An avatar is a graphical representation of yourself. In a game it is the character you play. Online, for example in a user profile, it is the picture you upload for that profile. In other words, it is the image other people associate you with when you are participating in online activities.

The obvious thing to do is to use a picture of yourself. However, if you want to be a little more creative, why not make a custom avatar for yourself? Need inspiration? This article has it! Along with examples I will also point out tools that let you create a cool avatar online.

Note that the copyright of some of the avatars shown below belong to the people they were created by. Please do not copy their avatar!

Cool Online Avatar Examples

Facebook Avatar

Are you in need of a new Facebook avatar? David has created some very cool avatars as knockoffs of Facebook's default avatar. They are definitely inspiring.

facebook avatar

Cartoon Avatar

The most popular online cartoon avatar creators are Simpsonize Me and South Park Studio. The following avatar found at Adland.TV was probably created using Face Your Manga.

cartoon avatar

For more online tools that can help you create a cartoon version of yourself, check the resources at the bottom of this article.

Geographical Avatar

This user over at Live Leaks made a photo of a flag pointing to a spot on a map to indicate where he lives.

Geographical Avatar

Your avatar can be a message. The Transformers avatar shown below was inspired by Obama's Change posters. You can create a similar avatar using ObamiconMe. The site also offers alternative themes, like 'Free Iran' or 'I'm with Coco'.

Banner Obama Avatar

Logo Avatar

Got a favorite product or service to promote? You could make the logo your avatar like this user over at AFi (Action Figure insider) did.

Logo Avatar

How To Create Your Own Avatar

There are many sites out there that offer free avatars or tools to easily create a custom one if you're lacking the skills. Now to be honest I don't know which tools exactly were used to create the above avatars. However, MakeUseOf has previously featured many ways you can create your own cool avatars online. Read all about it:

How To Show Your Avatar

Now that you have an avatar equally cool as the ones above, how do you show it to the world? Well, if the forum of your choice does not let you upload your avatar, but you can see others using one, they may well be using a service called Gravatar. Gravatar lets you associate a picture file, i.e. your avatar with your email address. What you do is sign up with Gravatar, add the email address/es you use to post on forums, and link your email address/es to your avatar/s.

If this brief walkthrough was too short, you will find screenshots and better explanations in the article below:

MakeUseOf supports Gravatar. Want to show off your (new) avatar? Just post a comment below!

Image credits: More Similar Images