Making a good looking avatar

[LegitBonzai]

My boyfriend is wanting to make a good looking avatar.
But we are so terrified to even uber-engage with this.
Afraid to make mistakes. Just also for the fact that it could just cost a lot of money. And we are already not the richest.

I would really appreciate it if there is someone who can help me and my boyfriend with this.

Maybe there could be a small fee in return if expected.

[Ceka Cianci]

If you would like to give ideas of what you are wanting to achieve  here in the forums.. We can try and help from here and at no cost other than time..

Maybe post up some images of what you are wanting and we can try and guide you in the best directions we can to at the very least  get you to some demos to try things on..

Make sure that you Demo everything before you buy.. If a store or a booth at an event does not have demos for you to try their products, Then don't risk spending your money there..

 

[Josephine Carissa]

Hello Legit,

for more information:

@Skell Dagger

Virtual Bloke – Queer eye from the pixel guy

lots of tutorials.

Also:

The FabFree Mesh Body and Head Listing | FabFree - Fabulously Free in SL (wordpress.com)

(male information about 1/2 down the page).

in this way your boyfriend can experiment before he decides whether he wants to spend money on things. I'm sure other folks will be along shortly to add more suggestions.

Have a great day,

Josephine 

[Orwar]

   The easiest way to set up a 'good looking' avatar without jumping in at the deep end is to browse shapes (make sure they include style cards). With the shape and the style card you'll have a shopping list telling you what body, head, and skin is used - that's your base avi done, dressing up and changing hair, tattoos, etc. on top of that is fairly simple.

   This way, you just have to look at the adverts for the shapes and decide whether or not it's 'good looking', which is entirely subjective. 

[SabrinaCooke]

+1 for the FabFree listing. I recommend that to anyone wanting to build an avatar at low cost. Good luck!

[Persephone Emerald]

One question to consider is how interested is he in getting a good skin and a bunch of mesh clothing for his avatar? If he wants a mesh body, Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, and Legacy Male all have plenty of skins and clothing made for them, but each of these bodies are priced very differently. Each looks a bit different, has a different HUD, and each has varying levels of render complexity. He should Demo all of these, but if he gets impatient, that might feel challenging.

If he wants an almost free mesh body that doesn't have mesh clothing made specifically for it, the DNA bodies (with heads included) could be an option for him. (I think these look better than the free Altamura male bodies, and they're BOM compatible.)

If he wants to play around with a mesh body for free, there is the Blake body in the Library of our Inventories, - but it doesn't look much better than a system body and there are no clothes made for it except the ones in the Library and at the Welcome Hub.

There are many choices for mesh heads too, but if he wants a good-looking one, it should be EvoX compatible. I think Lelukta EvoX heads are best, but Akeruka and LOGO also make EvoX compatible male heads.

Edited October 15, 2023 by Persephone Emerald
To add info

[PixelBerry]

Usually the most popular head brand Lelutka, gives out good female and a male heads for christmas for free, there's no guarantee that they will this year however that is something to look out for. Most stores are also a part of the black friday sales, so that is worth waiting for. I would try and go for a free or cheap route instead on investing on a good looking avatar right now and wait till there's sales or potential free heads to save money, if you guys decide to spend money on such right now, you can find cheaper clothing, accessories, hair and skins in the weekend sales that some stores are in every weekend.

Edited October 15, 2023 by PixelBerry

[Marianne Little]

I second the suggestions from @PixelBerry, wait for Black Friday. If one has a tight budget, there can be a lot of money to save on it. I will be very surprised if not the bodies Legacy and Signature is running a 40-50% sale. Perhaps Belleza too, but that body is already priced low to 1500 L.

We in Second Life has been spoiled by Lelutka, the most popular head store, with a male and female gift head for Christmas. This is very generous, and we can not hope for that every year. But I am sure it will be a sale for Black Friday. Last year it was a 50% off on all heads for Black Friday and gift heads for Christmas.

If you buy Belleza Jake today, that body is already affordable, so that is the best option for a body now. Belleza Jake is also one of the most popular bodies, it is easy to shop for. In the weekend sales, you can buy clothes and sccessories for 50-100 L. Almost all male fashion has a Belleza Jake size.

Make sure you demo all you buy, clothes, hair, shapes, heads and skins. You MUST demo everything. You do not get refunds in Second Life. If it is no demo, walk away.

Skin stores can be a good inspiration. Those stores almost always has a shape in the demo pack.

I think Not Found has a group gift skin for a typical caucasian young man with fair skin. Last time I checked, it was a free to join group. If I were you, I would take the gift skin if the skin is when you are looking for. This skin is made for mesh heads and will look  totally wrong without a mesh head from Lelutka. You may have a head from Lelutka later. Group skins can be changed.

Head skins and body skins are sold separately these days. Even if you get a free head skin, you have to spend maybe 500 L on a body skin. Mesh bodies often include some body skins. You can use the skins included and an old skin for the system avatar head.

Male fashion feeds on Flickr often comes with credits, or a link to a blog with credits.

 

[Stephanie Misfit]

8 hours ago, Orwar said:

   The easiest way to set up a 'good looking' avatar without jumping in at the deep end is to browse shapes (make sure they include style cards). With the shape and the style card you'll have a shopping list telling you what body, head, and skin is used - that's your base avi done, dressing up and changing hair, tattoos, etc. on top of that is fairly simple.

   This way, you just have to look at the adverts for the shapes and decide whether or not it's 'good looking', which is entirely subjective. 

I agree with this, it's the best way for a beginner in particular. I really like this shape store, Awaken, for my male alts and can attest to the fact that you will end up looking like the pictures if you follow the style card https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/219917

[Dorientje Woller]

As always, first question should be: what is the amount of lindens your friend is willing to spend? From there on, it's much easier to give tips.

[Chic Aeon]

The only problem with going to a shape store is that some to man of them use the older bodies (both men and women) that no longer have clothes for them (really pretty important)  So ALSO check the type of clothes that he likes and see what body types they come in.

ALSO Linden Lab just announced that they are sending out the new and improved files for the now system avatars to those that signed up for them (and likely only the one approved but that was sketchy in the announcement) ----- SO that means that soon those avatars will get replaced with the newer models. The old ones weren't bad but there really were some issues.   

 

Depending on how that rolls out and who makes clothes for those new avatars he could likely just get a good looking skin and maybe even buy a shape if no one is good at making those (really pretty simple).  The Black Friday tip is a good one and likely by then you will have had time to do some checking. 

When trying demos be SURE and try the skin WITH the body AND the shape  all together -- and clothes to see the final look.  Otherwise you may still get some surprises.  You can make good looking avatars for almost (or no) money but it take a lot of time and it is more difficult for the guys.   Don't expect this to be a quick project. Black Friday is over a month away

 

 

[LegitBonzai]

9 hours ago, Dorientje Woller said:

As always, first question should be: what is the amount of lindens your friend is willing to spend? From there on, it's much easier to give tips.

15k

[Marianne Little]

18 hours ago, LegitBonzai said:

15k

Oh wow. That was a good amount.

I would say Belleza Jake body -                                          1500

You can not go wrong with this body. It is easy to shop for.

Head from Lelutka -                                                              3990

Also a safe buy, 99% of new skins are made for Lelutka EvoX.

Skin for head and body -   unless you want the male head skin from Not Found and only buy a body skin.

1-3 hairstyles - at Wings they cost ca 300 per color pack. Stealthic hair around 400, but let us say

                                                                                                 1000 for hair.

Eyes, it is tons of good cheap eyes. Join Avi-Glam and use group eyes. The price to join the group is so low, it will not set you back much.

It is a many hairbases included with the Lelutka heads. If he want a special hairbase, with shaved cuts, it can be 100 - 400. Some hairs include hairbases, some not.

Another beard than those that are included with the head? I recommend Hermony.

This is last years FREE Lelutka head with the FREE Not Found skin and FREE group gift hair from Wings. I am not sure where the eyebrows and beard were bought. A weekend sale fron Stray Dog? I think the hairbase is included with the head. Eyes are Avi-Glam.

 

For the shape, use the one that's included with the head skin, or buy one.

And then you can decide if you will buy fatpacks of clothes that cost one K each, or shop in the weekend sales. I would say that few need expensive fatpacks.

The biggest sales is The Saturday Sale and Happy Weekend. You can find male sneakers, pants, hoodies, jackets, tshirts, shorts, tattoos, hair, hairbases and beards every weekend. Of course it is not so much for the males as it is for females in these weekend sales, but it is always some.

TMD weekend sale is only for men. Here is last weekends gallery page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=themensdept&set=a.655578799995600

If he totally hate the Belleza Jake body, both Signature and Legazy male is expensive. Then it is smart to wait until Black Friday. And as said, there can be a free head for Christmas. At least a sale.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

A lot will come down to what he wants to look like. Some heads/bodies/stores are far better at achieving certain looks than others. If you've got any source photos, it'll be a bit easier for us to make suggestions.

[Marianne Little]

2 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

A lot will come down to what he wants to look like. Some heads/bodies/stores are far better at achieving certain looks than others. If you've got any source photos, it'll be a bit easier for us to make suggestions.

Yes, we have not heard anything about what you/he are looking for. Caucasian, asian, dark skin? Curly hair? Big tattoos, bare chest and piercings, or sleek business man? Leather pants or jeans? Kinky wear? Corset? Harness? Suit?

Let us hear it.

[LegitBonzai]

So far of what i know his wishes are being blonde.. pale skinned.. but i also learned he most likely wants to be a femboy/cboy

[Ayashe Ninetails]

51 minutes ago, LegitBonzai said:

So far of what i know his wishes are being blonde.. pale skinned.. but i also learned he most likely wants to be a femboy/cboy

Bodies - have him demo CZ Slim, Anatomy (new, but was adopted pretty quickly into the non-binary community and can definitely lean more fem), and Jake for the largest wardrobe. CZ Slim is 2,000L, Jake is 1,500L, and Anatomy is the most expensive of the three (and I forgot the price off the top of my head - over 4,000L I believe). Oh, and for skins - try Gloom, Alt3, and Not Found...they aren't overly muscular. Anatomy and CZ Slim allow for high heel shoes and several shoe designers make for them. Jake requires an addon for that (Maze Boys Tiptoes, but it's not overly popular with little support).

Heads - could do male or unisex heads - Lelutka or Akeruka for the best selection for those. Evo X is the preferred UV map. If he likes the Anatomy body, he could wear female heads as well, as it comes with a female neck fit. I believe CZ Slim has a female neck fit, too, but double check that first.

Clothing - we've got some threads around here for clothing available for CZ Slim and Anatomy. Ummm...

CZ Slim - 

 

And Anatomy:

 

Oops, also forgot the Flickrs and socials.

CZ Slim has a release gallery here. 

Belleza Jake has some releases in the general Belleza group galleries here.

Anatomy's got new release galleries in its Discord channel, which you can find a link to on their product page here.

 

Omg last edit I promise: Forgot hair. I wear a lot of female hair on my males, but that'll take a lot of trial and error. In general, you can find nice unisex hairstyles at No.Match, Sintiklia, and Dura. You can demo female hair from anywhere on him, too, but for longer styles, it may clip into his back, so definitely check that when trying demos.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Ayashe Ninetails
Added stuffs

[Marianne Little]

58 minutes ago, LegitBonzai said:

So far of what i know his wishes are being blonde.. pale skinned.. but i also learned he most likely wants to be a femboy/cboy

Take a look at Skell Daggers flickr. I saw it was linked to his blog before, but he has a ton of looks on flickr.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/skelldagger/with/52805607459/

Skell Dagger uses a Maitreya body with the flat chest options sometimes. But he is mostly in Legacy male and Belleza Jake, after they fixed the neck issue.

Male Legacy got an update with feet for high shoes. It has high complexity and cost 5500. I am sure it will be a Black Friday sale on the Legacy bodies. I bought mine for 2500 L, it was in a sale.

I would not recommend the Catwa heads Skell is using, it is much more new content for Lelutka.

If it feels difficult to make a body, you can search femboy, femboi or cboy on the Marketplace and filter for shapes.

 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

Male Legacy isn't too well-supported in the heels/feminine shoe market (yet?). That's the body I have and I wind up just yeeting off his feet and rocking old Slink tiptoes. Feminine clothing is also very hit or miss. It depends on how feminine he wishes to go (casual unisex or skirts/dresses/gowns). Some places will make for it - TwoSided, Thirst, Noche, Cubura, Boys to the Bone, and CheerNo carry Legacy, off the top of my head.

Maitreya + Flat/V-Tech is a very difficult road to go down for shopping purposes. Much better off with Anatomy (lots of feminine clothing) or CZ Slim (a good mix). Jake has some decent feminine support, too - just not in the shoe dept.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Ayashe Ninetails
Added stuffs

[Nalates Urriah]

@LegitBonzai  Well... your first step is to make a bunch of cheap mistakes. SL is very "mistake-forgiving". Decide to deliberately make mistakes as a way to learn. It is a "wonder what this will do?" type of learning. Be brave. Experiment.

The avatar body and head you currently have and its looks and clothes can all be saved as an Outfit. All viewers have this ability. Once you have your look saved as an outfit you can experiment and make all kinds of mistakes. One click and you are back to your saved look.

You can get lots of demos and play with them. Most are free and those that charge L$1 usually immediately refund it. I am currently experimenting with about 10 bodies and looking at a couple of heads. I save the experiments as outfits. I come back to individual experiments and tweak and play with them. Each iteration gets better... or so I think.

There are many things to learn about SL and how the viewers work. You'll have the most fun if you jump in and learn. There are some hilarious mistakes awaiting you. Been there and done many of them.

Start with the camera, if you have not already learned about it.

The ONLY difference in the two images is how the camera was set. Your avatar can look very different depending on the camera and lighting settings. Experiment. Otherwise, you'll get surprises as you try to work with your avatar looks.