Finding a stock image.

[DarkDays]

This is a standalone side post for rule 4 of this section. Please follow this guide if you have difficulty finding a stock to present.

A stock, in our context, is essentially an image or picture. It will often refer to the main subject, usually a person/anime character. It probably comes from "stock photography", which are photographs that can be licensed or obtained freely to be used in a book, magazine, or any other media.

The following guide will be primary focused on the theme of this forum, which, believe it or not, is anime.

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If you find it difficult to obtain a good quality anime stock, try one of the following sites:

Anime Stocks (stick to high quality scans)
Anime Project Alliance Gallery
Anime Galleries dot Net (avoid screenshots)
Anime Zen Image Gallery
Aethereality Gallery
Animeartbooks.net
Anime Picture Galleries

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If you have an account, Minitokyo allows you to download any five (mostly high quality) images/scans/wallpapers off of their website per day. Preferably, stick to the SCAN section.

Minitokyo

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If you have an account (and papers), AnimePaper offers high quality scan/wallpaper downloads. Although if u do, you probably will not be reading this guide for help.

Anime Paper

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Alternatively, you can use the Extra* Large Image filter in Google Image Search to find a decent stock.

Google Image Search
*Guess what, Google Image Search now has EXTRA Large Image filter. It might be more reliable than you think.

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Fanarts are typically frowned because it is not an official art by the creators but a fan made material which, technically, needs credit. (Yes the official art also needs credit but.. you know). Try to avoid sites like deviantArt where fanarts are abundant.

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VVV KEEP READING VVV

Always try and follow the quality guide below.

The following image examples are NOT preferred:



This is because:

• They are small.
  • Images with resolutions less than 250 by 250 pixels will tend to be in lower quality, or hard to use. Although this is always not the case, try to find an image that is somewhat higher in resolutions.
• They are low in quality.
  • Many scans and wallpapers nowadays are in much higher quality. To help determine whether a stock is low quality or not is to see if the image is grainy, sandy, foggy, or seem to have small boxes of colour floating around.
• They are screenshots.
  • Screenshots, especially of older anime, tend to be low in both resolution and quality. Modern screenshots of anime, especially of ones in HD, will generate a decent stock but you would generally want to avoide screenshots altogether.
• They are cut off on the edge (bleeding).
  • When a character or the subject's body/part is cut off by the limitation of the image, it will be difficult to use as a stock. Try to look for stocks containing the entire, or at least the shoulders, of a character.

The following image examples are MUCH preferred.

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This is because:

• They are large.
  • Images like magazine scans will have great quality and size. Try and find an image where the resolution fits at least half of your screen.
• They are in high quality.
  • There are no grainy dots or foggy smudges. These are crisp, sharp and vivid images which are ideal to use for a request.
• They have good visibility.
  • Most of the character's upper body is clearly visible. They are not cut off by the neck or hair. There are plenty of space surrounding the character and is ideal to be used for a request.

That was a very serious business, internet.