There are a couple of artists (ridiculouscake and banderi) who only have a small portion of their art uploaded to the site which I would like to expand. However, uploading and tagging all these images is a tedious project that goes far beyond anything I've done before. Before I try, I want to ask if there are any tips or tricks to upload more efficiently or with less errors?

I'm sure there are several tools like this, but I lean on e621 ReBot. It grabs all the images from a given source and lets you add tags to each of them before uploading. Making less errors is mostly a matter of practice and paying attention to what you write before you submit it

Take it in smaller chunks. You don't have to do it all at once. When you start getting tired of posting, stop and pick it up another time when your enthusiasm has regenerated. After all, unless you happen to get there on the eve before the artist nukes their gallery, it'll still be there in the morning.

Maybe an obvious one, but put on a movie or a podcast or something while you do it.

strikerman said:
I'm sure there are several tools like this, but I lean on e621 ReBot. It grabs all the images from a given source and lets you add tags to each of them before uploading. Making less errors is mostly a matter of practice and paying attention to what you write before you submit it

Hope it supports Mac as well

If you go through a big gallery, it is advisable to install Idem's Sourcing Suite It reduces sourcing time a lot. Especially if you check for the best possible version with saucenao, khinea, or Fluffle. And the tiny alias feature of re621 is extremely handy for frequently used tags.

And what Vulpes_Artifex said. Put something on on another screen.

dubsthefox said:
And what Vulpes_Artifex said. Put something on on another screen.

some of us don't have the space for a second monitor :(

strikerman said:
some of us don't have the space for a second monitor :(

It could be on another tab in the browser, playing in the background. After all, when one is focused on a task like power uploading an artist's works, they won't have much attention for anything visual elsewhere. In fact, only audio would be for the best so they can focus on uploading things to a standard to their liking.

Lots of good advice so far. A few general thoughts:

From what I've seen, most of the mistakes with uploading/tagging tend to come from trying to go too fast. Things like making assumptions about the details (because of something that was true for the last image you did), or just plain losing track of which detail went with which image (was this the cum version or not?), or mixing up the source links to the wrong images, etc. All of that is very preventable if you just take an extra moment to doublecheck things now and then. So setting up some good habits and systems at the start will definitely help you out long term.

Because of that, I would start a big uploading project with a 'slow and steady' approach. And to consciously avoid making myself feel rushed. Especially at first. Because you will naturally get faster at something as you get a rhythm and a system for doing all of the little details. But if you try to push faster or rush yourself just because you want to get it done fast or because it's a big project, then you're a lot more likely to make avoidable mistakes. Which is ironic, because mistakes will actually slow you down. A slower pace is also easier to sustain over time without burning out. It's more marathon; less 100-yard dash.

So take it slow, get a good system down for checking all of the little steps, get used to the rhythm of it... and then watch it start to become automatic and then naturally start to speed up. Take breaks when needed/break it down into chunks.

Another tip is to start the project by making a few decisions about how you want to organise/approach it. If you pull too many images in a random order, then you might be cussing that decision later. So taking a moment to plan how many, which types/themes, what order to work from (oldest? newest?), or things like that. It can save you some work later on. Also big projects can get overwhelming in the middle of them, so even just knowing that you have a plan makes it easier to stick to that whenever it gets feeling too big to keep track of. It doesn't have to be complicated, just something that helps you know what your next step is.

Of course, everyone has their own ways they prefer to work. So adapt as necessary. But these are the type of rules of thumb that I tend to fall back on when tackling any kind of big project.

Of course, after you upload, be sure to double check your posts, moreso than you might normally. In fact, don't hesitate to triple check them in a day or two. After all, even with all the care you'll be taking in getting the sourcing and tagging right, things will undoubtedly still slip through. Coming back to it later cold and with a fresh eye would let you see things you did that you simply couldn't believe you could have done.

One more thing. Don't get lost in details. I was used to tagging every single detail I can find. But if you are honest, the time is not worth the effort. And the e621 hive mind will add less important tags sooner or later.

Seconding that. When uploading, focus mainly on tagging:
- the basics, (stuff like the artist, character names if you have them, basic species if discernible, anthro/feral/human/humanoid?, # of chars, genders, etc). This page might be helpful with that. Getting several of those type tags is always good.
- any blacklist type content (diaper, vore, gore, young, etc) if applicable,
- and maybe whatever one or two things that are strange/unusual/unique in the image if you know the tags for it.

You'll probably start to develop a checklist for yourself. But definitely don't try to tag every little detail at once. Get the big things, the basics, and the rest can fill in over time as people spot things in it. Which is fine.