Creating an avatar resembling real life....

[RevJeff Wylder]

I would like to create an Avatar that resembles my actual appearance.  Are their services where an uploaded photo can be superimposed upon an avatar face?  Any advice on how to go about this would be appreciated. 

[Nya Raymaker]

there definitely is skin makers who work from photos and will make you an individual skin from a RL photo... however I know none and I am not sure that actually is always the best solution.

What I did when I started SL way back when was put a RL photo on my screen next to my self and modded my shape and face accordingly. the shape is probably as much of a "trademark" of your own avatar as the skin is - quite often more so than the skin in my opinion. It is like.. the bones and posture of your self, whic for me means way more to identify a person at first glance than the actual face. don't be too ocd editing your shape, just get it close.. cause the way the avatars are rendered will not make skins look too good if you overdo some aspects.

once your shape is close to what you want it to be, you can start thinking about a skin. ironically, it is way harder to find a skin that makes you look like a mature person than to find oen that looks liek a teen trying to pretend they are grown up lol... but that is simply because it is hard to paint wrinkles and other "character traits" into a small UV. I tried bunches of demos and went with the one that resembled my skin tone,  facial (and other body-) features best. and am pretty much sticking to that skin since years lol. only using others that resemble that one.

the bad news: due to the character thing I mentioned this is even harder for men than for women. finding a characterful, somewhat mature male skin is hard. female skins can get away with lookign somewhat soft, where male skins need facial definition.

[Unklebob Hotaling]

"Are their services where an uploaded photo can be superimposed upon an avatar face?  Any advice on how to go about this would be appreciated."

No, not to my knowledge.  There are people inworld however that do custom work, be it on skins shapes hair clothing, you name it.... some for fun, some for profit.

May I be as bold however to suggest it might be more enjoyable for you to create your own personal appearance.  If in RL would have blond wavy hair... find blond wavy hair.  If you're tanned, look for tanned skins.  If you're thin and short, create a thin and short shape.  Got brown eyes, get brown eyes.  It might be labour and search intensive but it would be something you created yourself... and what better thing to create yourself than yourself.

[Baeric Constantine]

Unklebob.Hotaling wrote:

"Are their services where an uploaded photo can be superimposed upon an avatar face?  Any advice on how to go about this would be appreciated."

No, not to my knowledge.  There are people inworld however that do custom work, be it on skins shapes hair clothing, you name it.... some for fun, some for profit.

I vaguely remember a sim that allowed for people to transpose a photo to their avatar face... I never did it, never felt inclined to, however I was on the sim several times and others did it. I am not sure how successful it was, but it was expensive. Whether that sim is still about, I do not know. It was about 2 years ago.

[Claireschen Hesten]

i remember exactly such a thing it was advertised a lot on xstreet but i can't for the life of me remember what it was called i did go to the sim as far as i remember it was either L$3000 or something insanely expensive like L$50,000 to get it done

[Wright Lomu]

I'd recommend trying it yourself.  Took me a few days and it's by no means perfect but I think I got close!

[Tristan Avedon]

My first avatar looked very similar to the RL me. It takes a little time and effort, but you might appreciate the end result a bit more if you put it together yourself. Was definitely worth the time spent in my opinion.

Cheers!

[RevJeff Wylder]

I remember reading something about that a while back, but couldn't find it.

[Rage Riptide]

Taking the above replies into account is a good starting point, see how you go and how it looks to you. Some can do a very good job with avaliable tools and maybe a tattoo layer.

But, If you (or anyone else) wants to take the actual image route, you'll need several photos from several aspects. At least 4, around the head, down below the neckline.

Best is: Front, sides, back and additionally, one each from 45 deg to the front of the face. Top as well. Slick or tie hair back out of the way. Same photos again to include natural hair if required. That's at least 14 photos! Minimum!

All evenly lit with good diffuse lighting. No deep shadows which flash will do. A lightly added fill flash that can barely be seen is ok. A "green-screen" background. (A stretched white sheet will do). Use a tripod! for clear images.

Camera set a least 4 yards away, with a mid-range zoom to fill the frame with the subject. Never use digital/software zoom! Lens centre should be level to the centre of the head.

Then after all the images are taken correctly, run them through a graphics application to "touch them up", removing and blending any unwanted blemishes. We don't want a Barbie look, just a light "cleaning" of the images. They will look better in the end.
This is virtual, not real, we want close representation, not exact. (That may be my opinion only)

That's just the basics for getting a set of useful images for the creator. One image from the front is a waste of time. Nobody will accept a job using that. Once you've got the images ready, then announce that you have a job for a creator.

I might even do one, but not until the images are there. Don't forget, this is a specialist job requiring skill and time. Renumeration should reflect that.

SCOPE:

[C4 Tempest]

RevJeff Wylder wrote:

 

I would like to create an Avatar that resembles my actual appearance.   . . etc . . .  .

 

. . . . in a virtual world like SL where our appearance options are only limited by our imaginations

            my reaction to someone wanting to do this is always . . . why ?

                  . . . could it be because of a limited imagination ?

 

                Not a criticism . . just a thought .

[Nya Raymaker]

one thing that maybe should get a mention here, though it is only of use for those "daring enough" to try mess around is Eloh Eliot's skin templates... while personally I am not fond of the male skin as it is.. uhm.. a boy skin, it would be a good basic to start layering one of your own photos into.. but again.. that is realyl only somethign for people who are not afraid of failure lol.

http://sites.google.com/site/another/Home is her google blog (though it is hardly wordy lol). some ideas on wrinkles and such might be borrowed from http://www.brazenwomen.com/ClassicLinesSkins.asp Note: the later site is basically doign mods based on ELoh's skins and according to the "share alike" license makes them available too. everyone who is reading this please remember that you should not abuse these great resources for commercial uses but for learning and improving your skills.

[Kya Caproni]

There was such a thing on a sim called Avatar Island. To my knowledge it no longer exists (the sim that is!) The software company who owned and ran the sim was called CyberExtruder. They still have a website but I don't know if they still operate inworld.

[MissyMidnight Skytower]

Baeric.Constantine wrote:

       I vaguely remember a sim that allowed for people to transpose a photo to their avatar face... I never did it, never felt inclined to, however I was on the sim several times and others did it. I am not sure how successful it was, but it was expensive. Whether that sim is still about, I do not know. It was about 2 years ago.

 

I remember that....can't remember the name though either.

I tried a demo version of it....uploading a photo of myself etc.....I remember being horrified by the outcome....but perhaps it was just a bad photo, or bad photo/shape combo. It seemed very flat and oddly unrealistic. I ran as far and as fast from that place as I could. 

[Cynianne Hellershanks]

My avatar closely resembles me - 15 years ago. Only the haircolor changes more frequently. And yes, there are companies that will take your rl photo and make it an avatar, but I wouldn't.

 

Cyn

[Sole Demina]

There's a designer/creator who advertises about this in her shop. Her name is Juliett Beaumont. You could try and contact her. She takes customs orders.

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

Unklebob.Hotaling wrote:

May I be as bold however to suggest it might be more enjoyable for you to create your own personal appearance.  If in RL would have blond wavy hair... find blond wavy hair.  If you're tanned, look for tanned skins.  If you're thin and short, create a thin and short shape.  Got brown eyes, get brown eyes.  It might be labour and search intensive but it would be something you created yourself... and what better thing to create yourself than yourself.

 

^  This is what I did.  Even though I hate shopping, I found avatar parts that were as close to me as I could find.  I am always keeping my eyes open for that perfect hairstyle or eye color.  I also have a friend who is making a skin for me.   I will really look like my avi when it is done, but it has been a lot of fun searching for all the separate pieces.  Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Nya Raymaker]

C4 Tempest wrote:

. . . . in a virtual world like SL where our appearance options are only limited by our imaginations

            my reaction to someone wanting to do this is always . . . why ?

                  . . . could it be because of a limited imagination ?

                Not a criticism . . just a thought .

Well I can't speak for others, but personally? I simply feel most comfortable being myself.

 

edit: maybe I should clarify that this has nothign to do with limited imagination. howevr I have no urge to role play, and definitely no need to turn my human form from a pale, pudgy blonde with an a-cup to a super-slender redhead with supertan skin and "gourgous" double-D's. some people are simply happy with themselves and all their imperfections. (and btw, can't really imagine double-D's to be perfect - at least I can see my feet.)