Clarissa Lowell

Marianne McCann wrote: For those who have crafted a kid avvie, what tips do you have for customizing the Second Life avatar mesh into a decent looking child? I'll try to verbalize it. Okay first, kids don't look the same as grownups do. That seems obvious and yet people try to make child avatars by simply shortening the height on their regular grownup avatar. Note I'm doing to be talking about kid shapes for avs that appear 10 yrs. or younger. Kids have approximately the same shape from chest to hips. Girls get curves in puberty and boys' shoulders broaden. That's being very basic, since I know there's always one or two who will nit pick so I am being basic. So don't give a girl child a smaller waist or curvy hips. And don't make a boy have an upside-down triangle torso. Kids' legs can be short or long just like adults' legs are. I don't think that proportion changes much length-wise during a lifetime. Assuming the child shape isn't meant to be overweight, I begin by sliding the muscle and fat sliders to zero. Then I build UP. That's because most people will still want to unconsciously make a child shape look what they are used to making their adult grownup shape look 'good' as - and that will be too much muscle, usually. (People even do this with the girl child avs.) Parts of the mesh are problematic - namely the 'breastplate' or from bottom of the ribs to the collarbone area. It just sticks out way too much. And of course, the mesh is made for grownup shapes so the 'bust' or 'pecs' need to be dealt with for a child av shape too. My advice on that is take them down as far as you can without making weird lines there. In other words, you might have to make the torso underneath that, thicker than you wanted. But that might be better than having 'boobs' or 'pecs' or having it actually be concave (dipped inward.) If you want the kid to be shorter, let's say from about 7 younger, then take the height down to zero and build it upward, too. That kind of erases you from subconsciously thinking it is a grownup shape. Make sure the feet are at 0 (and stay there) and the hands should be little - how little depends on the av size. But little. Faces: The eyes will appear to be larger on a child's face, usually, than in a fully grown adult's face. But don't overdo that. Just don't give them little, 'chic' cat's eyes or grownup, squinty eyes. It won't read as childish. Don't make the eyes too wide-set either. Nose: it will seem smaller on a child's face than on an adult's face but don't make it totally flat or invisible. That won't look natural either. It will look like they had plastic surgery. Look at the nose from the side and front. Mouth: it should be in proportion. Usually making a less wide mouth is a good start. Cupid's bow on the top lip can be cute. Skins: Try to find one made for a child av. If you can't - or can't afford one - at least get a grownup skin w/out any makeup on it. If you keep looking, someone will eventually run a freebie or dollarbie like that. But you can join the Heaven's Gate Neo group for a free child skin, try their lucky boards, or try Mother Goose's lucky boards, among other places. Arcadia Asylum makes a freebie child skin with tons of freckles. It's in the orphan avatar kit. Clothes: Avoid shading in the boobs/pecs area. Nothing too low cut. That means no low cut tops and no low cut waists. You'd never dress a real child that way. I also think curse words in their tattoos or bling is tacky. (Children shouldn't be wearing bling anyway.) Shoes: should be child-appropriate. Hair: Children's hair is finer/thinner than teens or adults' hair is. So dont go for miles of curls. It won't look right. It will overwhelm the overall effect you are going for if you want at least some semblance of a realistic avatar. Ponytails, or braids, for girls, are good; short hair that isn't too sophisticated (not too thick, not too many layers), is good for boys. I dunno, any questions?