Which mesh head to get?

[MelodyClone1]

I have LAQ Neve which is not a popular head and has virtually zero support for anything (not even appliers), but the reason I chose it is because it's the only head that is somewhat kawaii skin friendly as it has a relatively smooth jawline/chin and upside down pear shape (almost like a realistic anime face) and resembles those pre-bento VCO heads. Anything else from any other store I've been to has those square-ish jaws and gaunty face and looks terrible with most kawaii skins as they're mostly designed for mainstream skin stores. Besides that, omega support is pretty much the only other thing I need. Is there another Bento head that I can take a look? I've already demo'd every single Lelutka and Catwa head, as well as Genus head.

Edited October 12, 2019 by MelodyClone1

[Pixieplumb Flanagan]

That's odd - I have Neve and have just had the latest update delivered.  It has Omega pre-installed and as with all the LAQ heads you can use their skin and make up appliers for a wider variety of looks.  Going by the group chat, quite a lot of people have posted various looks they've done with this head.  Of course, Mallory makes a lot of heads, and people have their favourites.  I have Leia, Neve, Maxine (pre-Bento) and Noelle and wear them all.  What sort of support do you find is lacking?  Have you contacted the store with an issue and not heard back?  It's usually worth sending a notecard and IMs, just in case a message is missed.

[Marianne Little]

Does any of these heads look like you want?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaoz/

 

[MelodyClone1]

6 hours ago, Pixieplumb Flanagan said:

That's odd - I have Neve and have just had the latest update delivered.  It has Omega pre-installed and as with all the LAQ heads you can use their skin and make up appliers for a wider variety of looks.  Going by the group chat, quite a lot of people have posted various looks they've done with this head.  Of course, Mallory makes a lot of heads, and people have their favourites.  I have Leia, Neve, Maxine (pre-Bento) and Noelle and wear them all.  What sort of support do you find is lacking?  Have you contacted the store with an issue and not heard back?  It's usually worth sending a notecard and IMs, just in case a message is missed.

Might not have worded it quite clear, but I have no issues with Neve. It does everything I want. I'm just looking for another head for the sole purpose of getting bento accessories and animations (e.g. piercings, tongue open animations, food that actually goes into the mouth, etc) and wider skin support (cause right now you literally can't find any skins that work with LAQ heads other than LAQ skins).

[Stephanie Misfit]

7 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

Might not have worded it quite clear, but I have no issues with Neve. It does everything I want. I'm just looking for another head for the sole purpose of getting bento accessories and animations (e.g. piercings, tongue open animations, food that actually goes into the mouth, etc) and wider skin support (cause right now you literally can't find any skins that work with LAQ heads other than LAQ skins).

I use lots of different Omega skins with my LAQ heads, heaps of skins work with them.

If you want a head that will have wide support for the things you are looking for though, you may be forced to go Catwa. I believe they have a couple of anime looking faces too.

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

I've found some good ideas by going to skin shops I liked and looking to see what head they used in their promo art.

Looking at the shop 'Pink Fuel' made me realize some LAQ and a few Catwa heads can do an 'almost anime cute but not actually anime' look. I then demo'd a few of them on the right alt, and yeah. But it's all a combo of skin, shape, and mesh head.

- The mesh head you see in my profile image for example, is one of them. But I don't have that look AT ALL because my shape is very different and my skin accentuates different aspects. Yet I have seen this same head look almost like an anime character when shaped very differently.

 

[KirinGale]

I'm looking at the old VCO mesh heads and surprised you tried genus but didn't find a shape you liked. Almost all kawaii models on flickr are using it, if you take a look at these examples. Genus heads are very flexible and range from kawaii to realistic, and have lots of skins and shapes to meet your needs.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/momomuchin/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/-gossip_girl-/

[Wulfie Reanimator]

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/UTILIZATOR-Normie-Head/13071631?id=13071631&slug=UTILIZATOR-Normie-Head

This probably fits your "realistic anime head" criteria. It has Omega built in. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Wulfie Reanimator

[LuxuriousSin]

A lot of people I know who do kawaii looks (myself included) use the baby genus head.

[Tess Falworth]

Hmmm.. you can mod pretty much any bento head to have the Kawaii look.. that more "upside down" pear look you described? I have seen it on heads like Catya even.. really, a lot depends on the skin you purchase for it as well. It makes such a big difference, much more than I think people really understand. You just have to look for the right skin really. I have the Neve head and it does come with a more pointy chin (something I was not particularly attracted to) and that his how it is built, so I modded it so the chin was not so "pointy" and softer all around. But, I do get what you are saying about that head. I mean, really, mostly I'd look for skins and then start modding a demo.. Genus is pretty cool (but their HUD omfg.. just no) Catwa had been coming in ahead of everyone for a long time and I think they got their kinks worked out with their HUDs enough that I am pretty happy with them for now. I love the elegance of Lelutka but I can't see any of their heads really used for kawaii looks.. but then again, might be just a skin thing . Mudskin has some lovely skins that are inclusive of various heads too, so maybe check them out and then test them on a demo? 

 

Good luck and share what you did end up with !

[Alyona Su]

For the record: "Kawaii" isn't a face or body shape, it's the clothing and accessories you wear on your body and how you wear it.

[MayaSmit]

I'm about to invest in my first bento head. I absolutely adore a couple of the LAQ ones I've tried on, but I've had a couple of people tell me not to get them and opt for Catwa instead as there are so many more accessories available for it etc. 

There are a couple of Catwa heads I've tried that I also like and with a bit of tweaking I'm sure I could get to look the way I want.

I'm just curious whether other people agree that the difference in available options for Catwa is SOOOO great compared to those for LAQ (or even LOGO or Lelutka)?

Like I say, the Catwa heads are perfectly nice, but it does bother me when one designer's product becomes the industry standard (Like Maitreya used to be...so even though I use the Lara body, I'm always pleased to see clothes fitting Belleza, Slink and TMP too). If anything, the dominance of Catwa makes me want to support another designer and ensure that Catwa doesn't monopolise the Bento head market as this is negative to consumers and will limit choice. 

[Janet Voxel]

Laq has omega, nuff said.

If you like something, go for it! Catwa has about 20 something heads out. The animations are good, it’s well supported...you really can’t go wrong with it. For some reason people get really tribal about what head and body they use.

I wear Belleza Freya, not because it has the second most clothing support. I like the way it looks. I own the other bodies too, that’s just my go to body. Signature came out with Alice. I wasn’t all “Belleza is the best!” I demoed it and it’s a good body...so I bought it.

The next thing is “How much support does it have?” It just came out and from a creator that is known for male bodies....probably not a lot of people know about it.

The thing about SL that is ironic is, as much as people are all about originality, they’re more into doing the same thing everyone else is doing.

Go with what you like, that’s the road to making a unique avatar.

[MayaSmit]

47 minutes ago, janetosilio said:

Laq has omega, nuff said.

If you like something, go for it! Catwa has about 20 something heads out. The animations are good, it’s well supported...you really can’t go wrong with it. For some reason people get really tribal about what head and body they use.

I wear Belleza Freya, not because it has the second most clothing support. I like the way it looks. I own the other bodies too, that’s just my go to body. Signature came out with Alice. I wasn’t all “Belleza is the best!” I demoed it and it’s a good body...so I bought it.

The next thing is “How much support does it have?” It just came out and from a creator that is known for male bodies....probably not a lot of people know about it.

The thing about SL that is ironic is, as much as people are all about originality, they’re more into doing the same thing everyone else is doing.

Go with what you like, that’s the road to making a unique avatar.

Thanks @janetosilio I don't understand the tribalism with bodies or heads either! Diversity is the spice of life! I think it's in everyone's interest to have a few different popular options in each category to encourage designers to make clothes fitting them all and keep the options/differences/uniqueness of avatars alive! ❤️ 

[Orwar]

   Asking which head you should get, is a little bit like asking what you should have for dinner; it's a matter of taste.

   Catwa heads are excellent, as they are easy to use and has a lot of creators making stuff for it. It's your Maitreya of heads, in a way. They do have a lot of variety, so you'd have to try them out to see which you like the best - Catya is the 'go-to' for most people, and is as far as I can tell the one with the most support. Some heads don't get as much bento jewelry rigged for it, such as the one I have for my alt, Eva.

   Genus are probably the most photogenic heads, and thus my favourite; they're high poly enough that they never look squared or edgy, and whilst they don't have anywhere near the back catalog of rigged releases for bento jewelry that some of the more popular Catwa heads do (although depending on your style, this might not be an issue). Most creators these days do rig for Genus heads as well, and there are already countless skins, makeup appliers and stuff.

   Both brands are also Omega compatible; they don't come with it out of the box, but you can get relays or installers on the market. I've yet to hear whether (or when) either brand is going to move into BoM, but I expect that both will eventually do so.

[Pussycat Catnap]

On 11/3/2019 at 11:20 PM, LuxuriousSin said:

A lot of people I know who do kawaii looks (myself included) use the baby genus head.

Yeah I've seen that one, one of the Catwa, and one from LAQ that have all 3 been used to very amazing effect.

As I noted before - Pink Fuel's advertising art in their shop is a great inspiration source for this. They go for a cute anime look...

 

On body / head tribalism...

I have very negative things to say about almost every mesh body out there save for one... All based on analysis of anatomy, physics, or response to shape dials... so yes... on bodies I am extremely tribalistic because I strongly feel the vast majority of people have made a serious mistake in choice. I am making a qualitative argument based on the technology - so I will keep making it in various places when opportunity provides.

This is a topic about heads so I will NOT go into that here...

 

On heads it's another story... most of the brands are very well done, and several of them offer a wide range of choices. There's really only one brand I have a negative opinion of... I've named them elsewhere in different context... all I will say here is that they have a good product, my issues is that they lack variety despite having several heads...

Edited November 21, 2019 by Pussycat Catnap

[Niamh Kleiner]

I wear a Mayreal head myself. The latest update actually allowed me to get close to my original nose shape (which I was quite fond of). It's also a lot cheaper than Catwa and has good support and a lot of flexibility as far as layers, appliers and BOM is concerned.