A three-dimensional avatar can represent you in social sites, chat rooms and multiplayer games. While some users duplicate their physical appearance through these creations, many prefer the anonymity of emphasizing some aspect of their personality appropriate to the avatar venue. For example, you could use a regal princess to appear in a fantasy game, or a playful puppy to grace the pages of webpage that deals with pets.
Instructions
1. Browse a 3-D chat room such as Moove.com, which lets you create an avatar for free. You can choose from some basic faces, hair, bodies and movements and then wander 3-D rooms to interact and talk with other users. You can also use webcams and voice chat. Paying cash increases your options.
Your avatar retains a permanent physical appearance, though you can create an entire wardrobe for her. In addition, you can make your own 3-D room and furnish it to your tastes, so you and your virtual friends have a hangout. The experience iworks at a low technical level; you don't need a 3-D graphics card and can even use a dial-up connection.
2. Visit a 3-D virtual world such as SecondLife.com for more control over the appearance and surroundings. The free version lets you adjust such minute details as arm length and eye size while limiting clothing to predefined items you can change at will. You can wander entire continents and interact with users who have created their own worlds.
This type of site increases your range of actions and animations by allowing you to create objects from basic 3-D primitives (geometrical shapes) and imbue them with behaviors through a built-in scripting language. For example, you can build high-powered sports cars or floating houses. However, you cannot create a permanent environment until you pay money to buy virtual land, which you then maintain with monthly payments. A subscription also lets you obtain player-created clothing, furniture and houses.
3. Buy, install and run a commercial program such as Autodesk Maya, a 3-D "entertainment creation suite." You'll need a high degree of technical and graphical expertise to work with this type of program, but it will allow you to indulge in total flexibility. You will start with a few 3-D primitives that you join and divide to create the foundation of your online creature. You then move vertices, split lines and contour surfaces to refine the appearance. You add realism by texturing the skin with different types of images such as skin, hair or feathers.
Once you've created the physical structure, include bones to define the skeleton and animate the avatar. You can then export your avatar in many 2-D and 3-D formats for use in other applications, games and websites.
Related posts
Mascara changes your eyelash color quickly and cheaply.Changing the color of your eyelashes does not need to involve sticky glue and tricky false eyelashes. A large range of products are available...
Choose feathers that complement your color palette.Looking for the perfect hair accessory for your wedding, but short on cash? Make feather headbands at home for you and your bridesmaids for less...
Make Your Own Feathered Hair ClipFeathered accessories have always been an eye-catching way to jazz up an ensemble. In the 1940s, many women wore hats decorated with large feathers. Today, the des...
Seasonal centerpieces make a dining room table look festive.Making your own centerpieces allows you to customize your decorations, conveying your personality and any special theme you have. Howeve...
Use a rubber mask to inspire and create your costume.A rubber mask is one costume accessory that allows the wearer to hide his face and become another person, animal or thing for the night. These...
