Mesh Bodies

[xBabylonTheGreatx]

I was going to get a mesh body but then I realized that when I searched for it in the marketplace, like I do all my items unless it's an in-world item only, and I noticed that most "mesh bodies" said things like "Mesh body (insert shape name) Shape" and it confused me. I have a few different shapes and that is the Kimberly default avi, A Bladen Cat, and another one I got from the marketplace. I have lots of skins also. But I don't have a mesh body, I noticed that the meshes such as Maitreya, SLink, and Belleza, make the bodies of avis look more smooth around certain places and the skin is just overall better, like the butt is more smooth and if you were to bend over it wouldn't be a bunch of edges and stuff, same with the breasts (minus of course bending over). I tried to improve the quality with skins but I then realized that it isn't my skin, it's my body. I know you have to get things like feet, hands, and heads along with the mesh body. But is a shape necessary? What about skins? I'm confused because I'm not sure what it is I need
Head

Feet

Hands

Mesh body

But shouldn't a mesh body come with skins and a shape? Or are the results I'm seeing so you can mix mesh bodies with different sizes? 

Thank you in advance ♥.

[Pussycat Catnap]

Shape makers and others, using the names of the bodies they support, have overwhelmed marketplace search making it rather hard to find the actual bodies.

- On the pre-purchase side of the body that can be frustrating... but once you do buy a body you will appreciate this situation making it easier to find supporting goods for the body you go for.

You can "start" a mesh body search here:

http://meshbodyaddicts.com/

Not everything is reviewed there (it's missing Fusion and mbody for example), but most things are.

 

So...

You will need:

• A mesh body
• A skin that has an applier for that body or an Omega applier. Check to see if your existing preferred skin has "appliers" already.
• A 'relay kit' from Omega to use an Omega applier with your chosen body (Omega is supported by almost every human-body in SL except for TMP and maybe some I don't know of).
• A shape - you can use your existing shape, and just adjust it once you have body on until you like what you get. Some bodies look radically different and will need a lot of tweaking (including my preferred body, Belleza Freya: it looks pear shaped by default, but if you tweak the shape enough it becomes an amazing "smooth" hourglass). Other bodies are very close to the default SL body. Do note that some bodies only look good within a very small narrow range of shape dials (Maitreya for example, has deformed breasts below 40 or above about 55 - and it's the most popular body despite this. Belleza can go from about 30 to 100, SelinA can go from just a  nudge over 0 to 100).

 

All major mesh bodies include hands and feet. Fusion makes you buy the pieces individually because it is a modular "build your body from the parts" systems.

No major brand includes a head. At least one if not more 'small brands' do... this is general NOT desired as it gets in the way of individuality.

http://meshbodyaddicts.com/

- You can also look for heads here.

But they are missing the only head I would actually recommend: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/MAYREAL-Bento-Mesh-Head-Nadia/11023066

(I mentioned this months ago, so I'm not sure why Mayreal is still not even listed - but it is the only mesh head that is not extremely stylized. As such your existing shape will be easy to "fix" for it (most about making the jaw a little bigger), and it's one of the cheaper ones available as well.)

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Pussycat Catnap

[xBabylonTheGreatx]

4 minutes ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

Shape makers and others, using the names of the bodies they support, have overwhelmed marketplace search making it rather hard to find the actual bodies.

- On the pre-purchase side of the body that can be frustrating... but once you do buy a body you will appreciate this situation making it easier to find supporting goods for the body you go for.

You can "start" a mesh body search here:

http://meshbodyaddicts.com/

Not everything is reviewed there (it's missing Fusion and mbody for example), but most things are.

 

So...

You will need:

• A mesh body
• A skin that has an applier for that body or an Omega applier. Check to see if your existing preferred skin has "appliers" already.
• A 'relay kit' from Omega to use an Omega applier with your chosen body (Omega is supported by almost every human-body in SL except for TMP and maybe some I don't know of).
• A shape - you can use your existing shape, and just adjust it once you have body on until you like what you get. Some bodies look radically different and will need a lot of tweaking (including my preferred body, Belleza Freya: it looks pear shaped by default, but if you tweak the shape enough it becomes an amazing "smooth" hourglass). Other bodies are very close to the default SL body. Do note that some bodies only look good within a very small narrow range of shape dials (Maitreya for example, has deformed breasts below 40 or above about 55 - and it's the most popular body despite this. Belleza can go from about 30 to 100, SelinA can go from just a  nudge over 0 to 100).

 

Thank you soo much for this. ♥♥

[Pussycat Catnap]

Oh... while you were posting, I edited my post and added a bit about mesh heads.

 

Don't buy ANY of this stuff without a demo. It's pricey stuff... and once you commit you'll get a little 'locked in' to someone's system.

Sit with any given demo for a good hour, and mess with your shape, try walking, running, dancing, etc... with things like 'avatar physics' on to see how the breasts move (some of the bodies look amazingly nice, until you turn on physics and see your ribs moving with your boobs, or see your genitals bouncing instead of your butt...)

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Pussycat Catnap

[xBabylonTheGreatx]

Oh I didn't even see that, thank you. 

[angeoco]

1 hour ago, xBabylonTheGreatx said:

But shouldn't a mesh body come with skins and a shape?

Almost all mesh bodies come with a small selection of skins (usually applied via the HUD) and a starter shape. That's just to get you started. You will most likely want to customise the body to your taste, so they all accept third-party skins, and of course you can adjust the shape settings in the standard way, and wear different shapes, to your heart's content, though each body responds differently to shape settings.

Suitable skins always come with an applier for your particular body or an Omega applier. To use an Omega applier, you must have previously purchased an Omega relay ("system kit") HUD for your particular body, at https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/133475 or their (cheaper) inworld shop. The applier is a little HUD which (after attaching the Omega HUD if needed) you click to apply the skin to your body; it stays on the body until you change it again. If you are leaving parts of your body uncovered by mesh parts (e.g. the head) then make sure any skin package you buy also includes a matching classic skin.

[Mei Avril]

One thing anyone forgot to mention is third party support of the body. This is why most people use Maitreya.

Maitreya is the most supported body by third party creators, which easily makes it one of the best choices. There's a wide array of clothes and accessories specifically designed for Maitreya. Freya is widely supported too,  but the other bodies I've seen mentioned, not so much

Maitreya also comes with a set of bento mesh hands and mesh feet, which have three different height adjustment (tip toe for high heels, flat feet, and there's an option in between). Then again, most third party creators support Maitreya feet.

Also, I've tested myself this theory that Maitreya has deformed breasts under 40 and above 55, this is not true. With the 4.1 body, it looks fine anywhere from 30 to 100, and I commonly use 60, and people keep telling me my body looks great!

You also don't need the omega relay, Maitreya has a wide range of skins made by Glam Affair by default, which look absolutely great. There are also lots of skins made straight for Maitreya that won't need the omega relay. Generally speaking, I've only needed it for -some- niche tatoos, like custom made tats and such.

Buying a shape is generally not a very good idea, as you can attain better individuality by adjusting it yourself, not to mention shape makers tend to overprice their shape and very few are actually proportionate and look good (You can see this just by browsing their posted images. Most have oversized lips, undersized shoulders, and oversized hips) ^^

I would recommend buying a bento mesh head along with your body, as I find mesh bodies without a mesh head look a little weird, there are many issues that arise with the system head due to its low polygon count, and bento heads (most of them) are animated, which makes them look more lifelike. Of course, a bento head is a big investment but it is highly worth it in my opinion on the long run

For the head, I personally use Catwa's Catya, but some people find it ducklipped when looking from the side, which might not appeal to you.

I might get flamed for saying this, but in my experience SL is a superficial world, the better you look, the better your experience becomes. People are more attracted to you and it's easier to start conversations. ^^

One important parenthesis: Some mesh bodies and heads are only available in-world, so I would suggest looking there also.

On a final note, it's all about trying demos, especially for the head. The body is a no brainer in my opinion, but the head, not so much

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Mei Avril

[Morgan Rosenstar]

12 hours ago, xBabylonTheGreatx said:

But I don't have a mesh body, I noticed that the meshes such as Maitreya, SLink, and Belleza, make the bodies of avis look more smooth around certain places and the skin is just overall better, like the butt is more smooth and if you were to bend over it wouldn't be a bunch of edges and stuff, same with the breasts (minus of course bending over). I tried to improve the quality with skins but I then realized that it isn't my skin, it's my body. I know you have to get things like feet, hands, and heads along with the mesh body. But is a shape necessary? What about skins?

If you want to improve your look, you probably want to be full meshed from toes to head. Meshbodies are usually a pack that contains the meshbody, a shape, a HUD (to manage your meshbody) and usually some gifties (fitmesh clothings) so you're not going to need to buy that many different things :

- a meshbody (except if it's SLink then you'll hands and feet),

- a mesh head,

- a skin with applier for the meshbody and your mesh head (usually an omega applier),

-an omega kit for your mesh body,

-an omega kit for your mesh head.

Everything you need to upgrade your avie should be in these 3-4 purchases (some mesh head/bodies are already omega ready and you won't need a kit for them).

 

Demo every meshbody that looks as a possible choice.

Edit your appearance to check that you can shape as you want.

Compare the demos and give a chance to the non-popular meshbodies. While these ones can be hard to dress (only a rare minority of creators support diversity), they can look very good. I started with Tonic Beauty and I really liked it.

[LittleMe Jewell]

Note that the mesh head part will cost quite a bit more than just the body and you can achieve a very nice look using a system head with a mesh body - which can help until you are ready to put down the L$ on a mesh head.  Not to mention that deciding on a mesh head is much harder than deciding on a body.

[Pussycat Catnap]

On 9/26/2017 at 11:24 AM, Mei Avril said:

One thing anyone forgot to mention is third party support of the body. This is why most people use Maitreya.

Maitreya is the most supported body by third party creators, which easily makes it one of the best choices. There's a wide array of clothes and accessories specifically designed for Maitreya. Freya is widely supported too,  but the other bodies I've seen mentioned, not so much

Quantity is not the same thing as quality.

There's a McDonalds in every town. Often dozens of them. But fine dining it is not.

Here is a photo gallery of how bad those breasts deform:

[link removed for adult content]

I don't show every value there. The break happens much sooner than the values I do show (30, 50, 75, 100)

 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Jagix Linden
Removed link due to adult content

[Marianne Little]

2 hours ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

Quantity is not the same thing as quality.

There's a McDonalds in every town. Often dozens of them. But fine dining it is not.

Here is a photo gallery of how bad those breasts deform:

https://catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/mesh-avatar-bosom-comparison/

I don't show every value there. The break happens much sooner than the values I do show (30, 50, 75, 100)

 

From the blog post: "and 100 in both ‘breast size’ and ‘buoyancy’.

I think that was strange, to have 100 in buoyancy? I am sure you have a reason for it. All I can see in the example, is that Belleza look best with 100 in both ‘breast size’ and ‘buoyancy’.

Well, the best is to try on the body and adjust the sliders, look and decide. YMMV.

[Chic Aeon]

5 hours ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

Quantity is not the same thing as quality.

There's a McDonalds in every town. Often dozens of them. But fine dining it is not.

Here is a photo gallery of how bad those breasts deform:

https://catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/mesh-avatar-bosom-comparison/

I don't show every value there. The break happens much sooner than the values I do show (30, 50, 75, 100)

 

I think was a nicely done article for those gals (and guys as gals) who want giant breasts. 

I do not think that they are an issue for most people and  I do not think that the preceived "flaw" negates the fact that Lara is the most supported and most used body (hence the most support LOL) in SL. Last figures that I saw were 75%. Not sure what they are currently. 

 

Also as mentioned there are OTHER sliders involved in the mix (several) that determine how your breasts look. Mine are set at 43 for size and I think they look perfect!

Just saying LOL.

 

 

 

[Morgan Rosenstar]

1 hour ago, Chic Aeon said:

Lara is the most supported and most used body (hence the most support LOL) in SL.

Yes, that's the correct loop. Many creators are supporting only Lara so why customers would bother to compare and choose a different meshbody?

[Talligurl]

When I first started with mesh, I bought the Maitrya body, I used my original system head, used one of the Maitreya shapes (I still do) and matched the Maitreya skin color to match my head. I have since added a mesh head, and a skin, but those are not essential to get started. It is a lot less intimidating when you take a step at a time.

[Sagadin]

1 hour ago, Morgan Rosenstar said:

Yes, that's the correct loop. Many creators are supporting only Lara so why customers would bother to compare and choose a different meshbody?

Yes Maitreya is more supported, but I can easily find tons of good fitmesh clothing for the Slink I inhabit. I imagine Belezza is just as easy. Some designers only make Maitreya clothing. When I encounter one of those places I move on... It's all a matter of what you like better. There is such an amazing wealth of clothing available in SL that nobody has to go around naked, unless of course they want to or they spend their last lindens on their body.

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, Morgan Rosenstar said:

Yes, that's the correct loop. Many creators are supporting only Lara so why customers would bother to compare and choose a different meshbody?

Mostly, these days, I see clothing made for all of the major brands.  Sometimes, I'll see Maitreya only and lately I've even seen a few Belezza or Slink only.

[Teagan Tobias]

Take your time looking for a mesh body.  I got a lot of demos and only the beginning of September bought a mesh body.  But I find after the newness subsided I seldom use it and prefer my classic body, clothing is a disaster for mesh bodies.  Even clothing that says its made for my body it still does not fit, well it fits if you stand perfectly still, but I don’t do that.
Just another side of the story.

[Mei Avril]

1 hour ago, Teagan Tobias said:

Take your time looking for a mesh body.  I got a lot of demos and only the beginning of September bought a mesh body.  But I find after the newness subsided I seldom use it and prefer my classic body, clothing is a disaster for mesh bodies.  Even clothing that says its made for my body it still does not fit, well it fits if you stand perfectly still, but I don’t do that.
Just another side of the story.

Strange, all my Maitreya mesh clothes (19/20) fit perfectly, wether I move, stand still, jump, bend over, kneel, run... You get the idea

Also, well, you have to use the alpha hud. Most newly made clothes auto-alpha (At least on Maitreya) but older clothes don't.

You have to be careful with some developer that will tell you they support a mesh body, but don't use the development kit. Usually they tell you so in the description, or you can look at the reviews.

Another thing to consider, sometimes developers of mesh bodies change their rig, and that means older clothes will not fit anymore. It happened with slink, and it annoyed me so much that I switched to Maitreya.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Mei Avril

[Marianne Little]

6 hours ago, Teagan Tobias said:

Take your time looking for a mesh body.  I got a lot of demos and only the beginning of September bought a mesh body.  But I find after the newness subsided I seldom use it and prefer my classic body, clothing is a disaster for mesh bodies.  Even clothing that says its made for my body it still does not fit, well it fits if you stand perfectly still, but I don’t do that.
Just another side of the story.

I would not use an experimental body, or a niche product. I just don't have time to comb the market for clothes. Even if it was cheaper, it is not worth it. Fine for others than me, and it is great that people have more to choose from. Just know what you buy.

I too, does not understand how you use your body to experience this with clothing. Does it not have an HUD to alpha out parts? It is perfectly normal to alpha out parts. You use alpha layers on classic bodies, mesh clothes worn without an alpha for them would break through, so....

Edited September 28, 2017 by Marianne Little

[Morgan Rosenstar]

9 hours ago, Sagadin said:

Yes Maitreya is more supported, but I can easily find tons of good fitmesh clothing for the Slink I inhabit. I imagine Belezza is just as easy. Some designers only make Maitreya clothing. When I encounter one of those places I move on... It's all a matter of what you like better. There is such an amazing wealth of clothing available in SL that nobody has to go around naked, unless of course they want to or they spend their last lindens on their body.

No it is not that easy and if someone chooses the Belleza Venus it's even harder and we better not talk about the others good meshbodies that are totally ignored by creators. I really don't experience this amazing wealth of clothings for me.

[Teagan Tobias]

I laugh to hard watching people that refuse to use the alpha HUD for what ever reason, and my body got a good review on mesh body addicts web page so its not experimental.  But don’t get me wrong, some of the clothes fit like they were made for the body, you know, they used the developers kit.  But to much of it does not, so I still find my self using my classic body about 90% of the time, or more.  LOL, its a good thing I like it, because without it I would be looking for another place to play.
The only problem is I like to shop, but the mesh bodies have made such a mess of the market its starting to sour me on SL.

[xBabylonTheGreatx]

Sorry for not replying for so long, I've been quite busy. But I wanted to let you guys know that I abandoned the mesh body thing (as in I gave up with the Maitreya, SLink, and Belleza mesh bodies). I got a job at Pawsh, a furry club (but non-furries are of course allowed too). I raised enough L to get a completely mesh, full avatar. It's a BG Solarian (BG standing for Blue Galaxy). And it's working wonderfully, including the alpha HUD. I'd like to thank you guys for taking the time to write those awesome long paragraphs to help me, and if I make another account or decide to give the furry thing a rest, I will definitely take all of your guys comments into consideration ♥♥

[xBabylonTheGreatx]

Here are some pictures of my Solarian. I love her ♥