New starter avatars were released only a couple of days ago, but from the beginning I have seen a lot of disdain aimed at the new Senra BETA avatars, Blake and Jaime. Mostly from people who consider Second Life just a game, not so much from people who think Second Life is much more than that or from newcomers.  I’m all for constructive criticism, but I think being overly negative and attacking something doesn’t help anybody. Are they perfect? No, but they are a great starting point and easy to use. A big step up, and they will make newbies and returners lives’ much easier, also for helpers like me. 

Second Life is all about options. People are diverse and there’s room for everybody here. There are people who still use system avatars because that’s what they prefer while others spend a huge amount of money to follow the latest trends, and the rest is somewhere between those two. Some people are always in human form while others never are, and some move from one to the other. Options. You do you. 

There may be people who use the start avatars for a long time, after all there are some people who still run around on their system avatars. Whatever floats your boat, no judgement. The new Senra BETA avatars won’t stay as they are, they’ll be updated, more clothes will be added, more skins, etc. but as they are newcomers get everything they need to start learning and moving around in Second Life. 

Friendly reminder that Second Life does have a steep learning curve and, as an educator, I can’t help but feel that the Senra BETA avatars are a great learning tool. Decent enough to run around in them and easy to improve on. Add a nice free skin (Glam Affair has great free skins, Amara Beauty’s body skins are free, all of them, or use a full body skin, 7Ds and WOW Skins come to mind, lots of freebies there), or / and one of the great free heads around (some available year-round, others for limited time) if you don’t like the heads included in your library. Mentors and helpers will help you getting started and there are lots of blog posts and videos sharing good free content. You only need to Google or join a help group that shares freebies and gifts to end up with a huge inventory if that’s what you want. 

The Senra avatars are gender-fluid, you can modify them and make them as feminine or as masculine as you want them to be. The included clothes are unisex and that’s great! Alpha layers have been included with the clothes because no matter how well rigged something is,  you may end up having to use alphas depending on the shape and AO you use. My friend Ryan Schultz has written a very informative post and has included some nice pictures as examples: Second Life Releases Senra, a Line of Mesh Starter Avatars for New Users The possibilities are endless. Don’t mind the quick gyazo I sent him to show that the bodies worked seamlessly with the head, skin, and shape I was wearing and he decided to include it in his post. 

This is the official post: Introducing Senra Beta Avatars Make sure you watch the step-by-step video guide. 

This is a great picture of a Second Life user wearing Jamie, one of the new Senra BETA avatars: 

Be kind to each other and enjoy your Second Life. 

P.S. I do not work for Linden Lab or get paid by them. Adding this because (apparently) you cannot give positive feedback about something unless you are being compensated for it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

More about the Senra avatars: 

Unraveling The Senra Jamie (Female) Avatar