I'm not sure what thread this goes in, so I'm sticking it here. James' thread about an avatar in the Folc Productions got me thinking. There are some people (like LabRat, for instance) whose avatar instantly triggers a recognition in me. I don't even look at the name - when I see that happy looking dog I know exactly who's posting. (Mind you, I'm not saying that I think LabRat is a happy looking dog!)

Why did you choose the avatar you're using? Did you create it? Where did you find it? Does it have special significance to you (like a favorite ep)? Is there a subtle message or an image that you're projecting? If you've changed avatars - why did you do it?

Just curious (and trying to figure out what I want to use as my avatar).

Why did I choose it? It goes with the name.

I found the cartoon after an extensive google search of Elvis pics - must spend time more productively! - and then added the 'shade' of Elvis :rolleyes: that flashes every 10 secs after James put that 'how to make your own gif' post up recently. Save to photobucket, and voila!

Have you got any ideas as to what you want? I went through a bunch of others before I settled on this, and it'll probably get the boot in favour of something else sooner or later.

Heh. Mine's boring. It was one I could choose from the list online and I always loved that part in that ep. Plus Lois looks so seductive.

Has my muse been sleepwalking again? I don't remember posting such a thing...but as Elisabeth will tell you, that wouldn't be something to out of the ordinary

James, who likes to change his avatar a little less frequently than he likes to change his handle. I get bored with same-old-same-old and will change things on a whim.

Of course the more I play with pics, the more likely I am to change the image...

Went to check, and yes, you can all blame James for my annoying flashy thing.

Even Ralph could use it!

Ring any bells?

Dang! It was even less than a month ago...

I'd tell you what was the first thing to go, if I could remember the word...

James

Hehe, I loooove my avatar

I made it at www.sp-studio.de here and that's actually the way I look... not right now but quite often

So, yeah, it has quite some special meaning to me, I use it at LJ as my default icon and sometimes at MSN, too

Jana

Well, I couldn't find any cool pictures of cheese - yes, I looked! - so I thought I'd go with an Angel avatar 'cause I loved the show.

And so many people have LnC pics (gee, I wonder why ) I just wanted to be different.

Mine was just the one I liked the most out of a few that I had made. While that episode (one of the NK ones) definitely isn't my favorite, I love that scene. Sweetness mixed with a touch of angst is too much for me to resist!

Actually, I try really hard not to change mine all the time, since I know they have a lot to do with recognizing who's posting, but there are so many great ones out there!

I'm usually going, "Wait, that doesn't sound like...oh, right."

I won't answer your question because I figure it's patently obvious that my boy, Homer, has a special place in my heart, hence the avatar , but looking forward to reading some interesting responses.

LabRat

Honestly, I still collapse in laughter over mine from time to time. C_A made the larger poster during the motivational poster blitz last year.

Posters

Just in case anyone's missed it because it was a total scream!
JD

Well, let's see after looking around a bit .. I found mine here .
There was no special reason for picking that one (it's not my fav episode)- I just really liked the colors and the scene like that!
Plus I really wanted one with Lois and Clark both on it... I just feel bad if one or the other is left out

-Camy

I always had one to do with judo, since I was so big on the sport. But when I quit, that didn't suit me anymore. When I started thinking of one I'd like next, I googled for Tweety images. I came across this one... well, I love Tweety and it was said I was evil, so it would be a nice fit. Ever since, I stuck with this one. It's just so me.

Saskia

Mine is an image of my old superhero alter ego: "HatMan: Avenger of Boredum (and bad speller...)"

Originally, I was MadHatter (being both cheerfully insane and, due to premature baldness, never seen in public without a hat). But HatMan was created to have fun and adventures during conversational lulls. Eventually (because I liked it more and because MadHatter was used by a few too many random jerks, which caused me to get some angry and confused PMs), I started using HatMan full time.

(The long version of this story, if anyone is interested, is in an old "Where did you get your nick?" thread.)

When these shiny, spiffy new boards were created, I decided that the momentous event deserved a new avatar. So I "created" an image of HatMan, the cheerful superhero with his trademark beanie copter. By "created," I mean "stole a picture of Robin by a professional artist and then hand-drew a silly hat on him with MS Paint."

It's been my avatar ever since.

Mine is a screen cap from a Studio Ghibli cartoon called My Neighbour Totoro the company that produced this cartoon is like Japan's answer to Disney and it won an Oscar a few years ago for Spirited Away, but this cartoon was made when I was like 6 years old and has always been my favourite. The English version (which only emerged after Spirited Away became so well known) stars Dakota and Ella Fanning as the two sisters, but I still stick to the old Cantonese version simply because I find the dialogue more amusing and cute. There are actually many scenes I find cute but I really wanted one with Totoro in it (he's that big purple lump that the little girl is sleeping on).

I got my avatar from a bunch someone created, a long time ago... I love the kiss, and the background reminds me of hurricanes (You know, sattelite pictures & stuff). Since we'd recently had a lot of them, I thought it suited.

PJ

I'm just a big romantic at heart so this one struck a cord with me from all the options. Its more fitting for me now that I'm engaged, but I would still love it regardless.

~Kristen

Mine is Magenta the "domestic" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Love the bride of Frankenstein look. It cracks me up because the movie is such a parody of b-movie horror (it ends up that she's an alien from the planet Transylvania, good times). Plus I love the hand-on-hips stance. It's a screencap as far as I can recall, all I did was crop it to size.

I tend to change my avatar relatively often usually when I get bored of seeing the same thing, but they tend to be odd pictures, so I guess that would be my MO. I'm contemplating my next one to be the cover of a pulp novel titled "Behold this woman!" (all dramatic, lol) but I haven't had time to mess around with the pic yet.

alcyone

I'm going to embarrass myself now by saying that I always thought your avatar was from the Jungle Book - Mowgli lying on a rock or something. I have no idea why. Obviously I never looked at it properly!

I had to remember which mine was, since I've used Ed from Cowboy Bebop (my LJ default), Kiki and BunBun from Sluggy Freelance, and Garfield at random times. My current avatar is from SG-1 that I snagged from an author in that fandom. It never fails to make me giggle. Now if only I could figure out what episode it's from.

Mine is one that I made myself.

Late, one night, when I went on a crazy icon making binge and made about... oh? 30 of them? *giggles* This is still my fav one out of the lot, cause he's got the little curl on his forehead and that's so very, very Superman to me. hee! ...and I mean, you know... the *arms*!

I've considered changing it a few times, recently, but I can't think of anything I'd like more. (well, ok, there's this image of erm... you know... :cough:Batman:cough:) But I also associate people to their icons and that applies to myself as well, so I'd be a little lost and unable to find my own posts if I changed it, I think. LOL!

ETA: Karen, I asked my boyfriend about the SG1 ep, he says it's most definitely the one that Seth was in. He says it's likely that's even the name of the ep, Seth.

Thank you! I was thinking it was a bit earlier, season 1 or something. Seth makes a lot more sense, though.

I think my avatar depices my personality perfectly.

Tank (who was glad that it was so simple for him)

Mine is from the 30 LaraMoon made one day. I just love it and I cannot thank her enough for letting me steal it

When I first signed up here, and for a long time thereafter I had this as my avatar:



Which is the cover of Superman II, the Richard Donner cut.

I picked it because I absolutely looove Superman II, I love all the romance between Clark and Lois. Aside from that, I have this thing about watching Clark rip his shirt open to reveal the Superman shield when he's on his way to save someone. It gets to me every time and gives me shivers (in a good way, obviously).

What I have now is a picture of myself. I just thought it was a nice picture and I always think it's fun to see what other folcs look like, so I asked someone to crop the picture and shrink it for me, since I have no idea how since I've switched computers.

Since mine was the boring unoriginal avatar, I got inspired!

My new avatar is something that means a lot to me. It's Luke Skywalker from A New Hope when he's standing on Tatooine watching the twin suns set. While he's standing there, John Williams is directing the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard. It's my favorite song of all time hands down. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen this movie but when that scene comes on, I'm almost moved to tears.

Luke is so naive at this point in his life. He's looking forward to the future and just wondering what his life is going to be like. He feels sort of hopeless about being stuck on Tatooine. This really speaks to me because I remember a time in my life when I had no direction also. I felt frustrated not knowing what I had in store for me but also very optimistic about what the future would hold. Luke learns that the world isn't as black & white as he thought and he struggles through many trials. But in the end, he's a wiser person because of it.

This just speaks to me on so many levels. I imagine this will be my avatar for quite sometime. It's also my wallpaper on my PC.

hmm ... why's my avatar not visible?

edit: ok, it's back ...

Stephnachia, you had me so confused when you said Lois looked so sexy and all I could see was Luke.

I never picked an avatar because I'm not a visual person. If I had to pick something for myself it would probably be a musical theme (along the lines of Peter and the Wolf or Dr. Zhivago.) I messed around with something awhile ago, but I never got it looking the way that I wanted.

I must say, though, that I do associate other people with their avatars. Women who have men on their avatars and vice versa can throw me off for a second or two. I don't tend to remember what a person's avatar is without looking--did I mention that I'm not very visual?--but there are a few exceptions. Nan's avatar has such a cheesy-faced picture of Teri Hatcher that I have to remind myself every once in awhile that it's not a picture of Nan herself. (I never confuse Labby with her avatar or Paul with his. )

Elisabeth
who also has never gotten around to adding a signature, although on Zoom's board it says,

"That's because Lance Hunt is Captain Amazing!"
"Don't start that again! Lance Hunt wears glasses; Captain Amazing doesn't wear glasses."
"He takes them off when he transforms."
"That doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't be able to see."

When I first signed up for the boards I used this avatar:

This is from my first love. Manga (Japanese Comics). The name of the manga is Parfait Tic and the character is Fuuko. ^__^

Then around Christmas I changed to this:

This is the avatar that Mod's use on the Blizzard forums. I thought it was just to cute. ^_^

My current avatar is from the anime Bleach. I adore two of the characters (Ichigo and Rukia) and am hopelessly attached to them getting together romantically.

Basically... my avatar changes depending on my current obsession.

I don't see much hope for your avatars JoJo. Ichigo can't reach bankai and Rukia is going to be executed. Not a big romantic future there.

Tank (who personally finds Saia much cuter)

Mine I picked because of my preference on the issue. And because I think it's very pretty. Manip by someone else.

My avatar is from one of my favorite romantic scenes. It always makes me so teary eyed when Lois tells Clark (Superman) that he is no longer alone.

What girl wouldn't want to be swept away and flown up into the clouds?!?

Don't forget, Adult Swim is about 100 episodes back from the japanese schedule, so we don't know what's going to happen. But at least we've got new episodes again!

I know the secrets to the future and am current with the latest issue of the manga in Japan. (And the anime... but it is behind the current manga arc) Ohohoho! But you guys are in for a treat for the next few episodes.

~Jojo, who honestly believes there will be no resolution for the romantics out there since this manga isn't about romance but about strength and overcoming great obstacles. One can hope though... one can hope...

It took me a while to adjust to Labby's doggie avatar.

I went to one of those sites that helped me combine pictures so I could have a rotating avatar. I picked the one of CK because it was the first avatar I had (I had difficulty letting go of it). Also, I think he looks totally awesome there (love the colour too). I picked a picture of me b/c I thought why not and the last one is just one that makes me think of fun stuff. Not a very detailed explanation. I'm not very good with changing my avatar more often because I associate it with myself.

I used to have one of LL and CK sitting on the couch and she's leaning her head on him. I had it for a little while, but then reverted back to my first one. I liked that one b/c it was from one of my favourite episodes (Witness?) and I enjoy the feeling of happiness and waffiness when I saw that avatar. I want to encorporate it into my rotating avatar if I ever get around to it.

I think I used to change it for certain holiday seasons, but no longer.

(Oooooh now I remember the one where LL & CK are floating up to infront of the moon...I love that one too. I had it for a year (?), but I need my man in spandex showing the S.)

Avatars are spiffy

I made mine quite awhile ago, and I liked it a bit so I stuck with it. I thought about changing it after awhile, but then people would probably get confused... Lesigh!

But I know what you mean about knowing who someone is just by their avatar

Tank wrote:
I'd ask for an explanation, but I really don't want to know. (Same thing I tell my daughter when she starts telling me about "Death Note." Never works, though; she still explains it to me.)

My avatar is based on my login name, Shimauma, which is Japanese for Striped Horse(Zebra) but there's actually a "six degrees of separation" kind of bent to it. See, Dean Cain used to have a fantasy football team called Japanese Steel, which I believe I first heard termed in Kill Bill with Uma Therman. Uma is the Japanese word for horse and Dean was born in the year of the horse.

more complicated that it's worth isn't it?

TEEEEEJ