BeFunky-fy Your Blog With BeFunky Free Graphics!
Although content really is king, it doesn’t hurt to have your blog look good too. In fact, it can make all the difference in the world when it comes to making readers feel at home.
But if you came to blogging through the wordsmith door and you’re not a designer, you might need a little help when it comes to creating images. WordPlay already offers resources for free photos, free clip art and cartoons, but if you’d really like your blog to stand out, the free BeFunky Web application can help you create free images that are uniquely yours — even if you have no graphics experience at all. You can use these free images in your blog header, in posts and, in some cases for your avatar (depending on the resolution in the image).
The Uvatar maker
BeFunky allows you to create strange and wonderful graphics. They feature two types of image modification applications: a Uvatar maker and a Cartoonizer. An example of a BeFunky uvatar is shown above. As you can see, the application allowed me to capture the moment when Woody Allen joined me at my palace while I was relaxing in my Catwoman outfit. I also made uvatars that chronicled my visits with other celebrities and a furry animal friend, which you can see at the bottom of this post.
The Cartoonizer
As fun as the Uvatar app is to play with, the Cartoonizer would probably have even greater use if you’re trying to create images for your blog. All you need is a good image to start with and the Cartoonizer does the rest.
Just upload your photo or clip art and click the SKETCH button. This creates a black and white sketch of your photo. You can adjust the settings on this feature, based on the image you’ve uploaded. Once the sketch is created, click the COLOR button, which takes the colors from your original photo and inserts them behind your sketch.
To the left you can see an original photo of some kind of wild space happening and how it turned out after being run through the Cartoonizer. I also used the same process with a piece of clip art (below) to see how that would work. I suspect this had good results because I used clip art that was originally from a painting and had a lot of detail. But you never know how an image will turn out, so it’s worth a try, even if you only have low-resolution clip art.
The original image (left) was used to create a cartoon image, and then had one of many BeFunky borders added.____
As you can see in the sample above with the red curtain, the Cartoonizer allows you to add a border to your image. Many of their borders are geared toward use in e-mail cards, but they can also be used for blog images. The Cartoonizer also gives the ability to warp an image, which can create some pretty strange effects.
So, the next time you want to create an image that’s truly yours, hop on over to BeFunky. You’ll probably have a lot of fun and generate some interesting images at the same time.
My BeFunky Gallery
I tried to convince Snoop Dogg to go roller-blading with me near the canals in Venice, but he told me that tiny wheels scare him. He also was a little leery of the ferret on my head.
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Here I am with Halle Berry, trying on dresses to wear to the Oscars. We both feel wearing fur isn’t cool, but that doesn’t apply to live animals, so the ferret stays.
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Hugh Grant has a reputation as a ladies man, so I felt it would be best to supplement the protection provided by the ferret and wear a black shroud on our date at the aquarium.
Go to BeFunky
You might also be interested in these other resources on WordPlay:
- Free clip art
- Free photos
- Free cartoons
- Avatar Central, your home for free images, image software and information about avatars
Copyright 2008 WordPlayBlog.com
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January 6th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Thank you so much for making me aware of this. I have been wondering how to get a picture of a junk drawer in my blog’s heading (Junk Drawer Blog), but i thought a digital picture might look too sloppy. Being able to “cartoonize” one might be just what I needed. Going to try it out. Thanks!
January 6th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Kathy: You’re welcome. Since your blog is so fun, it seems like a “cartoonized” image would set just the right tone.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Great information. I tried brfunky and it’s fantastic!
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
It’s a lot of fun, isn’t it? What a great time waster (in a good way)!