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03/04/2003 03:53:55 PM · #1 |
I hope nobody minds but I am real excited about finally getting my first web site online and I just had to share it with everyone. There are still some things that need to be fixed but I thought maybe I could get some opinions on it regarding how it works with different systems. It was optimized for Explorer so it may look a little misaligned on Netscape and it may be slow on a dial up service. I also chose to make it fit an 800x600 screen resolution for the general, non artist, public so it will look a little small on all those hi res monitors out there. I'm no programmer so this is the best I could do. I would like to know just how slow it might be and if there are any major problems with it.
www.timsart.net
Thank you (fingers crossed for luck)
T
Message edited by author 2003-03-04 15:54:58.
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03/04/2003 04:08:03 PM · #2 |
it looks ok from a Win2K machine with IE 6
I like how you have the thumbnails laid out with the blue and then it changes when you mouse over it.....
James
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03/04/2003 04:08:53 PM · #3 |
Great Job Tim! Not to mention great photos!! :-D
It is slow to load even on cable so I wouldn't want to be the one on dialup!
I'm not sure about the font you used.... it's not an easy font to read. But that's just my opinion. :-)
Good job!
Yanik
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03/04/2003 04:13:17 PM · #4 |
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03/04/2003 04:15:36 PM · #5 |
| Very nicely done -- I like the layout! I do believe that "persuing" should be "pursuing" on your About Me page. |
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03/04/2003 04:16:35 PM · #6 |
Tim,
Works and looks great! I am on a 21" monitor at 1600 x 1200 and I had no problem reading or viewing the site but I do agree with "kosmikkreeper" that the font may not be the easiest to read. I could see why some may have trouble with it. Especially if they have poor eye site. Again, just an opinion.
Awesome work! I especially enjoyed the paintings and drawings. It must be so awesome to be able to take a photograph without a camera. I'm lucky if I can draw a smiley face correct. LOL!
If one purchases a photograph from your collection, will you personally sign the photograph for the buyer? Is there an additional charge for this?
Thanks!
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03/04/2003 04:19:27 PM · #7 |
Tim, you might also consider putting it all in a frame that centers itself on the page so that people with bigger monitors see it centered and not up in one corner -- but that's very much just a personal preference kind of thing -- it looks great! :-)
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03/04/2003 04:23:31 PM · #8 |
Hi Tim,
I really enjoyed your website. Found it to be well designed, artistically well balanced, highly intuitive (one of my pet peeves - most websites are NOT), and it has good continuity. (And it all worked seamlessly.) As for your artwork: incredible - almost makes me feel incompetent as an artist ! (I've had a very expensive airbrush for more than 5 years and have only used it once!) Would it be possible for you to explain the "personal art" method in more detail? I love it!
Thanks, Linda
PS - not slow at all for me - loaded in an instant. (Cable)
Message edited by author 2003-03-04 16:25:38.
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03/04/2003 04:27:03 PM · #9 |
Tim, looks really nice :)
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03/04/2003 04:29:09 PM · #10 |
Great looking site Tim. I like the highlighting of the thumbnails.
I'm using Netscape and it looks perfect. The background loads a little slow with a dial-up connection, but it's not irritating. I guess that's because I'm used to slow connections :)
I prefer to see it centered on the page too though.
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03/04/2003 04:44:43 PM · #11 |
Awesome work. I might have to redesign mine again :-P I keep on trying to figure out something that's easy to keep uptodate but looks good. Haven't got the "looks good" part figured out yet. You do. :) I very much like the background and your artwork and photos are incredible.
I have one tiny little suggestion: hyperlink your email address on the contacts page so it launches the user's mail program. That's pretty standard, and I expected that to happen, especially since the address is in a different color and I thought that must be a hyperlink.
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03/04/2003 04:59:49 PM · #12 |
*Great* work Tim, I like it a lot.
Browser details: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.3a) Gecko/20021207 Phoenix/0.5
I'll throw in another vote to center the page in the browser (1280x1024 here).
Loading times were good (ADSL with ftp transfers in the background).
The background takes a little while to load up, but it's worth it ... will it not compress some more without loss of quality?
Love the mouseover highlighting on the thumbnails : ) and can't see any alignment or other problems.
Top stuff. |
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03/04/2003 05:15:50 PM · #13 |
I really appriciate the input. Thank you very much. I would very much like to have the site centered as well. I can only take credit for the artwork and it is my friend Allen who is using Dreamweaver4 to post the images. He is uncertain at this time how to center it. We are both learning this stuff as we go and I'm sure we will figure that out.
I am also a little concerned about the cursive font and will likely be addressing that issue one day. Unfortunately I accidentally collapsed the layers for part of the Home page background that includes some of the cursive text and it will require some major reworking to fix. #%*&%$!!!
The word 'pursuing' is indeed spelled wrong. #%*&+*#$!!!
I know I should explain Personal Art better on the site. This is how it is done. I first create a detailed pencil drawing of my subject at roughly 8 1/2 x 11 on regular sketch paper and then scan the drawing into the computer. I bring it into PS and make it the top layer of my file and set the blending mode for that layer to Multiply. This allows the drawing to serve as an overlay (only the pencil lines are seen) as I digitally paint the image using the lower layers. So basicaly it looks like a detailed sketch that has been colorized. The image is then flattened into a jpeg, sized to either 8x10 or 12x18 at 300 dpi (big file) and uploaded to an online site where it is printed as a real photographic print on either matte or glossy photo paper. The print can then be sent directly to the customer. This method is great for saving money on shipping but it doesn't allow me to personally sign the prints so I still need to work that out. The Personal Art offers a more affordable alternative to the more expensive Custom Art while having a unique and colorful look.
Thanks again,
T
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03/04/2003 05:32:30 PM · #14 |
Excellent looking website Tim.
My only nit-pick is that for me, the loading times were rather slow, on a cable modem. The main parts load after about 10 seconds, then it takes another 10 or so to load the background. Each thumbnail takes about a second / 2 seconds to load on mouseover... maybe these could be preloaded?
But yeh, excellent stuff :)
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03/04/2003 05:50:11 PM · #15 |
cool site tim. do you make web sites for a living or do you have a lot of time? lol.
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03/04/2003 06:03:24 PM · #16 |
Wow. Great work. Your art is even better than your photographs. The site is alright, but given how professional your art looks I think it should be even better! Still, the art is what counts and you don't want to appear too "flashy," so I guess it's alright. I'm a bit confused by you calling your technique "personal art." Is that something you just made up to call it, because I always think of personal art as meaning work that you have done for your own pleasure and not on commision. It often has deeper meaning to you than the artist can understand. I would call your digitally colored (or computer enhanced) drawing.
I absolutely LOVE your tiger scratchboard shot. I assume you know of the wildlife scratchboard artist AE London, but if not, check out the website HERE. It's some amazing stuff and yours reminded me of it and is just as good. Cheers! |
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03/04/2003 06:11:37 PM · #17 |
Tim you did a great job! I absolutely LOVE the Tiger Scratchboard. There is a lot of wonderful work there and you certainly are talented.
The pages are loading a bit slow, but I'm on a dial-up account.
Good stuff!
Added: I just noticed you called your "Tiger" a lion. You may want to correct that. ;-)
Message edited by author 2003-03-04 18:14:27.
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03/04/2003 06:20:11 PM · #18 |
Thank you for the explanation of "Personal Art"; couldn't you put your "signature" on the artwork while it is in Photoshop?? Or were you referring to "really" signing it?
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03/04/2003 06:29:17 PM · #19 |
Jason, you make some very good points. I didn't want the site to be too flashy for certain and my primary intent was ease of use. I didn't want the look of the site to overpower the artwork. I am considering doing something different with the backgrounds on the large images. The Personal Art stems from the fact that it is art that is personal in nature to the buyer. For example, family, pets, cars and boats. I wanted to avoid using the terms digital or computer because it often gives the wrong impression and some people simply think I manipulated a photo with my computer. I am not 100% satisfied with the term and I may consider another one.
Ben, My file sizes are about as small as I can make them but I'm sure there are still some ways to speed things up. I just haven't learned what they are yet.
Goodtempo. The answer is sort of and yes. I made one web site for a friend last year but it hardly counts because it was one of those very simple template based applications where I had very few choices. I am also currently designing a PDF style site for a local company. I am using Pagemaker for that and so that isn't really the same thing either. This is my first real web site that required tons of separate pieces of art. I am currently freelancing and, as you see from my web site, I am gearing up for more serious and stable work. So basically I am an art bum.
T
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03/04/2003 07:08:51 PM · #20 |
| Thats one really GREAT looking website!!!! |
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03/04/2003 07:20:03 PM · #21 |
I only write pages by hand, so I don't know how you would go about doing this in page maker, but...
Your main problem for the site is that your use images for everything. This doesn't work. For one images at the compression you've chosen load extremely slowly, also it's harder to edit text inside of an image when you want to change text around. The easiest way to work around this is to use table with background images. Tables are relatively easy to manipulate, as far as spacing goes. Also, using plain text for titles and headers and links works a lot better than using images for the same purposes. Also, your image rollovers tend to load slowly. Try searching sites like //www.dynamicdrive.com and looking for 'preloading' scripts, this will make your roll over effects smoother.
As far as the design goes, it's pretty bland. It looks professional, but the repeated use of blue sort of overwhelms it. Also, having everything being contained to the square in the upper left hand corner is sort of dull, and non-engaging. Also, I would recommend getting rid of everything but sans-serif fonts, like impact an arial -- I don't like cursive handwriting fonts (that's more just a personal thing though).
Overall your site is fine, aside from these nit-picky details. I don't think I would call it an exceptionally innovative or pretty site, but it is professional looking, and if you're just trying to sell your work it's great. The only thing that's really crippling is the fact that you're going to turn off dial-uppers off with the load times.
Message edited by author 2003-03-04 19:21:23. |
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03/04/2003 07:28:13 PM · #22 |
Wow Tim! I really like your art work. You have an awesome gift to draw perfectly. A gift I would love to have. Do you still do commision work? Great website. I just browsed the whole site. I love the blue and the way the pictures sit on the pages. Nice work!
Sonja
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03/04/2003 07:39:52 PM · #23 |
I am using Photoshop for all of the artwork. Since I am using layers changing the text is very simple. In fact I have been making changes today already so it has been only a matter of replacing an individual piece of art. This is my first web site and since I am an artist and not a programmer this was my best available option where I had control over the process. As I have already stated I will probably be adding some more color variety to some of the pages in the future. It is certainly a personal preference,. Some people will like what you do and some won't. It doesn't bother me. Since this is the best I can do at the moment I will just have to except the fact that some people with dial up are going to have a slower time viewing it. When I was using dial up and went to graphics intensive sites I fully understood and excepted the fact that it would be a little bit of a pain to view. Fortunately high speed access is becoming more available. I figure it is still better than what I had before which was nothing : ) Thank you for your comments Gren. I will be considering much of your advice.
T
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03/04/2003 07:42:47 PM · #24 |
Yes Sonifo, I do commission work. I may have to make that a little clearer. It is in the Custom Art section. Thanks for your compliments.
T
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03/04/2003 09:18:51 PM · #25 |
Really like the way you have it set up, Tim. Easy to navigate, and interesting to do so.
I LOVE how the thumbnails change on the mouse overs.
I think, though, that the blue is a bit overpowering against alot of the images though.
Just one persons opinion!
Good luck with the venture!
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