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Why does no one smile in SL?

JordonBanks

By JordonBanks,
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Scylla Rhiadra
Scylla Rhiadra

Everyone just found out about the increase in the Linden Buy Fee.

Rowan Amore
Rowan Amore

I've always found smiling avatars creepy and have had that in my profile for ages.  If I were to see a person standing around in RL randomly smiling, I'd cross the street to get away.  Now, for a pict

Anna Nova
Anna Nova

You mean that facial distortion where you bare your teeth? I don't do it in RL either.  It scares the cat.

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Arielle Popstar

Arielle Popstar

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Maitimo said:

Unfortunately with most heads, the lip corners slider never makes the lip corners actually go above horizontal, it only makes the mouth wider. So then you end up looking like Twisty the Clown.

 

I agree some are challenging even to get a hint of a smile though as I mentioned, the lip width slider helps with keep the the potential for grimacing to a minimum. Sometimes too, I have to add some lip fullness to moderate the effect. One head I picked on a limited time free offer, I wound up not even being able to get something close to a smile so it sits at the bottom of the closet and am thankful it was free.

There is always the pouting look though which seems to trigger invites for lap sitting from strange men!

 

 

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Silent Mistwalker

Silent Mistwalker

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On 4/19/2021 at 6:32 AM, JordonBanks said:

I am quite new to SL, and I LOVE IT.

But one thing i am starting to notice more and more, is that no one seems to smile, and almost all of the beautiful, creative and fantastic avatars, have very sullen/serious expressions.  Is there a reason for that?  

I did try to experiment with my own head HUD (Lelutka) and did notice that if I did put a permanent smile on my face, it looked more creepy than happy.  So turned it off.  Wonder if this is the same for everyone else, and that it's just hard to capture that normal smiling face in the current virtual technologies used for this sort of thing?

It used to be eyes didn't it with video games  (YES, i know SL is not a game, but you know what i mean) and they could never get the eyes right.  (or am I getting that confused with The Stepford Wives?)

Anyway - would love to be able to have, and see more smiling avatars - how about you ? 😀

 

I don't smile because I don't have many teef left.

Oh wait.

You said SL not RL. 🤭

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Orwar

Orwar

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1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain"

                        -- WilliamShakespeare.Resident

   I don't know why, but that got me thinking of a film I really, really want to see, that I saw a video essay about recently.

source.gif

   The Man Who Laughs, from 1928.

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Scylla Rhiadra

Scylla Rhiadra

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Orwar said:

   I don't know why, but that got me thinking of a film I really, really want to see, that I saw a video essay about recently.

source.gif

   The Man Who Laughs, from 1928.

 

4 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

 

tenor (3).gif

*shudders*

Okay. So, let's just say we not smile, right?

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JordonBanks

JordonBanks

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On 4/20/2021 at 9:56 AM, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

All botox jokes aside, it's definitely harder to put a more pronounced emotion of your face in SL, and ironically, Bento has not increased the amount of smiles in-world at all.

Culture may also be a factor. After all, if you want to be with the cool kids, you just don't smile.

But it is possible. I did a quick search on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/191317972@N03/51089655572/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wesskyther/50354517067/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/167961055@N05/50731417843/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tupper_moran/49980574718/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeybatriani/50449499803/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/calypsocadell/49830845143/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/26084498@N02/48513095781/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156806996@N06/48944540666/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lidsaaline/50193329617/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137613787@N07/48322751906/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/167961055@N05/51082263973/

From what i understand, it seems to depend greatly on the mesh head type, dentures and especially the skin you are wearing.

P.S. I don't believe the above examples are 'morphed'.

P.P.S. WAAARBGHL!!! NVM Orwar says they're FaceApp-ed.

 

Nice find - and most of those look great.  So it does I guess show that smiles can look good (not creepy) in SL (although I've not personally been able to pull off a non-creepy smile myself with my Lelutka head).  OR could be that these have all had additional editing/touching up in photoshop outside of SL?

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JordonBanks

JordonBanks

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16 hours ago, xBaeBeex said:

Hahaha this now makes me wanna go around with random smiling facial expressions to creep everyone out

Or make other people feel better.  As Mother Theresa famously said: “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.”
 

 

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JordonBanks

JordonBanks

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On 4/19/2021 at 6:09 PM, Polenth Yue said:

The issue with a natural smile is that it isn't fixed on someone's face or at random. It's in response to what's happening around. So you'd need the smiles set up on a HUD or as gestures and fire them off at the right points in conversation. That's a lot of work and most people won't be bothered with all that.

The alterative that some games use is to have the system automatically pick body language based on the words used, which can be hilariously bad. I remember one made the character do things like hit one palm with the other fist in response to strong words like "must". Which worked for "We must save the city!" but not "I must remember to wash my shirt." People in Second Life have yet to try this, as far as I know.

Good point.  Although I'd have thought a 'smile in response' or 'on demand' gesture is not beyond the realms.  It would just trigger the smile in the head or animation.  I thought that was already possible.  but may be mistaken.

Apparently in RL.

the average woman smiles 62 times per day  (men less so, at around 8 times).  

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Rowan Amore

Rowan Amore

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21 minutes ago, JordonBanks said:

Nice find - and most of those look great.  So it does I guess show that smiles can look good (not creepy) in SL (although I've not personally been able to pull off a non-creepy smile myself with my Lelutka head).  OR could be that these have all had additional editing/touching up in photoshop outside of SL?

If your read the end of that post, most were done with the face app.

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JordonBanks

JordonBanks

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23 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

If your read the end of that post, most were done with the face app.

ahhhh yes, you are right.  And yep, its poss to make stills outside of SL look good smiling, with this and other apps.  But, reading back through all responses it seems it's a no-goer for Linden to get this happening without it looking like Creepyville, anytime soon.

And it seems many people are happy for that to be the case, and prefer the 'serious look' going on.   I have no hard and fast view yet personally.  But wanted to pose the general question if there was a reason, given all the other seeming visual and animated advances made in SL I hear have been made over the years - why the simple smile hasn't been cracked. 🙂 

 

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Scylla Rhiadra

Scylla Rhiadra

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, JordonBanks said:

ahhhh yes, you are right.  And yep, its poss to make stills outside of SL look good smiling, with this and other apps.  But, reading back through all responses it seems it's a no-goer for Linden to get this happening without it looking like Creepyville, anytime soon.

And it seems many people are happy for that to be the case, and prefer the 'serious look' going on.   I have no hard and fast view yet personally.  But wanted to pose the general question if there was a reason, given all the other seeming visual and animated advances made in SL I hear have been made over the years - why the simple smile hasn't been cracked. 🙂 

 

There are not enough "bones" on the avatar face; that's the biggest problem, I think. The characteristic look of the smile produced by FaceApp always widens and raises the cheeks, among other things. Although there are a couple of sliders for cheeks on the SL avatar skeleton, it's not capable of producing that effect. (I know: I've tried.) It also reshapes the eyes subtly.

ETA: And in slightly older versions, it can "whiten" the skin. That particular feature has been removed, for reasons that I'm sure are obvious.

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FairreLilette

FairreLilette

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/21/2021 at 10:16 AM, JordonBanks said:

 

Apparently in RL.

the average woman smiles 62 times per day  (men less so, at around 8 times).  

Another interesting fact, with me having read a few women's magazines in my life time about what women are most attracted to in a man - the largest percentage say eyes and smile.

Plus, reading a few articles of what a man finds most attractive in a woman, it is also eyes and smile.  

SL isn't always the same as real life.  But, remember too that when making a shape if one has animations on and then one goes into shape editor, the animation will show in the shape editor making it difficult to make a shape.  This is the main reason I've turned it off as Catwa animations are cute but I make a lot of shapes so it's a hassle for me.  It's better that I just have it off.  One thing I do like for some photographs is closed eyes.  I'm not the kind of SL player that needs one avatar to represent me.  I wear all kinds of shapes and avatars so it wouldn't be a wise choice for me to use animations.  As far as setting up any kind of gestures, my social life is hanging out with the tinies which are small humanimal avatars so I don't have the need.  

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Silent Mistwalker

Silent Mistwalker

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12 minutes ago, Amanda Crisp said:

I smile....my Head's HUD cycles two different smiles out of every 5 facial animations when its on auto loop.

My congeniality is automated 🙂

I also have my "snarky smile" for photography.

Motel Hell...

 

 

In case no one has told you, those are not cabbage heads in the garden.

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