Looking for Male Bento Mesh that’s not Ripped, Fit, Athletic, Buff, Tone, or Muscular

[Sugar Cookie]

Do meshes for middle-aged dads who never go to the gym or drink kale smoothies exist in Second Life?

(Asking for a friend, natch.)

It’s hard to sell a new player on SL when their only choice to look good is to be someone they are not.

[Theresa Tennyson]

2 hours ago, Sugar Cookie said:

Do meshes for middle-aged dads who never go to the gym or drink kale smoothies exist in Second Life?

(Asking for a friend, natch.)

It’s hard to sell a new player on SL when their only choice to look good is to be someone they are not.

With some experimenting you can get a less "athletic" look with a Slink Physique body - it can be given an "apple" shape, for instance. You'll need to find a softer-looking skin applier which can be tricky. There's also Jonathan from Piggu, but he's non-bento and has fewer options than the major mesh body systems.

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

How much skin is this middle-aged dad going to be showing? Will he be seeking out sexy-time in SL, hanging out at the beach or mowing the lawn in shorts much? The more that's covered up, the less benefit a mesh body will provide and everyone around him will still have all the additional render costs from the geometry.

If he's going to be more of a jeans/trousers and shirt kind of guy, then it would be both easier and more sensible to focus on getting him a skin he's really comfortable in. Mesh hands if he's bothered by the system ones or wants Bento.

[Orwar]

I'd check with @Skell Dagger, or at least have a glance at his blog or over at meshbodyaddicts.com to see some of the options and read some reviews about them all. I'll always suggest Signature Gianni, because it's versatile and the most widely supported body today (most clothing creators rig for it, most skin makers make appliers for it, etc) - and whilst it is a fairly ripped body, it can always be modified (being bento). Geralt might be a closer fit to what you want since it's less ripped - but it has not yet received quite as much support as Gianni (but I'm prodding as many creators as I can, suggesting they rig for that, too - and most of them are saying they will!). Deadwool did recently update some recent releases for Geralt, so there's hope!

[Alwin Alcott]

3 hours ago, Sugar Cookie said:

Do meshes for middle-aged dads who never go to the gym or drink kale smoothies exist in Second Life?

(Asking for a friend, natch.)

It’s hard to sell a new player on SL when their only choice to look good is to be someone they are not.

for newer skins it will be hard to find a system one, and you'll be tied to a mesh head at least... i know StrayDog has a few for less younger faces.

As Bitsy said.. is a body needed?...

[Lewis Luminos]

Psicorp does one: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/PsiCorp-Avatar-Core-21-Male-Type-C/13988568  This is a real "chub" type with moobs and a significant belly. I really doubt you'd ever be able to find clothes to fit it though.  Try the "A" type for a more average shape that fits standard clothing sizes. 

I tried demos of their mesh bodies and I think they're actually pretty good, except for a couple of issues that may or may not be substantial for you. First, the feet are UGLY. I mean seriously ugly, and they don't fit the mapping of any skins (the toes on the skin don't line up with the toes in the mesh). If you intend to be barefoot, ever, you'll need Slink feet as well with this body. Second, the neck comes higher on this body than most others, consequently most body skins won't apply to the whole neck and part of it will remain white. A head applier may or may not fill the gap. However, the body is also fully mod, so you could simply tint it, or make your own texture to cover that part.  For experienced modders though (and especially for furry-makers) I think this range of bodies are a pretty good deal.

Your other option is a bit more subtly "dad-bod" and that's to use the Gianni body with a softer skin that doesn't have defined musculature.  Even the included default skins aren't particularly well-defined so you might not even need to buy one at all, if you can get a decent enough match with your head.  Go for a thicker body shape with higher bodyfat and a bit of belly, and without the muscle definition it'll look more "dad-bod" than "gym-bunny".  I did this quite successfully with just the default skin, until I changed my skin recently for a more toned one.

If you have a classic head, 7 Deadly Skins is probably your best bet, but you'll have significantly more choice if you go for a mesh head as well.

Edited June 12, 2018 by Lewis Luminos

[Claireschen Hesten]

If you friend wants something with a lot of 'middle-age spread' the Jonathan avatar from Piggu https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/piggu-Jonathan-Avatar-20/11447858 might be worth a try it has lots of positive reviews sadly no demo

[LittleMe Jewell]

14 hours ago, Claireschen Hesten said:

If you friend wants something with a lot of 'middle-age spread' the Jonathan avatar from Piggu https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/piggu-Jonathan-Avatar-20/11447858 might be worth a try it has lots of positive reviews sadly no demo

I think I might buy this one just so I can do a "Computer Dude still living in his mom's basement" scene:

[Fionalein]

Ahh I saw that dude as the greeter bot at Dench Design and wondered where it was from. But not sure if it is bento and thus what the OP wants.

[Stephanie Misfit]

The piggu avatars are fantastic, I cannot recommend them highly enough. They have to be worn as full avatars though, as other mesh heads will not fit with the bodies. It's a real shame there are no demos available. There is a Flickr group though that gives you an idea of how cool they can look https://www.flickr.com/groups/3735317@N23/