Avatar

Hey guys, I just love to ask you how do you customize your avatar?
It is a sort of open forum for all virtual worlds...

Some randon questions: can you customize your character in World of Warcraft?
Can you mod skins and shapes in IMVU, Can you drop your inventory from Second Life to Open Sims?

This topic is for all about the customization, transfer (from one world to an other) creations of avatars in all virtual worlds?

Don't be shy,  share your 2nd life.....

Hi Pier!!! Really glad to answer you... this topic is strongly interesting!
How do we customize avatar in Wow... well, we can choose but only among a selection of options given by the game. First of all we choose the race (human, blood elf, night elf, draenei, etc... there are 10 races). After we select hair style, hair color, skin color, face and accessories (beard for male and earrings for female for exemple), choosing them among some given by the game (skin colors for exemple are related to the race... night elves can have an azure complexion, while blood elves are really pale!). That's all, so conbinations aren't termless...
About clothes, they are strictly linked to the class which your char belongs to (priest, paladin, mage, shaman, etc... ) so you can't wear whatever you want. Normally we choose a cloth for the abilities and attributes they give to our char, not for their look, but you can buy also some ceremonial clothes that look very nice!
Sorry for this long post, but I hope you can find a complete answer to your question ^____^

aww, thanks!

Oh wow.. where to I start!! IMVU has millions of virtual products from cost play to normal wear.  To pretty much you can put your mind to dressing up its there.  No limits. You can pretty much buy heads, skins, hair shoes everything you want for your avi its there.

I'm a developer in IMVU which means I make virtuals products for IMVU customers, I make skins, hairs, clothing shoes etc.... To dress my avatar you kind find what you are interested with and what your personality is.  What makes you unique from everyone else and don't be scared to be you. I know I like to change it up a bit I don't like just one look I like every look what ever I feel that day lol!!

I hope this helps!!

thanks jojo!!!! good to know that!

Customization in SL? Omg where to start! Lord, there are a bajillion options..You can be human, elf, fairy, tiny, furry, demon, etc, etc...the list goes on and its pretty endless. I've seen talking plants and even a watermelon. I myself have a snowleopard avi that I use sometimes. Customizing in SL really is more about evolving. When you start in SL, you are given a basic set of shapes and skins, hair and clothing and shoes. These are very, very basic, and many quickly learn that they do not want to look like they "were just born".
Shapes: 
Customization starts with the shape. The basic shape you are born with is modifyable, which means you can change the height, weight, muscle content, fat ratio, facial features, hip width, etc, etc. There are shapes for sale in SL, and some are modifyable and some are not. Some are beautiful and some..well..just are not that pretty. They are the basis for your avatar. Once you get the basic shape you want, you can move on to customize your skin.
Skins: Like the word implies, skins are, well, just that, skins that fit over the shape you wear. Skins range from amazingly real to not so good. Expensive does not necessarily mean better, I may add. I've seen some expensive skins that just are not that flattering to be honest. The key to making your avi look good is to find the best match between your skin and your shape. This is a trial and error thing I think. I know it took me a few months before I was happy with the skin that I felt flattered my shape the best. I own a few..ok, ok..I admit I own more than 20 skins. But, I pretty much stick to one or two for most of my SL. 
Clothing, shoes: Clothing, again, varies as to what you are looking for. I have a wide range of clothing, from normal jeans and tees, to hoodies and sneakers, to wicked looking boots with stilletto heels and tiny "OMG" skirts. You can own as much clothing and costumes as you like, and dress up and dress down as you see fit. If you like to RolePlay, you will probably own more outfits to fit your characters in world. Well textured clothing are not always super expensive, and you will be glad you got them. Freebies are nice to get you by, but you will eventually want to get others.
Where to find the best clothes, skins, etc? Look at people's profiles! Often they will put in their favorites area where they think the best shoes, hair, etc, are. I look in people's profiles often, or just ask flat out.."hey, where did you get ..etc"
Miscellaneous:
Animation overrides are what makes your avi stand, sit and walk and move unique from the stand and walk you were born with. AOs make your avi look like a real person. There are AOs for non-human avis, and you have many choices as to what you use.

Last but not least, there are those little bits of "flair" so to speak you can add to really customize your avi. I know that for my avi, who is a Neko (mean cat in Japanese), I always have my kitty ears and tail, and I tend to find clothing that is more on the grunge side of style. (Though, we clean up well, us Nekos! haha!)  Clothing and tatoos in SL are made from the same templates, that is, they will have to be up on like an undershirt, for example, or a shirt or jacket. Some skins are made with tattoos, if you prefer to commit to one tat. I like to be able to change them. I am not sure if its that noticeable or not, but I pretty much always wear my little gothic arm book on my upper arm. Its my signature piece, so to speak. I write in real life, so I felt that my avi should have something to signify that. From arm bracers to boots to flasks of Jim Beam, to cigs, you can customize the look of your second life in as many ways as you want.
Play, explore and have fun until you have your look. And, remember, you can change it if you want, which is the best fun of all!

wow, Tessy!!!! thank you very much....this is very useful and introductive!

Totally agree with Tessy. Customizing in SL means growing with  your experience of the metaverse and of the possibilities it give you in express your mood, your dreams, your experties, whatever...
First of all choosing the sex of your avi, which seldomly is your RL sex. And that's interesting I think even more than the possibilities of choosing your shape, skins, hairs and of course outifts. So.. customizing your avatar in SL means capitalizing your experiences in one or more roles, understanding what image of yourself you wanna let the other see. And of course (well, of course for me at least) trying to develop it everyday a bit more. Customizing is SL we can say, and that's one of the reasons why so many residents (at least those 10% who don't decide to stop immediatly their experience "inworld") are happy to stay in a beta environment which is still SL at the end. It's not the perfection, it's the multiple possibilities to evolve and to create your own avi from nothing or a few... We love customizing, for our egos at least :)

thanks for sharing SLnn!

Wow, cool topic, especially from my perspective. :)  I'm an image consultant in SL & customizing an AV's appearance is my job & my passion (well other than photography).  In SL there are basically 3 types of egos that dictate customization of an AV.  

The first is the "newbie", who has only recently been rezzed (born) inworld and often has only the very basics provided initially by SL.  They are often motivated to customize their appearance by the multitude of others in SL who either shun them as "newbies" or encourage them to look "better". The problem any newbie usually encounters however when recognizing the need to customize is that it can often require substantial lindens (or money) in SL.  Many have no idea either how to get lindens, or where to acquire quality freebies & rely on the kindness of strangers to assist them.  I often help these AV's to at least find some quality freebies to get them by, as well as to teach them basic tips on how to navigate SL.  Though an unfortunate side effect of my tips is that they soon become spoiled to only possess high quality items thereafter :).

The 2nd is the AV who is not new, but either customizes his/her AV to rebel against the "norm", or refuses to "comply" with the "norm" by refusing to customize, despite the insistence of others out of a personal sense of self.  These AV's are often the most interesting to meet.  They can have very unique views of the world (inworld included), and/or come up with the most original customizations that exist in SL.  Their customizations can introduce innovations to SL and therefore offer a great deal to the metaverse as a whole.

The 3rd is the AV who is here for pleasure, business or education but is conscious of their AV's appearance & is willing to invest in either the time and/or lindens to accomplish their ideal look. Those in SL for pleasure generally want a very desirable or HOT AV to attract other AV's or at least to please their own egos.  Not all of these AV's have the funds, but all are willing to invest the time at least.  Those in SL for business have primarily the desire to look professional and generally have the funds needed to accomplish whatever look they so desire.  They often determine however, SL to be much more than simply business & opt to enjoy the lighter side as well, including a more leisurely appearance.  Those in SL for education seem to have similar experiences to those in SL for business, though they rarely seem to have ample funds to take full advantage of both the educational & leisurely activities within SL.  Obviously, these are my target clientelle :).

One last note on AV customization in SL is the disproportionately poor selection of customization items for male AV's in comparison to the extreme availability of female AV items for customization. Wish that could be changed, but with the disproportionate number of female AV's to male AV's in SL, I don't see that as a likely outcome. 

thanks photoliv, very interesting!

Great topic~!

Speaking personally......in SL.....my avatar is in constant flux. One of the really enjoyable elements of
the metaverse is being able to change one's look on a whim. For my part, I remain a human female (that's what I am and that's my comfort zone, but artistically speaking I also enjoy messing with the female look the most) but I alter my look all the time.
I use my avatar in lots of photo projects and adjust her according to the theme or mood I want to project. I morph my shape and often try to emulate the look of a real celebrity, friend or anyone I find interesting/unique.  Most recently I found a web site (Style magazine I believe) and looked for runway models that caught my attention.  I managed to create a beautiful likeness of two women, Alex Wec and another named Aminata. Both dark skinned exotic women.

The process is both simple and complicated. Simple in that I find the more I mess with the shape sliders, the better I become at nailing a certain look.  Complex due to the limitations of the sliders.....and also the skin makers in SL.  I will usually first find a skin that most closely represents the look I want......then as the avatar is wearing that skin, I will morph the shape. Most of my focus goes into the facial features at this point. Avatar bodies are relatively easy to perfect, and so often the subtleties are lost in the graphics rendering anyway. (it frustrates me to no end that we are unable to duplicate the 'imperfectins' of the human form.....the asymetry and quirks are what make us unique and beautiful)  Anyway......after I have the basic look down, I go in search of the right hair style. Eyes I make myself.

I've done some custom avatars for folks and I enjoy the challenge. It is often more about finding the right pieces to put together, and that can be time consuming. The process of morphing the shape 'just so' doesn't take more then 15-20 minutes at best. Sadly, I'm not adept at creating skins in photoshop or I would have the equivalent of a walk-in closet full by now. LOL  Still, as an artist, I really love the process of customizing an avatar, even with-in the limitations. The challenge is something I look forward to whenever someone asks for a custom job. (I do men as well......my last custom job was........Borat!  LMAO)

As photographer , painter, occasional model  and writer ... for me customizazion is essential ..I do love to change hair , skins and sometime even shape ( which I do by myself ).

Sometimes a particular dress I am shoting requires a skin or hair of a certain kind and the fun is just to make the perfect outfit for a foto or find just the kind od hair tha suit a data pose i bought .

To compose an avatar is like to compose a piece of art ..and the avatar is the first form of visual art in sl in my opinion :)

I agree with aeleentomsen..the avi is the art work done prior to the photo for those of us that do photos..and..uhmm..all of us? haha !I also will look for a specific hair or outfit..even a skin if needed, to make the photo better. Customizing your avi is the first thing that you can do to make other see the you inside. :)

Greetings all!  Love to change the looks of my avi based on what is happening at that moment...Elegant clothes, skin with more makeup, hair done up for formal occasions....Jeans and tshirts, natural looking skin, loose hair for hanging out....Leather, tattoos, long hair for being the biker type....Latex, leather, curvier shape, sexy skin for those times when one wants to be the seductress....Gothic wear, boots, pale skins, fangs for the night when the vampire takes over....In the mood for something a bit more fantastic - one can always shapeshift into a cat, wolf, horse, dragon, griffin...you name it!!  That is the true beauty of SL - one can go from looking like an enchantress to the Pink Panther with the click of the mouse!!

Reading through all the posts, I'm sitting here nodding. SL is an endless lists of possibilities, only yourself can hold you back. I change from the normal everyday girl, to Neko (love my tail and ears:-), to a fire breathing dragon, to a carebear or even tigger! Whatever mood your in, you can find what you want/need. Creating is the best part, because some make very good money in SL which in turn they can exchange for USD. I'm sure that many other VW's are the same but I cant imagine many being as extreme and developed as SL.

Wow is very limited in what you can do with your avatar. You can buy certain clothing, and change your hair, but it is so limited its not unusual to see several people that look exactly like you.

In IMVU one can change cloths skins eyes hair as one pleases i like to go with things sexy and classy or kinda punky trashy usually all gothy vampy, i dont normally go risky heheh. as a dev in imvu it is easy for me to get just the look i want mostly for skins, eyes and hair but i have done some cloths. It all mostly depends on my mood  ;)  i can also go furry if the mood strikes i have tails ears whiskers and all and can add a fantasy theme too with wings and horns or can go for the zombie/sereal killer gross look. one has many choices of skins and there is an endless stream of clothes in dif styles from goth to emo to fashionista. so lots of choices to suit any mood. then throw in a posing avi body or just add some random poses for screenies. it can be lots of fun and an artist's play ground :)