MarioWiki:Galleries

Galleries are special pages given to subjects that are featured in enough images to warrant a dedicated, structured viewing area. If all the images can be included in the subject's main page without creating an excessively long gallery section, a separate page is unnecessary. This policy page outlines standards that must be followed when creating a gallery page.

Types of galleries

 * Game galleries: Includes images pertaining to a game with an article on the wiki. Examples include: Gallery:New Super Mario Bros. U, Gallery:Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and Gallery:Super Mario 64.
 * Subject galleries: Includes images and artwork relating to a notable character, species, form or object. Examples include: Gallery:Mario, Gallery:Goomba, Gallery:Fire Mario, and Gallery:Fire Flower.
 * Miscellaneous galleries: Subjects that have enough images and notability for a gallery, and do not fall under games, characters, species, forms or objects. Examples include: Gallery:Wii U, Gallery:Year of Luigi, and Gallery:Rosalina's Storybook.
 * Mario Merchandise: Galleries that contain images of collectibles such as accessories, toys, and other miscellaneous merchandise.

Sections
A section is used to divide images by type within a gallery to prevent having an unorganized wall of pictures. In general, images are classified under logos, artwork, sprites and models, screenshots, and box art. The accepted order for these sections is as follows:

Artwork Sprites and models Screenshots
 * For subject galleries
 * Video games
 * Animation

Scans

A selection of official artwork that features the subject should be included in the gallery under an "Artwork" section. Artwork that does not relate to any specific Mario game (e.g. artwork used at Nintendo-related events) should also be included under a "Miscellaneous" subsection.

"Sprites and models" encompasses all sprites, pre-rendered sprites and 3D models taken directly from a game. For subject galleries, only sprites and models that directly feature the subject should be included, and only a few examples from each game should be provided.

A "Screenshots" section includes an assortment of images taken directly from a video game or official animation (such as television shows, anime and advertisements) that feature the subject. Scans from printed media (such as comic books, game manuals and other publications) should be listed under a "Scans" section. Not every screenshot and scan needs to be featured in the gallery, but one or two examples from each of the subject's appearances (in video games, animation and printed media) should be included for diversity.

Logos Artwork Sprites and models Screenshots Scans Box art Miscellaneous
 * For game galleries

By this standard, "Box art" and "Logos" are classified as separate sections. "Box art and logos" is no longer used unless there is only one logo available, in which case they should be merged for neatness.

For game galleries, all artwork pertaining to the game must be included (and sorted under appropriate subsections), unless the artwork has been recycled from a previous game. All sprites and models should be included in a game gallery, as well as all screenshots and scans from game manuals and guides.

A little bit of lenience can be given to a "Miscellaneous" section, provided there are images which need a dedicated section that isn't already covered by sections that are present. For instance, The New Super Mario Bros. 2 gallery has sections for official wallpapers and Facebook covers, as well as Swapnote stationery. These can both be placed as subsections under a "Miscellaneous" heading.

Any appropriate section title can be given to a miscellaneous gallery or a merchandise gallery, as these galleries cover subjects that require specific headings for their organization.
 * For miscellaneous galleries and merchandise galleries

Subsections
Some sections may be given subsections when appropriate, often when there are enough images that can be grouped under a common heading. Common examples of subsection titles for galleries include "Group artwork", "Items" and "Bosses". Any appropriate title can be given to a subsection provided that it accurately describes the images that it encompasses. Subsections do not require precise organization. However, any miscellaneous subsections must be placed at the bottom.

Splitting galleries
Sometimes, galleries may grow large enough to begin negatively affecting computer performance and loading times. This is normally seen in galleries showing characters that have appeared in a substantial amount of games and other media, where images are continuously added to the gallery over time. The size of a gallery is generally a concern once it exceeds 60,000 bytes (this information may be seen under the "Page information" link in the sidebar), although it may be less depending on collective user discretion. When a gallery grows too large, it may be split into multiple galleries.

For example; due to its large size, Gallery:Mario has been split into three separate galleries which are distinguished by the type of content. The general recommendation is "Artwork and scans", "Screenshots" (including those from cartoon animation, television, live-action film) and "Sprites and models". The main "Gallery:Mario" page should then provide links to these separate galleries, with a small sample (about three images) of their respective content. Additionally, each separate gallery should link to the others from the opening paragraph. For instance, Gallery:Mario sprites and models would read this:

Finally, for simplicity the entry on Template:Galleries should only link to the main "Gallery:Mario" page.

Proper formatting
In addition to the order the sections are displayed, some minor formatting standards should also be adhered to:
 * A brief opening sentence describing the gallery must be placed at the top of the article before the gallery itself. It must comply with the standards given on MarioWiki:Subpages.
 * Section titles (such as "Artwork") must use heading 2 (==), sub-sections (such as "Group artwork") use heading 3 (===).
 * Here is how to format a gallery: