A very good friend of mine in real life has just joined SL. We started her off on my computer during an oh-so-brief visit (she lives far away) and "Ginni" is now still on Orientation Island, but has passed all her tests. Good for Ginni! I promised to help the new avatar once she got to the mainland, but knowing that my friend and I process, shop, think, et al at very different speeds, I decided that making a guide for everyone would be a better idea (wink). And I hope to show you a picture of the new and improved Ginni here on the blog after she has followed my treasure map of sorts. So here we go!
Divine's Newbie (Noobie) Guide to Second Life
Just off the boat - January 2008
First stop: Another Shop. Choose a skin -- or get all four to try on and see what looks and feels the best. Note: Skins are the outer graphic layer that defines your avatar's look -- color of skin, eye makeup, lipstick etc. While you can "take off" clothes in SL, you cannot take off skins. You WEAR a new one and that replaces the old.
To get the skin you will click on it (I usually right click but left click often works too) and buy it for 0 Linden. When you buy something you either get the contents in a folder that will show up in your inventory OR you get a "box" that contains the items that you have to open. If you are JUST off orientation island and have no clue as to all of this, I recommend New Citizens Incorporated which has lots of written guides to SL, a place you can unpack boxes, a blue ball by the newsstands that dispenses money to new avatars, and lots of people to talk to who are either also confused or can answer your questions :D
The skins at Another shop come in four shades and are free. (You most likely have a 0 Linden balance at this point unless you are a Premium member). It is not considered proper to wander around trying on skins -- you will be naked -- in SL. I bet you didn't actually READ those six rules of conduct, but best to choose your skin from the face. Trust me the skins are all lovely. [If you are reading this entry month's after I posted it and can't find Another Shop, you may want to check House of Zen's third floor freebie area which -- at this time -- has Another Shop's Skins for 0 lindens.]
Along with the skins, there are shapes (one in each skin pack) to try. The faces are very nice. The bodies very "real life". If you want to look PERFECT -- and why not? -- you can play with the appearance sliders to change your body. Just right click on yourself and choose "appearance". If that is too daunting, don't worry because our NEXT stop is even more free shapes. Some for guys too.
Second Stop (optional): Heaven's Shapes where you can choose from a variety of shapes and even clothes. Guys shapes and full avatars are available here also. I suggest that you keep your skin from Another shop if you are happy with it, as those are some of the very best in SL.
You may have picked up a new outfit or two at Heaven's Shapes and most likely now look pretty good. Next we are going to add to that wardrobe. Again, freebies change all the time and I will try to post a new guide in the future. I will stick with the "they've been here forever and are good" category of things. See the freebie area of http://secondlifecolors.blogspot.com/ for more ideas of great free things in SL.
Third Stop: Before we actually get to my planned third stop you will need a "little bit" of money if you don't have any. So, hop on over to Calla, turn to the right from the teleport point and find the Trivia and Prize Camping area. You can sit for 200 minutes for most of the hairs there (guys and gals). You click on arrows to cycle though the styles available and then sit for the alloted time. You can also go to the main Calla building and pick up some free hair there. I think it is 0 Lindens :) Anyway, trivia is fun and you can earn money while you sit for some hair. Every once in awhile a blue screen will come down and you pick a multiple choice answer. You can win up to 50 for one question and that is a lot if you are shopping with me. So have fun, meet a couple of people, and earn some dough.
Fourth Stop: Onward to ETD where you can get even more hair for very little money (guys and gals and some of my personal favorites) as well as some great staple clothes for just a few Linden. From the teleport point journey inside and look for the large vertical sign that says "Discounts". Once you are in the discount room, look for the FREEBIES sign on the wall. There is hair as well as clothes. I personally recommend the barley cords pants. You get eight colors for 1 Linden, they are great and go with lots of other things. I got mine free at the hair fair almost a year ago and still wear them quite often. While you are there check out the hair. On the freebie wall there is 1 Linden hair that might appeal to you. Also, on a nearby wall there is Simplicity Sassy for $5, a VERY nice style if it is YOUR style (wink). You get 24 colors so you can experiment with your avatar's look and see what feels good.
Note: you can also find some lovely 1 linden hair at Gurl 6. So be brave, go to search and type in Gurl 6 in the Places window. Currently the 1 Linden hair is to the left of the entry a bit. Explore and have fun.
Fifth Stop: We have skin and shape and hair. We have pants. Hopefully we are not topless. We also need shoes. For simple shoes, you can go to Shoes Simply Shoes and get their free beach shoes (white - guys and gals) from the round containers on the floor. Shoes are a bit tricky in SL and most often come in three or more parts. The shoes at Shoes Simply Shoes are the simplest prim shoes (made from building blocks and not pictures) and just have one shoe for the left foot and one for the right. A good way to break into the shoe biz (wink). Guys will most likely feel these are just fine, and girls will start immediately looking for heels (heels are VERY big in SL as they never hurt your feet).
While you are there, check the neighboring clothing store as there is usually a freebie of the month there for 0 Linden that is very nice. Who knows what great wardrobe find you might discover!
Sixth Stop: We are pretty set, but you still may need a shirt. On the off chance that you STILL have your induction shirt on, I offer you both tops and JEWELRY from Le Zoo. From the teleport point, look to the left into a small shop.
Currently you can find some bizarre but fun T shirts, some zebra stockings, some pets and Calla hair (if you skipped Calla). There is also a lovely antique enameled bracelet with an zoo animal theme. While you are at Le Zoo, take some time to explore. Lots of fun things here including the zoo animals. Some of the shops have free items too, so do some window shopping (or real if you did VERY well at Trivia) and have fun!
To be fair there are tons of free things all over SL. As a warning here, I suggest that you don't go picking up every Newbie Freebie box you see. Most of these are VERY old things and are very -- well "tired" is the nicest term I can think of. Instead, check the freebie posts here at Second Life Colors as well as those at Fab Free SL and any other freebie blog you find.
