So I created a new logo/avatar for myself...

[StrandedonEarth]

But I'm not sure if I like it. I may just go back to my old avatar of Kzanol, the thrintun from Larry Niven's World of Ptaavs, who was stuck in stasis on Earth for over a billion years, which fit my handle perfectly.

I created it mostly as a signature logo for any new videos or memes I may make in the future.

So I just can't decide... This?

or this?

I also tried to combine them, but then it's not really legible at all as an avatar...

Edit: Added Kerbart's contribution to the poll...

E2 And then there's...

Edited March 11, 2018 by StrandedonEarth

[IncongruousGoat]

I prefer the Stranded on Earth logo, but that's more because I'm of the opinion that it's altogether too accurate, than for any particular visual appeal reason.

It does come out a bit distorted when used as a profile pic, though.

[Kerbart]

For an avatar that doubles as a recognizable logo on youtube et al, I would go for something simpler like this:

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Kerbart
Art Brushed letters look better.

[StrandedonEarth]

Hey, that's nice, mind if I use it? I'll just color it up a bit....

[Kerbart]

No go ahead. Do you want the illustrator file?

[StrandedonEarth]

I can just download what you posted, I tend to use Paint or Paint3D, as I don't have illustrator. I also added that selection to the poll. Thanks!

[YNM]

TBH your original logo of an Earth-textured words is fine - the problem lies in contrasts. You need a large enough area for your Earth texture, you need a large enough text yet you can only have one in a profile picture.

I say try something with maps. I'll try one.

Edited March 10, 2018 by YNM

[StrandedonEarth]

2 minutes ago, YNM said:

TBH your original logo of an Earth-textured words is fine - the problem lies in contrasts. You need a large enough are for your Earth texture, you need a large enough text yet you can only have one in a profile picture.

I say try something with maps. I'll try one.

Yeah, I used the "Blue Marble" as a backdrop, but I think the clouds hurt the contrast

[YNM]

21 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

but I think the clouds hurt the contrast

Actually, the clouds are fine. The problem is the variety of colours. I'm trying one off Google's "satellite-view globe", which have washed-out ground colours and near-consistent sea colour.

 

It's sort of the same problem with people who make words with a different colour for every character - there's just too much variety.

[HebaruSan]

I think you should use something that visually expresses your username, like a background of a peaceful lakeshore with lots of nice foliage, and then a guy in a space suit doing this:

[YNM]

Here's my try :

Spoiler

Texture only noticeable on large scale though. At small scale it's just vague blue.

Edited March 11, 2018 by YNM

[StrandedonEarth]

Aaaannnnnd I'm out of likes for the day...

@YNM Not bad, but it more resembles a sun. I think I'm just going color up Kerbart's, as it also has a similar wordplay theme: Stranded (on top of) Earth. Mine may work better if I use a cloudless globe as background...

[StrandedonEarth]

1 hour ago, HebaruSan said:

I think you should use something that visually expresses your username, like a background of a peaceful lakeshore with lots of nice foliage, and then a guy in a space suit doing this:

Well, I managed to create this:

I do like the "Magic Select" feature in Paint3D

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by StrandedonEarth

[HebaruSan]

22 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Well, I managed to create this:

Nice! Your astronaut looks properly despairing.

22 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I do like the "Magic Select" feature in Paint3D

I used the magic wand in GIMP. I tried drawing the concept freehand first, but it came out like a first grader drew it.

[StrandedonEarth]

Hmmm, I guess this works as an avatar too. It's The Martian. But for a video/meme signature I still think I need to colorize Kerbart's, when I have more time to spare from doing chores, instead of (supposedly) snacking

Edited March 11, 2018 by StrandedonEarth

[Kerbart]

1 hour ago, YNM said:

Here's my try :

[x]

Texture only noticeable on large scale though. At small scale it's just vague blue.

You could reverse it. Have the earth there and cut the letters out in black.

Main issue remains scale, as you mentioned. I would shy away from photos and pick something stylistic (“But Kerbart, you have some Soviet-era propaganda poster, that's pretty much a photo.”  “Yes, but it's not a logo either.”)

[StrandedonEarth]

But this looks sharp, I must say... Thanks @Kerbart

Edited March 11, 2018 by StrandedonEarth

[Kerbart]

Nice! The avatar gets cut off at the bottom, you'll probably need to resize it just a bit when uploading it to the forum. I like it! But I might be biased...

Edit: I see you're working on it. Make sure it's 150×150 pixels!

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by Kerbart

[StrandedonEarth]

Yeah, I saw that, still playing with it. Now I have black bars on the side, it may be one or the other. It would be nice if the resizing gizmo didn't leave those there, cuz that's what they're from...

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by StrandedonEarth

[Kerbart]

Hang on, let me play with it.

 

[StrandedonEarth]

1 minute ago, Kerbart said:

Hang on, let me play with it.

 

Fixed, I just had to make the original canvas a little bigger so the resizer could crop properly

 

[Kerbart]

Here's the image as a 150×150 icon (png):

 

And here's the large (750×750) one.

I added some whitespace so that should stop it from running into the edges.

1 minute ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Fixed, I just had to make the original canvas a little bigger so the resizer could crop properly

 

It looks P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!

[StrandedonEarth]

Although the Martian on the beach makes for a good profile cover photo/banner...

[YNM]

3 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Not bad, but it more resembles a sun.

... in a vain attempt of getting any contrast...

But yeah, I like the current colored one.

2 hours ago, Kerbart said:

You could reverse it. Have the earth there and cut the letters out in black.

I considered having a double-line-colour text, but I can't get them to work (I'm only trustworthy at paint, not even paint3d).

Maybe a typefont sort of the one used for Star Wars logo with the black set at transparent.

2 hours ago, Kerbart said:

I would shy away from photos and pick something stylistic (“But Kerbart, you have some Soviet-era propaganda poster, that's pretty much a photo.”  “Yes, but it's not a logo either.”)

Haha, mine is vaguely a rainbow after a good distance... I'm just not bothered changing it across my .net presence...

Edited March 11, 2018 by YNM

[StrandedonEarth]

13 hours ago, Kerbart said:

Edit: I see you're working on it. Make sure it's 150×150 pixels!

Actually, any size seems to work, the forum software automatically resizes it and then lets you adjust the crop, as long as it's (almost?) square, which is what caused the initial difficulty