How to make and post an avatar of the proper size

[Jon]

I see lots of "avatar help" posts, so thought I'd make a new thread just about how to make an avatar...Maybe this could be a sticky...

Some of you will recognize this post from that other place (that I also wrote)...

To do this in Photoshop, it's fairly simple:

First, MAKE A COPY of the image that you work on, *just in case*

Open the image in PS, and select the Crop tool. Set the size to the appropriate size that you want in height and width, and select 72dpi resolution (all monitors display at 72 dots per inch, so there's no point in making the file larger by making it a print resolution).
http://www.fivegrandcreative.com/photostorage/avatars/avatar1.jpg


Next select the area that you want to KEEP. You can move the selection box around, and make it larger or smaller as you like.

http://www.fivegrandcreative.com/photostorage/avatars/avatar2.jpg


To crop the image, you can either double-click inside the selection box, or select another tool, and the pop-up window will appear.

http://www.fivegrandcreative.com/photostorage/avatars/avatar3.jpg

[Jon]

Now you have to save it, and you'd like it to be as small in filesize as possible. Select Save for Web.

http://www.fivegrandcreative.com/photostorage/avatars/avatar4.jpg


Your image will appear in a new window, with lots of controls. Choose jpeg format, and use the quality slider to make the best compromise between quality and filesize.
http://www.fivegrandcreative.com/photostorage/avatars/avatar5.jpg

Click Save, choose where you want it on your computer (be sure to name it differently than the original file), and voila, you're done!

Thanks to Acacia Rose for the involuntary use of her image for this! :)

To post your avatar on the board, you'll need to either upload it to a hosting site such as Photobucket, imagevenue, or your own website, and in your User CP enter the URL or web link to the image, or, if the board software allows it, you can upload it to here and select it.

[Leah]

Nice Jon :thumb:

[Fet]

For those who don't have Photoshop:

Open the pic in Microsoft Paint.
Go to Image Attributes, and that will show you the current size.
If it's too large, go to Image -> Stretch/Skew.
For Stretch Horizontal and Vertical, change the % - perhaps try 50%
Then check with Image Attributes to see the new size.
Repeat as necessary until it's the desired size, then save (under new file name, if you want to keep the original).

[VTLilbean]

Thanks! Could not for the life of me figure out how to do that :)