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Animating/improving header image quality?

  1. veltis
    Member

    Hi,

    Am delighted by the new header option, and am of course pushing it as far as it can go...

    1. Is there a way to improve picture quality? It gets all grainy after upload. I assume this is because there is a size limit? Could I host an image on my own server and have a clearer result? Otherwise I can't use sharp-edged vector graphics, or even clean text on a picture, without it looking like they're under pebbled glass. Or am I doing something wrong?

    2. I know someone asked this already, but no answer was posted: can I upload an animated gif? I tried, and it didn't work--just shows the first image. See rubbergum.wordpress.com.

    Thanks!

  2. sunburntkamel
    Member

    you can only do that with regulus, as it's the only theme that lets you reference an image, rather than editting it.

  3. drmike
    Member

    1) It shouldn't be getting grainy on uploading. I not that you're using a *.jpg for your header. Have you tried a *.gif or a *.png graphic? The software shouldn't be doing anything to change uploaded pictures when they're uploaded.

    2) Are you sure that's animated? Even when I pull it up seperatly, it just sits there and I know uploaded animated *.gifs have worked in the past.

  4. veltis
    Member

    Hmm. Will check/play around with it. Gif is animated when I open the file separately in a browser window, but I may be doing this wrong, will try again. Thanks for the fast response!

  5. veltis
    Member

    Tried uploading a plain gif into Neat, and it's still grainy... also tried doing a new test animation, which runs fine when I open it from my desktop in Firefox, but doesn't do anything (not even in the cropping page) after uploading to WordPress.

    So it's entirely possible that I am missing some essential part of the saving-as-an-animation process(which I've never done till now), but what baffles me is how I'm screwing up the uploading a plain, non-animated, pre-cropped gif or jpg part(which I do endlessly for work). Any ideas? I could still try a png, just to be sure..

  6. veltis
    Member

    Graininess randomly solved! Suddenly .gif works. Jpg, no. Does anyone know if it needs to be a particular type of gif?

  7. veltis
    Member

    OK. Can consistently upload a clean gif to the header with an ImageReady preset, but not when using Save for Web in Illustrator. Mysterious.

    Now I got the animation to show up on the cropping page, but after that, no animation, just the first gif. What I should try next?

  8. sulz
    Member

    veltis: is it because the jpg picture is enlarged after you crop the photo for the header image?

    for me, thr's no such problem because i got the exact measurements for all the themes that use the photo cropping thingy for the header image. so with those measurements i edit my headers in paint before uploading them. that way i get the exact picture that i want at the size it's required - no grainy pictures!

    you can search for the exact measurements in the forum somewhere...

  9. timethief
    Member

    veltis - I'm using the same method as sulz. The measurements are:
    Ambiru 500*225
    Benevolence 700*225
    Blix 690*115
    Connections 741*143
    Contempt 750*140
    Neat 700*200
    Regulus 730*140
    and Podz will be entering them into the FAQ.

  10. veltis
    Member

    I cropped the pics to size in Illustrator, but maybe they're getting resized somewhere along the way. Quite possibly the quality of pic issue is just something that's going wrong on my computer, not on WP, since I did get one gif loaded grain-free. Sorry about that.

    Now I just have the animation question left (want to do a simple slideshow), and actually, along those lines, am also wondering is an image map/rollover possible? Don't need it, just exploring options.

  11. veltis
    Member

    Oh yeah, the example animated header test (with original file as a post) is on http://rubbergum.wordpress.com NOT on my other blog(spongefile). Have played with it more, and still no luck. Did someone get this to work on their blog?

  12. jb510
    Member

    I would bet the header cropping routine is trashing the animated gif. You might try using an animated header on the Regulus theme which doesn't use the cropping routine (I think, I've never actually used Regulus so tell me if I'm wrong).

  13. veltis
    Member

    jb510, I think you're right. Works in Regulus, because it doesn't crop. Thanks! Pity though, would be very cool to be able to have a animated header in some of the themes with huge headers (like Benevolence). Not the headache-inducing test that's on rubbergum right now, but rather a slow dissolving slideshow or such.

  14. jb510
    Member

    I've commented several times that there ought to be a way to skip the crop tool if your header is already sized appropriately. However I seem to be a lone voice on that...

  15. timethief
    Member

    @jb510
    If you really think this is a non-negotiable theme feature that should be avaialble on any theme then you can add it to this thread here http://wordpress.com/forums/topic.php?id=2859&page=2&replies=34
    previous to Andy creating the cropping tool the only theme that could be customized as far as inserting a header goes was regulus.

    @veltis
    If you really think an animated header in some of the themes with huge headers (eg.Benevolence and presumably Ambiru) such as slow dissolving slideshow or such is a non negotiable feature then the thread to add your request to is as above.

  16. sulz
    Member

    I've commented several times that there ought to be a way to skip the crop tool if your header is already sized appropriately. However I seem to be a lone voice on that...

    well, this is the first i've seen and i think it's a great idea. you should put forward your suggestion here -

    http://wordpress.com/forums/topic.php?id=2860&replies=9

    podz is keeping tabs on that thread so that way you know the right person would be reading it.

  17. sussexmuddyarse
    Member

    Sorry about dragging the thread up from the depths, but did anyone have any luck with using animated gifs as headers? Don't want to spend all morning installing the releveant programs and messing with MS Paint if its not going to work!

    My headers are correctly sized before uploading so I it didn't go through the cropping process.

  18. raincoaster
    Member

    I don't use uploaded headers, but I do post animated gifs in my blog and they work just fine, if that helps. They're hosted at Photobucket, though.

  19. drmike
    Member

    I remember in the back of my mind another thread about animated gifs being a security issue but I can't find it right off.

  20. ryannjenn
    Member

    There is this one regarding where the image is hosted:
    http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=5796&page&replies=5#post-37445

    Might be due to the fact that headers have to be uploaded to the wp servers and other images can be hosted elsewhere.

  21. timethief
    Member

    We cannot at this time have animated headers although if you use the forum search box you will find they have been requested. So don't bother trying to use animated gifs in headers. They will work on pages, in posts and in text widgets but not in headers.

  22. sussexmuddyarse
    Member

    So don't bother trying to use animated gifs in headers.

    Ho hum...

    Keeps quiet and hope no one notices my success then :-)

    (Only changes once every 60 seconds so you'll have to watch for a while...don't grass me up!)

  23. timethief
    Member

    My remark was based on my own past experience based on working with a blog theme that had not been css customized.

    I'm presently looking at the blog linked to your username. It's in the Contempt theme and does not appear to be css customized. The header I'm viewing via a firefox 2.0.0.2 browser does not appear to be animated. Are you referring to another blog? If so please provide the url.

  24. sussexmuddyarse
    Member

    No its the one linked to my username...it does only change once every 60 seconds as I didn't want to annoy visitors...

    If it still doesn't work for you let me know! Thanks

  25. ryannjenn
    Member

    I see it in Firefox 2.0.0.2 on win xp and it is animated but every minute it changes background photos. Nice job!...as i head back to photoshop and try it myself :)

  26. sussexmuddyarse
    Member

    I used Ulead GIF Animated 5 from CNET.com, 15 day trial. Had trouble getting the file size down...its over 1mb as it is!

  27. ryannjenn
    Member

    You may want to check this out and some of the links at the bottom to optimize the individual pictures of that gif for those on slower connection speed. GIF's dont have the compression that JPG's have I believe, but that still is a pretty big header size.
    http://faq.wordpress.com/2006/05/08/optimise-your-images/

  28. timethief
    Member

    I'm glad to hear it works. Perhaps I just didn't hang in long enough to see it do so. Thanks for sharing. :)

  29. timethief
    Member

    I went back and tried it out again. Yes your header does change every 60 seconds. That means you have "still images" being presented every 60 seconds as rotating still image headers.

    As for "animation" well that's a different story, isn't it? I thought you were talking about "animated images". - lol - I think we can safely presume that we are talking about two very different things.

    http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=5626&page&replies=14#post-36298

  30. ryannjenn
    Member

    An animated GIF is rotating still images. You can adjust the rotation speed of each frame, turn on and off the layers (or pictures) you want to show during each frame, and add "tweeners" to make even slow transitions between images to smooth it out. I went into Adobe Photoshop/ImageReady and made one myself and tried it out on a private blog I have and it worked great sussex. Thanks for the tip.

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