People still use classic avatars instead of bento heads and bodies?

[Scylla Rhiadra]

19 minutes ago, xBaeBeex said:

..i think im going to come off as the av snob here, the av mesh snob.. and an av mesh snob thats only been in SL for 1 year almost.

I really really dont like the system stuff. And im sorry for that.. but i just.. I dont get it, ive seen names and people who, when i check their profiles they've been on 7 or 8 years and still look like they've been in SL for 1 day as a noob. .. can call mesh users "barbies" but some of us will look at system user accounts and wonder why in 8 years it looks like you havent done anything to your account. .. with some shops and designers offering next to nothing free bobies and even genus with a free head, and 7DS with a BOM free skin.. so much stuff avaliable.. so "id rather spend my money else where" kinda doesnt cut it when i see so much desigbers are willing to give. And also, if your playing second life and took the time to learn it and still willing to log in after 8 years of playing, you would somewhere have even 10 or 15 dollars to put in to at least.. at the least..get a body? .. Im sorry.. i just.. yeah.. 

So at the expense of calling the rest of us "barbies" or "plastic" or other names ... please dont.. coz some of us would be willing to help anyone that wanted help to upgrade. .

 

SL, as I'm sure you've already figured out, means very different things to different people. And that's a great thing, but one of the drawbacks is that sometimes it creates particular communities of interest that don't really connect very well. So, for instance, there are lots of role players here, which is something I've never been into, and I don't really connect with many of them except here, on the forums.

And, more concerningly, there are people who get very judgemental about how others use the platform. So, there certainly are some older residents who are not merely indifferent to the allure of mesh, but actually contemptuous of it. And, of course, there are others who are snobbish about mesh; in fact, there are sims that will only allow those wearing mesh bodies and clothing into them.

A great many residents, particularly older ones, just aren't here for the clothing and avatar customization. They like building, or role play, or scripting, or exploring, or landscape photography, or . . . whatever. So, while those who are contemptuous of people who enjoy working on avatar customization and fashion are clearly being intolerant and should "shush," it's equally true that offers to help them "upgrade" to mesh are likely going to fall on deaf ears.

There is, as well, one other thing about older residents and their avatars that is actually really important, and that is that they -- we, because I get this -- have been using our avatars for so long that we have really come to identify with how they look. Many people -- and until a year and a half ago, this would have included me -- are reluctant to move to mesh heads because it's often so difficult to replicate the same look in mesh. That was certainly a concern of mine -- and I actually had friends in-world who were upset that I wasn't going to appear as I had for, essentially, 9 or 10 years. They, and I, were accustomed to my face.

So when someone contemptuously dismisses you or others who are fans of mesh, as "Barbie dolls," feel free to shrug them off: they're bigots and ignoramuses. But equally, it's important to understand that there are often very good reasons why some people resist the move to mesh. As Lindal says, above, there's room for us all here.

 

[Nalates Urriah]

Human nature is what it is. Some are enlightened and some have absolutely no clue. What we do and say reveals where we fall in the crowd.

How does one say something about the narrow minded criticising others without engaging in the same behavior?

I know I can be a  b i t c h  or even the C-word. I also believe there are times that is called for as some people are too slow or dense for a dialog to work. Free speech is the right to express our stupidity, ignorance, and biases. It is also the right for others to be critical of us and express their stupidity, intelligence, bias, empathy, and whatever. The enlightened learn from their experiences and understand why they respond the way they do. Is it emotional reaction? Or a response based on thought and a reason based motive?

Learning is evidenced by a change in behavior... If people are never criticized, they never learn and the world never changes. It is the reason free speech is so important.

All one has to do to be a noble saint is figure out how to balance all the crap and drama with insight and empathy...  she wrote as if that were possible...

[Damian Mills]

14 hours ago, xBaeBeex said:

..i think im going to come off as the av snob here, the av mesh snob.. and an av mesh snob thats only been in SL for 1 year almost.

I really really dont like the system stuff. And im sorry for that.. but i just.. I dont get it, ive seen names and people who, when i check their profiles they've been on 7 or 8 years and still look like they've been in SL for 1 day as a noob. ..

Not a snob but perhaps a bit unknowledgeable.  The quality of someone's look doesn't have much or anything to do with whether they use a mesh body.  It has a lot more to do with their design skills as they put together the avatar.  Every single day I see hundreds of full mesh avatars that look hideous.  It's more rare, but I find plenty of classic avatars looking very well put together.

Insofar as your preferences for mesh avatars, everyone's entitled to their preferences.  

[Eva Knoller]

9 minutes ago, Damian Mills said:

Not a snob but perhaps a bit unknowledgeable.  The quality of someone's look doesn't have much or anything to do with whether they use a mesh body.  It has a lot more to do with their design skills as they put together the avatar.  Every single day I see hundreds of full mesh avatars that look hideous.  It's more rare, but I find plenty of classic avatars looking very well put together.

Insofar as your preferences for mesh avatars, everyone's entitled to their preferences.  

Have to agree with Damian and Scylla here. And while I agree with the bolded above in that some mesh avatars look hideous to me, I am assuming they look good to their owners. I am sure likewise some people find my avatar boring or hideous, and I'm okay with that.

I personally love that there are still a lot of system avatars out there. Avatar diversity is good, and it makes for a more interesting world.

[Lindal Kidd]

I have a mesh body, and I wear it maybe 1/3 of the time...mostly when I'm wearing an outfit that doesn't have a "classic avatar" option.  But the classic avatar has a very wide range of possibilities.  Here's a very early version of me, sometime in 2007.

...and here is a much more recent version of me, still wearing a classic avatar...

 

 

 

 

[Charlotte Whimsy]

I use both my system and mesh bodies. Since Bakes On Mesh came out, I've been using my mesh body more, due to the novelty of using my favorite system skins on my sleek new mesh body. 

I like the system body because it's fun to try to make it look as smooth and as realistic as possible. And there are a ton of old clothes I love to wear that I couldn't wear with a mesh body before, though that is possible now. But sometimes I feel really nostalgic and walk around as a system avi for a while. I tend to go mesh-free at events where there aren't any mesh bodies there. 

I like to use the mesh bodies/heads/attachments for photography. Currently, I feel like I'm in limbo with mesh bodies. I've used Maitreya Lara exclusively since it came out. I love it as a body, but I've always had issue with the breasts. I don't like large breasts, but Maitreya Lara's breasts don't work well when I move the slider down. The Legacy Perky body fixes that problem for me. I love how the Legacy Perky breasts look. Unfortunately, the body doesn't work with any of my clothes or body attachments. When I demoed the body, I (being an idiot) just demoed it naked. But hey! At least now I can look good naked! 👍

 

Edit: After reading this thread, now I really want to go in and edit my system avi now. lol

Edited April 21, 2020 by Charlotte Whimsy
I have an aside that I don't want to make a new post for.

[Charlotte Whimsy]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I have a mesh body, and I wear it maybe 1/3 of the time...mostly when I'm wearing an outfit that doesn't have a "classic avatar" option.  But the classic avatar has a very wide range of possibilities.  Here's a very early version of me, sometime in 2007.

...and here is a much more recent version of me, still wearing a classic avatar...

 

 

 

 

I love your updated avi! That looks beautiful! Can you tell me where you got that skin from though? I love the way the lips look. I've gotten a few skins where the lips look frankly awful, at least to me anyway.

[MelodicRain]

nvm

Edited April 22, 2020 by MelodicRain

[Lindal Kidd]

I'm wearing the Claudia 2 skin from Laqroki in Peach.  The parted lip look comes from a tattoo from Mock Cosmetics.  I don't think they're in SL any longer, but surely someone makes something similar.  The lipstick itself is one of the makeups that comes with the skin.

Also...a lot of skins will look awful, or at least "not as good as the store picture" when you wear them with your own shape.  You have two choices: try another skin, or tweak your shape so it looks good with that particular skin.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Lindal Kidd

[rushingaround]

I wear maitreya  and  got the free head from Genus and it looks really good.  I have a few alts that are still system avatars.  

Edited April 22, 2020 by rushingaround
Change sentences and word usage

[DeepBlueJoy]

On 4/18/2020 at 7:53 PM, LittleMe Jewell said:

I have a mesh body, but still use my classic head.  It's not really about money (or at least not totally) but more about being comfortable with my current look and so far not being able to achieve something close enough in the mesh heads that I've played with.  I don't see any reason to spend roughly $20 US on something that I'm only so-so about.

I did the same thing for a long time.  partly because I liked my old head, and partly because I am cheap.  I eventually spent 500L on a normie head, which comes with full Omega installed (no added expense to wear make up, tattoos or skins or anything else that is omega based).  I can even use free omega evolved HUD to wear a bom skin or a system skin)

There is a free tester that is fully omega set up so you can see if your chosen skin and make up work well with your head.  If you decide to go with a 'normie head' (Marketplace), you will have to adjust your head shape some as you would with any mesh head, but I was able to get a look that was similar enough to my old head that I didn't miss it that much (and now, looking at pictures of both, I like the new one better)

I'm a tryer-outer of things so I tried maybe 10 or 20 different heads before I gave up for another year...  same as I had with bodies.  I had almost given up on the idea of a mesh head until I found the normie head.  I don't like any of the 5000 linden heads nearly as well as I like my normie head... which to me doesn't look like a lady of the night posturing for sex or a fainting maiden devoid of mental capacity.  The vacant look is not for me.  Most of the heads seem to ape some kind of beauty standard that is out of vogue with a touch of  pronstar... not my thing.

Love my normie head.  Wish he made one for men too... 

Works really well with LAQ skins.  Also have worn with a bunch of other skins including Fallen Gods.  All look decent but I'm fond of LAQ anyway - that was what I wore with my system head.

EDIT

Finally just wanted to say this:  I would not let ANYONE push you into wearing a mesh head if you don't want to.  I think you need to do Second Life for YOU.  There's a lot of body shaming in SL same as everywhere else.  It's nonsense here same as in the 'real' world.  If you have a look that suits you and/or you don't care, don't change!  It's YOUR second life, not anyone elses.  Some of my favorite people in SL look a lot like they did when they joined, some a long long time ago.  I've found what matters more is the content of their character not the mesh in their avatar.

Sometimes I wear my system body with my mesh head, hands and feet... because I have some awesome clothing I missed wearing before BOM.  Actually, the system body is simpler to work with than BOM to me -- I tend to just save the whole thing as an outfit... (I have a separate shape that I wear when I wear my system body that makes it look more streamlined)

Edited April 22, 2020 by DeepBlueJoy

[LittleMe Jewell]

7 minutes ago, DeepBlueJoy said:

I did the same thing for a long time.  partly because I liked my old head, and partly because I am cheap.  I eventually spent 500L on a normie head, which comes with full Omega installed (no added expense to wear make up, tattoos or skins or anything else that is omega based).  I can even use free omega evolved HUD to wear a bom skin or a system skin)

There is a free tester that is fully omega set up so you can see if your chosen skin and make up work well with your head.  If you decide to go with a 'normie head' (Marketplace), you will have to adjust your head shape some as you would with any mesh head, but I was able to get a look that was similar enough to my old head that I didn't miss it that much (and now, looking at pictures of both, I like the new one better)

I actually have that demo and quite a few others, but can't seem to care enough about a mesh head to spend much time with the Demos.  After about 15 minutes of messing with demo head shape and some skins, I'm tired of it and just move on to my normal SL activities.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

3 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I actually have that demo and quite a few others, but can't seem to care enough about a mesh head to spend much time with the Demos.  After about 15 minutes of messing with demo head shape and some skins, I'm tired of it and just move on to my normal SL activities.

 

Then don't!  You are doing this for you!  I like playing with shapes and avis.  I started on day one when I remade my initial shape and dyed my free hair blue.  Not everyone likes this.  If you have a look you like, then keep it and go on with life.  It's not worth joining the crowd just b/c people get idiotic about it.  I like my face, but you know what?  I still miss my cleft chin, something that no mesh head (at least none I like) has, though you can buy very marginal tattoos, they don't look real.  I have a cleft chin in real life. I look female.  It looks natural.  Apparently, in SL women must not have cleft chins.  Idiots!

[DeepBlueJoy]

On 4/18/2020 at 7:11 PM, polygonmonster said:

Question, how many people roughly still use classic avatars instead of bento heads and bodies? I'm very curious about those who don't decide to spent money on this meshes.

I don't know what the stats are, but I know quite a few.  If money is an issue, you can find free heads or free bodies all over SL and some of them are actually really well done, though they have various limitations.  Altamura and Ebody come to mind for bodies.  Altamura also has heads and bodies with heads.  I like ebody best b/c it's very simple to use, but a lot of people find they like all the features in the altamuras, even the freebie ones. 

I think whether you go mesh really depends on what you are hoping to get out of SL.  If you're big into dressing up, you will probably want to at some point, though some of the nicest clothes for some role play is older and not mesh oriented.  If you're here to hang out, to explore or to build, the system vs mesh really is not that big a deal.  You can look decent either way.  System usually is less complex, but some system clothing can be very high complexity... so it really is up to what YOU want.  Don't let people push you.  There are avatar nazis out there.  You get enough of that in real life.  Do what you like.  Be happy and ignore the idiots.

I wore my system body for a long long time because I was happy with it. I only changed when I wanted things that were best worn with mesh bodies.  I still wear my system body occasionally, though BOM has restored my old wardrobe mostly, I have system outfits set up that I still just wear.

All the best,

Blue

[Sassy Kenin]

Not many are using the system avatar, mostly just very very old madlanders caught in a daydream over some forgotten prim wars.

[Holger Gilruth]

I tryed bento mesh and body but it is complicated, you need to take hours to fit it, you redo it for every clothing you change sorry i was going back to normal avatars after 1 week and i miss nothing. Change Avatar in Seconds, redo nothing it just works

[DeepBlueJoy]

52 minutes ago, Holger Gilruth said:

I tryed bento mesh and body but it is complicated, you need to take hours to fit it, you redo it for every clothing you change sorry i was going back to normal avatars after 1 week and i miss nothing. Change Avatar in Seconds, redo nothing it just works

I think people get used to the inconveniences of mesh. They are told it's 'better' so they get bigoted about it.  It is fine to like it better, just as it's fine to enjoy the simplicity of a system avatar.  I wish people would just live and let live.

[rushingaround]

1 hour ago, Holger Gilruth said:

I tryed bento mesh and body but it is complicated, you need to take hours to fit it, you redo it for every clothing you change sorry i was going back to normal avatars after 1 week and i miss nothing. Change Avatar in Seconds, redo nothing it just works

Some of the mesh is a pain in the a$$.  You get a head and try and match skin.   Why cant the head people and body people compare notes or something.  

[DeepBlueJoy]

6 minutes ago, rushingaround said:

Some of the mesh is a pain in the a$$.  You get a head and try and match skin.   Why cant the head people and body people compare notes or something.  

I understand that there's something in the design of heads and bodies that is different, so the way they're put together can never perfectly mesh.  

[HydrangeaRose]

I have the Genus Strong gift head, and eBody and Classic/Legacy whatever gift mesh body. I can't afford to spend money in game like I used to be able to (pre mesh heads and bodies). I've just started trying them out today, but the eyes on my head are rolled back or way too high, and I can't figure out how to fix it. I might just go back to the plain ole' SL avatar if I can't sort it out. It's worked well enough for me thus far.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

The only unironic use of the base body I've seen are from naked guys looking to hump anything that moves in 2007-era sex sims.

[Nalates Urriah]

I suspect that as more people figure out BOM Mesh bodies and heads mesh will become even more popular. I see it combining the simplicity of the Classic avatar with the better looking mesh bodies and heads.

[FairreLilette]

On 4/18/2020 at 4:11 PM, polygonmonster said:

Question, how many people roughly still use classic avatars instead of bento heads and bodies? I'm very curious about those who don't decide to spent money on this meshes.

I was a Classic avatar my first year and a half in SL but I learnt to build for that year and a half and no one was going to see me very often.  When I went to a club as a Classic avi, why should I care what people think of my Classic avatar?  

Is there any reason to care, other than maybe you want to date in SL?  I never came to SL to date anyone period.  I came for the creativity and a bit of socialization.  

I was hesitant about a mesh body and head for several reasons:  time (I was building), I didn't understand all the appliers, and the cost.  I couldn't justify spending about $40 for a mesh avatar when I build most of the time and no one hardly ever sees me although I did go to clubs for a break from building occasionally, and I do not want to have an internet romantic relationship...I am in SL for friends only.  

I like both kind of avatars.  The Classic has a bit of more originality to it as it has a wider array of shaping it.  I didn't want to spend $40 when I didn't feel there was enough variety in mesh heads.  There are but a handful of mesh head creators.  I didn't want to look cookie cutter, so I didn't buy.  I just bought Catya last week as after looking at all the Catya shapes it seems a good head I can get a lot of variety out of - but it took me almost 3 years to buy it.  I had bought two mesh heads already and those were unfortunately a total disaster I don't have time to go into right now.  I'm not all that thrilled with the lip on Catya but she's okay for my first week of trying to shape it.  I'd like more realistic looking lips in the mesh heads rather than the protruding lip most mesh heads have though.  The mesh lips are what turned me off the most and still do and are very difficult to get a realistic looking photograph with.  

Edited April 23, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Roxy Couturier]

4 hours ago, HydrangeaRose said:

I have the Genus Strong gift head, and eBody and Classic/Legacy whatever gift mesh body. I can't afford to spend money in game like I used to be able to (pre mesh heads and bodies). I've just started trying them out today, but the eyes on my head are rolled back or way too high, and I can't figure out how to fix it. I might just go back to the plain ole' SL avatar if I can't sort it out. It's worked well enough for me thus far.

Turn off 'look at' in your viewers preferences. What's happening is your eyes are following your cursor. So they'll roll up, back and all around. On the one AV I have a Genus head on it took me a while to figure that out, but that's what it was.

[Maitimo]

5 hours ago, HydrangeaRose said:

I have the Genus Strong gift head, and eBody and Classic/Legacy whatever gift mesh body. I can't afford to spend money in game like I used to be able to (pre mesh heads and bodies). I've just started trying them out today, but the eyes on my head are rolled back or way too high, and I can't figure out how to fix it. I might just go back to the plain ole' SL avatar if I can't sort it out. It's worked well enough for me thus far.

That's a Genus issue, I had the same problem. I solved it by replacing the Genus rigged eyes with another pair of unrigged mesh eyes. I'm using ones from my Catwa head which I already own but there are others available on the MP, often very cheap. Make sure they are unrigged, so you can adjust the position.