Your Avatar, is the image that appears on the left, under your user name, in every post that you make.
It can either be a static image, or an animated image.

To add, a new Avatar:

At the top of any page, click My Controls.
On the left, under Personal Profile, click Edit Avatar Settings.
On the next page that opens, you will have 2 options:
1. Choose an avatar from one of our galleries
2. Upload a new image from your computer


To choose one from our gallery:

Click the dropdown arrow, and select a category.
Once you've made a selection, click the Go! button
Select the radio button, under the image you want to use.
Click the Use Selected Avatar button.
Your selection, will become your new Avatar.


To upload an image from your computer:

Click the Browse button.
Navigate to the folder, on your computer, containing the image you want to use.
Left-click the image, to highlight it, then click the Open button.
When the file path appears in the window, next to the Browse button, your image has been uploaded.
Click the Update Avatar button.

Note:
Your Avatar can be no larger than 83 x 83 pixels in size.
The file size of the image, can be no more than 200 KB.


Changing an existing Avatar:

At the top of any page, click My Controls.
On the left, under Personal Profile, click Edit Avatar Settings.
At the bottom, click the Remove Avatar button.
Select either, one from the gallery, or one of your own.
Follow the appropriate instructions above, for whichever option you choose.


If you experience problems, changing an Avatar:
Some times, the board can be a bit finicky about changing an Avatar, and your new selection won't be immediately displayed.
Here's the method I recommend trying, when this happens.

On the page where you make your Avatar selection, at the bottom, click the Remove Avatar button.
Clear your browser's cache (Firefox), or your Temporary Internet Files (IE).
Close your browser.
Restart your browser.
Follow the directions under, To add, a new Avatar:, above.


A couple of notes, on using an animated Avatar:

1. Avatar's are limited to, 83 pixel x 83 pixels, in size.
2. Anything larger, and the forum software reduces it, which causes the loss of animation.
3. The file size is limited to 200 KB.
4. If you need to resize your animation, and don't have the appropriate software to do so, a tutorial on how to do it, and links to free software, can be found at this link: Resizing An Animated Gif