Today’s “Quick Tip” was inspired by a funny post I read over at Misc Bytes. As I was reading the post it reminded me of the Gravatar I am using and where I got it. When I first started leaving comments on blogs I never used a Gravatar, as I never even thought about it.
But when we started Making Money Online we decided we needed some cool Gravatars so people could relate the name to a face. Well I have always liked those cartoon looking cariactures I have seen around the net, so I searched around for different companies that created them. I ended up finding an AWESOME company that not only does a great job, but they only charge around $5 to create one for you. The company is called CartoonMe, and not only do they do a great job, but they have a fast turnaround time (less than 72 hours) as well.
I have actually used them several times now, but when I first ordered one… I didn’t have any recent photos of me or Mark that I liked. I did have this photo of us from several years ago on St. Patrick’s Day (when our wives use to let us party) at one of our favorite bars. So I scanned it and here is the original photo. (I am on the left and Mark on the right)
Then I cropped each head and made them their own image, as CartoonMe will only do one face at a time. The ordering process is beyond simple. You give them your email address, select the photo you want to use, crop the photo right there online and make your payment. Then within 72 hours (but we got them back much faster) you are emailed your cartoon. Here are the results from our first order…
As I mentioned that photo was from several years ago (I think around 7) and I have probably gained 20 to 30lbs since then. So I have been using that as my Gravatar… since it is a more flattering image of me. I am planning on losing weight by the end of the year, so I will update my Gravatar then 
. You can see a more recent image of us on our About Us page if you like.
So, if you are looking to get a fun cartoon-type image for your Gravatar, or just want to have one for something else, I suggest you give CartoonMe a try.
And for any of you Graphic Designers out there… since our site is about making money online, you might want to consider developing this skill yourself and offering this service. It could be a good lead-in to offering your clients other services you provide.
Now if anybody decides to get one, please let us know… as we would love to see the finished product!
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Klaus @ TechPatio on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 12:58 am
I tried to submit a friend to CartoonMe yesterday, after reading the comments over at MiscBytes – I’ll probably send over my own picture in a few days or so
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Self Pity – Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself!
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:04 am
To me it is just fun to turn myself into a cartoon, and for $5 it is a great deal. I am okay at Photoshop, but I cannot do anything that good myself.
The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:07 am
I always wanted to ask how you got your gravatar. I find it really cool, and catchy. I think I might just have to make one for my self
The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet´s last blog ..My Experiences With Racism As A Child
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:15 am
Gooroo… you can always ask me anything, as I love to share
I am glad I wrote this now, as it taught somebody something they wanted to know how to do.
The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 1:26 am
Haha, thanks Doug. Don’t want to steal your idea though! I think I’m going to hire a logo designer to make a favicon/avatar. Have you done this in the past? If so, is there anyone you recommend for the job?
Doug Dillard on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 1:34 am
You are not stealing my idea. For 5 bucks I would give these guys a shot. Just get a cool picture that you like (the Gravatar image you have now would work) and give it a try. You will never find a better deal… unless you have a designer buddy that will do it for free.
The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 7:15 pm
Alright, I’ll definitely look into it. My gravatar is too plain. Just a picture of me. No one will remember that
The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet´s last blog ..“This Is More Money Than They Make!”
Typhoon on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:49 am
Nice fun site to play with pictures. I will show this to my friends.
Typhoon´s last blog ..Which Search Engine you choose in blind search test?
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:36 am
Definitely a fun way to play around with photos. Both my boys keep asking me to get some for them too.
Mark Smith on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 11:07 am
George,you know what they say: You’re only as old as the person you’re feeling! Sure, I’m not getting any younger, and growing a goatee has helped me to look a little younger (wouldn’t recommend this technique to the ladies though). I have somewhat accepted my aging body and the extra lbs. that come with age. Besides, fat people are jolly! Your post did make me laugh, so for you my friend: Mission accomplished!
George Serradinho on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 2:08 am
I see what you mean about cartoon like gravatar now. I also read Christie’s post and I will probably get one myself now.
I saw the two of you on your about page, seems you guys are getting old now, lol. I just had to say that, thought maybe you would even laugh.
Thanks for sharing this
George Serradinho´s last blog ..Essential Blogging Tips – Part 3
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:34 am
Maybe a little giggle George. I hate getting older
Sire on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 2:34 am
That’s pretty cool Doug. I’m not sure if I will make use of that site anytime soon, especially as it took so long to make my current gravatar, I did a post about it somewhere, but you never know what lies around the corner.
Sire´s last blog ..Updating The Update On Snap Dollars
Extreme John on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 5:40 am
Wow Doug your toon came out great I had no idea how close it looked to you until you posted your actual picture along with it.
In the past I have used different cartoon service providers, some good and some bad but this one is really very good.
Thank you for sharing as always!
Extreme John´s last blog ..16 Free U Comment I Follow Images
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:33 am
Yeah John… these guys are really good.
BlogrPro on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 6:43 am
Still have a thought of including my cartoonized picture in my Gravatar.
BlogrPro´s last blog ..Uniqueness in Blogging! How to do? – Part 2
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:32 am
What does your Gravatar represent?
Asswass on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 8:04 am
They did an awesome job, you like identical. Do I look like my avatar? lol
Asswass´s last blog ..New Blog Tip: Get inside the first 5 comment spots.
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 9:09 am
Yeah Alfredo… I was meaning to ask you if that was a self-portrait until I saw the photo of you on your site.
Asswass on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 9:16 am
haha funny, but let me tell you that my donkey is a sexy dude ;S.
Asswass´s last blog ..New Blog Tip: Get inside the first 5 comment spots.
Surender Sharma on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 11:56 am
So cool man.
But I don’t like to create my avatar.
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..What is The Page Rank
Jared P Little on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:01 pm
Pretty slick. I must say I see a bunch of people using these verse real pictures pretty amazing. I wish I know how to do graphics but for $5 that a great deal.
Jared P Little´s last blog ..Learn SEO in 15 Minutes Part 1
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 1:06 pm
For only 5 bucks… it is really not worth my time to create them myself, even if only took 15 minutes. Plus, I don’t think I could ever do as good a job.
Stefan on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 2:27 pm
Love the results and it’s extremely cheap as well. I’m currently thinking about updating my Gravatar and a comic-style would be simple since I don’t have any good photos of me. With that said I still think photos is a bit more personal. Got to think about it, but I’m bookmarking the site.
Stefan´s last blog ..Why You Constantly Fail to Get Things Done
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 2:35 pm
I do agree that photos are more personal as well.. but I like them both.
Ricky on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 9:27 pm
It is a nicely made cartoon of yours. It looks exactly like you. I will consider this service in future when i start earning from my blog.
Suneel on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 9:34 pm
FaceYourManga.com too is quite good. But, you may to tinker a lot to get your facial features exactly.
Suneel´s last blog ..Downloading From File Sharing Sites Made Easy With SkipScreen
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:48 pm
I have played with that a bunch and it is way cool! I just can’t make a image look close enough to me. Great tool though. Thanks for sharing
Suneel on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:10 pm
And also I wanted to tell one more point.
How would it be using a target=”_blank” for all the outgoing links in your blog.
It’s not wise to go on hitting the ctrl every time I use the mouse.
Just my 2 cents.
Suneel´s last blog ..Downloading From File Sharing Sites Made Easy With SkipScreen
Doug Dillard on Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:41 pm
Suneel… not sure what you mean by this comment. Can you clarify please? Thanks!
Suneel on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 12:40 am
Doug, the links in your posts load in the same page leaving us no choice to hit the Back button in the browser.
If you can place target=”_blank” while creating a link, the link will open in a new tab rather than loading in this page itself.
Like this:
anchor textI hope this works and displays correctly.
Doug Dillard on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 12:50 am
Thanks… but most of the blogs I frequent don’t do that, especially almost all the big bloggers. They have all their links open in the same tab (window). I read the reason why a long time ago, but can not remember why.
Go to this post on John Chow’s site. All the links in the post open up in the same tab, and it is the same on all his posts…
I do appreciate the suggestion though Suneel. If I find the reason why they do it that way, I will email you.
Suneel on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 3:03 am
Hmmm I agree with U Doug. I do not understand why they do that.
Do lemme know if you find out.
Suneel´s last blog ..Download Auslogics Duplicate File Finder For Free
Compute Live on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 12:37 am
Awesome Doug…It really looks good… It looks more like you.. I think i`ll consider the service…its pretty good for $5
Doug Dillard on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 12:56 am
For 5 bucks you have to give it a try!
Christie on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 4:22 am
Hi Doug, thanks so much for the mention! Finding what you want for your Gravatar is fun, and this place that makes the cartoons is excellent – thanks again for sharing that link! I ordered mine a couple of days ago, so I hope to have it today or tomorrow.
Christie´s last blog ..The ugly truth about who’s hiding behind that avatar!
Lee Ka Hoong on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 8:22 pm
Great! That might be interesting to see another works from them, once you get the gravatar, upload it and leave a comment here so that we can have a look too!
Regards,
Lee
Lee Ka Hoong´s last blog ..The Next Generation Google Search Engine : Google Caffeine
Lee Ka Hoong on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 10:19 am
$5 for a cartoon gravatar based on our face is really a cheap rate! I’m going to give that a try too! Btw, the cartoon that they made for you really a lookalike you Doug! Other than gravatar, did they design an animation that look alike us in banner (468×60) ?
Regards,
Lee
Jean on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 7:39 pm
Wow! Yours DID turn out great! I will probably try this, but like you, will need to narrow it down to just the right photo submission. Thanks!
Jean´s last blog ..Alice Might Be For You
Tycoon Blogger on Sun, 16th Aug 2009 4:32 pm
Very cool > I always loved your gravatar and now I know how you got it. For only 5 bucks that is a bargain.
Tycoon Blogger´s last blog ..“Blogger Spotlight” with Blogging Boy
Doug Dillard on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 12:20 pm
Thanks Dan. Yeah for $5 bucks it is worth trying them out.
Jean on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 7:30 am
Ok, I cartooned myself. My artist must have been having a bad day. I look like a frumpy housewife with a double chin and no gleam in my eye.
Jean´s last blog ..Alice Might Be For You
Doug Dillard on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 12:19 pm
I am sorry Jean! I hate recommending something and then it doesn’t turn out right. Did you send them an email telling them you weren’t happy. I am not sure what that would do, but it is good to let them know.
Doug Dillard´s last blog ..Make Your Blog More Interactive
Jean on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 5:32 pm
That’s ok, Doug. It was worth a try. I sent them an email this morning, but haven’t heard back.
Jean´s last blog ..Alice Might Be For You
bbrian017 on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 8:04 am
On one hand I think it looks good but something deep down inside me also thinks it looks strange or odd.
Overall I think it came out good but you look a little scary like you could be in a horror movie or something lol.
I’m intrigued I might try to do myself!
bbrian017´s last blog ..Vacation Update – Casa Loma
Doug Dillard on Mon, 17th Aug 2009 12:16 pm
Scary??? Me??? I don’t see it.
dennisb on Wed, 19th Aug 2009 4:20 am
They did great on your avatars. I like it when people don’t take themselves too seriously… life’s too short!
dennisb´s last blog ..Jeep Grand Cherokee Scanned P1281 Fault Code