I need your opinion on choosing an avatar! Please help! + A thank you giveaway

Also, if I do go the caricature route, do any of you guys do that sort of thing?

A text-logo as a Steam avatar is not a good idea IMO. For your content creation account, sure, it is something associated with a channel, but when it comes to forums and gaming, people usually expect to see something… more pictorial.
Not to mention that unless someone clicks on the user profile, they are generally impossible to read unless they are two letters max…

The current one is nice as an idea, the cropping from the image editor (I assume Photoshop) needs some work though. (Plus a gradient as a background is kinda early 90s…)

A stylised cartoon/caricature is always a good idea, by the way. ^_^

Absolutely not puss in boots

I made my avatar in Adobe Illustrator, and I think it's quite cool. Personal but not too personal, and iconic enough to serve well as an avatar. Not offering my services though, but there's Fiverr which as you may have guessed from the name, offers little services for $5 and there are quite a few cartoonists.

Ohhh..I'll miss Puss in Boots..

I try to choose an avatar that has a meaning behind it.

If you want to look professional, you might want to have a real picture! Preferably you might want to have a photo of yourself, sitting on a desk, while having a cup of coffee, dressed in a executive dress or something similar!

Something simple like that can make you look very professional! :)

At least, that's what I think! You can look at other suggestions to see which one you like the most! :)

Hope the suggestions here help you a lot! :)

Have a nice day!

You can also use a tool like this

Try with different photos and/or effects, I uploaded an example. You can remove the watermark with a photo editor.

View attached image.

you should use whatever image you want, not what other people think it's right.
if you like the puss in boots, just use it. unless dreamworks comes knocking at your door, you are free to do it.

View attached image.

Your current picture is fine, I only would change your youtube header logo changing position of to the moon at first of left, because the colour background fit better with your avatar than brothers a tale.

And as the logo is in the youtube header, isn't necessary show this in the avatar again, but if you want can do it for the steam avatar in bottom.

Another option is to alter your photo with 'Paper Camera' https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dama.papercamera

The picture is alright, but... can't say I've seen millions of Steam profiles of game journos or devs, however I've seen a few, and I can remember only one using a picture of themselves.

On social networks the tendency to use pictures of themselves is more common, but even then, I've seen lots that I would not define "professional" and where the likeness of the person was not readily recognizable.

Also the part about using "someone else's IP" sounds a bit weird to me, but then again, I don't know who you've been talking to, so it would be unwise to make statements about what is regarded as acceptable in their circles, and what is not.

Could make something original, it doesn't take long to learn how to use GIMP to make something, and it's free lol

I don't think you need to have as profesionall avatar as you would have on facebook/linkedin. People know Steam is a gaming platform and for the longest time people have used cute/silly/funny pictures to depict themselfs on gaming platform so I think it's ok to go with puss in boots :)

If you want a little more unique picture I think making a cartoon or 8/16 bit version of yourself is a cool idea and you can probably find someone fiverr, reddit or even here that could do the job.

You have a really nice voice. <3
And your diction is good! You made me a fan.

i like the real photo

If you're going for professional :

1. Image of your face (current)
2. Logo (is better used to represent a brand instead of a person)
3. Caricature (might make you appear immature)
4. Copyrighted intellectual property (may come across as amateuristic)

The picture you're using now looks cute and sincere, I would use that.

I can make you a caricature using your current picture if you say so.

Yes I must agree that your "puss in boots" old one looks no professional at all, tend to tell you few times but not sure you're so serious about it like this, more than that its your favorite. If I can suggest st, maybe a photo of yourself, no need so serious or funny, just make sure its natural, should be a cool pose, maybe using only black and white color if you like. Or if you don't want to show your real life face, make it have a little bit cartoon style.

This is just my opinion but I think that a simple and iconic logo is simpler to remember than a picture, a caricature also works because it's also an abstraction. Don't try using something too complicated, the details are hard to see when the avatar is small.
I suppose that copyrighted material might cause some sort of issue, better to avoid that if you want to look professional.

Really appreciate the feedback from everyone, bumping for the giveaway: 48 hours remain!