Dragon Age Wiki:Image guidelines

All users are encouraged to follow these image guidelines regarding the use of images.

General rules

• Avoid taking a picture with the user interface on, unless it is to prove a point. Press "V" on your keyboard to hide it before taking a screenshot.
• Please make sure that images have high resolution and reasonably illustrate the subject in question.
• If you find a page where there are more images than there is text, consider removing less informative pictures, or making a gallery. If you have the option, consider uploading your file in PNG format.

Reuploading pictures

Unless there is a significant problem with a picture (such as poor resolution or lighting), we encourage people not to change pictures. This is because there can be many different opinions about what looks good which can lead to multiple changes with no improvement. Essentially, when it comes to pictures, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

• Before uploading an image please check to make sure it doesn't already exist in the wiki.
• If it does, but you believe your version is better, click on the "Upload a new version of this file" option in the file's page, below the file history.
• If it is a different picture, upload your image as a completely different file instead, by using Special:Upload.

Article images

• Images should be of good quality. You may tag the file with {{cleanup}}, or tag the article where the picture is used with {{pictures wanted}}
• Images should never include parts of the UI (HUD, crosshair) unless the purpose of the given image is to illustrate the UI itself.
• Images should have a descriptive name related to their purpose (similar name of a weapon if the image is for that weapon etc.)
• Images that consider as "Fan Art" should not be added to articles.
• Article images violating any of these rules are subjected for deletion.

User page images

• Only 10 user page images are allowed per user. If you wish to free up your "image slots", you need to mark your old images with the {{delete}} tag.
• The user page images you have uploaded should be categorize under "User images" category in order to avoid confusion with images that use in articles.
• An image that uses in members' signature is considered as user page images.

Forum and talk page images

• Any image used on a discussion page must be related to the topic of the forum or talk page.
• Forum and talk page images violating any of these rules are subjected for deletion.

Character infobox pictures

Since the image used in infoboxes is particularly important, use the the picture that would best represent them.

• Leliana has a cameo in Dragon Age II, but her role in Dragon Age: Origins is considered bigger, gameplay wise. As such, it makes more sense to use her picture for Origins.
• Merrill appears in Origins, but her role in Dragon Age II is more prominent. The Dragon Age II picture is therefore used.

This depends on their role in the game, on whichever appearance is most likely to be associated with. As this is subjective, make sure you discuss the changes on the talk page, in particular if your edit has been reverted by another user.

There are other characters who are equally important in any game. Their profile picture should be updated for the latest game.

• Delilah Howe appears briefly in Dragon Age II, as she does in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening. As such, a picture from Dragon Age II is used.

Wherever possible these infobox pictures should also be taken from a cutscene. Doing this generally provides a higher quality image and a tighter focus on a character's face. However, if a cutscene only provides a poor quality image, an image that comes from an alternate source is perfectly acceptable.

Player character

Apart from pages dedicated to central characters (such as Hawke and the Warden) and images officially released by BioWare, the wiki does not use images of individual player characters. However, there are exceptions to when they can be featured, such as showing an armor or weapon.

Hawke's family

In Dragon Age II, Hawke's family may appear differently depending on the player character's appearance. Pictures for Bethany, Carver and Leandra should be portrayed with their default presets to avoid confusion and to keep it consistent.

Item sets

It is extremely difficult to take a picture of an armor set without taking the player character's face on it, as some of them are restricted to them. As such, a player character can be featured when taking pictures for showing the armor.

For item sets in Dragon Age II, the default Hawke is best used. On the issue on female versus male, this is going to be at the discretion of the uploader. If a customized character is used, it should ideally be replaced with the male or female default Hawke.

Equipment images

To help with consistency, the wiki has several guidelines about how armor and weapon images should be composed.

Note: As the equipment guidelines were implemented after the release of the first two Dragon Age games, existing weapon images are not expected to adhere to this standard.

• Gloves: As there can be differences between the left and right gloves, glove images should show a front and side view of both the left and right gloves. See Alchemist's Protective Handguards for an example.

• Weapons: The weapon should be sheathed and the image should be as close as possible to show detail. Any additional details (such as the pommel) can be added as an insert. See Dragon' Breath for an example.

Galleries

Images which cannot be used elsewhere in the article can be featured in a "Gallery" section on the article. Generally an article should have no more than 12 images in its gallery.

There should not be multiple images to prove the same point. For example, the article on Sebastian Vael previously displayed several pictures of him attacking enemies in a similar stance. However, only one or two pictures suffice. Even though some of these images were released by BioWare, it does not mean they should all be used on the wiki.

Concept art should generally be featured in the gallery.

"Blank" images

In some cases, images taken with the game's screenshot feature may not be uploaded properly: it will appear as a white thumbnail. You may have to use a third-party software to take the picture, or resave the image with a third-party software such as Photoshop or GIMP.

Deletion of images

If a picture is not used at all for a lengthy period of time (more than one month), administrators may delete the picture for maintenance.

See also

• Taking better screenshots