Recommendations for male skins and everything else?

[DjWhiteBoi]

I'm in dire need of a makeover.  I mean I don't look bad if I do say so myself but I've been out of the world for a bit.  And haven't updated in I wanna say 5 years. Could be longer.

I'm hearing there's mesh skins, skins that can switch tattoos on the fly with a HUD? and all this other advanced stuff so I really am clueless now and trying to make sense of it all.

 

Been trying to browse through the threads so I wouldn't have to start my own.. but I'm hearing terms like BoM, Omega, Actanon..  no idea what those are..  oh and I hear girls talking about head all the time. Sorry for the pun but I mean like something called a catwa or something I don't even know.

 

Could we get an ELI5 in here?   Need help with skins.. and now heads too?? So confused.  And then I'm sure you'd have to have special clothing for the special skins??  What about eyes and hair? Do they need to be special too??

 

Any help and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

[Rowan Amore]

31 minutes ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

I'm in dire need of a makeover.  I mean I don't look bad if I do say so myself but I've been out of the world for a bit.  And haven't updated in I wanna say 5 years. Could be longer.

I'm hearing there's mesh skins, skins that can switch tattoos on the fly with a HUD? and all this other advanced stuff so I really am clueless now and trying to make sense of it all.

 

Been trying to browse through the threads so I wouldn't have to start my own.. but I'm hearing terms like BoM, Omega, Actanon..  no idea what those are..  oh and I hear girls talking about head all the time. Sorry for the pun but I mean like something called a catwa or something I don't even know.

 

Could we get an ELI5 in here?   Need help with skins.. and now heads too?? So confused.  And then I'm sure you'd have to have special clothing for the special skins??  What about eyes and hair? Do they need to be special too??

 

Any help and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

You could start here and get the basic idea about mesh heads and bodies.  He has other posts explaining BOM and such.  

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

[Drake1 Nightfire]

1 hour ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

I'm in dire need of a makeover.  I mean I don't look bad if I do say so myself but I've been out of the world for a bit.  And haven't updated in I wanna say 5 years. Could be longer.

I'm hearing there's mesh skins, skins that can switch tattoos on the fly with a HUD? and all this other advanced stuff so I really am clueless now and trying to make sense of it all.

 

Been trying to browse through the threads so I wouldn't have to start my own.. but I'm hearing terms like BoM, Omega, Actanon..  no idea what those are..  oh and I hear girls talking about head all the time. Sorry for the pun but I mean like something called a catwa or something I don't even know.

 

Could we get an ELI5 in here?   Need help with skins.. and now heads too?? So confused.  And then I'm sure you'd have to have special clothing for the special skins??  What about eyes and hair? Do they need to be special too??

 

Any help and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

You're going to need to spend some serious money.. Mesh body, head and .... Bits. Skins for them. Clothing. Hair. 

Omega is pretty much done when BOM came out. 

Try demos of everything, Slink body, belleza jake, Gianni, Aesthetic, Catwa, see which body fits what you want your look to be. Slim? Defined? Average? Go on the MP and search for mesh bodies. 

Niramyth Aesthetic http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Niramyth/128/128/29

Slink Body http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Slink/45/124/24

Bellezza https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Belleza/128/63/26

 

[Sprout Evergarden]

I can fix all your flesh problems with one single suggestion http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bay City - Mashpee/189/185/26

 

[Rowan Amore]

LM for Signature mesh body.  Probably the best supported one of the bunch as far as clothing is concerned.   I would suggest not using a few of the ones mentioned above only because they aren't well supported as far as skins/clothing is concerned.  Niramyth can only be used with their skins and clothing is...eh, not so great IMO.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Signature Body/133/135/541

But, of course, everyone has opinions on which is best.  Demo, demo, demo.  And search for clothing for bodies too.  See which body has clothing support.

[Marianne Little]

You will have to pay a lot, so we should know your budget.

Do not buy the Signature head. It can be tempting since you are in the Signature store, and you have heard the body has best support. Yes the body... but not the head.

A mesh head like Lelutka HD Evo X will set you back 4000. A Catwa HD head 6000.

As it is now, I would say Lelutka is the best option. It is also made a lot of other skins for it, if you do not like the included skins.

Gallery for Lelutka:

https://lelutkasl.com/evolution-heads/

It is so many that makes skins, I am not up to date with them all. I only remember Not Found and Stray Dog.

The Weekend sales is where you should shop for clothes. You will save a lot. In events you find most items for females, but you will always find sneakers, tattoos, beachwear, hoodies... The top link is for the manly weekend. Click on "Gallery" to get images and links.

https://www.seraphimsl.com/2021/08/06/exceedingly-good-manly-weekend-2/

https://www.seraphimsl.com/2021/08/07/happy-weekend-will-make-your-weekend-shine/

[Nalates Urriah]

EVERYTHING else?

[Muffinstuff]

It's difficult to make recommendations without knowing your style and budget.
 

I'm a huge proponent of monthly events as they highlight a diverse range of the best SL has to offer. More importantly, they're a quick and dirty way to identify brands you identify with.  TMD is a great place to start - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TMD/122/169/22
 

Head: LeLutka - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LeLutka/129/137/24
Their new EVO X releases are outstanding and backwards compatible with every LeLutka skin out there. 

Mesh Body: Signature Gianni - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Signature Body/135/131/541
The centerpiece of your wardrobe and one of the most popular male bodies on the grid.  It's been around for a while, it's stable, and the developer is very responsive. Virtually every clothing option for men will include options for Gianni. It's a safe bet.

Skins:  Not Found - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mountains of Spirit/195/84/26 Stray Dog - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heavens Touch/79/186/22 Session - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/kunst/180/186/23

Great options here and should cover virtually any look you can imagine. Purchase a skin for your new head, the accompanying skin for your mesh body, and you're on your way. LeLutka skins will only work on LeLutka heads. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Muffinstuff

[DjWhiteBoi]

That's all for the info. I hit the like on all the replies so far.  Keep it coming if anyone has other suggestions or something not listed.

 

As for budget goes. No budget. I want to know about EVERYTHING.  

For style. I have a wide variety.   Ripped jeans and a tee shirt, or ripped jeans with polos, casual button ups, dress shirts with or without ties... etc etc.      I also like suits, boardshorts, cargo shorts, sunglasses.  Anything really.  Besides emo and fantasy like furries and what not.  

[DjWhiteBoi]

On 8/9/2021 at 12:28 PM, Muffinstuff said:

It's difficult to make recommendations without knowing your style and budget.
 

I'm a huge proponent of monthly events as they highlight a diverse range of the best SL has to offer. More importantly, they're a quick and dirty way to identify brands you identify with.  TMD is a great place to start - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TMD/122/169/22
 

Head: LeLutka - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LeLutka/129/137/24
Their new EVO X releases are outstanding and backwards compatible with every LeLutka skin out there. 

Mesh Body: Signature Gianni - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Signature Body/135/131/541
The centerpiece of your wardrobe and one of the most popular male bodies on the grid.  It's been around for a while, it's stable, and the developer is very responsive. Virtually every clothing option for men will include options for Gianni. It's a safe bet.

Skins:  Not Found - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mountains of Spirit/195/84/26 Stray Dog - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heavens Touch/79/186/22 Session - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/kunst/180/186/23

Great options here and should cover virtually any look you can imagine. Purchase a skin for your new head, the accompanying skin for your mesh body, and you're on your way. LeLutka skins will only work on LeLutka heads. 

This is great. Thanks!

 

Quick question. I hear people talking about Giani. Then I hear people just talking about Signature.    Are they one in the same? Signature makes Giani? 

 

I've also heard that most people don't like the hud  but I have never used a hud yet for these new mesh skins and all that so I don't even know.

[Eddy Vortex]

39 minutes ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

This is great. Thanks!

 

Quick question. I hear people talking about Giani. Then I hear people just talking about Signature.    Are they one in the same? Signature makes Giani? 

 

I've also heard that most people don't like the hud  but I have never used a hud yet for these new mesh skins and all that so I don't even know.

Signature is the name of the store that sells the Gianni body.  They also sell the Geralt body.  When shopping for clothes, you'll see ads indicating which bodies their stuff is made to fit for.

As for the HUD skin appliers, they are going the way of the dinosaur.  They are attachments you add to your screen, click to apply skin and detach to remove. If you want to change skins or tattoos, it's a bit to do with hauling out the HUD to either click to apply or clear off and detach again.  BoM (bakes on mesh) is the newer technology. They come in system skin and tattoo layers where you simply wear; no screen attachments necessary to add and detach. To change skins, simply put on another one or if it's a tattoo layer, take it off.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Eddy Vortex
more words to say

[Cecilia Dallas]

On 8/9/2021 at 2:15 PM, DjWhiteBoi said:

As for budget goes. No budget. I want to know about EVERYTHING.  

For style. I have a wide variety.   Ripped jeans and a tee shirt, or ripped jeans with polos, casual button ups, dress shirts with or without ties... etc etc.      I also like suits, boardshorts, cargo shorts, sunglasses.  Anything really.

Male clothing? There are some good ones now that cost L but are great design and quality ... I personally like men, when they are not undressed , to be sporting stuff from ...

Deadwool. Cold Ash. A&D. Lapointe & Bastchilde. toksik.

I think Deadwool are some of the best tailored suits going on that body, but there was a brand I saw the other day that was also great whose name is now forgotten.

Happy to walk around the grid with you and help.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Sapphire Dakota

[Vanity Fair]

The Big Three of male mesh bodies at the moment are Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni (NOT Geralt), and the Meshbody Legacy. You will find the widest range of clothing for those three bodies. Catwa, LeLutka, or Logo for the head. Stray Dog or Birth for the skin.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Vanity Fair

[DjWhiteBoi]

Quote

51 minutes ago, Sapphire Dakota said:

Male clothing? There are some good ones now that cost L but are great design and quality ... I personally like men, when they are not undressed , to be sporting stuff from ...

Deadwool Cold Ash. A&D. Lapointe & Bastchilde. toksik.

I think Deadwool are some of the best tailored suits going on that body, but there was a brand I saw the other day that was also great whose name is now forgotten.

Happy to walk around the grid with you and help.

 

 Thanks so much for the list. Hopefully you remember that last one but if not that is ok lol 

 

I should be able to handle it unless you're just bored and want to tag along or hangout or something

 

Also, silly question but do I need to do anything about eyes now or is that part of the skin and you can change the eye color that way via hud or somthing?

Thanks!

 

[Eddy Vortex]

44 minutes ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

Also, silly question but do I need to do anything about eyes now or is that part of the skin and you can change the eye color that way via hud or somthing?

 

The eyes come with the head with preinstalled color choices in the head HUD.  You can also choose to use third party HUD appliers or BoM eyes. The options to switch between the modes are accessible from the head HUD.

Some eye stores are Ikon, Poetic Colors, and Avi-Glam. There are many others I can't remember now.
 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Eddy Vortex

[DjWhiteBoi]

2 minutes ago, Eddy Vortex said:

The eyes come with the head with preinstalled color choices in the head HUD.  You can also choose to use third party HUD appliers or BoM eyes. These options to switch between the modes are accessible from the head HUD.

Some eye stores are Ikon, Poetic Colors, and Avi-Glam. There are many others I can't remember now.
 

Thanks for that info. 

[Katherine Heartsong]

Love Avi-Glam but now most of the heads come with pretty decent default eyes. No need to upgrade right away.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Katherine Heartsong

[Vanity Fair]

18 hours ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

Also, silly question but do I need to do anything about eyes now or is that part of the skin and you can change the eye color that way via hud or somthing?

Thanks!

 

All major brands of mesh heads include mesh eyes, which you can change the colour of using the included HUD. Many vendors also sell eye textures for various brands of mesh heads (e.g. Catwa, Genus, LeLutka).

Edited August 12, 2021 by Vanity Fair

[DjWhiteBoi]

Thanks everyone. I think I am beginning to understand this a little better now and where to go. 

I had one more silly question though about mesh bodies. Can you edit them? The ones you buy from stores? 

 

Reason I ask is because what is stopping someone from buying a mesh body and then just writing down all the measurements. And sending those measurements to their friends so all there friends get the same body for free?  I heard there's an editable mesh body out there that's only 1L. So what's stopping someone from telling their friends that have the free one their measurements? 

 

[Jordyn McGregor]

There are a couple of men's items hunts and giveaways going on at the moment, so if nothing else, it may give you a bit of a start.  Also check out the stream of Boston Blaisdale, who I have attached a vid of) as he has some great videos about how to do stuff as well as the fabulous linked blog articles people have pointed you to.

https://www.seraphimsl.com/2021/08/07/men-only-hunt/

https://www.seraphimsl.com/2021/07/24/all-male-grid-wide-hunt/

L'Homme Anniversary Giveaways (join group and LMs in attached youtube video description) - secondlife:///app/group/bbb3ae61-39ea-8674-8b3e-9a99867b911a/about  

 

[ananoelle]

I just made a male alt and went with Akeruka advanced bento head.. its only L$1800 and you can put LeL made skins tattoos and hairbases .. thats all ive tried on him atm ... hes a work in progress .. 

[Skell Dagger]

8 hours ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

Thanks everyone. I think I am beginning to understand this a little better now and where to go. 

I had one more silly question though about mesh bodies. Can you edit them? The ones you buy from stores? 

Reason I ask is because what is stopping someone from buying a mesh body and then just writing down all the measurements. And sending those measurements to their friends so all there friends get the same body for free?  I heard there's an editable mesh body out there that's only 1L. So what's stopping someone from telling their friends that have the free one their measurements?

You're thinking with your 'system avatar head' which is perfectly understandable if you've not worked with mesh avatars before. Your question is a single one, but it needs to be answered in two parts, because yes mesh bodies can be edited, but not in the way that you think.

With regard to "sending the measurements to friends so you have the same body"

With system avatars we all start out with the same basic 3D look, either male or female. When we edit the numbers of our underlying system shape, then our system avatar will look the same as that of our friend with the same shape, regardless. Of course, you would need to wear the same skin as well, to texture the avatar exactly the same.

With mesh avatars, the simple version (one that doesn't even touch on the nuances of rigging) is that mesh avatars - whether they are all in one head and body, or with head and body separate - start out with a specific 3D model shape, and each one is different. Slink's 'Physique' male body is slender with a long torso and broad swimmer's shoulders; Signature's 'Gianni' male body is buff and a little heavy on the deltoids, but not overly so. Niramyth's 'Aesthetic' male bodies are very heavily muscular. And so on.

If you wore the same system shape under each mesh avatar, it would look vastly different because the initial 3D model of the mesh object starts out vastly different. The visual difference in mesh heads is even more pronounced. Put a shape made for a Catwa head under a Lelutka head (or vice versa) and you're likely to look rather... shall we say unusual.

Yes, you could send the measurements for the shape that you've created or bought for the Lelutka Connor head and the Signature Gianni body to your friend, but unless he also had purchased and was wearing both Lelutka Connor and Signature Gianni, he wouldn't look the same as you.

In the realms of mesh avatars, your question is akin to asking if you could take the engine from a Ford Mustang, somehow finagle it into a Prius, and have the Prius look like a Mustang. Ain't gonna happen!

With regard to being able to edit mesh bodies

In the main, mesh bodies are edited in several ways:

• by changing the underlying system shape
• by wearing a different skin (be that an applier skin or a Bakes on Mesh [BoM] skin; the difference between those is a bit too complex to go into in a quick reply here)
• by adding different things on top of the skin by means of applier or BoM, such as muscles, freckles, body/facial hair, eyebrows, makeup, etc)

The 'editable mesh body for L$1' is likely to be either the Roth body or the Onupup body. There is also a L$1 body by MeshBody (the people behind the mainstream Legacy body; their L$1 body is called 'Classic') but that's not editable in the same way as Roth or Onupup. By 'editable' that simply means you are able to right-click the wearable body object and edit its textures manually, like you would edit a prim. What you cannot do is edit the body manually and then change things like its musculature by stretching etc parts of it like you can in, for example, The Sims 4.

Most mainstream bodies are not editable at all by the right-click method, and require either a HUD (a wearable object that places a sort of control panel on your screen that you then click for options) or for you to wear different textures on your system avatar, like you've been familiar with before (this is the Bakes on Mesh option). And if you want a decent choice of easy to find clothing and skins etc, you're probably going to need a mainstream body.

Your question is actually a great one, because it gives those of us who write tutorials about this kind of thing (I'm the guy behind Virtual Bloke, whose blog Rowan linked to in the first reply here) an insight into some of the confusions faced by those who are either new to SL or returning after a long break. We can come up with most questions based on our own knowledge of what may cause problems, but occasionally a question like yours comes out of leftfield and makes us realise we need to expand our tutorials in a bit more detail!

Edited August 13, 2021 by Skell Dagger

[Nalates Urriah]

14 hours ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

Thanks everyone. I think I am beginning to understand this a little better now and where to go. 

I had one more silly question though about mesh bodies. Can you edit them? The ones you buy from stores? 

 

Reason I ask is because what is stopping someone from buying a mesh body and then just writing down all the measurements. And sending those measurements to their friends so all there friends get the same body for free?  I heard there's an editable mesh body out there that's only 1L. So what's stopping someone from telling their friends that have the free one their measurements? 

 

I think you are missing what a mesh body is. Mesh bodies are sculpted in 3D modeling programs. You can pres Ctrl-Shift-R to enter wire-frame mode and see the mesh. Each body has a unique set of vertices. The vertices are arranged to make better and weaker joints along with smoother and curvier shapes. The modeling sets the distance from the bone to the vertex. The Shape settings will move those vertices in a limited way. But, the overall relationship of vertices remains the same.

So copying shape settings from one body to another won't give you the body for free.

[DjWhiteBoi]

8 hours ago, Skell Dagger said:

You're thinking with your 'system avatar head' which is perfectly understandable if you've not worked with mesh avatars before. Your question is a single one, but it needs to be answered in two parts, because yes mesh bodies can be edited, but not in the way that you think.

With regard to "sending the measurements to friends so you have the same body"

With system avatars we all start out with the same basic 3D look, either male or female. When we edit the numbers of our underlying system shape, then our system avatar will look the same as that of our friend with the same shape, regardless. Of course, you would need to wear the same skin as well, to texture the avatar exactly the same.

With mesh avatars, the simple version (one that doesn't even touch on the nuances of rigging) is that mesh avatars - whether they are all in one head and body, or with head and body separate - start out with a specific 3D model shape, and each one is different. Slink's 'Physique' male body is slender with a long torso and broad swimmer's shoulders; Signature's 'Gianni' male body is buff and a little heavy on the deltoids, but not overly so. Niramyth's 'Aesthetic' male bodies are very heavily muscular. And so on.

If you wore the same system shape under each mesh avatar, it would look vastly different because the initial 3D model of the mesh object starts out vastly different. The visual difference in mesh heads is even more pronounced. Put a shape made for a Catwa head under a Lelutka head (or vice versa) and you're likely to look rather... shall we say unusual.

Yes, you could send the measurements for the shape that you've created or bought for the Lelutka Connor head and the Signature Gianni body to your friend, but unless he also had purchased and was wearing both Lelutka Connor and Signature Gianni, he wouldn't look the same as you.

In the realms of mesh avatars, your question is akin to asking if you could take the engine from a Ford Mustang, somehow finagle it into a Prius, and have the Prius look like a Mustang. Ain't gonna happen!

With regard to being able to edit mesh bodies

In the main, mesh bodies are edited in several ways:

• by changing the underlying system shape
• by wearing a different skin (be that an applier skin or a Bakes on Mesh [BoM] skin; the difference between those is a bit too complex to go into in a quick reply here)
• by adding different things on top of the skin by means of applier or BoM, such as muscles, freckles, body/facial hair, eyebrows, makeup, etc)

The 'editable mesh body for L$1' is likely to be either the Roth body or the Onupup body. There is also a L$1 body by MeshBody (the people behind the mainstream Legacy body; their L$1 body is called 'Classic') but that's not editable in the same way as Roth or Onupup. By 'editable' that simply means you are able to right-click the wearable body object and edit its textures manually, like you would edit a prim. What you cannot do is edit the body manually and then change things like its musculature by stretching etc parts of it like you can in, for example, The Sims 4.

Most mainstream bodies are not editable at all by the right-click method, and require either a HUD (a wearable object that places a sort of control panel on your screen that you then click for options) or for you to wear different textures on your system avatar, like you've been familiar with before (this is the Bakes on Mesh option). And if you want a decent choice of easy to find clothing and skins etc, you're probably going to need a mainstream body.

Your question is actually a great one, because it gives those of us who write tutorials about this kind of thing (I'm the guy behind Virtual Bloke, whose blog Rowan linked to in the first reply here) an insight into some of the confusions faced by those who are either new to SL or returning after a long break. We can come up with most questions based on our own knowledge of what may cause problems, but occasionally a question like yours comes out of leftfield and makes us realise we need to expand our tutorials in a bit more detail!

Wow that is great info. One of which my little Southern brain does not understand.  But as long as everyone can't copy the measurements to achieve the same body then that's good for the creators. 

 

The body in which I was referring to, I saw in a video. I think it was the Classic that you mentioned.  The video was about building an AV and they used the 1L one that was Classic and said it was from Legacy or something. I was thinking about trying that one just to understand how to do all this before I start dropping big Lindens here n there. I'm mainly afraid of messing up really bad and being out thousands of Lindens because I was an idiot lol.    But anyways, in that video, she was able to edit the shape like we used to do before mesh. And edit everything on the body. Like bust size, jaw thickness, nose shape, etc etc.

[Skell Dagger]

16 minutes ago, DjWhiteBoi said:

The body in which I was referring to, I saw in a video. I think it was the Classic that you mentioned.  The video was about building an AV and they used the 1L one that was Classic and said it was from Legacy or something. I was thinking about trying that one just to understand how to do all this before I start dropping big Lindens here n there. I'm mainly afraid of messing up really bad and being out thousands of Lindens because I was an idiot lol.    But anyways, in that video, she was able to edit the shape like we used to do before mesh. And edit everything on the body. Like bust size, jaw thickness, nose shape, etc etc.

That type of body editing is the first type on the bullet-pointed list that I gave in my previous post. Editing things like bust size, jaw thickness, nose shape, etc is all done by means of editing the underlying system shape, which - yep - is exactly what we used to do before mesh came along.

Picking up the L$1 'Classic' body would be a good start to help you get to grips with mesh bodies. Be aware that it doesn't come with a head, though; it's just the body, so you'll need either to find a cheap mesh head or use your system head with the body until you get the hang of things a bit.

All mesh bodies and heads should have free demos that you can try out, so there's no need to worry about shelling out big money upfront. Demos are always going to be defaced in some way, be that thin strips of missing pixels, or big floating DEMO signs around you, but otherwise they're fully featured and allow you to try everything out.