How to make a Character using the Character editor
This is the same for photo and comic characters.So you have the character editior and you want to make and upload a character. (If not, use the link above to get it now).
You need to gather the pictures you wish to use, (or draw some) and save them together in a folder where they are easy to find ...renaming them to the emotions (Neutral, Laugh, Bored, Angry, Happy, Scared, Shout, Sad, Coy, Point to Self, Point to Other, and Wave) you plan to use them for is helpful.
The pictures need to be either bmp files or jpg files (jpg's take up less space but .bmp's are easier to edit).
Now you are ready to begin using the Character Editor.
Open the Character Editor, click file and choose new. This will open up the Editor Wizard, where you'll be prompted to enter the character's name, a short description of the character, and the author's (your) name. Click Next, and choose your color settings, 256 colors is the most common.
Click Next, and choose a background color. The background color you choose is very important, this is the color of the areas that will be transparent, so try to pick a color that is not contained in the pictures or drawings of your character. (blue is a common one to use) Click Next, and choose your drawing area size, either standard size (which is good for most characters), or choose a custom size if neccessary. Click Next, then Finish, and you're ready to begin.
First, choose a head shot of your character for the character icon. Click File, Import, and browse to the folder where you have stored your pictures. Choose the picture you plan to use, and click Open.
Now use the slider bar and resize the picture and drag the box outline to the area you wish to use as your icon, and click OK. You will need to paint at least a dot to keep the picture there as it sometimes disappears.
Now it's time to begin adding your poses. The first neutral will already be up, so using the same method you used to get the icon, choose a neutral picture, and import it into the pose, and make sure all your pictures are facing to the front or the right side of your screen, if they aren't, use the flip command to make them face the right. (second one up from the bottom on the left hand side of the center icons).
To continue adding poses, Click Character, Add Pose, and choose the pose you wish to add, and click Add. Continue until you have used all your pictures with the poses you wish to use them for. Like the icon you will need to at least paint a dot to keep the picture from disappearing.
Is always a good idea to save your work as you go, click file/save as and it will save into the folder you imported your pictures from.
Now, it's time to edit out the background. Click the tool that looks like a pencil, and click on the background color you chose. Now, just paint the parts of the picture you do not wish to show up to the color you chose for the background. You can change the size of the pencil tool by clicking on one of the 4 lines below the tool box.
Once you have finished editing out the backgrounds, you need to center the head. Click on the cross hairs tool, and drag the cross hairs over the head of each pose.
Now it's time to set your character's properties. Click File and Properties. At the bottom you'll see an area marked Character's URL. In the box, type in the website address you plan to post your character to (i.e. http://your.web.page/charactername.avb). If you don't have a web site, leave the URL blank and send the .avs to someone for posting (posting your own is real quick and easy).
A small note, it is best to add the .avb name as lower case, and upload as the same, different case will cause problems for people to download.
Now, save your file, then click File and Make a Character File (.AVB). Choose where you want to save your character file to (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Chat\ComicArt\),
and make sure that your Character name is correct. Then click on Create Character.
Now your character is made, just one last thing to do. Upload your AVB file to the address you entered for the download, so that Comic Chat can 'auto' download it. You'll have to use an ftp program, such as CuteFTP or WS_FTP ....That's it!
Enjoy your character :o)