New here. A lot i need to know.

I would like a new avatar? Not sure what to buy or how to buy? Sorta know how by clicking item. Not sure what comes w/avatar. Not sure how to get the body, face and hair. Or even what comes w/what. I know there is a frame? Have went and looked around some stores. One store said avatares 6000. Not sure what stores are good or not. Not looking for the best prices or the worst.
Also when you log out does it matter where your avatar stay's?
Very helpful forum. Have been here a lot last few days.
Hope i asked the avatar Q right? Thanks for your time and help...



I have headphones on and can here people talking. (about breaking in saying stuff to owner and leaving prims around and they were sent back to him) thats just 1 convo. Do you need to turn this off?

Hi Aden, I sent you an invitation in world for the Forum Group. We have a lot of helpful people if you need help in world.

I will let the others answer the shape question. But welcome to SL and don't be afraid to ask for help. We don't bite.

Aden you may also want to check out the Wiki on the SL website as many of your questions may be answered there.

Hi Aden,

An avatar basically consists of the following parts:

Shape - this defines the basic shape of your avatar's body. You can edit this by using Edit -> Appearance from within Second Life. You can also buy a shape if you want to, but many people prefer not to, because the shape is one of the easiest things to edit and it ensures your own avatar will be unique.

Clothes - these are a general term for what are, essentially, textures that are applied to your body. The lowest level texture of them all is your "skin", which defines how any part of your avatar that isn't covered up by clothes will look. Above those are other pieces of clothing such as underpants, shirts and jackets. Your eyes and hair are also treated like clothes, as they have similar textures and settings. (The only complete exception to the rule is "skirt" which, unlike every other piece of clothing, actually changes the shape of your avatar.) To create these you generally need to use Photoshop or other external graphics software.

Attachments - these are items made from primitives (that is, built in the Second Life building interface) which can be attached to your avatar. These are often used to enhance the appearance of an outfit. The most common example is "prim hair" which is hair built with primitives, which can have a much more sophisticated look than the regular "clothing-type" hair.

If you see somewhere that's selling "An avatar" it usually means a complete outfit plus a skin and shape, but always check with the seller first. You can buy a prefab avatar this way if you want to but many people prefer to mix and match individual parts to look unique.

Hi there

The other alternative is to pop over to Help Island and let the friendly Mentors do their thing

(Note: Before anyone starts up about Mentors and why am I dumb enough to mention that, check my profile in world).

If you're very new, a couple of places do free skins for newbies. Sin Skins is the one I know and by all accounts their freebies are really good.

Hi Aden - welcome to SL

I suggest you also open up your inventoryand then open up the Library. There is a good selection of shapes, clothes, hair and outfits which you can "wear". Just play around with them to get an idea of what you can do first. Then decide what sort of avatar you want and take a good look round the shops - try out the demos for skin and hair before you buy. You might also like to take a look at SL Exchange and Shop On-rez web sites to see what is available - you will find a very wide choice.

You can turn off voice from the Preferences window (Under Edit from the menu options at the top of the screen.) There are voice help notecards and I will drop you one when I get on line later today.

The Celestial Studios Passport Malibu free skin is a pretty realistic female skin. It turns up in lots of freebie packs that you can find all over the place.

If you're after a realistic human avatar, start with your original shape or one from your inventory library - choose the one closest to what you aim to look like. Then, in appearance, undress your avatar and adjust the sliders on the body settings to get the look you want. Unless you want bo be very fat, thin, tall, short or ugly, the changes only need to be subtle.

With the shape sorted, it's time for the skin. When you have a skin you like, then you might want to go back and make more minor adjustments to your shape.

If the standard hair styles don't satisfy you you can buy or make more elaborate ones which you wear as attachments. Also if you are male and want to be naked some of the time, the male private parts come as attachments. For us females all our bits are usually included on the skin graphics.

I personally have a ton of stuff for new citizens, so if you IM me in world I am happy to share.

The only thing which tends to be tricky is hair ... but then a quick trip to the Hairspray sim has sets for 1L for avatars under 60 days old (I think). ETD also has some good looking hair

Re Conifer's post about prim things ... I have those too. In every hue. They are not pretty and probably don't 'match' ...

When you're in a store, and see a box with pictures, or what looks like a wall poster, that is what you need to click to buy something (the contents of the box or "wall poster" to be exact) Just right click and bring up the pie menu, then click on "buy". A box will come up and will list for you exactly what is in the box you are buying. There are symbols beside each item....clothes look like a clothing item, for example. A complete avatar should include a skin and shape in the box, probably eyes and maybe hair and clothes also. If you like what you see in the contents, you can then click buy and the purchase price is deducted from you account balance and the object if put into your inventory. It may come boxed, in which case it should appear in your objects folder. You will then need to click on the object and click "wear" and the box will appear on your avatar. If you are in an area that allows you to rez an object, you then click on the box and drop, which will put the box onto the floor. Right click, click open, and a list of the contents of the box will appear. You then click copy to inventory (in which case a folder will appear in your inventory with the name of the "object" or copy and wear in which case the contents of the box will appear on your avatar. Also, when you first buy the item, it could appear in your inventory in a folder also. I hope that helps.

Welcome!

$6000L is a lot to pay for an avatar makeover! The stuff in your library is pretty primitive, imho ... some things to try for free:

-- Learn how to buy and unpack things (either from this thread or, better, find a friend or someone at the Shelter to help you. I also recommend the fabulous newbie classes at NCI (New Citizens Inc)).

-- Go to the Free Dove; they have good freebie skins, shapes and eyes immediately inside the door on the right. In the back on the left is hair - be sure to get and use the free newbie coupons for Gurl6 and Tami. In between there is a pile of clothing, jewelry, shoes etc.

-- Go to NCI, which has vendor walls for excellent things, including things called an "AO" - this will make you stand and walk more naturally.

There is a great kit for newbies put together by someone on the forums. If you don't have it already, drop me an IM and I'll send it along.