Mesh head - before & after

[Maitimo]

So @LaskyaClaren post in the big thread got me thinking (Thank you Laskya for such an interesting post).

And I'd like to pose a question to you all (for those of you who have made the switch from classic head to mesh, how close did you manage get to your original look? Do you still feel like you? Are you happy with it, or is it still a work in progress? Show us pics!

Here's mine:

For me it was a two-step process, first from my original classic head (Elysium Elias skin) to a male mesh head (Egozy Zladim skin). There wasn't much I could do with it as it wasn't bento, but I liked it anyway, wore it for a year and came to think of that look rather than my classic look as "me". The next step was switching to a female head and the third pic is Catwa Freya (Plastik Barrus skin). My aim was to reproduce the look of my male head, but looking back on it, I think I've achieved a blend of the two. Still me. Perhaps more so now. Still a work in progress but nearly there, now.

 

[Orwar]

2 hours ago, Maitimo said:

(Elysium Elias skin)

   Hey, that's the skin I used - and still wear, since I need to wear a skin and haven't gone BOM yet.

   One of the reasons I was hesitant to go mesh at first, was that I couldn't figure out a way to look like my old self.

   Certain elements were replicated to some extent though. Beardy, a slight red tinge to the hair and beard, the full beard, and the scar - although it had to change a bit as I didn't know how to make my own back then (and still can't be bothered with it!). The mohawk also had to go, as I couldn't use the tattoo shadow on my mesh head. The eyes changed though - blue, as in RL, rather than the freebie eyes I just happened to get a hold of back then! 

[Reese Wicken]

I had the shape, but not the OG skin I had gotten for it.  I wasn't really going for an Asian type of look back then but I was at the time playing an elf.  The skin I used was one I had laying around in my inventory, it was close enough to the tone I had back then.

The face has gotten smaller and a little more mischievous looking over the years as I've decided to go with being a pixie character for RP sims that allowed it,  I'm more commonly seen as a white bat when I'm not being human-esq.  and yes.. the hair is recent,  I had long since deleted the old hair I had but, this was a suitable look-alike to the flexi that I wore.

I don't have any pictures from those days,  lost them as I've swapped computers over the years.  My earliest known pics are on a PC my first ex has,  so here's a mock up of what I had!  Oh,  the one on the right was unedited.  reasons being laziness.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Eseme Nova
Addins

[LaskyaClaren]

4 hours ago, Maitimo said:

Still a work in progress but nearly there, now.

Yeah, all of those are definitely "you," despite some of the differences.

The Freya head is really interesting, because it produces a kind of softer, feminized version of the other two. Still recognizably male, but with a nudge towards the feminine? I really like it.

I met a guy in-world yesterday who was using the Freya for his male avatar -- he was having the same problem with the Catwa eye HUD I was, and having a hard time following the thread of the conversation in the group chat, so he contacted me to ask what I'd done. We talked about modifying the head for men (he didn't know you could edit the eyebrows). I think he was going for a much more obviously masculine look. It worked ok, but I think you're using the head better.

[MrsSeren]

The picture of Seren in the silver top is when she had a classic head so from Apr 2015 to Feb 2017, one where I am in leather jacket I took few months back as I finally took plunge and got pre-Bento Catwa mesh head back in Feb 2017 then Apr/May 2017 I brought my bento Catwa one. 

I found a different skin maker I prefer to buy from, got addicted to having freckles so now when I do change skins then freckles are now a must and I do enjoy having a slight tan with my red hair though even now that varies to mood as currently being blonde in world at moment. 

[rushingaround]

I hate about mesh heads that if you don’t use the default shape then you have to mess around getting to look right

[Skell Dagger]

I'm lucky because I work for a mesh head creator and got 'my own' head, as it were. So - even though it's not a replica of my old system head - it bears enough similar features (generous lips, high and prominent cheekbones, slightly shallow jaw) that it felt like me when I wore it. Two system examples on the left, and mesh on the right:

[MirandaBowers]

2 hours ago, Skell Dagger said:

I'm lucky because I work for a mesh head creator and got 'my own' head, as it were. 

 

That's so awesome! And I love that you still kept the same general vibe

[GoSpeed Racer]

I came fairly close. The chin is pointier and I could not replicate the eye shape to my satisfaction. Being able to BOM my skin and eyes was a BIG help in retaining my look. Facial expressions are much better too!  I am happy with the final result.

[Maitimo]

On 5/18/2020 at 5:05 PM, LaskyaClaren said:

Yeah, all of those are definitely "you," despite some of the differences.

The Freya head is really interesting, because it produces a kind of softer, feminized version of the other two. Still recognizably male, but with a nudge towards the feminine? I really like it.

I met a guy in-world yesterday who was using the Freya for his male avatar -- he was having the same problem with the Catwa eye HUD I was, and having a hard time following the thread of the conversation in the group chat, so he contacted me to ask what I'd done. We talked about modifying the head for men (he didn't know you could edit the eyebrows). I think he was going for a much more obviously masculine look. It worked ok, but I think you're using the head better.

Thank you Laskya.

A lot of it depends on skin; I wear a variety of different skins on the same head and body, male and female ones, and with most of the female skins I look very feminine even without any change to shape. Even the male skins I wear (my current main one is from Plastik) tend towards the more androgynous rather than being hyper-macho. I've seen some male skins on the Freya head (over on one of the other threads) and they can make the head look unmistakeably male.

But that's not the look I'm after. Neither fully male nor fully female, but walking somewhere in the gap between. If someone asks me if I'm supposed to be a girl or a boy, I've done it right.

[Nalates Urriah]

When I finally decided to go with mesh, I spent like three months looking at demo heads. I found the Jennifer head and was able to tweak it into something I liked. I was caught in the seemingly common 'I want my head to look like my classic head.' I think I pulled it off. Not a perfect match. I ignored the ears and had to make some concessions on the lips as I was running out of patience.

To get a shape to look right, you have to press Ctrl-0 four or five times when working with the face. The middle and right images are the same head and shape. Just a different camera lense. When one zooms with the mouse wheel and the default 50mm lense it starts to fisheye. As you rotate the camera to get the profile adjusted the distortion kills you.

Same skin on both heads.

Every so often a tweak a bit more on the face.

[Artair Glendullen]

There are bits and pieces of the old Art in there, even though I wasn't originally aiming for that. It's a pleasant surprise to see a bit of continuity in there!

The biggest difference between the two are proportions and height, lol. I used to be awful at proportions.

[Pandora Zsun]

I still have some outfits saved from 5 years ago. It's always funny looking back on them because, I don't remember my face ever really looking like that.. yikes xD. I pretty much changed my face entirely but I basically wear the forehead jewel all the time, and the same eyes on occasion. Still love analog dog hair too lol.

 

[HelenaNavy92]

Hi. I was so unsure about the mesh head because I was happy with my system head. But them I realize that I want to try. I spend so much time for trying different heads, finally I'm happy with the result. It's different from my system head, but I really like it. 

 

[Claireschen Hesten]

System (left) + old shape vs Mesh (right) + current shape using same GA system skin was quite lucky to find to find a head that looked "me" with my then regular shape didn't think i looked too bad system but much prefer the brow and eye shape of my Lelutka head

Edited May 21, 2020 by Claireschen Hesten

[Cristiano Midnight]

It was difficult for me to switch to a mesh head initially because I didn't like most of them. They all seemed to look like angry steroid cases.

This was my non-mesh av circa 2018:



I ultimately went with the Catwa Victor head:

I liked the Catwa head - it was very expressive, but something about it felt a little off to me. This past week I switched to Lelutka Skyler. I was hesitant to try Lelutka as I'd not liked any of their head when I tried them, but after a lot of tweaking, I ended up loving the new head. It feels more realistic and less cartoony:

 

 

[Jennifer Boyle]

In had a lot of help from Rhonda Huntsman.  Without her help, I could not have come close. Even with it, I spent all day one day tweaking my shape. The two avatars are wearing different skins.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Jennifer Boyle

[Coby Foden]

This is one of my alts, born in 2011. The earliest snapshot what I found is from 2013, still swearing system body, system clothes and flexi hair. I upgraded her to full mesh and BOM (except for the hair) on 23 May 2020. AK Advanced free head, free eBody classic and free mesh dress. I didn't even try to recreate the classic face appearance on the mesh head. The AK head is so pretty even in its default shape.

The free eBody is quite ok, but I noticed that even though it's fully BOM enabled the system alpha masks don't work on it, they just don't hide anything. It's a pity because in the HUD the alpha cuts are really big so it's difficult to wear mesh clothes due to the huge alpha cuts, no fine tuning possible. All other BOB items work well on the body, but not the system alpha masks. Finding perfectly fitting clothes is challenging, there isn't lot of supply for this body. But anyway, this alt doesn't go out very often so I think she's ok as is, for now.

[Cougar Sangria]

The dates on the photos below are before mesh head and after.  I waited until Bento heads were released as I wanted more freedom to tweak to get the look I wanted.  I worked for two weeks tweaking my new face before I ventured out in public with my new look.  I haven't strayed much from my original look since the introduction of Bento.  While I have tried many Bento mesh heads since it's introduction, none have come close to satisfying me as much as my Catwa Catya.  BOM gave me a fright at first but the skin maker I have used for years came through with a skin that was nearly perfect.  

 

[bobbiestarrz]