Skins + Shapes?

I don't know if this is the right spot to ask this question but I want to learn how to make skins and shapes.... any place I can go to get started?

thanks

Shapes are just made with the appearance sliders. If you can work those, you can make a shape. Make the shape, click Save As, and you're done.

Skins are trickier. They are made with textures, and applied as tattoos in appearance editing mode (though most skin designers then save that tattoo combination as a skin, and that's what they sell, not the raw texture files). There are a lot of good posts in this forum about texture making, including in that sticky at the top. I recommend you read them. Robin Wood also has an in-world texture tutorial, and it's presumably listed in her profile Picks -- though she's Robin Sojourner in the game.

You'll need a graphics program, if you don't already have one; Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and the GIMP are the most commonly used. GIMP is free. If you don't know how to do digital image editing or painting, or don't know your way around your graphics program, I recommend getting better at that first.

You'll want to download either Robin Wood's or Chip Midnight's templates, since they're much better than the Linden provided template. You draw your skin on the template, save it as a .tga file, upload it into SL, and apply it as a tattoo. Use the preview function when uploading; there will be a drop down menu, and you can preview your texture applied to various body parts.

Note that textures undergo considerable warping in places when actually applied to an avatar. What's recommended is that you upload the raw templates themselves, wear those as a skin, and take snapshots. (If you go into the Debug menu in SL -- hit Control-Alt-D to turn it on -- there's an option you can toggle to turn on high resolution snapshots. I recommend doing this, though I also recommend turning it off when you're done, as it's quite slow.)

Also note that avatar shape will effect how a skin looks. Some body shapes don't look good with some skins. If you've uploaded something and it's not quite right, consider playing with the sliders before redoing it outright.

One last thing: skins are difficult to make, so don't be disappointed if you don't get it right the first time.

I'd just like to add one thing to what Miriel said.

When you're making a new Shape, don't just start to modify the Shape you got when you came in world.

If you do, it will say in the Properties that it was created by (nobody). Even worse, if you're wearing a mod-allowed Shape you purchased, the Creator will be the person who made the original shape. (And the perms will be whatever they were for that Shape, too.)

Instead, right-click on the Body Parts folder (or any other folder that you want to keep your Shapes in,) and choose New Body Parts > New Shape from the menu.

That way, your name will be in the Creator slot.

This is vitally important if you are planning to sell your Shapes, but it's a good habit to be in, even if you aren't. It gives you a permanent record of which Shapes you've made, and lets people know it's yours, if you decide to give it to a friend.

The same is true for Skins. (Although for skins, you'd choose New Skin from the menu, of course.) Or for any other body part or garment that you create, for that matter!