One Piece Wiki:Guidebook/Image Guidelines

Image usage
Images are used on this wikia to depict what often is hard to describe in words. To this extent, all images on this site are being used for illustration purposes only. If images are used for anything more, they can be considered going against copyright laws. To keep the wikia healthy, avoid questions of "misuse" of the wikia and to generally avoid sensitive image arguments we have certain guidelines and rules that should be note. Unacceptable images can be considered vandalism just as text can be considered if it is spam, offensive or flame.

Unsuitable or unused images can be deleted at any point without warning by an admin or a member of the wikia staff.

Acceptable

 * Single cell or single pages from the manga
 * Screen shots of a single scene from the games.
 * Screenshots of a single frame from the anime and Panoramic images.
 * Animations showing a single event from the anime, such as a single fighting move.
 * Fanart showing a single symbol (such as a pirate flag) used with permission of the original maker, used where the manga/anime could did not provide a decent enough image.
 * File extensions: .JPG, .GIF or .PNG, this is standard requirement for the wiki system and many file extension types (such as .BMP) are not uploadable.
 * .PNG file extensions are preferred over .JPG file extensions.

Unacceptable

 * Fanart art of any form - from fan colour images to full character depictions, though there is one exception (see "Acceptable").
 * Doctored images of any form.
 * Images unrelated to this wikia, we're not an image host, sites like Flickr exist for this purpose.
 * Images showing multiple pages from the manga.
 * Animations showing more then one event e.g. showing a full fight scene between two characters.
 * Images of people with no involvement with the making of One Piece at all.
 * Watermarked images, these are claimed by an owner as their property and they may be offended if the image was taken without permission.
 * Note: TV, DVD and sub watermarks are excepted from this rule. However, no image taken from Youtube may be used.
 * Spoiler images are forbidden. (note: see Spoiler Rules for more information)
 * Images uploaded solely for user page usage. If you upload the image elsewhere (e.g. Flickr) you will be able to freely import it on the wiki, by the "Add Image" button.
 * Videos {Cf Youtube.}
 * Both porn and nudity that comes outside the official sources (the manga or the anime), hence no Doujinshi for example.

Format Advice
There isn't a general rule on which format use, however, the PNG format is strongly preferred over JPGs or JEPGs. Updates to Wikia servers have caused .jpgs to become pixilated when viewed as thumbnails in articles, even when the full size image is high quality. PNGs will not compress or become pixilated when viewed at any size, and are always of higher quality.

Image Informations
When you upload an image on this wikia, please provide the necessary information on the file's page by creating different section, such as:

NOTE: Due to users uploading images without adding any of these information, a rule will be added regarding this matter: any images missing this information for over one hour after being uploaded will be deleted, unless rectified before the admin catches the image and deleting it.
 * Description: this is an optionally field where users provide information on the image and its meaning or purpose.
 * Source: this information is important and helpful, so specify where the file comes from, for example which Volume/Chapter if a manga picture, which episode if an anime screenshot or which sites if you took it from internet.
 * Licensing: please provide the right license for each image, we'll see in the next section which are the licenses more suited.
 * Categorization: after you upload a file add the categories by the button at the bottom, creating a section it isn't necessary. If you don't know which category is right for the image, try to look other similar images. See the next section and this page which contains each image category.

Licensing
For more information about how to use a template, visit the template page. This page regroup every copyright template. Please add the license in its own section "Licensing". You can also provide more then one license for a file, if necessary. Every images on this wiki is categorized under its license.

Free Licenses
The image under a free license can be freely used and have a few or none use conditions. Warning! Simply because you can freely download an image from the net doesn't mean the image has a free license, so be sure before tag an image under a free license! Usually user-created images (like fan arts) have a free license, but they're quite a few on this site because fan art is not allowed. Some examples are the Jolly Rogers pictures (not the one took from the manga/anime, because they're copyrighted) or the system images used for the site.
 * GNU white.svg you are sure the image has a free license but you don't know which one, then use the template Other free.
 * If the image has a GNU free license then use the template GNU. The license GFDL will be selected by default, but you can choose the LGPL or the GPL license by the parameter " ", for example GNU.
 * CC some rights reserved.svg the image has a free Creative Commons license, than use the template CC-BY-SA. To change the version and/or the attribution details by the parameters " " and " ". To remove the condition "BY" or "SA" use the parameter " " and " " respectively (the value of those parameters is indifferent as long it's not null). For more informations see the template's page.
 * If you created the image yourself then you can use the template Self which automatically select the Public Domain license or if you want to change the license to a CC-BY-SA you can do it by choosing the version you want by the parameter " ". See the template's page for more details. Note: if you simply edited a manga/anime picture than you don't have the rights to use this license, use a template from the next section "Not Free Licenses".
 * Art Libre.svg the image is under the Free Art License (FAL or Art Libre) then use the template Free Art.
 * Public domain.svg the image was released in the public domain or its copyright has expired, than use the template PD.

Not Free Licenses
Almost every image on this wikia is copyrighted and used under fair use. Being this a One Piece fandom Wiki the majority of image copyrights are held by Oda and Shueisha or Toei Animation, even if you edit the image, unless you create it ex novo, you don't become the copyright holder, as such include the license in the file's page, for examples:


 * If the image comes from the manga, a cover or other merchandises then add the template Fairuse in the "Licensing" section.
 * Red trademark.svg If the image is a registered logo, such as a company name or a product name, then add the template Logo.
 * If the image comes from the anime or it's a in-game screenshot then add the template Tv-screenshot. This is a variant of the fair use template and it has basically the same meaning.
 * If the file is an animated gif from the anime or a game then add the template Gif. This is a variant of the fair use template and it has basically the same meaning.
 * Green copyright.svg If the image is copyrighted, but the copyrights holder allowed its use, for example by his trademark policy or by his explicit consensus, then use the template Permission. You can specify the name of the author by the parameter " ".
 * CC-NC.svgCC-ND.svg not free Creative Commons licenses are, regardless the versions, those with the NC (Non commercial) and ND (No Derivate Works) conditions. To add these conditions use the template CC-BY-SA with the " " and/or " " parameter (the value of those parameters is indifferent as long it's not null). For more informations see the template's page.

Others
If you don't know the copyright status of an image then use the template No license, while if you don't know the source add No source to the "Source" section. For the images from Wikipedia or another Wikia, you can use the template From Wikimedia and you can also provide the site link by parameter, but remember that you also have to provide the license of the file, so look for the image's copyright status in the original information page.

You can also tag s file with LQ if it has a poor quality, or with Edit war if it is the subject of an edit war. For request the deletion of a file add Delete to its page.

Uploading New Versions
Frequently, as better images appear in the series, new versions of the images are uploaded. A common example of this would be the changing a manga image to an anime version. All licensing should reflect the currently used version of the image, and the source should be listed for all versions of the image. If a source is not provided for the most recent version, the template should be added to the sourcing section.

Samples
These are some examples of how the file's information's should be given: File:Shirahoshi Anime Infobox.png, File:Info-icon.svg, File:Public_domain.svg.

General Editing Advice
Generally, while images enhance the usefulness of a page, they likewise can lower its quality. The following are examples of past editor mistakes, made by both experienced and inexperienced editors alike.

Image Overload
Overloading a single area of text with multiple images can lead to layering issues. The most common form of layering problem is the rendering of a mass white space due to conflicts with either other images already on the page or page templates. You can Preview all edits using the "Preview" option next to the button "Save page". Please use this to check you have no caused a layering problem. Images that cause layering problems will be removed from the page when spotted, although they may not be completely destroyed as experienced editors may find other uses for them on the page or another page.

If you wish to fit many images in one space, the template Gallery can be used, such as follows:

Alternatively, if there is no call to use a gallery table, another code to use to avoid page layout problems is the code  .



This will leave a gap after the code, any previous coding will not effect the page, and any further coding will not conflict with the previous text and images before the code. Please note, if used with too many images close together however, even this code can leave a image not aligned with the text it is intending to support, as the following example will demonstrate.

Image Replacement
Any image on a page can be replaced by uploading a new image with the same name. Editors do not need permission or explanation to replace an image on a place. However, take note what you consider a better image may not be considered a better image by other editors. Please also take note that replacing an image from the manga with its counterpart is acceptable, however you should not replace a manga image with another manga image of less quality. Likewise, do not replace an anime image with another anime image of less quality.

Image Wars
This is when editors are constantly changing images on a page from one version to another for a variety of reasons. In the event of constant reverting between two revisions of the same image, the most useful or related image to its intended use will be chosen, or in the event of neither image being of satisfaction, both images may be rejected for another image. If you feel the the other editors are making a bad choice, there is a choice to argue the point of the image, backing it up with support from the guidelines listed on this page.

Mass Uploading
Mass uploading is when a editor uploads a number of images within the span of a short amount of time (usually within an hour). Often the intentions of the user are in the right place, however mass uploading cause problems. Other editors cannot keep up or check on what images were uploaded if a mass upload happens too fast. In the case of mass replacement as well as uploading that means other editor may be left with 20+ pages to look and compare the images of. On top of this, if the source of the images is deemed unsuitable (i.e. they were taken from a single site where every image was watermarked), then those images would have to be removed causing time wasted.

It is advisable that if a mass upload is intended that the uploader seek out help beforehand, if the images ARE coming from a single site it is important you investigate the site or ask another more experienced editor to check out the site for you.

Unused Images
All images are intended for use on the wikia and unused images can be found via the Unused files page. Please note that an image may ALREADY exist on the wikia and one can check using this page the image isn't already uploaded by this wikia. If you upload an image, but do not add it to a page, or it was deemed unsuitable/unneeded by another editor and removed, then that image can be deleted without question. Images take up memory and space and unused images serve the wikia in no way. If you do not wish your image to end up deleted, make sure you put it on a page straight away. If a editor removes it, check the history of the page to check why is was removed, failing that, ask the editor to explain. If no explanation is provided you can revert, however please remember it is more important to avoid a edit war then it is to get a suitable picture.

Duplicate Images
Like with unused images, duplicate images are also at risk to be deleted at any point, like with unused images, without question. If the image already exists, there is no need for a copy, it simply takes up space. Check the page and related pages to make sure the image doesn't already exist. Also note images can be used on several pages, not just one. Also, likewise check the Unused files page to see if the image exists there.

When a duplicate image is found, the Duplicate Template can be added with the original file as an argument.

To avoid duplicating images, it is worth to make a quick research first, by:
 * Looking in the Wiki Pages related to the image object
 * Making a research in the Special:Search page with File option checked
 * Looking in the Images Category and its subcategories
 * When a new chapter or episode comes out, check in the New Files page if the image has not been already upload by another user. A lot of duplicate images occurs a these moments.
 * Searching for them at the Special:FileDuplicateSearch page by entering the filename without the "File:" prefix

Remember that it is better to upload a new version of the file than replacing a link with a new one since it creates unused files. After all this verifications one can safely upload the image (remember to add eventual Images Category since it can help the users research).

Youtube
As stated in our rules, animations are allowed, however only single events are permitted. When it comes to Youtube, several other issues arise that are not clear in the rules. Firstly, as it is a copyright violation the Youtube staff may delete any One Piece related videos as they see fit. This could potentially be a problem for the wikia if such a video is deleted as not only does it mean we need to track down another copy of the video (which there may well not be so), we also have broken links. On top of that, a owner may replace an video as well as delete it themselves resulting in more potential headaches for editors. On the wikia, we have control and can regulate our images better, reverting a image back to its original format if need be, on Youtube, these things are out of our control and we cannot replace or revert lost videos. On top of this, Youtube videos also prefer to stay their specific sizes and often led to problems with the page layouts. They are not as simple to insert into a page as normal images are.

Also, please remember even if you own the video, youtube owns their site and thus every image on Youtube carries the Youtube watermark uploading the images also breaks another rule.

Game Sprites
While screenshots are allowed and once again, likewise animations, be aware of a few issues related to games. First, most sprites are ripped by a single person and while various people may rip the same set of sprites, they between them have their own conditions for usage. For most, a simple "Thank you" for using their sprite n your project and maybe a link to the site you got the sprites off of is enough. Some will directly require you ask them first before using their sprites.

Most animations of game moves will use sprites borrowed without permission or referencing back to the original owner, so some citation is needed when approaching them. The majority of sprites will also have no background, thus they can never been truly considered "direct" from the game or represent the gameplay of the game. To date in order to also use a sprite to prove the existence of say a move a link to notify all editors on the discussion page is a better idea then to upload one of these animations. Regardless, stick to screenshots to back up text rather then a single sprite and do not use them over the manga and anime representations.

The most notable problem with sprites is they are very easily faked. Fake screenshots, sprites and animations have been around for many years and even in the One Piece fandom they exist.

Animations
Sometimes, despite editors' best efforts, there is something that simply cannot be described between either image or text, and an animation can often aid the subject of the article. Having a animation simply of two people talking is an example of animations which do not belong on a page, as a single frame and text can describe this action without any problems. However, when it comes to things like a battle move, which can often be complex, then an animation can often provide a better demonstration then any text or single frame.

Be aware that there are a few things to consider before you upload an animation.

Firstly, animations are much larger files than images and larger files take time to load on a page. If there are several animations or a particularly large animation, then lag may occur on the page in some form (be it page loading time or just image loading time). The image may not even load at all leading to the a box with a red "X" appearing.

To prevent that, the restrictions for animated gifs are as followed:


 * The animation shall not exceed 4.000.00 byte.


 * The total size of all animations combined on a page shall not exceed 12.000.000 byte.


 * The pixel size can vary between 100px and 240px, but not more or less than that.

Next, there is a consideration that too many animations on a page may not be a good idea. Animations can make a page look busy, having a dozen things moving at once can be somewhat off putting to a user but can also led to the usual image related problems of large white gaps and page layout problems. Previous examples of animation overload would be the Yami Yami no Mi and Mera Mera no Mi pages. Both these pages at some point had many animations and almost no still images and had 6 or so animations uploaded onto them. The text they supported was also often just a few sentances, leaving the page with layout problems and/or large gaps of white on a page.

To avoid possible overload:


 * Animations are only allowed in the Abilities and Powers section of an article or in articles devoted to fighting styles or powers (such as the page for a devil fruit such as the Gomu Gomu no Mi or Santoryu for example).


 * The maximal number of animations used on a page is restricted to three.

Lastly, the community decided to only allow animations that are:


 * Free of fan translations.


 * Free of editor credits.


 * Please note: All animations must now be approved by the Image Team before they can be allowed to be used on pages.
 * If you would like to request an animation, see:One Piece Encyclopedia Talk:Flash Monkeys Overview

Give it a Good Name
When uploading, you get a chance to rename it, it is advisable you give it a suitable file name. A picture of Boa Hancock kicking, for example, may have the name "hancockkick.png". Be careful! If the uploader mentions you have giving it the name of an existing image, don't overwrite - rename. You will be taken back to the uploader if you choose not to attempt another name for the file.

Unsuitable names may be renamed by the members of the wikia as a decent name helps classify the categories, find it easy as well link to the image. Long random letters and numbers for names is hard for all editors to work with. Undescriptive names such as untitled, screenshot-xxx shall also be avoided. Luffy25 is not really a good name either, if you are not able to give a proper name to your file maybe you should question yourself if it is necessary to upload it. You are not limited by the length of the name so abbreviations shall be avoided. In all cases the clearer the better.

Categorization
It can be useful to add a category to an image as it can help to find it more easily. However, only categories belonging to the Images categories shall be added.

Only images used in articles shall be categorized, image from user's pages or talk pages (or even worse unused images) shall not be categorized. That also means that if an image is removed from an article for whatever reason, its eventual categories shall be deleted.

Note that pages which have a prefix such as Template or File are classified by default at the letter of the prefix (T for Template and F for files). If the category contains a table of content it is useful to redirect the category name by using the pipe character (|). For example to categorize hancockkick.png one can add so that the file appear at the letter H. If the file has been properly named (Cf previous chapter) one can use the template variable PAGENAME. When you edit an article, you can see if the category has been redirected by clicking on the Code view link in the category section.

Toggling
The toggling feature allows images to be images to change between one image or another. Currently, Toggling is forbidden to be used on the One Piece Wikia, with one exception to this rule.

For more details see Pre Time-Skip and Post-Time Skip images

Profile and Identification Image Advise
Aside from standard images uploaded to support text, images can also serve the page in two other ways. The first is by the profile image and the second is via a thumbnail used in identification templates.

Profile Images
On every character page, there may be a infobox section on the page acting as a "quick reference" for viewers. The images in the infoboxes should show at least the two following things:


 * 1) A character's face and features must be clearly seen in an image
 * 2) An image of a full body pose is preferable. The only exception is when no full image exists in the first place.
 * 3) The character's full body pose in the image must not distort the character's features regardless of quality.
 * 4) The clothes the character in the image have to be at least the ones that they are most commonly seen in. A good example would be Luffy's red vest and blue pants. They do not have to be the most up to date, however if the standard clothes the character wears changes, then the new style may replace the old in such an occurrence.
 * 5) For characters that constantly change clothes like Nami and Robin, just a good image of them is acceptable. However, the image should at least show their features.
 * 6) The post-timeskip image will be used if it is available.
 * 7) If there are any specific physical changes, the toggling feature is to be added to show them.
 * 8) Renders, or cutout images of characters on a white background, are no longer allowed as Profile Images. Renders may still be in a character's image gallery however.

If a new image covers more of these points then the previous image, then it is fine to upload and used as a replacement image. In addition while the games such as the Grand Battle! series offer dramatic poses of the featured characters, they should be seriously thought about before used. Equally, filler arc pictures should be avoided as the wikia prefers canon-based over filler, unless the character itself is filler.

Dramatic Poses, What To Avoid
Temptation is to use the most "awesome" image of a character you can find. Dramatic poses can be found across the border in regards to One Piece itself. They are present in the manga, the anime, games, etc. It is advisable however that you think before using such an image. While they can be indeed "awesome" to the eye, they may also be awkward or clumsily posed. Sometimes in the artist's attempts to impress the looker (particularly with the games) they end up creating a image that is unsuitable, at the very least for the wikia's needs.

A common problem with poses is hidden body parts, particularly of the front, though in cases such as Portgas D. Ace whose tattoos best identify him this can be ignored to a degree. To create a pose that is dramatic, the illusion of distance needs to be demonstrated, this leads to another common problem; warping of body parts. That is, when a foot or arm ends up far too small, giving the character an appearance that his or her foot is very far away. This is most noticeable when other body parts may seem up close, often resulting in a very long, thin looking limbs. However the reverse can also happen wherein the body parts are depicted as being too close, resulting in the opposite occurring, that is the body parts are too big and bulky. Finally, to create these dramatic poses, sometimes feature distortion occurs (e.g. the face becomes awkward, in a few cases abnormal or even unrecognizable) as often the head ends up being in the wrong place or at the wrong suitable angle for the pose itself.

In this case the dramatic pose has left his coat covering most of his visible body and part of his lower face. On top of this, as this is a rear view pose, most of the possible details have been lost. His pose is awkward, with feature distortion occurring to create an effect of limbs posed at an angle. The end of his hook is hidden from view and could easily be mistaken for a hoop rather then a hook. Overall, while this is an impressive game image, it does not depict his character very well. On top of this, someone new to One Piece would be slightly confused as to what is going on with his right hand.

In contrast, the image of the Luffy, while again a dramatic pose is occurring, the full body is visible and there are no hidden parts of the body or his outfit. While the Crocodile image offers little in the way of a quality image, the Luffy image covers most of the guidelines.

Quality Check
As previously mentioned, quality can be a reason for one image being used over another. Quality in itself means many things, but in this context it means the grade of the picture. A notable effect of files Types such as .JPG is their habit of lowering the grade of the image, making the size smaller as this file type was created to make uploading images quicker by compacting the image and removing unneeded data that often exists on a file. Pixelation, size compacting and dithering can lead to detail being lost, limiting the usage of the image.

On top of this, another problem exists in relation to RAW copies of the manga; it may have yet to be cleaned up by another person. This means the image will have odd things like many shades of grey,the manga itself is originally black and white, meaning only 2 or so shades of grey are intended to exist. When scanned, bending pages and other occurrences may add new shades to the black and while image that already exists. The RAW itself also depends on the quality of the scan made by the person who scanned the image, quick scan groups will scan a manga in Low Quality resulting in a manga scan that will appear faster then any other scan being released, while a High quality scan may not appear until up to 72 hours later.

While whether or not a quality is important to other images, we advise for profile images there be a high quality profile image on a page. Profile images are there to show a character is high detail, that means if things such as pixelation or dithering are occurring on the image, may effected any details on the character too greatly to be used. Important things to note on a profile image is firstly the face, all lines must be clear and heavily defined. Secondly things that make the character stand out from others in the series (such as the character having a particular item worn at all times like Nami's Log Pose.

One way around the loss of detail is to upload a large sized file, however profile images are coded to be a certain size on the page, this means any image will automatically be compacted to meet a certain width. Unintentional detail loss may occur, particular if the width difference is great, such as uploading a 700px image which would normally have to shrunk to a width of just 250px. It is therefore advisable above all things that the image for a profile be no wider then 350px to avoid such a detail loss.

Pre-Time Skip and Post Time-Skip images
Details currently not sorted; Forum:Pre/Post timeskip switch

Identification Images
These are a standard 120 x 120 px image used for templates designed for speedy identification due to the sheer number of characters in the series, the images itself has not to be in 120 x 120 format as long it's in a square proportion. They are found on pages such as Red Hair Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates or locations such as Alabasta. Color is preferred once again, however in many cases it is impossible to get such an image and often these images must come from Data Books and the Manga directly itself. None of these images are being used for avatars for sites, so why a good representation of the character is important, quality of the image may not be an issue. Also, the image should not be anything more then the characters head, unlike the infobox image which it is preferred that a full character image be used.

Head position
Unlike profile images, Identification images are a lot simpler to handle. There is therefore on top of the previous advise on this page there is only one important thing to note on these images. This is that it is preferred a decent profile, normally 3/4 or frontal, be used over other head positions like side profiles.

In the Luffy image, his head is angled so he is facing slightly behind him, this has left Luffy with a strange expression on his face and the appearance of a babyish character. In contrast, the Crocodile image is facing straight on, with no distractions or objects blocking any part of the face.