In Depth

This page describes Image Armada in quite some depth and has been split up into three sections to aid readability; What's It For?, Features and Edition Differences.

Image Armada is a virtual gallery that can be used for several purposes within that context. Some of the more common uses for Image Armada are:

• Displaying family photographs in a novel and unique environment before being packaged up with a free viewer to send to friends and relatives. Imagine hanging your photograph collection using the frames you want and the lighting environment you want, exactly where you want within a gallery. Then, sending that gallery to your family allowing them to walk around it and look at the photographs as if they were works of art!
   
• For artists to promote their artwork by setting it within a gallery framework for presentation to prospective customers or potential employers. Instead of having to carry around great swathes of real artwork to each potential employer you can simply take a CD with all of your artwork on it and present it to them in a realistic gallery format. The CD of course you can leave with them so that they have a lasting memory of you even after you have left, having presented your artwork in a novel and cutting-edge manner.
   
• For galleries to promote themselves by compiling work held within a "real" gallery into a "virtual" gallery within Image Armada for distribution to a customer base, or simply made available to the general public on the Internet. This can be used to increase the exposure of your gallery to the public and allow them to see what it is that your gallery is about and therefore increasing the chances of them making a personal visit. For those that cannot visit you in person, then the virtual gallery of Image Armada can be used as an extra sales channel to help maximize your gallery's revenue.

As you can see, Image Armada can be put to use in several areas and is not restricted to just one application. The almost complete absence of any competition makes it an easy choice for purchase if quality and flexibility are what you are after. With extremely competitive pricing options starting from just $25.00, it's an absolute steal to raise your profile on the art scene or simply impress your family and friends with such a radical way of viewing your favorite photographs or artwork.

Download the demonstration version now, completely free of charge, to have a taste of of what's on offer. Or, see the Features section for more specific information about what you can find within Image Armada.

 

Image Armada has a wealth of features to allow you to make your gallery customized as little or as much as you require. A lot of these features need not be used if you just want to dive in and produce a gallery quickly as sensible defaults are always provided. But if you're the type of person that likes to play and make your gallery your own, then there's no end of fun to be had in customizing it just the way you want it. With Image Armada you can:

• Select a gallery to hang your artwork in, choosing which rooms within the gallery are to be used and which objects or "furniture" you want to be present within each of the rooms.
   
• Hang your own photographs or artwork onto the walls of a gallery. The supported file formats for these images are BMP, JPG, PNG, TGA, MPG, AVI, WMV and ASF.
   
• Choose the frame type, frame texture and mount color for each piece of artwork individually.
   
• Add information about each piece of artwork that can be read by the viewer as they peruse the gallery.
   
• Add an Internet URL for each piece of artwork, that can browsed at the touch of a button by the viewer, to allow further information to be gained about the artwork concerned.
   
• Add an email address for each piece of artwork, that can also be used at the touch of a button by the viewer, to contact the artist / promoter of the artwork concerned.
   
• Watermark your artwork when viewing it up close so that you can prevent other people from copying it out of the software with screen-grabbing software. The watermark you use can be chosen or designed at your own discretion.
   
• Size each piece of artwork exactly to your specifications. All of the standard ISO sizes are supported if you want to get the scale represented exactly within a gallery. However, you can simply stretch each piece of artwork with the mouse if accurate sizing is not required.
   
• Record an audio narrative for your artwork that automatically plays back to the viewer as you approach the artwork. Recordings can be made with a microphone into Image Armada, or you can use pre-recorded audio in any of the WAV, MP3 or OGG file formats.
   
• Similarly, each piece of artwork may have an individual piece of music associated with it that plays as you approach the artwork. WAV, MP3 and OGG file formats are supported for this purpose.
   
• Details of the gallery can be displayed as you enter, in text form overlaid on top of the gallery itself, introducing the gallery to the viewer.
   
• Alternatively, at the entrance of each gallery is an easel or other similar surface that can be used to display a bitmap of your choice to introduce the gallery to the viewer. e.g. an exhibition poster.
   
• Record an audio narrative for the gallery to introduce it that automatically plays when you enter. Recordings can be made with a microphone into Image Armada, or you can use pre-recorded audio.
   
• Artwork within a gallery can be made to self-illuminate when you approach it, thereby allowing you to see it in it's full detail no-matter what the general lighting around the artwork may be like.
   
• The outdoor environment for the gallery can be customized, allowing you to choose time-of-day, the sky color and the effect of the Sun upon the camera.
   
• Background music can be played throughout the gallery as you peruse it's contents. The file formats supported for this are WAV, MP3 or OGG. You can also use an M3U play list so that many pieces of music can be played one after the other.
   
• Customize the wall paper and ceiling color to match your own tastes.
   
• Customize the lighting within the galleries to set your own tone and mood. You can either choose to simply adjust the lighting setup for each gallery in a fast and simple manner, or make your own lighting setup from scratch and get exactly the effect that you're after.
   
• Package up a gallery and it's contents ready for distribution to a third party, complete with viewer program.
   
• User hints can be displayed to the viewer when the gallery first starts up to help them use it and get the most out of it.
   
• Full on-line help is also present to help you if ever you need it.

Image Armada comes as two separate programs. The Builder program is there to help you create your gallery and is where all of the editing is done to achieve the look that you're after. The Viewer program is there to view your gallery unfettered with all the normal editing features, to just see your gallery as it is. This is also the program that you use when distributing your galleries to family / friends / customers so that they can walk around and view your galleries in full 3D.

Image Armada is currently packaged in two different formats, although both are essentially the same product. The Standard Edition is a basic product that allows you to do all of the common things that you might want to do to create your own galleries. The Professional Edition contains many additional features to fully customize your gallery to exactly the way that you want it and also allows you to display more artwork within a single gallery. See Why Go Pro? for details of what you can find in the Professional Edition. You can assume that any feature not detailed there is automatically included in both the Standard and Professional Editions.