Make a Custom Avatar Wizard

• Create Avatar

1. User runs the client viewer, and is shown an Avatar Chooser dialogue.
2. User selects the Add Avatar button, chooses Customize, and Help Me Customize.
3. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
4. User is presented through a series of wizard panes:
   1. Gender: male or female
   2. Age: 5-100
   3. Body-type: skinny, heavy, sporty, average
   4. Body size: slider from "small" to "large"
   5. Skin tone: generic color picker
   6. Hair-style: business, casual, sporty, wild, messy, average, bald
   7. Hair size: slider from "short" to "long"
   8. Clothes: business, casual, sporty, wild, messy
   9. Clothes color scheme: generic color picker over 4 preset colors

Make a Custom Avatar from Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User runs the client viewer, and is shown an Avatar Chooser dialogue.
2. User selects the Add Avatar button, chooses Customize.
3. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
4. User is presented through a series palette buttons:
   • Face: shape, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears
   • Body: structure, fat, muscle, weight, height, skin color
   • Motion: gait, posture, gestures, facial expressions
   • Clothing: hats, ties, shirts, coats, underwear, shorts, pants, socks, shoes; colors, textures
   • Finish: jewellery, make-up, hair-style, body-hair, tattoos
5. User selects a palette, is presented with a "canvas" and begins painting.

The program keeps the overall appearance looking natural. Really odd looking combinations are ruled out. It is important that users cannot destroy their avatars by accident. For advanced users tools provide even more functionality and a possibility to do as they please.

Make a Custom Avatar from Facial Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
2. User is presented through a series palette buttons: Face, Body, Motion, Clothes, Finish
3. User selects the Face palette, and is presented with a canvas which presents the zoomed face of the avatar.
4. User selects brushes used to apply affects to the model.
   • Volume
     • when used over hair: curlier/straighter
     • when used over bone: makes it stand out/in
     • when used over soft-tissue: makes it fatter/skinnier
     • when used over nose: makes it bigger/smaller
   • Color
     • when used over hair: applies tints, shades, or complete fills
     • when used over skin: it affects moles, freckles, blushes, pimples
     • when used over eyes: it affects eye-color
   • Length
     • when used over hair makes it longer/shorter
     • when used over the face: makes the bone structure longer/squatter
     • when used over eyes: makes them squinty/open
     • when used over nose: makes them flatter/pointier

• Face can be imported from facial reconstruction program (such as Facegen(tm)).
• Non-humanoid "faces" must be imported as meshes and bones, and cannot be painted.
• There are options to present the face portrait, profile, and free-look.

Make a Custom Avatar from Body Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
2. User is presented through a series palette buttons: Face, Body, Motion, Clothes, Finish
3. User selects the Face palette, and is presented with a canvas which presents the unclothed body of the avatar.
4. User selects brushes used to apply affects to the model.
   • Fat: can be globally or locally applied to limbs
   • Muscle: can be globally or locally applied to muscle groups
   • Length: can be globally or locally applied bones
   • Skin color: can be globally or locally applied in patches

• Body meshes and bones can be imported from all major modelling tools.
• Non-humanoid bodies must be imported as meshes and bones, and cannot be painted.
• There are options to present the body portrait, profile, animated, and free-look.

Make a Custom Avatar from Motion Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
2. User is presented through a series palette buttons: Face, Body, Motion, Clothes, Finish
3. User selects the Motion palette, and is presented with a canvas which presents the avatar in the default walking animation.
4. User selects any animation from a list of available ones, and the model will loop continuously through them.
5. User selects brushes used to apply affects to the model.
   • Speed: makes animation speed up/down; global effect
   • Rigidity (Posture): make joints more or less responsive to change; can be globally or locally applied
   • Exaggeration (Gait): make range of joint motion more or less wide; can be globally or locally applied

• There are options to present the model portrait, profile, and free-look.

Make a Custom Avatar from Clothing Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
2. User is presented through a series palette buttons: Face, Body, Motion, Clothes, Finish
3. User selects the Clothing palette, and is presented with a canvas which presents the dressed avatar posing.
4. User selects sets or individual times such as hats, ties, shirts, coats, underwear, shorts, pants, socks, shoes
5. User selects brushes used to apply affects to the clothes.
   • Material: the type of material used, and thus its visual or other properties
   • Pattern: pattern on the fabric; can be stock textures or imported from file
   • Color scheme: the color(s) found on a fabric
   • Cut: how the clothing mesh can be modified to fit the avatar mesh better

• There are options to present the model animated, portrait, profile, and free-look.

Make a Custom Avatar from "Finishing" Palette

• Create Avatar

1. User is presented with large 3D preview space displaying the state of the custom avatar to that point. This display accepts user commands, so that the User can observe the avatar from many angles, including while playing animations such as walking, sitting, talking, etc.
2. User is presented through a series palette buttons: Face, Body, Motion, Clothes, Finish
3. User selects the Finishing palette, and is presented with a canvas which presents the dressed avatar posing.
4. User selects brushes used to apply affects to the model.
   • Hair: perm, curl, cut, highlight, style
   • Make-up: lipstick, blush, eye-liner, eye-shadow
   • Jewellry: rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, anklets, tiaras
   • Tattoos: pre-defined textures from a catalogue, or free-hand paint

• There are options to present the model animated, portrait, profile, and free-look.

Associate Intangible Attributes to an Avatar

• Environment Reacts to Avatar

The visual aspects of an avatar are important, but there are many context dependent attributes which different worlds may rely on to enable an environment that is something more than a passive canvas; something that can understand more of who you are and how to handle your presence as a distinct entity.

We use a simple text attribute map, stored with the visual attributes of your avatar. It is each script's responsibility to understand the meaning of the text, and the User's right to choose only those attributes he wishes to accept. Examples might be: "religion"->"atheist", "nationality"->"EU", "strength"->"18", "clan"->"Tokyo ninja warrior", etc.

1. User runs the client viewer and enters the world.
2. User interacts with an object that wishes to add an attribute to the avatar.
3. Object causes a dialogue to be shown which indicates the key and value of the all attributes it wishes to confer.
4. User selects, Accept, Reject, or Ban.

• All attributes can be managed from a central manager screen which allows editing, deleting, or banning attributes.
• Some attributes can be marked read-only, but all attributes can be deleted.

Control Avatar Mood

• Environment Reacts to Avatar
• Indicate Mood to Friends
• Use intuitive Cues to Automate Interactions
• Use intuitive Cues to Enhance Communication

Mood information does more than just let others know how you are feeling, it can also affect your behavior. For example, if I am angry, it is unlikely I will sing or dance, or that I will be open to casual chatting. We can take advantage of this knowledge to try and automate interactions around us based on the assumption of the user's current mood.

1. User runs the client viewer and enters the world.
2. User sets the current mood using either a text input which can recognize certain moods from list, or a multi-dimensional slider.
3. Logic within the world will attempt to guess defaults based on that mood reading
   • Marking their presence as chatty, quiet, smouldering, pondering, etc.; so people wishing to communicate can know how to respond
   • Hiding certain actions or gestures, and bringing others closer to hand; so activating the appropriate animation is easy
   • Modifying the visual properties of the avatar, such as posture and facial expression; so the affect can be felt intuitively and at a deep level