Avvy Savvy

Posted on October 22nd, 2009 in Microstock markets, News, image management

Making a set of avatars should be done with a light touch as a creative bent. If you are just going to copy the latest images and shrink them down to size, what is the point? Forum users or board members won’t be thrilled to see the same images they could get somewhere else.

Custom avatar galleries are one of the first things new members check out. Working with online image markets is a significant way to make your mark in the online image and graphics market. Many webmasters have more than one website.

Compiling a gallery folder full of avatar images to unload can be fun and lead to new fans and members of your board.

One of the features of upgraded and premium price membership bulletin boards are the custom graphics that become available. A custom set of avatar images could build that value. Many boards are rated on this factor.

Try to upload updated sets of avatars for additional user profile options. Most avatar uploads now offer group folder upload. Make sure filenames refer to that character. Choosing replacement filenames may need a reminder name in the filename when changing preferences.

Many fans out there have one fantasy film or computer game they really identify with. This might be the “Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, the Twilight films, the Harry Potter group films, or Transformers. These characters might be good avatars to add one or two of so your new users find a pleasing way to customise their member profile.

Using color borders allows the member user to change their signature link color to match. A series highlighted with royal blue or red, for example. It might work well against black or gray background color schemes. Picking up color inside the graphic is also a good idea.

But not all avatars need to be characters, birds, flowers, mystery figures and other icons can all spark a mysterious bit of interest. The market for custom graphics today is unimagined and unmatched, with the bulk of online gamers playing role play games that demand a spark of originality.

Custom graphics can be in demand and priced competitively. Low cost legal images can be very good for the microstock photographer who becomes adept at releasing unique sets of tantalizing images for games, movies, and fan boards. once you make a name for yourself you can become in demand by the hottest new sites.

Custom accents images and icons can make a new suite of images contrast well against a new custom theme or skin. reducing these character images to cartoons, two tones, silhouettes, or creating new fades can make a whole new mood take over that character’s appearance.

Get creative and use your photos to get new ideas. For example, a gardening site might want images of aprons, wheelbarrows, potting sheds, or flowers. These custom identities are exactly what online game players and forum posters want. Reducing these to 100 by 100 pixels or even 80 by 80 pixels is ideal.

The materials for icons and avatars are in every shot you take. Grab a screenshot and look for a new way to highlight that character. Pointillism in the bitmap layer using the selector tool can bring out eye color, a change or two in the eyebrow or eyelash color or thickness in the arch can make the character change expression.

Save a set of new avatar images for the photo gallery with varying borders, some can be all black and others can have thematic tones matching the forum overall color scheme and setup. When a board or forum you like is undergoing a change, market your gallery avatars to the webmaster.