How To Create Your Own Myspace Avatars

myspace avatars

Are you looking for unique Myspace avatars? There are hundreds to choose from at sites like www.myspace-avatars.org, www.coolavatars.net and www.skamu.com, yet www.glitter-graphics.com has some of the best selections, from cat slide-shows and smooching cartoon monkeys, to Starbucks frappuccinos and anime character animations. Perhaps you want a funny stick figure bashing his head into the computer to show your frustration with technology, or you can't get enough of the dancing Kermit the Frog icon with the "yay ohmygod" caption. Find an avatar that suits you and use it on your main profile pic, affixed as your message board tag, as a posted message on someone's "comments" section or as your IM icon.

If you'd like to create your own Myspace avatars the computer geek way, then you'll need a computer with an internet connection, movie software like Quicktime or MovieSnapshot and photo editing software that can create layers, like Adobe Photoshop. To create still images from a movie/AVI file, you'll need to choose an animated sequence, video or movie trailer. If you have a movie on DVD you'd like to grab a scene from, then you'll need to rip your DVD into an AVI file using appropriate software.

Next, you'll have to play the video clip, pause on the shot you want to make an avatar out of. Some software will allow you to select "create thumbnail" or "save image," or in other cases you'll need to click "print screen" on your keyboard and paste into MS Paint to save as a screen shot. Advance the clip to the next frame and create a still image, and continue doing this for as long as you want the sequence to go on. Then you can open all the still images in Photoshop and place each image in its own layer, saving the animation as a GIF file.

If you'd like to build animated Myspace avatars, then you'll need to first choose a set of still images from your computer. They could be a movie, a word, an object, a series of images or an image you have made slight modifications to in a series (sort of like a flip-book). It's best to choose a short sequence without drastic movement, since your avatar will be continuously looping. In Photoshop, open each image into one file, placing each on a separate layer, being careful to line the images up perfectly. Then crop the file to the appropriate size. While previewing, you can set the time of each frame (usually one second) and save as a GIF file, which you can then upload to your Myspace photo album.

Want to send your Myspace friend a message? Check out the wide variety of Myspace avatars! You can send your boyfriend an animated avatar of two cartoon monkeys kissing, or you can send your best friend a "friends forever" icon with two cats hugging. There are birthday animations or just plain funny animations that you can post because they remind you of someone in particular. Avatars are a great way to let Myspace friends know you are thinking them, in addition to expressing yourself.