How "standard" are standard sizes?

[ultrasoft]

There is a package you can get on Marketplace that has standard size shapes for mesh, and a very informative notecard that explains standard sizes.  It explains that the female sizes depend on eight sliders: Body Fat, Torso Muscle, Breast Size, Love Handles, Belly Size, Leg Muscle, Butt Size, and Saddle Bags.

I altered my shape so that it fit the nearest standard size, which was XS, and it actually improved my shape, so I was happy.

However, I just finished a hunt in which a lot of the prizes were mesh clothes, and I was surprised to find that a lot of the XS sizes didn't fit me. The problem areas were the tops of my breasts, under my arms and around my shoulder blades in back.

I double- and triple-checked my slider values against the notecard, and I'm quite sure that my shape is XS. In the cases where the clothes didn't fit right, the S size did fit.

Obviously this isn't a big deal. It's just a little irritating. We all know that sizes are not really standard in real life, but in a world where the geometry and anatomy is much more mathematical, I expect that if people AGREE to call certain values XS or S or M or whatever, that they should be the same everywhere.

Has anyone else found this? Where supposedly standard sizes are not correct?

If this was only one store I'd be surprised, but as I go through the items I've bagged, I find it in store after store. Not every single store, but the major part of them so far.

[Darkness Anubis]

Standard sizes are a guideline. THere are variabilities. One of my nieces has been learning mesh clothing design and I have been working with her on it.

In the bust line there are several sliders that do affect how somehting fits besides the one covered in the standard sizing. The big one she is finding is the bouyancy setting with the seperation setting being the second biggie. both affect exactly WHERE on the body the center of the breast is placed.

I would assume that most designers are working from the standard size shapes as is in the standard sizing package you can get off the marketplace. Your own individual settings might or might not match that specific shape.

The same is true of other settings as well the hip, butt, belly, leg muscle and love handles area is another that springs to mind as a potential problem as well.

 

Edit: when I refer to the standard size shapes I do not mean the notecard I mean the actual full body shape that comes in the package.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

As you have found, standard sizes are not standard at all.  Using the same shape I always wear, I need anything from an XS to a M depending o the designer and cut of the garment.  You would thing that the loose fitting clothes would be the ones I would wear an xs in but there is no rhyme or reason to it.  Eighty percent of the time I have to redo the alpha layer that comes with the clothes because it either makes part of my avi that people can see invisible or it doesn't cover areas that poke through the clothes.  I've pretty much given up on mesh clothes as a result because I'm tired of dealing with it.   I may try them again when and if the deformer ever makes it out of beta and if alpha layers won't be needed anymore.

[ultrasoft]

How do you redo the alpha? Do you need to use Photoshop or Gimp?  I'm not asking for details, just the general idea.

But I should add that I am happy with mesh clothes. The majority of the ones I've bought fit me perfectly. It's only lately that I ran into a slew that don't fit right.

[Darkness Anubis]

yes you do it in a graphics program Photoshop if you have have Gimp if you dont (gimps free). Builders brewery regularly offers a class in EXACTLY how to do it.

[ultrasoft]

I'm glad I asked! I think that's a great solution, and I bet that one alpha would fix all the dresses that aren't fitting me now.

I'll go for that class and give it a whirl.

Thanks!

[Jennifer Boyle]

Paint.net works fine.  I have made a number of alpha mask textures using it.  Get it free at http://www.getpaint.net/.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

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ultrasoft wrote:

I'm glad I asked! I think that's a great solution, and I bet that one alpha would fix all the dresses that aren't fitting me now.

I'll go for that class and give it a whirl.

Thanks!

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Probably not.  I have to do one for each piece of clothing I have bought unless the alpha layer that comes with them is a good fit.  If you decide to do this be sure to wear the garment and your alpha and put your avi in a number of different poses, including sits, lays, dancing etc., as well as from several different camera angles.  One of the most common mistakes I see is people using alphas to cover all their legs under a skirt.  But it is disturbing when you sit and people can see up the skirt a bit (I'm not talking so they can see your underwear, just the first few inches beyond the hem) and see nothing under your skirt at all.  Also if looking on the side and seeing no breast under the clothing beyond the cleavage you do see. 

Maybe I'm overly picky but I won't wear any mesh clothing with an alpha layer when people can see that  part of my avi has disappeared. 

It is time consuming process to really get it right.  The best way I have found is to import the clothing templates into SL and wear them as a shirt and long pant under the mesh,  Then use them as a guide at the same time you are in your graphics program so you can really refine where you place the transparency.  I put the same template on a locked layer under my working layer.  I split my computer screen in two so that I can see my avi and the graphic program at the same time.  I also put my avatar into several poses to be sure I'm getting it right.  Then I delete that layer before exporting it out of  the graphic program and into SL.

 

[ultrasoft]

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

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ultrasoft wrote:

I'm glad I asked! I think that's a great solution, and I bet that one alpha would fix all the dresses that aren't fitting me now.

I'll go for that class and give it a whirl.

Thanks!

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...

Maybe I'm overly picky ..

 

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I think being picky is one of the keys to dressing well, so I appreciate what you said.

Mesh clothes when they're done well are great. They're fun and fit well.

I'm still going through all the prizes I picked up in a recent hunt, and some of the mesh clothes just don't hang right. It's not a problem with the alpha; it's just that they're kind of barrel-like. For instance, a top or dress that hangs straight down from the breast on down just looks bad.

On the other hand, there are some mesh dresses and pants that fit so well and look so good that it's almost like wearing real clothes in RL.

 

[solstyse]

If only real life issues would stay in real life, where they belong.

Mesh clothes that fit are almost enough to make me wish that sl layer clothes would go away. The problem is that ther is almost no way to get mesh that is guaranteed to fit without needing to play with some sliders.

Combine this wtih teh fact that there re lenty of "no modify" shapes you can get.... It's all such a good idea, so poorly executed.

 

[Hermione Lefevre]

Mesh

Dont like it,dont need it and dont want it.

Nothing but trouble to fit..why would i make my avatar fit a piece of clothing???

It should be the other way around.

[Melanie774 Kidd]

Yeah, SL is not perfect in that regard.

It is an inconvenience to have to fit mesh clothing, but usually the adjustments are so slight and so easy that I find it's worth the small effort when the article of mesh clothing looks really good.

It's the same as taking a few moments to edit a couple of prims on a sculpted hair to make it better conform to your av's head shape.