The Image Cleanup Project (ICP) was started due to a growing concern that many of the images on the site are very sub-standard. Most often, they are screenshots directly out of the game, and not cleaned up in any way. This generally results in images which are too dark, or have unwanted interface elements on them, or are just generally not very good images for other reasons.
ParticipationEdit
All editors are welcome to help, regardless of whether you have artistic skills or not. Here are some ways you can help:
If You Are Not Artistically SkilledEdit
- Mark images that you feel need to be cleaned. This is done by placing the {{CleanImage}} tag at the top of the image page. (Don't place these on the tops of the pages using the images, but rather on the image pages themselves.) This will make the images appear on the Category:Files Needing Cleanup page or its sub-categories, so that other editors can see them and make the necessary improvements. The criteria you want to look for in images needing to be fixed are:
- Too dark. This is by far the most common problem. Generally, these images can be fixed with fairly little effort.
- Interface elements on screen. These take a bit more skill to fix, or they might be cropped to remove such elements.
- Other obstructions. This includes pictures taken in Oblivion with the Detect Life spell active, or pictures with any other spell effect around the subject, pictures taken in first person with a weapon drawn that obscures the subject, etc.
- Inappropriate angles. This is particularly a problem with full-body pictures of Khajiits and Argonians. When shot straight on, their tails tend to position themselves in suggestive locations. Stop snickering, it's a problem, and it should be fixed. Usually, these will need to be replaced.
- Unclear focus. Sometimes there are too many things in the frame, and you don't know what you're supposed to be looking at. These images should also be replaced.
- Questionable context. When taking a screenshot of a specific hostile NPC or creature, it is generally not acceptable to kill them first and screenshot their corpse. Seems obvious, but there are examples of this on the site that should be replaced. A screenshot of a corpse is only acceptable in cases where the subject is never seen alive. This is just one example of unusual context for images. Use your best judgment when determining if an image is appropriate for its subject matter.
- Odd shape/size. Generally, images should be in horizontal (landscape) format or at least no narrower than square. Images with vertical (portrait) format are troublesome as when used as thumbnails, they end up huge, because thumbnails are only limited by width by default. While it's possible to add a fixed size declaration to the image, this overrides the user's thumbnail size setting, and thus is generally not done. Horizontal or square images are the best in terms of fitting onto pages without wasting large amounts of space by pushing everything downwards. The most common offenders of this rule are full-body shots of an NPC cropped to remove almost all the background. These should be replaced by a wider shot.
- Create screenshots for images needing to be replaced. You don't have to be Picasso to get a good image. Just follow some of the advice on Help:Images, and try not to make any images that meet the above criteria for needing to be fixed. If your images end up too dark, but you think they could still be good images with a little color adjustment, you can upload them, and then place the {{CleanImage}} tag yourself to indicate that you know it needs fixing.
- One other problem is images with uninformative filenames. Sometimes, images will be uploaded with the default names they're given by the game—Screenshot01.jpg or something like that. If you see images like this, either mark them as needing fixing, or download them and re-upload them again with a more appropriate name. You might credit the original uploader in the image summary. Then, replace the image on all pages where it's used, and mark the old one for deletion, as per the Deletion Policy. (Be sure to link to your new image when you mark images for deletion, so that the deleting Administrator can compare the two.) The general formatting rules for image names are the 2-letter abbreviation for the game the image relates to (e.g. MW, TR, BM, OB, SI, etc.), followed by the category of image (e.g. npc, place, map, etc.), followed by the name of the person, place, or map being depicted. So, for example, a picture of Oblivion:Brother Martin might have the filename:
OB-npc-Brother Martin.jpg. - Licensing. All screenshots from the games are by legally copyrighted by Bethesda, and thus should have the "Graphic taken from the Elder Scrolls series" license applied to them. If the original uploader used a different license or neglected to place any license, you can fix this simply by placing a
==Licensing==header, followed by the {{uespimage}} license tag. The only images which do not need this license are those created from scratch by the uploader or perhaps released to public domain by other sources. Needless to say, very few images on this site meet those standards.
If You Are Artistically SkilledEdit
- Check the Category:Files Needing Cleanup page and its sub-categories to see what images other editors have marked as needing to be fixed.
- Images which are too dark are the easiest to fix. Using Auto-Color, Auto-Contrast, and/or Auto-Levels in Photoshop is generally all that you need on these. (Try each of them to see which gives the best results—sometimes you end up with clown colors if you use the wrong one.) In extreme cases, an image is so dark that it cannot be salvaged. In this case, you may need to make a new screenshot to replace it instead.
- Images with interface elements can often be cleaned up with the Stamp tool, or by cropping the image so that these elements are cut off on the edges. In many cases, however, the image may need to be replaced. (For example, a screenshot in first person where half of the subject is blocked by the player's huge battleaxe...) Do what you can, or replace the image if it's too much trouble to fix.
- Images with inappropriate angles usually need to be replaced, but you might be able to minimize the effect just by darkening the tail so it doesn't show quite so prominently.
- Images with unclear focus can also avoid the need for replacement by darkening everything in the background except for the subject of the image. This may be a bit more work, but it can also be quicker than trying to get a replacement shot, so use your best judgment.
- Images that are too thin will have to be replaced. This is mostly a problem with NPC images. Square or near-square rectangular ones are preferred.
- Remember to remove the
{{CleanImage}}tag from the image page once you have uploaded the fixed version.
Project MembersEdit
If you are participating in the project, please add your name here in alphabetical order (keep Project Leaders at the top). Next to your name, provide some information on what types of tasks you are working on or would like to work on.
- TheRealLurlock — Project founder, organizer, and image-spewing robot.
- Chezburgar — Photographer (Skyrim=only close range, Oblivion=all images, Morrowind=all images), Image editor.
- Coronus — Photographer.
- Dreamshadow — Photographer (SR and DB) and Image Fixer/Editor (PS CS3)
- Dwarfmp — Photographer.
- Dyanle — ESO photographer, replacer, editor. Mainly NPCs and creatures.
- Eshe — Flagger, Potential Image Fixer, Potential Sporadic Photographer.
- GodRaine — Photographer, Resizer, flagger, and replacer (with higher quality / better lighting, etc)
- Hikarou411 — Flagger and Image Fixer.
- Ingura — ESO Photographer; reshots > image edits due to .jpg artifacts.
- Jak Atackka — Image renamer, with the help of Wabbajak.
- Jake-518 — Flagger.
- Jeancey — Photographer for Morrowind. Working mainly on NPCs at the moment.
- Legoless — Flagger, Image Fixer, Photographer.
- Psylocke — Seasoned photographer for Skyrim and its add-ons, image editor/fixer/enhancer (proficient with Adobe Photoshop CS6).
- Quill-Tail — Photographer (OB, SI, KotN, SR), Image Fixer/Editor.
- RosaNoctisMelos — Image renamer, license checker, flagger
- Salamangkero — Photographer, renamer, replacer (MW, BM, TR).
- SarthesArai — Photographer (SR+DLC, MW+DLC), Occasional Image Editor/Flagger.
- SkoomaManiac — Flagger.
- The Rim of the Sky — Photographer, flagger, renamer, and replacer
- Wordwyrm — Flagger, possible photographer
- Xuakeeus — Photographer, Image Fixer/Editor
