Hackergotchi, my ultimate guide with the GIMP

Ever been tired of those sad avatars you always find in the net ? Always the same, always too small, boring… ok Today is an Hackergotchi day ^_^

But, wth a Hackergotchi head is? Simplistically, it’s an image of your face with a shadow artistically dropped. (simplistically + artistically = simpartically; Hackergotchi is simpartically… lol)

1. Find a suitable image of you
2. Cut your face, create a path all around your face and the cut & paste as a new image
3. Adjust contrast and light (remember that the final image will be small)
4. Drop a shadow with the right angle, saturation and radius
5. Re-size to desired dimensions
6. Save & use

Here is series of links to explain (from wikipedia):

• GNOME Hackers – hackergotchis of the GNOME hackers (where everything began)
• Blog entry explaining a simple method of making a hackergotchi
• Video demo of how to use the GIMP to make a hackergotchi YouTube Version AVI Version

I recommend GIMP for the best results . GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Use GIMP & support this marvelous project !