Is it impossible to get mesh Body Dev kits?

[EsmeShaw]

So I'm currently a mesher on IMVU, However I'm looking to extend this and hopefully become a mesher on Second Life as I believe the possibilities are endless! For around 6 months now I've been applying for dev kits. But I never hear anything back. I know I'm not an established creator in SL but its pretty impossible when you aren't given the chance. Has anyone else found it near impossible to get a Dev Kit, and if you have received one, How long did it take?

[Ardy Lay]

You don't get a "dev kit" to be a creator in Second Life.  Apparently, anybody can upload.  To upload mesh, you have to correctly answer an I.P. Questionnaire.  To access that you need to get payment info on file for your Second Life account.  Then fill in the questions on the Mesh Upload Status page.  Both are performed on the account dashboard on the web site.

[EsmeShaw]

Oh This I'm aware of. But what I Mean is to DEV Clothes for mesh bodies created by other SL Residents, I'd need to get dev kits from them such as the Maitreya Lara dev kit for example. I'm just wonder how long or if people ever hear back from the owner of them when you're a new creator.

[Chic Aeon]

7 minutes ago, EsmeShaw said:

Oh This I'm aware of. But what I Mean is to DEV Clothes for mesh bodies created by other SL Residents, I'd need to get dev kits from them such as the Maitreya Lara dev kit for example. I'm just wonder how long or if people ever hear back from the owner of them when you're a new creator.

Basically - and from a creator's standpoint -  people need to be able to show that they already know how to make good clothing in Second Life in order to GET the dev kits. So most likely you would need to make "fitmesh" clothing for the classic avatar (no mesh body) first and have either examples to show or have a shop and be in events -- this in order to convince the mesh body makers that you can actually do the job and are not just "playing". 

At the beginning only a small handful of people had access to the popular mesh bodies and they of course got lots of business. Now most mesh bodies have LOTS of things made for them. Your best bet --  after you already have the making of clothes down in SL -- would be to find some new and less used bodies to design for and work your way up to the more popular ones over time (and this could be years).   

 

It is a long line of folks wanting to create for the top brands. Very hard to get a foot in the door. MANY posts here over the years. That's the story. 

[Janet Voxel]

It’s kind of like graduating with a shiny masters degree and all of the available entry level jobs have a five year experience requirement.

The common practice for some kits is that you have an established store in SL. 
 

The good news is every body creator doesn’t have a strict requirement. Tonic, ebody and signature Alice all have freely available kits. My suggestion is to get those kits and start out creating for those bodies. The people that wear those bodies will be grateful and will buy your things. Just a few items on MP will get you in the door.

The turn around times vary. I remember Slink sent a kit in two days, Belleza and Maitreya take longer. It’s better to start that way, you’ll start out generating income and you’ll be occupied creating while you wait for other kits to come in.

[Chic Aeon]

Let's look at it from the creator's point of view.  

I opened up the OP's profile and see a COMPLETELY EMPTY page. No photo, no groups, no picks and four months old. In four months of BEING in SL most folks at least have their picture in there.   So there is no credibility at all. It looks like a greifer account (I am pretty sure it is not but that's what it looks like).  So for now I wouldn't expect ANY  mesh body creator to hand over a dev kit.  :D.  

[EsmeShaw]

Thank you for explaining, this it now makes sense. I am in no way expecting any one to hand over anything! Though I've been on SL for 8 years I'm new to creating here and created a new account so those who knows me from creating on other platforms recognise my name and Brand on Second Life too. I've known other new creators to get DEV Kits in a matter of days, so I was just curious to why I was unable to acquire one even when using my aged account. I will definitely check out the less created for bodies Thank you. And Thank you all for your answers.  

[Janet Voxel]

Now, now....

It’s possible for someone to create an account just for making things. Many people do that and I have said this account started off as a modeling dummy/alt many times on here. It’s a common thing for creators to do.

[Fritigern Gothly]

Another suggestion that I can give you is to get the dev kits for some of the s less popular bodies. Like Abar's eBody. Adam and/or Eve by Absolut Creation, etc. These smaller names are usually more than happy to give you a dev kit fast. Plus, you'd make a lot of users of these bodies happy if you put out clothing which will fit them.

[Lillith Hapmouche]

How about bringing your jewelry and glasses into SL for a start? So you have a bit on an inworld portfolio, without the need for dev kits...

[Chic Aeon]

My point was that anyone asking for a dev kit needs to look they they know what to DO with a dev kit == as in "Portfolio, store, time in SL etc.  I agree wholeheartedly with Lillith -- bring in what you can so you have a start THEN work on "new things". 

[MaxMare]

I can give you my experience (and some advice)....similar to you, I moved to SL from another game, so I had to start as a complete outsider with no connections in creator community.....

You have to have a store on MP or in-world or both with at least 3-5 original mesh releases, preferably clothes...Slink is the most welcoming when it comes to new creators, Belleza and Legacy are not bad...Maitreya, well yeah, this one is still a tough one...Your best way to go is to create something, doesn`t have to be clothes (furniture, accessories etc) so you have something to show for ,  submit a dev kit request for Slink which you have the most chance of getting,  create some clothes for Slink mesh bodies and apply for other kits...ofc later on you can update previous releases with additional sizes...btw each mesh body has their own web site and their own application form, any other way (sharing with other residents, downloading copybotted kits etc) is illegal..

Bare in mind you will be expected to sign your real life name and share real life info (even photo ID in some cases) and the documents signed are legally binding. 

Things that increase your chances of getting kits are; having a store/brand for a longer period of time, sheer amount of original mesh releases (especially rigged/fitted clothes), high quality work (mesh/textures/presentation), having worked with other dev kits, good standing in terms of never having had any legal issues (DMCA filed against you)...

Good luck!

Edit:

You are going to see others getting kits and in top events with their very first release, nepotism runs deep in SL, it`s sad but that`s how it is...I think your idea to have the same name as in your previous game is a good one (I did the same and it helped), but you definitely should have just changed the name on your main account cause you had it longer and that is something customers and other creators notice...

Edited February 11, 2020 by MaxMare

[Chic Aeon]

2 hours ago, MaxMare said:

ou are going to see others getting kits and in top events with their very first release, nepotism runs deep in SL, it`s sad but that`s how it is...I think your idea to have the same name as in your previous game is a good one (I did the same and it helped), but you definitely should have just changed the name on your main account cause you had it longer and that is something customers and other creators notice...

Also note (to the OP) that sometimes what appears to be NEW creator are not new at all but alts of old creators making an alternate brand and the mesh body owner already is familiar with the typist behind the avatar.  

[EsmeShaw]

Bringing in jewelry and accessories sounds like I great idea!! 

Oh yes, I feel like on most platforms it truly about who you know! But thank you for that detailed explanation I really needed it! I'm now a lot more aware of what to expect, and thank you for the luck. I'll need that too! 😅

[Fanta UwU]

Jewelry and Accessories are good to bring in and make to start out if you have no dev kits.

And to make things easier on you, there is a thing called Avastar to help making clothes for dev kits and all. To which Avastar has the fitmesh model uploaded for everyone to use. (as well as the bento armature). Its not needed but it certainly helps. As for getting Maitreya and Legacy, despite having some cosmetics and accessories up, I haven't heard back from them since like... November when I applied.

But for dev kits for clothing...

Signature (Alice, Gianni, Geralt) and eBody are handed out freely if applied on their website and you usually get them in at least 15 mins (first time I applied I got it in 15 mins!).

eBody you can go to their inworld store, buy the creator kit for 1L and bam, you have it all in a google docs (logos, blender kit, UV mapping, etc, etc). No need for an application! So you can start with ebody and will probably successful due to the lack of support if you use the right tags in MP for it to be easily searchable.

Checked Tonic just now, and its not an application but you do buy it in their inworld store for 100L. Which isn't too bad, imo, still no application needed it seems.

Not sure on Adam and Eve bodies, have not looked into them much.

That's also my 'niche' or 'gimmick' to my store, lmao. Doing the more unsupported bodies such as the ones I listed for you. Not Maitreya or Legacy since they seem to get plenty of support. Am willing to add any other body (such as Eve and Adam perhaps? however). So if you do go that same route of starting off with those bodies that don't have a whole lot of support, there will definitely be people looking into your store and a good market for such.

[Dean Haystack]

On 2/10/2020 at 5:29 PM, EsmeShaw said:

Though I've been on SL for 8 years I'm new to creating here and created a new account so those who knows me from creating on other platforms recognise my name and Brand on Second Life too.

If you have an account with 8 years, use that one for PR.
You can still have this one to actually create and upload stuff, rent a parcel for a store, etc, do all your business from this, but have the other be the face of your brand, at least when you are getting started.
Having an account with a significant age will instantly afford you more credibility on anything you try to do, including trying to sign up for events.
This will give you a lot more credibility to get started and with time, you can move away your main account for personal use and keep this one for business if you wanna keep it separate.

[VanillaLovelace]

On 2/12/2020 at 11:54 AM, EsmeShaw said:

Bringing in jewelry and accessories sounds like I great idea!! 

Oh yes, I feel like on most platforms it truly about who you know! But thank you for that detailed explanation I really needed it! I'm now a lot more aware of what to expect, and thank you for the luck. I'll need that too! 😅

Another suggestion regards jewelry: Maybe you could create your jewelry as rigged mesh and sell it as FULL PERM in your marketplace Store. If you search for „rigged jewelry“ with activated checkboxes COPY and TRANSFER in marketplace, you will see that there are not too many products offered. Maybe this would be a good start for your activities.