Bento heads and the neck problem

[Sylvia Wasp]

hello, like many people I've been testing out Bento heads lately and while I haven't found any yet that are capable of replacing my SL legacy head (most simply can't adjust enough) there are some that get so close that I could see them working some day.  The big problem I've found with the current batch however is the neck.  

It seems that both Catwa and Lelutka (the two currently most popular), are designed specifically for the very narrow neck of Maitreya Lara and cannot be fitted on another mesh body, let alone a legacy avatar.  Maitreya Lara is possibly the most popular body in SL of course, but there are gazillions of people who don't use it as well.  

So my question is about whether or not anyone is aware of other mesh heads that have The same size neck as a standard or legacy avatar, or if there are plans at Lelutka in particular to issue some sort of "neck fix".  Please note that this is not a slider issue I'm talking about the shape of the mesh used and the choices of the designer.  

Thanks for any help, Sylvia

[Marianne Little]

I was testing the male GA.EG head on an alt, and it had fits for several mesh bodies and legacy body. I didn't look for an Bento head for females, I already bought Lelutka for that. If GA.EG doesn't have a female Bento head yet, I am sure it's around the corner. You looked at meshbodyaddicts page?

Worth waiting for new heads if you aren't happy with the demos.

Akeruka has many female Bento heads, maybe the neck fit suits a legacy body.

[Sylvia Wasp]

Thanks for the info. :matte-motes-grin: I've got a couple of leads on Bento heads from Mesh Body Adicts, but I've been having trouble finding deomos in world or on MP.  The Lelutka head for example is the best I've found so far, but it doesn't appear to even exist on MP.  

I have an unusual face shape that I've had for years that isn't the standard "fasion model" type, so it will likely be a while before I find a Bento head yes.  

To any head designers out there ... I think there is definitely a market for a more realistic looking female head.  Not everyone wants to look like Barbie, etc.  Also, SL has a long history of user creation and customisation.  I think the Bento head that will win the market is not necessarily the prettiest one, but the one that is the most adjustable perhaps.  

[Annika Velde]

 It may beneficial to look into updating to a mesh body first before buying a head. You can always keep the legacy head with a mesh body and still "update" that way.

[Sylvia Wasp]

I guess I wasn't that clear.  I have a mesh body I've been using for quite a while and it's a really good one (Tonic).  

The problem is that while the neck on a Tonic body is essentially the same width as a "lagacy" neck (so the legacy heads will fit properly), the neck on a lot of popular bodies like Maitreya are super skinny.  

My belief is that the Lelutka head and Catwa are designing for this "thin" neck size rather than the "regular" neck size, but I admit I'm a bit hazy on the details of all this and am still learning.  

A picture tells a thousand words so I will attach one that covers my attemtp to recreate my legacy head with lelutka.  

*Note this isn't a criticism of lelutka per se, which I think is the best mesh head out there that I've tested so far, but you can see the neck is a lot thinner than the legacy one.  

.

 

 

 

[Annika Velde]

Maitreya has the option for different neck sizes in the HUD. Is this not the case for the Tonic body? I am unfamiliar with that particular body and how the hud works.

[Sylvia Wasp]

good idea!  I knew there was a reason I'm posting here, lol.  

yes Tonic has five different neck sizes but the range is subtle I guess, the smallest size is the one you see in the picture which is still quite a bit wider than the lelutka head.  (not blaming either, just sayin).  

I've been having fun with checking out these Bento heads though and they are all so different!  here is a picture of the way I have to deform my legacy head to make each of the bento heads look as close as I can to my actual legacy head shape.  

I include it mostly because it's HILARIOUS, :matte-motes-big-grin: but also it's a great insight into what the defaults that have been "built-in" to each mesh head shape are.  

.

[Annika Velde]

Eve-lution was my fave! LOL

I can't tell if it fixed the neck issue or not though, your chins are in the way

[Sylvia Wasp]

sadly, the eve-olution one looks a lot like my mum

 

[Bobbie Faulds]

I have the Catwa Bento and one of the AK Bentos. I've use them with both Slink, Belleza Isis, both Tonic, as well as Maitreya. Check your body fat, it should be checked and the body set with that same body fat. That's what I've done and have no problems. I've also used the static Catwa and LOGO...same thing.

[Sylvia Wasp]

Thanks Bobbie :matte-motes-grin: I'll give it a try, although I don't see how it will work for this problem.

Still searching for other heads atm.  By AK I guess you mean Akeruka?

[Chic Aeon]

Most mesh heads that I have tried have choices of neck sizes by body fat as mentioned.  It looks like that is your issue. If that is missing on the Bento head, then that is NOT good. Agreed .  Remember that while there are plenty of Bento heads OUT THERE, they are also new. Also lots of folks can't see them and apparently they look awful for those without a Bento viewer (like mesh did when it came in -- giant bubbles and invisible body parts LOL.  

 

Anyway, waiting and watching might be something to think on. Yes, AK is Akeruka who has been working on Bento heads for some time now. 

[Laika Ravikumar]

Have to totally disagree about Catwa and the people,  everyone is incredibly helpful on the Catwa Group and Catwa herself has always been the same. 

[Sylvia Wasp]

I guess everyone has a different experience.  

[Rhonda Huntress]

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Laika Ravikumar wrote:

Have to totally disagree about Catwa and the people,  everyone is incredibly helpful on the Catwa Group and Catwa herself has always been the same. 

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plus 1

 

At least in my experience.

 

[Pamela Galli]

It is a violation of Forum Guidelines and a disgrace to use the LL forums to trash any individual or business by name.

Thank you, Mods, for removing the offending post.

[Rhonda Huntress]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

It is a violation of Forum Guidelines and a disgrace to use the LL forums to trash any individual or business by name.

For shame!  And shame on Linden moderators for letting it sit there all day.

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And you are doing what, exactly?

If you feel it is a violation, RIC.  No need for stealth moderation.  If you did RIC and nothing happened, maybe it wasn't in violation after all.

[Pamela Galli]

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Rhonda Huntress wrote:

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Pamela Galli wrote:

It is a violation of Forum Guidelines and a disgrace to use the LL forums to trash any individual or business by name.

For shame!  And shame on Linden moderators for letting it sit there all day.

---

And you are doing what, exactly?

If you feel it is a violation, RIC.  No need for stealth moderation.  If you did RIC and nothing happened, maybe it wasn't in violation after all.

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Of course I did, and I would hope I am not the only one -- and here you go:

 

• Interpersonal Disputes or Personal Negative Commentary: If you have a personal disagreement, do not post about it on the Second Life community pages. Residents who have personal differences have other channels of communication available to them — private messaging in the forums, IM within Second Life, or chatting within Second Life.

 

ETA Thanks to the mods for removing the offending post  

[Sylvia Wasp]

For the record, I didn't defame or insult anyone and anyone who reads what I said, with all the carefully couched language, lols and smileys can see that thsi wasn't my intention.  I'm sorry if you see it that way.  

On the other hand, what you've posted is a clear violation of the exact "regulations" that you yourself posted.  

My intention was only to describe my personal experiences in trying to solve a problem.  My opinon of a store or a product is as valid as anyone eles's and the forum in fact is created *exactly* for that purpose (the posting of user opinions and questions on topics relating to Second Life).  

I think the guidelines you are referring to are about *intention*.  As in if someone is trolling or just posting ith the intent to defame, criticise, harm etc. and clearly ... clearly, that was not my intention, whereas your entire intention seems to be to crap all over me.  

Have a nice day.  :matte-motes-grin:

Seriously.  It seems like you need it. 

[Kristin Linden]

Hello!

Let's please keep all replies on this thread civil, constructive, and on topic. 

[Sylvia Wasp]

Hello all, 

I thought I would end this thread on a bit of postivity to cunteract the meanies, lol.  

This is the end result of my journey to recreate my unusual knobby head with the various "fashion model" Bento heads available.  None were really up to the task so I had to "let go" a bit of my real self and make a more "fashion-y" version of myself.  Possibly this will imporve in the future as more heads come online.  

AK in particular seemed like it might end up being the best head of all for recreating "real" people in SL, but it seemed to be not ready for prime time sort of speak at the moment.  Oh well, early days as they say.  

Attached is picture of the new me.  

Made with:

- Lelutka Simone Bento mesh head

- DeeTaleZ skin for mesh body/heads. 

The most dissapointing thing overall was the lack of a neck adjustment which was the reason I started the thread in the first place.  Literally the *only* way to solve this atm is to make your body with ZERO (yes ZERO! fat), which is pretty sad.   

I ended up *drastically* reducing my fat slider, (from 30 to 12) but I couldn't force myself to go any lower.  I still want to look like an adult woman after all.  

You can see how I eventually "solved" the neck problem, lol.  

Sylvia