Free Avatar Makers
All over the internet you will find a scatter of free avatar makers but they can sometimes be hidden amongst the big commercial websites, I have taken the time to personally hunt down some resources that you can use to create your own avatars. Some of these resources allow for commercial usage and some are free only for personal use, so please check before you use them. Most of the websites will contain a Copyright notice page that says what is and what isn’t permitted.
Here is the list of free avatar makers online I could find.
Pixton – Comic Maker
Pixton is cool. This website allows you to create your own comics online with some unique drag ‘n drop interfaces. You can breathe lives into your portraits and comics. It’s good for personal use but after reading through their quite hidden Terms of Service, it would appear you are not allowed to export your strips for commercial use, so best to stick to personal use only here.
Portrait Avatar Maker
The AbiStudio Portrait Avatar Maker is probably my number one choice of avatar makers online. It allows you to create your own funky little avatars with many, many customisation options available from hair styles to eye type and a multitude of facial expressions can be created at the click of a button.
They stipulate on their website that you are free to use for business or personal use. It only really stipulates the use in blogs or SNS but I have used it before and before I did, I emailed them requesting permission, what my project was and what it was for (commercial game). They responded and were more than happy for me to use their avatars. They even wanted to see a link to the game, which was cool.
Portrait Illustration Maker
From the same company as above (AbiStudio), here is the illustration maker. Again, equally as impressive as the avatar maker but this one is more oriented around just the face. An absolute must-have for people who lack the creative ability to create characters. Same as I mentioned above on the usage front, if you’re unsure just email them and ask for permission, at least.
Portrait Illustrator Maker Website
Avatar Maker
Last but not least, avatar maker. This website provides a massive amount of tools to create your own avatars. I am not entirely sure what the distribution is for avatars created with this website are. I cannot seem to find any links on copyright or distributions, not even a contact page or email address. I would use cautiously if you are to use this, but in the mean time… have fun!