Where Is The Documentation For Making SL Avatars

[Codex Alpha]

I decided to post this topic as a compilation of many posts regarding avatars in SL, how to make them, how to rig them, and specifically what one needs to work with Bento.

Documentation that exists is severely outdated or not even relevant anymore and it is confusing for many.

Where is the actual page that documents the SL Avatar and how to proceed step by step for new users?

Thanks.

[Bobbie Faulds]

You don't have to do anything, per se. Bento is just a new skeleton that all avatars have now. If you want something to work with the new skeleton, you'll have to purchase the parts...

The main body won't really require any changes. If you want the hands to work with the new animations, you'll have to get hands that are rigged to the new skeleton. I don't think anyone has made male hands yet but Vista has some out in beta for 999L and Tonic for those that own that body has them for free.

Mesh is required to make use of the rigging, like wings, tails, ears, etc.

More animations using the new skeleton should be coming out, including for the heads points using mesh heads that are rigged to the new points. 

Your default avi won't work with any of the new animations coming out that utilze the new skeleton, at least not so far.

 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

There really isn't one page that is up to date and covers all aspects, as it's just too complicated of a subject for one page. You can start with the wiki for basic texture maps that are used for the classic avatar and many mesh avatars to make skin and clothes, as well as various basic information about mesh avatars in general and Bento.  Basic mesh models to use as a starting point are also available for both.  Use search.

Google is your friend for making a mesh avatar and rigging it.  Those are learned skills 3D modeling skills and depend on the kind of 3D software you use, and are beyond the scope of any SL info page.  However there are tutorials available on YouTube and other hosting services for various modeling programs about how to model the human form and rig it in general and some specifically for the SL avatar, both regular rigged mesh and Bento rigging.  You can check the Bento feedback thread as well as the Mesh forum for information about that too.  The website for Avastar also has information, specifically for their Blender add on, which makes the whole process much easier.

[Sassy Romano]

I have to say that I don't believe it's to complex for one page.

 

There doesn't need to be one page that aims to teach someone the skills per tool which is needed but on one page, it would be pretty easy to document the parts needed, creating a recipe.

 

If I were to look at how to create clothes as an example, I wouldn't expect to only find a page documenting the SL avatar UV maps. (I don't actually know what it says, I'm using an example).

 

There certainly should be a description of what's current technology and pointers. If only there were a method of having an overview page being able to link to others. What a cool technology that would be!

 

Bobbie, entity isn't asking for info on how to put together an avatar from parts but poking LL to update their documentation on avatar creation from a development position as a creator of content.

[Marianne Little]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

 

 

Bobbie, entity isn't asking for info on how to put together an avatar from parts but poking LL to update their documentation on avatar creation from a development position as a creator of content.

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If so , this is not the subforum to ask in. Here, readers and posters are mainly buyers of parts, not creators.

[Sassy Romano]

Yes, the question is which is the right topic because avatar creation spans different disciplines and that's the root of the complaint, there's no single source of the information and there should be.

[Bobbie Faulds]

I just read the OP as looking for what's needed to work with the Bento skeleton. 

If the OP is looking to create the mesh, that's a more appropriate topic for the creation forum since it involves usinge the program, whether it be Blender, Maya or other equivalent as well as Avastar and getting the rigging and weighting to the SL skeleton. That's a topic that's a bit more complicated than can be covered in this forum.

I was coming at it from the perspective of a consumer and what was needed to create an avi inworld from things others have created. I wouldn't even know how to start with Blender. I couldn't even make a simple table with it; my brain just doesn't work that way. 

Unless the OP is into creating from scratch, with all the mesh parts that are already out there competing with each other, why reinvent the wheel.

 

[Perrie Juran]

Good documentation would be against the Tao of Linden.

[Pamela Galli]

I remember begging Charlar, the mesh Linden who answered questions about mesh in the forum sometimes, for documentation PLEASE. He said it was in the works.

Then Charlar left.

And that was the end of documentation. All we have are forum posts. And since forum posts are our only documentation for some very complicated things, and LL feels no need to change that, wouldn't it be nice if the forums were not so broken and unwieldy ? They are not just for documentation, either, but provide a huge amount of customer support, for free. But you would think the forums are for nothing but chit chat.

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Perrie Juran wrote:

Good documentation would be against the Tao of Linden.

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[Perrie Juran]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

I remember begging Charlar, the mesh Linden who answered questions about mesh in the forum sometimes, for documentation PLEASE. He said it was in the works.

Then Charlar left.

And that was the end of documentation. All we have are forum posts. And since forum posts are our only documentation for some very complicated things, and LL feels no need to change that, wouldn't it be nice if the forums were not so broken and unwieldy ? They are not just for documentation, either, but provide a huge amount of customer support, for free. But you would think the forums are for nothing but chit chat.

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Perrie Juran wrote:

Good documentation would be against the Tao of Linden.

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That was back during the time when providing friendly customer service was against the TAO of Linden, when we saw Helpful_Linden after Helpful_Linden handed their walking papers.

 

[Penny Patton]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

And that was the end of documentation. All we have are forum posts. And since forum posts are our only documentation for some very complicated things, and LL feels no need to change that, wouldn't it be nice if the forums were not so broken and unwieldy ? They are not just for documentation, either, but provide a huge amount of customer support, for free. But you would think the forums are for nothing but chit chat.

 

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Even worse, the Linden provided information on the forums is usually incomplete, and the resident provided documentation is frequently incorrect or encourages bad content creation habits wich contribue to how poorly SL runs for most people.