Mesh Avatars

[Marcus Hancroft]

     I just did a search for "Male Mesh Avatar" on the marketplace to see where that kind of avatar is going, and I was/am amazed that most all of them I see are grossly over muscled, or look poorly shaped.  Of course, they are all rigged mesh so you can't edit them to suit.

     Can you even wear old style system clothes with them?  My guess is no.  I've begun wearing mostly mesh clothes and so I'm assuming you CAN wear those, but, what if the sizes won't fit you?  Does the alpha layers hide parts of mesh avatars like they do the standard SL avatar mesh?  I don't know.  

     I will say that all of the hands and feet I've seen on mesh avatars look ever so much better than the standard mesh ones do.  

     OK, I know that this kind of avatar is in its infancy and that there will be much better ones as more designers/makers get into making mesh avatars.  But the ones that are out there now leave much to be desired.  

     To the mash makers:  Can we have some "regular" shaped avatars, please?  I don't want to be a hulk.  I wanna be regular guy that looks normal.  Thank you!

[Penny Patton]

No rigged mesh avatar is compatible with system clothing, even fitting rigged mesh clothing to a rigged mesh body will be problematic unless the clothing is made specifically for that mesh body as you cannot simply apply alpha masks to the mesh to hide the bits that clip through the clothing.

One issue I've noticed a LOT of is that people are making rigged mesh bodies that don't look like the model work itself is bad at all, but the proportions are awful, due to be bodyshape it's being worn over being awful.

SL avatars tend to have awful proportions and if anything, rigged mesh bodies make that even more apparenty because it get that contrast between superior model work and typical SL avatar proportions.

 

Sadly, don't expect much improvement in this area. Larger avatars, which make up the vast majority of the SL population, are incapable of proper proportions (the sliders simply do not allow for it) and system clothing, including alpha layers, cannot be made to work with rigged mesh bodies.

 

 However, I'll be surprised if we don't see more normal build type bodies (as opposed to the hulking he-men bodies that are popular now) eventually, those will be somewhat easier to pair with mesh clothing, but still expect problems. It's the nature of the beast.

[Sephina Frostbite]

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Marcus Hancroft wrote:

     I just did a search for "Male Mesh Avatar" on the marketplace to see where that kind of avatar is going, and I was/am amazed that most all of them I see are grossly over muscled, or look poorly shaped.  Of course, they are all rigged mesh so you can't edit them to suit.

     Can you even wear old style system clothes with them?  My guess is no.  I've begun wearing mostly mesh clothes and so I'm assuming you CAN wear those, but, what if the sizes won't fit you?  Does the alpha layers hide parts of mesh avatars like they do the standard SL avatar mesh?  I don't know.  

     I will say that all of the hands and feet I've seen on mesh avatars look ever so much better than the standard mesh ones do.  

     OK, I know that this kind of avatar is in its infancy and that there will be much better ones as more designers/makers get into making mesh avatars.  But the ones that are out there now leave much to be desired.  

     To the mash makers:  Can we have some "regular" shaped avatars, please?  I don't want to be a hulk.  I wanna be regular guy that looks normal.  Thank you!

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Some of the female ones are scary as h3ll as well. I wonder if they just put it out there to be the first? 

[Marcus Hancroft]

I marveled at the proportions also, Miss Penny.  I've tried hard to get my avatar proportioned as closely as I can to what a real person looks like.  I was afraid that none of the clothes we have available now and since forever would work with a mesh avatar.  Thanks for your post!

[Marcus Hancroft]

"...I wonder if they just put it out there to be the first? "

My guess is yes, that's what they did.  

[Lucretia Brandenburg]

Hi Marcus,

if you notice, the male mesh avatars that are most popular now have the HUGE pecs and very large nipples ... it's a very "Tom of Finland" fetish look created by a man with a ... you guessed it ... a thing for big musclebound guys. The information regarding these avatars is freely available to clothing designers, because yes, each shape must have clothes custom designed to fit that shape. I have a friend who can't even bring himself to look at his partner when his partner dons his mesh shape. I think it is a look that you LOVE or HATE, just like with RL body builders who are huge and bulky, with bigger pecs than an average woman's breasts.

I always thought one of the coolest things about SL is the abilty to look just exactly like you want to, to customize your avatar to suit you. i don't quite "get" why people want to give that up. In a blog post, a friend of mine wrote something along the lines of "your world, someone else's imagination" in regard to rigged mesh clothing. That's what runs through my head every time I see one of these mesh avatars. I have seen shorter "normal height" guys wearing them, and they look just as bad. Like going to the gym in RL and seeing a very short, very musclebound man, like he's overcompensating in muscle what he thinks he lacks in height.

[Spinell]

This is also true for women's mesh avatars: I had to MAKE my own because I couldn't get the look I wanted with the system SL avatar and I simply couldn't find my ideal vision up for sale anywhere in the MP. So I had to make one myself. I'm in advantage because I know mesh, but fair warining: I started out with absolutly no knowladge of mesh programs or photoshop and texturing. So my advice is, if I can do it, anyone can do it. The question is, do you want to?

 

How badly do you want to realise your vision of looking like you want to?

And es, system clothing no longer works with my avatar; the only "original" clothing from SL that I can still wear are prim skirts and I never liked those (I prefer mesh). Fortunatly, I've begun making my own clothes: three outfits: one for dancing, one for everyday and one formal. If you're thinking of going Totally customizable, this should cover it.

Of course, you cans till BUY mesh clothing from shop designers.... if you can make it fit.... T_T  My avatar is very lean and thin and most of the times the clothing makes me look fat and the chest isn't in the right place (it's lower). So, no breaks for me. Hair and accessories are the only things I'll be able to buy now. I cn also buy certain shoes, but I have to make the alpha layer myself to fit.

So yes, a LTO of trouble. I can see why many people do not care about mewsh atvatars; it's too much work.

The ONLY solution to this that I could find is to uy a mesh avatar from a shop that ALSO sell clothing (and shoes, hopefully). Because of this, designers will almost certainly include, along with the strandard XXS->L sizes, a special size with the name of that shape/avatar so it's fitted properly. They also make the proper alpha layer.

This is your best bet. Still, you're at an advantage with the shoes, since men don't exactly wear revealing shoes like women. You'll only have to worry in the summer with flipflops.

 

Final note: if you simply can't find the look you want up for buy in the MP and you don't know how to make mesh yourself, you can always hire a mesh artist and texturer to make you a mesh avatar in the specific look you want. Mind you, this will be terribly expensive, but if you have the L$ to spare, you can try it.

 

Good luck!

[Alistrade]

I'm hiring friend me @ alistrade looking for a custom mesh avatar money is no object but it has to look right !!!!

Alistrade