system Are System Heads Dead?

[KathyGables]

I love my Maitreya bodies. Yes, I have more than one. However, after spending a lot of lindens on mesh heads, I am not happy. I find that I can create heads that are uniquely shaped using system bodies without all those "bones". The problem I have with system heads is that I have trouble finding a skin tone that is a decent match for my mesh bodies is hard.  It used to be that LL provided enough a variety of system heads that I can always find a tone close enough to work as everyday people.  However, these days Linden Lab still has many folders for system avatars but those system avatars are now just empty folders.   Does anyone have an idea how to the find a decent selection of system skin tones?  Ideally someone would create a set of tones (Maitreya for example) for those of us who like mesh bodies but not mesh heads.

[Jules Catlyn]

Most creators won't bother creating for any system part anymore. They won't even create for mesh heads that do not receive updates or support. They just go with the head that is most popular. I am sure that if you ask the right person to help, you will be able to get a look that you are totally happy with. I was late to join the mesh head club as well. I received a lot of help and i am glad that i made the change. More so because i have an abundant choice of skins and make ups to choose from.

[Psyche Starling]

OP, there was a time when I had a mesh body but hadn't gotten a mesh head yet, and I found what I needed at DeeTalez. They sold skins that would work on a system head, and matching body skins for Maitreya. 

[Persephone Emerald]

1 hour ago, KathyGables said:

I love my Maitreya bodies. Yes, I have more than one. However, after spending a lot of lindens on mesh heads, I am not happy. I find that I can create heads that are uniquely shaped using system bodies without all those "bones". The problem I have with system heads is that I have trouble finding a skin tone that is a decent match for my mesh bodies is hard.  It used to be that LL provided enough a variety of system heads that I can always find a tone close enough to work as everyday people.  However, these days Linden Lab still has many folders for system avatars but those system avatars are now just empty folders.   Does anyone have an idea how to the find a decent selection of system skin tones?  Ideally someone would create a set of tones (Maitreya for example) for those of us who like mesh bodies but not mesh heads.

7 Deadly Skins makes full-body skins. A few other skin creators do too. If you get a skin made for Genus or Catwa HDPRO those are close to the SLUV map for a standard head. Lelutka Evolution might be too, but I'm not sure. Demo everything you like to see for yourself. I stayed with system heads for the longest time because I liked my individualized looks and hated the plastic manikin look of early mesh heads. I've since update all my avatars to Lelutuka, but only wear the Evolution UV, not EvoX.

You might still have a bit of a neck line when you wear a mesh body with a system head.

I don't know what you mean about empty folders for system avatars

Edited May 31, 2022 by Persephone Emerald

[Leelo Blackheart]

Your best bet is to get old system skins, it will be very hard to find anything new. But some old skins are still good. Check out DeeTalez, Belleza and League. They still had their old skins up(at least had a year ago) and are always good quality. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Leelo Blackheart

[Eddy Vortex]

BoM skins will behave the same way as traditional system skins.  The difference between them is BoM skins are usually sold as 2 separate pieces (one for head & one for body), mostly in tattoo layer form. You just need to adjust the shape sliders to your liking.

As Persephone said, skins made for Genus, Catwa, and Lelutka classic will work for system heads with the exception of EvoX.

You have choices of full-body skins and BoM skins. If you decide on a BoM head skin, you'd want to pick up a matching body skin from the same store you got it from for best results.

[Coffee Pancake]

21 hours ago, KathyGables said:

after spending a lot of lindens on mesh heads, I am not happy. 

Mesh heads do take some getting used to and can easily dip you in the uncanny valley, I spent days playing with mine (catwa catya) just and finally just decided to live with it for a week and see how I felt after that.

Recently pulled a previous 'pre mesh' me out of retirement to find some long lost stuff I had made, and was taken aback by how crude the head looked in comparison to what I have now.

I've recently been paying with Lel head demos and finding myself in the same "this is just weird" place I was when I started. Not happy barely begins to cover it.

[LittleMe Jewell]

I still use a system head - and I have a Matreya body.  Since BOM came out, there are actually more choices in skins for me.  Before BOM, there were only a few options for a system skin with a mesh body - and often the neck lines never matched right.  With many creators now making BOM skins, the neck lines are much better between my system head and the mesh body.  I was wearing 7 Deadly Skins for a while, but now I'm wearing Stunner Originals.  Stunner does a 'skin' for the body and then a 'tattoo' layer for the head.  

Someday, I might make the change to a mesh head.  For the most part, I just don't have the patience to fiddle with it forever to get it right.

[JeromFranzic]

I still use system heads for certain looks. My mature female occasionally uses one with a bunch of mature Dolly Rotten skins. (I also got a Kaya head for her last Xmas but her best head look IMO is system based.)

[KathyGables]

Thanks to all of you.  There is a lot to check out here.  Would it be true to say that a bom  Mesh head will work with a Maitreya body regardless of the manufacture of the bomb had?

[Quistess Alpha]

24 minutes ago, KathyGables said:

Thanks to all of you.  There is a lot to check out here.  Would it be true to say that a bom  Mesh head will work with a Maitreya body regardless of the manufacture of the bomb had?

Technically no, but in practice yes. There are some very obscure heads that might not match well, but in practice all heads will work on a maitreya body, although a few might have a slight 'neck seam'.

[Persephone Emerald]

10 hours ago, Leelo Blackheart said:

Your best bet is to get old system skins, it will be very hard to find anything new. But some old skins are still good. Check out DeeTalez, Belleza and League. They still had their old skins up (at least had a year ago) and are always good quality. 

This is not entirely true. Old system skins will not match up right on the fingers and toes of a mesh body. You can add a free tattoo layer fix to correct the fingers and toes, but if you're going to add a tattoo layer it might as well be for your face and makeup instead. 7 Deadly S{K}ins seems to make their female BOM skins to fit Maitreya Lara by default. (These look fine on Belleza hands, but don't match up well with Belleza toes.) Unlike many other skin makers, you won't have to buy a separate skin for your head. Just Demo to make sure you like how the face looks on your system or mesh head. Pay attention to how the the lips and eyes look.

- Bonus points: If you do change to a mesh head (but not Evo X), you can still wear all the same skins you have, though they'll look a little different. Also, if you change to a mesh head and use the eyebrows in your HUD for the head, you can wear any skin you have that has No Brows, without worrying if you like the brows on that skin or not. With 7DS I found much of the difference between skins was in eyebrow shape and color, and the addition of freckles or other "beauty marks".

With skins made by Lumia Rey (my other favorite skin creator), the difference between skins is the highlighting of the face and the eyebrow shape. She doesn't currently have a store inworld, but is the creator of the WYRD skins on MP and was formerly the owner of LUMAE and RITUAL (if you have those skins in your inventory). Her BOM skins are made for various mesh bodies and heads, with older skin packs including skins for all the major bodies that were being worn at that time.

I'm not sure if the free Belleza group gift skins work on Belleza mesh bodies, but they match pretty well (not perfectly) with the skins in Belleza mesh body HUDs. They can be useful for guys buying the Jake body, but they're not the best skins available now. Belleza skins for females seem to look ok on Maitreya fingers, but not on Maitreya toes. The nipple placement for Maitreya and Belleza is also a little different. I haven't tried the newer Belleza BOM skins because I haven't seen any I liked well enough.

( 7 Deadly S{k}ins inworld link )

Edited June 1, 2022 by Persephone Emerald
to add more info & links

[Leelo Blackheart]

9 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

This is not entirely true. Old system skins will not match up right on the fingers and toes of a mesh body. You can add a free tattoo layer fix to correct the fingers and toes,

Ah true! I forgot about the toes and fingers, been year or more since i switched to evox. But yes, easy to fix with tattoo layer. I always had more trouble finding a face that fits system head. Genus, lelutka, catwa bom skins never looked right, always problem with mouth or nose. So that's why recommended looking into old old skins. They still look great if you don't zoom in reallllly close. 

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

Mesh heads and bodys are just decorative attachments that encapsulate the system shape, which is essentially the "real" you.  

The shape of this outer mesh exo-skeleton cannot usually be modified directly by the user. The system body within this skeleton is the only real modifiable part that affects an avatar's appearance to make it unique and different to all others, including mesh attachments worn around it. Otherwise you'd look exactly like another person who has the same mesh body or head.

I strongly dislike the mesh vs non-mesh avatar divide that some Residents like to promote to catagorise or compartmentalise groups of avatars into little clique boxes of acceptance, conformity or normality. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by SarahKB7 Koskinen

[Marianne Little]

4 hours ago, Leelo Blackheart said:

Ah true! I forgot about the toes and fingers, been year or more since i switched to evox. But yes, easy to fix with tattoo layer. I always had more trouble finding a face that fits system head. Genus, lelutka, catwa bom skins never looked right, always problem with mouth or nose. So that's why recommended looking into old old skins. They still look great if you don't zoom in reallllly close. 

And some skin creators offer toe/finger fixes that are a perfect match for their skins. I only know 2 stores, League and Izzies. I switched to skins that were made for my mesh body quickly, so the period I needed fix layers was short. I used League for some weeks, and remember that they did not only have a generic fix layer, but individual tattoo layers for Maitreya, Belleza and other mesh feet. The result was perfectly textured toes. They went up a bit over the ankles, so they could not be used with other skins.

[Ze Helix]

19 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

With skins made by Lumia Rey (my other favorite skin creator), the difference between skins is the highlighting of the face and the eyebrow shape. She doesn't currently have a store inworld, but is the creator of the WYRD skins on MP and was formerly the owner of LUMAE and RITUAL (if you have those skins in your inventory). Her BOM skins are made for various mesh bodies and heads, with older skin packs including skins for all the major bodies that were being worn at that time.

And before that Heartsick and then Aeva! https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/15906

I always loved her style. I used one of her shapes as my base forever too.