HOW TO: avatars and your sanity

[30roadster]

Avatars are funny.... not ha ha funny...

requirements:

1. they must be a perfect square 80X80 pixels
2. They must be 7kb ( killobytes )or less...thats 7000 bits

For photoshop elements I get the big picture that i want to make an avatar from and down size it so that the width is 80 pixels. The height will normally be less than 80 pixels because we are talking about car pictures.....and most cars are wider than they are tall . Now that i have a picture that has one side 80 pixels i will do a filter ( pull down menu) called sharpen. Then I will open ( create) a new blank photo that is exactly 80X80 pixels. Now I go back to my original picture...select all ( pull down menu)... copy ( under the edit menu).. then go back to my blank picture and paste (under the edit menu).. my original into my new photo.

I now have space above and below my car. You can keep it transparent but I usually fill the empty space with a black color.
At this point....the picture is still too big to post as an avatar but i do somthing easy and wonderful about elements. I go to "save for the web" which is right under "save" or "save as". I'll play with the quality slide bar until it is 7kb. save it and you are ready to go.

If you don't have a perfectly square picture for your avatar it will get distorted. Ryans server will stretch your picture until it is a perfect square.

Now go to your "user cp" pull down menu on the HAMb and click on edit avatar. click on the gray browse button. find your avatar that is 7kb or less and a perfect square and upload it. if it's not perfect and pretty try again. If it says it won't work it's too big.... make it smaller.

good luck - if you run into trouble let me know. if you have some good suggestions doing it better post away! - Kyle