Mesh Head Question

[AvrilHarder]

I was a SL veteran from ~2011-2013 at my peak, and after 5 years have come back and sticking my feet into the world of mesh bodies and mesh heads.

I went ahead and started with Maitreya mesh body, which I'm starting to get a grasp on.  So now I'm trying to work my way through some mesh head issues.

Trying to stick with the most popular brands, I gave Catwa demo a try. 

1) First, Catwa mesh heads come with their own Alpha layers (full body alpha, and head only alpha).  You can't use both the mesh head alpha and then mesh body alpha, so I assume use the whole body alpha from the mesh head? 

2) Next question is, does the Mesh head color take precedence over the skin tone of your avatar?  Meaning, I find a Catwa mesh head I like, then I must use Maitreya HUD to match the color of Catwa mesh head; I can't do it the other way around? (Meaning, make the Catwa mesh head take on the color of my Maitreya mesh body). 

I hope these questions are clear and make sense to you all.  I'm really, really pleased with the addition of mesh bodies and heads to SL!  Now it's just a matter of trying to get my head around using them, pardon the pun! 

[Syo Emerald]

7 minutes ago, AvrilHarder said:

1) First, Catwa mesh heads come with their own Alpha layers (full body alpha, and head only alpha).  You can't use both the mesh head alpha and then mesh body alpha, so I assume use the whole body alpha from the mesh head? 

A full body alpha, is a full body alpha...so it makes your whole system body invisible. If you need that, use it, it doesn't matter if it came with the head or the body.

9 minutes ago, AvrilHarder said:

2) Next question is, does the Mesh head color take precedence over the skin tone of your avatar?  Meaning, I find a Catwa mesh head I like, then I must use Maitreya HUD to match the color of Catwa mesh head; I can't do it the other way around? (Meaning, make the Catwa mesh head take on the color of my Maitreya mesh body). 

 First: No, your Catwa head will not react on itself to your mesh body. But thats not even necessary, as what you are aiming at/describing is not how most people use their mesh body parts at all (heads or/and bodies). Most people get skin appliers to have the a quality skin on their entire avatar and to make all parts of their avatar match up perfectly. Simply trying to recreate the right colour from one bodypart on another object will fail, for more than one reason.

For example: I have a Maitreya body and a Lelutka mesh head. I went to a skin store, that sold appliers for their skins. I decided what skin I wanted and brought an applier for it for my mesh body and a second one for my head. Now both parts have the exact same skin texture and match perfectly.

[Ariel Vuissent]

1. The heads come with two Alphas in case you wanted to wear the mesh head with your system body. Since you won't be doing that, you use the full body Alpha which will hide both the head and the body. This means you don't need to use the body Alpha that came with your maitreya body.

2. You can tint the catwa skin to match your maitreya body, or tint your maitreya body to match your catwa head. However, you can also get appliers to match one or both. The skins in the head are from the skinnery. The skins in the body are from Glam affair. You can get applier from the latter or a body applier from the former, or get both from an entirely different creator, like Deetalez, Pink Fuel, Lara Hurley, Pumec, or dozens of others. Appliers are more or less always the better option. You will never get a perfect match by manual tinting, because you are always starting with at least a slightly different base tone and shading.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Ariel Vuissent

[AvrilHarder]

11 minutes ago, Syo Emerald said:

A full body alpha, is a full body alpha...so it makes your whole system body invisible. If you need that, use it, it doesn't matter if it came with the head or the body.

 First: No, your Catwa head will not react on itself to your mesh body. But thats not even necessary, as what you are aiming at/describing is not how most people use their mesh body parts at all (heads or/and bodies). Most people get skin appliers to have the a quality skin on their entire avatar and to make all parts of their avatar match up perfectly. Simply trying to recreate the right colour from one bodypart on another object will fail, for more than one reason.

For example: I have a Maitreya body and a Lelutka mesh head. I went to a skin store, that sold appliers for their skins. I decided what skin I wanted and brought an applier for it for my mesh body and a second one for my head. Now both parts have the exact same skin texture and match perfectly.

Ok, thanks for the reply.  So in my case, when I go skin shopping I need to find a skin that has an Applier for Maitreya, as well as an Applier for Catwa?  I assume Appliers are not sold seperately, they come with whatever skin you buy.  So basically, make sure the skin advertises that it comes with Appliers for Maitreya & Catwa (or whatever combination of mesh body/head I want to use).  Is that accurate?  If it is, I think I might understand now.

12 minutes ago, Ariel Vuissent said:

1. The heads come with two Alphas in case you wanted to wear the mesh head with your system body. Since you won't be doing that, you use the full body Alpha which will hide both the head and the body. This means you don't need to use the body Alpha that came with your maitreya body.

2. You can tint the catwa skin to match your maitreya body, or tint your maitreya body to match your catwa head. However, you can also get appliers to match one or both. The skins in the head are from the skinnery. The skins in the body are from Glam affair. You can get applier from the latter or a body applier from the former, or get both from an entirely different creator, like Deetalez, Pink Fuel, Lara Hurley, Pumec, or dozens of others. 

So it appears from the posts I've read that I'm just not understanding Appliers correctly.  Are these sold on their own?  Specific to a particular skin/vendor?  I hope its apparent where my confusion is coming from.  Thanks for the replies

[AvrilHarder]

Also to clarify, the skin I'm currently using has the following Appliers that came with it:  Belleza, Brazilia Doll, Classic, Lena, Maitreya, Slink Physique, Wowmeh Body.

Since Catwa isn't listed, then I lack an applier for this skin to use with Catwa.  Is that right?

[angeoco]

30 minutes ago, AvrilHarder said:

So in my case, when I go skin shopping I need to find a skin that has an Applier for Maitreya, as well as an Applier for Catwa?  I assume Appliers are not sold seperately, they come with whatever skin you buy.  So basically, make sure the skin advertises that it comes with Appliers for Maitreya & Catwa (or whatever combination of mesh body/head I want to use).  Is that accurate?  If it is, I think I might understand now.

Yes, that will work. Another (very popular) option is to use an Omega applier, either a single full-body applier or one for the body and a matching one for the head, which will work on nearly all mesh bodies and heads. However, to use an Omega applier you will need to also get the Omega Relays for Maitreya and Catwa.

33 minutes ago, AvrilHarder said:

So it appears from the posts I've read that I'm just not understanding Appliers correctly.  Are these sold on their own?  Specific to a particular skin/vendor?  I hope its apparent where my confusion is coming from.  Thanks for the replies

Skin appliers are sold by many independent skin designers. Any skin that is designed for a mesh body/head is an applier.

29 minutes ago, AvrilHarder said:

Also to clarify, the skin I'm currently using has the following Appliers that came with it:  Belleza, Brazilia Doll, Classic, Lena, Maitreya, Slink Physique, Wowmeh Body.

Since Catwa isn't listed, then I lack an applier for this skin to use with Catwa.  Is that right?

Yes that's right. However the skin creator might have released a separate but matching applier for Catwa; it might be worth checking.

[Syo Emerald]

How the applier is sold depends on the individual store.

Some sell the skin for the classic avatar, along with various appliers already in the package. Other stores might do that aswell, but only with body appliers and sell the head applier seperatly (usually because it had been created at a different point in time and the creator wants some revenue on that extra piece of work). And then there are stores that stopped providing skins for classic avatars and now run with 1-3 body skin variants in different shades and a whole lot of head appliers, so you can pick and chose combinations. Really depends on the individual store.

 

 

[Skell Dagger]

Welcome back to SL, and welcome to the wonderful (and initially confusing!) world of mesh bodies and heads

• To answer question 1: Since you are wearing both a mesh head and a mesh body you only need one alpha to cover your entire system avatar. Use the 'full body' one in the Catwa head folder.
• To answer question 2: It's not advised to tint either your head or your body to match the other. You won't be able to get a seamless match and you'll probably be left having to wear something like a choker to cover up the neck seam.

To get around that you need to know how appliers work, and how they are usually sold, as well as how mesh body parts work.

In the Catwa support group we often use a 'house' analogy: Your system avatar is the foundation at the base of the house. Above that you don't see anything (that's the alpha layer) until you start building the walls. Mesh body parts are the bricks that you build those walls from. And appliers are the paint (or wallpaper) that you put on the walls.

If you've ever wallpapered a room, you'll know that you're supposed to check the batch numbers of each roll of wallpaper to ensure that they're the same. Tiny differences in dyes between batches might result in a very obvious mis-match if you try to paper a room with wallpaper from more than one batch.

The same principle sits behind mesh head and body appliers. For that you're not checking batch numbers, but you are ensuring that you have a head applier and a body applier from the same skin designer*, in the same skintone.

*Occasionally, this can be bypassed. Some skin designers create only head appliers, and their head appliers match to either default mesh body appliers (the ones in the body's own HUD) or to another designer's body appliers. Many stores now have one standard set of body appliers (for each of the main bodies) and their new releases comprise just new head appliers. Some stores sell all of their body appliers in one HUD, and others sell them per skintone. A small handful will give both head and body appliers in one pack. One or two even give away their body appliers completely free.

Catwa's default female head appliers (the ones in the Catwa Master HUD) match to body appliers from The Skinnery. And the default skins in the Maitreya body HUD match to head appliers from Glam Affair. So - if you're looking for a cost-saving option initially - you can try some Maitreya body applier demos from The Skinnery, or some Catwa head applier demos from Glam Affair. That way you won't need to buy both a head and a body applier.

However, if you want to try other skin designers' work, you will need either of the following:

• A Catwa head applier and a Maitreya body applier in the same skintone from the same designer

OR

• An Omega head applier and Omega body applier (again: same skintone, same designer), together with the Omega Relay HUDs for both Catwa and Maitreya (which Angeoco gave the links to, upthread). Omega is a cross-brand applier system that works on every mesh body part, as long as you have the corresponding relay for that body part. Some of the relays (like the Catwa one) need to be worn every time you want to apply an Omega applier, and others only need to be worn once and clicked to install Omega into the body part.

If you decide to opt for a Catwa head (since I see that you're just demoing right now) and you have any questions, search for and join the Catwa Head Friends group inworld and you can ask your question there.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Skell Dagger

[AvrilHarder]

1 hour ago, Skell Dagger said:

Welcome back to SL, and welcome to the wonderful (and initially confusing!) world of mesh bodies and heads

• To answer question 1: Since you are wearing both a mesh head and a mesh body you only need one alpha to cover your entire system avatar. Use the 'full body' one in the Catwa head folder.
• To answer question 2: It's not advised to tint either your head or your body to match the other. You won't be able to get a seamless match and you'll probably be left having to wear something like a choker to cover up the neck seam.

To get around that you need to know how appliers work, and how they are usually sold, as well as how mesh body parts work.

In the Catwa support group we often use a 'house' analogy: Your system avatar is the foundation at the base of the house. Above that you don't see anything (that's the alpha layer) until you start building the walls. Mesh body parts are the bricks that you build those walls from. And appliers are the paint (or wallpaper) that you put on the walls.

If you've ever wallpapered a room, you'll know that you're supposed to check the batch numbers of each roll of wallpaper to ensure that they're the same. Tiny differences in dyes between batches might result in a very obvious mis-match if you try to paper a room with wallpaper from more than one batch.

The same principle sits behind mesh head and body appliers. For that you're not checking batch numbers, but you are ensuring that you have a head applier and a body applier from the same skin designer*, in the same skintone.

*Occasionally, this can be bypassed. Some skin designers create only head appliers, and their head appliers match to either default mesh body appliers (the ones in the body's own HUD) or to another designer's body appliers. Many stores now have one standard set of body appliers (for each of the main bodies) and their new releases comprise just new head appliers. Some stores sell all of their body appliers in one HUD, and others sell them per skintone. A small handful will give both head and body appliers in one pack. One or two even give away their body appliers completely free.

Catwa's default female head appliers (the ones in the Catwa Master HUD) match to body appliers from The Skinnery. And the default skins in the Maitreya body HUD match to head appliers from Glam Affair. So - if you're looking for a cost-saving option initially - you can try some Maitreya body applier demos from The Skinnery, or some Catwa head applier demos from Glam Affair. That way you won't need to buy both a head and a body applier.

However, if you want to try other skin designers' work, you will need either of the following:

• A Catwa head applier and a Maitreya body applier in the same skintone from the same designer

OR

• An Omega head applier and Omega body applier (again: same skintone, same designer), together with the Omega Relay HUDs for both Catwa and Maitreya (which Angeoco gave the links to, upthread). Omega is a cross-brand applier system that works on every mesh body part, as long as you have the corresponding relay for that body part. Some of the relays (like the Catwa one) need to be worn every time you want to apply an Omega applier, and others only need to be worn once and clicked to install Omega into the body part.

If you decide to opt for a Catwa head (since I see that you're just demoing right now) and you have any questions, search for and join the Catwa Head Friends group inworld and you can ask your question there.

Thanks for the the detailed reply.

Following your advice, I went ahead and just got appliers for Cawta and Maitreya.  (should note in all this, none of this stuff comes with a "skin"...like the actual skin from the old days with Skin icon and everything...but one has to be equipped at all times.  whether this is irrelevant bc of mesh idk, but i sometimes wonder if its the cause of my issues).  

ANYWAYS....

So i finally made some good headway and thought I was actually able to start learning the HUDs when...oh, not so fast.  Why would it be that simple? I've only spent about 6 hours on this now lol.

See attached.  What would cause this?  I cannot edit the shape that came with the appliers so.  You can see the picture that theres a big ol transparent line down at the chin, and another up on the forehead (mostly hidden by the Demo tag).

Any thoughts?  I thought I had it and  its one thing after another I guess

 

 

 

EDIT:  After some helpful people in the Chatwa Friends chat pointed out, those are from the DEMOs.  Buying the real deal fixes this.  

 

Thanks everyone for the help!

Edited May 25, 2018 by AvrilHarder
Figured Out the Reason!!

[Marianne Little]

The demo head has transparent parts to mark them as demos. Not that people can hide that they walk around with demo heads inworld, but it is easier to edit the demo signs off closeups. Taking photos and posting on blogs and Flickr is very popular.

Do some still sell no modify shapes? The demos come with no modify shapes. You can experiment with other shapes if you want to. Be prepared that the heads will look very deformed with some shapes, the mesh heads need a totally different shape than the default avatar.

To offer the actual "skin" has become a rarity. The last two-three years, it has been difficult to find a skin for the system avatar on the yearly Skinfair. The system avatar is totally hidden under the alpha layer, so it is irrelevant what you wear, a "Ruth" skin or a 2000 L skin under the mesh body.

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Marianne Little

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 5/26/2018 at 4:35 AM, Skell Dagger said:

Welcome back to SL, and welcome to the wonderful (and initially confusing!) world of mesh bodies and heads

• To answer question 1: Since you are wearing both a mesh head and a mesh body you only need one alpha to cover your entire system avatar. Use the 'full body' one in the Catwa head folder.
• To answer question 2: It's not advised to tint either your head or your body to match the other. You won't be able to get a seamless match and you'll probably be left having to wear something like a choker to cover up the neck seam.

To get around that you need to know how appliers work, and how they are usually sold, as well as how mesh body parts work.

In the Catwa support group we often use a 'house' analogy: Your system avatar is the foundation at the base of the house. Above that you don't see anything (that's the alpha layer) until you start building the walls. Mesh body parts are the bricks that you build those walls from. And appliers are the paint (or wallpaper) that you put on the walls.

If you've ever wallpapered a room, you'll know that you're supposed to check the batch numbers of each roll of wallpaper to ensure that they're the same. Tiny differences in dyes between batches might result in a very obvious mis-match if you try to paper a room with wallpaper from more than one batch.

The same principle sits behind mesh head and body appliers. For that you're not checking batch numbers, but you are ensuring that you have a head applier and a body applier from the same skin designer*, in the same skintone.

*Occasionally, this can be bypassed. Some skin designers create only head appliers, and their head appliers match to either default mesh body appliers (the ones in the body's own HUD) or to another designer's body appliers. Many stores now have one standard set of body appliers (for each of the main bodies) and their new releases comprise just new head appliers. Some stores sell all of their body appliers in one HUD, and others sell them per skintone. A small handful will give both head and body appliers in one pack. One or two even give away their body appliers completely free.

Catwa's default female head appliers (the ones in the Catwa Master HUD) match to body appliers from The Skinnery. And the default skins in the Maitreya body HUD match to head appliers from Glam Affair. So - if you're looking for a cost-saving option initially - you can try some Maitreya body applier demos from The Skinnery, or some Catwa head applier demos from Glam Affair. That way you won't need to buy both a head and a body applier.

However, if you want to try other skin designers' work, you will need either of the following:

• A Catwa head applier and a Maitreya body applier in the same skintone from the same designer

OR

• An Omega head applier and Omega body applier (again: same skintone, same designer), together with the Omega Relay HUDs for both Catwa and Maitreya (which Angeoco gave the links to, upthread). Omega is a cross-brand applier system that works on every mesh body part, as long as you have the corresponding relay for that body part. Some of the relays (like the Catwa one) need to be worn every time you want to apply an Omega applier, and others only need to be worn once and clicked to install Omega into the body part.

If you decide to opt for a Catwa head (since I see that you're just demoing right now) and you have any questions, search for and join the Catwa Head Friends group inworld and you can ask your question there.

Hi.. I'm a newbie in mesh world..

I'm tossing up between the two options mentioned, i.e. 

However, if you want to try other skin designers' work, you will need either of the following:

• A Catwa head applier and a Maitreya body applier in the same skintone from the same designer

OR

• An Omega head applier and Omega body applier (again: same skintone, same designer), together with the Omega Relay HUDs for both Catwa and Maitreya (which Angeoco gave the links to, upthread). Omega is a cross-brand applier system that works on every mesh body part, as long as you have the corresponding relay for that body part. Some of the relays (like the Catwa one) need to be worn every time you want to apply an Omega applier, and others only need to be worn once and clicked to install Omega into the body part.

Sounds to me like these options are the same.. since both need appliers for head and body in same skintone, same designer. So what difference does using Omega appliers make (option 2) as opposed to non-Omega appliers (option 1)? In terms of requirements, I can see that the Omega applier requires relays. But what are the differences in terms of outcome or from a practical standpoint? What factors usually determine what people end up choosing?

[Skell Dagger]

4 hours ago, Hollie Leavitt said:

Hi.. I'm a newbie in mesh world..

I'm tossing up between the two options mentioned, i.e. 

However, if you want to try other skin designers' work, you will need either of the following:

• A Catwa head applier and a Maitreya body applier in the same skintone from the same designer

OR

• An Omega head applier and Omega body applier (again: same skintone, same designer), together with the Omega Relay HUDs for both Catwa and Maitreya (which Angeoco gave the links to, upthread). Omega is a cross-brand applier system that works on every mesh body part, as long as you have the corresponding relay for that body part. Some of the relays (like the Catwa one) need to be worn every time you want to apply an Omega applier, and others only need to be worn once and clicked to install Omega into the body part.

Sounds to me like these options are the same.. since both need appliers for head and body in same skintone, same designer. So what difference does using Omega appliers make (option 2) as opposed to non-Omega appliers (option 1)? In terms of requirements, I can see that the Omega applier requires relays. But what are the differences in terms of outcome or from a practical standpoint? What factors usually determine what people end up choosing?

There is no real difference in terms of what they do. Omega widens your choices, and it can also be used on different mesh body parts (with the correct relays) so it means that - if you change your head or body to a different brand at a future date - the Omega items would still work, whereas specifically-branded items would not.

For example: if you buy a Lelutka head and a Belleza body you could buy a head applier for Lelutka and a body applier for Belleza. But if - a few months later - you decide to switch to a Catwa head and a Maitreya body (and wanted to keep the same skin) you would need to re-buy the appliers: this time a Catwa one for your head and a Maitreya one for your body. However, if the skin designer offers (and you had initially purchased) Omega head and body appliers then you would only need to pay the much smaller amount for the two new Catwa and Maitreya Omega relay HUDs, rather than for entirely new skin appliers.

Since I use multiple bodies (and I change skins frequently) I usually prefer Omega appliers for the body and I usually purchase branded appliers for the head. But that's mainly because I have an eye for which head brand I plan to use that skin with. Sometimes I'll go for the Omega option all around, if I think I can use that skin on more than one head brand.

[Hollie Leavitt]

That's so helpful, thank you!

[Skell Dagger]

1 hour ago, Hollie Leavitt said:

That's so helpful, thank you!

You're welcome