Thinking back to the beginning of my Second Life made me realize that there is so much that I know now that I wish i would have known so long ago.. back in the days of walking around always looking pissed off without an AO or of looking completely boxy and thinking I actually looked good with my non flexy hair and poorly painted on clothing.  Seeing so many new residents walking around with the same afflictions that I once knew as a dreaded noob brought to mind the idea to do a few tutorials… and so. What I would have wanted to know when I was a noob lol.

Back when I was getting started in Second Life you had very few options for your new avatar and generally when Second Life was having a bad day you would end up as the lovely Ruth, getting to walk around looking like you escaped from a bad hygiene exhibition.  Rumor has it that Ruth was the originally avatar prototype and so that is why you reverted to her when SL was having a hiccup. I personally don’t find this hard to believe with her poorly fitted clothing and caveman like brow.  Luckily those getting started today have way more options available to them than the pioneers of this virtual world had. Several designers have donated to the library that is available to each avatar upon creation and even the original choices you get aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be. However, Cro- Magnon or not there is no denying that if you plan to keep up with the rest of the residents of Second Life you are going to need a bit of a makeover. Luckily this can be done a lot cheaper than in past years  and even free depending on your skill level. I will break this down into 5 parts so you can feel free to pick and choose which of those you want to read depending on what you have already been told or figured out on your own in your time in-world.  Coming up soon will be part one, your shape, which is undeniably one of the most important aspects of your avatar as it is the building block that all the rest of your pixel persona is created off of.