Rehabilitating Bitsy - Changing an Off-the-Rack Avatar (Beginners)

When 

It's easy to get lost in Second Life 

When you first get to Second Life, you're wearing a starter avatar. I started by wearing 'Bitsy'

You see Bitsy all over, with her tablet computer and her bag with her chihuahua.

If you don't want to look like everyone else you can change your avatar by mixing and matching the standard avatars that are already available.

Find a more or less private place and try wearing each of the starter avatars in turn. There is a tab that looks like a shirt. Click on that while wearing an avatar and it will save everything as an outfit.  You can use some (but not all) of the clothes from one avatar on another.

This is also good practice to start learning about shapes, and alphas, and how to put outfits together. It's fun changing skins, shapes, and clothing, and finding out what works and what doesn't. Try clicking on your avatar and choosing "Change Shape". Play with the sliders. Go back to wearing Bitsy and choose "Edit Outfit" and you will get a list of components and their attachment points. 

Clothing - 

Bitsy - Shoe Base

System Eyelash Remover

Bitsy - Jacket Alpha

Bitsy - Dress Alpha

Attachments -

Firestorm LSL Bridge (depends on what system you are using)(Center 2)

Animation Overrider - Female (Center 2)

Bitsy - Brown Leather Jacket (Right Shoulder)

Bitsy - Chihuahua in a Bag (Right hand)

Bitsy - Hair & Hat (Skull)

Bitsy - Heels (Left Foot)*

Bitsy - Lashes (Nose)

Bitsy - Red Pencil Dress (Pelvis)

Bitsy - Table† (Left Hand)

Body Parts

Bitsy - Brows

Bitsy - Eyes

Bitsy - Shape

Bitsy - Skin

What next? - Using the "Edit Outfit" window, you can click on and remove the tablet and the chihuahua in a bag.  Note; however, that the 'Hair and Hat' are listed as one item, and if you remove the hat Bitsy looks like a new Navy recruit.

Take off the jacket, and there is bare space. That is because Bitsy was wearing a jacket alpha. Take off the jacket alpha and you have skin again.

Important note: Always put on clothing by choosing 'Add' rather than 'Wear' because 'Wear' replaces items, and because different clothing may have different attachment points you may end up partially naked.

Try on some of the clothing from the other starter avatars by choosing them from the list, and putting them on. If you like the result, you can click "save as" to keep their outfits, including shapes and skins. You will still have the original avatars and their attachments in the outfits file.

There are also a lot of 'initial outfits' in your inventory Library. I also got a skin and an AO from New Resident Island.

This was a new avatar I put together. It it doesn't look exactly like any of the other starter avatars. If I like it, I can click the 'appearance' tab (looks like a shirt) and then 'wearing', and then "save as"and choose a new name for the patchwork avatar. 

The patchwork avatar.

'New' avatar:  Monique shape and top(with alpha)

Carla Jeans(with alpha)

Delilah Boots(with alpha)

Gretchen Hair and brows.

Petrol Sue eyes

AX-001 Basically Girl AO

Firestorm Bridge

Desire skin (free from New Resident Island)

More ways to change a new avatar.

Check Out "Free Items for Avatars Less Than 30 Days Old"

Free Dove - Quality free items.

New Resident Island

Here is a fairly recent video showing how one resident put together a more advanced avatar. The resident chose her favorite creators while many other residents would probably recommend their favorite creators instead.  

Important note: The video stresses that it is important to try demos before buying any body parts or clothing. Second Life avatars do not have interchangeable parts..