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DISCUSSION: Windlight Settings & Skin Features


TKAELA
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Hi Everyone,

I was trying on skin demos and decided to change my windlight settings to Nam's Optimal Skin and Voila! :matte-motes-agape: Its like a wizard waved his magic wand....The facial features along with skintone on a lot of the skins were highly enhanced.

Im just curious to find out from others in the SL World...Do you customize your environment settings at all times to reflect the best look of your avatar, even though others may not see you in the same light... or do you wear a facelight to bring out the features? 

Question in regard to LL Viewers and Third Party Viewers  ~ Why isnt there a setting already in place to work alongside the default environment settings to enhance the features of the skin? I mean if LL does a great job with water settings...Im sure something can be put in place to where the skin is flawless at all times...

-or-

Can something be placed in the creation of skin from the Creator's side? 

I know of this one creator...and it does not matter what time of day it is...his skins are absolutely flawless and very realistic... Downside: He only creates male skins...   Anyway.....

Let's talk... Tell me your experience... :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2:

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Yup, people should try different windlight settings than the default to optimize the skin textures even if others around you see you in different setting IF you want to look great and hate facelights. How you look to yourself matters cuz it's impossible anyway all the people see things in the same environment (different computers, different graphic cards and such). LL could provide a better default setting though.


Can something be placed in the creation of skin from the Creator's side? 

I don't think so. The default windlight makes skins look awful depending on period of time. It doesn't look bad in twilight or early in the morning though.

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Unbelievable!... LOL - What a coincidence... I was referring to you in my previous post when I made this statement:

I know of this one creator...and it does not matter what time of day it is...his skins are absolutely flawless and very realistic... Downside: He only creates male skins...   Anyway.....

Thank you very much for your response.  I completely agree.  The details in your skins are awesome btw and I really hope that you would consider creating female skins in the near future (Crosses Fingers) :matte-motes-inlove:

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I come from the opposite end of the spectrum. I appreciate Nam's Optimal Skin for things like adjusting attachments on dark skins, but it's something I use only rarely and would not want to use it in my everyday use of SecondLife as it makes SL appear flat, more like SL before Windlight. I actually like the way light and shadows play over both the avatar and the environment in SecondLife to create a whole experience.

 My own custom windlight settings enhance that, giving the visuals of SecondLife additional depth and making everything more immersive. While lighting and shadow do obscure texture details, they also create detail and depth overtop of them, adding to and enriching them. Of course not all lighting will be flattering, but in my opinion it really shouldn't be.

milk and cream old.jpg

nice_avatars.jpg

SL_Promo_CapEstel.jpg

windlight_8-14-11_comparison.jpg

 That's my personal take, but I certainly wouldn't say it's the only way to enjoy SL and I heartily recommend Nam's Optimal Skin and similar settings to people looking for that effect. I think it achieves what people want from facelights but does it far better and without impacting the experience of others.

 

 I also completely agree that settings like Nam's should be included with the SL stock sky presets, but I don't believe it should be the default.

 Of course, I think SL's current defaults are awful and a detriment to SL's growth potential. They make the avatar, and SL as a whole, look bad. Good windlight settings should make SL look appealing. The broadest group of SL's potential market wants the kind of graphics that videogames are always striving for, so that's where LL should be aiming with their default shader settings. For richer, more dynamic looking visuals, while at the same time providing options for those looking for something else.

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The problem with using skin enhancing windlight settings, Aside from the fact that you are the only one to see your 'flawless' skin  is you that don't see some of the wonderful atmospheric effects on sims with specially designed windlight settings to enhance the particular environment of the sim..  Your give up some great experiences just for vanity, IMHO. 

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Penny Patton wrote:

I come from the opposite end of the spectrum. I appreciate Nam's Optimal Skin for things like adjusting attachments on dark skins, but it's something I use only rarely and would not want to use it in my everyday use of SecondLife as it makes SL appear flat, more like SL before Windlight. I actually like the way light and shadows play over both the avatar and the environment in SecondLife to create a whole experience.

 My own custom windlight settings enhance that, giving the visuals of SecondLife additional depth and making everything more immersive. While lighting and shadow do obscure texture details, they also create detail and depth overtop of them, adding to and enriching them. Of course not all lighting will be flattering, but in my opinion it really shouldn't be.

 That's my personal take, but I certainly wouldn't say it's the only way to enjoy SL and I heartily recommend Nam's Optimal Skin and similar settings to people looking for that effect. I think it achieves what people want from facelights but does it far better and without impacting the experience of others. 

 I also completely agree that settings
like
Nam's should be included with the SL stock sky presets, but I don't believe it should be the default.

 Of course, I think SL's current defaults are awful and a detriment to SL's growth potential. They make the avatar, and SL as a whole, look bad. Good windlight settings should make SL look appealing. The broadest group of SL's potential market wants the kind of graphics that videogames are always striving for, so that's where LL should be aiming with their default shader settings. For richer, more dynamic looking visuals, while at the same time providing options for those looking for something else.

 

 

 

When I switched to Exodus viewer, the biggest and most immediate improvement to my Second Life experience was the default Windlight setting. It is Nam's Optimal Skin and Prim.

Do you have a link to your Windlights? I am a big Windlight collector :catvery-happy:

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I'm new to this whole windlight stuff, and I'm using Firestorm and all the environmentsetting I could try their looked awful and ugly. Where can I get something that doesn't look like a bad horrormovie or a sci fi planet?

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Here's my custom settings. Well, my old custom settings. I've been trying to work on a new updated windlight day cycle, but keep running into technical issues or getting distracted by other projects.

 

Be aware, tho, if you feel that Nam's Optimal Skin is a step in the right direction, then these would be a step in the opposite direction. Several steps even.

I don't try to emphasize the flat texture work with these settings, instead I push the shaders, lighting and shadows to greater effect.

 

Midday Linden

Midday by Linden Lab.

 

6805014859_97c49d259f_b.jpg

Same scene with my midday settings.

 

 If you're running deferred, be aware that, while still an improvement over the defaults, Windlight's shaders themselves are partially broken in deferred. The horizon haze, water reflections and other effects stop working when you have shadows enabled.

 Kinda makes deferred two steps forward, one step back. :\

 

6946258022_916f4b88dc_b.jpg

7059427945_0a239d6387_b.jpg

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Hi Penny, Thank you for sharing.  I agree totally concerning complete dependency on Nam's Windlight Settings for my overall experience on SL...as I would miss out on the ambience of some environments.  I love the fact that it does enhance the skin but as u stated other areas of SL would be affected. Unfortunately, I would miss out.

I would love for LL to consider adding something to enhance the avatar's features to the default settings...(wishful thinking) :catwink:  Its a major difference with skins from the default settings to Nam's for example. 

Wow... your windlight settings vs LL  show great clarity and highlights...Great job!  

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Thank you for your response Amethyst.  I do agree and that is the flipside of it all...Even though I may see my avatar differently doesnt necessarily mean others will see me in the same light.  When I go out, I not only want to look good for myself...I want to look good to others too.

By no means would I consider Nam's Settings for my overall experience... ur completely right.  I would def miss out. I just couldnt believe it when I switched to Nam's Settings to try on skin demos...the huge difference it made.  Im sure a lot of creators miss out on sales due to this bc of SL's default settings. Some ppl especially newbies...are not familiar with windlight settings and as I stated in a previous post; there is a major difference.  LL should really do something.

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TKAELA wrote:

Thank you for your response Amethyst.  I do agree and that is the flipside of it all...Even though I may see my avatar differently doesnt necessarily mean others will see me in the same light.  When I go out, I not only want to look good for myself...I want to look good to others too.

By no means would I consider Nam's Settings for my overall experience... ur completely right.  I would def miss out. I just couldnt believe it when I switched to Nam's Settings to try on skin demos...the huge difference it made.  Im sure a lot of creators miss out on sales due to this bc of SL's default settings. Some ppl especially newbies...are not familiar with windlight settings and as I stated in a previous post; there is a major difference.  LL should really do something.

Unfortunately we still have very little control over how others see us.

I think that personal use of Windlight settings to enhance your experience is much more preferable to using Facelights.  Of course many of us want to look good to others.  But there is no way to guarantee how  we will appear to others.

Recently I was dancing with a new girl whose breast physics were all over the place. It looked like her breasts were about to pop off her body.  Apparently she had received some comments about it because she asked me how she looked.  On her computer she said that she didn't think she was bouncing that much.  I shared with her the Firestorm Physics set and she tried several different ones until she found one that looked good to her and also looked a bit more natural to me. (Of course I know this is still no guarantee of how others will see her.  I was just trying to help her find a happy medium.)

But back to the topic on hand, for your personal experience, use of Windlight is at least in my opinion way more preferable to Facelights because of their greater potential negative impact on others.

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Hi Perrie... thank you for the response.  Well currently, I am using a facelight which happens to be very soft and subtle.  I can relate to what you're saying about the negative impact it can have on others if you are walking around like a flashlight.  I do remember when I was a noob, I bought a really expensive skin and it came with a facelight.  I had no idea how it lit me up (like a walking flood light) until someone was kind enough to mention it to me, just like you were kind enough to help out the new girl.   I really like how my features appeared with the facelight, so I took to the forums and did some research.   I also shopped around and found a facelight that Im currently satisfied with.

As far as the windlight settings, I do explore a lot of sims...so my preference is to keep the default settings.  I do agree...if we had the best of both worlds...where the setting to enhance the avatar's feature was in the default settings then it wouldnt even be an issue.  Also, as you stated there is no guarantee how others view you...which is true...at least we can go out with more surety of how we may look then to know for sure that we are not looking our best at all.... Thanks Again for your response.  :matte-motes-wink:

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Some windlight settings are nice, but I'd find it boring to run around with always the same setting. So I use the local settings (if there are any) and I overide that rarely. At home I change from time to time, depending on the mood.

Facelights I lately have switched off completely (no lights attached to avatars are rendered for me).

So, whatever you do for visual enhancements, I'll not see that.

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TKAELA wrote:

Unbelievable!... LOL - What a coincidence... I was referring to you in my previous post when I made this statement:

I know of this one creator...and it does not matter what time of day it is...his skins are absolutely flawless and very realistic... Downside: He only creates male skins...   Anyway
.....

Thank you very much for your response.  I completely agree.  The details in your skins are awesome btw and I really hope that you would consider creating female skins in the near future (Crosses Fingers) :matte-motes-inlove:

my husband has a couple of his skins..they are sexy *winks*

especially in boxers hehehehe

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Nova Convair wrote:

Some windlight settings are nice, but I'd find it boring to run around with always the same setting. So I use the local settings (if there are any) and I overide that rarely. At home I change from time to time, depending on the mood.

Facelights I lately have switched off completely (no lights attached to avatars are rendered for me).

So, whatever you do for visual enhancements, I'll not see that.

 

I do the exact same thing concerning the windlight settings...which I find them to be awesome throughout SL.  Thank you for your response.  :matte-motes-grin:

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Shelby Silverspar wrote:

I don't know why LL keeps the default environment settings in the viewer so dismal... just starting people out in a more flattering light, so to speak, would be nice.

 

I completely agree...my point exactly :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2: Thank you for responding. 


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Ceka Cianci wrote:


TKAELA wrote:

Unbelievable!... LOL - What a coincidence... I was referring to you in my previous post when I made this statement:

I know of this one creator...and it does not matter what time of day it is...his skins are absolutely flawless and very realistic... Downside: He only creates male skins...   Anyway
.....

Thank you very much for your response.  I completely agree.  The details in your skins are awesome btw and I really hope that you would consider creating female skins in the near future (Crosses Fingers) :matte-motes-inlove:

my husband has a couple of his skins..they are sexy *winks*

especially in boxers hehehehe

Hehe! ~ My bro and my babe has his skin as well...and OMG...dont get me fanning over here thinking on those boxers...Very sexy indeed...LOL :matte-motes-inlove:

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I change my windlight evertime I take a screenshot. BUT not just for regular SL use. In fact I tend to run with default lighting going most of the time. I'm a lot less concerned about looking at myself than I am about what image I present - adjusting my own settings is meaningless for that.

For image work though, I'll get in there and play with lighting until I've got the ideal composition going. Because when I take a screenshot, I'm doing so for the purpose of posting a picture that I want people to see - and that needs to evoke the desired emotion. So I will work with windlight and scene to get it all just right. Especially as I don't like doing postwork in Photoshop for my work. Not from knowledge - I use Photoshop professionally every day at work. But as an artistic choice. To me postworking an SL image would be like doing it to a photograph - has its purpose, just like Milli Vanilli had theirs... but not how I play it. ;)

So getting Windlight right is critical before taking the shot.

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Pussycat Catnap wrote:

I change my windlight evertime I take a screenshot. BUT not just for regular SL use. In fact I tend to run with default lighting going most of the time. I'm a lot less concerned about looking at myself than I am about what image I present - adjusting my own settings is meaningless for that.

For image work though, I'll get in there and play with lighting until I've got the ideal composition going. Because when I take a screenshot, I'm doing so for the purpose of posting a picture that I want people to see - and that needs to evoke the desired emotion. So I will work with windlight and scene to get it all just right. Especially as I don't like doing postwork in Photoshop for my work. Not from knowledge - I use Photoshop professionally every day at work. But as an artistic choice. To me postworking an SL image would be like doing it to a photograph - has its purpose, just like Milli Vanilli had theirs... but not how I play it.
;)

So getting Windlight right is critical before taking the shot.

I completely agree...and do the exact same with the windlight settings.  I enjoy taking pics.  I use GIMP for my editing. Ive been thinking about getting Photoshop...not sure yet though.   Hehe @ Milli Vanilli... Cant forget about them.  Thank you for your response. :matte-motes-grin:

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  • 2 weeks later...

WOW !! I SURE LEARNED A FEW THINGS....THANKS FOR ALL YOUR POSTS...MAYBE SOMEDAY SOON I WONT HAVE TO KEEP SWITCHING FACE/BODY LIGHTS TO ACCOMADATE EVERY OUTFIT,SKIN, TIME OF DAY AND LOCATION....THAT WUD BE NICE:matte-motes-yawn:

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  • 2 years later...
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