Alright, I have been online looking for hours. Having issues with clothing my avatar...

[SickSerialRebel]

Alright, I have been online looking for hours. I tried the demo for an avatar from Aeros Avatars, to make sure that I know what I'm doing before I buy, and also for some shorts. My hardships are:

1. I didn't like the large upper body, but it doesnt seem like I can edit it without 'make new shape' and that just screws it all up.

2. So I figured that I'd try on a Shaper, maybe that would help. It did, BUT.. His ears went all huge. I have no clue how to fix that.

3. Back to the pants.. When I tried them on (both with and without the other shape), they seemed too big. so, I switched to the next one that fit on the waist. The problem is, it glitched with the avatar. I began thinking that maybe there is no way to customize to fix the problem, and to make the avatar the way I want.

Any help for me? And are the 'buy' avatars unable to wear regular clothing? Can I customize them?

I've  done my research on alot, on SL, and how to get around. But, Any help?

 

UPDDATE:  Thank you all for the great answers, I've learned alot more and I'm very grateful. And what I mean for SHAPER, for example is DAMIAN shape by Negura... Or GIOVANNI skin pac that comes with a SHAPE and Stylecard.

Can I also use different skin than the ones that came with the avatar, on the avatar?

Thank you all again.

[Rolig Loon]

Clothing, like everything else sold in SL, is designed by individual residents. "Rigged" clothing has to be created to attach to the bone structure of the avatar, and "system" clothing -- painted on the avatar body -- has to match the body's UV map.  Amost everything you find will be intended for the "standard" avatar that most of us use, since that's where the overwhelming market is.  If you are buying a custom avatar from an individual designer, that designer will probably be your only source of matching clothes. 

[sven Homewood]

1: The "underlying" shapes should be modify as said on the MP (the demo's are all no mod). If it is not the case, ask the creator for clarification.

2: I have no idea about what a shaper is;)

3: If you use the systemshape: Add an alpha to the shape to hide the glitches. But wear the best fitting pants. If you wear a mesh shape, look if you can set parts of the body to invisible. Also here...ask the creator of the shape.

[Lindal Kidd]

The Aeros line of avatars seems to be "normal"...that is, they use SL's standard avatar mesh.  Such avatars can wear almost all the clothes made in Second Life.  HOWEVER:  According to the Marketplace listings, they are No Modify.  That means that you can't use the body sliders in Appearance/Edit Shape to change the shape's proportions.  That's why the only option you're seeing is "New Shape."  The interface can't change the shape you're wearing, so it's offering you the option to start a shape from scratch.

Another note...Demo shapes are sold with deliberately mis-sized parts such as enormous hands and feet, to keep people from simply using the demo instead of buying the actual item.  This is similar to the "watermarks" found with demo hair and skin. 

Now, as to clothing...

There are two kinds of clothes in SL.  Clothing layers, which are simply textures painted on the avatar mesh.  These, by definition, always "fit"...but they are always, also by definition, "skin tight".  And so there are also attachments.

Attachments are any piece of clothing that sticks away from the body...cuffs, collars, most skirts, bows, the lower parts of coats, etc.  They are attached to one of the 30-plus attachment points on your avatar.

Attachments can be regular prims, sculpted prims ("sculpties") or Mesh.  Most newer clothing attachments are Mesh...a special type of object that's created in a 3D modeling program outside of SL.  In fact, a lot of complete clothing items -- pants, shirts, even entire avatars -- are now made from Mesh, since it can be made to appear so organic and realistic.  Mesh clothing can even be "rigged"...linked to the avatar skeleton so that it bends and moves with you.

But rigged mesh can't be edited for size.  Therefore, it's usually sold in several "standard" sizes...S, M, L, XL, XXL.  It also comes with an "alpha layer", a clothing layer that hides the part of your body under the clothing, so that it does not appear to "stick through."

The way to wear your mesh pants is to wear the size that fits best, then also wear the alpha layer to get a "perfect" fit.

[sven Homewood]

Lindal, it states cleary in the description: NOTE: THIS IS A DEMO...Purchase the full version on MP or visit Aeros Island. The actual package (full version) includes : 6 skins in two variations - smooth and bodyhair, 3 modifiable shapes (heavy, tall and light), eyes, 3 beard styles and 2 hairbases.

His permissions are also set to no perm, that can't be right.

 

He should ask the creator in the end.

[Lindal Kidd]

Yup, I missed that. Thanks, Sven.

[Lindal Kidd]

Replying to your edit:  Yes, you can wear a different skin with a purchased avatar shape.  Skins and shapes do interact, though, and some skins look awful on some shapes.  Even if they do not, you might have to "tweak" your shape when wearing a new skin, to get yourself looking the way you think you should.

My own preference for shapes is to start with one of the Standard Mesh Sizing avatar shapes, which are available for free on the Marketplace.  Then don't fool (or not much) with the body sliders, but customize the facial features however you like.

By using the Standard Mesh Sizing shapes, you pretty much guarantee that most Mesh clothing will fit your shape.  You also don't have to put out a lot of money for a "purchased" shape.  Finally, a lot of purchased shapes are No Modify.  This makes it impossible to use the Hover body slider to adjust your height above ground, to keep you in contact with the ground, no matter what shoes you happen to be wearing.