How do you export a Head Tattoo from SL to edit in PS?

I am getting a little frustrated here.. I've got about 3 days to set up a second life before a newspaper interview so I don't have the time to do the sort of research I normally would before asking noob questions that have probably been asked 100 times before. I'm a designer by trade so I know photoshop and 3dsmax.. I'm used to editing bump maps etc.. I just need a little advice to get over SL specific hurdles.. For instance I thought all the tga files in the character folder would have been mine, but they're not obviously they're on the server. I just started out with the "city chic" male avatar and want to tone down the facial hair.. How can I export the head tattoo to edit it? how would I re-upload it? Sorry for the noob questions but I'm under a time limit, I don't think I can start from scratch, buy land and a building and design a character from the ground up in 3 days

Any help much appreciated,
Athimble.

Unfortunately you're probably out of luck on this one. In order to download a texture from SL, you need a full permissions copy of it in your inventory, but to my knowledge, the textures for the newbie avatars have never been released by LL. In other words, you've got the shiny new car, but you don't have the key to the trunk, if you follow my meaning.

Given your time constraints, I'd suggest you head to a nearby mall, and buy some editable skin textures. Not every artist is going to sell their textures with full permissions, of course, but some do. Of course, it's very likely that you'll find one you like as is, and then you won't have to do any editing at all.

To answer your question, the way to download a texture is to first double click on it in your inventory to open it in the viewer, and then go File -> Save Texture As...

To upload one, simply go File -> Upload Image. It will cost you L$10 for every texture you upload.

Supported file formats for uploa are TGA, PNG, JPEG, and BMP. I recommend always using TGA. (And by the way, if you're worried about the large file size of TGA, don't be. Once uploaded, all textures become JPEG2000's, so source file size is irrelevant. So there's absolutely no reason not to use a quality source image format.)

As for those images you mentioned in the character folder, those are what constitute the "base skin" of the avatar. User-made skins, tattoos, and clothing reside on layers that sit above the base, and often they have some degree of transparency to them, so that the base layer shows through from underneath.

Thank you very much for your help! - man thats a shame.. Maybe i'll leave the massive beard on and worry about the office and land which is an even bigger problem with the 7 day noob character $10 limit!
Thanks again for your help.

When ingame, right-click yourself and select "Appearance" to change the way you look. There is a plethora of options for the face like, beard type / color / density that you can adjust to suit your needs.

Mayhaps this will be sufficient.

A newspaper interview?

Please make sure to include the words "Free", "Earning real money" and "sex" in one sentence, and the journalist will be very happy!