I was wondering about the proper process for picking a picture for your profile avatar. Is it OK to just pick a random picture that you like? Does the character need to belong to you? Should you have the blessing of the artist? How common are the methods for people picking their profile images? These are all questions I have.

sammytheseal said:
Is it OK to just pick a random picture that you like?

Yes.

Does the character need to belong to you?

No.

Should you have the blessing of the artist?

It is nice to have, but it is not required.

How common are the methods for people picking their profile images?

Which methods?

There are no rules on choosing what kind of post you want to use as an avatar. You can choose whatever post you like to use as a profile image.
Just note that some artists and character owners have shown reluctance of displaying their artworks here due to this reason (which could lead to takedowns/deletions).

If you want to play it safe, choose an image of a generic character (like mine) or one from a popular franchise (e.g., Pokemon).
Avoid using other people's original characters or fan_characters as your profile picture at all.
It is unnecessary to ask for blessing from an artist, but you can if you want to. Just note that you shouldn't imply any intent of using it for roleplay or impersonation purposes.

Oh, I figured there would be users and artists who feel that way.　So I have been thinking about making a new feature topic about this problem.
In my case, I decided to say farewell to this cool fox🦊 PFP with thanks, And create my own PFP. ← Well, that might seem silly.
^{(( And of course, it's SFW because It is me, and I don't want to expose my magnum to the world lol. ))}

By the way, I want you to take a look at this topic. - I'm sure you'll understand my rage :
　　⇒ [Feature] Profile Image should be removed from the Banned user's profile ⇒ /posts/1765564
Why the heck did I think That, because ---

thegreatwolfgang said:
Just note that some artists and character owners have shown reluctance of displaying their artworks here due to this reason (which could lead to takedowns/deletions).

...In case you are wondering, I'd say that This problem has Not been solved yet.

Recently I introduced(guided) some Japanese users on Twitter (who understand us) to e6, and I've seen their art being posted.
That's why I NEVER TOLERATE something like that happening with us Japanese, Especially :I introduced.
And if that really happens, I will seriously demand e621 to improve, Or choose to leave here. ...Though I believe it will really NOT happen.

I've never seen an artist get mad over avatar usage on e621 specifically, although maybe I didn't notice (and many of the takedown reasons are hidden). I think some artists take down on e621 in an attempt to stop roleplayers from using the image (maybe as an avatar) on other web sites.

One actual rule to keep in mind: don't upload thumbnail sized or cropped versions just to use as an avatar.

https://e621.net/wiki_pages/11143

• Small images: Anything below 200px in either direction is likely to get deleted.
• Low quality submissions: ...cropped images...

thegreatwolfgang said:
Just note that some artists and character owners have shown reluctance of displaying their artworks here due to this reason (which could lead to takedowns/deletions).

lance_armstrong said:
I've never seen an artist get mad over avatar usage on e621 specifically, although maybe I didn't notice (and many of the takedown reasons are hidden).

There's Zenirix, who was okay with her art being posted here, but eventually had her images taken down because someone was using her personal art for an icon. She wasn't so much mad as unwilling to have something full of her personal emotions be used by someone else. It's unfortunate for the upload count, but that's life.

lance_armstrong said:
I've never seen an artist get mad over avatar usage on e621 specifically

I've definitely seen that before. It was a while ago so I'm not sure of the specifics but I believe it was TheHuskyK9 who handled that situation and I think even a negative record was involved.

I'm happy to stand corrected though if I'm misremembering anything.

I just wanna plug avatar_material as a good tag for finding avatars, as well as portrait 1:1.

caroway said:
I just wanna plug avatar_material as a good tag for finding avatars, as well as portrait 1:1.

Isn't that the same as icon?

strikerman said:
Isn't that the same as icon?

Wasn't aware of that tag, thanks. Wonder if it makes avatar_material redundant? Don't go by the wikipage, since I wrote it.

dragonfox69 said:
I've definitely seen that before. It was a while ago so I'm not sure of the specifics but I believe it was TheHuskyK9 who handled that situation and I think even a negative record was involved.

I'm happy to stand corrected though if I'm misremembering anything.

I don’t remember that case specifically but I’ve had other cases where artists/character owners messaged me about users using their art as their avatar. Some resulted in takedowns unfortunately

strikerman said:
Isn't that the same as icon?

I should have figured out that tag exists by now. Well now I have something to use until I've got art skills that wouldn't embarrass a five year old. Thank you.