Guide for a clean gallery

The following is quoted from the AE forums, thanks to Atriax.

1. Intro:
A lot of people think, it's just a thread, the set-up doesn't matter...
But, I think they're wrong. A gallery that's nicely set out, is a gallery nicer to look through.
And if your gallery is just a long list of raw links, it puts people off.
Take time to organize it, and clean it up. You'll see the rewards.


2. Header:
This is quite important for a nice gallery, as it's normally the first artistic piece people see.
If you aren't good at making banners or headers, there's always the option of text.
Alternatively, you could post in the Signature And Art Requests Forum.

2a. Image Banners:
If you decided to go with an Image banner, I suggest having some of your favourite art in it, rather than making something from scratch. Or,if Banners aren't your thing, use the above link to request one from another Artist.

Notes:
Be sure to give credit to the maker, if they didn't sign it themselves.
A self-made banner is always more impressive. If possible, do it yourself.

2b. Text Banners:
You might be thinking, why even mention these?
Well, because if used well, it can look quite nice.
Be sure to make it quite short, and quite big.
DO NOT use the srike through on your title!!!
It makes it almost unreadable.
I also advise against the underline tool,as it makes it look odd.



3. Borders:
This isn't all that important, and many people don't know about it.
In fact, I don't think I've seen a single gallery that uses them.
But they can make a gallery look completely different.
Top Border
These are some I made for another site.
Bottom Border.
These should be placed, after your banner, and around your text.
If they aren't centered, it'll look strange.

4. Theme:
There are next to unlimited possibilities here.

It's the colour scheme that matters here.
If you aren't going to stick to it, don't.
Also, some colours aren't good ideas.
Yellow is the best example.
It's hard to read, and gives me headaches.

5. Layout:
This is THE most important thing in the gallery.
People won't look through your work if it's unclean and hard to find.
My advice is to choose to have your work all on the right side, or in the centre.


Examples of a gallery:



Signatures
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]



Avatars
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]



Banners
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]




Layouts
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]
[url=http://][EXAMPLE LINK][/url]