How to Make Animated Avatar

Avatars are used on blogs, websites and message forums as a means to identify yourself to others in the online community. The avatars will generally appear as small "thumbnail" photos. You can easily add a little personality to the photo by adding animation to it. Some of the animations you can use are special effects, such as rain, ripples and glitter. However, you can also make your avatars flashier by turning them into talking characters.

Things You'll Need

• Animation software
• Images

Instructions

1. Go to a website that will allow you to use their avatar animation software to create animated avatars. Some of the websites that will allow you to do this are SitePal.com, Loogix.com, IMVU.com, Imator.om, GifsUN.org, Zwinky.com and Crazy Talk's RealLusion.com. All of the mentioned sites offer free software for your use, with the exception of the CrazyTalk website. CrazyTalk offers a free trial of their software for a couple of days; afterwards you will need to purchase the software if you desire to continue using it.

2. Select the graphic you would like to animate or upload your own image from your computer. Be sure that you are not violating copyright laws by using uploading an image that you have not obtained permission to use.

3. Select the "Animation" you would like to use for your image.

4. Preview the animated avatar to ensure that it appears as you would like.

5. Save the image to your computer or flash drive by right-clicking on the image with your mouse and selecting "Save As." Select the location or drive you would like the image to be saved on. Some websites will allow you to save your image on their servers, though most of them will not since it takes away from their bandwidth. To ensure that you have access to your avatar later, it is best to save it on your own computer.

Resources

• SitePal, Avatar Animation Software
• Loogix, Avatar Animation Software
• IMVU, Avatar Animation Software