Buddy Icons at IMBuddy.Net

Aim Icons

There is no one in the world that is using AIM that does not know about AIM Icons. So are you one of those users who keeps changing and updating your AIM Icons? Have you also come across certain users with their own images as AIM icons? You must have wondered how they were able to do it. Well, it is pretty simple if you know the trick. It has more to it than just selecting the image from the hard disk of your computer and uploading it. The size is the main restricting factor that you have to keep in mind.

Creating An Icon Out of An Image

Creating an icon out of an image is the most important part. For those who do not know, an AIM Icon has a size of 40x40 pixels. The biggest ones have a size of 50x50 pixels. In fact this is the maximum size that is allowed by AIM. So you need to create an icon that is of this size. But how can that be achieved with an image of yours? You need to use any image editing software like Photoshop and then create the icon. It is pretty easy to create. All you need to do is select the small area of the image which you want to use as an icon. The magnetic tool in Photoshop should help you select and then cut this part off. Many people use the face. Make sure that you keep the size in mind when you cut off the face.

Saving The Icon

Now you need to save the cut off part as a separate file on your hard drive. Use a file format that uses the maximum colors and the least disk space. The gif format or the jpeg are good ones to use. If you found the entire process to be too tedious, then there are tools that you can download off the internet which simplify the entire process.