What to use (default avatar)

[Tracy]

I've been rocking a form of avatar 1 since the site went up, and it tends to blend well with both the dark and light backgrounds. I kind of like it because the spread arms emphasizes taking in the cosmos.
BUT... and there is always a but involved (or butt in my case!).... I've been thinking about getting a new default avatar set up.
Leaning towards one of the other two if I don't keep the avatar 1. Avatar 4 was thrown in as an outlier.

I freely acknowledge I am somewhat (or actually a whole lot) artistically challenged... so here's the chance for folks to chime in!

Avatar 1

Avatar 2

Avatar 3

Avatar 4

Avatar 5

Avatar 6

Avatar 7

 

[cpvr]

I’m rocking with the third avatar!

 

[Tracy]

I run circular avatars on the site, so to give a little more realistic look this is what most would appear like.

 

[cpvr]

I run circular avatars on the site, so to give a little more realistic look this is what the first 3 would appear like.

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Avatar 3 is the best option to me😃 Nice work! They’re all good though. It‘s really a tough choice.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I'm digging Avatar 1, I love the hues of green in the background it looks the coolest out of all them!

 

[Cory]

I like this one the best as a graphic.

I like this one the best as an avatar.

 

[Heatman]

I prefer the 3rd frame more. It's a beauty.

 

[Kyng]

My vote is for Avatar 2, but I also like Avatar 1 .

 

[joelr]

1. Would definitely encourage you to ask your members the same question for a better response.

2. My personal suggestion is to go with something where:
- The design is clear, easy, and simple. Avatars are fairly small, and if there's too much noise going on either with multiple colors or multiple elements, it can look very busy. This is especially important if you're using this as the default, since it's likely to appear several times in a typical forum.
- The design incorporates the image of a telescope. From what I've gathered, your community actually focuses more on the equipment for stargazing photography - which is best represented by the symbol of a telescope - rather than the celestial elements, which could be represented by symbols such as shooting stars, galaxies, twinkling lights, etc. (I took a quick peek at your forum index, and out of your 12 Recent Topics, it looked like 9 of them were solidly focused on equipment).
- You think about unifying your ico, logo, and default avatar. You have a really unique and fun niche here, and you can use this as an opportunity to refresh multiple design elements of your community.

 

[Darth Cognus]

Odd one out, I tend to see 5 and 7 as more appropriate for a suitable avatar as neutral enough to convey the no personal avatar status and if they think it's too impersonal, encourage them to get one.