favicon.ico problem, file attached, please help!

[herbiehysteria]

hi guys,
i'm creating my first ever favicon for a site, my problem is that the image i want to use as the favicon is clear and crisp when i simply import it into Xara, but then when i downscale it to the 16x16px required size, it isnt very clear and looks rubbish. that's all im doing, importing the pic then downsizing to 16x16px, what should i be doing to get the same image looking clearer and cleaner at 16x16px?

also, how do i export it as a .ico file, when i click 'export' and it asks me to save the file type, .ico is not included in the list of image types.

i kno the answer is probably simple and you guys have been a godsend before, the xara file is attached

regards
HH

[BobInce]

when i downscale it to the 16x16px required size, it isnt very clear

Images don't scale down very well in standard 'HQ' mode. Switch to Xtreme4's new 'VHQ' mode (Window->Quality->Very high quality) and it'll look much better.

how do i export it as a .ico file

Currently you can't, you'll need to put it through another app that can save as ICO.

You could try BMP2ICO, which you can get from Xaraxone. (I personally use Gimp.)

[steve.ledger]

Hi Herbie,

Firstly you have of course imported a RASTER (bitmap) into an application which is primarily a VECTOR illustrator.
That's not to say Xtreme can't work brilliantly with RASTERS, it can. But the small raster image you have imported into Xara is not scalable so well. Really needs to be a scalable vector. So I would redraw this with Xtremes vector tools and then export it at a 16x16 size to a .bmp type ready for converting to .ico with IrfanView (my freeware app' of choice)

The attached example I redrew from your bitmap in about 5 minutes.
OK I know Xtremes tools reasonably well, but even if it took you 30 minutes, you'd still end up with a better result than working with what you have now.

Hope this helps

[RTK]

A bit more about icons in this thread:

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=31186

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...&highlight=ico

In general, your image has too much fine detail (the lines especially). Scaling down thousands of pixels to only 256 pixels will not look all that great (done in any application). The image not being a perfect square also means that you waste a lot of space/white pixels that could have been used for detail.

As per the thread above, your best bet is to re-draw it properly.

Risto

[BobInce]

Whilst redrawing as vector always gives the best results, in this case I think the example document shows the graphic still looks pretty good scaled down to 16pix, when viewed in VHQ mode; certainly good enough to use in a favicon. Though it still needs a little cropping or further resizing to fit in 16 pixels width-wise.

[ss-kalm]

Am I missing something here ....... As far as I am aware, 16 pixels x 16 pixels isn't a final size, since a pixel isn't a unit of size, but of resolution. The vector graphic can actually have lots of detail within a pixel range. The .ico file should be 16 colour blocks x 16 colour blocks and not a scaled down vector graphic. It should be totally designed as a 16 x 16 (256) block square. Each square having a single colour. No more and no less. The attached file is an Autocad icon.

[Odat]

Also, if you don't want to install any new software, you can convert your bmp/png/gif/jpeg image to an icon file at http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/.

[steve.ledger]

It should be totally designed as a 16 x 16 (256) block square. Each square having a single colour. No more and no less.

Not at all. I've often designed/used large res images and then reduced to a high dpi (detail) 24bit icon.

The favicon I have used here was n 2400x1600 jpg which I imported into XaraXtreme, clipped to a square, reduced to 16x16 - optimised a 300dpi, exported as .bmp (lossless) then converted to .ico using IrfanView.

[gwpriester]

To put things in proper perspective, 16 x 16 pixels is not a lot to work with. You need to create a bold icon with very little detail.

The large image is your available solid colored pixels. Reduced down on the right to 16 x 16 pixels at 96dpi Windows screen resolution.

[steve.ledger]

Thing is, when using 96dpi via Xtreme output, you are actually using ppi, this is not the same as screen dpi, Charles explained this recently.

A 24bit image for a favicon will be very soft and blurry when sized at 16x16 & saved at 96dpi (ppi) from Xtreme. Using 300 dpi (ppi) saves much more detail in the 16x16px space. We're not restricted to a 16x16 colour grid for an .ico at 24bits per pixel

Try it. Works every time

PS: If you are using Opera right now to read this thread, press ctrl+mousewheel roll to zoom in on the screenshot below and see the real difference bewteen the 96dpi and 300dpi image detail (remember, I mean ppi here - but using Xtremes naming) - much more detail in the 300dpi version.