Anna Banana
Grrr..Meow

May is just around the corner, and with a new month comes a brand new "Artist Spotlight" for the Madame Malkin's forum! The Madame Malkin's mods have been searching high and low, and we've come up with somebody who's been pretty active in the graphics world! You've seen her all over--in her graphics shop, in the SS community shop, and in competitions. Give it up for Grrr..Meow, aka ROBYN!


*bows* Thank you so much. I'm pretty excited for this, because I'm a complete graphics addict.


Well, that's why we're here today--to talk about graphics! And because you're an all around awesome person. *grins* So, when did you get started in making graphics and how did you get started?


Oh wow, it's been a long time since I've been making graphics, and its all because of SnitchSeeker. *beams* I started, because once I joined SS, I saw loads of pretty things, and I wanted to learn. So thank you, SS! A lot of you awesome members still here today have helped me a lot and given me tips, which has gotten me where I am today.


That's exactly where I got my start--right here on SnitchSeeker! *loves you all* Well, you learn well, because we do love your graphics! When choosing the new "Artist Spotlight", I remember thinking of your "cute avvies" you started a little while back. What exactly inspired those? Also, how do you find such cute images?


Awww, thank you so much. My cute avvies, I want to pet them all. The first one was actually for an SS member, and after I made her one, I made a few for me (naturally, lol). Then they just spread like wildfire. Everyone wanted them, which made me really happy. Anna! You want me to give away my secret? I guess for you I'll tell you how I find the cutest pictures. All I have to do is use the good old google search "Cute Cartoon Cat" or "Cute Cartoon Anything", and it usually brings me to all the cuteness.


So the secret is revealed! I kept wondering how you came up with the most adorable little images I've ever seen! Thank you for sharing that tip with us! We loved (and still love) your cute avvies so much! What program or programs do you like to use to make graphics?


I use Photoshop, but I honestly can not remember what kind it is (I've had this forever). I have others, but I just love PS so much. It works for so many things. Ha! Now everyone will be searching google for cute pictures! Is there any way for us to shut it down for so many searches? *thinks*


Photoshop is amazing! There's so many parts of it I still have no idea how to use, but hopefully I'll figure them out some day! lol Yeah, I think Google images might be pretty busy after this interview is posted! What's your favorite type of graphic to make? I personally love signatures, because I get to see them every time somebody posts. It makes me happy to see my work being enjoyed!


I know, right? There's so many parts on PS that just boggles my mind. Poor Google. I kind of feel bad for it right now, lol. I am so totally in the same boat with you. I love signatures, but sometimes I totally don't like them. I always take forever to create a signature. I always create that first then create the profile picture and avatar, so all the hard work is the signature.

*insert a looooong pause in the conversation right here*


I'm sorry! I left to go get ice cream. I have cookies and cream ice cream now.


Haha! I just finished a sundae.


Ahh, ice cream is so made of win! *is such a happy person right now* Anyway, you do graphics the same way I do--signature first then everything else! A set comes together so much easier that way! We've talked about the things you enjoying doing with graphics, but we haven't talked about challenges yet. What are you currently stumped on and working hard to figure out? Anything? I know I'm working on Gryffindoll's flare from the last spotlight. I still can't get it right.


I agree with that--yay, ice cream! We are both in the same boat. I am currently trying Gryffindoll's light tutorial. I've made a few graphics with it since it was posted, and they've turned out great. As for the challenges, I always have a hard time with placement--like what should go here or what should go there, ugh. Once I think things are in the right spots, I save it, and its out of my mind. Sometimes after graphics are made for competitions, I'm like ughh, why did I do it like that? I'm my own worst critic.


I think we're all our worst critics, unfortunately! But just know that we love your work enough to spotlight you! So we've come to the end of our interview, but before we go, would you like to take a moment to tell the world of SS a little about yourself outside of graphics?


Oh wow, you guys know how to make a girl blush. Hmmmm, lets see, right now I am a stay at home wife. This includes lots of cleaning and taking care of our two dogs, Chewy and Luna (I got to name one Luna which makes me really happy). I am a TV and movie nut! My husband and I love watching our certain shows, and we love going to the movies. It's really bad that I can quote a lot of movies or shows I've seen. Right now, thats about it. I have a boring life *sad face*, but SnitchSeeker makes me happy, and I love talking to all my friends daily.


Quick list of your top two movies and top two TV shows of all time!


TV shows are - 1. Game of Thrones, and 2. Trueblood (yay HBO!). Movies are - 1. Hocus Pocus, and 2. ALL HARRY POTTER FILMS


All very awesome and popular shows, and I'd go into a deeper discussion of all of them, but we ARE interviewing for the graphics portion of the site. I should exercise some self-control, so I don't launch into a conversation on why "Lost" is the greatest show ever. Everrr. Anyway, that's all, everyone! Thank you again, Robyn, and congratulations on being chosen for our "Artist Spotlight"!


No, thank you, Anna and everyone. *waves goodbye to everyone*

How to Make Cute Avvies

I use Photoshop (not sure what kind it is ).

I start off creating a new blank canvas.

Steps: File>New

Once this is done, you choose the size. SS rules state that an avvie can not be bigger than 100x100, therefore choose your width and height to be 100 each. Make sure the resolution is in pixels.

Steps: File>New>Width=100, Height=100>Resolution=Pixels>hit okay

Now that you have your blank canvas, you will need to color the background the same color as the background of your SS Profile to make sure it blends and that it looks like it's meant to be there. The color code is below.

Color Code = #F0E7CF

I use this a lot so I have a screenshot saved on my desktop so I can always pull the color from the screenshot.

This is what it should look like at this point:



Okay, that was the easy part. Now we have to find a cute animal you'd like to use. This is where my tip will come in handy, as I usually tend to find all the cute animals people ask for. Go to Google Images and search for "Cute Kitty Cartoon" or change the animal you’d like to use to maybe "Cute Zebra Cartoon." This is how I find all my awesome pictures to use

For now, I'll be using the "Cute Kitty Cartoon”" as an example, because I just love cats.

For this tutorial, I've chosen to use the picture below:



Now, here comes the tricky part. Open this picture in Photoshop and use the Magnetic Lasso Tool (L) to trace around your cute animal until the loop has come back to the beginning. The picture will look like this:



Now click on your Move Tool (V) and drag the image to your blank canvas. Once you move it to your blank canvas you will see this:



To make the kitty smaller and to fit with in the width and height go to.

Steps: Edit>Transform>Scale

You are going to be using the scale tool instead of resizing the image, because you'll need to fit some writing underneath (unless you choose not to have any writing). Scale your cartoon until its how you'd like it to be.

Below is the scale and the beginning of the final look.

1. 2.

Now I like to have a stroke around the cartoon image, because it makes it stand out a bit more. To do the stroke, follow these steps.

Steps: Layer>Layer Style>Stroke

Now that we are here, you'll need to the select the size. I normally go with size 2 and choose the color white. This is what it should look like now:



now follow the same steps, but instead of going to stroke, select Drop Shadow. We will be making it pop from the background. To make it nice and easy, I leave everything where it is but the Distance and Size.

Distance = 3
Size = 5

Once you’ve selected that, hit okay, and it should look like this now. Hope everyone is sticking with me, and I'm not just rambling on. hahahaha



Okay, back to business. So our cute animal is complete. Now all you have to do to add your name is to use the writing tool. You can choose whichever font you'd like to and just follow the same steps with the Stroke and Drop Shadow (the exact same size, as well) and save it.

This is what the final cute avvie should look like.

Final Look


eeeeppppp I hope you all enjoy making your own cute avvies. 's