the person who creates the armatars is a professional who I believe gets paid to create the armatars.Sorry,but the armatars submitted during the holiday contests are only temporary,and at the moment I don't think they are in need of a new armatar artist as they only need one(I hope)and they have one.
I think that it would be cool if people could submit their own armatars as this would give them the oppurtunity to show their skills. If the Mods thought they were good enough they could add them to the site on the armatars that you get at zero AP. There could be a 10AP reward for getting your armatar submitted also.
Look at my armatar. I made it. It was on a holiday event wich just closed a week ago. I think there will be one on easter, or on valentiens day. Sorry for my bad spelling. I am not using FireFox. The new artist has his/her way of drawing. He/she uses many details on a little picture. It is not always good to do that, and it does not fit as an armatar. The old one was better, but we will get used to the new one.
By the way, I wonder when the new armatars are coming! =P
It's been suggested before and was shot down. At least for now. It might change in the future, but we surely are never gonna get personalized armatars. Meaning, even usermade armatars will be available to all.