Design is simply having an idea of what you are trying to create. I decide, roughly, what I want to accomplish as an end before I touch any code. The limits are your imagination: Superhero, Shadow, Atom, Blinking Box or even a Scary Monstrosity. I decide which base I want to start with and select it through the VIP menu. I then select customize from the same menu, modify a part (head -10%) and then set it back to normal. This saves the base in a logically ordered string with all of the base parts colored and textured to default. I change the colors to a palette that provides one invisible texture, white, cyan, magenta, yellow and black (T4bfyC_WC0ZZCZ0ZCZZ0C555). The parts that dissapear when I did so are recolored from a to b so they are visible. This coloring choice visually maps sublumps in a way that lets me see what subclumps are not noted in the string. I count the characters so I know how much remaining space I have to work with. Wide angle view in a room that has two mirrors in a corner makes it easiest for me to see as many angles as I would need. Once there I save avatar though the vip menu and save after each significant, successful change. This process eliminates quite a few potential errors and work down the line.
The string of avatar code has a maximum character limit of 200. It will error report by rendering you as the hologram avatar of a child named Holden if you exceed this limit. Some avatars have multiple subclumps to alter and this can lengthen code significantly. The code has it's limitations as well. If your code is too complex, Gamma will render you as the articulated child avatar named Willy.
From: NS000GaxelQaHDgT2dudeT3T2T1Q0f1f
To: NGaxelQaHT1dudeQ0f1f
Knowing your base avatar is probably the most important factor. The more simple the base code the more manageable the code will be. Subclumps, because of location and count provide unique oppotunities for altering your avatar. Each avatar has it's own actions or sequence of animations. You can use the animations from a base and import an entirely different model to sculpt. Avatars vary in size and individual clumps can be borrowed and rescaled.
I have listed a few below and their qualities.
Mixing Colors and textures as well as animating multi-textures
Import a larger model foot rescale/poroprtion it and texture it invisible to make invisible stilts.
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Rescaling 7 consecutive times will cause the avatar to lay down, facing up, as well as change scale.
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The use of exclusion, T4bfy and Gx
Use of the Z on models that do not have tails has some curious effects, can change what you can color and relocate a part to it's proper position when it has been imported irregularly.