How to Make Your Own Buddy Icon for Free
Buddy icons are custom avatars that people use in instant messaging programs and on message boards and websites that support icons, such as LiveJournal. Icons can be made out of graphics, text or a combination of the two. If you want to create your own custom buddy icon, there are several websites with their own free icon-making tools. These tools make it possible to make a customized icon without any graphic design knowledge.
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Instructions
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Blibs
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Open the icon-making page on Blibs.com (see Resources). Blibs makes simple photo icons.
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Upload up to four images on the Blibs icon-making page. There is a box for each image file. Click the "Browse" button beside the box to find each image you want to use. When you locate the image, click "Open" to pull it into the icon maker.
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Select an animation speed from the drop-down list. You can choose fast, medium or slow, which changes the speed at which your icon flips through the images you have uploaded.
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Choose a border color from the list of available options. If you don't want a border, leave the "Icon Border Color" at the default pick of "No Border."
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Click the "Upload Icon" button. It will take a few minutes for the icon to upload. The smaller your images, the more quickly the icon maker will create the icon.
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Download the icon from the site. To download, right click on the icon and choose "Save as" to save it to your hard drive. Icons stay up on the site for only one day, after which it will be automatically deleted.
Pimp My Icon
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Go to PimpMyIcon.com (see Resources). The Pimp My Icon icon creator has a few more features than Blibs. Click "Create Your AIM Icon Now" on the main page to get into the icon maker.
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Select an icon style. The second page of the Pimp My Icon icon maker has several styles to choose from, including zooming, rotating, twinkling and text designs. Certain options, like the twinkling design, will offer a second page of design options. Select your style from that page to move on.
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Upload your image or add your text. After you have picked a design, you will be taken to a page where you can upload image files, add text or do a combination of the two. To add an image, click the "Browse" button and search for the file on your computer. When you locate it, click "Open" to pull it in. If you have found the image on a website, you can type the address into the URL box instead. Add text by typing it into the provided box, then use the drop-down menus below the text box to change the font style and color. When you have finished adding an image or text, click "Submit." This will upload your text or image into the system.
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Change the settings. Most of the Pimp My Icon styles offer a few changeable features such as the speed of the animation.
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Click the "Preview Icon" button to see how the icon looks. If you are happy with the icon, click the "Finalize Icon" button. You will be taken to a page with three options, two of which are free. One of the free options is to fill out a brief survey and get the icon for free. The other is to get a free icon with the "Pimp My Icon" ad on it. Once you make a selection, you will be transferred to the download page. Right click the icon and choose "Save Image As" from the menu to save the icon to your computer.
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