Still trying to get the hang of this..

I'm still trying to make my avatar look normal ..ive bought a skin i love! but .. the shape i have makes me look like a man ..so i've bought another .. it looks wonky also - how can you try on a shape? This isnt an option it seems anywhere... just looking for a soft/feminine shape ....grumbles

you could try:

http://www.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&CategoryID=12

make sure to have the mature content turned on.

best of luck

I read somewhere that Lemon has shape demos...I believe they purposely mangle some of the limbs so no one will be tempted to wear the demo permanently. lol

Or tinker with the base shape yourself...it's one of the best things you can do to make your av unique.

Many shapes don't come with skins, but the skin that was used for the photo shoot is essential to create that look on your avatar. Skins aren't just a color coating; they actually create the definition of the face and the body.

The same shape is going to look very different depending on skin, so there's really no point in buying an expensive commercial shape by itself. If what you want is just a starting point with properly propotioned limbs, then buy a reasonably decent but cheap shape and then tweak your face to go with the skin of your choice.

If you're not handy at using the shape sliders yourself (and not all people are), then go shopping for a shape with the understanding that you'll need to fork out more Lindens for the skin that is referenced in the styling notes. As long as the merchant provides decent full-body photos of the shape with a few different angles, trying it on isn't really necessary.

Yes, my strong recommendation is to get a good skin and then experiment with the shape.

Many problems that I thought were problems with the sliders - such as ugly shading on the chin, or glitches around the nose area - are actually caused by assumptions made by the skin designer about the slider settings. Unfortunately very few skin designers actually tell you what these are

I have the opposite attitude...if I don't feel a skin is flattering to my shape, I won't buy it. Then again, I made the shape myself, so I may have more invested. But, like I said, I think shape is one of the best ways to get a unique look; you'll probably run into plenty of people with your skin, hair, and clothes on the grid, especially if you shop popular stores, but your shape can still be yours alone if you spend a little time working on it.

That said, if someone feels more comfortable buying a premade shape, I'd suggest making sure it's copy/mod so they can can experiment with the sliders on a copy and not worry about irrevocably damaging the original.

get ur desired base shape like hight, thinkness etc and then go out shopping for a skin

can say from expirience that no shape u get will fit u as it isn`t u, have spent countless hours with adjusting small errors when i see them, got a bunch of shapes in backup but they`re non of my view, they give a good idea on the right dimensions but so far i`m still in my self edited nub shape

How I did it: I worked for days on my shape. During that time I used the built in skin editor. Once I was satisfied with the shape, especially the face, then I searched for skins.

If you decide to create your own shape, don't hesitate to google art references on the proportions of the human shape.

A deliberate distortion for effect is one thing, but residents who try to get the human shape right, but fail, are glaringly obvious. For some people, the shaping comes naturally; other people need cheat sheets.

Score one for Naughty Designs. I slapped their male skin onto my shape and there was a very 'hungover' look to the poor fella LOL
A notecard specified about three settings for the face and shazam!!

I've used both approaches, skin first, shape to suit .. shape first, hunt for skin. They both work. It simply depends on your priority. I like to think I have a fairly good eye for proportions. I've had lots of compliments for my avatars. It's one of my favourite activities

I got my shape (sporty, not-too-curvy female!) by making subtle adjustments to the original SL 'girl-next-door' avatar. That ,with a free CS Passport Malibu skin has done me fine and I seem to get noticed!!!