Software to put together

an avatar
(1) South Park

This is a simple, basic avatar maker,

using the South Park theme. It does
not give you a huge range of
features to choose from, but apart
from that not a bad tool. It’s a Flash-
based creator so you need to take a
screenshot to save a copy of your
creation.

(2) Mii

Very similar to the Mii creator found on the Nintendo Wii. There are other Mii creators on the Net but
none of them compare to this one which even lets you export your creation when you have finished.

(3) Wee World

One of my favourite tools online for creating avatars, it gives a huge range of features to add to your
character. If you create an account and log in you are presented with an even wider choice of
appearances with more hair styles, outfits and gadgets to keep you entertained.

(4) Yahoo

Yahoo’s avatar creator boasts a range of different facial expressions which allow for a bit more detail
than some of the above mentioned. It also has a feature that allows you to change the mood at just a
click of a button. The only downside is the lack of an export feature which means you are left using
the “print screen” button to capture your work. This isn’t a huge problem except the avatar is
animated so obviously this is lost in the process.

(5) Doppel Me

If you want something quick and easy and don’t have a lot of time for lots of additional features
Doppel Me is for you! The good feature of this is it actually creates an image file in the process so all
you have to do is right click to save your efforts! Easy and would definitely be well suited to younger
students.

(6) Marvel Superhero

Probably a bit more in terms of the features offered. There is a huge range of “superhero” features to
add and you can even name it and export.

(7) Habbo
Mainly aimed at children/teenagers where you sign up to create your avatar - no export feature. Not
a great deal of customisation you can use but avatars are quite blocky and unusual looking.

(8) Manga

Simple and produces clean looking avatars. There is a download feature but you have to give your
email address and some personal details so probably easier just to take a screenshot.

(9) The Sims 3 (Link to game website)

Not an online avatar creator but for students who have bought Sims 3 they can create
a representation of themselves within the game and save it for later use.

(10) Meez

You can create an avatar without logging in but creating an account gives you a lot
more features. Loads of features to add to your character, which actually looks 3D.
You can also animate the character and export both stills and animations). An
example of which is on the right here.

(11) The Simpsons

There are two ways to create a Simpsons avatar, Simpsonize Me and Simpsons Movie.
With Simpsonize Me you can actually import a photo and it will automatically generate a Simpsons
character that you can then tweek. The Simspons Movie website allows you to simply create a
Simpsons character from scratch.

(12) Portrait Illustration Maker

Holds one of the widest selections of parts to combine and allows you to download without having to
create an account, the pictures it creates are very small which makes them unsuitable for most uses.

(13) Toonlet

The actual purpose of the site is to create comic strips with the characters you create. Once you
create a character you can save multiple versions of it with different moods ready to use in your
comic strips. The actual character creation mode is also probably one of the most detailed seen. It
contains a variety of packs developed by other users containing objects, facial features; hairstyles etc.
meaning you can create quite an accurate avatar. The only downside to this is that the pictures are in
black and white.