Wanting some help with remaking my avatar over

[Jolynn Darkmatter]

I've been away from sl for quite a few years and things have changed so much that I don't know what is in and what is out. I would like to do a makeover on my avatar and i don't have alot of lindens to work with. So any suggestions on where to shop, good, descent items but not expensive. Any woman's or womens input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Nalates Urriah]

We have mesh clothes and bodies as of about 2013, if I remember the date. Mesh clothes can be used with the classic avatar or a mesh body. When fitting a mesh body the mesh clothes have to be made for that specific body. This means BEFORE buying mesh clothes you will need to decide on a mesh body.

You can still wear the classic body and buy Standard Size mesh clothes for it. Other mesh clothes are referred to as Fitted Mesh. The Shape Sliders change the body and clothes when fitted mesh is worn. Standard Size clothes do not change shape with the Shape Sliders.

Sculpty clothing and shoes are things of the past.

Mesh bodies are the THING. BOM (Bakes On Mesh) is a new thing. Not many mesh bodies have been rebuilt to use BOM. BOM Mesh Bodies are more like what you are used to with the default (classic) avatar.

...there is way more for you to learn. I hope this is enough to keep you from wasting money. Take your time and learn. You can play with the DEMOS of these things to see how it works. Also, look through these threads to see what people say about various brands of heads and bodies.

Or... spend between US$10 and $30 to outfit your avatar with a new body, head, and clothes.

[Maitimo]

4 hours ago, Nalates Urriah said:

We have mesh clothes and bodies as of about 2013, if I remember the date. Mesh clothes can be used with the classic avatar or a mesh body. When fitting a mesh body the mesh clothes have to be made for that specific body. This means BEFORE buying mesh clothes you will need to decide on a mesh body.

 

On the other hand many items of clothing come with options for several bodies included. You'll usually find, as a minimum, Maitreya, Belleza Freya and Slink Hourglass, and often the Standard sizes (for non-mesh bodies) too.

Assuming from the name @Jolynn Darkmatter that you're female; if you're male, the main bodies supplied for will be Signature Gianni and Belleza Jake.

I highly recommend going Bakes on Mesh right from the start; a couple of bodies (Slink being the main one, plus Signature if you're a guy) are already set up for it straight out of the box, the other major ones offer a free relay in store which will convert the regular mesh body to BOM. You just wear the body, wear the relay, click the relay and it's done. Remember NOT to wear the full-body alpha, you don't need that with BOM. There's a myth going round that Bakes on Mesh is too hard/too complicated; this is true only if you're young enough to not remember pre-mesh bodies. But for anyone who was around pre-mesh, it's much easier.

Once you've gone BOM, you dress your avatar in almost exactly the way you're used to, and you'll be able to wear all the same system layer/flexi clothes and skins that you wore before. And if you change your mind and want to try non-BOM, all you need to do is put on an applier skin, or one of the default skins from your body hud, and put the full-body alpha back on.  Going BOM is not permanent, neither is going back, you can change either way whenever you want.

 

[Resi Pfeffer]

12 minutes ago, Matty Luminos said:

Once you've gone BOM, you dress your avatar in almost exactly the way you're used to, and you'll be able to wear all the same system layer/flexi clothes and skins that you wore before.

What exactly do i have to do, to make BOM work? Only using a BOM capable viewer and taking off the full body alpha?

[Maitimo]

19 minutes ago, Resi Pfeffer said:

What exactly do i have to do, to make BOM work? Only using a BOM capable viewer and taking off the full body alpha?

1. Have a BOM-capable viewer

2. Obtain the BOM relay for your particular body (or a generic Omega relay if your body doesn't have one but is omega-ready, such as this https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bake-on-Mesh-skin-applier-Omega/14391590)

3. Wear both the body and the relay.

4. Click the relay. The body will turn red.

5. Remove your full body alpha. The body will show your system skin.

From now on, all system skins and layers you wear will show on your mesh body, and will change automatically as you add and remove layers. You don't need to wear the relay all the time.

Some bodies won't work, if they are not omega-compatible and don't have any kind of applier capability; for example the free bodies from Altamura.

[Marianne Little]

Here is a blog that has very much information.

https://ryanschultz.com/

You can use the relevant category on the left side (scroll down) Second Life Steals, Deals and Freebies.

Or the tag Bakes on Mesh.

Be aware that Second Life is always changing. Group gifts come and go, some groups are free to join for a period, there are sales, event gifts and we have just finished the Advent gifts.

So reading a blog post from a while ago, may be wrong today. This is for all Second life Blogs and videos.

I do not know what not expensive means to you. 

I have full priced, expensive avatars. The benefit for those, is that there is made a lot of gifts and promotion material for them. For free and almost free avatars, you can be stuck with that they are not easy to customize, and they can be hard to find content for.

Altamura is already mentioned, and last year they had a very good male mesh avatar and female mesh avatar Valentine gift. These avatars was Bento mesh avatars and had all the options of the full price avatars.

Since it is a month until Valentine's day, it may be smart to wait and see what will happen this year. Read the posts from the blog I lnked to, about the Juliet mesh avatar and other Altamura mesh avatars. I think this avatar brand is the easiest to find content for, of the freebie or cheap avatars.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Marianne Little
typos

[MaxMare]

I am very sorry to say, in order to get your avatar up to date you will need about 10k L$...that is  like 40 bucks (give or take), so not that horrible and once you set it up, you should be fine for the foreseeable future...Clothes and hair is prob cheaper then ever, but everything is made for mesh avatars nowadays and that part, the base avatar is the biggest investment (10K I was referring to)...I`m sure you will get tons of suggestions on cheaper options, but bare in mind, if you go with a no name avatar, you probably won`t have much choice with clothes later on...oh and don`t bother your self with terminology for now, you will get a hang of it soon enough.

Here are parts you need for your new mesh avatar aka your 2020 starter kit:

•  fitted mesh body - Most popular body brands: Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, Legacy (2500-5000)
• bento mesh head - Most popular mesh head brands: LeLutka, Genus, Catwa, and a few less popular but well made; Logo,  Vista, Akeruka (cca 5000, some have promos or intro prices at times)
• decent bento AO  - Animation Overrider is around 2K, but you can probably find a much cheaper one, just make sure it is recent and made for updated bento avatar...
• skin - Skin makers with quality product and enough variety: Skinnery, Glam Affair, Amara Beauty, YS&YS, Essence, Session (700-1200 for head and cca 300 for body)

If you are really that short on cash and don`t mind waiting, join all relevant groups (brands mentioned above) and keep track of notices as well as their Flickr posts so you can catch sales and promos....For help on how to use any of the stuff I mentioned, check Strawberry Singh Youtube channel...

Hope this helps!

[Gina Somerflek]

I've been away from SL also for a few years and it looks like there's a lot to catch up on. When I left SL,  mesh clothes, shoes and hair were already around, bodies and heads were just beginning to appear. My question to you guys is: do I have to have a mesh head and a mesh body?  What is the advantage? In terms of how people look and move, to be honest,  I cannot tell any difference between someone just wearing mesh clothes and those with the whole body/head + mesh clothes.  Do you notice when someone is still wearing a system shape and skin?

Edited January 27, 2020 by Gina Somerflek
spelling

[Talula Shippe]

Yes, you can tell if a system head is being used.  There is a distinctive profile, particularly with how the nose meets the face, that can be observed.  You can still make a system head look nice, but there is a clear difference between the two.  Many people elect to start with a mesh body and update to a mesh head at a later time.  The problem with this has been getting a skin that will work to make the transition.  It's possible though, with BOM implemented to use a system skin for the face and body, to do this. 

One thing to keep in mind too if shopping for a mesh head is that there are standard mesh heads and bento mesh heads.  Most places do bento, but there are some regular mesh heads still floating around.  Make sure yours is bento, for the best customization.  Bento costs more typically, but allows you to use the sliders to change the bone structure of the head, just like a system head. 

[Pussycat Catnap]

There ARE cheaper options for heads than the top brands imply. Top brands seem to price around $5000 for the head. One brand splits it and charges mostly for the HUD, with the heads being cheaper (LAQ) - which means if you like LAQ's style, it's a good place to go if you expect to eventually change heads between different LAQ options.

Some "off brand" makers are dramatically cheaper. I used Mayreal for quite some time and they average a little over $1900L last time I checked. Mayreal has also gone BOM for all its heads (they sent me updates).

For Body... you need to seriously test all the choices for 3 things:

1. Is there sufficient and affordable support for skins and clothing in styles you like? Does it support Omega so you can go 'beyond' the limits of what's been specifically made for it.
2. Do you like the look of the body itself and how it responds to animation? What happens when you add in avatar physics or change the shape dials of the body away from your typical settings - how far can you go before it looks weird... are you OK with this?
3. Is there sufficient active community support for the body? Is the develop still around or has it been abandoned? Is it wrapped up in any controversy that bothers you?

 

 

[Nalates Urriah]

I see a noticable difference between a Classic and Mesh body. It is especially noticeable when sitting.

With mesh heads it is less noticeable. Mesh heads improved greatly with the advent of Bento. We now can create facial expressions with animations. The Classic head is limited to the predefined system expressions. With a Bento Mesh head the Black Dragon viewer's POSER can be used to tweak facial expression. That cannot be done with the Classic head.

I point this out because the plan is to add the Poser to the Linden SL Viewer... someday soon... but, don't hold your breath.