Self-Portrait, 2026 is a combination of:
- The avatar I use on the internet
- This site’s 88x31 button:
My avatar is a 65-triangle self-portrait generated by Triangula and further edited by hand. I have been using Triangula-based avatars for a few years now in this same style.
On the internet, I use the color version with the same background color this site uses. But for Self-Portrait, 2026, I used a monochromatic version.
Process
Triangula is forgiving of input images, since its output is low-fidelity by design. Typically, I use a throwaway input image and crop it to the approximate framing shown.
Then I spend time tweaking Triangula’s parameters, trying to balance fidelity against the fewest triangles. This is more art than science.
When I have the look I’m after, I export an SVG and load it into an SVG editor. I use this application to delete the triangles that compose the background.
Then I export the remaining triangles and clean up the SVG file by hand. I eliminate any extra comments, unnecessary XML attributes, and unused default values.
Finally, I minify the paths so that
M 496 514 L 590 534 L 500 477 Z
becomes
M496 514 590 534 500 477z
and any other minification that can occur, occurs.
On the about page the monochromatic avatar sits on a tiled copy of this site’s 88x31 button, framed by a black outline that straddles its edge.