Avatars

[1984]

Hello all,

How does one go about getting an avatar on a forum site? Is there a freeware site that has them to choose from? And how do they get from a site or my computer to the forum? I am completely in the dark here so a very basic step by step answer would be appreciated.

THANK YOU!

[SenutyEnool]

G'day Lordoftheweb,

one of the easiest and quickest ways to get an avatar is:

1. Find an image on the web that you want to use,

2. Right click on it,

3. Save it to your system,

4. Resize it to whatever dimensions the forum allows,

5. Then upload.

Cheers ;)

[1984]

G'day Lordoftheweb,

one of the easiest and quickest ways to get an avatar is:

1.  Find an image on the web that you want to use,

2.  Right click on it,

3.  Save it to your system,

4.  Resize it to whatever dimensions the forum allows,

5.  Then upload.

Cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ok, this is closer to what i was looking for. Now i guess my question is, how do i resize a picture (i believe the dimensions allowed are posted in forum rules).

thanks!

[SenutyEnool]

Hmm, resizing your image depends on what imaging programs you currently have.

A quick and nasty way of doing it is if you happen to have MSoft Photo Editor and is done as per the following:

1. Open the image as per normal

2. Click on 'Image' -> 'Resize'

3. Change the 'Units' option to 'Pixels' and enter the appropriate size. Both width and height will change concurrently.

4. Once resized save the image and upload.

Be aware though, the bigger the image to start with the more image quality 'loss' you will have as you size it down. You'll just need to experiment.

You can use these instructions for other imaging programs you just need to find within the program how the 'image' sizing is done, ie; the commands might be slightly different, however the steps are fairly well the same.

Just as an FYI, I use PSP8, Adobe Illustrator, 3DSMax for my imaging requirements, but as I've stated for a quick and nasty fix I use Photo Editor as the aforementioned programs tend to be resource hogs.

Hope that helped.

Cheers ;)

[Capman]

For extreme quickness when resizing, I always use IrfanView.

http://www.irfanview.com/

[1984]

irfanview can resize pictures to make an avatar?

isnt it free?

[Capman]

irfanview can resize pictures to make an avatar?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, as can any image editing program.

isnt it free?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it is free.

[1984]

thanks. i have never done anything of this sort, so am really running in the dark.

[Sniper]

thanks.  i have never done anything of this sort, so am really running in the dark.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can use MS Paint to resize a photo. Everybody has Paint.

Once you find the pic you want to use as an avatar, save it to My Pictures or somewhere. Hover on the pic and you will see the dimensions. Right-click and open with Paint. Top of the Paint window, click on Image > Stretch/Skew and reduce Horizontal and Vertical percentage by the same amount to get the pixel size close to 125 X 125. Save the pic as a jpeg. Sometimes Paint will only let you save it as a bitmap, no problem just save the bitmap, open it with Paint a second time and you'll be able to save as a jpeg. The pic doesn't have to be 125 X 125, it could be larger and the avatar image scaler will resize it for you.

[Tarun]

Problem with Paint is that it messes up the quality. Lossy and stuff.

[SenutyEnool]

G'day,

the other problem with MSPaint, whilst using the 'stretch' function is that even though you adjust both horizontal and vertical to the same percentage it will NOT adjust it properly thereby giving you a lopsided image from the original.

As CapMan pointed out, use IrfanView, it's easy to use and free . I used to have this program and it worked exceptionally well, but I prefer to use PSP.

Cheers :hello:

[1984]

Ok, I went out and got Adobe Photoshop CS. Now I just need to learn to use it to make an avatar. I think I will attempt to find a picture on the net first, resize it and use it for an avatar. Then I will play around with the program as I get a chance. Thanks for all the instructions. :hug: