How long did it take you to create your first avatar?

[FlowerXenon]

Hey guys.

I have recently downloaded the Second Life two days ago and I am still in the process of customizing my avatar.

My friends who also play Second Life are teasing me how slow I am with the avatar customization :matte-motes-confused:....and I am wondering how long it took for you guys to create your first avatar in Second Life?

 

Thanks!

Emily

 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Creating a really good avatar is not something you do overnight.  It takes time to locate the right skin, shape, hair, eyes etc.  Its ok to be picky because in the end you'll be satisfied with it longer.

Don't let your friends rush you.  They probably didn't do theirs in a day or two either and if they did they grabbed the first things they found or bought one of those complete avatars, which means they have hundreds of clones walking around SL.   They'll be shopping again soon.

Take all the time you need until you are satisfied.

As for me, it took me a few weeks to get my first look together enough that I was satisfied.  Ever since then I've been tweaking it here and there as technology has improved or I found something I like better.  So I guess  you can say my present avatar took 7 years to create!  :smileyvery-happy:

[Madelaine McMasters]

Hi Emily!

It took me a bit longer than Amethyst to get my avi looking presentable. I'd say it was months before I had a skin and wardrobe that didn't annoy me. I don't change my avi much now, but I do change it. And that's five and a half years later.

[Kobuk Farshore]

I think a lot of us evolve with our avis. I do have old friends who picked a skin/hair and have stuck with it for years, but personally I find the beauty of SL is being anything on a whim. Oddly it all still feels like me though-- whether I'm dark skinned or pale, human or... y'know, one of those mesh hamsters. :} I've never been inclined to make an alt to be anything other than myself. I'm keeping the zaniness contained. :heart:

[Madeline Blackbart]

I've been working on my avie since the time I joined. I only recently made my avie more bbw. So you never really stop custimizing it.

I went from this :noob me

To this:me now

But not over night. More like over 4 years. I change my look almost everday. So I wouldn't worry about how long you take to custimize your avatar. You'll never be done but that's part of the fun:)

[Marianne Little]

Hmm, I got my first avatar in 2007, I was never going to spend money in SL! And when I finally gave in and bough 2000L, I thought I should buy one skin and some good footwear (Without bling!), and that would be my only purchases. I had already started reading blogs and found enough hair and clothes for free.

I was fretting over skins for weeks. Spending so much of my 2000L purchase on just one item, it was terrible to pick one. And almost right after I bought it, better skins started to pop up everywhere. Then in december 2007 the Tuli skins sent out a group gift of her skin, it started my longest time as loyal to a skin brand in SL. I started spending more money in SL, even if I was still looking for freebies and gifts.

 I think I was looking good in 2008, as good as I could. But my avatar has never been "finished". 

[Sephina Frostbite]

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FlowerXenon wrote:

Hey guys.

I have recently downloaded the Second Life two days ago and I am still in the process of customizing my avatar.

My friends who also play Second Life are teasing me how slow I am with the avatar customization :matte-motes-confused:....and I am wondering how long it took for you guys to create your first avatar in Second Life?

 

Thanks!

Emily

 

---

Sweetie, Take your time. You have to look at her everyday (or him), you have to live through her so by golly dont rush it. Its been 4 years since I joined and I still tweak my girl now and then. They only thing you have to do is be happy with it. And if that comes along, just change it. 

[Heart Brimmer]

---

FlowerXenon wrote:

Hey guys.

I have recently downloaded the Second Life two days ago and I am still in the process of customizing my avatar.

My friends who also play Second Life are teasing me how slow I am with the avatar customization :matte-motes-confused:....and I am wondering how long it took for you guys to create your first avatar in Second Life?

 

Thanks!

Emily

 

---

I started in 2008 and I'm still working on perfecting my avie. I don't think you ever really stop because of the constant improvements in skins and shapes and clothing, it's a never ending task, one of which I enjoy tremendously!

[Dresden Ceriano]

---

FlowerXenon wrote:

Hey guys.

I have recently downloaded the Second Life two days ago and I am still in the process of customizing my avatar.

My friends who also play Second Life are teasing me how slow I am with the avatar customization :matte-motes-confused:....and I am wondering how long it took for you guys to create your first avatar in Second Life?

 

Thanks!

Emily

 

---

I looked like a freak for months and months... putting together a look can take a while, especially if you don't really know what you're doing or what exactly you want to look like.

Your friends are just worried that, once you're done, you'll look better than any of them.

...Dres

[Syo Emerald]

Creating an avatar is a never ending process. You will always find something that is worth to be added to your look or you may change your style every once in a while and sure, some day you even find better hair and skin, because technology and skills of the designers always develope.

[Venus Petrov]

Your friends should be helping you (if that's what you want) to find good skin, hair, clothes, etc.  It took me a couple of weeks to buy hair (my first purchase) and a couple of weeks more to buy my first skin.  I've been in SL 6 1/2 years and am still buying new skin occasionally, hair constantly, and clothing all of the time.

That's one of the nice things about SL. You can change all the time!

[Studio09]

I think the more you identify with your avi the more you end up tweaking it.  Although I only joined SL a little over a couple of months ago I have been tweaking it constantly and can see that it will be a continuing process.  But it's fun.

I started with a skin.  I found an LAQ skin tone that was light enough.

The shape I'm constantly adjusting.  Height is an issue.  I started with the LL viewer where I thought I was creating my avi at a certain height (5' 8") but when I changed to the Firestorm viewer it said my avi was about 6' 3" for the same slider adjustments.  I've got her about 6.1', according to Firestorm but plan to get her down to 6.0'.  (I settled on this height so she would fit well with her dancing partner.)  Changing the height is not trivial since many sliders need to be adjusted to keep everything in proportion.  And the thickness of the avi has to be adjusted to.

After skin and shape I started trying hair.  So many to choose from.  Always fun.

Next I went for AO cause I hated a particular animation that the initial avi came with.  I bought an AO and am about to find individual animations to add to and replace some that I'm using now.  I can see this being a forever kind of tweaking too.

Of course clothes will be never ending also.:matte-motes-grin:

 

[Staralien]

I have been working on my avatar since the beginning. There is always better stuff coming out and as designers get more experience, their designs get better as well. I have been in SL for 2 years and recently gave myself a new makeover and purchased a new skin/shape, hair and wardrobe. I really love mesh, so pretty much everything about my avatar is mesh these days. I prefer a sophisticated and stylish look, so I am always looking for good designs in clothing, shoes, and accessories. Accessories are important in pulling a look together, and recently I have been an avid purse/bag hunter to complete my outfits. A good AO is important as well. I had free ones at first, including one that came with the first skin I bought.  I finally bought a good one from Vista Animations about a year ago after spending a couple of months looking at them and trying demos. The AO I had before that moved around too much and I was always running into people, as I never stood still. The Vista AO doesn't move around a lot (while standing), which was what I was looking for. 

A lot of the designers have good group gifts, so I suggest you join groups and take advantage of that. Hush Skins gives away skins all the time, so be sure and check them out. Truth gives away hair sometimes to members. There are so many, it is best just to get out there and explore. Your avatar represents you, and no matter how long it takes, in reality, you will always be working on it. Have fun with it and don't worry about how much time you spend on it. After all, perfection never comes over night! :matte-motes-smile:

[Lisette Seranno]

Honestly, it took me about a year to get my avi the way I wanted it. I hit the grid around the same time mesh did and it was a time where there were a lot of changes occuring, so there was always something better to be had. SL fashion blogs were a big help, in the fact that they pointed me in the direction I wanted to go in (no your avi won't look like the ones in the picture) and there's literally dozens of them. Don't rush yourself, you're doing it the right way. The funny thing is I have a pic of my first avi; looking at it today brought a smile and chuckle. You will make mistakes, but they're all fixable.

[DKTitan]

It took me about 2 days to change my Avi. It took me many months to get to a point where I really loved my avatar. For a guy it's really hard to find nice hair for a male. So my point is take your time and look at all your options

 

[Rushmanyyz]

Hey there! Awesome that you are new to Second Life because... well... I am too! Been here just over two weeks and having a blast. I am not going to try and diatribe on in such a way that it seems like I know very much (well... because I don't) but I might have the unique ability to relate to you as a tortured newbie in SL.

 

It took me 5 hours to get the Avi that I currently have (basically). I spent 20 bucks to do so. Not all are willing to do this but the amount that I spend on the general new video game that I play is FAR in excess of this fee and I felt more than justified. Not only that but I was really quite pleased. Not only did I get an Avitar that I really liked that was completely modifiable (cost 2000L) but it gave me a reason to play with the interface and deal actively with the store. Looking back I am glad that I had the sense to jump on that immediately. 

As for the concept of "being done" with my Avitar... I don't think I will ever be done. I like the general appearence of the AVI and that will likely remain somewhat the same for the remainder of my Second Life experience but the clothes options change weekly as I pour more of my personal money into the game ( I really love buying things and shopping in SL). Just last week I added a mesh bare feet mod. 

I keep seeing things out there that I didn't even know existed so I would really be hard pressed to say something like "I have finnished".

 

Anyway, good luck mate! Hope your Second Life is everything you want it to be. Mine sure has been!