Jump to content

What kind of avatar would you like your avatar to be, old or new?

tark5454

By tark5454,
in Your Avatar

 Share
You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 829 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Recommended Posts

LilNosferatu

LilNosferatu

Posted
Posted

I find the old system avatars to be... well, not aesthetically pleasing to look at, to put it nicely. 😅 I definitely prefer the newer style of mesh bodies/heads, even if a lot of them don't really appeal to me either. It just seems like there's a lot more customization and options you can have, and some people have made really beautiful and amazing avatars by piecing everything together with patience and care. System avatars all kind of look the same to me.

Even in video games, if there's an aspect of character customization I have to like how my character looks or else I lose all interest in playing it. That's just my personal preference, though.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ayeleeon

Ayeleeon

Posted
Posted

Typically people start out new, and as they get older they make improvements which makes the new better than the old. If it wasn't better people wouldn't do it. This is opposite of RL, where changes happen over time as we age that are not improvements.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nalates Urriah

Nalates Urriah

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Emma Krokus said:

I am VERY happy about mesh bodies, but I've not yet found a mesh head that really feels like "me"... 

Use better drugs...

Keep looking and demoing. There are lots of heads and they can be adjusted. Plus the skins change the look. The default shape that comes with a head is a starting point. Just changing the nose shape can make the face look very different.

  • Like 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Echelon Alcott

Echelon Alcott

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is interesting. When I saw the thread title, I interpreted it as inquiring about the "age" look of the avatar, as in "younger or older looking avatar", as opposed to the original system avatars compared to the newer system avatars and mesh avatars.

I like system avatars for the simplicity customizing them. However, mesh avatars offer much better details, such as hands and feet.

Edited by Echelon Alcott
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Marigold Devin

Marigold Devin

Posted
Posted (edited)

Undoubtedly the mesh modern is better or it wouldn't have caught on like it has. 

I'm still a system avatar though and now struggle to find outfits I like that actually fit without gaping in places. Not impossible, just extra tedious, and that's not what I came into Second Life for. 

I hate how a mesh head I picked up the other day was made up of 52 component parts. I loved that it actually had lots of different expressions that looked fairly realistic. I don't understand why most people still opt for "resting b1tch face" though. 

If I want realistic though I can look in a mirror in real life. 

I hate my own reluctance to move with the times on this. I hate that I don't massively see what other people obviously see, apart from the difference with the lovely fingers and toes. 

I hate that every time I say I hate something a fairy dies!

Edited by Marigold Devin
edited because of forum bot not liking the word b1tch
  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scylla Rhiadra

Scylla Rhiadra

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Marigold Devin said:

Undoubtedly the mesh modern is better or it wouldn't have caught on like it has. 

I'm still a system avatar though and now struggle to find outfits I like that actually fit without gaping in places. Not impossible, just extra tedious, and that's not what I came into Second Life for. 

I hate how a mesh head I picked up the other day was made up of 52 component parts. I loved that it actually had lots of different expressions that looked fairly realistic. I don't understand why most people still opt for "resting b1tch face" though. 

If I want realistic though I can look in a mirror in real life. 

I hate my own reluctance to move with the times on this. I hate that I don't massively see what other people obviously see, apart from the difference with the lovely fingers and toes. 

I hate that every time I say I hate something a fairy dies!

Mesh unquestionably looks better than the system avatars. I switched over when I started getting serious about taking pics in SL: up close, in particular, you can definitely tell the difference.

That said, I've seen some GORGEOUS system avis. And I think yours looks lovely, Marigold!

And you're right about two other things: mesh has made avatar customization an absolute nightmare because of the complexities, and differences across products. AND there has been a tendency, because people tend to flock to the newest "hot" product, for certain "looks" to dominate. It used to be Catwa everywhere, and for a while, Genus, and now EVERYONE is wearing LeLutka.

Oh, and yes, I really dislike the popularity of RBF in women. And, similarly, and for similar reasons, the somewhat brutal and thuggish look that predominates among a lot of men.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Marigold Devin

Marigold Devin

Posted
Posted (edited)
28 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Mesh unquestionably looks better than the system avatars. I switched over when I started getting serious about taking pics in SL: up close, in particular, you can definitely tell the difference.

That said, I've seen some GORGEOUS system avis. And I think yours looks lovely, Marigold!

And you're right about two other things: mesh has made avatar customization an absolute nightmare because of the complexities, and differences across products. AND there has been a tendency, because people tend to flock to the newest "hot" product, for certain "looks" to dominate. It used to be Catwa everywhere, and for a while, Genus, and now EVERYONE is wearing LeLutka.

Oh, and yes, I really dislike the popularity of RBF in women. And, similarly, and for similar reasons, the somewhat brutal and thuggish look that predominates among a lot of men.

I can still recall what my avatar looked like in it's previous incarnation. I think it was Janelle Darkstone who persuaded me to go to this version. My ex-partner was a bit peeved about that as he'd been trying to persuade me to change my look because he'd changed his.  Janelle was the first person I knew who could really be very expressive with her avatar, always avoiding the RBF, and of course her photos/photo stories were legendary. Maybe it was post-processing the way she could get her avatar to bite it's lip or do stuff with it's tongue, but the end results were always worth the effort she put into them. 

I've lost my way somewhat with Second Life. It happened when Oskar Linden was fired, then I went through a series of health problems in real life, so my priority isn't going to be faffing about obsessively with my avatar so that I look acceptable to the Shallow Hal's of the world. I don't want randoms coming up to me and telling me I'm "hot", and I'm happy enough with the me that I am - in real as well as Second Life. 

But I am a bit bitter and twisted at how things have evolved, and I will admit to that. Second Life has become such a rat race, not least because of all the mesh malarkey. Certain creators (you mentioned some in your post) have got the monopoly and it no longer feels as fair as it once was, and some of my favourite creators have disappeared because while they got on board with mesh all those years ago - 10 isn't it now? - they couldn't/didn't want to keep up with it, it became more like work than leisure and pleasure. 

Coming back after a break this time was hard just because of the way people seemed to be obsessing over their appearance. It seemed (seems) so shallow, although generally the How Does your avatar look today thread is still all-inclusive rather than just a vanity thread. All shapes, sizes and species are welcome in there.  

Maddie reminded me yesterday what I liked to use Second Life for. Like our derailment threads of old where we'd have a silly story running on a defunct thread - obviously we can do this no longer or the mods slap our arses - our imaginations would run wild and we'd add daft quick snapshots of scenarios. I always just liked to explore, be swept up in an adventure, to take quick snapshots for my own personal diary, they're memories as valid as any made in real life, and so it never really mattered much what my avatar actually looked like as long as she was a representation of me. I never felt she needed to have the latest skin or hair or eyes. I'm like that in real life. As long as I'm clean and dressed I can get on with life itself. 

But it's each to their own, and I'm not dissing others if that IS what they come into Second Life for. 

 

Edited by Marigold Devin
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scylla Rhiadra

Scylla Rhiadra

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Marigold Devin said:

Maddie reminded me yesterday what I liked to use Second Life for. Like our derailment threads of old where we'd have a silly story running on a defunct thread - obviously we can do this no longer or the mods slap our arses - our imaginations would run wild and we'd add daft quick snapshots of scenarios.

I don't think anyone would suggest that SL hasn't changed, a lot. There's no question that appearances matter more than they once did -- both of sims, and avatars. I think more telling, though, is the degree to which consumerism has really gripped the platform, and that, to a great degree, is what drives the other. It's not just a question of "looking good." It's about getting the latest mesh head or body, or that event sale item that is probably like 15 things you own already, but has something new and flashy about it.

I get this -- I'm somewhat a part of it myself. And it's another completely valid way of using Second Life. It's just a shame that it has also throttled so much else, including just the sheer diversity and variety that SL used to offer. We're all a lot more "off the rack" these days. And, too, there has developed among some a degree of snobbishness about looks and consumer trends.

BUT the old Second Life is still here, if you look for it.

Last night, a group of my friends packed themselves into a battered hippy Volkswagon van I'd bought for one of them at a recent sale, and charged around the mainland in it, driving into ditches, crashing into buildings, and just generally having a hoot. I wasn't able to join myself, as I was taking a pic and chatting with Aiyumei at the time, but I followed it all in group chat. They were having a great time. (You'd probably like these people.)

Once in a while, I get together with another group of friends to go backpacking, using backpacks that teleport us en masse to random sims. It's pretty funny. Last time we did, we all wore costumes. I was in a space suit. (I have a pic somewhere . . .)

And then there's Maddy, who isn't getting in world as much right at the moment, but who on occasion will join me dancing, where she'll sometimes lie on the floor of the club, wear snorkeling gear, or greet strangers who arrive as though they were long lost friends.

So, the fun stuff is out there! It's a question of finding the right people, and making it happen.

As for the forums . . . yeah, the moderation here really does not like "free wheeling" storytelling, digressions and detours, etc. Or, actually, humour, much, it sometimes seems. One of the things I enjoy about my phototaking is that it gives me another way to tell "stories" -- the old ones I used to tell here would get zapped in a minute.

But, as sterile as this place sometimes seems now, I'm glad you're here. People make the difference, right?

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Conifer Dada

Conifer Dada

Posted
Posted (edited)

Mesh can look better than "system" but there's a big overlap. We know that mesh is more defined and joints flex more smoothly, so it makes for better close-up views.

But it's just as easy to apply an unrealistic skin or shape to a mesh avatar as it is to system one. While system avatars can sometimes look like they're made of putty, mesh ones can sometimes look like they're made of hard plastic.

Edited by Conifer Dada
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laurel Aurelia

Laurel Aurelia

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a real soft spot for system avatars. I was one for many years, but I was quick to pick up mesh. I like trying new things, and have never been really attached to certain look of mine. My avatar is constantly changing which sometimes throws others for a loop. But the thing is, I do it for me and because I enjoy tweaking my look. What other people do with their avatars doesn't really cross my mind much unless someone asks me for help or an opinion. So generally I do like mesh more because of the ability for more customization,  but don't see the problem with sticking with system if that is what you enjoy.

Edited by Laurel Aurelia
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robin Kiyori

Robin Kiyori

Posted
Posted (edited)

I like mesh avatars, I have one and I don't  think I could go back to system because of how nicely I can get my robot or doll avatars to look. But sometimes it feels like so much of the creativity and variety vanished. It's next to impossible to find fashion styles out of the generic mainstream of the popular stores. It wasn’t exactly popular back then either. But it existed. But now? Gone. Even more so if your avatar is madculine. Goth is held together by a few stores, but with so many old mainstays either gone or transformed onto generic mainstream store #1234.

While the poor Kawaii umbrella term gets abused. Rarely reflecting the actual wear  on Japanese and  international  strrets and more "underwear and skimpy wear but in pastel.

So sometimes I miss the old avatars, at least for variety's sake.

Edited by Robin Kiyori
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Panteleeva

Panteleeva

Posted
Posted

i had alt which still stayed as classic starter avatar (Vamp Xyla) . and played around when was bored, back then classic avatars for me was a thingy that when i made my fav look,i don t wanted to change) .I miss classic avi era with all  that  old SL atmo) 

on pic me 2015)

525539642_.thumb.png.8d6b3d7f421ca5b21cb5e2bc2c201988.png

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
SpiritSparrow Skydancer

SpiritSparrow Skydancer

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/30/2021 at 4:19 AM, Maitimo said:

New ones for sure. Those ugly hands and feet on the classic avatars... *shudders*  

I only wish it was easier to make mesh clothing for them.

Hands ankles and breasts.. but boy do we look frightening until the mesh Rezes 

 

 

yeah they seem to be only a select few who actually get permission … 

Edited by Tarina Sewell
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Marigold Devin

Marigold Devin

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, Tarina Sewell said:

Hands ankles and breasts.. but boy do we look frightening until the mesh Rezes 

 

 

yeah they seem to be only a select few who actually get permission … 

It's all eyeballs and teeth if you land in world at a busy sim - now that's the stuff of nightmares. 😂

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 829 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...