My Avatar sucks!

[Evangeline Abruzzo]

Hi, I've been gone for years and years and I'm back now. Would anyone be kind enough to send some landmarks for some cool shops where I can get new mesh stuff?  How do mesh shapes work?  I would love any help or advice! Thanks!  

[Rhonda Huntress]

http://meshbodyaddicts.com/

That site will help alot.  Start with the Tutorials or jump right in to reviews and designers.

[Evangeline Abruzzo]

Thank you so much!

[Ariel Vuissent]

Along with the blog Rhonda linked, try demos. Seriously. Demo, demo, demo. And not just the bodies, either - try the HUD's that come with them. Some are better than others, for many different reasons. Edit your shape while wearing the demo to see how it looks at different sizes, if it deforms, etc. 

 

[Evangeline Abruzzo]

Thank you! Everything is so confusing lol

[Venus Petrov]

In addition to the above, my advice is to take your time.  There is no rush and no one is insisting that you 'catch up' quickly.

[Rhonda Huntress]

I have a little more time now so let me give a very high level overview of mesh avatars.

 

First, they are entirely optional.  Really.

 

OK ... moving on.  In the system avatar there is a skeleton; sort of a stick figure that is used for animation among other things.  Rigged mesh are items that are keyed to this skeleton.  As you adjust your shape, the rigged mesh scales with the skeleton. This also has the side benefit of not needing any certain point to be attached.  Attach rigged mesh to any point and it will fit exactly were it needs to be since it is associated with the entire skeleton and not relative to a single point.

There are mesh clothes and there are mesh bodies.  You do not need a mesh body to wear mesh clothes.   Rigged mesh clothes will also adjust to your shape but additionally usually come in sizes as well.  This helps to get just the right fit for your avatar.  You see, not all the sliders for your shape adjust the skeleton.  The "standard" sizes help cover this discrepancy.

 

Mesh clothes usually come with alpha layers that are worn on system bodies.  These hide parts that are to be covered up sort of like the old, old invisi-prims did for shoes.  When worn with a mesh body, those alpha layers are not usable.  In fact no system clothes or tattoos can be worn with mesh bodies.  Most mesh bodies will have a HUD that you can use to apply alpha to certain parts of the body and between this and tweaking the shape for different outfits, most mesh cloths can be made to fit.

 

So .. no system cloths.  That's a biggie.  All those jeans and tee shirts you have?  You can't use them with a mesh body.  All those dresses with a shirt layer?  Same.  Anything that needs a system clothes layer is out.  Let that sink in a second.  

So what do you do now?  Appliers.  Mesh bodies will themselves have 3 layers of textures that can be used.  Content designers make textures that are then used by a small tool called an applier to add the texture to a layer of the mesh body.  It is in a sense a player made clothing system.  But this is new content only.  Your old system clothes are not going to work with appliers.  Some few may be converted by now but in all honesty, all the clothes in your inventory now are obsolete with a mesh body.

 

I did mention that a mesh body is 100% optional, right?  You can start collecting mesh clothes now if you want with no down side.whether or not you ever go with a mesh body.  In fact, the more clothing you like to wear the less you will get from a mesh body.  What does it matter if your body is always covered by a gown which has perky breasts built right in it anyway?  However, if you like to hang out at surf themed clubs or topless resorts, mesh bodies can give you a more natural look.

 

Anyway, that just barely scratched the surface and entirely glossed over the technical aspects but it's a start..  Hands, feet, heads skins, the ever present alpha glitch with mesh body layers ... all that and more will come as you start down the rabbit hole.

[Evangeline Abruzzo]

Thank you so much!  I think I am going to skip the mesh body for now and start with mesh clothes, hands and feet!  I deleted quite a bit of crap also so I can have a fresh clean inventory to start over with!