Skins vs. Shapes?

I am still in my first week of SL so everything is still pretty new to me. I have a question about Skins and Shapes.

I want to make my avatar muscular and attractive. I am pretty sure that I need to buy a skin for this. Do I need to buy a shape too? Or do shapes automatically come with skins?

Shapes and skins are two different things.

A shape is just that - the surface dimensions of the avatar. How tall/short, beer-gut/trim waist, muscular or skin and bones... But it provides northing for surface coloration or details.

A skin is surface coloration that clings to the shape. It's the peel on the apple, or the difference between a two of clubs and an ace of spades. A "Muscular" appearance made with the sliders alone will only look a little fat. You need the surface texture details to see the muscle definition, bronzed skin, and maybe a light sheen of sweat.

A good avatar is usually a combination of a good skin and a shape that is designed to look right with that skin. The wrong skin on a perfect shape, or the wrong shape on a perfect skin, can still look bad.

Falkor, shapes and skins are two separate items. Sometimes they are sold together, sometimes separately. You do not need to buy them together. A given skin can look better or worse on different shapes, depending upon how the skin's shading (drawn on by the skin's creator) falls on the curves and features of the shape.

You can modify your own shape, without having to buy one, using the sliders in the "Edit Appearance" menu you get by right-clicking on your avatar. You should play around with the sliders to see how they work. You can create a new shape to work on, and then save your work if you make on you like.

A skin is an overlay you wear on your shape. Most skin sellers offer demos for 0L or 1L that you can test out before you buy, because skins are expensive.

So to get the muscular form you describe, you might use the sliders to make your muscles the size you want (please think carefully about this, don't just max everything out unless you want to look like a 'roided ape), and use a skin on which a creator has painted lines and definition.

Or, you could buy a skin/shape combination if you see one in a shop that you like. The information in the shop should tell you whether you are buying a skin only, a shape only, or a combination of both.

Do you know of any good shops where I can find skins and shapes like you describe?

For good male skins you may want to give Signature Skins a try out in the Skutter region. Shapes? I could answer that, but I'm kind of biased

What Madhu said, especially the bit about not maxing everything out.

For me, shape is the most personal thing about my avatar because it's the bit I did myself and I have spent a long time tweaking it. Because she's slightly unconventional in facial proportions, it is hard to find skins to fit, but I'd never change her shape to fit a skin.

Others start with a skin they like and make a shape to suit the skin or buy both as a package. Skins are expensive, but there are a few good freebies around (I have no idea where, for boys' skins).

welcome to SL

Free advice #1 - The free skins and shapes for men aren't bad, available at all the big freebie places. If you are this new in your SL career, you might just want to get one of those. You will look instantly better, and you will learn a lot about skins and shapes in general, and avoid spending a lot of money on something you later find out sucks.

Free Advice #2 - DEMO, DEMO, DEMO ... almost all skins come with demos. Go get some ... get several ... try them on, see how they make you feel.

Free Advice #3 - Hair matters. If you are going to have prim hair, your should really have one or two (or several hundred if you are me, haha) picked out, and try them on your DEMO skin. Making this more convenient, hair is almost always available as a demo. If you are going to be bald ... then you REALLY need a demo.

Free Advice #4 - Have an idea how you want to dress, and try some outfits like that on the demo skin.