Shape Up

Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 September 2009 14:57 Written by Lilli Enzo Sunday, 16 August 2009 22:22

Should We Build Or Should We Buy?

The Makings Of A Good Avatar Start Here

There are limitless ways we can make our avatars unique in Second Life® (SL™); clothes, shoes, hair, skins, makeup, accessories, AOs (in other words, the way our avatars stand and walk), the information we display in our profiles and even the in-world places we hang out.

But there is one very important aspect to our avatars overall design that I haven’t mentioned: Shapes. For fear of putting too little emphasis on the need for a good shape, I will stress now; an avatars shape can make or break the entire completed effect. I’ve seen people pour thousands of Linden™ dollars into clothes and skins, but these “accessories” have been completely lost on a hideous shape.

In my opinion, a shape is the center of our avatars. It’s the foundation upon which one decorates and enhances what will become, to an extent; the epitome of what he or she considers attractive. Because let’s be honest; what’s the point of maintaining a Second Life if your avatar’s ugly and unpopular?

Throughout this article I am going to explore the many options that are available to us when it comes to “shaping up”, from buying, to self-shaping. I will visit some various shape stores and even throw in a quick tutorial on how to create your own shape from scratch.


Shape Shopping

I can’t remember now, but when I first realized that I could edit or even purchase a shape in SL, I must have been pretty amazed. Even games like “The Sims” don’t really allow you much choice shape-wise, other than ‘fat’ or ‘thin’.

But in saying this, and although I’m years past my newbie days, I don’t think I was ever one for buying a shape. So when I opened up SL search engine and typed in shapes, not surprisingly, I didn’t recognize the names of the shops and as such began shape-shopping with a somewhat subjective view.

DLicious was the first shop to come up in the search, so I started with that. The store is large but also empty. Like most shops that sell shapes, they also advertise skins and eyes. As usual they have designated areas for males and females. The first shape I found for sale was “average” looking. The chest was oddly concave and the face was bizarre. I then checked the price: L$800! Well that’s simply not going to happen seeing as that’s more than I earn from writing this article. I bought the demo and a couple of other random selections from the room before moving on.

NOON was the next store I visited. The shop is small but quite well made; hard wood floors and sculptie furniture add a nice touch of class. Unfortunately though, Noon didn’t have the demo option. I IM’d the creator Noon Twine, asking if there was anything she could do for me, but already I was becoming suspicious of a shape store that doesn’t let you try on demos first…

I moved onto a smaller store called Dalian Body Shapes, which advertises itself as “SL’s premiere body shapes store” This store has a more basic fit-out, giving it a warehouse look. I quickly found out that this store also doesn’t do demos. What is going on here? Why would anyone purchase a shape if they weren’t sure how it would transfer onto their avatar?

I decided that I would simply have to go for it and buy one. I chose a shape named Brittney and paid the vendor *gulp* $L300 for a no-modify version.

The last store I visited in my shape search was a place called Soul. The store was set out to look a bit like a gym (points for creativity there), and again, also advertised skins and eyes. Thank goodness, they had the option to purchase demos. I grabbed some and was on my way.


Shape Up Or Ship Out

I should probably mention at this point, that I am pro-build. I feel that creating our own shape is a great way to keep avatars unique. Also, you will find that most purchased shapes are no-modify, meaning you can’t change them at all.

Trying the shapes on was the easy part. As you can see, they all have their good and bad features, and really it all comes down to the individuals’ opinion.


Self-Shaping

I would now like to express just how easy it is to create your own shape in SL.

- In your inventory, chose ‘Create’ in the toolbar. From the drop-down menu select new body parts, and new shape.

- Find said new shape in your inventory; wear.

- Right click on your name tag (above your avatars head). From the pie chart choose Appearance.

- Your avatar will then be in ‘edit appearance’ mode where you can begin playing around with the sliding-bars to create your very own shape.

- Remember, give it time, look at avatars around you, and decide what you like, what you don’t like. It’s all up to you. And if you ever decide you don’t like something about your shape, or you buy a new skin and need to alter a feature of your shape, simply go into edit appearance mode and play around until you are satisfied.

The picture to the right is of the shape I created for Lilli Enzo.

I am constantly editing and altering it to suit new clothes, hairstyles and skins. This is the most important point to remember. It’s YOUR avatar, YOUR shape. Own it, work it and make it unique.