New Feature: Living Avatars
About This Page: This is a discussion on New Feature: Living Avatars within the Using Your PassPorter: Tips and Answers, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; On Wednesday, August 29, the PassPorter Community welcomed our 20,000th member -- ELYSE LYNCH! In recognition of this milestone (and ...

**Jennifer Marx** · 08-29-2007, 11:37 PM

On Wednesday, August 29, the PassPorter Community welcomed our 20,000th member -- ELYSE LYNCH! In recognition of this milestone (and our two-millionth post coming soon), we've installed a cool new feature as a special thank-you to all our wonderful members!

The new feature is called "Living Avatars," and it's a very nifty system that allows PassPorter members to create "living" avatars that they can constantly tweak and update as fits their mood and circumstance.

Quick Start Instructions:
1. Go to My Home, then click Edit Avatar (it's on the left side), and finally click the Living Avatars graphic (or link).
2. Click the "Purchase Item With Your Points" link. (Note: You need to have at least one point to your credit to purchase an item -- you earn one point for each post you make in our forums.)
3. Find a few things you can afford -- I suggest a body (in the Basic category) and some clothing (also in Basic). To "purchase," just click the "Purchase Now" link below the item displayed.
4. Click the Edit Avatar link near the top of the screen.
5. Click one of the items you purchased in step 3, then click the Add Item button. You'll see it appear in the box on the left. Repeat until you have all items you want showing in your avatar.
6. Use the Layer Up and Layer Down buttons to change the visibility of particular items. Use the Crop Tool to how much of your design you want shown in your avatar. You may resize any object by holding down the Shift key and click/dragging the item.
7. When you have your avatar the way you like it, click Save Avatar.

That's it! Your avatar will now appear on the left side of any post you make on our message board.

More Detailed Information:

How Do Living Avatars Work?
As you make posts in our forums, you earn points (1 post = 1 point) which you can redeem to create your own living avatar. Once you have at least one point under your belt, you go to our Living Avatars page (located under My Home > Edit Avatar), where you can find a selection of avatar items you can purchase with your points. Once you've purchased something, you then edit your avatar and add the item(s) you "bought." This is just the start. You can buy as many different avatar items as you like, then mix and match them to literally build a custom, one-of-a-kind avatar. You can go back at any time and add and remove items, or start over from scratch and build something totally different! It's up to you.

Currently the avatar items are pretty basic, but I will be adding custom Disney backgrounds, cool accessories, and other fun things over time.

How Do I Use It?
The first thing you MUST do to use Living Avatars is make at least one post in our forums. This will get you started, but the more you post, the more items you will be able to afford. But please note, this does not mean you can should go into the forums and post a "me too" in every topic you can to gain points. This system is meant as a fun reward to members who actively participate in discussions.

The next step is to go to My Home, which you can find in the navigation bar at the top of this site. From there, find the "Control Panel" on the left side of the page, then under "Settings & Options" find and click on "Edit Avatar". On this page, you will see a blue and white Living Avatars image -- click that image to be taken to our Living Avatars page.

Navigating the Living Avatars pages is simple. Look for the instructions at the bottom of the welcome page, and click the appropriate link. Follow steps 1 through 3, and you should be set.

Editing Your Avatar
By the time you reach step 3, you should have one or more items purchased. You will see an "avatar canvas" on the page, and below it will be the items you've bought. Click on an item, and then click the "add item" button in the editor. You should now see that item appear in the avatar canvas box. Now by clicking the image, you can move it around wherever you like on the canvas. Once you have it where you want, click the "Save Avatar" button. You have now successfully created your own avatar. But don't stop with a single image. Make more posts, buy more items, and build a totally custom avatar!

Cropping and Resizing
The crop tool is the most important thing you will use when editing your avatar. If you only want the shoulders and head of your avatar to appear, simply select the crop tool, and move it so that what you want displayed is inside the crop box. To resize the crop box, simply hold down the "Shift" key on your keyboard, then click the crop tool and move the mouse to adjust the size of the box. The Shift key can also be used to resize any and all images you purchase, so you can make them bagger, smaller, or anything you want!

But what about the avatar I already have?
Unfortunately, you can't use Living Avatars and keep the avatar you may already have. If you are attached to the one you have, but want to use Living Avatars too, add the old avatar your using to your signature. that way you get to keep the old avatar AND use Living Avatar.

Can I request a particular item?
Sure, you can make a request -- post your requests here and work on items based on how popular I think it might be. I intend to do some special "limited edition" items only available for certain periods and in limited quantities, so watch for that, too!

Do PassPorter's Club passholders get extra items?
Yes, I'm adding special avatar items for passholders as a thank-you -- read more about it here.

Questions? Comments? Post 'em here! And please play with the new "toy" and share your avatars here, too!