[quote=@Sirkaithethird]

I would love to make avatars on PS but I don't want to invest the money into it... Grumble grumble [i]I don't get a student discount[/i] Grumble grumble.
[/quote]

[url=https://www.getpaint.net/]paint.net[/url] is what I use -- has a lot of the functionality of photoshop, also is free.