What is the best mesh head for maitreya body?

[Emily Seorn]

I have a maitreya body and TMP head right now. The neck doesnt fit so it looks really off. Looking for a nice mesh head that fits the neck and has good default skins that match maitreya.

[karynmaria]

Personally my favorite head is the Lelutka Simone head.    The best thing to do is demo all the different designers that make mesh heads to determine what is BEST for you.

[Catrie]

That is a really subjective question. I had the Lelutka Simone for a long time.  I then went to the Catwa Sophia and now I have the genus Babyface. Each of them provided a different experience for me.   I think it just depends on what you want to look like oh, the amount of support you get in terms of makeup tattoos etc, and just ease of how you like the HUD.

[MrsSeren]

 I use Catwa Kathy; I love but as always demo, demo and again: demo  and if you have preferred skin maker try skin demos you like that work with demo heads you get real feel of what you want!

[Jules Catlyn]

I love LAQ heads. They offer a nice variety at a lower price yet still enough skin and make-up options available.

[Rhonda Huntress]

The best head is the one you like best.  Any of the named heads so far will give you solid results.  Check the basic shapes, how much you can adjust to your own preferences, which HUDs you can comfortably use, etc, etc, etc.  I know it is not the advice you wanted but you need to demo demo demo and find YOUR best head.

 

 

....

And then use LeLutka

((just kidding!!!))

I wear LeLutka mostly but I also have some Catwa and LAQ heads I like to wear.  They are all the best.

[Barbie Glas]

I think Lelutka fits very nicely. I'm currently wearing Genus but the neck doesn't fit so well. I am patiently waiting for them to fix that issue... hopefully someday because I love this head!

[Alyona Su]

19 hours ago, Catrie said:

That is a really subjective question.

Understatement. The best head for any specific body or vice-versa is whatever works for you. My main is a Belleza Body with Genus Classic, though I also have many other bodies and heads (seriously, I need to start a StarBuck's habit or something because I'm spending way too much in SL)

So, to the OP, on my Alt I've decided to go with my Maitreya body (B. Venus is still my favorite) - and for the head, I've gone back to the now-defunct, likely never will be supported again, really horrific customer-support and consistency across entire line Genesis head (series 3). Because it does fit amazingly well at the neck, the limited skin selections are well-textured at the neck seam (invisible unless you look closely and know where) and so on.

Though, after saying all that, I'm not sure that you ought, much less want to follow in my footsteps. Which bring us back to the quote above and my first two sentences.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Alyona Su

[Syo Emerald]

There is NO best mesh head based on what body you use. Especially if its such a widely used one. Your body and your head do not depend on each other. Chose based on your personal preferences (aka whatever looks and feels good to you).

[Amanda Dallin]

When I went to a mesh head i tried every demo i could find until I found one I could make resemble my system head.  I ended up going with Lelutka Simone.  It's not that it's better than the others but that I could make it look like me only better. Like everyone said  here, try all the major supported brands and find one that works for you.

[Hereafter Vortex]

I've tried a bunch but I'd vote for lelutka or Genus.  I have a Simone when I'm feeling supermodel-y  and a baby face Genus for whimsy.

I find Genus to have the easiest interface to use, but lelutka comes bundled with better cosmetics.  Just demo the heck out of everything.

 

 

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

The best head is the one which, after fiddling with the shape dials long enough - ends up looking like the you you want to look like in SL.

If you demo them all, you'll notice that they're generally all rather different - so the best one is really different for everybody.

 

 

[Marianne Little]

The LeLutka heads is still matching the Maitreya body skins by default? No need to go out and buy appliers if you like them.

I have noticed a lot of skins for the Genus heads. The skin makers don't include other options like Omega for some reason. Genus seems to be something special now.

I see in a post over that Genus does not have a good neck fit. I don't use that head, but in my opinion, LeLutka (on my main) and Catwa (on my alt) both fit Maitreya body very good.

Demo the heads and look very close for neck seams.

 

[Annie Nova]

On 5/1/2019 at 3:08 PM, Emily Seorn said:

I have a maitreya body and TMP head right now. The neck doesnt fit so it looks really off. Looking for a nice mesh head that fits the neck and has good default skins that match maitreya.

I have the genus and the LAQ head, right now I'm using the genus babyface and I don't think I'll be changing anytime soon. LOL. But both heads, come with appliers to match the Maitreya body, currently, I'm using ITGirls skin and am in love with it. But, like others have said and probably will say is what looks good for you is the one you should go with. 

[Skell Dagger]

As others have said before me, "best" is entirely subjective. Practically every mesh head brand out there will have female heads that fit perfectly well on the Maitreya body, so try lots of demos from lots of brands (don't forget to try them with lots of demo skins - for both heads and body - as well; you're not just limited to matching the skins in the Maitreya HUD) and find the one that not only looks right, but also feels right. You will eventually find 'you'.

Something that nobody else has brought up yet, however, is that your current mesh head (TMP) is non-Bento. This means that it can only be changed by applying different skins and makeups, and the only physical adjustments to it can be made by stretching it.

Many of the head brands mentioned here also sell Bento heads, and these open up a whole new world of customisation options. You might already be aware of what those are, or you might not, so to err on the side of caution here's a quick primer, copied from another post that I made a few days ago to help someone new to mesh avatar customisation:

Quote

 

Bento isn't a brand; it's the name for an update that Linden Lab put out a few years back that added more bones to the avatar skeleton. It allows us to have (among other things) realistic moving wings, to have our (Bento-rigged) hands animate (and have any Bento-rigged rings/gloves/etc move with them), to have our faces animate (if using a Bento head; example video here), and to use the underlying system shape sliders to adjust Bento-rigged heads.

Think of 'rigging' as a mesh item being 'pinned' to you at certain points, and you can adjust the position of those pins. Where, before - if you wanted to wear thigh-high boots - you would need to wear them in three sections (foot, shin, and thigh) that would 'break' whenever you bent your knees and ankles to walk, you can now wear a single boot that will flex and move with your knees and ankles. You can learn more about Bento here.

So yes, mesh head brands do have both Bento-rigged and non-Bento heads. Bento rigged heads usually (except in the case of a couple of lesser-known brands, such as Utilizator) cost a great deal more than non-Bento. The average price for a 'big name' Bento head (depending on brand and how they're sold; some brands offer heads and HUDs separately and some offer both together) is roughly L$5,000. These heads usually contain motion capture animations, as well.  For a non-Bento head, you're looking at approximately L$500 to L$900.

A small additional note about Bento heads: each one starts out shaped a certain way (talking about the 3D shape of the mesh here, not the actual system shape). For example: some may start out with a square jaw; others with a pointed jaw. Most of the time you can only work within certain parameters of that starting mesh shape. If you want to edit your head to have a pointed jaw, you won't be able to do that with a mesh head whose 3D shape starts out with a very square jaw. This is why demoing is important: to find the heads that show promise for the eventual shape you want to achieve.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Skell Dagger

[Sister Nova]

I'm assuming when you say 'fit' you're not necessarily referring to the skin match. The Lara has some 'body fat' settings that change the fit on the neck, could be you need to adjust that and match it to the head.

[Claireschen Hesten]

I think with a mesh head you need to throw any budget you have out the window and employ a saving alt if needed as the perfect head may be more costly that you were hoping to spend, for convenience LeLutka heads also include Glam Affair appliers that match with those in the Maitreya HUD. I've tried various heads from different brands but keep getting drawn to LeLutka Chloe as the head I'm currently saving to buy as it looks more or less like "me" with out needing to modify my shape

[Gopi Passiflora]

Most of my female human characters have converted to Lelutka heads from previous ones such as Catwa and the Classic heads. One still has her Catwa head (Hanako) and I use it mostly for the Asian look.

[Stephanie Misfit]

Genus is very popular at the moment, with a lot of people making very nice skin appliers for it but I honestly think the HUD is a nightmare, it constantly bugs out on me. For ease of use I prefer Lelutka and the newer heads are, in my opinion, very pretty. I am extremely happy with my Lelutka Piper head. LAQ is also worth a demo because they have so many pretty heads.

Logo has a bento mesh head for 499L at the Uber event at the moment. It is Omega compatible. I quite like the HUD which lets you add makeup and skins, and I think the head is pretty too, a classic look. If you demo it and like it, it's a steal compared to paying 5k for a head from Catwa or Lelutka.

As for default skins, I honestly don't think this is a great criteria for purchase as most people end up buying other appliers at some stage. But Lelutka has the best default skins, followed by LAQ.

 

[Ava Rage]

LeLutka, Catwa and LAQ would be the most popular options. You need to try demos from all the brands you like. All the demos come with bento body shapes; you need these to keep your bento head from looking like a turnip. 

[Halo Fatale]

So I bought a Maitreya body, and I bought a compatible head. (bought not demo). Close enough, orrrrrr? Yeah, def not working. 100% user error, but HOW. I followed the directions.

 

 

[Anicha Heartsong]

Halo, hi, small world.

It looks like you haven't bought a mesh head, but a skin to go on / with a mesh head.

If you want a definitive answer- the best mesh head on the market at present is Lelutka Avalon. (Subjective, yes. But it is.) You could also consider Lelutka Ceylon.

A lot of the other recommendations on here are a bit out of date. Some of the heads mentioned above date back around 4 or 5 years.

Avalon is the best choice because it is virtually the only mesh head ever made that doesn't feature a slightly weird mouth that you can never get right no matter how much you tweak it.

You need to put Avalon into Evo X mode and use a evo x skin with it. The evo X range use a whole new map-thingy for the skin (I forget the technical term), so it doesn't work with older skins. But they do look much better because they deliver more detail.

If you want assistance, IM me in world and I'll help you out.

 

[Anicha Heartsong]

32 minutes ago, Halo Fatale said:

I bought a compatible head

Halo, that's definitely a skin, not a head, please see my reply above.

[LunaRavencroft]

I gotta go with the Catwa Queen. No matter the body. It really goes good with my Legacy body. With BoM, it's essentially seamless.

[Psyche Starling]

To make an EvoX skin work, you need an EvoX head. These are made by Lelutka and there are a lot of options (I wear Lilly). You'll want to go to the Lelutka store and get some demos, see which one feels like "you" and looks good with the skin you have.