As many people have noticed, I've had a number of avatars that are more than just simple images, or a mixture of images in a loop.
I've been asked by a number of people for a guide to how to make these avatars, and as such, here it is:
1.) Find an .avi file that features what you want in your avatar.
2.) Download Advanced AVI Splitter. It's a free-trial version, but its only limitation is that you can only create a maximum 'split' of 60 seconds, which is far too much for this activity.
3.) Using this program, find a section of film you wish to use, and make sure it's no more than 5-6 seconds long, otherwise the resulting image will be over Board Guidelines.
4.) Download Amazing Photo Editor. This is another trial version, and features full functionality, but only for 30 start-ups. So before the license runs out, you can make a minimum of 30 avatars, or more if you do multiple ones per session.
5.) Using APE, click on the 'Convert' option along the toolbar, and in the next window, follow the three steps to select your AVI segment, and to convert it to GIF. (Remember to save it as well after conversion)
6.) Your GIF will originally save in a file-size to accomodate the original aspect ratios of the AVI, and be in the region of 10MB big, which is a bad thing.
7.) Use an image-editing piece of software, I recommend GIMP. Open up the GIF file in the software, and use an option such as 'Image Scaling' to shrink the GIF file to approximately 80x80 pixels, and save the file. (Normally, this function will keep the aspect ratio of the file, and may end up as 80x60 etc.)
8.) Use an image-hosting site such as Photobucket to upload the image. YOUR GIF SHOULD BE NO LARGER THAN 100-150 KB, otherwise you may find it magically removed by Bridger.
9.) Link to the hosted GIF file from the 'My Home' section of your CoH/V forum, and you now have a new, shiny and amazing animated avatar.
Posted
Nice guide!
Unfortunately, the more frames you have in the sequence, the bigger the size of the gif = poor quality avatar to match board size allowance.
As many people have noticed, I've had a number of avatars that are more than just simple images, or a mixture of images in a loop.
I've been asked by a number of people for a guide to how to make these avatars, and as such, here it is:
1.) Find an .avi file that features what you want in your avatar.
2.) Download Advanced AVI Splitter. It's a free-trial version, but its only limitation is that you can only create a maximum 'split' of 60 seconds, which is far too much for this activity.
3.) Using this program, find a section of film you wish to use, and make sure it's no more than 5-6 seconds long, otherwise the resulting image will be over Board Guidelines.
4.) Download Amazing Photo Editor. This is another trial version, and features full functionality, but only for 30 start-ups. So before the license runs out, you can make a minimum of 30 avatars, or more if you do multiple ones per session.
5.) Using APE, click on the 'Convert' option along the toolbar, and in the next window, follow the three steps to select your AVI segment, and to convert it to GIF. (Remember to save it as well after conversion)
6.) Your GIF will originally save in a file-size to accomodate the original aspect ratios of the AVI, and be in the region of 10MB big, which is a bad thing.
7.) Use an image-editing piece of software, I recommend GIMP. Open up the GIF file in the software, and use an option such as 'Image Scaling' to shrink the GIF file to approximately 80x80 pixels, and save the file. (Normally, this function will keep the aspect ratio of the file, and may end up as 80x60 etc.)
8.) Use an image-hosting site such as Photobucket to upload the image. YOUR GIF SHOULD BE NO LARGER THAN 100-150 KB, otherwise you may find it magically removed by Bridger.
9.) Link to the hosted GIF file from the 'My Home' section of your CoH/V forum, and you now have a new, shiny and amazing animated avatar.