3 Refreshing Ideas for Cool and Amusing Profile Pictures

The internet has blessed us with a great means of self-expression. Every piece of information can convey something about yourself to your social circle. The avatar, the crux of your Facebook and Twitter profiles, speaks volumes about you. If you’re feeling like you could use a fresh avatar or profile picture, here are some ideas that you can run with.

Robot Cartoons: RoboHash

Ever wish you had a robot variant of yourself? I was always kind of curious. As an avid reader of manga One Piece, I’ve always been a huge fan of the cyber-character named Frankie.

Source: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/10/28/one-piece-plot-summary-recap/

Regardless, I never had a robot to call my own. Unfortunately, I’m not technologically-savvy enough to build my own and take a picture of it. I’d love to have a robot that was totally unique from everyone else’s though, just so we don’t clash profile pictures.

Luckily, I came across RoboHash. RoboHash is a service that allows you to create robot avatars. Simply input some text into the field they provide you with, and they will convert it into a nice unique avatar.

Naturally, I was curious about Herbert. I typed it in, and here’s what RoboHash created for me:

Not exactly the most realistic representation, but it certainly is very unique. If you’re interested in seeing your robot counterpart, check out RoboHash. By the way, I know the urge to type in funny words is overwhelming — by all means try it out, so long as you don’t get caught. ????

Movie Posters: iStarin

Ever figured you’d look great on a movie poster? I’d always wanted to be on the cover of Rush Hour or Get Him to the Greek. The folks at iStarin have obviously heard our mental pleas, and have created this neat website where you can upload a picture of yourself and put it into a movie poster.

iStarin has a huge variety of posters to choose from — ranging in all genres and eras. Unfortunately, they did not have Get Him to the Greek at the time of writing. I settled for this poster:

How’d I fit my head in so perfectly? Turns out iStarin has a great method for adjusting the face once it gets into the picture:

Realistically, I’m not certain that Lord Voldemort has such nice eyebrows. (Apparently one is fading.) Either way, I think it turned out quite nicely. ???? I’m not too huge a fan of the www.iStarin.com URL on the bottom-right hand side of that poster, but what can I do? It’s a great free service.

If you liked what you saw, check out iStarin.

Professional Profile Pictures: Social Media Hive

Right, it’s time to get serious: if you’re at all interested in developing your professional presence online, a picture of you inside Lord Voldemort’s body or a picture of your cartoon robot might not be the greatest idea. Instead, here’s some advice from Social Media Hive:

1. Headshots work well! Remember: people want to see who you are. Headshots work with larger sizes (i.e. 128px by 128px), as well as smaller sizes (i.e. 22px by 22px).
2. Smile! You’ll appear friendlier.
3. Ensure that you’ve got good lighting — not too glaring, but not too dim either.
4. Make sure you stand out from the background.
5. Be original: scout out the rest of your competition, and see if yours stands out. If not, try a more vibrant background or a different arrangement or set of effects.

View the whole slide show here:

Twitter Picture Size | Tips & 254 Examples

I found this advice from Digital Inspiration, another great blog that publishes very useful advice.

Hopefully, you’ve all got some great inspiration for new profile pictures. Run into the wild and set your imaginations free! Report back if you find any useful services, we’d love to hear from you.