Are non humanoid Avatars Possible?

I've got all of like five hours in my second life. So I'm still learning a lot.

Is it possible to have a non humanoid avatar? I gather you can use photoshop for texture maps but what about actually changing the shape of an avatar beyond what the in game editors allow. (Are the 3D manipulation tools even called editors?)

If avatars cannot be non humanoid, what about simple extensions like sunglasses? (yeah, like the kind neo and trinity were wearing)

I noticed you can attatch huge objects to your head, and other body parts. How finely can you control where these things attach to?

Is there a 3D editor outside of second life you can use to create objects and then import the objects into second life?

Are there fan site links listed where I can go to find any of these things ready made?

A little off topic but... How long has second life been around? When did the Beta come out? When did the world go into general release?

This is so cool. I feel like a god in godsville, learning how to be a god. Small 'g' of course. I'm not Linden.

Thank you for your replies.

SL was in beta about a year before it launched on June 22, 2003.

You have to use the in world tools to build. You can import textures, but not objects.

Non-human AV can be created with prims. Robot helmets, horns, sunglasses, whatever.

To attach something to yourself, right click it in your inventory and attach to a specific loacation. Once it is attached, you can edit its position more properly. Editing position on an AV can be tedious, you have to have patience. Make sure that "snap to grid" is unchecked.

There are some good fansites and tutorials out there, but someone else will have to post the addresses.

Welcome Thinker!



Yes and no. It is possible to attach prims (Primitive shapes. Cube, tori, etc. For a more in depth explanation, attend a basic building class) to create a more inhuman appearance. But aside from a few creative people, this is still limited to the basic humanoid shape. Two arms, two legs, though you can shrink them to an extent.



Yes, entirely possible. You only need to wander around SL a little while to see people wearing things like this. Use the 'Find' feature to search for shops that sell what you're looking for.


If you right click a prim, you can see in the pie menu that you can designate which part of your body a prim gets attached to. This is tricky and it takes a lot of practice. You cannot attach more than one unlinked prim to any one area of the body.


Nope. SL has no importing beyond sounds and textures. All that you see is created in-world with prims, our virtual building blocks.



As there is no uploading of objects, all this is done in world. There are tons and tons of shops around that sell things for in-world currency. Prices vary greatly. The Find feature is your friend!


Oh, I don't know exactly how long. It was Lindenworld before it was Second Life. I was in pre-public beta in April of last year, but that had existed I think until January before that. The official launch of the paid service was just this past September.


Hope this helps!

EDIT: Loki beat me to it, and much more succinctly too