How Should I Choose My Avatar to Maintain Image Quality at Small Sizes?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around selecting an appropriate avatar image that maintains quality and visual appeal when scaled down to small sizes, specifically 64x64 pixels. Participants explore various image options, including personal photographs, artwork, and symbolic representations, while considering factors such as texture, detail, and personal significance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses a preference for texture and detail in images but notes that these qualities are often lost at smaller sizes.
  • Several options for avatars are proposed, including a doorknob, clouds, and a portrait of Frederick Douglass, with concerns about their suitability and framing.
  • Some participants suggest using images of roses, with specific recommendations for styles and compositions, including black and white images to enhance texture.
  • There is a discussion about the appropriateness of using images of people, particularly those of the opposite sex, as avatars, with differing opinions on personal representation.
  • Participants mention the challenge of cropping images to fit the square format required for avatars, particularly with famous artworks.
  • Suggestions for other artists whose works might translate well into small avatars are made, including Chuck Close and Vermeer.
  • One participant shares a humorous take on the idea of an "honest" rose water bottle as an avatar.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no clear consensus on which avatar option is best, as participants express differing preferences and opinions on the suitability of various images. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the ideal choice for an avatar.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the limitations of certain images when scaled down, particularly regarding composition and detail retention. The discussion also reflects personal interpretations of what an avatar should represent.

honestrosewater
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I really like texture and detail in an image, but those are mostly lost when scaled down to 64x64 pixels. No one seems to like my first choice (I don't really like it much anymore), but I can't find a replacement. Here are my options so far:

http://xs41.xs.to/pics/05323/doorknob3.jpg
doorknob - my current one

http://xs41.xs.to/pics/05323/cloud2.jpg
clouds - my only other photo I have now that would work

http://xs41.xs.to/pics/05323/doug.GIF
This is a picture of Frederick Douglass that I have from another project. I love this picture of him - I think he really looks like he, how to say, fought the good fight. I don't know how well it would work, and I can't seem to find a good square frame of it either, though maybe I could take a new one from http://utopia.utexas.edu/project/portraits/f.douglas.jpg .

Other ideas:
I love hands, especially drawings/sketches, especially by Leonardo. (ex. I love http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=13010 , but it wouldn't work.)
I could crop something interesting from a painting (in the public domain). Renaissance, Dutch Masters (Gerard Dou too), Impressionists are my favorites.
I could always go with a rose.
Maybe something from Shakespeare?
 
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Just have some thing that is you. and reflects the nice person you are.
 
Well, given your username, I just always envisioned a rose of some sort for you. Perhaps one with a just opening bloom (not a tightly closed bud and not a fully opened bloom yet either) with lots of dew drops on it. Maybe a black and white image would emphasize the textural/depth qualities you prefer more than a color image.

Edit:
I just found this image which would be really cool for you (it looked good as a thumbnail image too, so should work as an avatar, though it only looked black and white in the thumbnail). It's a fractal image that looks like a rose.

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/fractals/collect/1995/ROSE.GIF

And then there's this more unusual image (it's large) that you might be able to crop out just a portion of it if you like it.

http://www.buffaloworks.us/images/Rose%20E%20Flame.jpg

I like the fractal image best, but both of these are something more unique than just a rose.
 
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http://www.datasync.com/~jecorley/Oil_Paintings/Rose_water.jpg
 
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wolram said:
Just have some thing that is you. and reflects the nice person you are.
Well, what can I say to that? :smile:
 
I googled "nice person" and she came up:

http://www.maztravel.com/chris/images/chrissy.jpg
 
honestrosewater said:
Well, what can I say to that? :smile:

I'm working on it :biggrin:
 
Put your childhood photo in your avatar.
 
I kind of liked the door knob. Hmmmm... Very thought provoking.

If that's out, then I vote for the second rose Moonbear posted.
 
  • #10
loseyourname said:
I googled "nice person" and she came up:
That's so close to how I've always imagined her.
 
  • #11
HRW, what does you username mean? People are thinking "rose", but, of course, that's not the same thing as rosewater. Honest Rosewater. I'm not sure what that's meant to suggest.

As far as the Fredick Douglas, I think it's odd and off when people use members of the opposite sex as their avatars. I think an avatar should be "you" somehow, not who you admire.

The doorknob was a good photo with good composition but I'm not sure it suggested anything in particular to me about anything.

The Da Vinci hands are really nice. You couldn't crop and just use one of them?
 
  • #12
zoobyshoe said:
As far as the Fredick Douglas, I think it's odd and off when people use members of the opposite sex as their avatars. I think an avatar should be "you" somehow, not who you admire.

I'll never forget the PMs from guys telling me how hot I was when I had Scarlett Johannson as my avatar.
 
  • #13
loseyourname said:
I'll never forget the PMs from guys telling me how hot I was when I had Scarlett Johannson as my avatar.
Yeah, never mind that lofty rationalization I posted above: I was once outraged when I checked the profile of a person sporting a Katie Holmes avatar who turned out to be quite male.
 
  • #14
If I were a young lady I think that having my name associated with a doorknob wouldn't necessarily be the best idea.
 
  • #15
I explained my name in the etymology thread, wherever it is. I was going to change my name - in real life - to Honest Waking Rosewater. The Honest and Waking you can figure out, Rosewater has a longer story. Anywho, Rose seems to be sticking as a nickname, and I like some of the symbolism in literature, but I think roses more commonly represent something pretty to look at, and that just doesn't sum me up.
I think I most want a picture evoking curiosity. I tried several Leo paintings and drawings, but I either couldn't get a decent frame or his special touch was totally lost after sizing down.
Here are two images of a Dou that I've always liked. I would use the girl reading at the table by candlelight. I think I like the darker version.
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=1462
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=13831
Or
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=1465
I would use the hand over the candle.
I like several of Rembrandt's self-portraits, but I guess the male thing doesn't really work. Maybe a part of these:
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=12802
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=3847
I love her expression and such, but I'm not sure how having part of a portrait would work. And none of the parts I want are square. Whatever, I'll play around with it for a while.
 
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  • #16
Everyone's going to become a premium member but me... :cry:
 
  • #17
honestrosewater said:
I love her expression and such, but I'm not sure how having part of a portrait would work. And none of the parts I want are square.
This last Vermeer is the best.

As for none of the parts being "square," you're supposed to take the images to photoshop and crop them as you will.
 
  • #18
This would be hilarious if you could make it into an avatar somehow.


"Presidential inspection"

presidential-inspection.jpg
 
  • #19
What?

I couldn't resist
 

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  • #20
I always thought of a small bottle of rose water that was somehow honest. :wink:
 
  • #21
Here are some avatar-sized versions. I prefer Girl with a Pearl Earring just because it shows up best in an avatar. The other ones are nice, but too dark for an avatar I think. But you can decide.
 

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  • #22
Girl with a pearl earring is very nice.
 
  • #23
If you're looking for a portrait artist whose paintings work well as small avatars, you really can't beat Chuck Close:

http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/images/chuck_close.jpg
 
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  • #24
With regards to changing your name, did you know that your current name is Hebrew for "ewe?" Such a pretty name, too. Mine is Hebrew and usually transliterated to "man formed from the ground." My middle name is Hebrew for "God is my judge."

So I suppose I could call myself "man formed from the ground and judged by God." What a name.
 
  • #25
Moonbear said:
Here are some avatar-sized versions.
Excellent job, MB.

Yes, the one on the far left is the best, and seems to fit the username very well.
 
  • #26
loseyourname said:
If you're looking for a portrait artist whose paintings work well as small avatars, you really can't beat Chuck Close:
I love Chuck Close.

It's funny you should discover they work well as "small avatars", though. The originals are like, 3x larger than life.
 
  • #27
Wow, thanks Moonbear.
I lost the serial number to Photoshop and haven't bothered to get a new number, so I can't reinstall it. I'm stuck with the image editor that came with the scanner for now.

zooby,
Okay, say you want the Mona Lisa's smile as you avatar. If your avatar must be square, you either lose the corners of the smile (the best part, IMO) or end up with a huge chunk of nose and/or chin invading the picture and throwing it out of whack. That's what I mean by the parts I want not being square or not being able to get a good frame. :smile:
 
  • #28
honestrosewater said:
Wow, thanks Moonbear.
I lost the serial number to Photoshop and haven't bothered to get a new number, so I can't reinstall it. I'm stuck with the image editor that came with the scanner for now.
If you like one of them (even if just temporary until you get Photoshop up and running), I don't know if you can just save it to your computer from the post, but if not, I can either email you the image or upload it to image shack and provide the URL. If you want it emailed, send me a PM.

As for not getting a square avatar, they don't have to be square, as long as the largest side is 64 pixels or less. Or you can fill in the rest of the square with a solid color.
 
  • #29
Here is a smaller version of the center of deaddreamer's homepage.
 

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  • #30
loseyourname said:
With regards to changing your name, did you know that your current name is Hebrew for "ewe?"
I always saw it as little lamb. I don't know where the little part comes from though. Both of my grandfathers were pastors, and my siblings and I all have Biblical names: Jason, Rachel, Rebecca, and Nicholas. I just noticed a nice coincidence too: Jacob had to wait and work 7 years (and one week) for Rachel - and work still another 7. At least, I think that's what happened; I haven't been to Sunday School in a long time.
Mine is Hebrew and usually transliterated to "man formed from the ground." My middle name is Hebrew for "God is my judge."

So I suppose I could call myself "man formed from the ground and judged by God." What a name.
Hm, is that Adam Daniel?

My middle name is Diane, BTW. I think it's from Diana, the Roman's Artemis. There are two great sites for finding character names:
http://www.behindthename.com/
http://www.kabalarians.com/cfm/surf-by.cfm?Baby=Yes
Eh, it looks like the second one is now requiring subscriptions for something, I don't know. They were my favorite.
 
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