Today, Zwift released changes to their avatar customization tools. Now Zwifters can choose between a male or female face and body, and also customize their body type.
Here’s a quick video walkthrough:
It Starts With the Head
To customize your avatar, go to the “Me” portion of your garage and select a head type:
You have 9 male heads and 9 female heads to choose from. Each gender has 3 head shapes organized into vertical columns, and as you move down the row your skin tone gets darker.
You may notice that the artwork for each head has been tweaked. What’s different, exactly? Larger eyes, for sure! More on that below…
Choose Your Body Type
The head gender you choose will determine your body type options. Males have 3 body types and females have 2. (This is how it’s always been in Zwift. Read this now-defunct article for details.)
Zwift tells us they are aware that females only have two body types, and “We are evaluating the timing for adding a larger feminine body shape in the future to be more inclusive and fix this imbalance.”
Hair Options
Hair options haven’t changed from previous versions, with 22 options ranging from no hair to longer styles, and 5 color options:
If you choose a male head, you will also see the option for facial hair, which is also unchanged from previous versions:
Old vs New Looks
In rolling out “Choose Any Avatar”, Zwift also updated the artwork for the avatar’s faces to better match the rest of the art within Zwift.
Here’s what the new and old male faces look like (new look is on the top row, wearing Zwift Insider kit):
And the female faces:
How is the new artwork different from the old? Larger eyes with more pronounced eyebrows. More chiseled noses and cheekbones. Yellower skin tone for the “Asian” face styles. Overall, a more cartoonish appearance that is bit less realistic. Which isn’t a bad thing… this may be Zwift purposely staying out of the Uncanny Valley.
Why the change?
Zwift says, “Every person on our platform should be able to represent themselves as they feel they are. This is one step towards making Zwift a more inclusive space as we continue to build a platform where everyone feels represented.”
Questions or Comments
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