Tips for newbies in Second Life
First things first, you need to open a Second Life account. Here you get to choose either male or female, and are give a selection of basic avatars to choose from. Then you select a name for yourself. You are given a selection of second names to choose from and your first name can be anything you like. Click here to open a Second Life account, then come back for tips on how to customize your avatar.
Ok, for a newbie in Second Life things can seem pretty daunting. There's so many things to take in and it takes a while to adjust. First you are given a basic avatar, with clothing and hair similar to the picture on the left, and you land in a place called Orientation Island. Here you will learn the basics of walking, talking and getting around, and will meet other newbies walking around in a similarly confused state.
This part takes perseverance!!!
If you manage to survive this stage of SL then you're half way there and you can start to think about customizing your avatar. For those that do manage to get beyond Orientation Island, the first stop seems to be hunting for "freebies". Do a search forfreebies in Second Life and you'll find a wealth of places all giving away free stuff. It takes some hunting, but littered among all the junk thats given away free on SL there are some good items.
The main factors in customizing your avatar are shape, skin, hair, clothes and an animation overider (more on that later). All can be found free at the various freebie places, although it will take some digging. If you want to be taken seriously on SL you will need to make the necessary changes to improve your appearance, and luckily you've come to the right place!!
Editing appearance
Appearance is a very crucial element in this world; luckily it can be altered at will. The foundation for our appearance is our body, its shape and its skin.
It is important for our avatars to be different, unique, and above all attractive. Ideally, it would be great if everyone could create a custom shape that was both appealing to the eye and realistic. However, achieving this takes time and dedication.
Shapes
Altering your look can be done by right-clicking yourself and opening the “Appearance” tab that appears on the pie menu. Many purchased shapes are “no modify,” which can be a real bummer at times, as it doesn't’t give you the liberty to tweak it a bit and make it your own, keeping the parts you like and changing the ones you don’t.
In the case that your shape is “no mod” you can create a new shape from scratch by opening your Inventory on the bottom right-hand-side of the screen. Once in the Inventory menu, open the ‘Create’ drop menu, choose “New Body Part” and then “New Shape.” This will create a default shape, similar to the one given upon arrival to SecondLife. This shape is full-perm.
Once in the “Edit Appearance” mode, you can use the sliders to change virtually every feature of your shape. Still, there are a few things to take into consideration when creating a shape. The average height for a female in SL is between 70-100, which is approximately between 6 and 7 feet. The average height for a male is between 80-100, which is roughly between 6 and almost 8 feet.
Lindens have been “cracking down the whip” so to speak on stopping age-play, thus requiring the minimum height for an avatar of age consent to be no smaller than 5’2”in world. It is imperative that you find a balance between all of the features so that the shape has a realistic result.
Skins
Skin is the next most important factor and can dramatically alter the look of your avatar. There are thousands of different skins available in world, ranging from realistic to outlandish cat-like skin.
You should be able to pick up a free skin at some of the freebie places you visit, but the best skins available on SL you will have to pay for. Once you have a new skin you just select it from your inventory and select "wear". Skins are very personal to each individual and it really is up to you what type of skin you go for.
Hair
Like skins, the selection of hair styles, colors, and prices vary greatly.
They are a key element of our avatar appearance and customization. There are
several types of hair in second life. One of these is 
the “Default Hair” that
you rez with in-world. You can access this hair for customization by right-clicking
on your avatar and selecting appearance from the pie-menu. Select the hair tab which
will be found on the left hand side and use the sliders to modify the wearable. You
can also create your default hair by opening your inventory, opening the create
drop-down menu, selecting “New Body Part” and then selecting “Hair.” This will
create a “New Hair” in your “Body Parts” folder of your inventory. Double-click
or right-click and select “wear,” close your inventory, and proceed to “Appearance”
from the pie-menu that appears when you right-click on your avatar.
Another hair option is “Static Hair.” When sculpted hair was created in SL, before the flexi-script was created and became popular in-world, Static Hair was all the craze. Unlike flexi hair, static hair does not move. Some places still sell static hair styles at a discounted price, other places have continued to create great pieces of static-hair attachments and sell them at a higher price.
Flexi-hair is now the most popular, and perhaps most appealing hair attachment found in SL to date. The options are just as vast, maybe more, than it’s static counterpart, as certain styles couldn’t be achieved properly with the static versions.
Places like Gurl6 have excellent prices and styles for static and flexi hairs alike. However, it’s suggested that you shop around before making a purchase to make sure you are getting a deal.
There are so many options that you can go to three, four, or even five places and still not find what you are looking for. Also, before making a purchase it’s a good idea to purchase a demo, most are free others cost $L 1. However, many hairs are no transfer, so all sales are final, if you aren’t happy with the hair after making the purchase it’s your fault if you didn’t try the demo!
AO’s - Animation Overides
Animations Overrides, commonly referred to as AO’s in-world, are another great way to customize your avatar. The AO’s main function is to create a series of animations that mimic realistic and fluid movements, thus giving your avatar a little more life.
For example, women AO’s may include a sexy walk and sit pose, while a men AO’s may include a masculine walk and crossed-arm pose, among others. Ideally an AO is customized to suit you or your avatar’s distinct personality. However, for those of us who are ungifted in the script department, and even the most minimal script task becomes a nightmare from hell; there is relief! AO’s can be purchased with pre-loaded animations that you just purchase, wear, and it does the rest. Many AO’s come with HUD’s (Heads Up Displays) that make controlling our AO’s a lot easier.
Other’s, however, must be commanded manually. Almost all come with instructions, and the options are about as endless as hair and skin. Prices can vary from free to in the 2 and 3K Linden-range. So you may want to shop around. Also, many places offer a pose-stand, that you can right-click and select “Sit” from the pie-menu and you will get a demo of the AO. Stand up when you are done, and make your purchase or keep looking.
Freebies
Freebies are a blessing. You can find awesome skins, hair, clothes, shoes, and gadgets, as well as really shitty ones. Some stores offer freebies, as well as newbie-friendly locations. A great place to find freebies and other SL products is onRez. Go to: http://www.shop.onrez.com/ to register your SL avatar, follow the instructions to become a member. This enables you to make purchases and have them delivered to your avatar in SL. Also, shop for some of our advertised products available at onRez or visit their stores at their SecondLife locations. See you in world!
Disclaimer
Virtual-BDSM is in no way, shape or form associated with Linden Lab.Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. No infringement is intended.
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