How to Make an Avatar to Use on IMs

An avatar can be a picture of you,or simply something you like.

An avatar is an image that usually depicts yourself or a facet of your personality to the online community. When making avatars for IMs (Instant Messengers), you are limited to a relatively small file size, so a head shot or a closeup of a logo, object or design all make for logical choices. To optimize an image for an IM program, you will need access to an image editor such as Adobe Photoshop, GIMP or Corel PaintShop Photo Pro.

Instructions

1. Open your image editor and load the photo you want to use as your avatar.

2. Select the crop tool from the toolbar. In the tool options, ensure that the width and height dropdown boxes are set to pixels. Enter a value of 200 in each of them. Many IM programs use smaller images than 200x200 pixels, but these dimensions are small enough that the image will be sharp and clear without negatively affecting the file size.

3. Click and drag across your image, starting from the top left and working down and to the right. Make sure everything you want to use as your avatar is located within the cropping box. When you are satisfied, press "Enter" to accept the crop.

4. Save your work as a "jpg" with a medium-to-low resolution. Choose between 5 and 8 on the scale in the "jpg" dialogue box.

References

• Photoshop Essentials: Cropping Photos to Specific Frame Sizes; Steve Patterson