HELP! What kind of head and body should I get? Other Questions for SL newbie

[ArslanPanbrosia]

 

Hello. I am in dire need of some help with my avatar! So, I am trying to update my avatar's appearance by getting a new head and body. I got recommended to one place for "bento" mesh heads called LAQ. I tried on some demos first, and when ahead and bought the head that I liked. However, I did not realized that I would need to buy a whole new skin specifically so that the rest of my body is the same tone. So I tried on a skin that was separate from the head that I bought. The problem with this was that once again, the skin head to my neck did not match the rest of the body. What can I do to fix this issue? Also, I wanted to know what Maitreya, Slink Physique, Hourglass, and Belleza are. Are they shapes, heads, skins? Any recommendations/help would be greatly appreciated in regards to what heads, shapes to get for my avatar. I have uploaded a picture with the current status of avatar being that she's wearing a demo skin that doesn't match.

[Rhonda Huntress]

17 minutes ago, ArslanPanbrosia said:

Also, I wanted to know what Maitreya, Slink Physique, Hourglass, and Belleza are. Are they shapes, heads, skins?

Just like LAQ is your brand of head, Maitreya, Slink and Belleza (among others) are brands of mesh bodies.

While you are at the LAQ store, you can get matching skins for the different bodies. 

Now ... which body.  Wow.  Let's start a fist fight right here
People are loyal to their body brands and different people will give you different reasons why their brand is the best brand.  So here goes post #1 in the latest "which body  is best" debate.

I would strongly recommend starting off with Maitreya because it is the most well supported by clothing makers.  It is also reasonably priced but then again all the mentioned brads are withing a few 100 L$ of each other.  Obviously it is the brand I wear.

What you should do first is go to the different stores and try out some demos.

Maitreya: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Maitreya Isle/128/132/24
Slink (Get Hourglass here): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Slink/35/123/24
Belleza (Try Isis and possibly Freya): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Belleza/126/77/26

Any of these bodies are well supported and easy to fit.  Try out the demos and pick the body you like best.

 

[Gregorian Chant]

Since you mentioned you've already brought a LAQ head, let's stick with that and work from there.

Getting the body skin from the same designer who made the head skin would be the easiest way to get the whole body to uniformly match.

What head skin did you choose to use? Is it the preloaded default that came with the head or a third party skin applier?  If using the preloaded default, LAQ should sell the body applier to go with the mesh body.  If using the 3rd party skin, then you should get the body skin from that same 3rd party store.

Maitreya, Slink, and Belleza are stores that sell mesh bodies.  They are currently the top 3 most popular.
Maitreya have a mesh body called Lara.
Slink have 2 female bodies: Physique and Hourglass.
Belleza have 3 female bodies: Venus, Isis, and Freya.

When choosing a mesh body, consider the variety of clothing available for the body in addition to finding the one that clicks with you.  Like RL, you have to check the product labels for your body type.

And at the risk of sound like a broken record, always try the demos first.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Gregorian Chant

[ArslanPanbrosia]

34 minutes ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Since you mentioned you've already brought a LAQ head, let's stick with that and work from there.

Or at least I thought I bought a head.... The LAQ Scarlet Bento, but it seems to have DEMO written on the face. I could have sworn I bought it.

59 minutes ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Getting the body skin from the same designer who made the head skin would be the easiest way to get the whole body to uniformly match.

When you say this, do you mean getting the same skin that goes with the same head?

1 hour ago, Gregorian Chant said:

What head skin did you choose to use? Is it the preloaded default that came with the head or a third party skin applier?  If using the preloaded default, LAQ should sell the body applier to go with the mesh body.  If using the 3rd party skin, then you should get the body skin from that same 3rd party store.

It seems like the skin was preloaded.

 

 

[ArslanPanbrosia]

1 hour ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Since you mentioned you've already brought a LAQ head, let's stick with that and work from there.

Getting the body skin from the same designer who made the head skin would be the easiest way to get the whole body to uniformly match.

What head skin did you choose to use? Is it the preloaded default that came with the head or a third party skin applier?  If using the preloaded default, LAQ should sell the body applier to go with the mesh body.  If using the 3rd party skin, then you should get the body skin from that same 3rd party store.

Maitreya, Slink, and Belleza are stores that sell mesh bodies.  They are currently the top 3 most popular.
Maitreya have a mesh body called Lara.
Slink have 2 female bodies: Physique and Hourglass.
Belleza have 3 female bodies: Venus, Isis, and Freya.

When choosing a mesh body, consider the variety of clothing available for the body in addition to finding the one that clicks with you.  Like RL, you have to check the product labels for your body type.

And at the risk of sound like a broken record, always try the demos first.

 

1 hour ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Getting the body skin from the same designer who made the head skin would be the easiest way to get the whole body to uniformly match.

When you say that, do you mean that the body skin is separate from the head skin? And would I have to buy that separate? As it still seems that my head skin does not match up to body skin.

[ArslanPanbrosia]

1 hour ago, Rhonda Huntress said:

Just like LAQ is your brand of head, Maitreya, Slink and Belleza (among others) are brands of mesh bodies.

While you are at the LAQ store, you can get matching skins for the different bodies. 

Now ... which body.  Wow.  Let's start a fist fight right here
People are loyal to their body brands and different people will give you different reasons why their brand is the best brand.  So here goes post #1 in the latest "which body  is best" debate.

I would strongly recommend starting off with Maitreya because it is the most well supported by clothing makers.  It is also reasonably priced but then again all the mentioned brads are withing a few 100 L$ of each other.  Obviously it is the brand I wear.

What you should do first is go to the different stores and try out some demos.

Maitreya: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Maitreya Isle/128/132/24
Slink (Get Hourglass here): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Slink/35/123/24
Belleza (Try Isis and possibly Freya): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Belleza/126/77/26

Any of these bodies are well supported and easy to fit.  Try out the demos and pick the body you like best.

Thank you and I will try out the demos for these as well. Hopefully, I will get the hang of it, as it seems kind of confusing at the moment.

 

1 hour ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Maitreya, Slink, and Belleza are stores that sell mesh bodies.  They are currently the top 3 most popular.
Maitreya have a mesh body called Lara.
Slink have 2 female bodies: Physique and Hourglass.
Belleza have 3 female bodies: Venus, Isis, and Freya.

 

[ArslanPanbrosia]

1 hour ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Maitreya, Slink, and Belleza are stores that sell mesh bodies.  They are currently the top 3 most popular.
Maitreya have a mesh body called Lara.
Slink have 2 female bodies: Physique and Hourglass.
Belleza have 3 female bodies: Venus, Isis, and Freya.

Thank you for the helpful info! Now I have an idea of what bodies each place has. Onto to the demos I guess.

[Gregorian Chant]

3 hours ago, ArslanPanbrosia said:

Or at least I thought I bought a head.... The LAQ Scarlet Bento, but it seems to have DEMO written on the face. I could have sworn I bought it.

That sounds like you have a demo version.  If you believe you brought a paid version, you can find out by logging in to secondlife.com.
Then go to your dashboard, click 'Account' and find 'L$ Transaction History' on the left side of your screen.

From "Linden Dollar Transaction History" you should be able to see what you brought for how much. Demos should be free. If you see an entry costing more than L$0 (or whatever a full price LAQ head cost), then you know you've brought a paid version. The description part of the transaction history will give you the name of the product so you should be able to search for it in your inventory inworld.

 

3 hours ago, ArslanPanbrosia said:

4 hours ago, Gregorian Chant said:

Getting the body skin from the same designer who made the head skin would be the easiest way to get the whole body to uniformly match.

When you say this, do you mean getting the same skin that goes with the same head?

Yes, ideally from the same designer who made the skin.

 

3 hours ago, ArslanPanbrosia said:

When you say that, do you mean that the body skin is separate from the head skin? And would I have to buy that separate? As it still seems that my head skin does not match up to body skin.

Yes, the body skin is separate from the head skin, just like how mesh body is a separate unit from the mesh head.

Generally speaking, yes, you'd have to buy a separate body skin applier to go with the body.  And if you choose to stick with the default skin that comes preinstalled with the head, you don't have to buy anything more for that.  I don't own a LAQ head, so I have no idea what kind of packaged deal that merchant offers. Some merchants have both head and body skin appliers in one package. Others sell the parts separately.

If you got a hold of both skin types, and still not seeing the colors matching up, try looking at various features each body has, such as, the shine/gloss option, pore detail, RGB tinting, etc. and turn them off.
 

[BelindaN]

If I can catch you in world I'm happy to talk you through any issues. 

I'm SLT+8hrs. @ArslanPanbrosia

Edited August 27, 2019 by BelindaN

[ArslanPanbrosia]

On 8/27/2019 at 5:20 AM, BelindaN said:

If I can catch you in world I'm happy to talk you through any issues. 

I'm SLT+8hrs. @ArslanPanbrosia

I'll take you up on the offer! Just sent you a message in world.

Edited August 29, 2019 by ArslanPanbrosia

[Nalates Urriah]

When you are working to match skin colors you need to adjust your Windlight settings. Assuming you are using the LL SL Viewer, top menu: World->Environment Editor->Environment settings.

Change to CalWL or Analu neutral to get a flat lighting. Match colors in neutral light to get the best match across all lighting.

[Kitteh Whiskers]

On 8/26/2019 at 12:22 PM, ArslanPanbrosia said:

However, I did not realized that I would need to buy a whole new skin specifically so that the rest of my body is the same tone.

They have skin sets for, I think it was $35L, upstairs. I got the new skin for Ivy and head, and I'm using that cheapy skin they got ( I attached a picture so you can see, it matches). You can also go to other stores that sell Omega skins and use those. I'm assuming you have a mesh body as well. 
 

Edited August 31, 2019 by Katt Dragoone

[ArslanPanbrosia]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:27 PM, Nalates Urriah said:

When you are working to match skin colors you need to adjust your Windlight settings. Assuming you are using the LL SL Viewer, top menu: World->Environment Editor->Environment settings.

Change to CalWL or Analu neutral to get a flat lighting. Match colors in neutral light to get the best match across all lighting.

No, I'm actually using a viewer called Firestorm

[ArslanPanbrosia]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:39 PM, Katt Dragoone said:

They have skin sets for, I think it was $35L, upstairs. I got the new skin for Ivy and head, and I'm using that cheapy skin they got ( I attached a picture so you can see, it matches). You can also go to other stores that sell Omega skins and use those. I'm assuming you have a mesh body as well. 
 

Is the matching skin sets at LAQ? And I'm currently looking for a mesh body, just don't know where to start as I've been to the LAQ, CATWA, and Belleza stores so far.

[Kitteh Whiskers]

11 hours ago, ArslanPanbrosia said:

Is the matching skin sets at LAQ? And I'm currently looking for a mesh body, just don't know where to start as I've been to the LAQ, CATWA, and Belleza stores so far.

Yes just teleport upstairs and you will see a wall of skins to buy. They work of mesh bodies. I recommend Maitreya since most designers create for it. 

[ArslanPanbrosia]

2 hours ago, Katt Dragoone said:

Yes just teleport upstairs and you will see a wall of skins to buy. They work of mesh bodies. I recommend Maitreya since most designers create for it. 

Okay, thanks! As of now, I have got matching skin for my entire body!  Thanks to everyone that posted on the forum!  That's a start, right? I might post an update, as I still might questions about things

Edited September 2, 2019 by ArslanPanbrosia

[ArslanPanbrosia]

On 8/26/2019 at 3:22 PM, ArslanPanbrosia said:

 

Hello. I am in dire need of some help with my avatar! So, I am trying to update my avatar's appearance by getting a new head and body. I got recommended to one place for "bento" mesh heads called LAQ. I tried on some demos first, and when ahead and bought the head that I liked. However, I did not realized that I would need to buy a whole new skin specifically so that the rest of my body is the same tone. So I tried on a skin that was separate from the head that I bought. The problem with this was that once again, the skin head to my neck did not match the rest of the body. What can I do to fix this issue? Also, I wanted to know what Maitreya, Slink Physique, Hourglass, and Belleza are. Are they shapes, heads, skins? Any recommendations/help would be greatly appreciated in regards to what heads, shapes to get for my avatar. I have uploaded a picture with the current status of avatar being that she's wearing a demo skin that doesn't match.

Thanks everyone who helped! This forum is a miracle in the sky! Thank you so much to everyone who reached out for all you help on this. I might post an update or two of how my journey with avatar has been thus far

[FairreLilette]

Remember with Slink you have to tint the feet to match each skin unless BOM changes that but I kind of doubt it.  

With Maitreya, you do not have to match the skin to the feet.  

Slink may seem cheaper, but after buying three sets of feet and hands, it would be more expensive.  The three sets of feet would be flat, mid and high plus hands.  Now it says there is "a package" inworld which I have no idea how much it is.  

Maitreya comes with a setting where you just push a button and it changes the feet to flat, mid and high, and Maitreya comes with hands and a hand AO included.

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by FairreLilette

[FairreLilette]

On 8/30/2019 at 6:39 PM, Katt Dragoone said:

They have skin sets for, I think it was $35L, upstairs. I got the new skin for Ivy and head, and I'm using that cheapy skin they got ( I attached a picture so you can see, it matches). You can also go to other stores that sell Omega skins and use those. I'm assuming you have a mesh body as well. 
 

I love this head from LAQ in this thread.  What is the name of it?

Also, it looks adorable as a fairy, Katt!

[Claireschen Hesten]

 

43 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Slink may seem cheaper, but after buying three sets of feet and hands, it would be more expensive.   

Maitreya comes with a setting where you just push a button and it changes the feet to flat, mid and high,

Just to add you can buy the Maitreya feet separately from their marketplace store and they are cheaper than buying the equivalent individual slink feet

 

 

[Janet Voxel]

47 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Remember with Slink you have to tint the feet to match each skin unless BOM changes that but I kind of doubt it.  

With Maitreya, you do not have to match the skin to the feet.  

Slink may seem cheaper, but after buying three sets of feet and hands, it would be more expensive.  The three sets of feet would be flat, mid and high plus hands.  Now it says there is "a package" inworld which I have no idea how much it is.  

Maitreya comes with a setting where you just push a button and it changes the feet to flat, mid and high, and Maitreya comes with hands and a hand AO included.

 

Errrr....you can buy a Slink body without feet, which is usually for people that had Slink feet before mesh bodies came out. Slink also has deluxe versions  of the bodies that come with all of the feet and has a HUD with five foot positions for you to switch between them. 

Also....Slink feet have appliers. You don’t need to tint them. Most skin makers have appliers that apply a skin to body, hands and feet all at once.

[FairreLilette]

Thank you for sharing all that info on Slink.

If you need more information on Slink...see Claireschen and janetosilio's posts above.  

I have outdated info on Slink and MP is not very clear...all it says on MP is you can buy a package inworld.  So, it's probably better to see the package deals inworld.  

I don't use Slink bodies.  I did use Slink feet when I was a Classic.  

Edited September 3, 2019 by FairreLilette

[Kitteh Whiskers]

3 hours ago, FairreLilette said:

I love this head from LAQ in this thread.  What is the name of it?

Also, it looks adorable as a fairy, Katt!

It's Ivy  ❤️

[Marianne Little]

3 hours ago, janetosilio said:

Errrr....you can buy a Slink body without feet, which is usually for people that had Slink feet before mesh bodies came out. Slink also has deluxe versions  of the bodies that come with all of the feet and has a HUD with five foot positions for you to switch between them. 

Also....Slink feet have appliers. You don’t need to tint them. Most skin makers have appliers that apply a skin to body, hands and feet all at once.

You can also request that you get your old body/feet/hands in one such version.

But you must have minimum 4 of the feet, so that is a bit cheap of her. I can't get that, because I have three - flat, medium and high. The others are kitten heel and pointe (ballerina).

[ArslanPanbrosia]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:24 AM, FairreLilette said:

Remember with Slink you have to tint the feet to match each skin unless BOM changes that but I kind of doubt it.  

With Maitreya, you do not have to match the skin to the feet.  

Slink may seem cheaper, but after buying three sets of feet and hands, it would be more expensive.  The three sets of feet would be flat, mid and high plus hands.  Now it says there is "a package" inworld which I have no idea how much it is.  

Maitreya comes with a setting where you just push a button and it changes the feet to flat, mid and high, and Maitreya comes with hands and a hand AO included.

 

Thank you for information! I was wondering about why my avi's feet changed along side the color of the eyes once I put Maitreya on.