5 Free Ways to Spice up your Profile Pictures

Maybe it’s just me, but I find it nearly impossible to decide on a profile picture.  Nowadays, it’s important to convey just enough to give other people a sense of who you are, without overdoing it on those special effects.  I’m a big fan of Photoshop, but even I think that’s overkill — especially just for a profile picture.  So how do we make it interesting, yet personal, enough to capture other users — or at least make them double-take?

An important piece of the puzzle is personality.  These tools I offer are all free, and offer either a way to create your own character (I suggest creating them in your likeness), or tweak your photos to make them more interesting.

1. Simpsonize Me!

Originally designed as a promotional tool for The Simpsons Movie, Burger King launched Simpsonize Me as a tool to “Simpsonize” photos of yourself.  The process, theoretically, should be simple — just upload and modify, right?

…mostly.  I only got to finish the upload on my fourth try — on my first three attempts, I actually gave up (put the computer to Sleep) or had the connection time out on me.  So, I offer an alternative to Simpsonize me, which is called “The Simpsomaker“.  Not as simple as just uploading, but I would argue a whole bunch more fun.

2. South Park Studio

Out of all five of these tools, I would say that South Park Studio’s definitely been the most famous amongst my friends.  I don’t usually endorse South Park, but I felt obligated to mention South Park Studio for their own sakes.  Maybe I’m just too darn conservative for this world.

3. Face Your Manga

Face Your Manga was a shocker — because it wasn’t as fully based on manga as one would expect.  I actually enjoyed using Face Your Manga — of course, I am an avid fan of Naruto and Bleach — but I usually don’t tend to enjoy those “manga”-y drawings.  A pleasant surprise, Face Your Manga is definitely one to consider.  Er, might want to take a half-hour out of your day before you get started on this one.

…oh, and don’t get too hopeful about the apparel.  In fact, none of these really offer much apparel customization, sadly.

4. Joystiq Mii

Mii’s have been arguably one of the most interesting and amusing features of the Wii (I feel guilty making funny-looking Mii’s — I’m not superficial, really!).  I figured it was just a matter of time before either Nintendo or another company pushed its Mii capabilities online in an avatar form.  It’s pretty precise, too — the flash app actually mimics the Wii’s own customization of the Mii very realistically.  And it turns your cursor into a Wii hand.

…er, I’m not exactly sure how to download the file though.  Print Screen comes in handy, I suppose.

5. Photofunia

I’ve saved the best for last — Photofunia, as I discovered through Lifehacker, allows you to upload your photos and then substitute it into various hilarious or famous pictures, some even using face detection technology (Mona Lisa, anyone?).  A perfect blend of amusement, customization, while not taking up too much time, I would suggest using Photofunia for those looking for a quick upgrade from a bland picture into an eye-busting double-taker.

Be Creative!

That’s probably not all the customizers out there, but they’re the ones that require least baggage (no sign-ups, no fees, no downloads!).  I think that these will be timeless classics for any user out there that wants a unique, yet interesting profile picture — hopefully, you have as much fun with them as I did.