Whats the deal with Bom?

[Aluviel Nakamura]

ok so I got a BOM skin, with Genus head and finally got these tattoos to work. Unfortunately I really dont like the skin. Is there any way to create my own facial tattoo like neko stripes, kitsune etc without the skin on the mesh head having to be a bom and go through all the hassle?

Did sl ever fix the appearance generator so you can create a more ethnic look? If I could ditch this mesh head bs to have an asian avatar I would.

[Nalates Urriah]

Making BOM tats is easy. This over detailed rambling video tutorial by someone that doesn't understand the UVMaps has all the steps: 

 

 

Appearance generator... there really is no such thing... I suspect you are thinking of the Appearance Editor as some type of generator, which it isn't. You use the sliders to create the look you want.

The Appearance editor hasn't really changed since I joined in 2008, way pre-mesh. If you use the Classic or System avatar head, whatever you call it, the tats for it and for mesh-BOM-heads are made the same way and worn the same way. While the above video is recent and uses the word BOM it is the same as a 2009 video with the only difference being 2009 would not say BOM.

I suspect you have gotten confused using the highbred mesh heads with a BOM and Applier capabilities.

BOM heads will let you use appliers and system layers (skin, tats, etc.). It makes for a confusing situation. But, you can turn off and ignore all the layers in the head and just enable BOM then use only the system layers.

----

The reason we have BOM, which is the new and improved Server Side Baking, is because of mesh bodies and heads. Only the avatar can have textures in layers. Mesh-prims can only have one texture, no layers. BOM is a way to get the compositing of avatars onto a prim-mesh.

[Marianne Little]

She does not want BoM because she has only found one skin in SL that has BoM and is made for Genus. And she does not like the skin.

So all suggestions about making her own facial tattoos depends upon if Genus has a tattoo layer that cover the head. I know she can make a tattoo and put it in an applier. I don't know Genus enough to say how many applier layers it has.

In my opinion, I see Genus skins with BoM every time I look at an event in Seraphimsl. In my opinion, it must be one of the easiest brands to buy skins for.

But the Original Poster does not say other than "Asian" and has an avatar with dark brown skin, so I don't really know what she wants. I can't see any details, the face is so tiny. A closeup of the Genus head with the skin applier she likes would help. Maybe @Pussycat Catnapcan suggerst some dark Asian skins?

Edited October 28, 2020 by Marianne Little
changed a few words to clarify what I mean

[Aluviel Nakamura]

Sorry this is an old photo graph. Here is what the genus head looks like. I have a pumec skin. I tried contacting the creator to ask her to make a Bom version of it. I like the skin I am wearinng. I just dont care for many others out there. Heck I just bought this and now I have to pay another 6- 800 L for a whole new skin.  I do have a bom skin, Its more of an Islander type nose and yes its a darker skin. I am looking for of a light Chinese or Japanese or Korean skin. 

so this skin with the white hair is good, I cant use the tattoo on it and its the only one out there... If someone else made kitsune marking tattoos for non BOM skins I would just buy it or Pay someone to do it for me

The second one is really beautiful.. its pretty with no makeup.  When I put the makeup on it, just dont look right.  Im open to suggestions.

Is it possible to have a facial tattoo for a Genus head withut the skin being a bom or baked on mesh?

 

[Wulfie Reanimator]

2 hours ago, Aluviel Nakamura said:

Is there any way to create my own facial tattoo like neko stripes, kitsune etc without the skin on the mesh head having to be a bom and go through all the hassle?

How is BOM a hassle? Using appliers is way worse...

2 hours ago, Aluviel Nakamura said:

If I could ditch this mesh head bs to have an asian avatar I would.

Not using a mesh head also literally forces you to use BOM. There's nothing else.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Marianne Little]

14 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

How is BOM a hassle? Using appliers is way worse...

Not using a mesh head also literally forces you to use BOM. There's nothing else.

She must find a BoM skin she likes first. I do not use any Asian skin besides an alt, that has a Mudskin from a gacha. I do not plan to change the alt's look, so I am a bad source of information.

I know many use Genus here in this forum, but it's the wrong time for them to be awake. Maybe the title should be changed to "I need a light Chinese/Japanese/Korean BoM skin for Genus".

I have read posts here about the differences between regions in Asia, but I did not really pay attention, ignorant as I am. :(

So we need them to answer here, then I think it's fixed. I do not remember other posters that @Pussycat Catnapfrom the discussions.

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

@Pussycat Catnapcan suggerst some dark Asian skins?

Actually yes.

INO from It Girls (click this to go to the flickr post from It Girls announcing it):

That's the light tone for it.

It comes in 7 tones, and the darkest of those, 'cafe' - is basically an African tone with Asian features:

- which I got today and did some exaggeration to the eyes for my Neko look. Both of these images are done with the Lelutka 'Ryn' head. So I was also trying to see how far I could take that head away from it's original look... I'm purposefully trying to mix 3 things here: African, Asian, and non-human. I wanted to hint a bit of Asian features into Pussycat since RL multi-racial me is significantly Asian.

 

so for the second image - just realize that the tones range from the first to the second. It Girls has a skin called 'Ryn', for the 'Ryn Lelutka head'; for lighter tones:

(click this to go to the flickr post from It Girls announcing it):

 

As for Genus, I thought It Girls had an Asian skin for Genus, but the item that I thought was that is shown on a Lelutka head on It Girl's flicker page (with a note that it's also available for Genus).

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Pussycat Catnap

[Marianne Little]

I knew you had some suggestions. I was thinking about Ryn too, but it is made for Lelutka Evo and will be wrong for a Genus head.

[Pussycat Catnap]

21 minutes ago, Marianne Little said:

I knew you had some suggestions. I was thinking about Ryn too, but it is made for Lelutka Evo and will be wrong for a Genus head.

They do offer this skin (in the middle, called 'Haku' for Genus, but the product images were made with Lelutka so... no idea what it will look like on Genus:

 

I would recommend Lelutka over Genus or Catwa for anyone who hasn't bought into a line yet.

Lelutka EVO is pure BOM and very lightweight, and they're now making heads that are of distinctly different ethnic groups rather than "here's something round and puffy cheeked enough you can dial it out to look kinda like something vaguely this or that" as everyone else does. 😉

Of course I'm also a 'day one convert' to Lelutka so... my bias is still super fresh...

 

It Girls has one more 'Asian' skin, Saori; seen here on a Caucasian Lelutka head:

I demo'd that one a bit but didn't manage to get a look I liked with it.

 

26 minutes ago, Marianne Little said:

I have read posts here about the differences between regions in Asia, but I did not really pay attention, ignorant as I am. 😞

Yeah. Google image search Thailand, the Phiilipines and Myanmar. Then Google image Search Korea and Japan. Then Google Image search China - but for China, realize that it's huge and multi-ethnic and most images will only show you 'Han Chinese', who themselves have more variation than they think (Both Mandarin and Cantonese people are Han Chinese - but saying they're alike is like saying French and English are the same).

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Pussycat Catnap

[Marianne Little]

Yep yep, but a head is a big investment and then the skin. So for someone who has a Genus, it is often Genus they have to use... until the funds allow a change.

So Steffi Vilota who owns Deetalez has this info on her blog: https://deetalez.com/faq-find-help-here/

She can even make BoM on request, but not for very old skins.

And the latest for Genus is in Uber. I was hoping it had a BoM symbol on it, or a BoM layers made on request for free... Why so little information on the vendor? But trying on a demo should tell, if it is a layer in the demo it is ok for BoM.

I can't tell if it Asian enough, but it is some skins in her store that looks Asian to me.

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

When they don't say BOM very obviously I assume it lacks BOM, because BOM is the new thing and as you count the months backwards the amount of BOM items out there very rapidly diminishes...

Even shops that have heavily gone in for BOM, if they've been around for more than a year - will likely have most of their products as pre-BOM items. And only a few brands are 'back converting' things (even though all you have to do for this is save the texture to a skin file instead of put it's UUID into an applier).

...

To me, Sasha there looks decided northern European. But then... the hair could be distracting me. The jawline / chin / cheekbones though seem very Caucasian - and other than the cheek shadows that's all in the shape dials and head used for the advert.

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Pussycat Catnap

[Coby Foden]

Nuve store has Asian style BOM skin for Genus head. The skin name is Luna. There is paid version and also a free group gift. Body skin is also included.
Nuve store --> http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ZoHa Islands E/27/204/294

(PS. Nuve has similar skin also for LeLutka and Catwa.)

Edited October 28, 2020 by Coby Foden

[Velk Kerang]

Ok I am gonna ask because I honestly don't know. What is the difference between a BOM skin and a normal one? I mean I thought BOM was so you could use your normal skins and stuff with out exactly needing an applier for them. Thanks in advance.

[Maitimo]

1 hour ago, Velk Kerang said:

Ok I am gonna ask because I honestly don't know. What is the difference between a BOM skin and a normal one? I mean I thought BOM was so you could use your normal skins and stuff with out exactly needing an applier for them. Thanks in advance.

None, really, except newer ones will have the fingernails & toenails omitted, and they may still be designed to fit best on a particular mesh head, whereas old system skins were made to best fit the system avatar.

That doesn't mean that something labelled BOM is going to be different. Some creators are re-labelling their old classic content as "BOM" without making any changes, just for search purposes.

[Velk Kerang]

4 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

None, really, except newer ones will have the fingernails & toenails omitted, and they may still be designed to fit best on a particular mesh head, whereas old system skins were made to best fit the system avatar.

That doesn't mean that something labelled BOM is going to be different. Some creators are re-labelling their old classic content as "BOM" without making any changes, just for search purposes.

Thank you very much. For a moment I thought I was missing something here. I tested BOM on a cheap mesh body I came across on market and honestly like for some of the more baggier system cloths I had from back in the day I thought sticking with a system avatar would be best. It seems to me BOM is better suited for more form fitting cloths, skins, and tattoos anyway. At first I was like yay I can use some of my old system stuff again. Then I actually seen how it actually looked baked on the mesh avatar and was like I think I'll just stick with my mesh stuff. I'm good. lol

[Maitimo]

4 minutes ago, Velk Kerang said:

Thank you very much. For a moment I thought I was missing something here. I tested BOM on a cheap mesh body I came across on market and honestly like for some of the more baggier system cloths I had from back in the day I thought sticking with a system avatar would be best. It seems to me BOM is better suited for more form fitting cloths, skins, and tattoos anyway. At first I was like yay I can use some of my old system stuff again. Then I actually seen how it actually looked baked on the mesh avatar and was like I think I'll just stick with my mesh stuff. I'm good. lol

Yes, the big difference is you can't get the "baggy" look that you could with shirt and pants on the classic avatar. BOM is best for close fitting things like skins, body-hair, makeup, tattoos, freckles, bruises, scars etc, and the advantage of having those as BOM rather than appliers is that you can have so many, instead of just the 2 or 3 layers you get with appliers.

For actual clothes; pants, shirts etc, mesh still looks best, but system layers can still have their uses especially as underwear, or things like t-shirts to wear under a mesh jacket. 

[Velk Kerang]

16 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

Yes, the big difference is you can't get the "baggy" look that you could with shirt and pants on the classic avatar. BOM is best for close fitting things like skins, body-hair, makeup, tattoos, freckles, bruises, scars etc, and the advantage of having those as BOM rather than appliers is that you can have so many, instead of just the 2 or 3 layers you get with appliers.

For actual clothes; pants, shirts etc, mesh still looks best, but system layers can still have their uses especially as underwear, or things like t-shirts to wear under a mesh jacket. 

Ya I was thinking along those lines when it came to the clothing options because a lot of times I may have an outfit with an open shirt and I don't exactly care for the shirt that came with it so I'll have that invisible and add a different shirt. So setting up a shirt layer will actually come in extremely helpful so I don't have to fight so much to make sure one shirt isn't cutting to much in to the other. And honestly most of my system stuff I've already found a mesh replacement for in terms of dress style cloths more or less. It's generally t-shirts where I have issues at the most. lol

[Laurel Aurelia]

A lot of older system layer were made before  we could have 1024 textures so the quality is not as great as what we are accustomed to now. I still use the clothing layers for layering purposes as well as oodles of skin details to customize my look. I hope in the future they are able to work out the issues that occur when you enter appearance mode (striped skin and missing eyes), but I am overall very happy with the seemingly limitless possibilities with customization.

 

As for Asian skin suggestions, I would definitely recommend checking out Mudskin for their more recent releases (making for the 3 major heads). Really beautiful skins. Also Boataom has some great stuff too!

[FairreLilette]

4 hours ago, Velk Kerang said:

Ok I am gonna ask because I honestly don't know. What is the difference between a BOM skin and a normal one? I mean I thought BOM was so you could use your normal skins and stuff with out exactly needing an applier for them. Thanks in advance.

I haven't read this whole thread but the OP has found many great items for a Kitsune which are applier only and/or Catwa but she has a Genus head.

She also would like to have the creator of her skin update it to BOM so she doesn't have to pay money again and buy another skin, not that there is really any difference.  She has "different" issues.  

I say give creator's time to make some Kitsune stuff in BOM, or else I'm lost in thread.  Grateful some are taking the time to figure this out and HELP the OP.  

p.s.  This is the 2nd thread of hers I have seen and I did say that yes you can try Catwa BOM Kitsune tattoos on a Genus head; it's random with BOM, some work, some don't.  Right now my Catwa is wearing a Genus BOM item.  

Edited October 28, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Skell Dagger]

7 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Grateful some are taking the time to figure this out and HELP the OP.

Some of us spent a considerable amount of time helping the OP in their last thread, and we had to read through this new thread to find out that they had managed to fix the issues they were having, since they didn't go back to that one to let us know. Some common, reciprocal courtesy there from the OP would have been appreciated.

[FairreLilette]

5 minutes ago, Skell Dagger said:

Some of us spent a considerable amount of time helping the OP in their last thread, and we had to read through this new thread to find out that they had managed to fix the issues they were having, since they didn't go back to that one to let us know. Some common, reciprocal courtesy there from the OP would have been appreciated.

Okay, I think I've caught up a bit.  She got a BOM skin now but doesn't like it.  Although I think she wanted the BOM skin mostly so she could be a Kitsune and said there wasn't much Kitsune for Genus.  She also wants to be Asian, and I believe also a Kitsune with Genus.  There is a free group skin offered in this thread she could try.  I'd think with Kitsune, since it's a fantasy and not such a super detailed look, I'd think the Catwa face Kitsune's would probably work on Genus too.  I have a generic face tattoo that goes over the eyes like a Gothic make-up that I feel would fit Classic to any head really.  I've had this Gothic face tattoo which is quite large since I was a Classic; it fits fine on my Catwa head.  I will take a pic and show as soon as I can.  

[Maitimo]

23 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

p.s.  This is the 2nd thread of hers I have seen and I did say that yes you can try Catwa BOM Kitsune tattoos on a Genus head; it's random with BOM, some work, some don't.  Right now my Catwa is wearing a Genus BOM item.  

I have had good success with skins for Genus on Catwa, and vice-versa; the two seem to cross over pretty well. I have some Genus skins from 7 Deadly Skins which work well on my Catwa head. And the skins I am making for myself are done with Catwa in mind but I am sending them to my Genus alt and they work just as well there too.

Lelutka EVO skins however, tend to look absolutely dreadful on a Catwa head.

[FairreLilette]

16 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

I have had good success with skins for Genus on Catwa, and vice-versa; the two seem to cross over pretty well. I have some Genus skins from 7 Deadly Skins which work well on my Catwa head. And the skins I am making for myself are done with Catwa in mind but I am sending them to my Genus alt and they work just as well there too.

Lelutka EVO skins however, tend to look absolutely dreadful on a Catwa head.

Yes me too...I've noticed Catwa and Genus are pretty close and can cross over pretty good too.  As far as a Kitsune, it's not so targeted an area like the mask I am going to show which I've had since a Classic.  In the photo I am wearing it on a Catwa head and this facial tattoo could fit on just about every BOM head probably because it is not so targeted much like the Kitsune things she is looking for aren't so targeted.  If she could get DEMOS, I think they might fit fine and especially things like stripes should do fine also even if they say "Catwa".  I know it's frustrating figuring it all out but switching back and forth causes more frustration imo.  It's better to pick one and stay with it awhile.  

[Marianne Little]

2 hours ago, Maitimo said:

I have had good success with skins for Genus on Catwa, and vice-versa; the two seem to cross over pretty well. I have some Genus skins from 7 Deadly Skins which work well on my Catwa head. And the skins I am making for myself are done with Catwa in mind but I am sending them to my Genus alt and they work just as well there too.

Lelutka EVO skins however, tend to look absolutely dreadful on a Catwa head.

It is one of the few things I am sad about with Lelutka Evo. It does not play well with others. I have found myself increasingly angry (too strongly worded?) that the makeup I find is HD only and not layers. Maybe it is because creators must work more with its shape? Genus almost always includes BoM in their makeup sets. When I try a Genus BoM layer on Evo it does not look right.

I was so happy that I finally found a set of eyeliners and eyemakeup on layers made for Lelutka Evo. I like hair that's not pulled back from the face but hanging down on the side. I also like bangs. And HD makeup along with hair is hopeless. I will not change the hair from alpha blending, because the hair looks lumpy. But BoM eyemakeup is always looking right. It also helps to hide if the lashes disappear, since a dark eyeliner on BoM is a good base color. Masking on lashes also makes them look bad...

[Aluviel Nakamura]

6 hours ago, Maitimo said:

None, really, except newer ones will have the fingernails & toenails omitted, and they may still be designed to fit best on a particular mesh head, whereas old system skins were made to best fit the system avatar.

That doesn't mean that something labelled BOM is going to be different. Some creators are re-labelling their old classic content as "BOM" without making any changes, just for search purposes.

the big Diff, is that I want kitsune tattoos on my face my mesh head. if you have a regular mesh head without a BOM skin on it, the tattoos will not work.  So im looking o get a better skin. TY all for the suggestions. I will go shopping tonight! 

I am a big Asian collector of 20 years now.  The cultural diff between them is that some have a higher bridge to their nose and lighter skinned, some have a very flat bridge.  For some reason the ones with a flatter looking bridge just dont look quite as pretty with the genuis makeup on the hud. They look more beautiful just plain and natural.