Iris Wants to Know: What's Your Avatar Style?

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

How would you describe your avatar: Sexy, cute, beautiful, or interesting? Maybe all of the above, or maybe none?

This may seem like a borderline hypocritical follow up to my post yesterday about Second Life's advertising strategy, but it's actually something that's been on my mind since I wrote about the new mesh heads from SLink. Neither Becky nor Emma, the two faces currently available from the fledgling Visage line, really "hooked" me. While I can appreciate how well made they both are, I can't see my avatar wearing either, and I wanted to pin down why that is. 

The way I see it, there are 4 kinds of avatars: Sexy, cute, handsome/beautiful, and interesting (which I'll admit is a bit of a catch-all). My own Second Life avatar (and my intentions for her) experienced a pretty dramatic change when I first came across Loony Columbia's Flickr gallery. As in the pic above, she shows avatars that are cute in a way I hadn't really considered possible in SL, even though it was a style I admired a lot in RL. Thanks to Loony, I ditched my pursuit of fashion mag glamor and swerved down the path of colorful cuteness instead.

These four categories are rather oversimplified, but they certainly aren't distinct, and they don't apply to human avatars alone. They can overlap in any number of ways to create what I think is a pretty solid spectrum of the avatars I've used and seen in Second Life and beyond. I'd pin Emma and Becky in the "beautiful" category, while Loony Columbia's pictures generally fall squarely between "cute" and "sexy". At the same time, I have a couple dragon avatars I'd call both "beautiful" and "interesting". I'd even say an avatar could meet all four categories at once. 

So here's what I want to know: What category would you place your own avatar(s) in... Or what category would you add to the list to include your preferred style? As always, leave your responses in the comments below!

Tweet

Iris Ophelia (@bleatingheart, Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times, and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.

Comments

[Adeon Writer]

"Humans are too mainstream."
http://i.imgur.com/3gpjSj1.jpg

[Iggy]

Tsk Tsk, Adeon. You did not include William S. Burroughs.

My Style? Vaguely creepy Beat in dapper clothing with a dash of Steampunk.

[Ms. CC Creeggan (CronoCloud Creeggan)]

I don't know Adeon, I would classify your furry as cute.

As for moi. For one thing one would have to #define sexy.

I would add "classic", though some might say that's a cross between beautiful and sexy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cronocloudcreeggan/

[Jo Yardley]

I would classify my avatar as realistic.
She looks like I do in Rl, not like some catwalk model or Barbie.

[Ms. CC Creeggan (CronoCloud Creeggan)]

@ Jo Yardley who wrote: She looks like I do in Rl, not like some catwalk model or Barbie.

This is when, in a western themed SL region, when the heroine would make a subtle adjustment to her duster, show off her Madame Malaprops Blissetesque pistol and says: "Smile when you say that, pardner."

Nothing wrong with having an avatar that looks like ones RL self and I know that some have an aversion to things "pink and girly". However it's also not wrong to have one that looks like a catwalk modle or Barbie, and personally I'm not overly fond of those that imply or insinuate that the latter is something lesser or something that shouldn't be done.

Nothing wrong with doll-play either, as long as it's by choice and temperament. After all, I once worked for the Linden Lifestyles fashion blog (as did Iris) who's tagline was: "Our Wardrobe is Better than Barbie's" And it is, more akin to Tyler Wentworth's or Gene's.

Also:

http://salomesays.com/blog/2010/08/hello-my-name-is-salome-and-im-a-girloholic

http://ccslfashionista.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-name-is-cc-and-im-girloholic-with.html

http://ccslfashionista.blogspot.com/2007/03/im-barbie-girl.html

[Melissa Yeuxdoux]

Maybe it's how I was brought up, but I don't fell right attributing "sexy", "beautiful", "cute", and "interesting" to myself; that's for other people to decide. I aim for beautiful, or cute when dressing down, and from compliments on Flickr and occasionally in-world, I get close at least some of the time.

[TracyRedAngel]

Crono, you are a lady after my own fashion doll-loving heart because you mentioned Tyler and Gene.

If I had to put my main avatar into one of the four categories (if I must choose) she'd probably fit into the Sexy category. Although her wardrobe and looks vary day-to-day depending on her operator's mood. I do relate to my avatar very much like a virtual dress up doll. There are some personal elements to my avatar, namely the red hair. I'm a proud ginger in RL, so my avatar never wears any other hair color. Some days I like to just put her in jeans, t-shirt sneakers, and a goofy hat (my favorite is a one-eyed martian hat).

I have another avatar who is an elderly woman. Her name is Phyllis and she's feisty. I love her. The only rude insults have ever come from child avis, which is somewhat ironic I think. One told me in horrible gibberish talk that she "smelled like old farts". Phyllis then told said child avi that there was no Santa Claus and then hit the kid with her bag. Oh yes she did.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

Arcadia is off-the-shelf average (by SL standards -- she'd be a supermodel in the real world). I built her to be an architect, not a style statement, but her lack of a style statement sort of became a style statement in itself. I guess she becomes interesting by dint of trying to be uninteresting.

I've got other avatars to indulge my sexy, funky, and high-fashion beauty moods. I don't have much in the way of cute. I like cute, I find cute appealing, but I don't self-identify as cute.

[Pussycat Catnap]

My avatar is an expression of me. I find her beautiful - but that is a reflection of my standards:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40847626@N06/

I find no surprise in the difficulty of using those mesh heads. Unless you want to look EXACTLY LIKE A SPECIFIC PERSON in various shades - its kind of a non-starter.

Unless and until those things come in fitted mesh or with built in morph dials (which would probably be unreasonable taxing on server and end-user resources to render) - they're not going to be good choices for many.

I want to say most, but a very large number of avatars look nearly identical to me - a sort of blond white tall alien-skinny short armed look that kind of blends together across the army of people using it, and its variation that adds a frown and a huge caboose, might go short; but otherwise still has the same look. And these folks, who seem to 'follow a trend' in not just clothes but also shape and skin might not care if they are actually identical and not just similar.

I think its too early for Mesh Heads... Slink does good work elsewhere, so I kind of hope they abandon this one and move back to more viable lines - unless fitted allowing shape dials can be done.

[melissa tomlin]

Like many in SL my avatar has changed over the years. When I roleplay, my avatar takes on the appearance of the character I create. In filling this out I realized that I try for 'adult' characters. Not sexy, not cute, but attractive normal human. My rp characters are not perfect. I have had them too thin with no bum, clumsy, older and overweight and in denial of age (think the mother you would hate to have), and very normal. If rping I dress according to character.

You divided sl into four groups, 1. sexy, 2. cute, 3.beautiful, and 4. interesting. I think you are meaning 'non-human' as interesting, I would challenge people to look beyond that. Some of the most 'interesting' male characters I have seen in SL are interesting because they don't subscribe to over blown symbols of masculinity. They have scruffy beards, glasses, and hats. They look like 40 year old men who don't worship at the gym.

My goal for my female avatar is similar. Normal looks, Adult rather than underaged, with a sense of style at times. (I do have off days where I don't care, I just need to get things done or I am trying to sort inventory).

Currently when I get dressed my character has glasses, short hair, and casual clothing. But that is today. Tomorrow she may not look a thing like that.

Regarding mesh heads: I think they have a place in photography in Second life. I actually wish Slink would release more options. I want slightly thinner lips and less elfin (pointed) chin.