ATTENTION SKINNERS: New Skin Preview Recommendations
Monday, August 3, 2020 by Island Dog | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
As some of you might have already noticed, we have made updates to the preview images on WinCustomize. There was a couple of reasons this was changed, and one of those is for in-app browsing of skins.
With these changes made, and that we have several apps already supporting in-app browsing, we are asking all skinners and uploaders to now upload preview images in a 16:9 format.
We are specifically recommending (and this has been noted on the upload page) a 1920x1080 resolution for your preview images.
Right now we want to get the word out about the changes, but in the coming weeks this will become more of a requirement to ensure a consistent preview experience.
Thanks for your support and for all the wonderful creations you share with the community!
Reply #2 Monday, August 3, 2020 1:10 PM
Yeah pretty much anything 16:9 should be good. We're just using 1920x1080 as a general recommendation just as we used to require that previews be at least 1024x768.
16:9 aspect ratio: 1280×720, 1366×768, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×2160, 5120×2880, 7680×4320
I don't think it's necessary to update any older screenshots unless someone wants to. We're just wanting people to get into the new resolutions going forward. 
Reply #3 Monday, August 3, 2020 1:23 PM
The key thing is unusual shapes like taller than wide images are less than ideal and 4:3 aspect ratios are rather dated.
Reply #5 Monday, August 3, 2020 2:05 PM
Got It 16.9 previews ( mine have been 16.9 for a long time now ...
Reply #6 Monday, August 3, 2020 3:10 PM
There is one other request. Don't make the first line of your description the exact same text as the skin / dream title. This can lead to two lines of identical text being next to each other which doesn't look ideal.
Reply #7 Monday, August 3, 2020 6:09 PM
There is one other request. Don't make the first line of your description the exact same text as the skin / dream title. This can lead to two lines of identical text being next to each other which doesn't look ideal.
The skin title within the first line of text at all, or just the first word in the description Neil?
Reply #8 Monday, August 3, 2020 7:05 PM
2560 x 1440 myself. Business as usual then. This must be what was driving the post asking peoples resolutions for wallpapers.
Reply #9 Tuesday, August 4, 2020 6:44 AM
Are you requesting that we don't do 3 frame stacked previews as well? Like in this example:
The total image is 1920 x 3240 = 3 frames of 1920 x 1080
Reply #10 Tuesday, August 4, 2020 6:57 AM
Are you requesting that we don't do 3 frame stacked previews as well? Like in this example:
The total image is 1920 x 3240 = 3 frames of 1920 x 1080
The problem with those is they are very tall so the in app UI can't show them well. Ideally we would allow multiple screenshots per theme as it would avoid the need.
The only possibility to handle those would be for the app to realise the aspect ratio is that of 2/3/4 or whatever stacked images and break them up locally.
Reply #11 Tuesday, August 4, 2020 7:50 AM
The problem with those is they are very tall so the in app UI can't show them well. Ideally we would allow multiple screenshots per theme as it would avoid the need.
would 4 frames in "window pane" format like this be an option?
Reply #12 Tuesday, August 4, 2020 8:08 AM
The problem with those is they are very tall so the in app UI can't show them well. Ideally we would allow multiple screenshots per theme as it would avoid the need.
I would love the function of multiple screenys.
would 4 frames in "window pane" format like this be an option?
As thats still 16:9 yes it would show better than the tall version.
Reply #13 Tuesday, August 4, 2020 8:20 AM
As thats still 16:9 yes it would show better than the tall version.
I'm sure that you understand that it's not always possible to show off the different aspects of one's skin in a single 1920x1080 shot. I will keep this in mind on my future uploads.
Reply #14 Wednesday, August 26, 2020 9:23 AM
Just an update to this. Thanks to all the skinners who have been adjusting their previews for their new uploads.
Starting over the next few days, we're going to start making this more of a requirement for uploads.
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Reply #1 Monday, August 3, 2020 12:57 PM
Thanks Spencer, mine are in 2560 x 1440 format, you think they should be reduced to 1920 x 1080 then? Also, some of my older skins that I am updated were 1920 x 1200 and they show Win 7/8/10 stuff, and I am only using Windows 10 now and cannot redo the images for the 7 and 8 stuff, can I leave them as is?