Secrets of Looking Good

First goal, a new skin. First feeling, sticker shock! The first area I had TP'd to had skins, only in groups of 8 skins each of a different level of tan and with 4 different facial hair types. Price? $3600L! Did I really need 8 different shades of tan? Four different beards? I eventually ended up buying the first decent skin I found under $2000L.

I apologize for horking the thread, but here's a related question:

Let's say I want to start building my avatar...but I live in the middle of NOWHERE (in RL) and have dial-up. ***everyone gasps in unison*** ***the heartless ones begin to laugh maniacally***

Now, I'm new here, but I know Siobhan Taylor is about to type in a Dante quote, but, seriously, do I have no hope? So far I've just been trolling the forums and reading up the background on SL...not playing yet. I figure my first step tomorrow will be to create my happy little avatar, but I have some doubts...

Advice?

First goal, a new skin. First feeling, sticker shock! The first area I had TP'd to had skins, only in groups of 8 skins each of a different level of tan and with 4 different facial hair types. Price? $3600L! Did I really need 8 different shades of tan? Four different beards? I eventually ended up buying the first decent skin I found under $2000L.

The same store had shapes as well so I bought a decent seeming one called, I think, "Logger" (No not lumberjack, no snickering in the back there).

As a previous poster noted I found tons of stuff for female avatars but precious little for us menfolk.

In searching for hair I found that most of the hair for men was of various extreme styles. Mohawks and spiky hair aplenty. I even found a "mullet" (was that ever REALLY in style?). I eventually settled on a slightly longish, tousled look that went well (I think) with the shape and skin.

I bought some clothes in a store that must cater to mafioso. Dark pinstriped suits and hats. Violin cases. That sort of stuff. I never did find a good aviator suit but did manage a bit of swashbuckling kit from a store on an island that seemed to specialize in themes.

The final piece I needed was an AO to correct the woeful default movements. I found someone that was at least standing in a natural manly sort of way and asked him what AO he was using and went and bought that. While all of it was an improvement over the defaults the walk still has a bit of problem. Men walk with their elbows out and have a bit of swagger. This walk has the elbows in and looks like any second I'm going to break out in skipping along.

All in all not too bad. Any advice I can get on a more manly swagger and a decent aviator suit (with leather helm and goggles) would be most welcome.

Also, I see a lot of new residents on a given day. One thing I've noticed as a common theme is a tendency toward HUGE eyeballs. Please, if you want to make yourself bug-eyed that's one thing. But immense, goggly eyeballs are NOT attractive or realistic.

Your appearance is based on a number of factors. While using the default options are ok, to be a true pixel babe/hunk, you'll probably need to buy the various components from various vendors. As this can get expensive, learn as much about them as you can and experiement with different combinations.

Here's a breakdown of what to consider.

Skin: This is probably the most important aspect. A good skin can make or break an avatar's appearance. Demos are usually dirt cheap, so stock up and experiment. Once you find a good design, then you'll have to decide skin tone and facial hair, as that overrides the default controls.

Hair: Prim hair. Its a must. Finding good prim hair for men is hard. Women's hair outnumbers mens by about 1000 to 1 it seems. And even when you do find men's hair, very often the same style. Nothing against long hair, mind you, but thus far I've not been able to find hair that gives the GQ look although the prim hair I have now is pretty close.

Shape: Your shape will radically change how your skin looks, especially on the face. Professional shapes are usually better than what you can do yourself, but even then, its tough to find a shape that is everything you want.

Eyes: Good eyes can add a nice touch.

Animation override: The best avatar in the world will still look clunky if you use the default animation set.

Clothing: As in RL, clothes mean a lot. There's a lot of garbage out there and some really nice things too. Don't be afraid to ask where people got their stuff. More often than not, other people are willing to help, and once in a while, you meet some cool people who turn into friends.

Hope this helps.

Also, I see a lot of new residents on a given day. One thing I've noticed as a common theme is a tendency toward HUGE eyeballs. Please, if you want to make yourself bug-eyed that's one thing. But immense, goggly eyeballs are NOT attractive or realistic.