Making a Proper Shape - A Guide to Human Proportions

a freshly rezzed plywood prim is still .5x.5x.5m, no matter what the 8'11" av next to it believes their height to be.

Since freshly rezzed plywood prims don't exist in the real world the mind has no way of adequately judging that size.
If it stands beside one of those 8'11" avatars it will simply look tiny.

Lets take a table for example. you'd expect a table to be somewhat 3' high I guess. However if you really make it 3 feet and put it beside a random avatar it will most likely look like a children toy. Simply because it "feels" too small for the people walking around.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be good if everyone would use the SL scale, but that ship sailed so many years ago, and you won't be able to change it.

Best accept it and view the SL scale as something only loosely related to the metric system.

If the people walking around it are frankenbarbies, sure.

not so loosely. the sl meter is related to havok physics as well. the sl meter is not loose, it is absolute. for many years my av has stood at 5'6 (prim height), and i have no plans to 'scale up' to amazonian proportions to appease proportionally-impaired avs.

in SL i measure 7 foot tall, I'm perfectly proportioned, and have legs to die for.

These arguments about arbitrary measurements in an arbitrary world are always silly. I suppose 100 years from now they will still be going on. I say do what is right for you and tell anyone who doesn't like it to be damned.

SO long as you're straight up about being 7' tall. It's the people who insist that 7' is "really" 5'10" because "SL meters are smaller than real meters" that torque me off.

That said, someone calling me a kid while I'm in my 5'1" avatar is just as silly. (^_^)y

Well proportining on SL avatars is off and has been for a long time. The key here is it so pervasively off that it actually has become its own standard. Considering you can make your avatar a tiny animal or a giant walking tree who cares if it does conform to realistic human proportion.

My av is about 6'5" and seems short compared to some, but I am happy with it. Considering the size of SL and the sucess of businesses making 7' or taller shapes, it would seem to reason that there is a variety of views on the subject.


Now if proportion is you thing, good for you, but if people are happy with what they have and they think it looks good, that's fine too.

EDIT: Another issue dealing with size is the default position of the camera. It effects a lot and encourages larger avatars and items overall.

That's why several people asked me for a slightly higher angle view for my Tinycam, so "big people" avatars could see themselves in view the way Tinycam let "tiny people" do.

So in Tinycam II, you click-and-hold the camera icon to switch to "biggie view".

Feel free to be torqued off all you want.

IRL, I'm 6'1" and some. In SL, I like to be about the same height, relatively. That is, taller than average, taller than most women, but I don't bump my head on rafters or look like Herman Munster. I find putting my slider just under 90 achieves those goals: it makes me EQUIVALENT to about 6' tall.

Of course, most men in SL push the height slider way up simply because they can. There's no cure for that. So I had to give up on "taller than average" for men.

If you're a builder, and sell products to typical SL residents, it's wise to compensate from RL measurements by adding about 20%, so your items will look reasonably proportioned to most buyers. That's for things on the avatar scale like musical instruments and seating. For building scale, you often need to go higher simply to get igh ceilings and open spaces, to avoid interfereing with the camera.

For folks who want to adhere to the meter scale, fine. Just don't be surprised when the rest of the world doesn't follow along.

My head's probably too small for my avatar, but that doesn't stop people from telling me I have a big head.

In SL i Build.

My Buildings would be somewhat Disproportionate in RL, But through Observation, and Deduction, I have been able to Create Buildings and Furnishings that Fit the Majority of SL Avies without the structures looking too Cramped, Or like a Child wearing Daddy's shoes.

Despite the Disproportionate relation to the real world, SL Manages to Make a Sense all of it's own, I so far haven't seen the Need to resort to real world Measurements to make my Builds OR my Avatar for that matter Fit this world.

I am Trained in aspects of Architecture, and I'm aware of the Need for Certain Dimensions in Load bearing walls and such for RL Builds, But in SL I can Balance a Building on an Upright bamboo Rake and it will still stand.
IRL, My Boobs are a tiny hand full Each, In SL,,,,Well, after all it IS a Fantasy world.
But do i ever have to worry about Clothing Fits in SL? No.

In SL there is simply No Compelling reason to Adhere to RL Physycal Dimsnsions. If an Avatar is pleasing to the eye It simply doesn't matter if the Legs are Longer than Normal, or the Shoulders Broader or the Bust,,, Well, you Know what i Mean.

As in RL, for me anyway, the size, and shape of an Avatar doesn't matter,, It's the heart Inside that counts.

The Information Given by the OP will be extremely useful to New Builders, and for a while to New Avies, But as time goes by, and thier world stretches to Fit SL proportions, the Principles will become less important.

Angel.

Most of my avatars vary from around 3' to around 6' on the SL meter stick, and I'm proportional to most people I hang out with. I also sat with a scanner in Ahern for a while and found the average height was just under 6'... so it's NOT just the people I hang out with.

These "arguments" are for people who "care", Darien.

And there are many of us. It is not a rule - the entire start of the thread is about it being a "guide", not a book of laws.

It helps A LOT of people who want to be properly proportioned. And for that, i am happy for it and to have posted it.

I found while touring Zindra a slightly larger percentage of to-scale avatars. I'm not calling this a perfect science. But, it seems the greater degree of age verified, land owning, business running avatars are quite aware of scale. A few of the times I visited Mosh, I found myself to be the "tall" one around. Which really stands out from the usual PG/Mature places I typically hang out at where I'm usually waist high. (^_^)

Regardless. I'm happy with my avatars size and appearance and feel no need at all to comply with the Hulk Manchunk and Boobzilla Frakenslut fad. (^_^)

And, About tall avatars and the camera. I've found that using a tall avatar while walking around I have had issues with the avatar obstructing the view too much. I can't see the benefit of flooding the screen with Boobzilla's giant butt while I can't see in front of her well enough to be able to navigate a spiral staircase. (>_<

Then again. Maybe it's a matter of priorities. Maybe people ~DO~ want to see their own butts so profoundly presented on the screen. =^-^=

For folks who refuse to adhere to the meter scale, fine. Just don't be surprised when the rest of the world doesn't follow along. (^_^)

You say that as if it were a bad thing.

I didn't say anything about the guide. I'm talking about the 20 something other pages that are just arguing. like your post, complaining about mine. it's not constructive nor useful. And you can be properly proportioned without following the guide, FYI.

No I didn't. =^-^=

Having a good general guide basic proportion is a good thing, even if one chooses to completely ignore it.

Having said that, for those interested in a realistic look, the guide seems to be missing a key element.

In RL, people come in all shapes and sizes. Now, they might generally conform to the proportions set in the guide, we all know that there is much variation between people. We aren't all clones of each other with overall height being the only real variable.

So some variations will still look natural, while others will not. It would be wonderful if the guide discussed ways in which the "rules" of proportion can be broken, yet still yield realistic looking avatars - because in RL, people look like that and are accepted, or even appreciated more.

That's true. Also I was just reading about sculpture and it said you have to make things a bit extra-real, for it to be perceived as real.

If you think about it, our eyes scan other people and our surroundings constantly. And some parts of both stand out in our minds more than other parts. We don't really perceive a 'whole' or seamless image at any given moment.

Drawings that are technically 'perfect' tend to look like, well, boring technical drawings or wax statues. They don't sizzle.

I see way too many people in SL, especially on women, with this body shape:



Which is just visually jarring, and yet its all over the place.

You win a prize!

/me wonders if the fuzzy center is tasty.

Looks like it might scratch back though.

Thanks for posting this guide. I am happy with my shape, but it was fun to 'compare' my results with the suggested proportions.

I think this guide might be most helpful for that person who is NOT happy with his/her shape and cannot figure what is 'off.'

I just used it because it was a fun exercise ...

Thanks again.

FF