Mommy, where do avatars come from?

[Turboaaa2001]

Before I get started I want to first acknowledge the fact that there have been a lot of threads about avatars so just ignore this one if your fed-up with them.


Ever since I started to use forums I have been fascinated with those really cool avatars I wish I could have. The problem was that I wanted one that was unique to me and not just copied. Did everyone just make their own or did they have someone do it for them? That was the question I had.

Recently I decided to use Gimp for the first time and make an avatar the showed my love of Family Guy, Linux, and my dislike of Windows. So I got to work on my very first image editing adventure (prior to this I used "paint" for minor things).

The results? You can see my avatar above this post, but it will change shortly. I decided that it's too complex for a 90 x 90 pxl frame so it's now my wall paper. To see the full size image (600 x 450) go to

http://www.geocities.com/turboaaa2001/Done1.JPG or check the attached image below.

I would love to have feedback of praise and scrutiny. Tell me where to improve and so-on.

The point of this thread is to here your take on avatars and the stories behind them.
Where does the name avatar come from?
Are they important to you or not?
Would you prefer not to have them, or make them more important?

Lets here from you....

[FuturePilot]

I found mine on my computer. I'd say it's unique.:lolflag:
I also like to have a unique avatar. I also like them to be funny. It's nice when they have a meaning behind them. The one I have now is just totally random.

[Polygon]

Mine is from happy feet, i popped the DVD into my computer and started playing it in totem. I put it in fullscreen mode and took a screenshot of the scene i wanted. I opened the screenshot in GIMP and scaled/cropped it to my liking and how here it is

Avatars are important for me because it makes me remember users better. After a while of viewing any one forum you get used to seeing a username and an avatar together, and sometimes you just look at what avatar is there to see who is talking

My avatar is unique and important to me because, im the one who made it and i <3 penguins :D

[FuturePilot]

Avatars are important for me because it makes me remember users better. After a while of viewing any one forum you get used to seeing a username and an avatar together, and sometimes you just look at what avatar is there to see who is talking

Same here. A lot of times I can just look at the avatar and know who it is. It definitely helps you remember who is who.

[bread eyes]

Where's the: "When a mommy and a daddy avatar love each other very much or had too much to drink..." option?

[Motoxrdude]

I made mine myself from a music video of "All is love - bjork"

[starcraft.man]

The point of this thread is to here your take on avatars and the stories behind them.
Where does the name avatar come from?
Are they important to you or not?
Would you prefer not to have them, or make them more important?

Lets here from you....

Let's handle the questions up front.


Where does the name avatar come from?
If your asking where the actual usage of the word avatar referring to pictures that represent people (i.e. on forums, IM, etc...) you need only look on the Wikipedia page. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%28icon%29) Word was popularized in gaming eras that began in the 80's/90's to refer to your in game incarnation (i.e. your character). It was I suppose only a natural extension of English that the word be carried over to forums and all other incarnations of a person's digital life as social technologies emerged.


Are they important to you or not?
Yup, else I wouldn't have bothered making mine :p.


Would you prefer not to have them, or make them more important?
I like to have them, I think their fine the way they are now. I don't think it needs to change.

Oh and ya, I agree with Polygon. Nice and unique avatars make a user easy to spot :).

[Turboaaa2001]

I made mine myself from a music video of "All is love - bjork"

How did you get your image to blend into the background like that? Did you just use the same color or something like that?

[picpak]

It's probably transparent. In the GIMP, go to Layer > Transparency > Add Alpha Channel. Then go to Select > By Colour and select the color you want to be transparent. Then go to Edit > Clear.

[M$LOL]

I just look for one that looks cool and is relevant to my username or w/e.

[Motoxrdude]

How did you get your image to blend into the background like that? Did you just use the same color or something like that?


It's probably transparent. In the GIMP, go to Layer > Transparency > Add Alpha Channel. Then go to Select > By Colour and select the color you want to be transparent. Then go to Edit > Clear.

To tell you the truth i do not remember, i made it over a year ago. Save the image and see yourself.
Thanks picpak, i will remember that.

[mike102282]

I currently don't have one, but if i did i would make it.

[bonzodog]

The Avatar I would really like is a crystal tux avatar going insane, strapped into a straitjacket --unfortunately, i'm no artist, so I need someone to do it for me as a favour.

[starcraft.man]

The Avatar I would really like is a crystal tux avatar going insane, strapped into a straitjacket --unfortunately, i'm no artist, so I need someone to do it for me as a favour.

VGcats (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=42) to the rescue (I don't think Scott minds). If your good with GIMP you could probably cut out the straight jacket Link has on in this pic, then blend/overlay it on one of the many crystal tux icons. Remember to stretch it a bit to fit over.

[hidey]

Definitely important, it's usually the first thing I think of after creating an account. I prolly have some forum accounts where I've got an ava, but no actual posts. :P Not being a really good artists I usually just throw something together real quick, add some blur to make things fit better and voila!

[Polygon]

The Avatar I would really like is a crystal tux avatar going insane, strapped into a straitjacket --unfortunately, i'm no artist, so I need someone to do it for me as a favour.

check the crystalxp site for one, i know i saw one like you described, one of the tux's in a straightjacket

[kevinlyfellow]

My avatar is from the wikimedia commons (and a public domain image). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Spotted_Owl

I find them useful for identifying people, they are like virtual faces to me. It gets tough when people use the same avatar though.

[sanderella]

Sometimes I make one, sometimes I copy one. I think avatars should be clear and simple with a definite message. My message is that I'm not very good with computers.

I can't see fussy avatars with too much artwork, that's why KISS is the maxim - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

[xpod]

Mines tells it how it is:-D

[Turboaaa2001]

I personally don't think it's a problem to have someone create an avatar for you. If you tell them what you want then it's still personal and your the only one who uses it.

I also agree that KISS applies here, and I think thats what makes them hard to create. You want a small icon to represent all that is you. BTW I croped out extra content on mine to bring out the points I'm tryinig to make while not having extra junk.

I still want some feedback on my avatar, I need to know what I could do better or need to change. I would love to have some ideas on other ways of creating that visial message.

[aks44]

I made myself several past avatars, but this one is just a scaled down version of Pablo Picasso's Blue Dove. I really love that lithograph, even more than the Don Quixote one.