Tardis:Avatars

Avatars are icons which appear beside your name in various places on a Wikia wiki. You'll find them next to your name at the top right of this page (provided you're browsing in the Wikia skin). You'll see them next to your name in the chat feature. And you'll find them to the left of your name on your user page.

How to change your avatar
To alter you avatar, simply go to your user page and roll your mouse over the avatar picture. If you've not yet chosen an avatar, it will look like a grey, featureless person. When your mouse hits the avatar, a hidden "edit" button will suddenly appear. If you click on the edit button, you will then be presented with a row of pre-set avatars, as well as a button which says "choose".

If you wish to upload pictures from your own computer, hit the "choose" button. Otherwise, select one of the "standard" images you see. If you hit "choose", then navigate to the image you wish to upload and hit "select", "OK" or whatever word your operating system uses to indicate that you wish to complete the action. You will then be shown what that image looks like on your user page. However, you still need to hit a "confirm" or "change" button to make the change take effect.

Now you will have a new avatar, which will be visible regardless of the wiki you're visiting at Wikia.

A few more details
Here are some additional things to consider about avatars:
 * It is not possible to have one avatar here, a different one at Wookieepedia and another at Farmville Wiki. It is a Wikia-wide choice.
 * Avatar dimensions are 150px X 150px. If your image is larger or smaller than that, the system will try to make adjustments, but you have no control over those adjustments.  Generally, best results are obtained by handcrafting your avatar to the 150px X 150px size.
 * Images may be in a variety of different formats, but .jpg is a good compromise format. Your avatar will be used in a variety of contexts — almost all of them at a resolution of much less than 150 X 150.  You therefore need a scalable file format which doesn't take up too much space — which is precisely the utility of .jpg.  However, .png is available, should your design require transparency.
 * As can be seen in the picture, above, avatars are used in a variety of different sizes, most of them too small for much detail to be apparent. Take care when designing your avatar to ensure that at least some features of the design will be recognizable at lower sizes.  In the case illustrated, the basic red and blue square is clear even at the smallest size.

The official Wikia help file
The following is the official version of the wikia help file. As of 22:10, August 20, 2011 (UTC), however, it was out of date, and described a version of this feature which no longer exists. Historically, the avatar feature was under Special:Preferences, but now it is accessed directly from your user page.