beginner's question about building

[nadmarie]

Hello,

 

So I just downloaded Second Life and want to start building objects, but I've looked at one tutorial after the other and I don't seem to have any of the icons or buttons they describe. I don't have a "build button on my viewer", and when I right click there is never an option to build. I don't even see a "building/rezzing not allowed" icon anywhere. I'm using second life viewer 2, the free version. Do I need to pay something to be able to build? Or should I go to some specific destination? I'm aware that you can buy land to build, but I also thought there were empty spaces you can use, but I don't know where they are...

Really confused here. Any help would be appreciated!

[Identity Euler]

Hi,

 

Welcome to Second Life.

You may have basic mode at the moment. Please log off and before you log in once again choose mode: Advanced. you should see more options.

is Tolrey's tutorial about sandbox.

Enjoy building. It is free. All you need is 10 L$ per texture if you want to download any, but there are free at Marketplace. You can see for example this set.

[Rolig Loon]

To get started in building, I'd recommend a trip to the Ivory Tower of Prims, at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/210/164/27 .  Spend an afternoon working with their great tutorials to understand the basics.  Then, consider taking free building classes at Builder's Brewery (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Builders%20Brewery/111/151/23) or NCI  (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fishermans%20Cove/37/232/25).   You can also see a range of free classes in SL at any time by using your in-world Search (upper right corner of your screen in the V2 viewer .... lower toolbar in any other viewer) and looking for the Educational listings under the Events tab.

[nadmarie]

Thank you so much! Finally got started. Just one last question because it seems I completely misunderstood everything I read: if I go to a sandbox and start building things, can I animate them, save them, and use them over and over again? A sign somewhere seemed to say differently, so I just want to make sure...

Thanks again!

[Rolig Loon]

Anything that you build is yours, but you can't just leave it lying around unless it's on land that you own or rent (or unless you have a very kind friend).  A sandbox is a public building area.  You have temporary building rights, but anything left after a few hours will be returned automatically to your Lost & Found folder.  The amount of time till autoreturn varies from one sandbox to another, so unless you know how long it is, it's a good idea to take working copies as you are developing something.  When you're all done for the day, take everything back to your Inventory and file it where you'll find it next time.  Then, next time just drag your saved work from Inventory and drop it on the ground to rez it and start where you left off.

[nadmarie]

Got it. Thanks!

[Navy1 Coba]

Keeping your files and folders organized is one of the big things to do. As your inventory creeps up to the 25k total, you will wish you had made new folders and put each thing in its place. Good luck, building is fun. :smileyvery-happy:

[Identity Euler]

Have a look in Search for NCI classes. They are very helpful at the beginning and you can meet there other people pasionate about building also.

Edit

Rolig has already mentioned NCI so I can add College of Scripting Music and Science. Unfortunatly they are on Mature sim so only adult have an access there. It is worth to join their group if you decide to develop scripting skills also.