How to Create a Free Avatar & Chat Online

Save your Meez avatar for use in a chat room

An avatar represents you online and can express some aspect of your personality. It can consist of something as simple as a static, two-dimensional picture of a cute animal, or a three-dimensional, animated model of a fantasy hero. You typically display these creations on social sites, e-mails or online games. One popular use of an avatar is to interact with others in an online chat room. One site that combines both creation and subsequent chat use is Meez.com.

Instructions

Creating

1. Register to save your avatar, which is also known as Meez. Click on "Login" and then "Register" to fill out the form. Click the "OK" button to proceed to the "Gender" screen.

2. Choose "Male" or "Female." The avatar creation screen then appears. Click the tabs like "Change Look" and "Get Dressed" for a preview of your creation options. To view all sides of your creation, rotate your avatar by clicking on the avatar picture and holding down the left mouse button while dragging left or right.

3. Click the "Change Look" tab to display the Change Look categories and options. Click "Face & Features" to show face options and their cost in dollars or points (earnable reward currency). Using the dropdown at the top right, sort by "Price" so the freebies appear first. Click on the page numbers at the bottom to view more options.

4. Move your cursor to option so the "Try It On" button pops up. Click it to add your choice to the avatar picture on the left.

5. Some options have a "More Colors" bar at the bottom, which you can click to display a "Colors" palette. For faces, the palette features tabs for "Eye Color," "Skin Color," and "Nose Size & Shape." Click on "Eye Color" and then choose a color. To close the palette, click the "X" at the upper right.

6. Change the physical appearance by defining "Body Type" and "Hairstyle." Then dress your avatar by clicking the "Get Dressed" tab; define what's displayed behind it with "Backgrounds;" and control its behavior with "Animations."

7. Click the "Save" button under your avatar on the left. A message confirms your choice.

Chatting

1. Use your avatar in chat by clicking the Meez Nation menu to display the Hoods screen. In the Hoodz dropdown, choose a neighborhood to display a list of chat rooms known as hangouts. Each room is listed with a thumbnail, the number of people currently in chat and a rating.

2. Enter a hangout by clicking on it. The room enlarges into the window to show all the furniture, objects and avatars inside it.

3. Move around by clicking on a new location in the hangout. To chat, click on the chat bar at the bottom of the screen, enter your sentences and press the "Enter" key. Your words appear in a text bubble above your character.

References

• Creating Meez
• Chatting