Avatar and signature?

[Nathan]

I try to make my avatar and signature match each other as much as I possibly can. If they don't match, then I just find them to be a little weird-looking. xD I put effort into my forum sets only when I feel inspired. I still try to put some work into them when I'm not inspired, but I just won't spend enough time on them to make sure that they're perfect. As for how frequently I change my theme, I change it once every week.

That's me except I don't change them once a week. Just whenever I feel like it.

 

[Hikamaru]

I usually change my avatars and signatures a lot on a frequent basis, usually trying to space them out a few days as of late. Most of my images come from Tumblr, but there may be slight exceptions. If I use a gif image in my sig, Tumblr is again my main source. Sometimes I even end up reusing old themes when I need to.

 

[disciplish]

My avatars/sigs are generally wildcards. Also, I usually like something that reflects something I'm into at the the time that I had the avatar/sig, which is why right now I have "Renovating?" in my sig and Palmer as my avatar. Because I'm indecisive.

And my avatar and my sig have to match or I will absolutely lose my cool. Unless I'm waiting for something new, I seriously can't have something as an avatar and something else as my sig. Even my profile has to slightly reflect that change. Uniformity FTW!

 

[Kanzler]

Yep, man, no idea how much time I put into this crap XD I also like big sigs. Also I've taken to brand myself through my sigs as BiS lately, seems that my username doesn't have the best of connotations :P

 

[alisaie]

I change avatars and signatures when I feel like it. I used to do it a lot but now I try not to do it as often because I think it annoys people when someone constantly changes their theme and I just can't be bothered as much these days. Or I have less creativity. Either or.

 

[Kanzler]

I wouldn't be too annoyed if you did it :P To me it's a bit of expression and representin' XD

 

[alisaie]

I have mixed opinions about that. It's fun to change themes but at the same time when you change them often you're not really establishing yourself as anyone but someone who changes their theme. Unless they're going for that then that's cool. When I change themes often normally it's still the same subject (a certain character, series, etc) so I'm still establishing something rather than a different subject each time. But these are just my thoughts. ♥

 

[Kanzler]

I have mixed opinions about that. It's fun to change themes but at the same time when you change them often you're not really establishing yourself as anyone but someone who changes their theme. Unless they're going for that then that's cool. When I change themes often normally it's still the same subject (a certain character, series, etc) so I'm still establishing something rather than a different subject each time. But these are just my thoughts. ♥

Hey.

Riku -> Martian Manhunter -> Darth Vader -> Tyrantrum.

:< u wanna go m8

*sigh* I suppose it's rather superficial. It makes it feel like I'm accomplishing something artsy though, so that's a plus.

 

[derozio]

I agree with that, to be honest. Changing themes frequently makes the user have an uncertain image in others' eyes. Sticking to one theme makes a lasting impression. At least as far as my thoughts are concerned. Thus, I'm gonna stick with this one unless I get something orgasmic-beyond-limits.

 

[alisaie]

Hey.

Riku -> Martian Manhunter -> Darth Vader -> Tyrantrum.

:< u wanna go m8

*sigh* I suppose it's rather superficial. It makes it feel like I'm accomplishing something artsy though, so that's a plus.

You had that Darth Vader theme for like the longest time so that doesn't count (in fact I still haven't gotten used to you with the Tyrantrum theme). I'm talking about when a theme is changed to something entirely different daily or even within the same day. I would be such a hypocrite right now if I was talking overall.

Pretty much what Derodero said. I still change my avatar pretty frequently because I can't seem to stop myself from doing so but I at least try to keep my signature for longer amounts of time unless its just a placeholder for something else.

I'm really enjoying this little chit chat about theme changing; I think this is what CC&P needs more of.

 

[Hikamaru]

There have been times I changed themes a lot in a single day, but that's mainly due to me testing them so I know which ones would look good if I were to use them in the future, and I remember that over in the DCC that member Chase (aka jellicentfan1/Michonne) made a challenge for me to not change themes for 2 weeks. The theme I had up at the time, the Russian-German dance music producer Zedd. I changed the images around a bit but not the whole theme.

In fact, I'm liking my Dewott theme right now so expect it to not get changed quickly, but if I have one that gets a lot of love from members, expect it to become a recurring one that will pop up again from time to time.

 

[curiousnathan]

I put a fair bit of effort into my forumset, but not enough as to go far as writing up my own CSS. I like to keep my themes relatively simple, but nonetheless stylish!

In regards to how frequently I change my avatar and signature, I don't think I change too often and I certainly don't plan when I'm going to switch. I suppose when I just get bored of the theme or begin to dislike it is the time when I decide to switch things up a bit.

 

[AuroraBeam]

I like mine to match at least somewhat or else it will bother me. I find I have always changed it around quite often though. I'd say since I started joining forums quite a while back, mine haven't went much more than a week without some type of change. Guess I'm just never satisfied. {XD}
I've never had troubles with people not knowing who I am though. The friends that I make always know it's me no matter how much my avi changes. I do find I'll leave my set alone if I'm new to a forum though so people might recognize me eventually, so maybe I'll make a friend or two. ^__^

 

[derozio]

^ its not people not knowing you. That's not the point. People will always be able to see your username so they'll know who you are. What I was saying was that keeping a single theme for too long makes people associate that particular person with that specific theme. It makes them instantly recognizable. You won't even need to scroll and see their usernames to know who they are. That's what I meant when I said that.

And I personally used to go all out on signatures and avatars a lot of time. Practising CSS, making tags and coming up with new layouts etc. I used to spend hours on signatures and changed them every 3-4 days. I might seem a bit of a hypocrite since I preached how it is better to stick with one and not change things often but I had some good reasons for changing my themes so much. I was working on my graphics. Used to make tags almost every another day. And not wearing those tags seemed like a waste so I wore them all. :p Once I was more confident in my graphical abilities, I stopped making that many tags. And stuck with one for longer periods of time.

At present I do not have the time or the means to make something of my own so I'm reusing previously made icons of mine and using lj icons at times.

Also, lol@hikari changing her theme so soon after that post lmao. And yes, tara, I'm enjoying this too!

 

[TwilightBlade]

I almost always put in effort in making my theme as pleasant to me as possible. This includes hunting for fanart on pixiv or tumblr, learning or coding CSS, making or editing something in Photoshop, and so on. I could spend hours just making sure the text lines up or that the CSS isn't buggy (and yet, the process still beguiles me). I've been pretty picky about the sig coding since at least 2008. Practice makes... still a pretty wonky coder. ;P

I switch my theme on average every month. Usually the avatar and signature match or are similar in nature. A good set then makes me want to post a lot more. I've asked Derozio, Loki, Cherii, Aurafire, and CME for awesome signatures in the past. Looking through past signatures can be so nostalgic, too...

 

[Guy]

There was a time when I put in the extra effort for my themes. I would go hunting for fanart all over the internet trying to find the right image to then edit and make a tag and / or icon on Photoshop. More times than not, I would have had a matching avatar to go with my signature. To me, a matching avatar and signature always felt complete. And if I really liked it, I would usually keep it for awhile, but in some cases I would change my theme almost every week or every other week.

Now, however, I'm different. I don't try as hard to make it look finished and sometimes my avatar and signature have nothing in common. More often than before, I usually prefer to borrow work from other artists instead of putting in the effort to make my own. I know I've used work from TwilightBlade, Dez, Aizuke, Loki, and a few other graphic designers here. I guess you could say I got kind of lazy in the graphic design department. Although, there are some times when I at least make my own avatar, since that's typically pretty easy compared to full blown tag for my signature. I don't really change up my theme as often anymore either. Now it's usually almost once a month before I find something else.

Like TwilightBlade, a good theme always motivates me to post more.

 

[CoffeeDrink]

Hm, koff~

I think I try and stick with my themes as long as I possibly can. It throws me off when someone continues to change their themes and avatars week to week. It doesn't keep well to come across as a new person you have to introduce yourself to again. I remember pictures better than names, so it's hard for me when everyone runs around changing their names and pictures. I'd at least like a little notification from them when they did it, koffi~

 

[derozio]

Well, I guess it CAN get a little confusing with the constant changing around and stuff. :p

And one really good point that sis and shivi brought up was that good themes motivate them to post more. Which is SOOOO true! I always go on a posting spree when I wear something amazing, haha.

 

[alisaie]

That's why when I constantly change things around it's at least from the same fandom so people can identify me that way. And if it's a big fandom like Pokemon I limit it to the same character or Pokemon (or generation). It's what I did with Pokemon Special, Tales of Symphonia, etc and because of it people still sometimes connect me to those fandoms because I had put the impression on them. I still try to not change themes as often anymore but when I do I make sure it's the same fandom unless I'm ready to go to the next fandom for a while (or its a filler like my one/two day Thalia theme. But that was a case of my liking the avatar I made + filler before the mod collab).

Just like Derodero and One Piece for example. You (Dero) might have changed your theme a lot but a lot of it was one One Piece theme to another so it still gave off the impression than if you went from One Piece to Gintama back to One Piece to make DMC and so forth.

Aaaand I totaaally agree with the good theme thing. When I have a signature or avatar I really like or proud of I go around and post as much as I can so I can see it over and over again. ♥

 

[derozio]

Ooh, didn't knew people saw me as the one piece guy. Glad I could be a little consistent with that, at least, haha. Current one's from One Piece too, btw lmao.

Although, tbh, one shouldn't restrict themselves to having themes of just a particular fandom so that they become more recognizable due to them being associated with those particular fandom based themes. Its okay if you absolutely LOVE some series and you decide to stick with it for that reason but to stick to a particular series/fandom even after being bored of it just to remain recognizable is something I'm not a fan of. I'll stick with One Piece forever because I think I'll never stop loving the series and not because people have come to recognise me as that One Piece guy and I'd like to maintain that image, no.

Edit - btw not directed at you, tara. :p just saying