2023.FEB.11 Ideas for best image quality Avatar, Profile Header, and User Card Background

BLF Site-related Issues
1

The new forum is running on Discourse forum software (instead of Drupal) and there are new parameters for your avatar (and for new images like your profile header and user card background.)

Now your avatar can be up to 360 by 360 pixels large.
If you want maximum image quality, I think it’s best to save your avatar image as a png file.
Make sure your source image is as high quality as possible when saving it as a png.
Your image will most likely be compressed from 24 bits per pixel to 8 bits per pixel, but there is no avoiding that.
Do not upload your image as a webp file because in my experience, the file was converted to a jpg file and looked much worse.

If you click on someone’s avatar, their user card background will be shown behind a bunch of stats (if they have a user card background.)
If you then click on their larger avatar image, their profile header will be displayed above a bunch of info (if they have a profile header.)
You may have to click on “Expand” to see the profile header.

On my computer, the profile header can officially be up to 1090 by 300 pixels.
(It might be different on a mobile device.)
If you want maximum image quality, I think it’s best to save your profile header as a webp file.
(If you don’t know how to do that, and you don’t want to learn, then just save it as a png or jpg.
If you do want to learn, there are a number of guides online on how to save an image as a webp.)
Anyway, I uploaded my image as a webp file that is 2180 by 600 pixels so that it would look good on a 4K TV.
My file was compressed to a smaller file size webp, but I don’t think there’s any way around that.
Note that I tried to upload the image as a png file, and it was converted to a jpg file.

I think that the profile header and the user card background have the same aspect ratios, so I just used the same file for both.

So, there you go, some tips on how to get the best image quality for your avatar, profile header, and user card background.

If you have a tip, I’d love to hear it, as I’m sure I overlooked something.

Update:
Now it seems like the user card background looks best when you use an image that is 580 x 215 pixels.
Unlike the profile header, it’s best to save it as a png file. :+1:

4 Thanks
2

Very nice man !

1 Thank
3

:+1:
By the way, I just realized this, but if you run out of likes/thanks per 24 hours, you could give a thumbs up emoji.

2 Thanks
4

The original like it’s better…

2 Thanks
5

How many are we limited to in each 24 hour period?

1 Thank
6

We all start out with 50 likes per 24 hours.
The more you post on BLF, the more likes you can give per 24 hours.

1 Thank
7

Are you sure…!?

8

Well, I’m paraphrasing Mr. Admin from another thread.
(I haven’t tested it out, so I’m not sure.)

2 Thanks
9

Probably it’s a fixed number for all of us… !?
If not… Well… !?

10

It took me a while to find, but here’s the beginning of the conversation about the number of thanks per 24 hours:

3 Thanks
11

I know very well man… … … !

12

Update:
Now it seems like the user card background looks best when you use an image that is 580 x 215 pixels.
Unlike the profile header, it’s best to save it as a png file. :+1:

13

It may also be worth using an image which looks okay with both white and black text on it, so it’ll look okay in both light and dark modes.

Here’s how yours looks in light mode at the moment:

raccoon-city-user-card-light-mode
raccoon-city-user-card-light-mode872×425 97.5 KB

It’s much more readable in dark mode:

raccoon-city-user-card-dark-mode
raccoon-city-user-card-dark-mode860×433 106 KB

1 Thank
14

Hmm…
Good to know! :slightly_smiling_face:

15

I decided to delete my user card background image so that the black/white/blue text will be readable in both light and dark mode. :upside_down_face:

1 Thank
16

That’s the same reason why I didn’t put a picture there.

Well, one of the reasons anyway. I also didn’t really have anything in mind that I thought would add any value there, so the added difficulty of making it work with a variety of text colors didn’t help motivate me to spend any time on it.

1 Thank
17

@raccoon why no transparency???

i don’t really give a toss about my avatar, but here you go

raccoon

image
image868×444 99 KB

18

@SYZYGY
When I try to save with a transparent color with IrfanView, that program screws it up.
Can you make this image with a transparent color like you did above?

19

here you go

i will be sending umbrella corp an invoice shortly

tbh what i shared in my last post is very, very similar to what i get after starting from your higher res image and downsampling to 240x240. not much gained there.

just go pirate photoshop or something btw. or at least use gimp.

1 Thank
20

@SYZYGY
Thanks!
I have Photoshop, but I haven’t tried to make png files with a transparent color with that program before.