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New; Creating my avatar isn't going too well.


Hanapina
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I'm pretty new to Second Life - I've tried it twice in the past and the same thing always happens to me.

I get the shapes and skins and clothes and hair that I want... And nothing comes out right. Not only is everything a big mess and extremely confusing, but the face shapes/skins/whatever they're called are coming out completely different from the looks of the ones I downloaded. They're absolutely gorgeous - and when I put them on my avatar, it's all gross and completely different. Why is this happening? While they are mostly demos, shouldn't it be the correct face with "demo" splashed all over it? That's what I've seen from watching videos and finding pictures, anyway. 

Not to mention that hair isn't showing up on my avatar at all, and some body shapes won't let me unpack them - telling me to detach and "rez" them. I've done some searches on Google and come up mostly empty-handed, which is why I'm here. :smileyembarrassed:

Sorry if I sound like an idiot. Like I said, I'm new, and I don't understand why I can't do it like everyone else can without problems. Plus, I definitely want to make sure this can be fixed or I'm doing something wrong before spending my own money to purchase the real things.

Thanks. :heart:

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Okay, the super duper quick (ish) version:

A SHAPE is the basic form of the avatar. A SKIN is the coloration of the avatar. This you probably knew. 

A SHAPE demo won't have "demo" splashed all over it. A shape doesn't actually have any color at all. Instead, the hands and feet of a DEMO shape will usually be greatly enlarged, to ridiculous proportions. This is to keep you from using the shape without actually buying it. SOMETIMES, the shape creator will also mash up the head, making it look ridiculous. This is usually done if a store offers two demos - one to try the body, and one to try the face. Again, it's a fraud protection thing.

A SKIN demo usually will have "demo" splashed all over it. 

REZ means dragging a box to the ground. You need to be in rez enabled land to do this. If there is a symbol in the about land box - the one that looks kind of like a URL bar - that looks like a cube with a red circle around it and a line drawn through it, you CANNOT rez there.

If you are an adult and can access adult land, try the OpenCollar Sandbox. Just type it, exactly that way, into search. If you have adult enabled in your search, it will come up. It's the only thing that pops up under that name.

I've missed bunches; kind of in a rush, but I'll try to add more info later. Also, feel free to shoot me an IM inworld; even if I'm offline, I get it.

By the way, remember that the skin you use affects the look of your shape, and vice versa. You won't necessarily look the same as the ad photo if you're not using the exact same skin AND shape they did. 

ETA:

Okay, now that I'm finished with what I was doing, a little more information.

First off, you're FAR from the only one who goes through this. We all did, at one time or another. SL has a VERY steep learning curve, even for some gamers, because it's not really a game. It's a virtual world, with different challenges, possiblities, and limitations. You, at least, have asked your questions in an intelligent manner, after having tried to do things for yourself. That is better than most.

Many items in SL come in boxes, whether you purchase them on the marketplace or in store. That's what "rezzing" is - you have to find that box in your inventory and put it on the ground, right click on it, and click "Open." Then press "Copy to Inventory" in the window that pops up. That window will have a list of the items in the box. If you bought a shirt, for example, the list might include the shirt in a few different ways, the right cuff for the shirt, the left cuff, and the collar. (Maybe other stuff too; just an example!) When you copy those items to your inventory, you're taking them out of the box and hanging them in your closet, basically. Just like you have to do if you buy a shirt in RL - you have to take it out of the bag before you can wear it!

It's a little more complicated than that in SOME instances, but that's the gist. 

When you wear hair, you can right-click it in your inventory and click "Add." That should put the hair on without taking off anything else you're wearing. If it appears as a box or bag somewhere on your avatar, take it off and rez the box as described above. It SHOULD appear on your head and you shouldn't have to do anything with it. In theory. 

Everything should be fixable. Don't panic. 

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First, make sure you are wearing a classic avatar. If you wear one of the new "people" avatars in mesh, those are almost impossible to change. Me - choose an avatar - classic.

Second, if you are under 30 days old, you can try some relly good skins and shapes for free. Teleport to this store, find this vendor and touch it. When you wear the shape and skin, you should look pretty close to the vendor image.https://www.flickr.com/photos/mochimilena/14729534131/

Of course your graphic card and day cycle also plays a role. Vendor ads are shot in bright lightsettings that don't make ugly lines appear around the nose and under the eyes.

This is a really old blog. It is still helpful and well written. I lernt a lot from it. http://www.sl4nowt.com/blog/newbie-start-here/ The part about getting stuff out of boxes adress your problem very well.

Taking a snapshot of your problem and posting it here will make it easier for us to help you.http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Taking_snapshots

SL is not easy to understand, but we have all struggled with it as newbies. We can try to solve your hair issue, when we see how you look.

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I am a couple months old in SL and I struggled very hard with learning to dress myself. If you want someone inworld to talk to about it please IM me. I would love to have a dressing buddy. I have most issues figured out (using all of that above great information). Sometimes though it is just easier when there is someone right there to talk to. :) I am EST. 

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Hey there I am going to friend you, if I can get inworld.

I have been on here over 4 years, a year away this time. I am finding the whole mesh stuff a bit overwhleming, but the basics, I have down pat. 

All my old friends aren't on here, so I will have plenty of time to help you  <3 

Foxy

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