Look at your avatar. Really look. Ask yourself one simple question:"Do I incinerate panties by logging in? Do I reduce clothes to wrapping paper on my avatar? Am I blisteringly hot?"
If you asking this question, yes you are. As the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem CONGRATULATIONS!
It's ok to be a noob. We were all noobs once. Mostly your noobishness results in a reaction of "Awww, look! How cute," depending on how you act and where you are. The big exception here, of course, are the adult sims. Frankly, we don't want you rubbing your noobish pixels on us. Period.
Since the vast majority of people join Second Life for sex/relationships, this presents a problem. ES is here to help you solve it, as quickly and painlessly as possible.
I go into the reason for all this in detail here (where I tell you how to get laid). This is a crash course on eradicating noobness. There are many ways to solve your noob problem. There are also a few criteria critical to avoiding it. These are:
- Shape - no peaheads! Make sure you are proportioned correctly. Also, beware no-mod shapes! You don't want thousands of twins, do you?
- Skin - shading and realism is key
- Eyes - so many to choose from and very reasonable! They must appear liquid, not flat.
- Hair- This is the big tell. Get a modern one.
- AO - this is how you tell people who you are. Pick one that suits you.
- Turn off your "typing" and "away" animation!
- Genitals - again, realism is key.
- Attitude - be a gentleman/lady. Treat avis like the humans they are.
SHOULD I GET A MESH BODY?
Yuck, mesh. Since this is a huge and costly undertaking I address it in detail here. If you are curious about mesh read that post first, look at the comparison photos, and decide if mesh is for you. If not I'll see you back here in a few minutes! No rush, I'll hold your place :)
1. ONE STOP SHOPPING
Forget it, it doesn't exist. You can never get everything you need in one place and we only dream that you could all just buy attitude. The below, however, is as close as you get.
Some creators sell "complete avatars." This is a very tricky area as you have to be 100% sure of the creator's skill or you will end up making a lateral move in noobtown. That is not what you want. You want angels to sing and clouds to part (among other things) when you walk into a room. For this reason I am going to provide some of my favorite creators for you now and explain what to look for when finding the avatar that suits you.
There are two ways to shop in Second Life.
A. Inworld
As a noob, I recommend this as a first step. You need to learn the difference between a finished avatar and a noob first hand. You also get a great idea of the diverse choices available by window shopping first. This is the best way to discover options you may never have considered previously - like tattoos, cat ears and unique facial hair. This option (A) is more expensive than (B) below, but there is the chance that you won't need to change much after you have settled on your first avatar once you create it this way. Just remember, because most shapes are copy there are no refunds so try the demo first and THEN purchase!
My preferred Inworld creators for one stop shopping are:
Laqroki (Laq). - everything but AO. I prefer Laq for hair as the hair is more masculine and less "fluffy" than most.
Unique Megastore - no AO, no hair.
Many wigs need a hairbase. This is a layer that colors your scalp to match the color of your hair. The best are at Analog Dog and they are free. AD also provides great hair.
Argrace also has terrific masculine hair.
Many sellers give a free AO away for noobs. I am loyal to Vista. The 1L male/female AO is a little generic but its serviceable and you can add on to it later.
B. The Marketplace.
When shopping in the Marketplace, make sure to adjust your maturity levels drop down box to include "adult" or your search will return with an empty page!
This is where it gets tricky. First of all, for reasons I have never understood, Marketplace doesn't allow Boolean search criteria so drilling down the selection to what you are looking for is a task. Secondly, you can't always get an accurate idea of what the avatar looks like from a tiny, Photoshopped, picture (see the vagina section below for an excellent example of this). On the other hand, you can get a great looking avatar for 1/3 of the cost if you know what to look for. Of course if you knew what to look for you wouldn't be a noob, right? ES is here to save the day with our list of online creators. Please note: most of the inworld creators will put their work online so many or all of the avi's you see in A will be listed in the marketplace and vice-versa. I can't recommend using the "see item in second life" or "inworld store" link strongly enough! Go there and look at it in person, this simple step can save you from making a critical error! Remember, there are no refunds!
My preferred Marketplace vendors for one stop shopping are:
Noya, one click will really do it all - or most, anyway. Great for women and men, Noya sells shapes (modifiable) skins eyes and AOs - no hair. Her products are wonderful quality for much less cost than usual and I like her mesh feet better than the pricey ones! The skins are expertly detailed, for women this means no vagina needed (see below)!
Noya's AO is very basic but adequate and you can build onto it later.
...and just like in life, you have to try hair on to make sure it looks good on your avi. Sad but true.
Women:
Noelle (hair) is a steal online and great quality!
Poison Aura provides a great shape and style card for a very polished look, but there are drawbacks to this method (see below).
Both:
Analog Dog for hairbase +
Laq
Many creators, like Ultra Shape, include a style card to create the complete avatar image....this can get tricky. You have to rely on the creator's ability to speak English (many of the best do not), and their ability to accurately locate and describe the skin/hair/shoes whatever they are directing you to. As things in SL change constantly, this can be a problem. Also, physically going to a sometimes huge store to find one item can be overwhelming. The best way to power shop with a notecard is to use the "area search" feature. This is available in the Firestorm viewer, I'm not sure of the others.
How to use Area Search effectively:
1. open the tool
2. Type in the name of that you are looking for
3. Double click the item you are looking for. A red arrow will appear on your screen that will guide you to the item. You can also right click and use the flyout menu to TP to the object but this is not always a great plan as you can end up flattened against a wall like a human fly.
2. BUT WAIT, WHERE'S MY....!
That is correct, you have no sex organs.
~Cock Shopping: Yes, you need a penis. Honestly what penis is up to you. This Cock Shop article is a great guide. Right now the most popular are the most expensive - the Aeros and the Xcite. The frequency of these updates are astounding and I'm sure by the time you read this it won't be true anymore, however the big question seems to be: does price matter?
I am a woman and I don't think so - unless, or course, you plan to stand around naked with an erection (obviously). If you emote well you don't really need all the bells and whistles, you just need it to match and not be ridiculously huge. Let me repeat that, it doesn't need to be HUGE, boys, for so many reasons (these reasons!). It does need to look good, but the less expensive ones do that too. Both cheap and pricey cocks offer various orgasm animations to help you express yourself when your hand's are busy. This is a plus!
Conversely, let me warn you that the first thing we do is inspect your penis (details below). If we see "hugsies" or "freebie" we won't be impressed - but its not really a deal breaker unless it looks stupid. The more expensive ones seem to mean that you are a player.
Again, read Cock Shop and make your own decision.
~Vagina Shopping: Women have a selection of vaginas as well. Some are laughably hideous,but unlike the cocks it's harder to tell until after you spend the Lindens. No vaginas are needed. No one cares, and most good skins have a serviceable one painted on.
~Foot/Hand Shopping:
The SL avatar mesh is really terrible in a lot of places, feet and hands are two. Personally the hands don't bother me as much as our weird flipper-like mashed-up feet. For this reason I have purchased nice pointed mesh feet from Noya for times when they show. For some reason women are more astute about this than men (men don't notice whether we have a vagina either though, so what do I really expect here?). Personally, I like my naked men to have feet, not flippers. Just sayin'.~Mesh Boobs/Ass shopping:
I have yet to meet a man that actually thinks this look is attractive. Especially with the bounce turned on so the boobs flap and wave like a shutter stuck to your chest. Seriously girls? Skip this.
4. AT LEAST I HAVE THESE GREAT LINDEN NEW AVI CLOTHES!
OMG take those off NOW. Yes, NOW!
In SL even more than RL, clothes make the man. Again there are many many options but without a skilled eye its best to just go somewhere and select a nice versatile outfit you know will look great.
*SOAPBOX* Lately, the "in" thing is mesh. I despise mesh. It takes forever to load and all you can see is the alpha (invisible layer) so you end up in a room of floating heads. Also, it doesn't fit. Sadly it is a huge improvement over the system + prim coats and pants we had up to now to switch those over now. The rest can wait. *END SOAPBOX*
My favorite one stop creators:
MEN
Laq
Lapointe and Bastchild (watch out for dated items in the free room, though!)
Gabriel - get some great freebies here too!
WOMEN:
The top picks for absolutely everything are in the style cards listed here.
5. CREATING THE AVATAR OF YOUR DREAMS/NIGHTMARES
...because in SL either can work for you.
Avatars are a work of art, and extension of yourself. The rush of embodying the perfect avatar is hard to describe, and well worth the effort!
~Inspect your surroundings!
Learn to use the "inspect" feature in your browser, when you see hair or an outfit you like, inspect it!
How to "inspect" in Firestorm - 1. Right click an item,then
~Ask!
Inspect only work s for prims or mesh, for a shape or skin you will need to ask the avatar. Don't be afraid to do this! We are all proud of our avatars and most people are flattered and happy to share this information with you. Just remember, as in all things, be nice!
~ Join the Fashion Emergency group !
This is the one with over 1000 members - in world paste the following into local:
secondlife:///app/group/2dfe29f2-a75c-89c2-72c0-4323c9b9566a/about
Six Kennedy's group has been around since SL has I think, and these girls know their business. They can tell you where to get what you want, and are not afraid to be open and honest. Just remember to be nice! This is NOT the forum for complaining.
~Join the MenStuff group here!
In world paste the following into local:
secondlife:///app/group/a8703562-6a52-20df-81a9-9aeed5dc091c/about
They have up to the minute hunt and special info specifically for men! And they are really nice.
The best avatars are an evolving process. We see a shape we like and then a skin, or vice versa. We constantly update our hair - style and color. Men can change from soul patch to goatee etc. These are just the human options, there are a myriad of fantasy/animal options too and all the shades in between. My point here is that there is no limit to the individualization you can add to your avatar. Literally the sky is the limit (I wore a thundercloud and rain for a week once when I was having a particularly difficult time...a friend of mine literally floats on air when she stands). So keep your eyes open and look around you, you never know what you might see.
Some of my favorite SL creators are:
Men:
CS Shapes (Xanthe does wonderful realistic work and will create from a photo!)
Laq
Bad@zz skins (these skins are a bit orange, some hate them. Up to you)
Unique Megastore
Women:
CS Shapes (again)
Fluffygirl - skin and shape (Roxy Daguerre does realistic and attractive curves, and will create from a photo as seen here, with Heartsick skin)
Aeva // Heartsick - skin and shape (Amesha has marked some of my favorite skins down to 10L, snap them up now!
Unique Megastore
...and as always all the wonderful creators on these style cards.
You didn't really think this would be easy, did you? It's SL after all!
