Introductory Essay: Avatar Personal Appearance

When I began to create my avatar my intent was to create a character that represented a combination of several other fictional characters. Trevor Mnemonic in Second Life has many features similar to the wizard Gandalf, from J.R.R Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. This is reflected through his height and his long flowing white hair and beard. Another character in mind for the appearance of my avatar was Obi-Wan Kenobi from George Lucas’ Star Wars. The blue eyes and rosy cheeks are very much similar to Obi-Wan’s. The facial expression of Trevor Mnemonic can be most closely associated with the typical expression that Clint Eastwood displays in many of his movies. This almost squinting seriousness creates the appearance that my avatar is constantly sizing up the things that he sees within his new environment. When it comes to clothing, my newness to the world of Second Life becomes quite evident as my avatar’s wardrobe is not quite yet what I would like it to be. I hope to outfit my avatar with a brown leather jacket, faded blue jeans, boots and some aviator sunglasses. I would like to create the appearance of a real tough guy. A character very much like “Dirty Harry” with the wisdom and knowledge of an “Obi-Wan” could be the desired result I would like to achieve. The age of my avatar to some may seem like somewhat of a mystery. In that respected his age is intended to be a mystery. So many great stories involve old men. One of my favorite is by Ernest Hemingway titled The Old Man and the Sea. This story had an impact on me as well in the appearance of my avatar as I have always had great respect for those who are old and the wisdom that they might possess because of life experience. That and many times I feel like an old man trapped in a young man’s body. My avatar may look stern and serious, but I think he is also very unique as many that I have encountered within second life seem to be the perfected selves of the individuals that created them. I chose not to create the appearance of my avatar in this way because there is something very real and very human about a man who appears old and worn. He is a reminder to me as an individual that we are always close to death and that over time I will begin to decay. While Trevor Mnemonic may not look exactly like me his appearance represents much of who I really am.