Anyone want to visit

(Comments and tips are welcome - it's my 1st website)

http://www.southwest.com.au/~bayton/index.html

or

http://www.southwest.com.au/~bayton/PhotoPainter.html

which is just an auto refresh to index.html

I went to your site, but it was so slow, I didn't get to see any art work. When a thumbnail finally loaded (took 2 minutes for one, and over 3 min and a second one wasn't fully visible!), I clicked on one. A blank page opened, but nothing was on it (maybe still loading?). I have high speed cable, so I can only imagine how it must be for dialup customers. Not sure what's slowing it down. I tried both links and the same thing happened.
Vikki

Hi Fluffbutt. It looks like you are off to a very good start with your site. One thing that stood out for me is your understanding of type placement. This is usually where first-timers do an awful job, but you did a very good job. Also, I really like what you came up with for your lead in: PhotoPainter - photos into artwork. Very catchy, and it immediately tells people what this is all about.

I didn't get a chance to look it over carefully, but here are the suggestions I would make after my quick look.

1. Put the gold letters on a different color background; it's hard to see them. Or think about doing a style that is contemporary and that will match your modern and well-balanced inner pages.

2. Make each button on the left pick list smaller so the user can see them all on one screen without scrolling. I think the common screen these days is 1024x768

3. Make sure each screen on the right fits without scrolling. It makes for a better presentation.

4. Don't use the same photo twice, even if it is a different brush effect. It makes these pictures look less special.

That's it for now. Overall it looks very good. And I wish you the best with your web site.

Thanks to you both.

Vikki - the site is hosted on my dialup server, but they go through a local city based company (Eftel), who has problems with their dns and my authentication (damn them!!) sometimes - maybe you just got them on a bad time?

Just for info, the thumbies are about 14k each, and the main pix are about 80k each (bar the two panoramas which are 250k each)

Vikki - the second link is not anything special - it just auto refreshes the the first link.

I'm VERY aware of jpg sizes, being on a 56k modem...

Andrew - Yes, you are right, and the doubles will be replaced as and when I make more new piccys - I'll just replace the names and thumbies and main pic - you could say the doubles are 'place holders'.

I appreciate your comment on type - I used to do computer type and advert makeup for a newspaper ages ago, before I became a pro photographer (which died recently when my camera died, and the $$$ was not there for a replacement.... now I'm a Photopainter !!! LOL !!

All the right hand screens fit without scrolling here on IE 6.. Wierd - what browser are you using - I've checked in in Opera and IE.

Thanks for your feedback - I'll attempt to make fixes as I go along.

Just out of curiosity, why metric on sizes?

Catia

Originally posted by catia
Just out of curiosity, why metric on sizes?

Catia

Am in Australia - they went metric ages ago - I tend to think inches, but get told off by my printers... they all think in metric and it confuses them.

My other printer (one does up to 28 x 41 cm, the other from 28 x 41 up to 150 x 250cm) only takes files at 250 dpi - note that a file at 250 dpi has the right pixel dimensions for cm or inches
(so a 8x10 inch @ 250 dpi has pixels numbering the same as the centimetre sizes (with a few decimal points addded))
.. it's their internal way on not getting confused...

Are you selling to your printers? :)

What do your potential customers think in? Just curious.

Catia

Well done, Fluff, and good for you.

I was able to get in right way at cable modem speed. You might consider putting before "on top"/after "on the bottom" for the same pic. Slightly longer download, but easier to appreciate your work in that format vs. two separate images.

Best of luck.
~Danny~

I like your work a lot, but the site seems to take away from it. Here are some things I noticed that might be helpful.
-The site seems too busy. The background is too... strong and distracts me from the work. Maybe you could lighten the background?
-For the links, I would also try to make them smaller, and perhaps a little more simple so that the text is easier to read.

If you want any suggestions or help, feel free to get in touch w/ me. wtc41@yahoo.com or okplayer greg on instant messenger.

So the general agreement is

Buttons a bit more serious (how about something like the 'reply' and such buttons here?), and the background lighter.

See the back on the main title piccy - how about that, but less grain in it?

Danny - my frames skills bottomed out at 3, I dunno if I could do two more inside the third ('middle') frame...

I thinks it's a little umm... large - the text is big and child-like, it needs to have room for more text, not much - just enuff to say i'm in Western Australia, etc.

Yup some speak in A4 A3 etc, but when you say A2 and A1 or A5, they dunno what you're saying.. aussieland is a mish mosh of many things...

I've redesigned the graphics.

Site layout is the same - just the text and graphics changed.

I think this is nicer - what do you think.

NOTE SOUTHWEST SERVER IS FUBAR AT THE MOMENT
STUPID AUSSIE CRAP SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I'm shouting - I was angry at them!!

<edit> it took AGES, but its all up now (5 mins to upload a 13k file??????)

I'd try tomorrow if you're interested - they've been rubbish all day today..

<edit too> All is up now, a major change - internal font lyout to extrernal css file. Button changes too.

It's interesting the way Opera and IE render the pages - in Opera, the text in the gallery pages is centre to the page, above the piccys (all is centre to the frame), yet in IE everything is to the left.

Anyone wanna check the html and tell me why?

Hey Fluff, I played with the first thumbnail page and think the html is better now... I'll post it here, i hope it doesn't look too messy to understand:

<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./images/pp.css"/>
<title>Gallery 1</title>
</head>
<body background="./images/bg.jpg">
<p align="center" class="detail">Please click on a thumbnail to view the<br>full picture in another window</p><br>
<TABLE width=700 align="center">
<TR align="center">
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Hotham_valley_railway_to_dwellingup.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="temp/./gallery/Hotham_valley_railway_to_dwellingup_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Hotham_valley_railway_to_dwellingup.html"></A>
</TD>
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Lone_surfer.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="./gallery/Lone_surfer_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Lone_surfer.html"></A>
</TD>
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Long_way_home.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="./gallery/Long_way_home_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Long_way_home.html"></A>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR align="center">
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Red_kangaroo_pencil.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="./gallery/Red_kangaroo_pencil_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Red_kangaroo_pencil.html"></A>
</TD>
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Tiger_lily.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="./gallery/Tiger_lily_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Tiger_lily.html"></A>
</TD>
<TD><A HREF="./gallery/Valley_watercolour.html" target="ImageWindow">
<IMG SRC="./gallery/Valley_watercolour_t.jpg" BORDER="0" ALT="Valley_watercolour.html"></A>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</body>
</html>

Greg,

Looks pretty good; but, why do you have the line in there that transfers Fluffbutt's dinero to an off shore account?

Catia

:tongue: :D

Originally posted by catia
Greg,

Looks pretty good; but, why do you have the line in there that transfers Fluffbutt's dinero to an off shore account?

Catia

:tongue: :D

ssshhhhhhhhhhh;)

Originally posted by catia
Greg,

Looks pretty good; but, why do you have the line in there that transfers Fluffbutt's dinero to an off shore account?

Catia

:tongue: :D

Oh I Do LIke this person!!!! Love that quick wit!!!

Yup, those changes are now in all gallery pages. Thanks mate for the aling bit in the <p> (and the table center bits) - she looks better now.

Boy you guys and gals are great here.

Iis there a code available for me to put a button on the site lining here? - you know on some sites they say copy and paste this to add our button link..??

Nice site ya have there! Geez...now I have to go update mine;)

Added four more waterwash pictures to the third gallery.

The fourth gallery is mt at the moment..

Thanks for all the comments.

Hi Fluffy,

If you add your web site address to your signature, we won't have to go looking for it when we want to see your new stuff. :)

Your site is coming along nicely. You may want to consider having a unique name for each gallery. The non-imaginative version would be Gallery 1, Gallery 2, etc. I leave it to you to come up with the imaginative ones. :D

Catia

Sorry about the name change to Fluffy, I am having trouble getting my arms around the concept of a fluffy butt.

Yes, all taken into my ideas.

Mainly I wanted to get online and running before getting fancier, but I will reorganize the galleries into types - oils, waterwash, pencil, misc.

Fluffbutt is the nickname/middle name of my cat, Casey, (Casey Fluffbutt Ayton), who is a wonderfull funny furry Birman; he's very much loved in this house. (and yes, he does have a very fluffy butt LOL!!)
Will change my logged on details.. thanks for the tip.