[Kamikaze Chinchilla]

I normally start my images at 3 times the size. So since it starts off at 300 pixels in height, I do the majority of the work in 900 pixels in height. If you have photoshop, there's a feature in the 'image size' options. After you've opened up a file with the avatar base, go to 'Image' and select 'image size'. Under 'resample image', select 'nearest neighbor'. And move it from 300 pixels in height to 900 pixels in height. That way, it doesn't blur the base as it resizes it. --And you do the same process when you shrink it back down.