How to make your skin into an avatar

Hi everyone,

I've been wanting to do this tutorial for a while now, and today I finally did it. This is my first tutorial ever, so please don't hate!

For this tutorial, I used Gimp. You can download it here

Step 1.
Create a new image. The size I use is 800x800, since this is the best size for youtube avatars, and since most sites require square avatars.



Step 2.
Drag your skin into the new image, so you occasionally can zoom in and out for reference. The skin I'll be using in this tutorial is this skin by coolkevin867.



Step 3.
Create a background gradient. To do this, select two skin colors, and make sure the background color is a darker tone than the Foreground color. Then go to the Toolbox->Blend tool. As gradient, select "FG to BG (RGB)", and as shape, choose "Radial". Then drag with the cursor from the center of the image to one of the corners.

This is what it should look like:


Step 4.
Create the hair. To do this, first create a new layer, then draw the hair. I used the pixel brush for this. If you want a nice gradient for your hair, right click the hair layer->alpha to selection. Then use the blend tool to fill it with two colors which you like.

To create a shadow, go to Filters->Light and Shadow->Drop Shadow, You can play around with the settings a little bit, but uncheck the "Allow resizing" box. Then click OK



Your avatar should now look like this:


Step 5.
Draw the whites of the eyes. I used the "block 01" brush.


To give the eye depth, select the background layer, go to Filters->Map->Bump Map and put the settings as following:


For the "Bump Map" setting, select the eyes layer. You can play around with the Depth layer a little bit but don't set it too high. Notice, that the "Invert bumpmap" box is checked. When you're done, click OK.

Your avatar should now look like this:


For the pupils/irises, make a new layer and just draw them with the same brush, but just a little bit smaller.

Step 6.
Make the eyebrows. Make a new layer, then draw them with a color you like. For the eyebrows I used the same brush as for the eyes/pupils. Again, to give them depth, select the background layer, go to Filters->Map->Bump Map.

Select the eyebrows layer, and notice that the "Invert bumpmap" box is now not checked! When you're done, click OK.

Your avatar should now (kind of) look like this:


Step 7.
Create a new layer for the mouth. Then, with the same brush as for the eyebrows (brush 01), draw the mouth. To give the mouth depth, select the background layer, go to Filters->Map->Bump Map, select the mouth layer, check the "Invert bumpmap" box and click OK.

Step 8 (Additional).
Of course, you can also add additional details, such as a santa hat, a crown or maybe a scarf. You can always add new details, just let your imagination loose!

Final image:


If you liked this tutorial, please diamond, comment and subscribe! As I said before, this is my first tutorial I ever made, so please don't be too harsh in the comments :p

Download the .xcf file (the Gimp file): http://host.undeadzone.net/images/tutorials/minecraftavatar/final.xcf
The creator of the skin I used: http://www.planetminecraft.com/member/coolkevin867/
Want an avatar like this but can't make one yourself? Reply to this thread and I'll make it for you!