Having difficulty finding the "right" avatar

[GlenHagen]

Finding an avatar that looks similar to my real life looks has definitely been the hardest thing with SL so far. I've spent many thousands of Lindens on various avatars/skins on the MP that didn't work out -- some where nice actually, but had some important issues I couldn't fix.

Well, I'm new to this. So any help or pointers would be highly appreciated. Thanks. :)

[Amethyst Jetaime]

You can avoid spending money on things before you are sure they work by getting demos and trying them before you buy.  If no demo is offered on MP go to the inworld store.  If no demo in the store or there is no store, don't buy it.  There are plenty of body components that do offer demos.

As far as matching your avatar to your RL self it is possible but takes time and some looking around.  Shape and skin work together to create the look of your avatar.  Try to find a skin that looks close to you and either has a modifiable shape that comes with it or that has a 'style card' telling you where to get the one pictured.  Once you get those, you can tweak the shape to make it closer to your RL body. Shapes are not hard to modify or even create yourself.  Just be sure to make a copy to mod so you have the original to fall back on if you mess up. 

There is a wide range of eyes and hair available so you shouldn't have a problem finding those. Try hair demo's first.  Eyes sometime offer them too, but not always.  Eyes though look pretty much as pictured though.

 

[Ohjiro Watanabe]

This is your second life. Vive la difference!

[Ariel Vuissent]

I never recommend full avatars, for several reasons. For one thing, unless you custom order, it's extremely unlikely you'll find a full avatar that looks like you. 

Do try as many demos as possible. If you can't try, don't but. That way, you're not spending thousands of Lindens on something you won't use. 

As far as shapes go, you can make one yourself without much trouble. You can create an entirely new shape, or use one from your Library, or use any modifiable shape. Personally, I usually buy a modifiable shape with a face that I like, then edit to taste; but you can start from any point as long as the shape is modifiable. 

Once you have a shape you're reasonably happy with, you can shop for skins (or vice versa, really). Hop around to different shops and try some on. Some very popular ones are Pink Fuel (my personal favorite), LAQ, Curio, Belleza, Al Vulo, and bunches I'm missing, but the possibilities are endless. Remember that skin influences the look of your shape, and shape influences the look of your skin. I cannot tell you how many times I've bought a skin that I LOVED on someone else, and hate it on me!

Eyes are pretty easy; they look on the avatar the same as they look on the ad, usually. 

Hair...again, the possibilites are endless. TRUTH, LeLutka, and Exile are my three favorites, but there are lots more. I'm not sure what you're looking for there, and there are two types of hair now, so you'll have to look and see what suits you.

[Sidnella Riler]

hmm that is why its called SL

[GlenHagen]

If you guys have any good men skin shops to list I'd be much grateful! Thanks!

[Dresden Ceriano]

"Good" skin is subjective, but here's a start...

Aeros

Elysium

Fruk

Hermony

KOOQLA

Labyrinth

LaVie

Nivaro

Prodigal

Samurai HQ

The Shops

Tableau Vivant

Tellaq

VYC BodyShop for Men

...Dres

[CleoSertorii]

One thing that you can try that might help is something that i did when making my avi. First, make sure you have a modifiable shape. Next, find or take a photo of your face from directly in front. Load that pic on your computer and tape a piece of transparent plastic film on your screen, then trace out your facial features on the transparency using a sharpie or some kind of marker pen.

Then get into SL and go into "edit shape". Zoom in on your avi's face so it is the same size as your tracing taped to your screen (make sure they are superimposed on eachother), and then adjust your face features to match. After that, then you will need to look for skins that have similar features as you have in RL (like eyebrow shape and skin tone). Grab demos of everything that looks close and test them until you find one that you are satisfied with

Chances are likely that you will never find a perfect match, but use this method and you can get fairly close.

[ConnieG Sorbet]

Maybe find a custom designer that will take a photo of you and stick it on a skin eheh

[Clelia Vyper]

Nice trick, Cleo. Alternatively you might even take a screenshot as shown here: printout-of-computer-screen-monitor.jpg