New to Second Life, or perhaps just to avatar customization? Welcome to The Newbie Hub! Here you’ll find links to help you learn everything you need to know about making your Second Life avatar as awesome as you are. Whether you’re looking to create a realistic Second Life avatar, an animal avatar, or anything else you can learn helpful tips and tricks starting right here.
Informational Posts
Have no idea what you want to do or be? This five step series will help you every step of the way. Whether this is your first avatar or your fifth, you’ll have a new avatar in no time just by following our simple guide.
- Making A New You
- This is the perfect guide if you’re planning to design a whole new avatar from the ground up.
These posts help you learn exactly what different things like shapes, skins, appliers, and demos do.
- Yes, You SHOULD Be Using Demos!
- You need to demo products before you buy them. Learn how, why, and the nightmares you avoid by doing so in this in-depth post!
- Appliers: How Do They Work?
- A tutorial on how to use appliers.
- BOM (Bakes On Mesh): What It Is and Why You Want It
- A learning resource for how to use BOM and how its different than appliers.
- Shapes and Skins: Making You Unique
- An in-depth look at how drastically just a shape or skin can change your appearance.
- Bento Heads vs Standard Mesh – What’s Right For You?
- Deciding whether a bento head or a non-bento is best for your needs.
- Bento Hands vs Static Mesh – What’s Right For You?
- Most bodies come with bento hands, so this is mostly irrelevant for many people, but I’m keeping it here for those who want to explore static hands.
- Bento: What It Is and Why You Should Be Excited
- An in depth description of the bento skeletal system and how it impacts you.
Knowing how to build an avatar is wonderful, but you need to know where to get the parts!
- The Free Dove
- Find a ton of quality free items hand-picked by Palomma Casanova.
- The Basics Of Second Life Hunts
- Learn what hunts are and how you can use them to build up your inventory.
- Are Second Life Gacha Games Worth Your Time?
- Decide whether or not taking a chance on that gacha is worth it.
- Using The Second Life Marketplace
- An in-depth look at how to get the most out of shopping via the web-based Marketplace.
- Shopping In The Second Life World
- An in-depth look at efficiently shopping on grid.
- Places To Shop In Second Life
- A collection of stores worth checking out sorted by type.
These posts are very helpful but don’t fit into the categories above.
- Organizing Your Second Life Inventory
- Your inventory is huge, or will be soon. Learn how to manage it in a simple and effective way.
- Mix & Match: Clothing and Accessories
- Tips and tricks on creating your own unique style by using products from different creatiors.
- Why It’s Worth Joining Second Life Groups
- Dissecting the perks of joining groups and why it can be awesome for you.
Image Credits

Body – Slink: Physique Male
Hands – Vista: Prohand Slink (V1 Beta)
Skin – Nivaro: Norman in Lion Tone (04)
Shape – Catwa: Daniel
Shirt & Tie – Artizana: Nidolo VIII
Vest – Artizana: Nidolo VIII
Pants – Artizana: Nidolo VIII
HER
Head – LeLutka: Simone
Body – Maitreya: Lara
Shape – Regeneration: Asia
Skin – 7 Deadly s{K}ins: Rain
Hair – TRUTH: Rogue
Eyes – Catwa: Mesh Eyes
Earrings – Swallow: Groupie Gold Earrings
Choker– Swallow: Chic Collar
Dress – Silvery K: Feather Backless Dress
Background/Pose – Image Essentials