Making your own buddy icons is actually a lot easier than a lot of people think. All you really need is some basic photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro or any other editing software that allows you to crop and resize images.

Find a Good Image

The first step is to find an image you would like to make into a buddy icon and open your image within your photo editing software.

Change the Image Mode

Once you've opened the image within your photo editor, change the image mode to RGB. In Photoshop, click the image menu, then mode, then RGB. Changing the image to RGB will allow you to preserve the image quality.

Cropping the Image

Next you should select a square area that you would like to crop in the image if you only want a section. It is important that you make the selection you crop as square as possible, otherwise the image will look slightly distorted when you resize it. Once you've selected a square area you would like to crop, in Photoshop, go to the image menu and click crop.

Resizing the Image

You are nearing the end! The next step is to resize the image to be 50 pixels by 50 pixels. To do this in Photoshop, click the image menu and then image size. Since you want to make sure your icon is 50x50, turn off the 'Constrain Proportions' check box in the bottom of the image size window that will pop up. Change the width and height to 50 pixels each. Make sure they are set on pixels and not inches or centimeters otherwise you will get a gigantic buddy icon!

Saving the Image

Finally we need to save this image so you can use it as a buddy icon. You need to make sure the file is 7KB or less and that you save it to either gif, jpg or bmp format so that your AOL instant messenger can recognize it.

Setting Up the Buddy Icon in AIM

To use your brand new home made AIM buddy Icon, startup AOL instant messenger. Click on My AIM, followed by edit options, and finally edit Preferences. Click the Buddy Icons tab and the Browse PC button and locate your picture. Click OK, and you are ready to go!