Updating Avatar

[Roger Raabe]

My avatar has been the same for many years, and is badly outdated. I want to bring him up to current standards, but I don't want to spend a lot of time shopping for components. Is there some place where I can buy a complete package that includes everything I need for a modern, high-quality avatar? I don't mind spending some money.

[HelenaNavy92]

Hi. You'll need time to learn how to put together your avatar. You can buy for example head and body from one sim - Lelutka has heads and they recommend bodies. Bur you should buy hair, clothes and if you want later skin too (for looking better). 

If you know how things work may be at least 2 hours, but if you don't - then much more. So there's no short way to this. 

Good luck. 

[Janet Voxel]

Most men wear Belleza Jake or Signature Gianni or Legacy as those bodies have the most clothing support. There is also the Aesthetic body, which comes with a head, but then your clothing options are limited and to be honest, you'd kind of be a walking meme.

As far as heads, your two options are Catwa and Lelutka, as far as I know.

I really wouldn't go the quick and dirty route with this. From what I've seen on the grid a lot of guys go the Aesthetic route because its easy and end up looking like clones in bad clothing.

Take your time and do some homework and demo all of the bodies and heads that interest you and go from there. Creating an avatar is no small feat and since you're going to be spending a lot of your time with these items, its best to do a good job the first time.

[Maitimo]

37 minutes ago, Roger Raabe said:

My avatar has been the same for many years, and is badly outdated. I want to bring him up to current standards, but I don't want to spend a lot of time shopping for components. Is there some place where I can buy a complete package that includes everything I need for a modern, high-quality avatar? I don't mind spending some money.

"Quality" and "complete package" are NEVER the same thing, because there is no quality creator who is able to make everything. They all specialise. 

The only way to get quality is to buy head, body and skin separately. It will be more expensive, but if current standards of quality is what you want, that is what you will have to do.

The best bodies available for men right now are Signature Gianni and Legacy. Belleza Jake is decent and useable but bear in mind that it's outdated and appears to be an abandoned project with updates in the future looking very unlikely. However, clothing makers are still making quality clothing for it. Everything else has so little clothing made for it that you would be better off sticking with the old classic avatar you have now.

For heads you have more choice; I'd look at the Lelutka Evo range first, then Catwa. 

[Roger Raabe]

Thank you, Helena, Janet, and Maitimo. I was hoping that maybe some designers had gotten together to offer packages of quality avatar components. A lot of us don't like to spend a lot of time shopping, so it seems like such offerings would be successful. I will try the ones you suggested.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Roger Raabe

[Josephine Carissa]

Good Day Roger,

you could check out Skell Daggers blog, (lots of information there).

https://virtualbloke.com/

i'm sure he will see your post and add more for you.

Have a great day,

Josephine

 

[Maitimo]

16 minutes ago, Roger Raabe said:

Thank you, Helena, Janet, and Maitimo. I was hoping that maybe some designers had gotten together to offer packages of quality avatar components. A lot of us don't like to spend a lot of time shopping, so it seems like such offerings would be successful. I will try the ones you suggested.

The nearest you get to "designers getting together" is the annual events such as Skin Fair where you find several of the major designers in one venue, but of course these are only once a year and this year's event was about a month ago. They are also laggy and a nightmare to try and shop in. Visiting the mainstores separately is actually easier and quicker.

In general, guys who don't spend time on shopping don't upgrade their avatars at all (which is why there are still so many people with fourteen-year-old avatars still in the same system clothes and body they had since 2007 (yes I was one of those people for a long while... 😁)

Main advice;

• Go "Bakes on Mesh" (BOM). This will be much easier for you to learn because it's what you're already used to with your classic avatar; system layer skins, tattoos and so on. With BOM you'll wear those exactly as you do now, and they will appear on your mesh body.  Most bodies and heads have a hud with a button to click to enable it. One click and it's done. For Belleza Jake you need to pick up the relay separately (it's still a button to click but it's separate from the hud and available free in the mainstore).
• When trying on demos, wear the shape that comes with the head - anything else will look dreadful (you can modify it later if you want).

[Rowan Amore]

1 hour ago, Roger Raabe said:

My avatar has been the same for many years, and is badly outdated. I want to bring him up to current standards, but I don't want to spend a lot of time shopping for components. Is there some place where I can buy a complete package that includes everything I need for a modern, high-quality avatar? I don't mind spending some money.

More specific to what @Josephine Carissaposted

Noob Dude: A Style 101 for the Second Life Male Avatar – Part 2 – How to Get Dressed (Mesh Head & Mesh Body) – Virtual Bloke

[Janet Voxel]

I think the issue is he just doesn't want to spend a lot of time working on his avatar, not that he doesn't know how, so he wants the easiest solution. The problem there is he also wants a high quality avatar and quick and easy doesn't really go with high quality in this case.

[Gabriele Graves]

There are people who pay others to bring their avatar up to speed.  I am not endorsing that practice, quite the opposite, it's as risky as heck because it requires you to let them use your login but nevertheless it is fairly common out there from the people I have spoken to.

[Maitimo]

3 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:

There are people who pay others to bring their avatar up to speed.  I am not endorsing that practice, quite the opposite, it's as risky as heck because it requires you to let them use your login but nevertheless it is fairly common out there from the people I have spoken to.

Its also against the TOS and potentially very risky, likely to end with both people getting banned.

[Kathlen Onyx]

11 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

Its also against the TOS and potentially very risky, likely to end with both people getting banned.

If you are stupid enough to give anyone your password to log in as you then you deserve to be banned. 

[Janet Voxel]

She's right, it is amazingly common. People have offered me their password to makeover their avatar before. People who have been in SL for a loooong time too.

[Gabriele Graves]

25 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

Its also against the TOS and potentially very risky, likely to end with both people getting banned.

Whether or not it is against TOS is nebulous these days considering what happened during GoH.  AFAIK nobody got banned there.  In addition, of the people I have spoken to, not one got banned for using these services so I don't think it is that likely either.  I am in the choir about riskiness though, I'd never give access to my account to anyone else.  If it did go wrong and you lost your account with all your L$, I doubt LL would be very sympathetic.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Gabriele Graves

[Roger Raabe]

5 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

More specific to what @Josephine Carissaposted

Noob Dude: A Style 101 for the Second Life Male Avatar – Part 2 – How to Get Dressed (Mesh Head & Mesh Body) – Virtual Bloke

Thanks!

[Eddy Vortex]

7 hours ago, Janet Voxel said:

I think the issue is he just doesn't want to spend a lot of time working on his avatar, not that he doesn't know how, so he wants the easiest solution. The problem there is he also wants a high quality avatar and quick and easy doesn't really go with high quality in this case.

 

2 hours ago, Gabriele Graves said:

There are people who pay others to bring their avatar up to speed.  I am not endorsing that practice, quite the opposite, it's as risky as heck because it requires you to let them use your login but nevertheless it is fairly common out there from the people I have spoken to.

If that's the case, he'd be better off buying a style card and do his own shopping from that list.  And a lot safer than giving a rando your password. That's sheer insanity to be that trusting of some shmoe you don't know from Adam.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Eddy Vortex

[Gabriele Graves]

I think some people are mistaking me mentioning it as endorsement for the practice.  I had thought I made it clear that I don't endorse it.

[Eddy Vortex]

25 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:

I think some people are mistaking me mentioning it as endorsement for the practice.  I had thought I made it clear that I don't endorse it.

I don't see anyone accusing you of that. We are agreeing with you about being a risky practice.

[Gabriele Graves]

1 hour ago, Eddy Vortex said:

I don't see anyone accusing you of that. We are agreeing with you about being a risky practice.

Well I didn't say it was an accusation, that is too strong a word for what I meant.  It just didn't seem like agreeing with me as much as trying to convince me it was bad and yours wasn't the only post I thought that about.  I take it back if I was the one mistaken.

[Marianne Little]

16 hours ago, Roger Raabe said:

My avatar has been the same for many years, and is badly outdated. I want to bring him up to current standards, but I don't want to spend a lot of time shopping for components. Is there some place where I can buy a complete package that includes everything I need for a modern, high-quality avatar? I don't mind spending some money.

Do you change skin often?

What is most important, buying clothes or changing skin?

If you say no, I don't change skins often, I just buy clothes, then you can buy all in one place. Signature body and head.

I find the Signature website easy to read, and the HUD for the body is fairly straightforward. Disclaimer: I have never tried the head, or even a demo for the head. https://www.signature-sl.fr/

Signature Gianni is the body you should buy, Geralt is not so supported. Gianni sizes is sold "everywhere" in clothes, shoes, accessorizes.

You should only buy the Signature head if you like the face/skin "out of the box". Because it is not many other skin options for it. And you don't wish to spend time on shopping. But if you like it, you can buy everything from Signature.

There are a few skin creators that had made skins for the Signature head. Like Avenge. But it is very unlikely that you find head skins for Signature in any event. The body skins is provided by "all" who sell male skins.

 

[Alwin Alcott]

18 hours ago, Roger Raabe said:

My avatar has been the same for many years, and is badly outdated. I want to bring him up to current standards, but I don't want to spend a lot of time shopping for components. Is there some place where I can buy a complete package that includes everything I need for a modern, high-quality avatar? I don't mind spending some money.

closest to what you look for is buy a shape with stylecard .. but.. the pics advertising it are often a bit too optimistic to get that exact look.
What comes close is visit the blogs that mention the whole list of items used for their pics/posts
One of them is here to find, but there are many more.
And of couse Skells pages are of great help and inspiration.

[Lewis Luminos]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Signature body and head.

I find the Signature website easy to read, and the HUD for the body is fairly straightforward. Disclaimer: I have never tried the head, or even a demo for the head. https://www.signature-sl.fr/

Signature Gianni is the body you should buy, Geralt is not so supported. Gianni sizes is sold "everywhere" in clothes, shoes, accessorizes.

You should only buy the Signature head if you like the face/skin "out of the box". Because it is not many other skin options for it. And you don't wish to spend time on shopping. But if you like it, you can buy everything from Signature.

There are a few skin creators that had made skins for the Signature head. Like Avenge. But it is very unlikely that you find head skins for Signature in any event. The body skins is provided by "all" who sell male skins.

 

Signature can use BOM and Omega - there isn't even a need for a separate omega relay, it's omega-ready out of the box. So a Signature head can use any skin that has Omega appliers, or which has BOM system skin included. Which is almost all of them, these days.  The default skin that comes with it is... not very nice.

[Marianne Little]

2 hours ago, Lewis Luminos said:

Signature can use BOM and Omega - there isn't even a need for a separate omega relay, it's omega-ready out of the box. So a Signature head can use any skin that has Omega appliers, or which has BOM system skin included. Which is almost all of them, these days.  The default skin that comes with it is... not very nice.

Interesting. I don't know how well the topography of the head adapts to skins made for other heads... there are no skins branded "Signature head" as I have seen.

YMMV and if the OP likes the included skin, all is ok. If not, good to know that it is options.

The OP does not strike me as the guy who wishes to go from place to place, collect skin demos and compare it with the head.

The best option for him, if he dislikes the Signature head, would be one of the Lelutka Evo heads in combination with Signature Gianni body. Male Lelutka Evo skins is provided by basically all popular male skin makers, and the Lelutka HUD is easier to deal with than the Catwa HUD.

[Lewis Luminos]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Interesting. I don't know how well the topography of the head adapts to skins made for other heads... there are no skins branded "Signature head" as I have seen.

YMMV and if the OP likes the included skin, all is ok. If not, good to know that it is options.

The OP does not strike me as the guy who wishes to go from place to place, collect skin demos and compare it with the head.

The best option for him, if he dislikes the Signature head, would be one of the Lelutka Evo heads in combination with Signature Gianni body. Male Lelutka Evo skins is provided by basically all popular male skin makers, and the Lelutka HUD is easier to deal with than the Catwa HUD.

I've never seen a "Signature" branded skin either, and although I've tried a demo of the head before I did so before BOM was a thing, so I didn't try any other skins besides the ones included with it. My guess is that it's closest to the UV mapping of the classic head. 

I agree that the Lelutka hud is much easier to use than the original Catwa hud, however the Catwa HDPRO hud looks more like the Lelutka one. I don't think they have any male heads out on HDPRO yet though.

[Nalates Urriah]

Any skin will generally work with any head or body. But around the eyes and lips they can get funky. It just depends on how the UV Maps are laid out.

There is no compatibility list. So, one demos and figures out which brands are a reasonable fit to other brands. For my GE.AG head Genus is good and several others aren't.