Is the absolute only way to change your avatar in SL with the Appearances Tool??

Is the absolute only way to change your avatar in SL with the Appearances Tool??

Is this True? If it is how the heck do those designers get the crazy avatars?

My friend has a "Bender" (yes the robot) avatar that is damn good but I cannot even imagine
how to make one like it.. I have seen dragons, ghosts and even SNOOPY. And not to mention the furries. How the heck do I do this kind of stuff?? someone please at least point me in the right direction.

Im sorry if I placed this thread in the wrong area... but there is no content creation forum area for "AVATAR".

Hungry For Knowledge,
Neurosis

Those are done with Prims..

So you build an avie from prims to look as you want...

So just like any building, just make prims, put them together to look like a robot, a dragon, etc...the body is actually tiny, and hidden inside those prims.

ok now i am fairly certain there must be a way to import the shapes. I just saw a realskin store and I cannot imagine what kind of voodoo magic they would have to use to get results like those out of the appearances shape tool.

Im talking about the shapes... not the skin.

In almost all cases, the avatar is entirely built out of prims.

Think of it like wearing a costume in real life - the av's actual legs, body, head, etc. are covered up by prim objects that are worn over the head, arms, etc. It's Kigurumi in Second Life.

Things get a bit more complicated when you want something outlandish like a furry. in that case, the method is basically the same, but you also make the avatar run a weird contorting animation (the popular ones are called "TinyBody" and "Meatball" so that they fit into a "costume" of a shape that they wouldn't normally do.

i understand the prim concept. I've seen many of those. Its these last ones I have seen (human ones) that are driving me batty. I mean.. these models are perfect in everyway. There is no way they could just be good at using the sliders lol its not that complex of an editor lol. Oh well. Thanks for the info on the prim av's tho.. I understand them well now whereas before I had merely an inkling. But these perfect human bodies are out of sight... Im truly boggled by them.

Remember that the look of the av's shape can be very much affected by the skin. I'm not sure of the artistic details but I know that if I switch skin without switching to the shape I tweaked for that skin, I'll look absolutely deformed.