Artwork: Difference between revisions

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{{Artwork_Contents}}
{{Artwork_Contents}}
{{mininav|[[Music_library|Music Library]] {{l2|[[Video_library|Video Library]]}} |[[HOW-TO:Create_Music_Library|Create Music Library]] {{l2|[[HOW-TO:Create_Video_Library|Create Video Library]]}}}}
{{mininav|[[Music_library|Music Library]] {{l2|[[Video_library|Video Library]]}} }}


<section begin="intro" />The use of artwork takes pride of place in Kodi. The artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi  will allow you to display Movie Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Kodi slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.<section end="intro" />
<section begin="intro" />The use of artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi  will allow you to display Movie Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Kodi slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.<section end="intro" />


As the topic covering artwork is comprehensive, it has been broken down into smaller and more manageable pages for ease of reading. Choose the subject that interests you to obtain further information. Information common to all categories is located on this page. Specific category details are located on linked pages.
'''{{red|The {{kodi}} scrapers automatically download artwork with little input required by the user. These pages are for those users that want greater control over their artwork by saving artwork locally or creating their own.}}'''
 
As the topic covering artwork is comprehensive, it has been broken down into smaller and more manageable pages for ease of reading. Make use of the Table of Contents and the NavBox located at the top right of the page. Information common to all categories is located on this page and the Artwork Type page.  


'''Be aware that artwork is skin dependent. Not all artwork types are used in all skins.'''
'''Be aware that artwork is skin dependent. Not all artwork types are used in all skins.'''


= Flexible artwork types =


<gallery mode="packed" widths=350px heights=200px>
File:Artwork-PosterView01.jpg
File:Artwork-FanartView01.jpg
File:Artwork-Banner01.jpg
File:Artwork-PosterView02.jpg
File:Artwork-MusicArtist01.jpg
File:Artwork-ClearLogo02.jpg
</gallery>


{{Kodi}}'s support for artwork types to represent media items is very flexible: Any number of artwork can be added to a media item with free-form names that have only a few rules.
= Obtaining Artwork =
* Naming rules: artwork names must be
Movie, TV Show and Music artwork can be obtained using a variety of methods. The most common method is via the various Kodi scrapers (also known as ''information providers'').
** only alphanumeric characters
** lowercase letters
** keep them short - 20 characters is a bit long, though not forbidden
* Named by convention so that skins and JSON-RPC consumers can find and use them reliably
* Some common types of artwork are "fanart", "clearlogo", "landscape", "banner", and "poster"
 
To view all art types that are already assigned in your Kodi library for any particular media type, use Kodi's built-in [[Artwork#Kodi- Choose Art| Choose Art]] dialog on nearly any item in the library (movie, TV show, episode, so on), and the list of artwork types shown on this window are assigned to at least one media item of the same type.


== Artwork whitelist ==
Starting with Kodi 18, there is a whitelist configuration for artwork types to be added automatically. This whitelist applies to all artwork added automatically by Kodi, either when scanning in local files or scraping from online sources. This allows you to share one media file library with a full artwork selection and configure individual Kodi clients separately based on processing power, skin selection, or client-local storage space (the local artwork cache takes up the most space of all Kodi running data). It is currently configured with advancedsettings.xml '''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Extra artwork| for the video library]]''' and  '''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Extra artwork 2| for the music library]]'''.
= Obtaining Artwork =
Movie, TV Show and Music artwork can be obtained using a variety of methods. The most common method is via the Kodi scraper.


== Scrapers ==
== Scrapers ==
A scraper is a Kodi core function which, in combination with the relevant metadata API add-on, will preform an automatic online search for movie, tv show and music information and then retrieve all relevant metadata and artwork and import the data into the Kodi Library and the artwork into the [[Artwork#Cache|cache]]. The default sources for information are:  
The defautl sources for information and artwork that are used by the default scrapers are:  


Movies- [https://www.themoviedb.org/ The MovieDB]<br />
Movies- [https://fanart.tv/ Fanart.tv] and [https://www.themoviedb.org/ The MovieDB]<br />
TV Shows- [http://thetvdb.com/ The TVDB]<br />
TV Shows- [https://fanart.tv/ Fanart.tv] and [https://www.themoviedb.org/ The MovieDB]<br />
Music- [http://www.theaudiodb.com/ The AudioDB]<br />
Music- [https://fanart.tv/ Fanart.tv] and [http://www.theaudiodb.com/ The AudioDB]<br />
<br />
There are many other scraper information sources, but most are specialist listings for foreign language movies or Disney movies, for example.


The Video scraping process is reliant on your local directory and file names being named in accordance with the title listed at the scraper site. To ensure correct naming, simply visit the website, search for your title, and copy the title from the site and paste into your directory/filename.  
Artwork from these sites can also be downloaded manually by visiting and searching the sites and saving the artwork locally as described on the linked pages.


The Music scraping process is reliant on correct file naming and music tags.


Kodi will then match the video or music and download all relevant metadata and artwork. It is important to note that if you already have correctly named artwork in the video and music folder, then Kodi will scrape the local artwork and ignore the online source. Metadata will still be downloaded though.
If you subsequently locate artwork that is preferable, it is possible to replace the Kodi selected artwork. Refer to [[Artwork#Kodi-_Choose_Art|paragraph 2.1]] below.
; {{see also|Naming_video_files}}
; {{see also|Add-on:The_Movie_Database}}
; {{see also|Add-on:The_TVDB}}
; {{see also|Add-on:Universal_Album_Scraper}}
; {{see also|Add-on:Universal_Artist_Scraper}}


== Media Managers ==
== Media Managers ==
Line 65: Line 34:
It is always best to use Kodi for the normal mainstream scrapes and the Media Managers for the non-listed movie, tv show and music scrapes.
It is always best to use Kodi for the normal mainstream scrapes and the Media Managers for the non-listed movie, tv show and music scrapes.
; {{see also|NFO_files}}
; {{see also|NFO_files}}


== Web Search ==
== Web Search ==
Line 70: Line 40:


Once downloaded, they must be named and saved correctly for the artwork to be visible to Kodi.
Once downloaded, they must be named and saved correctly for the artwork to be visible to Kodi.


== Create Your Own ==
== Create Your Own ==
{{main|Artwork/Types}}
So you are not happy with the artwork the scraper downloaded? And you just can't find that perfect artwork by manually searching the internet. Then, you will just have to create your own. For those who are artistically minded and can easily navigate around image editing software, then you should be able to easily create your very own user-defined artwork on your computer.  Only your imagination is the limit, but be mindful that the artwork needs to remain true to the movie or tv show it represents.  
So you are not happy with the artwork the scraper downloaded? And you just can't find that perfect artwork by manually searching the internet. Then, you will just have to create your own. For those who are artistically minded and can easily navigate around image editing software, then you should be able to easily create your very own user-defined artwork on your computer.  Only your imagination is the limit, but be mindful that the artwork needs to remain true to the movie or tv show it represents.  


Line 78: Line 50:
:;''see : [https://fanart.tv/movie-fanart/<nowiki>Fanart.tv- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
:;''see : [https://fanart.tv/movie-fanart/<nowiki>Fanart.tv- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
*The MovieDB- The go to movie scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork that are created and uploaded to the site by people just like you. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
*The MovieDB- The go to movie scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork that are created and uploaded to the site by people just like you. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
:; ''see : [https://www.themoviedb.org/documentation/editing/images<nowiki>themoviedb- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
:; ''see : [https://www.themoviedb.org/bible/image/59f7583e9251416e7100006e#59f758409251416e7100006f themoviedb- Image Creation Guide]''
*The TVDB- The go to TV Show scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork devoted to TV Shows. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
*The TVDB- The go to TV Show scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork devoted to TV Shows. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
:; ''see : [http://www.thetvdb.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Images<nowiki>theTVDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
:; ''see : [http://www.thetvdb.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Images<nowiki>theTVDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
Line 86: Line 58:
:; ''see : [http://theaudiodb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1<nowiki>TheAudioDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
:; ''see : [http://theaudiodb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1<nowiki>TheAudioDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''


= Importing-Scanning Artwork =
= What Artwork is Used Automatically =
{{anchor|Importing-Scraping Artwork}}


This section does not apply to the Kodi scraper or any other add-on scraping process. It only applies to artwork you have manually sourced and saved.
== Local Art Comes First ==
'''Local artwork takes priority, so on update of both music and video libraries {{kodi}} will always use local artwork when it can find some. Only when there is no local artwork found, does {{kodi}} use the artwork that the scrapers can fetch from online sources.'''


'''When performing an Update Library or Scrape, Kodi will always use Local Artwork first if it exists. If there is no local artwork, Kodi will obtain the artwork from online sources.'''
'''It is important to note that once remote artwork for a movie, tv show, artist or album has been successfully scraped into the library (because there was no local art found when the scraper was run), Kodi will not look for local art to replace it on subsequent library updates.'''  


'''It is important to note that once a movie, tv show, artist or album has been scraped into the library, Kodi will ignore them on subsequent scans.''' If you have made changes to either artwork and/or metadata (in the form of a nfo file), you must instruct Kodi to update using one of the following methods...
If you have made changes to either local artwork and/or metadata (in the form of a nfo file), you must instruct Kodi to update using one of the following methods...
#If the Library has not yet been created, or the source has not yet been added
#If the Library has not yet been created, or the source has not yet been added
#*Ensure your artwork is named and saved correctly. Add the [[Media sources]] to Kodi and allow to update. Artwork will be cached
#*Ensure your artwork is named and saved correctly. Add the [[Media sources]] to Kodi and allow to update. Artwork will be cached
Line 102: Line 74:
#I added new artwork for Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist already in the library
#I added new artwork for Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist already in the library
#*For videos follow instructions for ''Kodi- Choose Art'' below
#*For videos follow instructions for ''Kodi- Choose Art'' below
#*For music follow instructions in [[Music_artwork]]
#*For music follow instructions in ''Kodi- Choose Art'' below
#I added new artwork for a lot of Movies/TV Shows/Music already in the library
#I added new artwork for a lot of Movies/TV Shows/Music already in the library
#*Update each Movie/TV Show/Music manually using instructions in the previous option, or
#*Update each Movie/TV Show/Music manually using instructions in the previous option, or
#*Remove the Source and clean library. Re-add the source and allow the Update Library
#*Remove the Source and clean library. Re-add the source and allow the Update Library
:'''''See also: [[Updating_or_removing_videos|Update Video Library]]'''''
:'''''See also: [[Updating_or_removing_videos|Update Video Library]]'''''
:'''''See also: [[Update_Music_Library#Scan_Library|Update Music Library]]'''''


== "Available" artwork ==


Scrapers and NFO files can include multiple images for a single type of artwork. The first image will be assigned to the media item for skins and other interfaces to access for display, and the full list will be saved for the "Choose art" dialog, where you can select a new image for any art type.
== Available Artwork Found By Scrapers ==
Scraper results (and NFO files) can include multiple potential images for each single type of artwork. When a type of art has not been found locally then during scraping the first image will be automatically assigned to the media item so skins and other interfaces can access it for display. The full list from the scraper results will be saved for the "Choose art" dialog (even if using local artwork), where you can select a new image for any art type from those available online and of course local files.  


== Kodi- Choose Art ==
'''Note:''' If you use a Media Manager to download local artwork and create [[NFO files]], the full list may not be available to use in "Choose art" as most, if not all, Media Managers strip out the additional artwork links.
 
 
 
= Choosing Art You Want =
From within Kodi, you have the ability to manually change the artwork at any time by following these directions.  
From within Kodi, you have the ability to manually change the artwork at any time by following these directions.  
'''Note: '''The following is based on the Video Library. Music Library follows the same process, but the screenshots will be slightly different for Choose Art- Artists and Choose Art- Albums


#Highlight the media item whose artwork you want to change.  
#Highlight the media item whose artwork you want to change.  
#Call up the ''Information'' page, (Image 1)
#Call up the ''Information'' dialog, (Image 1)
#* For seasons and movie sets the "Choose Art" option is in the [[Context menu]].
#* For seasons and movie sets the "Choose Art" option is in the [[Context menu]].
#Select ''Choose Art''. (Image 1)
#Select ''Choose Art''. (Image 1)
#From within this page, you will be given the option to select which type of artwork you would like to change. (Image 2)
#From within this page, you will be given the option to select which type of artwork you would like to change. (Image 2)
#* This dialog is filled with artwork already assigned to similar media items in the library. If your type of artwork is not listed, then use the '''Add art''' button. An onscreen keyboard will be displayed. Enter the new type of artwork and select '''Ok'''.
#* If the type of artwork you would like to change is not listed, use the '''Add art type''' button to add it. An onscreen keyboard will be displayed. Enter the new type of artwork and select '''Ok'''.
#* Examples of artwork type are those listed in the following pages- eg clearlogo, clearart, banner etc...
#* Examples of artwork type are those listed in the following pages- eg clearlogo, clearart, banner etc...
#Once selected, you will then be provided with a list of available artwork at the scraper site, or you can navigate to a local or network location. (Image 3)
#Once selected, you will then be provided with a list of available artwork at the scraper site, or you can navigate to a local or network location. (Image 3)
Line 127: Line 106:


<gallery widths=350px heights=200px>
<gallery widths=350px heights=200px>
File:Artwork-ChooseArt03.jpg|Image 1- Choose Art on the Information Page
File:Artwork-ChooseArt03.jpg|Image 1- Choose Art on the Information dialog
File:Artwork-ChooseArt01.jpg|Image 2- Select which type of artwork to change
File:Artwork-ChooseArt01.jpg|Image 2- Select which type of artwork to change
File:Artwork-ChooseArt02.jpg|Image 3- List of available remote artworks from the scraper site, as well as the ability to ''Browse'' local and network sources
File:Artwork-ChooseArt02.jpg|Image 3- List of available remote artworks from the scraped sites, as well as the ability to ''Browse'' local and network sources
File:Artwork-ChooseArt04.jpg|Image 4- Using the Refresh Method
File:Artwork-ChooseArt04.jpg|Image 4- Using the Refresh Method
</gallery>
</gallery>
An alternative method:
An alternative method for Music and Video library:
#Choose ''Refresh'' as seen in Image 1.
#Choose ''Refresh'' as seen in Image 1.
#You will then be asked ''Locally stored information found. Ignore and refresh from Internet?'' (Image 4)
#You will then be asked ''Locally stored information found. Ignore and refresh from Internet?'' (Image 4)
#*To scrape local artwork and metadata - Select '''No''' note- If you have no local nfo file, Kodi will scrape metadata from the online scraper site
#*To scrape local metadata - Select '''No'''  
#*To scrape online artwork and metadata - Select '''Yes'''
#**If no local nfo file is available, Kodi will scrape metadata from the online scraper site
 
#**Local artwork still has priority. If no local artwork is found, {{Kodi}} will search the NFO file for valid links to artwork and download artwork if links are valid
= Artwork details for media sections =
#*To scrape online metadata (and ignore nfo file, if any) - Select '''Yes'''
 
#**Local artwork still has priority. If no local artwork is found, the scraper results are used to fetch artwork
<gallery mode="packed" widths=350px heights=200px>
File:Skin.rapier fullscreen music.jpg
File:Artwork-MusicBanner01.jpg
File:Artwork-FanartView02.jpg
File:Rapier new tvshows.jpg
File:Artwork-Animated01.gif
File:Artwork-musiclandscape-EstuaryATF.jpg
</gallery>


== Movie Artwork ==
{{#lst:Movie_artwork|intro}}
{{see|Movie artwork}}


== TV Show Artwork ==
{{#lst:TV-Show_artwork|intro}}
{{see|TV-Show artwork}}
== Music Artwork ==
{{#lst:Music_artwork|intro}}
{{see|Music artwork}}
== Music Videos Artwork ==
{{#lst:Music_Video_artwork|intro}}
{{see|Music Video artwork}}
== Live TV Artwork ==
{{#lst:Live_TV_Artwork|intro}}
{{see|Live TV Artwork}}
== Pictures Artwork ==
There is no user definable artwork for the Pictures section of Kodi.<br />
:'''''See: [[Pictures]]
All images added to Pictures are cached as follows:
#Embedded EXIF previews are scanned and cached. If none available then
#Preview images are created and cached
:'''''See: [[Artwork#Cache|Artwork Cache]]'''''<br />
To add an image to the folder icon:
:'''''See: [[Movie_artwork#Source_Folder_Artwork|Folder Image]]'''''


= Add-ons to display artwork =
= Add-ons to display artwork =
The following add-ons allow you to display your movie, TV show and music artwork.
The following add-ons allow you to display your movie, TV show and music artwork.


=== Screensavers ===


== Screensavers ==
Want to do more with all that wonderful fanart? Install this Kodi screensaver. Just like a screensaver on computers from yesteryear, the Kodi screensaver will produce a slideshow of your Movie and TV Show fanart, or set it to display your Music Fanart. Don't like either of those? Then setup a directory with your own pictures and it can produce a screensaver from your selection of photos.
Want to do more with all that wonderful fanart? Install this Kodi screensaver. Just like a screensaver on computers from yesteryear, the Kodi screensaver will produce a slideshow of your Movie and TV Show fanart, or set it to display your Music Fanart. Don't like either of those? Then setup a directory with your own pictures and it can produce a screensaver from your selection of photos.
; {{see also|Add-on:Picture_Slideshow_Screensaver}}
; {{see also|Add-on:Picture Slideshow Screensaver}}
 
 


= Managing Artwork =
= Managing Artwork =
There are a number of ways to maintain and improve Kodi's handling of the artwork.  
There are a number of ways to maintain and improve Kodi's handling of the artwork.  


== Cache ==
== Cache ==
{{#lst:Artwork/Cache|intro}}
{{#lst:Artwork/Cache|intro}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}


== Recovering Disk Space ==
== Recovering Disk Space ==
After years of use, it is expected that your system will gather some clutter- that being either orphaned artwork files or corrupted artwork which will not display.  
After years of use, it is expected that your system will gather some clutter- that being either orphaned artwork files or corrupted artwork which will not display.  
; {{see also|HOW-TO:Reduce_disk_space_usage}}
; {{see also|HOW-TO:Reduce disk space usage}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}


=== Texture Cache Maintenance ===
=== Texture Cache Maintenance ===
{{#lst:Texture_Cache_Maintenance_utility|intro}}
{{#lst:Texture_Cache_Maintenance_utility|intro}}
; {{see also|Texture_Cache_Maintenance_utility}}
; {{see also|Texture Cache Maintenance utility}}
 


== Import/Export ==
== Import/Export ==
{{#lst:import-export_library|intro}}
 
Kodi has the facility to export and import the library databases and in particular the artwork. The resolution of the artwork when exported is that used internally by Kodi, and may be lower than the original artwork. Export is the way to capture art that has been downloaded from a remote site as a local file.
; {{see also|Import-export library}}
; {{see also|Import-export library}}
= Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC =
{{#lst:Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC|intro}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC}}


= Troubleshooting =
= Troubleshooting =
Line 216: Line 170:
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}


= Animated artwork - experimental =
Kodi has basic support for displaying animated artwork, and two artwork types have a decent collection of animated options: posters and fanart for movies. The most comprehensive support for animated artwork is Skin Helper Service, which has taken to naming these as "animatedposter" and "animatedfanart".


New animated movie posters (and textless posters / keyart which could be named "animatedkeyart") are often posted to [https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=215727 this forum thread].


== Limitations of animated artwork ==
= See Also =
*[[HOW-TO:Create Music Library]]<br>
*[[HOW-TO:Create Video Library]]<br><br>
*[[Add-on:The Movie Database]]<br>
*[[Add-on:Universal Album Scraper]]<br>
*[[Add-on:Universal Artist Scraper]]


Kodi's support for displaying animated artwork is basic, and does have some limitations.


Number one is a hard limit on the number of pixels in a single animated artwork. The size of animated artwork is limited to roughly 12 frames of 1920x1080. This limit is defined as fully decoded pixels. The trend for animated posters is for smaller images with more frames (a recent "animatedposter" is 500x713 with 60 frames). Kodi will discard any remaining frames after it has reached this limit, which will probably hitch unpleasantly, so obeying this limit is important.
* Technically this limit is 11 frames but Kodi will decode full frames until it has decoded MORE than this, so the calculation is
** 1920 × 1080 = 2,073,600 * 11 =
*** 22,809,600 pixels '''plus''' one more frame


Number two is that Kodi doesn't save animated artwork to the texture cache and will not play them (only displaying the first frame) unless they are stored on a client-local file system.
= Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC =
{{#lst:Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC|intro}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC}}


{{Top}}
{{Top}}

Revision as of 07:39, 26 May 2019

Artwork contents

Artwork Main Page



See also:


Return to:

Home icon grey.png   ▶ Music Library
▶ Video Library
▶ Artwork

The use of artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi will allow you to display Movie Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Kodi slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.

The Kodi scrapers automatically download artwork with little input required by the user. These pages are for those users that want greater control over their artwork by saving artwork locally or creating their own.

As the topic covering artwork is comprehensive, it has been broken down into smaller and more manageable pages for ease of reading. Make use of the Table of Contents and the NavBox located at the top right of the page. Information common to all categories is located on this page and the Artwork Type page.

Be aware that artwork is skin dependent. Not all artwork types are used in all skins.


Obtaining Artwork

Movie, TV Show and Music artwork can be obtained using a variety of methods. The most common method is via the various Kodi scrapers (also known as information providers).


Scrapers

The defautl sources for information and artwork that are used by the default scrapers are:

Movies- Fanart.tv and The MovieDB
TV Shows- Fanart.tv and The MovieDB
Music- Fanart.tv and The AudioDB

Artwork from these sites can also be downloaded manually by visiting and searching the sites and saving the artwork locally as described on the linked pages.


Media Managers

There is a range of software that can create nfo files and download artwork and save them to the correct location and correct naming. They perform the same process and function as the Kodi Scraping operation does natively, but they do not add any entries into the Kodi library. Instead they create what is known as NFO files. This file holds all the metadata for that particular movie, tv show or music. The software will also download associated artwork from the scraper site. Kodi can then read this file and scrape it into the library along with the artwork.

Although these programs are quick and easy to use, they are more suited for use where a movie or tv show is not listed at the scraper site. You are then able to create the metadata from scratch. You would normally use this for, say, home movies, sporting events or other items that are not listed at the scraper site.

It is always best to use Kodi for the normal mainstream scrapes and the Media Managers for the non-listed movie, tv show and music scrapes.


Web Search

Using an online search engine can help you discover individual artworks, or additional sites where artwork is hosted. When downloading, check that the resolution is of an acceptable standard. Also pay respect to any copyright notices that are attached to the artwork.

Once downloaded, they must be named and saved correctly for the artwork to be visible to Kodi.


Create Your Own

So you are not happy with the artwork the scraper downloaded? And you just can't find that perfect artwork by manually searching the internet. Then, you will just have to create your own. For those who are artistically minded and can easily navigate around image editing software, then you should be able to easily create your very own user-defined artwork on your computer. Only your imagination is the limit, but be mindful that the artwork needs to remain true to the movie or tv show it represents.

If you are unsure where to start, the following links may prove useful. Especially if you plan to share your masterpieces. If this is the case, it is best to stick to the posted guidelines.

  • Fanart.TV- The premier repository for all things artwork. They have an in-depth guide for artwork requirements
see : Fanart.tv- Image Creation Guide
  • The MovieDB- The go to movie scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork that are created and uploaded to the site by people just like you. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
see : themoviedb- Image Creation Guide
  • The TVDB- The go to TV Show scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork devoted to TV Shows. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
see : theTVDB- Image Creation Guide
  • IMDB- A comprehensive listing of ensuring artwork is appropriate and suitable.
see : IMDB- Image Submission Guide
  • TheAudioDB- The go to scraper site for all things music. They hold metadata on Artists, Albums and Songs with a large collection of music artwork.
see : TheAudioDB- Image Creation Guide

What Artwork is Used Automatically

Local Art Comes First

Local artwork takes priority, so on update of both music and video libraries Kodi will always use local artwork when it can find some. Only when there is no local artwork found, does Kodi use the artwork that the scrapers can fetch from online sources.

It is important to note that once remote artwork for a movie, tv show, artist or album has been successfully scraped into the library (because there was no local art found when the scraper was run), Kodi will not look for local art to replace it on subsequent library updates.

If you have made changes to either local artwork and/or metadata (in the form of a nfo file), you must instruct Kodi to update using one of the following methods...

  1. If the Library has not yet been created, or the source has not yet been added
    • Ensure your artwork is named and saved correctly. Add the Media sources to Kodi and allow to update. Artwork will be cached
  2. This Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist is new and has not been added to the library yet
    • An Update Library will scrape and cache the artwork, or
    • For Videos, navigate Videos>Files, navigate to the item and call up the Information page. This will start an automatic scrape for that single item
    • For Music, navigate Music>Files, locate and highlight the new artist or album. From the context menu select Scan item to library
  3. I added new artwork for Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist already in the library
    • For videos follow instructions for Kodi- Choose Art below
    • For music follow instructions in Kodi- Choose Art below
  4. I added new artwork for a lot of Movies/TV Shows/Music already in the library
    • Update each Movie/TV Show/Music manually using instructions in the previous option, or
    • Remove the Source and clean library. Re-add the source and allow the Update Library
See also: Update Video Library
See also: Update Music Library


Available Artwork Found By Scrapers

Scraper results (and NFO files) can include multiple potential images for each single type of artwork. When a type of art has not been found locally then during scraping the first image will be automatically assigned to the media item so skins and other interfaces can access it for display. The full list from the scraper results will be saved for the "Choose art" dialog (even if using local artwork), where you can select a new image for any art type from those available online and of course local files.

Note: If you use a Media Manager to download local artwork and create NFO files, the full list may not be available to use in "Choose art" as most, if not all, Media Managers strip out the additional artwork links.


Choosing Art You Want

From within Kodi, you have the ability to manually change the artwork at any time by following these directions.

Note: The following is based on the Video Library. Music Library follows the same process, but the screenshots will be slightly different for Choose Art- Artists and Choose Art- Albums

  1. Highlight the media item whose artwork you want to change.
  2. Call up the Information dialog, (Image 1)
    • For seasons and movie sets the "Choose Art" option is in the Context menu.
  3. Select Choose Art. (Image 1)
  4. From within this page, you will be given the option to select which type of artwork you would like to change. (Image 2)
    • If the type of artwork you would like to change is not listed, use the Add art type button to add it. An onscreen keyboard will be displayed. Enter the new type of artwork and select Ok.
    • Examples of artwork type are those listed in the following pages- eg clearlogo, clearart, banner etc...
  5. Once selected, you will then be provided with a list of available artwork at the scraper site, or you can navigate to a local or network location. (Image 3)
  6. Once you select the desired image, it will replace the existing image. You will be returned to the screen displayed in Image 2
  7. If you do not intend to change any other artwork types, simply Esc or Back out of the screen

An alternative method for Music and Video library:

  1. Choose Refresh as seen in Image 1.
  2. You will then be asked Locally stored information found. Ignore and refresh from Internet? (Image 4)
    • To scrape local metadata - Select No
      • If no local nfo file is available, Kodi will scrape metadata from the online scraper site
      • Local artwork still has priority. If no local artwork is found, Kodi will search the NFO file for valid links to artwork and download artwork if links are valid
    • To scrape online metadata (and ignore nfo file, if any) - Select Yes
      • Local artwork still has priority. If no local artwork is found, the scraper results are used to fetch artwork


Add-ons to display artwork

The following add-ons allow you to display your movie, TV show and music artwork.


Screensavers

Want to do more with all that wonderful fanart? Install this Kodi screensaver. Just like a screensaver on computers from yesteryear, the Kodi screensaver will produce a slideshow of your Movie and TV Show fanart, or set it to display your Music Fanart. Don't like either of those? Then setup a directory with your own pictures and it can produce a screensaver from your selection of photos.


Managing Artwork

There are a number of ways to maintain and improve Kodi's handling of the artwork.


Cache

Kodi maintains a texture cache on local device storage for all artwork displayed in the GUI, whether from an online source or the local file system. These textures are optimized and stored locally for faster loading.

When media is added to the library, Kodi initially only has a URL or path to the artwork. The artwork itself is downloaded (if from an online source) and then cached.


Recovering Disk Space

After years of use, it is expected that your system will gather some clutter- that being either orphaned artwork files or corrupted artwork which will not display.


Texture Cache Maintenance

Texture Cache Maintenance utility is a python script created by MillhouseVH, that can do a number of artwork related maintenance on the Kodi library. The script can be used to pre-generate thumbnails, clean up old thumbnail files, find corrupted files, and much more. The script can work on any OS that can run Python 2.6 or higher.


Import/Export

Kodi has the facility to export and import the library databases and in particular the artwork. The resolution of the artwork when exported is that used internally by Kodi, and may be lower than the original artwork. Export is the way to capture art that has been downloaded from a remote site as a local file.

Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC

The primary usage of artwork is to be displayed, and to that end, they can be accessed by name in skins and over JSON-RPC.


Troubleshooting

There are certain scenarios where attempting to replace existing artwork with new artwork, you may experience Kodi refusing to load the new artwork. This occurs when replacing one artwork with another artwork having the same name. eg replacing poster.jpg with a new poster.jpg.

Rest assured that the new image has been accepted, but due to the same filename, Kodi may take upto 24 hrs to check the image hash, realise the image is different and clear out the cached image and replace it with the new one. This is intended behaviour. Further reading available in the following link


See Also



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