Hey folks! Do you remember playing with those Magnetic Poetry kits? You know, those novelty products featuring words adhered to magnetic tiles which you can arrange to form lines of prose on your fridge?

If you don’t, today I present to you a template from which you can create these fascinating refrigerator poems in Aviary!

And if you do remember them, today I present to you a template from which you can create these fascinating refrigerator poems in Aviary!



To begin, launch the Refrigerator Magnet template.

The application is very simple to use. When you launch the template, you’ll be presented with a graphic of a refrigerator, with a series of words surrounding it.



To compose your poem, simply click then drag your desired words onto the fridge.



Then, it’s just a matter of arranging your chosen words on the canvas to create your very own poem!
Simple, isn’t it?

Sometimes, the challenge of making a creation comes in the form of limitations you’re presented with in a particular setting. In this challenge, the goal is to make your own lines of prose, poetry, one-liners, philosophical meanderings, using only the words and word fragments presented in the application.

What may seem like a simple challenge at first may throw you off down the line, as you find yourself scrambling for words outside of the present inclusions!

When you’re satisfied with your poem, click the “Save As” button in the top right corner and follow the on-screen instructions to save the image to Aviary.
Additionally, you can save a flattened copy of the graphic to your computer by selecting File > Export > Export Bitmap.



Once your poem is saved, you can go to your creation page and select the “Send to Friends” option in the right hand column to send the poem to anyone you desire.



Go on try making some poems yourself, using Aviary’s Refrigerator Magnetic Poetry generator! And you won’t even need to get up to go to the fridge… unless you want a Coke.
Next blog post, Brewing Homemade Cola in Aviary. I may need to sleep on this one.

Here are a few examples:
Old Man Poem.egg by meowza on Aviary
Abe.egg by meowza on Aviary

Try making some of your own!
You can post them as comments here, or participate in the forum thread.
I'll include my favorites in this blog post.

Comment on this post

Creating Custom Mugs in Aviary

One of the cool things you can do with the online creation tools on Aviary is to create graphics to apply on your own custom products.
In this example, I’m going to show how to create and place your own personalized image on a coffee mug that you can order online.
Personalized products always make great gifts for friends or loved ones or friends that you love.

What better way to say “I care” than with a gift of a personalized… “mug”!


There are a number of online shops that allow you to order custom products. For my example, I’ll be using Zazzle.

To begin, open Raven, Aviary’s Online Vector Editor.



Using Raven’s powerful vector drawing tools, you can create fully scalable art, suitable for printing on various products.



New to Raven? Here's a tutorial on the basic functions of Raven to help you get started creating vector art. Or, check out the Raven Documentation for further information on the application.

When you’re satisfied with the image, you will need to download the image to your computer.
To do so, Select Export > Export Bitmap from the Menu, select your file extension from the pop-up (I would recommend the PNG format for the least destructive compression), then select “Generate Image” to download the image to your computer.



Once your image is downloaded, launch Zazzle’s custom mug creator.

Select “Add Image” and add the Raven creation you had previously saved to your computer.



Then it’s all a matter of moving, resizing and positioning the graphic where you want it oriented on the mug.



When you’re satisfied with the graphic and orientation, go on and purchase the product, park your seat in front of the mailbox, and wait for your very own personalized mug to arrive!



Additionally, you can even post your mug for sale in Zazzle’s marketplace to earn yourself some serious money for every sale you generate from your design!

To open and explore the vector file used in my example, click the image below to launch the design in Raven, Aviary’s online vector editor.

Octodrink.egg by meowza on Aviary

Comment on this post

When I first heard about an earthquake hitting the nation of Haiti, my first thought was, Yikes. I hope nobody got hurt. Then, the pictures began flowing through the media stream online and on t.v. and it was apparent that we were dealing with one of the greatest disasters in many of our lifetimes.

The humanitarian in all of us wants to do whatever we can to help.
So what can we, as a community of artists, do?

One way to spread awareness is by creating and bearing graphics, banners, or avatars on your website or social media networks showing your support for the relief efforts.

One of the sad realities is that during situations of major disaster response, rights management for photograph usage become ignored or overlooked, and finding graphics to use to show your support become scarce.
So in this post, I've included a template for you to personalize and customize for free use on your site.

Personalizing the Banner

To customize the banner, first, click the following image to open the template in Aviary's online editor:


To customize the Helped Haiti text on the banner, select the "Help" Layer from the Layers Menu and select the Text Tool. Then, just type in your custom text over the existing words.



You can also change the "Support relief aid in Haiti" text by selecting the "Support" Layer from the Layers Menu and following the same instructions.

To import your website or personal logo to the image, select File > Import Image from the Menu.
Follow the on-screen instructions to upload an image from your computer, from a URL, or from an online photo sharing site into the template.

If the uploaded image is larger than the canvas size of the banner, select "Resize Image" to resize the graphic to fit the canvas when prompted.



Then, use the Transformation Tool to resize, rotate, and move the graphic where you want on the banner.



To save the image to your computer for uploading to your own site, you can either save the image to Aviary's server by selecting "Save As" and following the on-screen instructions, or you can save it your computer.

To save it to your computer, select File > Export Image and select the file format you want, probably JPG from the dropdown.
Then select "Generate Image" to generate and download the graphic to your computer.



You are now ready to upload your custom banner to display on your website so all your friends, family, and followers can see you support the relief efforts.



Here are free templates for you to use and display on your own sites:

728 px x 90 px:


300 px x 250 px:


Please do not hesitate to create your own graphics, banners, and templates as well.
If you create a template that you would be willing to share with the public, please link it here or in the forum thread, so I can share it in this blog post.

Our hearts go out to you, Haiti.

Comment on this post

Staff Spotlight: Meowza

Staff Member: Meowza

Welcome to the first in a new series of staff spotlights. I thought we would start of with the awesome Mr. Meowza Katz. Author of Aviary’s first book, technical reader for the second, (Introducing Aviary), artist extraordinaire and all round funny Mr Nice Guy. If you haven’t seen his work you don’t know what you are missing. And if you have, this may be a small insight into the world of Meowza...


So, Meowza, introduce yourself

Hi, my name is Meowza. I'm a drawler of things from Vancouver, Canada.
My likes include peppermint gum, erasers that look like food, and my yittle fiancéface.
My dislikes include erasers that look like pink.

Q. What do you do here at Aviary?

I'm an illustrator, designer, brander, writer-of-bloggy-things here at Aviary. I drew all them birdy and egg icons you see on the site. I wrote many of the Phoenix tutorials and lessons found in the Tutorials section, forums, and in the first Aviary book, More Than One Way to Skin a Cat. I also help design graphics, slides, promotional material for external use in presentations, shows, exhibitions, etc. I'm also a contributor to the Aviary [url=http://aviary.com/blog]blog[/url] where I post things that interest me and probably two other people!

Q. Walk me through a typical day on your end of Aviary?

I don't have a typical day here at Aviary, as different needs arise for different occasions. I usually prioritize requests made by members of the team who need graphics for the site, promotional material, etc. so that if anyone else needs a design, I'll make sure to get the most urgent needs addressed first. I'll also spend my time trying to come up with relevant projects, challenges, design ideas for tutorials, threads, and blog posts for you cool cats to play around with.

Q.How did you get started with Aviary?

I was a frequent contributor to Aviary's sister site, Worth1000.com. When they started Aviary, Avi asked me early on to design some of the early logos, ads and teasers for the suite. As the site grew and evolved, I continued on designing new thingies to go along with the new thingies on the site. Wait a minute, if Aviary was birthed from Worth1000, but Worth1000 is Aviary's sister...

Q.Tell us something that no one might know about you.?

What I look like.

Q. What are the 3 things you would most like to see happen to (/at/on) Aviary?

The three things I want to see happen most at Aviary are, *********** ** *** ****, ****-**** *************, and *** ***********. These are all features that are currently in development to be released this year, so I can't really mention them quite yet. So my 4th, 5th, and 6th, things I would most like to see here are:
· Additional user stats and rewards that would give users to create frequently, such as creation milestone awards.
· Challenges given more prominence on the site somehow so they're not just reserved to those who come check out the forums.
· A frequently requested feature and one that will probably be implemented, is for users to be able to organize their own creations.

Q. What is your favourite junk food?

Coca-Cola and popcorn.

Q. What are your favourite creations that you have made here on aviary ?

Some off the top of my head are:

Matching Light I just think elephants are cute.


SeaMonster I just think the little lizard is cute.


In The Clouds I just think massive deities with full 'stache/beard are cute


Q. Who or what influences your art and is there any other form of art that you particularly enjoy doing?

I'm most inspired by cartoons in most of the forms of art I do, especially the fundamentals nurtured through the characters of Looney Toons. Even in my non-cartoony creations, I still draw inspiration from my cartoon roots in terms of trying to make images with strong readability. Cartoons are caricatures of life, simplified to maximize appeal and relatability to a viewer. If a design doesn't work in it's most basic stripped-down ideals, all the fancy bells and whistles you add won't help it.
In my spare time, I mostly enjoy playing around with character design and experimenting with textures, evident in some of my personal work at www.meowza.org.

Anything else you would like to say ?

I graduated from the same high school that Colin Mochrie did.

Thanks Meowza, for that extraordinarily awesome incite into your life here at Aviary

Some of my all time faves......



Comment on this post

As an illustrator, I often find myself analyzing and deconstructing designs I see, especially character designs, to try to figure out why they do or don’t work from a visual standpoint.
The importance of good design is especially important in something like video game character design, as characters do hold the personal link between the game and the player. I mean, if you don’t care about the character, why would you need to see to it that he succeeds?

I took on the nearly impossible task of trying to come up with my list of the Top Ten Video Game Character Designs. Please note that my selections were based purely on the character designs and how they relate to the game, rather than for their popularity and general success in the consciousness of the gaming public.
The definition of good design varies from selection to selection in my list, as great designs need not follow one set of rules. Various factors can make a design good, such as overall aesthetics, practicality within the confines of the game they’re set in, to just plain looking awesome.

With that said, here are my top ten choices:

10. Hotsuma – Shinobi (PS2)
He’s just a beautifully designed character in general. But what sets him a cut above just being a “cool character” is the way his long, flowing red scarf plays an integral part in the flow of the character’s every move. It’s not as if the scarf was tagged on as an afterthought so he looks good, but rather plays a definitive role in the general aesthetics of the character, in a lightning paced hack-and-slash game which finds the character dashing and rolling through the air over chasms and obstacles regularly with exquisite grace.

9. The Long Block – Tetris

I know, I know. There’s nothing that should be aesthetically pleasing with the “l” block in Tetris. Say what you will about this choice, but when you’ve been building up your stack with only layers away to certain doom, there is no more beautiful sight in the world to see than The Long Block.



8. Earthworm Jim
Many years ago, I remember reading about Dave Perry who left Virgin Games to start Shiny Entertainment. Totally enthralled by the fluidity of the graphics in his previous games (Aladdin, Cool Spot), I couldn’t wait to see what he developed with Shiny. Not long after, the company released several concept sketches for Earthworm Jim, and I was ecstatic. The character held all the virtues of what made classical cartoons of the 70s and 80s great, while the facial expressions, and most importantly, the dramatic body language deployed by the character, while donning the space suit, created one of the most “readable” characters in video games.

7. Sackboy – Little Big Planet
The most recent of the selections in this list is of one of the most gorgeous games ever created on any console. There is no character more perfect to take the helm of this multimedia world than our wool-knit hero. Textures aside, the character works even as a 2-D cartoon because the facial aesthetics of the character are so whimsically proportioned and comical that you can’t help but smile when you see him in his various forms.




6. The Cast of Team Fortress 2

My inclusion of Team Fortress 2 echoes the sentiment of Avi’s post on Half Life from a while back. Basically, if you’ve never played a First Person Shooter in your life and picked up Team Fortress 2, you would have to have no prior knowledge of the game, characters, or mechanics to know what every character’s role on the field is. The designs behind the characters draws from our own graphical associations and stereotypes as good, if not better, than any other game out there.

5. Pac Man

To the irony of many jokes on the design, the creator of Pac Man’s design, Toru Iwatami, did, in fact, conceptualize the character while looking down on his pizza with a missing slice. I’m not going to sit here and say that Pac Man is a brilliant design by any means, but with all practicality, game context, and platform limitations considered, there could not have been a more perfect character design for the game. Not to mention, Pac Man still holds the highest brand awareness to any video game character in North America.



4. Sonic the Hedgehog

With the progression of 3D games in the industry near the end of the 90s, we saw the dramatic downfall of one of video games most beloved characters. But I am keeping Sonic on this list because there are not many who parallel his relevance in his prime than Sonic did in the early 90s. Often imitated, no other character quite embodied the quick, snarky, Generation X attitude befit for the 90s the way Sonic did. Perhaps it’s in part due to the way he perfectly captured the attitude of the times why he couldn’t carry through the turn of the century as his base of fans grew up.





3. Solid Snake – Metal Gear Solid

The baddest character design in video games. Ever. From his constant furrowed brow due to his low worn sash, to being covered neck to toe in some of the most recognizable bodysuits designed since the costume worn by Spiderman, Snake embodies everything “cool” in a character design. So recognizable are his suits that anyone who dares put it on is instantly distinguishable as Snake, regardless of who has it on.




2. Mario

No video game list would be complete without him. It’s interesting to note that a lot of Mario’s most synonymous features were elements designed out of necessity over design strategy. His trademark hat was added as a means to forego added work of animating hair when the character jumped, and his moustache was only added in to avoid the need to detail facial expressions under low resolution pixels. Ask a million designers with all the resources at their disposal to design an Italian plumber for a video game and I would bet not one of them would ever come up with a character design stronger, more recognizable over nearly thirty years, and iconic as the Mario we know today who was designed out of necessity and limitations.

1. Amaterasu - Okami

I said I wasn’t going for most famous or iconic, but rather the character I felt embodied all the elements of great design. Sure, a character like Mario works well in nearly any game (not produced for the Cd-i that is!) from platforms, to racing, to RPGs, so doesn’t that make him the more versatile of the two, while the white wolf of Okami would not work in nearly the same myriad of genres? My reason for picking the lead character of Okami is that it is because she fits so perfectly within her game that she becomes synonymous within the context of the world in which she is existing. Not to mention she is a gorgeous work of design to begin with, in maybe the most visually appealing games I’ve ever seen. Heavily inspired by the Japanese art styles of Sumi-e and Ukiyo-e, Okami is a game that literally paints a work of art from one scene to the next, with the white wolf, Amaterasu, at the forefront. My choice for this character as my top pick for best character design lies on the fact that, from a visual standpoint, you can pause the game during any frame and not only read the character’s body language, but experience a new work of art one would desire to frame and hang on their wall.




Of course this is only one person’s opinion.
The next time you’re playing a game and find yourself fascinated with the character on the screen, try asking yourself why that character holds appeal to you.

Are there any video game characters you find well designed? What makes their designs great in your opinion?

Comment on this post

A Logo is Like a One Second Job Interview

Imagine your logo as a one second job interview. In a job interview, you have very limited time to sell yourself to a potential employer. In the case of a logo, you may only have a second to sell your brand to a potential customer or user, if you’re lucky.



If you had a one second job interview, how would you present yourself?
Instead of cramming your life story into that one second, you would be much better off using one or two words to convey your message.
In the case of a logo design when you only have a second of a viewer’s attention, how do you convey this message graphically?

Simplicity

In our most basic form, our ability to retain images is based on our brains breaking down graphical elements into their most basic shapes.

For more in-depth views on the importance of design foundation, please see my earlier post, Great Design Lies in the Foundation.

Almost all the most memorable logos in existence work for this very reason. A great logo, like most design, works even when it’s stripped down to its basic silhouette.



If you’re ever in doubt, analyze the silhouette of your own design and see how well your image maintains its readability.

Or, try the Pencil test.

Imagine, or mock-up, your logo as if it were printed on the side of your company pencil. If your logo is no longer recognizable at this scaled down size, you may want to reconsider the number or placement of the elements in your graphic.



And what type of shapes you use can have monumental impact on the overall feel of your brand.
For example, using hard angles/spikes conveys urgency and attention, while rounded corners invites a user with a sense of welcome and softness.
As with our own Aviary logo, we employed these ideals by using rounded connected shapes to convey an inviting atmosphere with a sense of freedom and fluidity.

Typeface

Imagine the style of font and lettering you use as your voice in this job interview.
Do you want to walk into this job interview with a loud, boisterous voice, announcing to the employer you’ve arrived?
Or do you want to convey a sense of playfulness in your tone?

Using the appropriate typeface can work as well as vocal expressions can for your brand identity.



Styles

There are several different approaches to crafting a logo.

Text – The Text logo uses only type to communicate the brand. Since this is the most basic of the various approaches, it is therefore of utmost importance to select the right font, and equally important, the right color(s), to identify your company with. This style is generally favored for informative websites and companies, as it presents a non-distracting element for a company intent on showcasing their most valuable assets, the content.

Symbol – The opposite of the Text logo, the Symbol logo is stripped down to its bare graphic form to communicate the company’s brand. This particular style is generally reserved for long established brands that have the luxury of such brand recognition.

Text and Symbol – With this particular style, the logo is usually presented as a graphic with adjacent text. The upside to this style is that it gives the logo a chance to convey its message through a graphical and vocal representation. The downside is that the added element can inadvertently inundate a user with sensory overload. But when done right, the text and symbol become synonymous in a viewer’s mind.

Embedded Symbol Within Text – This style places symbol(s) within a design’s type for subliminal recollection and identifiability of a brand. When employed correctly, this style can have long lasting rewards for a company, as the logo can, and should, stand strong on its own, with the added symbolism a prize for the attentive and the astute.

Color

Finally, color can play as important a role as any of the other aforementioned elements.

A user can identify with color using previous subconscious associations, providing long-lasting brand awareness for a company.
For example, the color red generally encompasses a sense of attention and energy, prevalent and befitting for something like a cola company.



Challenge

Using the preceding tips and your own observations, join in the forum fun and try creating a new logo for Aviary for fun!
Feel free to try your hand at using Aviary’s established brand to construct your logo, or give Aviary a whole new look and feel as your imagination deems fit!
Note: This is not a contest to design a new logo for Aviary, but rather a fun exercise in design.

Here are a few of my favorites from the community:
Aviary logo take two.egg by WalrusGumboot on Aviary
WalrusGumboot employed a literal approach that plays well to Aviary's motto, "Creation on the fly".
Aviary Logo.egg by mpeutz on Aviary
Mpeutz took the letters of the word "Aviary" and embedded it into the shape of a bird, an opposite take on Aviary's current logo with the eggs embedded into the "Aviary" text.
Aviary Logo Contest.egg by kayjaycali on Aviary
Kayjaycali used simplicity. A design strategy often used by websites to not distract from the site's content.
Logo, Caligraphy.egg by anderlohr on Aviary
Anderlohr applied a hand-drawn looking text to evoke a mood of loose, freehand artistry.
Aviary Logo Challenge.egg by FalseReflex on Aviary
FalseReflex created a design using shapes that evoked a sense of fun and airyness, giving Aviary a loose and playful environment in his interpretation.

Happy Aviating!

Comment on this post

Inspired by the incredible work by Matt Hawkins of Custom Paper Toys, I decided to put together a paper cut-out template of our fine feathered friend, Phoenix, that you can cut out and assemble yourself!



To begin, open the Paper Phoenix template here.
Feel free to make any edits you desire using Raven's powerful vector drawing tools.

New to Raven? Here's a tutorial on the basic functions of Raven to help you get started creating vector art.

Then, save the image to your computer using the File > Export > Export Bitmap function then follow the onscreen instructions to save the image.

Print the downloaded image on your printer (refer to your printer documentation if you don't know how!), preferably on card stock.

Next, cut the individual pieces out and perforate the slits marked on the pieces by short black lines, using an X-acto knife.


Then it's all a matter of assembling the figure!

Begin by gluing, or taping, tab A to the inside panel of the head shape. Close the box by affixing the B and C tabs to form a box for the head.
For the body segment, glue tab D to the inside panel of the body to form a box as well.



Fold down the tabs on the leg segments and glue tabs E and F to the inside panel of the body to form the figure's legs.

Insert the arm segments into the sides of the body, and place the tab on the egg into the slit on the Phoenix's left hand.

Finally, attach the head and body segments together by inserting the J tabs into the slits on the bottom of the head segment, and insert the K tab located on the headdress segment into the slit on the head to complete the piece.



And that's it!

Just because Aviary is a suite of web-based design tools, it does not mean you're limited to digital designs.
I'm hoping this post can kick start your own ideas of other real media projects you can create using Aviary.

Have fun!

Comment on this post

Aviary CES Booth

Last June we were fortunate enough to win the New York Tech Meetup Classic



Our prize was a free booth at the Computer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas

If you are in the neighborhood come by and say hello.

We are in South Hall 4 - Booth #35338

Comment on this post

Hey folks, have you ever wanted to see what you’d look like cartoonified?

Well, you’re just in luck! As we present to you a template for you to easily create your own custom avatars in Aviary in mere seconds, in a feature we like to call, “Creating Custom Avatars in Aviary in Mere Seconds.” (Creative name, eh?)



Begin by launching the template above.



If the screen looks confusing to you at first, don’t fret! I’m here to show you all you need to know in order to create your very own custom avatar in seconds!
Unless you are in actuality a baldy no-face, the avatar might not look anything like you to begin with.
The template is open for as much customization as you desire, or as little as you want if you aren’t the dawdling, extensive type.
Let’s begin by changing the color of your shirt!



To change colors of any of the elements in the picture, follow these simple steps.
1. Click the element you want to alter, in this example, the green of the shirt.
2. Click the Color box from the Fill menu on the bottom right of the workspace.
3. This will bring up the Color Picker, from where you can select your desired color.
4. Click “Ok” and your piece will be altered with your selected color!



Next, we can begin to fill in the facial features. Of course, you are free to draw in your own facial features using Raven’s powerful drawing tools.
Or you can use the provided facial features in the template.
Let’s begin with the eyes.
To set a style of eyes for your character,
1. Click the arrow next to the layer labeled “SELECT YOUR EYES” from the Layers menu to expand your options.
2. Toggle the visibility icon next to the various eye samples on and off to view them and select the eye you want to use.



As with the shirt color, you can alter the color of the avatar’s eyes the same way, by selecting the iris’ and setting the color using the Color Picker.



Additionally, you can move, resize, and rotate any element in the design as you see fit. To do so, select the square box on the right of your desired layer from the Layers menu.
This will create a bounding box around the selected element from which you can drag to move, or drag the corner handles to resize the area.



Continue this process to add in your desired eyebrows, nose, mouth, hair, and any accessories you deem fit. If you’re already versed in vector editing, feel free to customize It further by drawing in your own features!

When you are satisfied with your avatar, select File > Save As and follow the onscreen instructions to save your creation to Aviary in case you want to come back and edit your avatar later.

Then, you can save the image to your computer by selecting Export > Export Bitmap, to save your image as a .jpg on your computer (Note: Make sure to save your image with the “.jpg” file extension.)

Then upload your avatar to your profile in your favorite online community for all to see you in all your cartoonified glory!



So, go on and try making yourself! Or make your favorite character or celebrity!
Can you guess who these are?



Check out some of these user created avatars showcasing various levels of customization you can incorporate into your own design:







Comment on this post

How to Make an Etsy Banner and Avatar in Aviary

Welcome to Part 2 of our Etsy Shop Makeover!

As a seller, you can not underestimate the importance of having a good, eye-catching banner and avatar in your shop. Your banner and avatar should tie into your shop branding and immediately tell a prospective customer what your shop is about either by evoking the mood of your shop, showcasing samples of products your shop carries, or both!

In this post, I'll be showing how to create your Etsy banner and avatar using Phoenix, Aviary's free, online Image Editor. So you won't even need expensive photo editing software!



Creating Your Banner

To create your banner, begin by opening the free Etsy banner template.

Click to open the Etsy Banner template

The template will open in Aviary's online Image Editor.



Note: The template contains a window in the center area. The content inside the window will comprise your banner and all outside content will not.

To customize your banner, you can import your product images into the document.
To do so, select File > Import File from the menu and import your product photo from your computer.

Then, drag this layer BELOW the layer labeled "Window" from the Layers Panel.

Using the Transformation Tool, you can resize and rotate the image to fit within the window and arrange your compositions for your banner.



Next, you'll want to change the shop title to your own shop name.
To do so, select the text layer labeled "Your Shop Name" from the Layers Panel, and select the Text Tool from the Tools on the left hand side.

Here, you can delete the default text and type in your own shop name.
Using the Text Tool options, you can even change the font to any font from your computer and change the color and size of the text.

You can download from thousands of free fonts to play with from dafont.com!



Once you're satisfied with your banner design, you'll need to prepare the image for use in your shop.
Using the template, you can easily crop the graphic to the appropriate size.
Select the layer, "Crop Bar" from the Layers Panel.
Then, select Image > Crop Selection from the Menu at the top to crop your image to the appropriate size of 760 px wide by 100 px tall.


Now you're ready to upload your banner to your shop in all its glory!

Select File > Export Image to save the image to your computer to take you to the Export Image menu.
From here, select JPG from the file extension dropdown, then select "generate image" to prepare the image for exporting.
When the file is prepared, press the Download button, name your file (be sure to use the .jpg extension) and save it to your computer!



Then, go to Your Etsy > Appearance, and upload your newly created banner for all the world to see!



Creating Your Avatar

Next, you'll need a shiny new avatar to go along with your banner.
Creating your banner is a simple process using Aviary's Image Editor.

Begin by launching Aviary's Image Editor.



Then, upload a photo of one of your favorite products that represents your shop to the program (File > Import File).



Then, you'll need to crop a square shaped section of the image to serve as your avatar.
To do this, select the Rectangular Selection Tool and, while holding the Ctrl key down to constrain the square proportions, drag out a square selection on the area you want cropped.



Then, select Image > Crop Selection to crop the image to your new selected square area.



Next, you'll need to resize the image to 75 x 75 pixels for preparation to upload to Etsy.
Simply select Image > Image Resize and change the width and height of the image to 75 pixels each and press OK to apply the resizing.



And you're all set!

Bonus Avatar Frames

Here are some bonus avatar frames you can add to your avatar to help promotions on your shop.


To use these templates, simply click the frame below to launch the image editor.
Then, upload your existing avatar to the file by selecting File > Import File, locate your file, then import the image.

Then, drag the layer containing your avatar BELOW the layer labeled "Frame" from the Layers Panel to apply the frame.



You can change the color of the frame by first selecting the Frame layer from the Layers Panel, then selecting Image > Hue & Saturation, and adjust the Hue slider to change the color of the frame.

Export the image to your computer (File > Export Image) and your sale avatar is all ready to go!

Remember, you can change, edit, and alter your banners and avatars as often as you want! So have fun with them!

Happy sales!

Missed Part 1 of our Etsy Shop Makeover? Check it out here, Enhancing Your Etsy Photos using Aviary's Online Photo Editor

Comment on this post