avatar fun
interesting thread...i change my avatar fairly frequently, but it's generally The Red Ant in one pose or another.
as for posting customer-avatars:
DISCLAIMER: i have no idea how to make an animated GIF. not a big fan as i like reading text and it's distracting. that said, johndoe83's BOING-G-G-G-G T-shirt-animated tits are pretty damn sweet.
OK, u need a photo manipulation program, Photoshop is what i prefer, but iPhoto would probably work fine as it allows custom-resizing. you need an image that's about 100x100 pixels, and can't be more than 30KB as the system measures it. if it's over that size (which they list as "30000 bytes"), it'll kick it back and u need to downsize a bit. my Mac has listed avatars at up to 82KB that the system accepts, so this is not an exact science. also, u *can* exceed the 100-limit on either dimension, but be sure to type the correct number of pixels in yr avatar-specs or the aspect-ratio will change. to keep it simplest, stick with the 100x100 standard to start with--it might not be your ultimate composition, but avatars are rigid: if you have more foto info, post in a report, mmmm-kay?
in Photoshop, bring up yr orig image. can be any resolution, but first, crop a roughly-square portion u want as yr avatar, then using Image Size, set the dpi to 72 if it isn't already and set the LOWER width/height value to 100. you will see a tiny square if orig image was large, so use the Magnifying Glass tool to zoom it up. the farther u can zoom, the better: if u can get to 300-400% u can see the pixels well. this is important as when u check Image Size again the image is probably 107x100 or similar. as mentioned earlier, u CAN use this image but u need to type the pixel-dimensions into the boxes provided by the 141 forum--we haven't gotten there yet so let's stick with 100x100. that means u gotta shave off 7 pixels.
thus the magnification. using the Crop tool, u can actually count how many pixels yr shaving off. might not get it right the first time, but try it, and immediately check Image Size to see how u did--if u cut too much, hit Command-Z to Undo and try again. often, you'll get 100x102 and have to shave a couple more. but, we're trying to get to the standard...with magnification, u WILL get there!
OK, Image Size confirms 100x100, time to Save As. u want to save as a JPEG and if the Color Profile box is checked, uncheck it--u don't need it. the JPEG box comes up and indicates the size, which is likely between 18-23K unless u've got a simple avatar with a lot of one-color, like anime-characters (IMHO boring avatars: we're surrounded by cartoons/anime here in Asia, why not use something more creative?). u control the resolution so try setting it at Maximum (type in 12, the real Max). if it turns out to be too big, u can always re-save at a lower res. call it sth like "TitsAvatar13-100x100" so it's easy to recognize, and save it!
OK, on the forum, go to Member's CP at upper-right, the drop-down menu shows "Edit Profile"...there's likely a bunch of info on it (you had to fill it out to become a member, remember?). scoot down to "Avatar" which is the second-to-last item. if the parameters aren't 100 width and 100 height, type them in (but that's the default, if u want to use a different aspect-ratio, typein the size of your avatar if it's NOT 100x100, but u need to get them right or yr avatar won't look right). now click Choose File, a dialog-box appears allowing you to choose your file. select it and click OK or Open or whatever is highlighted. the system will list something like "customavatars/56xxx.jpg" which i think is yr UID. whatever.
unless u get message saying yr avatar is over 30000 bytes (if so, go back and reduce the image size, re-saving under a lower-res setting on JPEG usually works) u've uploaded yr custom avatar! now, the system does take time to process it, often a couple of hours, so don't expect it to appear right away. go out and try some 141action, get back and type up a report, and by then, yr new avatar should be displaying on ALL your posts.
this may sound complicated but it's not as evil as it seems: you're basically cropping/re-sizing an image and uploading it to the forum using their system, which is a bit clunky, but WILL get u there..
my take on avatars: TAW, bro, no disrespect (and respect for all the hard work u put into this board), but i find yr avatar somewhat creepy. anime: not a fan. animated GIFs, if used, are far better in slo-mo. that baby-orangutan is SO evocative of its poster's clinginess, so it's appropriate, but i still find it vaguely horrifying. i prefer artsy snippets of cleavage, a fine set of breasts, anything sensual/erotic as opposed to simply pornographic. this is all just my two cents, i appreciate the thought and effort bros have put into their avatars, no dissing of anyone. to each their own.
i am extremely fond of ChickenChoppa's avatar. i love his handle: "ChickenChoppa", it just makes me laugh and i don't know why. plus that same avatar ALWAYS: "chicken of the week." there's some refined humor in there, methinks.
there is, however, ONE avatar that i consider unique: the one used by "mister"...it's a simple shot of a lovely woman's face without makeup, clearly unposed, cropped almost at random. i LOVE this avatar...like yr posts also, mister, but this avatar is so evocative and unusual. to me, it's far more erotic than some up-the-clam shot--it's clearly an homage to this gal, whoever she is, and i like it every time i see it.
but hey, that's just me. now get to work, tshirt, and see what u come up with! it's fun!
JtB
[ Last edited by JackTheBat at 6-2-2011 14:44 ]
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