How to fix or get rid of "holes" in clothing (pants included)

[DreamcatcherSirene]

Hello. I'm in a little bit of fix right now. I've been having trouble figuring out why my avatar has these holes sometime appear when wearing certain items. Most frequently, it's been occurring when wearing pants. Now, I don't know whether it's because of changing my avatar shape (as several note cards that came with items I purchased stated that things were fitted mesh) or that they may need an alpha, (which the pants I currently have didn't come with). I have included a picture below to better show the issue at hand. I hope, with some help with this, I'll be able to get over this bit so that I'm able to wear my pants in peace! LOL

[MoiraKathleen]

This is not an uncommon situation.  You didn't say whether you were using the system body (that comes with the starter avatars) or whether you had purchased a mesh body.  The fix is somewhat different depending on that.

If you are using the system body, then you need to wear an alpha layer to make the area of the body that it covers invisible.  If those pants did not come with an alpha layer, you could look to see if you have other pants that came with an alpha layer, it would probably work both pair of pants.  

If you bought a Slink mesh body and are using the BOM (Bakes on Mesh) version of the body, then you would also need to wear an alpha layer (just like if you were using a system body.

If you bought some other mesh body brand, you would most likely have a HUD with an 'alpha cuts' seciton, which would let you choose the areas of the mesh body that you wanted to alpha-out (make invisible).

If, when you look for clothes, if if says something like 'comes in 5 standard sizes' as well as listing specific mesh bodies, than most likely it will include an alpha layer - the 5 standard sizes refers to the system body.  Also, when it's mesh clothing, instead of "5 standard sizes" it may instead say "System body" or "classic avatar" (or something along those lines).

In the "Library" section at the bottom of your inventory, under "Clothing" then "Initial Outfits" there is a folder named "Chris" . Copy that and paste it into the regular part of your inventory, and then open it up.  Look for an item called "Chris - Pants Alpha" and wear that.  If it works well for your pants, then copy and paste it into the folder with your pants.    (The inventory symbol for an alpha layer is a white shirt shape, with lines on it, regardless of whether it's a shirt alpha, a pants alpha, a dress alpha, etc.)

Edited January 17, 2020 by moirakathleen
added where to find an alpha in the inventory library

[Marianne Little]

Good post by @moirakathleen

I just want to say that using alpha layers is confusing people if they "wear" more than one layer. I am not sure if the OP has a system avatar or a mesh avatar, since it is not enough information. The secret to wear layers, be it alpha layers, tattoos, hairbases and everything else with a layer symbol, not a box applier - - is to ADD, not WEAR. Wear kicks off the previous layer, and replaces it. But if you use Add, you can use up to over 60 layers. With shoes and an alpha layer that hides the feet, you replace that layer when you wear pants layer, and vice versa.

I am not sure why LL keep the "Wear" option that so many people are frustrated over, before they know the difference between Wear and Add. It is perhaps practical if you look for a lipstick and go through your makeup folder. You can "Wear and replace" lipstick after lipstick, without layers building up. But in every other situation, it confuses newbies.

[DreamcatcherSirene]

9 hours ago, moirakathleen said:

This is not an uncommon situation.  You didn't say whether you were using the system body (that comes with the starter avatars) or whether you had purchased a mesh body.  The fix is somewhat different depending on that.

Hello @moirakathleen. Thanks for your comment. I'm currently using the Maitreya Lara mesh body

 

9 hours ago, moirakathleen said:

If you bought some other mesh body brand, you would most likely have a HUD with an 'alpha cuts' section, which would let you choose the areas of the mesh body that you wanted to alpha-out (make invisible).

I'll check back in the Maitreya HUD to see if there was something I missed in regards in an alpha cuts section.

9 hours ago, moirakathleen said:

In the "Library" section at the bottom of your inventory, under "Clothing" then "Initial Outfits" there is a folder named "Chris" . Copy that and paste it into the regular part of your inventory, and then open it up.  Look for an item called "Chris - Pants Alpha" and wear that.  If it works well for your pants, then copy and paste it into the folder with your pants.

And I'll check that out in case the option with Maitreya HUD doesn't work. Thank you!

[DreamcatcherSirene]

4 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

The secret to wear layers, be it alpha layers, tattoos, hairbases and everything else with a layer symbol, not a box applier - - is to ADD, not WEAR. Wear kicks off the previous layer, and replaces it. But if you use Add, you can use up to over 60 layers. With shoes and an alpha layer that hides the feet, you replace that layer when you wear pants layer, and vice versa.

Hello @Marianne Little Thanks for the reminder! I sometimes forget to add things instead of wearing them, so when something comes off, I'm like what happened. But in the case of my pants, this may not apply, as it's a different problem. But this is still good to keep in mind.

[LittleMe Jewell]

18 minutes ago, DreamcatcherSirene said:

Hello @moirakathleen. Thanks for your comment. I'm currently using the Maitreya Lara mesh body

 

I'll check back in the Maitreya HUD to see if there was something I missed in regards in an alpha cuts section.

And I'll check that out in case the option with Maitreya HUD doesn't work. Thank you!

Maitreya definitely has a HUD that will do the alpha cuts.

[Claireschen Hesten]

If you are using Maitreya you may need to manually select the aplha sections not all creators include or use the auto alpha option for their clothing id they do they may have missed some areas to alpha

[DreamcatcherSirene]

4 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Maitreya definitely has a HUD that will do the alpha cuts.

 @LittleMe Jewell Is that the main HUD that comes with the mesh body?

[DreamcatcherSirene]

4 hours ago, Claireschen Hesten said:

If you are using Maitreya you may need to manually select the aplha sections not all creators include or use the auto alpha option for their clothing id they do they may have missed some areas to alpha

@Claireschen Hesten Is that through the HUD also?

[MrsSeren]

Yes; it the main hud, using the the first tab called Alpha and you click where you think holes are on the legs part to disguise the holes.

[DreamcatcherSirene]

3 minutes ago, MrsSeren said:

Yes; it the main hud, using the the first tab called Alpha and you click where you think holes are on the legs part to disguise the holes.

Okay, thanks! @MrsSeren

[MoiraKathleen]

@DreamcatcherSirene

 A few other things about the alpha tab in the HUD which may not be apparent... 

As was mentioned in one of the other comments, some clothes creators include an "auto alpha" in the clothes they make which automatically sets sections of the alpha cuts on when you add the clothing item.  Sometimes, when you take the clothing item off, those are not cleared.   Also, if you set them manually yourself, when you take a clothing item they will not be automatically cleared. 

So, if you take a clothing item off or change outfits, and you notice that part of your body is 'missing', be sure to check the alpha tab of the HUD to see if there are alpha sections turned on. There should be a button to show everything (I don't have the Lara HUD up, but it might be called 'Show All') which will clear all the alpha cuts and make all of your body visible again.

 

[DreamcatcherSirene]

1 hour ago, moirakathleen said:

@DreamcatcherSirene

 A few other things about the alpha tab in the HUD which may not be apparent... 

As was mentioned in one of the other comments, some clothes creators include an "auto alpha" in the clothes they make which automatically sets sections of the alpha cuts on when you add the clothing item.  Sometimes, when you take the clothing item off, those are not cleared.   Also, if you set them manually yourself, when you take a clothing item they will not be automatically cleared. 

So, if you take a clothing item off or change outfits, and you notice that part of your body is 'missing', be sure to check the alpha tab of the HUD to see if there are alpha sections turned on. There should be a button to show everything (I don't have the Lara HUD up, but it might be called 'Show All') which will clear all the alpha cuts and make all of your body visible again.

 

Okay, I'll keep this in mind too. Thanks again @moirakathleen

Edited January 17, 2020 by DreamcatcherSirene