In the past, they've looked something like this:
[img2]http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/images/unioncards/DerekWoods.gif[/img2]
The problem with these were that they are low quality, don't look very nice, and I have to generate them manually.
In real life Union Cards are very plain and boring. I've decided to make the new ones a cross between a Union Card and a Driver's License, also with the option of adding a photograph!
Here is a sample I recently generated:
[img2]http://bbhosts.net/bluesbrothers/unioncard.gif[/img2]
Now the first thing you'll notice is the dimensions are now closer to a credit card size, so it should fit in your wallet like a real card :D
Secondly, it has the new logo at the top.
It also contains your membership Class, which for everyone else will say "M" for "Member" ("SA" is Senior Administrator
). Perhaps we'll add more later on, but the reason why I'm not using ranks or post counts is because it changes regularly. It would be nice if you didn't have to make a new card every 6 months.You'll also notice the 'watermark' in the background, that's something I might work on a little more, perhaps repeating all the way across like a real license. This isn't even remotely based on Elwood's license, basically because it looks very dull
The photo part is going to be interesting. I realise that not everyone wants to include a photo on their card, so when you download your card you'll be given 3 choices:
1) Upload a photograph from your computer (will be drawn inside the white box)
[img2]http://bbhosts.net/bluesbrothers/unioncard.gif[/img2]
2) Leave the white box blank (so you can add a photograph later, perhaps by glueing it on after you print it)
[img2]http://bbhosts.net/bluesbrothers/unioncard2.gif[/img2]
3) Leave the white box out altogether, you don't want to use a photograph.
[img2]http://bbhosts.net/bluesbrothers/unioncard3.gif[/img2]
To generate the image, you'll have to be logged in, then you'll visit the Download Union Card page.
The site will already know your Member No, Reg Date, Username and Class, but it will need you to fill in your real name. You can also make your choice about the photograph here.
When you click "Submit", you'll be taken to a page with 2 images on it. One is the high-resolution version (300dpi) for people who want to print it out. The other is a low-resolution version (72dpi, as seen in the 4 examples above) for people who just want to keep it on their computer, perhaps as a signature picture on other forums
The page may also include tips on how to make a suitable photo, and even some example cards to look at.
I think the 300dpi version should be larger, with cutting guidelines around it, probably in a PNG format The 72dpi version should probably not have the rounded edges, because transparency can be quite messy. I'm not sure what format to output it as, either GIF or PNG.
