MSN Messenger Icons: Where to Download Them, How to Make Them
All kinds of software have tapped into this basic desire; Windows itself has a vast array of ways to let you design your computer screen any way you want it to look.
Next to the personalization thing, there’s nothing more fun than being able to kick back at home and chat at a bunch of people from all over the world. When Instant Messengers (IM’s) and personalization combine, we can get a little more obsessive with what our “stuff” looks like.
MSN Icons are huge. From the buddy icon to the emoticons, or smilies, that you can make show up in the middle of your conversation, there is an msn icon to suit every mood. Microsoft and several companies, particularly Blue Mountain Graphics, have made some good money off of this fact.
Now, let’s learn where we can find free msn icons and buddy icons, and how to make our ownâÂ?¦ without spending a dime.
The Buddy Icon
The buddy icon is also known as a “Display Picture”. When you are chatting to someone in your msn messenger, and you see a cute little graphic in the upper right-hand window, you’re looking at your friend’s buddy icon.
First, let’s run down how we change our buddy icon:
1. Open MSN Messenger.
2. Click the “Tools” button in your MSN Messenger Toolbar.
3. Click the option “Change My Display Picture”.
4. A separate window will open. MSN provides a variety of pictures for you to use, if you want to start there.
5. To choose a default image, just click the picture that you like and click “OK”.
6. If you want to use an image that is on your computer as your Buddy Icon, click the “Browse” button. This will open up a new window for you to find your picture in. When you have found the picture, select it, click “Open”, and you can preview it in MSN Messenger. If you like what you see, click “OK”.
Good stuff – now you know what to do once you find the buddy icon that you really want.
Some good places to start looking for free buddy icon images:
MyTheme – http://www.picgames.com/perl/msn-messenger-icons – This site carries a large number of msn buddy icons that you can download for free. Most of them are humorous, but be forewarned that some contain controversial and/or offensive text. To get the most out of the site, make sure that you try out their “Customize” option located beneath each of the messenger icons. This lets you choose exactly how you want the icon to look before you download it.
MSNIcon – http://www.msnicon.com – Truly quality buddy icons are given a home on this website, with dozens of categories to choose from. *Language Warning: Some of the msn buddy icons contained on this site do contain adult language. This site is not for kids, but if you’re an adult with a sense of humor, you’re going to find hundreds of must-haves here. To download the icons on this site, just right-click your picture and choose “Save Image As”, then follow the steps we covered to change your display picture.
Buddy Icon Monster – http://www.buddyiconmonster.com – A relatively new website, this is going to be a well-known resource before very long. With hundreds of different images and animations galore, the msn buddy icons you find here will cover every mood you might ever even dream of having. This resource works differently than either of the first two – instead of working with just an image; they let you download an icon “pack”. This pack will install itself into MSN for you.
MSN Dollies – http://www.msndollies.com – Unlike any of the previous websites, this one will not plague you with Adult Language or any adult content in the buddy icons if it’s not something you appreciate. What you will find here are msn display pictures ready for download (do the right-click and Save As thing) which are truly top-notch.
Want to make your own msn buddy icons? Nothing could be easier! Really, all that you need is a picture. It can be of anything. Then, go through the steps we covered to change your display picture, and you’re done!
If you have a graphic editor like Photoshop or PaintShop Pro, you can get fancier with your icons. Really, though, what could be more personal than a good photo of you or your favorite pet?
The Emoticon Icon
Emoticon icons are usually called “smilies”. They are the little graphics that show a smiling, laughing, crying, angry, etc. “face” when we type a certain phrase like ;).
MSN gives us an easy way of installing and creating our own msn emoticons. First, let’s cover the steps to adding a new picture to MSN – this is the process to creating your own emoticons.
1. Open MSN Messenger.
2. Click “Tools” in your toolbar.
3. Click “My Emoticons”.
4. By scrolling down the window that opens, you can see all of the emoticons that are already added into MSN. If you look below the picture of each emoticon, you will see a “shortcut”. This is like a map that shows you what picture you will end up with when you type a specific phrase.
To create your own emoticon, click the “Create” button.
5. A window opens that gives you step-by-step details on what goes where. You will need to locate a picture from your computer, then decide what phrase, or shortcut, should pull up that emoticon when you are chatting. You can also name your emoticon in this window, but you don’t have to.
6. Once you have found the picture that you want, click OK.
7. Scroll down the main emoticon window again. Under “My Emoticons”, you will see the emoticon you just made!
Don’t feel like trying to create your own msn emoticons? No need to stress. Here are several websites that offer free msn emoticons for your download enjoyment.
Customize Your MSN – http://www.customizeyourmsn.com – Not my favorite layout for a website, it’s a bit frustrating to find where the msn emoticons actually are. Just scroll down, look in the left-hand navigation, and you’ll find the categories. To save the emoticons, just right-click the graphics that you like and choose “Save As”. Then, follow the steps to adding it to your MSN Messenger.
Smiley Central – http://www.smileycentral.com – Don’t let the fact that you have to download a program scare you. There aren’t any forced ads or (that I’ve ever found) any spyware loaded into this program. Instead, you’re given access to some really cool 3D emoticons that are free to download. Even better? If the person you’re chatting to also has Smiley Central, you can just click a button on your MSN Messenger and it’ll automatically send the emoticon without you having to download or install the graphics.
My Emoticons – http://www.myemoticons.com – Possibly the easiest way to go, this website offers some very neat msn emoticons that download in a format that will automatically install into your messenger.
Cool Emoticons – http://www.coolemoticons.com – This website is likely my favorite because the emoticons it offers up are really nice quality. Just pick a category from the left-hand navigation, and scroll all the way down in the page that opens to see your choices. These graphics need to be right-clicked, Save As, and loaded up but are well-worth the few seconds extra effort.
