New Avatar Bodies

[Phil Deakins]

It does. That's why I keep it as my Sunday one. None of them should be doing anything Sundays - well, they can if they don't enjoy it, of course.

[Phil Deakins]

I just realised. I already have the Adam demo. It was the first demo I got, and it was the one that impressed me so much, and caused me to write how impressed I am with mesh bodies.

[Chase01]

Phil, most mesh bodies typically include some starter skins (some better then others). Some go as far as outsourcing that to other well known vendors in that space. For example, Maitreya offers her mesh body complete with 10 skins made by Glam Affair.

You can of course customize the body with other skins of your choosing as long as it is applicable. You can also read up on some reviews at meshbodyaddicts.com. They do a pretty competent job giving an overview of the product, the cost and its features. There is also a community section there as well.

Your shape will manipulate the figure of the mesh body much like it would with a legacy avatar. With that being said—everything else still applies. A skin will alter how the body looks based upon the body and its shape.

You can still use a legacy head with a mesh body without it looking completely out of place. In fact, I have multiple friends that do just that and I think they look great! Ultimately you will get more bang for your buck starting with the body and then make a decision for yourself as to whether or not a mesh head is a "must have" at this point.

Bento mesh heads just recently hit the grid. They allow you to fully customize your mesh head with sliders (the same manner you'd customize your legacy shape) and that is a big part of their draw. The non Bento heads only allow for a few minor adjustments which limits your flexibility in customizing its shape. Both look great, it just really depends on what's important to you and what your budget is. Even though the non Bento heads have limited movement with their sliders, not everyone looks exactly the same. Skins, makeup, facial hair and other attachments go a long way in that regard. 

[Phil Deakins]

Ty Chase.

Today I played around with the Adam demo. I found that the skin color is modifiable (with the HUD) so that I can get a decent match to my legacy head's skin. It also includes a neck tattoo package, which I haven't played with but I assume can camouflage the join between body and head. So I decided to buy it - which I've just done.

Thank you all for your help, and I hope that my entry into this thread didn't detract too much from the OP's (Narnella) purpose, and that she gained good information from it.

Now I'm off the see about getting a really close colour match between head and body

Edited April 1, 2017 by Phil Deakins

[Klytyna]

If I remember right... Ginger at Absolut Creations has a free system skin pack that matches the skins in the hud for the EVE, wouldn't surprise me if there wasnt a similar pack of free skins to match Adam too, at the inworld store.
 

[Marianne Little]

55 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

If I remember right... Ginger at Absolut Creations has a free system skin pack that matches the skins in the hud for the EVE, wouldn't surprise me if there wasnt a similar pack of free skins to match Adam too, at the inworld store.
 

Yes, it is one for 1 L at the MP too. I am not sure, if it is a system skin for the head included, or only appliers.

[Marianne Little]

18 hours ago, Phil Deakins said:

I seem to have taken over this thread. I do hope that Narnella (the OP) is benefitting from the posts.

The title is New Avatar Bodies, so others can find it and benefit from it too.

And hey, I can post more pictures! Now, I always tinker with shapes and try to make them a bit different. But what if I didn't change skin appliers and shape, how differnt are the bodies really? I used the default shape that came with the David head, without editing anything. (I wanted to shorten those legs, haha) And I blacked out the faces, because it was difficult enough to find skin appliers that they all had and that could be applied. Some have Gianni and NX, some have Gianni and other bodies, some have Slink and not all have Omega installers. But with some emergency Omega buying, this is how the three bodies look like, from left: NX Nardcotix, Slink Male Physique, Signature Gianni. As you can see, it is in the arms that Slink really look different. That body looks like it has longer legs, but I thibk it is an optical illusion because the other two have boxers

 

Edited April 1, 2017 by Marianne Little

[Phil Deakins]

1 hour ago, Klytyna said:

If I remember right... Ginger at Absolut Creations has a free system skin pack that matches the skins in the hud for the EVE, wouldn't surprise me if there wasnt a similar pack of free skins to match Adam too, at the inworld store.
 

I did pick up free skin other for Adam from the store. I haven't tried it though, but I've managed to match the head and body colours reasonable well. It can never be perfect simply because the bady has skin that actually looks like skin, whereas the legacy head's skin is more shades of smooth colour. So they can never be just right.

I'm having some difficulty with outfits though. The nude one is ok, of course lol. It's when I put jeans on that it goes wrong. The jeans I've been using for some time are mesh, and they have an alpha layer. But when I put them onto with Adam, the legs show through in parts. So I tried Adam's own jeans, and that's where the problems began.

I can wear them ok, but when I remove them by choosing my Nude outfit from my Outfits, the legs are invisible. The outfit includes the full Adam body alpha, and it doesn't include any alpha for the legs. I would have expected ASdam's own stuff to work as intuitively expected. Not only that but I'm finding is difficult to get the legs back in view. I would have expected the things in the new outfit (nude) to completely replace everything that it has an item for. I'm sure it's all to do with my not understanding how mesh stuff works. Incidentally, there is no alpha layer for Adam's jeans, so it can't be removed. It may have something to do with the difference between wearing and adding, but there's choice in that in the Outfits system as far as I know.

 

[Phil Deakins]

@Marianne Little

Thank you for all your time and info. Legs that are too long do seem to be a trait in mesh males. Adam's legs are blatantly too long, as are all of those in your pics, but I've shortened them.

[Marianne Little]

You should bend the knees and sit while demo'ing, because knees, shoulders, elbows, butts, can show you more than just standing upright.

 

Edited April 1, 2017 by Marianne Little

[Marianne Little]

4 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

I did pick up free skin other for Adam from the store. I haven't tried it though, but I've managed to match the head and body colours reasonable well. It can never be perfect simply because the bady has skin that actually looks like skin, whereas the legacy head's skin is more shades of smooth colour. So they can never be just right.

I'm having some difficulty with outfits though. The nude one is ok, of course lol. It's when I put jeans on that it goes wrong. The jeans I've been using for some time are mesh, and they have an alpha layer. But when I put them onto with Adam, the legs show through in parts. So I tried Adam's own jeans, and that's where the problems began.

I can wear them ok, but when I remove them by choosing my Nude outfit from my Outfits, the legs are invisible. The outfit includes the full Adam body alpha, and it doesn't include any alpha for the legs. I would have expected ASdam's own stuff to work as intuitively expected. Not only that but I'm finding is difficult to get the legs back in view. I would have expected the things in the new outfit (nude) to completely replace everything that it has an item for. I'm sure it's all to do with my not understanding how mesh stuff works. Incidentally, there is no alpha layer for Adam's jeans, so it can't be removed. It may have something to do with the difference between wearing and adding, but there's choice in that in the Outfits system as far as I know.

 

Oh yes, let me see, I don't have Adam so I don't have a clear idea of the HUD layout. Firstly, forget alpha layers. You have totally covered your default body and wear the new one as an attachment.

To wear other clothes, you must toggle alpha cuts from the HUD. Those cuts does not reset when you take off the clothes, but I think you have a reset button that turns the whole body on?

I am not totally sure how that works with outfits... I will guess that the body remember that the alpha cuts are turned on when you choose another outfit?

[Marianne Little]

O yes, have it from the designer, she made this video that looks really well made:

 

[Phil Deakins]

I've just discovered that I can use the HUD to get the missing parts back, but that's not very convenient whe I just want to remove my pants for some odd reason or other   It also means that simply selecting an outfit with the Outfits system can't work as I would have hoped, because the Adam HUD system remebers to make those parts invisible. Using the HUD is the only way I've found that can restore them, and that, to my way of thinking, is a bit grim/awkward.

It just occured to me that it's all copyable, so maybe making copies of the body states, and including the right one into each outfit will work.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Phil Deakins

[Phil Deakins]

I'm part way through that video, which could do with some spoken commentary as the text is pretty much impossible to read. I've broken off to experiment with making copies, but I'll come back to it. The neck part looks very promising.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Phil Deakins

[Marianne Little]

16 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

I'm part way through that video, which could do with some spoken commentary as the text is pretty much impossible to read. I've broken off to experiment with making copies, but I'll come back to it. The neck part looks very promising.

You work that body! If you find out something about saving the body to outfits, post it here. I did mention that pictures is mandatory?

[Phil Deakins]

hehe. I'm working on it

[Phil Deakins]

Okey dokey. I've got it working. So far I've just made 2 outfits that work fine with the Oufits system. One is nude, which uses the full Adam body, and the other is jeans with no shirt, which uses the Adam body alphaed from the waist to the feet, and I can swap between them using the Outfits system, and have the body show all that it should or shouldn't show, as the case may be.

What I did was make a copy of both the Adam body and alpha (I haven't discovered if only one of them is necessary for this job). Then I made the nude Outfit with the full body. For the jeans outfit I put the copies on and removed the necessary parts with the Adam HUD (pelvis, upper and lower legs). I made an outfit called 'Jeans (no shirt)' and put those files into it. I can use the Outfits system to switch between them as normal, and now the legs show in the Nude outfit. In other words, it works!   Now all I have to do is recreate the outfits I had before. There aren't many of them so that won't take long.

In the process, I did discover that sub-folders of items can be included in an Outfit folder, which can aid the process of creating new outfits. I'm using a sub-folder just for the common items that apply to all outfits.

I'd post pics, as you suggested, but they'd be no good, because everyone already knows what a guy with and without jeans on looks like lol. I'm happy to demo it though

 

ETA: Of course recreating the outfits I had before was easier said than done. It's because the mesh clothes I used before were created for legacy bodies. I suspect that the Omega system, which I haven't into yet, might be a help, but I don't know. I got around it by using my legacy body for those outfits. It is covered up, after all, and I only really need the body on show when I'm topless or naked.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Phil Deakins
Addition

[Rhonda Huntress]

20 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

you can turn it on, but don't ask me how.

If you turn it on, wouldn't it stop being flaccid?

[Phil Deakins]

You're wicked, Rhonda

[JenniferAnneSL]

I am very new...I am female and I am trying to find the best body/shape for me.  The goal is to be able to conform the shape that gets closest to me in RL. Any suggestions? 

[Rhonda Huntress]

6 minutes ago, JenniferAnneSL said:

I am very new...I am female and I am trying to find the best body/shape for me.  The goal is to be able to conform the shape that gets closest to me in RL. Any suggestions? 

There is the obvious answer to create and edit a new shape.  Play around with the slider until you get feel of how they work and see what you can come up with.

If you want to use mesh you have plenty to pick from.  Making them look just the right way works just like it does with the system body; create and edit a shape until you are happy.

[Chase01]

Jennifer, if you read through the posts on the last 2-pages there's a lot of great general information regarding mesh bodies that are not specific to one sex. Without re-hashing everything already said do your research and demo. If you have a specific question about a body just ask.

Regarding the shape, you really have 3 options:

1. Purchase a shape to use outright
2. Modify a purchased shape (made by someone else)
3. Create your own from scratch

Since you're looking for a shape to be well proportioned, I suggest doing a bit of research online for some general tips. It doesn't have to be specific to Second Life necessarily—just become more knowledgeable on general measurements (i.e. how far your arm/hand should extend when at your side etc). While shapes are subjective, the biggest mistake I see a lot of people make (if they are going for a more realistic look) is that their heads are too small or their arms are too short. I also see a lot of legs that are far too long.

If you decide to go with option #2 or #3. Do some adjustments and then come back to it with a fresh set of eyes. Also keep in mind you can also use multiple shapes. I have a few different shapes (variants of my main one) that I will use for certain types of clothing. So its also a good idea to experiment with how your shape looks with some of your favorite clothing.

 

 

[angeoco]

7 hours ago, JenniferAnneSL said:

I am very new...I am female and I am trying to find the best body/shape for me.  The goal is to be able to conform the shape that gets closest to me in RL. Any suggestions? 

If you are very new to SL, then the material in this topic is probably not for you; it is quite advanced. You can easily adjust your standard shape using the controls in your viewer program, then you can easily find other skin/hair/makeup options both in the Library in your inventory and in the Marketplace for cheap/free. When you have gone as far as you can you can with those options and become comfortable with all the techniques, and you really want to look even more gorgeous, then you can look into investing in a mesh body, but it does involve more expense and complication.

[JenniferAnneSL]

3 hours ago, angeoco said:

If you are very new to SL, then the material in this topic is probably not for you; it is quite advanced. You can easily adjust your standard shape using the controls in your viewer program, then you can easily find other skin/hair/makeup options both in the Library in your inventory and in the Marketplace for cheap/free. When you have gone as far as you can you can with those options and become comfortable with all the techniques, and you really want to look even more gorgeous, then you can look into investing in a mesh body, but it does involve more expense and complication.

Thanks to all.  I have done some reading.  The question involves what shape should I start with.  For example, I have read that tonic or ebody are very good. But most think Maderia (sp) is the way to go. Look, My RL body is pretty decent (I think).  But pregnancies, nursing, gravity have taken something of a toll on my boobs (not massive) and my tummy.   Gravity has also played with my ass. Still, I am who I am and I want to experience SL as I am.  Please do not be condescending or think I am not willing to put in some work.  I also understand there is some cost.  I am not coming into this blindly.I am merely asking for help and insight. I do not want to spend a lot of time only to change who and what I am and how I appear in the sim.

[Rhonda Huntress]

10 minutes ago, JenniferAnneSL said:

  The question involves what shape should I start with.  For example, I have read that tonic or ebody are very good. But most think Maderia (sp) is the way to go

OH!

There are two different things here and they work together.  Things like Tonic, Maitreya, Slink and others .. these are brand names for mesh bodies (among other things),  There is also another part that is basic to every avatar and that is the shape.  It is a specific item you wear just like hair or skin.  Every avatar must have a shape to be rendered and this is true whether you have a mesh body or not.

I think you are asking which mesh body to start with.
I wear Maitreya Lara 90% of the time so of course I will say it is hard to go wrong with that body.  However I do think that anything under a C-cup starts to look distorted on this body.  Tonic is getting it's reputation because of the "Fine Beauty" body which handles slim and supple very well.

So why not give us an idea about what your body type and proportions are?   Slender, chubby, tall, voluptuous, muscular?  Some things, like leg to torso ratio, can be adjusted with your shape no matter which body you wear.  Other things, like cup size I mentioned earlier, are handled by some bodies differently than others.