This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Making a Mii
So now that you know what a Mii is, you need to dive straight in and make yourself a Mii so that you can be represented in the Wii universe. To make a Mii, go into the Mii Channel; then click the Start button, which takes you to Mii Plaza. Click the New Mii button on the left side of the screen. You go to a screen that allows you to choose between a male and a female Mii.
The following sections discuss the various aspects of creating a Mii.
Where to start
When it comes to creating a Mii, you can take two basic paths. One path involves choosing a prefabricated face for your Mii, and the other involves building the Mii's face from scratch. As soon as you select the gender of your Mii, you can start from scratch or choose your Mii's face from a page of look-alikes.
If you start from scratch, you'll literally build your Mii from the ground up. If you don't want to spend the time tinkering with minutia, go the look-alike route, which gives you multitudes of faces to choose among (Figure 4.3).
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Figure 4.3 The choices of look-alike Miis are extensive.
No matter which choice you make, you end up in the Mii Editor, and you have access to all the tools available for altering the Mii. The following section looks at the nine distinct tools available for altering your Mii.
Building your Mii
Whether you start building your Mii from a prefabricated model or create it from scratch, the process of altering or creating a Mii is similar.
If you choose to go the look-alike route, you start with a face that's already in place, and you can alter it or choose not to. But if you choose to build your own Mii, you need to move through each tool to build your Mii.
To modify or build a Mii from scratch, follow these steps:
Go to the Mii Channel, and click the Start button.
You arrive in Mii Plaza.
- Click the New Mii button on the left side of the screen (Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4 Start by clicking New Mii.
- Choose your Mii's gender (Figure 4.5); then click Start from Scratch.
Figure 4.5 A big question: Is your Mii male or female?
Click the first button in the row of buttons at the top of the screen; then enter a name for your Mii, give it a birthday (which could be your own), choose the Mii's favorite color, and identify the Mii's creator (Figure 4.6).
Figure 4.6 Choose the first set of options for your Mii in this screen.
If you also want to give your Mii a nickname, click the Nickname box; the Wii displays a virtual keyboard (Figure 4.7) that you can use to enter the nickname.
Figure 4.7 Enter the Mii's nickname in this screen.
If you choose here to make your Mii one of your Favorites, you can organize it that way in Mii Plaza later.
Deciding whether your new Mii mingles (Figure 4.8) is important, because a Mii that mingles will travel to other consoles and join other people's Mii Parades. (I guess you could look at this option as being a nonbiological way of reproducing.) See the "Traveling Miis" sidebar in this section for more details. To set your Mii to mingle, click the Mingle box (refer to Figure 4.6).
Figure 4.8 Your Mii can be a world traveler—or not.
- Click the second button over at the top of the screen to set the height and weight of your Mii (Figure 4.9).
Figure 4.9 Losing weight and gaining height have never been easier.
Click the third button over at the top of the screen to go to the head area, where you can use the top row of buttons to choose the basic shape of your Mii's head and its skin color (Figure 4.10).
Figure 4.10 Pick a head shape and skin color.
You have six choices of skin color—enough to allow you to express a reasonable amount of racial diversity.
The 12-button grid below the basic head-shape buttons (Figure 4.11) lets you add facial features—age lines, bags under or around the eyes, rosy cheeks, and even eye shadow—to tweak the Mii's looks even further.
Figure 4.11 Customize your Mii's face here.
- Click the fourth button over at the top of the screen to do your Mii's hair (Figure 4.12).
You have 72 distinct hairstyles to choose among, roughly divided into male and female areas, as well as 8 hair colors.
Figure 4.12 For each of the 72 hairstyles, you can swap the part from right to left, or vice versa.
- Click the fifth button to set the eyebrows (Figure 4.13), which come in 24 flavors, including no eyebrows at all.
Choose any of eight colors for these amusing strips of hair. You can also move the eyebrows up or down and left or right, tilt them, and move them closer together or farther apart. You can even change their size dramatically. (Mr. Spock, here I come!)
Figure 4.13 Express your Mii's personality through eyebrows.
- Click the sixth button to adjust the eye shape (Figure 4.14).
You can alter each of the 48 eye styles the same way that you adjust the eyebrows: closer together or farther apart, up or down on the face, tilted up or down, and smaller or larger. You also have a choice of six eye colors, from evil black to groovy green.
Figure 4.14 Eye color can have a dramatic effect when you choose certain eye shapes.
- Click the seventh button to fix your Mii's nose (Figure 4.15).
You have 12 basic options to choose among. The important modifiers are the size and placement controls, which allow you to move the nose up and down on the face and change its size dramatically.
Figure 4.15 The size and shape of the nose can make an amazing difference in a Mii's appearance.
- Click the eighth button to set the mouth (Figure 4.16).
The mouth screen has 24 options, some of which are a little more on the feminine or masculine side than others, but all of them are acceptable for any Mii. If you're using full lips, you can choose among three lip tones, ranging from flesh color to pink. As with the eyebrows, nose, and eyes, you can alter the position (up or down on the face) and size of the lips.
Figure 4.16 You have plenty of eclectic mouth choices for your Mii.
- Click the ninth button to add accessories (Figure 4.17).
Your options include facial hair, eyeglasses, and beauty marks. When you choose a particular accessory (such as eyeglasses), you get options for tweaking that accessory.
Figure 4.17 If you want shades on your Mii, you can have them.
When you're satisfied with your Mii, click the Quit button; then click the Save and Quit button to save your Mii and end the process.
You return to Mii Plaza, where your new Mii drops into place (Figure 4.18).
Figure 4.18 This Mii is not to be confused with any actual person, living or dead.
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