Sierra has recently switched over from UBB to to a WebX board format. Because of the new board format change, the rules of nametags are different. Most of the name graphics that I have made for the UBB boards (that you can view in the menu above) do not meet the requirements for nametags on WebX -- they are too big in dimensions and/or file size. I have left the name graphics menu up for historic reference purposes now. If you are wanting to get a new signature name graphic, you can learn how to make one yourself or request one of the name graphics team members for one. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at kimmie1979@mail.com.

HOW MAKE YOUR OWN NAME GRAPHIC:

WebX allows for you to have a small side name graphic (smaller than what Sierra's old UBB boards allowed). It should be no more than 110 pixels in length on each side, but it does not have to be a perfect square. Sierra prefers that the image be around 3 KB in file size, but the maximum is 10 KB. This means static a graphic or a graphic with VERY LIMITED animation. If your graphic exceeds these limits too much, WebX will reject the graphic.

You can still make a nametag that met the old UBB board standards and post it as an enclosure. This is helpful if you already had a UBB tag and still want to show it off -- just use the enclosure option. The maximum dimensions for the UBB nametag was 320 pixels wide x 200 pixels high, although most people made theirs a lot smaller than that. The maximum file size was 25 KB.

To make your own name graphic for use on the Sierra WebX Boards, you need a drawing program. You may be surprised but my main drawing program for the nametags you see in the menu above is none other than Windows Paint in the Accessories menu! I have several other drawing programs that I use as well. You can use cheap drawing programs or more expensive ones like Paint Shop Pro or PhotoShop. If your drawing program does not have a GIF Animator and you want animation, then you need such a program. The GIF Construction Set is a good shareware animator with no trial period. You can find shareware drawing programs and GIF Animators at www.download.com. If you just want a simple animated name, then you can try out easy-to-use online sevices at www.gifworks.com or at www.3dtext.com.

I search for name graphic images off the internet quite often. Go to your favorite search engine (i.e. Yahoo, Altavista, HotBot, Lycos, Infoseek, etc.) and do a search for images. For example, if you wanted to find animated roses, you can try searching for "animated roses" or "rose gifs" or "rose graphics" -- something along those lines. Once you find a graphic, make sure it is available for public use (you don't want to infringe on copyrights!), and copy it to your hard drive. (Right-click once on the graphic and save the picture/image as...) Or you can take a screenshot of an image from your favorite Sierra game. Play the game, and once you get to the screen you like, press the PRINT SCREEN button. Then exit the game and open up Windows Paint. Go to the Edit Menu and Paste your graphic. Enlarge the drawing area as needed. This only works if you are running the game in Windows and not DOS mode. Of course, drawing your own images is always a plus!

Still images are a lot easier than animations because they only contain one frame. You just add your name to a still image and save it as a GIF image. Programs like Paint Shop Pro or PhotoShop let you save images as GIF, JPG, as well as a bunch of other formats. If you are using the Windows 95 Paint program or if your drawing program does not save in GIF or JPG format, then you will need a separate image conversion program. ImagoWeb is a nifty little freeware image convertor that you can download and use. InfranView is a more snazzy freeware image convertor and editor with lots of goodies.

For animations, you have to copy each frame of the animation to your drawing program and add your name to each frame. If your animation has 10 frames, then you get to do this 10 times! This is when I copy the image frame from my GIF or JPG viewing program, paste it to Windows Paint, use Paint's nifty zoom feature for editing, aligning, positioning, etc. and add text. Once you are done, group all the frames together in a GIF Animator to animate it. As far as I know, there is no such thing as a animated JPG image. Once you have your name graphic made and it meets the specifications, onto the next section!

POSTING NAME GRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Unlike Sierra's old UBB forums, you do not need a website to store your nametag before posting it into your messages. Once you have made or received your WebX side name graphic, do the following (Sierra updated WebX so WebClip is no longer needed):

1. Log into WebX and go to your "Preferences" page and find the "Your Picture" section
2. Click on the "Browse" button and browse for your name graphic file (must be in GIF or JPG format) and load it.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the "Set Preferences" button to update your preferences.
4. Now your name graphic will appear on every message you post or have posted.

If you decide to change your name graphic in the future, just repeat these same steps again. If you have a UBB-type nametag that you want to add to your messages, browse and load it from your hard drive via the enclosures option at the bottom of the message writing area.

NAME GRAPHIC BOARD ETIQUETTE:

The Sierra WebX Board Community is public to the general audience, so please be respectful and courteous of others. Do not most obscene or grotesque images as your name graphic. Such images will most likely disturb and/or offend the other posters in the board community and is grounds for possible banning. Also, don't post huge images either that take up a ton of space because it will cause viewers on lower resolutions to have to scroll horizontally just to read the scrunched up message you wrote on the side, and that's just not cool!

NAME GRAPHICS CREATION TEAM:

You can view what some of the old UBB name graphic team members have done! A few still are willing to make name graphics.

You can CLICK HERE to go to Heroman's Graphics Collection and see his work. He can do still images and perhaps even animations with normal graphics or Sierra game graphics. EMAIL Heroman.

You can CLICK HERE to go to Kristin's Graphics Collection and see her work. Kristin can do still images like Kat2 and will try do any graphic requested. EMAIL Kristin.

You can CLICK HERE to go to Parinne's Graphics Collection and see her work. She can do animations with normal graphics or Sierra game graphics. Parinne is currently no longer accepting nametag requests.

You can CLICK HERE to go to Voltron's Graphics Collection and see her work. Voltron can do animations with normal graphics or Sierra game graphics. Voltron is currently no longer accepting nametag requests.

OBTAINING A NAME GRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Due to the amount of projects I have to do, I currently am not accepting any new requests for name graphics. You can contact any of the other team members for a name graphic.

If you want a team to make a name graphic for you, you need to provide some information about what you want. We are not a mind-readers, so the more information you can give me, the better!

1. What image do you want with your name graphic?
   This question is very IMPORTANT!! A certain Sierra game picture? Graham, Alexander, Valanice, Leisure Suit Larry, Roger Wilco, etc.? An image of something you like? Flowers, birds, cats, dogs, dolphins, critters, cars, food, stars, hearts, fairies, demons, angels, dragons, planets, etc.? If you have an image that you can send to me as an attachment, that would be even better!
2. What color font do you want your name?
   Describe it with as much detail as you can. If you like a smooth turquoise color that is more blue than green, tell me so. If you like a rich dark green, but not hunter's green, tell me so. If you are afraid of pink things, tell me that as well!
3. What style font do you want your name
   I have over 700 fonts, so I can probably find something that you might like. Cursive, Fancy Script, Handwritten or Signature, Calligraphy, Classic Roman, Caesar, Big and Bold, Strange and Twisted, Spooky, Comical, Cute and Kiddylike, Medieval, Streamlined, Sci-Fi, etc.