  Maybe the media type could just be a tag, too, maybe a special tag like character tags? So you can tag a work "fic" or "vid" or "art" (maybe with subtags for "manip", "drawing", etc.), and use more than one tag if you have a mixed work?
  
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5. facetofcathy Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:36PM UTC
  
  +1 to this.
  Not an artist at all, but very much a consumer of all fanworks. This is how I'd want to browse the archive.
  
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6. calcitrix Thu 16 Sep 2010 03:26AM UTC
  
  Yes and yes and yes. I already have a fic here missing its accompanying artwork...waiting...
  
  And also I have to wonder how much awesome media I've missed for a fic or a series because it has to be hosted somewhere else.
  
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melannen Wed 07 Apr 2010 03:16AM UTC

I agree with most of the above!
But for me specifically: most of the fanart I do is part of larger fanwork narratives, associated with work in other media. I would love for AO3 to let me seamlessly and naturally integrate my work across media, the way I can on a blog or my own website, but nearly all archives & art hosts aren't set up for.
In the simplest case, for illustrations for fanfic: I would like to be able to simply have the illustration embedded in the fanfic's page, without needing a separate "art" page for it (though, of course, let me have a separate page if I want one - and still embed directly in the fic.)
For more complicated situations - images with extensive associated textual content, "documentary" fic that includes mocked-up telegrams or newspaper articles or website screencaps, themed collections of fanworks in various media with no "primary" text - I want to be able to post everything as one mixed-media work, without having to choose a "main" medium or segregate parts based on whether they're textual or not.
And finally, two things that I'd also like to have in the fic-only site, but will become even more relevant if I start uploading fanart: 1.) A way to "group" a set of your own works in a way that doesn't imply sequence (the way a series does) and is more like a one-person collection; and 2.) A site-integrated way to indicate "based on" and "given to" relationships when the based-on work or the given-to person aren't on AO3; something that would appear as prominently on the work as the current links to other AO3 works, and that would let you easily see other works on AO3 that link to the same work or person.
...And finally, make it really easy and extremely encouraged to have long text descriptions of any images, particularly as part of mixed-media works but really in general. And *strongly* encourage transcripts of any image files that include text.

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zvi Wed 07 Apr 2010 04:00AM UTC

I would like to be able to view art in slideshows, and I would like to be able to get slideshows inclusively from "stuff an artist has put together", "an actual collection", "a particular tag/tag group on the archive", some artwork what someone has bookmarked all together as a slideshow"
Also, it would be great if the archive could let you gather together icons into iconsets.
/me backs out, since she doesn't actually do or view fanart

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Rebecca Wed 07 Apr 2010 08:08AM UTC

For fanart/fanvid gift exchanges, it would be incredibly useful if you could upload a signed and an unsigned version of a piece of art, so that before the reveal only the unsigned version is shown and after the reveal the signed one; maybe with the possibility to completely delete the unsigned version (could be automated if desired by the artist) without breaking links to that work.
And I agree what has already been said about beeing able to groups pics in two different ways: One way which implies an order (pages of a comic), one way which doesn't (a bunch of icons, different views of one artwork etc.)
It would be uber awesome if you would actually host vids, with embedded flash player and additional mp4 (or what have you) download link. I realise though that this is quite a different dimension, what with all the necessary bandwidth and storage needed, the file converting, legal issues....
Oh, slightly OT, but since integrating different types of media has been mentioned already: hosting podfic would be extremely cool, too.

Last Edited Wed 07 Apr 2010 08:11AM UTC

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Ponderosa (ponderosa121) Wed 07 Apr 2010 02:46PM UTC

I tend to prefer being able to custom crop my own thumbnails (I use gallery on my own site, which has this functionality) versus sites like Y! or dA which display a thumbnail of the full image. Mostly I like this for browsing when a gallery contains both explicitly violent or sexual images. Ideally, as both an artist and a viewer, I'd love to have an option toggle on the viewer end to show custom thumbnails or full thumbnails.
Tags can probably serve as art-specific metadata for things like media.
Am also hoping to see some sort of creative commons or copyleft options for fanworks as a whole.

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crysothemis Thu 08 Apr 2010 04:17AM UTC

In addition to what others have said, I'd love the ability to reupload a newer version of an artwork without breaking links -- in other words, I'd love a means of editing a work after it's been posted.
Also, there should be a clear policy about hotlinking image files (but I expect you all have already thought that one through).

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1. godtiermeme Thu 30 Aug 2012 09:51PM UTC
  
  I'd say for images it'd be best to do an invisible right-click disable. That way, no one can really save the file without taking a screenshot or whatever. I guess this would have to go with some sort of watermark, though. So... hm...
  
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2. 1. Villainette Mon 01 Sep 2014 09:15PM UTC
    
    Relatedly, It'd be great if the artist's handle was automatically included in the image metadata, too, as a way to track provenance/ownership!
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    It'd be great to have viewing be mobile friendly.
    Also, probably there's already a way to do this? But it'd be nice to have an idiot-proof one, I would LOVE a way to easily align/group images on a page. Sometimes individual posts work, but for users who are also on Tumblr, or make zines and the like, it'd be nice to easily layout photosets and multipage works.
    
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alchemise Thu 08 Apr 2010 06:11AM UTC

1. The ability to group things and not have the url of the art change when its group changes. OMG, this is the reason I've never used Photobucket's albums, because they added them after I already had a ton of things uploaded and using them would have broken every single one of my links anywhere.
2. A place to enter credits for parts used that were made by someone else (brushes, textures, fonts, screenshots, etc) when uploading.
3. A place to enter usage rules when uploading.
4. A good way to deal with artwork of radically different sizes, from tiny icons to gigantic resolution pieces without breaking the layout of the page or placing a cap on size.

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1. picapie Fri 16 Apr 2010 10:01AM UTC
  
  Seconding points 2. and 3. in particular!
  
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