I suddenly realized...

[Thanatos]

... that in some online sites, they were many cels/sketches for sale of the same episode/ending. However, some of those I am looking for are not listed, while they might be in the past. And while I was searching through galleries on RS, I saw that all the cels/sketches I could find for one serie, even adding the material of other sites, were really few compared to the amount made for the serie's production. And at the same time, I realized that I dislike that. Even if I don't own this cel of a show, I like to know where it is, like a proof of its existence. This phenomenon reminds me a litle of private arts collection, that no one excluding the owner and the chosen people can see.
At the beginning, I tought I will not display the artwork I am owning on net. In other words, becoming a blackhole collector (I find that "shadow's collecor" is a better name ). But seeing the things with an other regard, and regarding what I wrote before, I have decided that I will try to display the nicest scans possible .

And you, what do you think about that ? And what are the reasons that made you desired to own a gallery ?

P.S: I'm sure that the question has still been set, but I think it can be asked again, for the reasons you have may change .

[Keropi]

I don't recall this question being asked for quite awhile.

I made my first cel gallery (the Tripod gallery) because I wanted to show other collectors what I had. I was a happy newbie back then. There were only around 110 English cel galleries that I could find and everyone I knew of seemed to be posting their photos up. The hobby was friendlier back then and posting them up also seemed like a good way to get a conversation going about what other collectors might have enjoyed about the anime. It felt good to share.

[cutiebunny]

I don't remember why I started an online gallery back in 2005. I remember stumbling onto RS one day by looking up some vague term like 'sailor moon cels for sale' and then lurking around AB until I joined it a couple months later. I think I was just happy to see that there were others out there that liked the same things I did, and didn't have too many qualms about dropping several hundred dollars on a piece of plastic. The excitement of being with others faded fast on me, though, due to the drama that several SM collectors created.

So, why do I have an online gallery today? Probably because I've had one since 2005, so I can't imagine not having one. But also, and perhaps most importantly, is that I enjoy looking at it 24/7. With an online gallery, I can easily look at my gallery from anywhere in the world with a decent internet connection. I can go to my site at work and view everything that I've scanned or remembered to save. And, I like that. It's comforting to know that it's there at the tip of my fingertips and although I can't physically be with my collection, I can still see it.

As for the second portion of your question, I am very much a black hole collector. I have almost 70 pages on RS chock-full of stuff I haven't updated with, with several items dating back to 2006 & 2007. And, that's just the stuff that I've scanned or auction images I've saved. I have about 400+ backgrounds that are screaming at me to be scanned, and the only thing that's making me do it is that I mentioned earlier that I'd update with Kobato artwork during the month into which the artwork fell...and since episode 1 begins in April, well...I have my work cut out for me.

I guess a good question would be why I haven't updated with the 5+ year items, even though they've been (mostly) scanned and edited. For me, it boils down to three factors : 1) If I show artwork from a particular episode I collect, others may be drawn to it either to collect or to drive up my price and 2) I just haven't found an occasion to update with a particular item and 3) I haven't properly edited/screencapped/animated the item. I'm working on the last part and contracting out some work, but, I still have to get off my lazy rump and scan the stuff first

[Promethium]

I used to be a blackhole collector back in the day as well, way before I discovered RS, but I decided to open a gallery because I wanted to be able to look at my collection without exposing my cels to light and sudden temperature/moisture change. The less I play around with my collection the longer the cels will last. I am a firm believer of preservation.

I enjoy looking at other ppl's collection (especially Leiji Matsumoto focused collections) and appreciate ppl sharing their collection, so if other people want to visit my gallery for similar reasons they are totally welcome to, but I opened my gallery for me.

Plus there's only so much collecting you can do as a blackhole collector. Some of my nicest pieces were sold to me by other collectors through RS.

[JWR]

Well in my case I set up and maintain our online gallery for two different reasons.
1st off is it is nice to be able to share what we own with people that can enjoy seeing them. Being online makes it easier to share and keeps from having the wear and tear of transporting books full of cels & sketches.

The second reason is that I use my gallery for insurance purposes to show what I own, when I purchased it and for how much.

[Gonzai]

Anymore, my online gallery is for insurance purposes only. It has pictures, information
on the sets, where I got them from and how much I paid. In case anything ever happened,
I have all the information at my fingertips. My insurance guy likes it as well.

[darksuzaku]

Seems to me that we are talking about 2 different kind of "blackhole collectors" here:

Type 1: People that never had an online gallery (for any reasons) or that don't have time to update their galleries, or that are lazy to do it. (add here more similar reasons)

Type 2: People that used to have an online gallery but one day they decide (because of different reasons than what you could consider on Type 1) to remove it, hide it or whatever you call it.

I personally only considered to be "blackhole collectors" the second kind, i mean, those who pourpousely remove their galleries and don't want their cels to be displayed for everybody to watch anymore. But well, seeing the above comments i agree that people may want apply the term to many more kind of collectors out there.

I am a "blackhole collector" myself, from type 2 no less. I wrote about this several times on this board in the past so i don't feel like going again into details of the reason i chose to be this way. Lets just say that now my life as cel collector is "easier" than before. Of course that means sacrificing certain things like interacting with other collectors but oh well.....

But, that doesn't mean i don't have a gallery. I do have one on rubberslug but the cels on public display are very few (basically the ones i'm, willing to part with if anyone makes offers), but the rest is for my eyes only. Like other people here i always enjoy taking a look at my own gallery 24/7, seeing the cels all together , as having to go physically browsing cel books is not really very practical. Again, like others have mentioned, the gallery also has insurance pourpouses.

With that said, i have almost always given the password of the gallery to whoever asked for it. I don't mind people taking a quick look at my collection. I just change the password after a few days. At the beggining i had to give the password to quite a lot of people, but after a few years of hiding the gallery, the number of people that remembered what my gallery looked like decreased to the point that now it has been several years without having to change the password

[ToriPagac]

i made a gallery to make friends to be honest and to look at my stuff i cant get my cel books myself

[sensei]

Interesting: I think I've always had a desire to share my collection with others. Some of that is my background as an academic: when I did research, it was always with the short-to-medium-term goal of aharing what I'd learned with an interested audience. And so as I learned more about a particular series or about animation as a process, I found myself at once thinking about how I could present a new item in my gallery in a way that would pass on this knowledge.

In that regard, I probably put myself in the same category as Dr. Albert C. Barnes, the famous impressionist art collector who arranged his holdings in the form of a personalized statement on the value of modern art. (But he was notoriously very particular about whom he let into his private museum, which reminds me of darksuzaku's preference for using a password to limit access.)

That is, I see a collection as a means to a larger end, and not exclusively as a personal pleasure. A joy shared is a joy doubled, I find. And I suppose I'm lucky in not making a large number of enemies in my acquisitions. Perhaps my modest income means that I steer away from high-context auction duels and instead look for eyeworthy pieces that are going unnoticed or undervalued.

And, yes, an online gallery is a good way to organize and access items without risking damaging the physical objects themselves. I've been working for some months now to compile as good a catalog of where my cels and sketches are literally located as I have online on Rubberslug. It's a daunting task, and even with the petty limitations of RS as a website, it still is an invaluable resource for viewing and understanding recent Japanese animation. I'm fortunate to have encountered it as quickly as I did and used it little by little as my collection grew. I'd simply be swamped by the task if I had to do it from scratch.

[Captain Haddock]

I like sharing my gallery and getting feedback, but I have to admit mine is fairly low maintenence. Most of the series I collect don't have too many followers so I don't have the hassle of alot of collectors of more mainstream material. That said my Akira collection, limited though it is, gets more notice then anything and I do get alot of 'are you going to sell' requests. I don't mind that, but if you have a gallery that is all top of the range stuff and everytones asking you to sell all the time and getting arsey, trying to blag you (I'm thinking of Rick at Anime Link here, he did used to have a personal gallery that must have been fantastic) it'll just wear you down to the point where you think 'Is it worth having a gallery?'.

As Sensei said though it is a means to an end for me, I like to share and see others and it helps me with collecting (there are a couple of pieces that I wouldn't have without it). In short I guess I'm saying I only see them as a good thing, but I get why some folkes with high end collections go black hole.

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

That said my Akira collection, limited though it is, gets more notice then anything and I do get alot of 'are you going to sell' requests. I don't mind that......

Sadly, one of the reasons I took mine down was because "will you sell" inquiries irritate me. Mind you, not so much the fact that someone wants to ask, but the WAY they always seem to ask, as if my gallery is a shopping site. This is a lot of the reason I hate seeing all the "taking offers on my gallery" postings that have become so common, because it only encourages people to continue to think of personal galleries as shopping sites.

The other reason my gallery is gone is because of potentially having my scans stolen. Cel sites are much more common than they used to be and non-cel collectors consider them fodder for padding image sites. I don't want scans of my cels all over random image sites and I *especially* don't want scans of my sketches being handed around, since (unlike cels) the sketches are something that can't be seen in the anime itself and are more unique, IMO. This is why, when I buy from another collector who has a "graveyard" section in their gallery, I ask them to remove the scans of what I bought.

I miss sharing my cels with people. I loved to write and tell all about my cels, as people who do remember my gallery before I took it down can probably attest. (LOL) Sharing my cels invited talking about cels and talking about anime and was something I always found very engaging. There are no people in my direct circle of friends/family that are interested in them. I do have a very small site up now which hasn't been updated in a long time and probably few people have ever seen it.... and, admittedly, a larger passworded gallery that no one currently has access to other than me.

I wish I could see the cels/sketches of the people who hide them all the time too. Not only would I love to just take in the beauty, but sometimes seeing the cels for a show has made me curious to watch it and has been a way I've found favorite shows of my own in the past. Also it's interesting to see what someone likes to collect and what they consider pretty or interesting, especially when it's different from what I collect. For example, I try to have NO hair cut off at the top/sides in my cels, but some people love the ULTRA up close images that show the facial expressions in greater detail, etc....

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac