Will Ross here.

Welcome to The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life.  On this show we discuss tips and tricks for the game SECOND LIFE, created by Linden Labs.  Today’s topic is Pinheads and Wide Eyes; why proportions matter. 

As a general rule, guys can’t help but play with settings. If something has a slider or a button or a knob, guys will fool around with it. Boy, Freud would love that statement. Anyhow, lately I’ve been seeing an awful lot of… well, for lack of a better word, pinheads in Second Life. There is just something unnerving about seeing a guy with a tiny head. 

And insert your own jokes here; this is a PG show.

So today, we are going to talk some basic body proportions.

The average person, if measured in heads, would be 7 to 8 heads tall. We use heads to measure because no matter how short or tall you are, if you’re in the correct proportion, then your head will take up a 7th or an 8th of your height. Now because in Second Life people will be able to recognize you by your face, I go with 7 heads tall. This emphasizes the face, and in my opinion, makes you easier to pick out of a crowd.

As for the face, one of the most common mistakes I’m seeing is eye placement. You have to get your eyes right; if you don’t, nothing you can do will make the face look, well, human. Now if you go grab a pair of clippers and shave your head right now... (Warning, the QDnow Network strongly discourages shaving your head for example purposes.) Bah, you’re no fun. Anyway, if one were to shave their head bald and look in the mirror, you’d find that your eyes are at about the center of your face, with about the width of one eye between them. 

The ears would be about two-thirds of the way back on the side of the skull with the top of the ear just slightly higher than the top of the eye, with the exception, of course, of pointed “elf” ears. 

As for the mouth, you want it to be about as wide as the distance from pupil to pupil. And for the guys, don’t be afraid to give yourself some lips. Now you don’t have to be Stephen Tyler or anything, but no lips makes you look less like the prince and more like the frog. 

Now, as always, remember, these rules aren’t set in stone, they are just guidelines. Keep making small adjustments until you look the way you want to look.  I mean, after all, it’s your avatar.

Today’s term to know is Neko! Hey, that  kind of rhymes! There are a lot of what might be known as “categories” or “species” of avatar’s in Second Life, and one of the most interesting are the Nekos. Neko is the Japanese word for house cat, and Nekos, who are most typically female, all dress with different levels of “catness.” From kitty ears and a tail all the way to fur, claws, and whiskers, Neko girls tend to behave with a kittenish attitude for better or for worse. Now some people consider Neko’s a subspecies of Furries (who are people who make humanoid animal avatars) but I don’t because Neko's don’t have fur, and that seems like an important prerequisite to being a Furry.

As always, we come to our Second Life etiquette tip.  Today’s tip makes me ashamed to have a Y chromosome. Guys, it is never, under any circumstances, on any day of the week, in chat or in IM’s, OK for the first statement you make to a woman to be an invitation to get to know her in a biblical fashion. Never. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. OK, so have you thought about the one time that it might be OK? NO! Not even then. Bad doggy! Down. Ladies, it’s at this point I’d like to apologize on behalf of my gender. The fact that this even has to be said makes me a sad panda.

That’s it for this episode!  Send your feedback or question to secondlife@quickanddirtytips.com, the comment line is 206-888-6975, that’s 206-888-MYSL.  The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network, so be sure to check out other great shows like Grammar Girl, Mr. Manners, and Money Girl, at QuickAndDirtyTips.com. 

Until then, may your Second Life be as happy as your first!

The Traveling Avatar theme song is B-Roll by Kevin MacLeod.