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Those awful smilers--Why?


Venus Petrov
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I know what I am about to write may be controversial.  Smilers.  You know, those things that you attach to yourself that offer up random smiles to your SL world?  Why?  I mean, why do people use them?  I know it's all about 'Your world. Your imagination.' and I do not really care if someone wears one if it makes them happy.  But, it also makes them look silly.

A few years ago, I purchased one to see how it felt having a smile.  It was awful.  Venus smiled and anything and everything and sometimes at inappropriate moments because I would forget that it was attached (as most of the time, my view is of her backside).  So, I removed it and trashed it a few days after purchase.  It just did not feel right.

In an ideal SL world, one could have as many facial expressions as one does in RL and have them occur whenever you wished, i.e., not randomly.  But we cannot.  The smilers, in most cases, cannot match text or voice chat when a smile would appear naturally.  So, rather than look like someone is having a good time, one looks silly.

To those who use the smilers, why do you?  I really want to know.

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I've seen those :smileyindifferent: They're usually on a short timer and constantly change the face of the wearer from an indifferent stare to a mindlessly cheerful grin and back. I mean, I've heard of frequent mood changes, but this is ridiculous.

If people want to smile all the time, they're better off editing their shape and pulling the corners of their mouth into a permanent Joker grin. There are also alpha masks that slightly open the mouth and display the teeth, which doesn't look that bad actually (although it gives many avatars a rabbit tooth effect). Anything is better than the creepy facial tic caused by smiler attachments.

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Because it breaks the illusion that all SL faces have been rendered unable to move from too much Botox?  I would rather see an occasional smile than a constantly stoic face.  Perhaps it would be better to include a couple of other facial movements in the mix.  That could get real silly, and real fun.  It is about fun ain't it?

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Kenbro Utu wrote:

Because it breaks the illusion that all SL faces have been rendered unable to move from too much Botox?  I would rather see an occasional smile than a constantly stoic face.  Perhaps it would be better to include
a couple of other facial movements
in the mix.  That could get real silly, and real fun.  It is about fun ain't it?

Like facial tics?  Twitches?  Random frowns? Oh, that might look funny, actually.  Random frowns interspersed between the random smiles.  :matte-motes-bored:

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Hello, Venus. 

I will say that random smiles are kinda creepy. From like day two I made my main gesture a smile, which I can activate by pressing a button. Something is funny, I smile. Someone compliments me, I smile. Picture time? I smile :)

but random smiles like while chillin or dancing and such? not so much :P

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I don't use it anymore, but my friend keeps on using it and he is very happy with that 'cause he looks kinda fierce without it but wants to give people a good impression. He is sometimes told he looks like he is going to beat the hell out of people. I suggest him he tweak the shape and eyebrow shaper a bit, but he is so stubborn.

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I can certainly understand the desire for them though.

A -LOT- of human heads in SL have this blank distant angry glare, or glassy eyed vacant look. Anything one can do to get rid of either of those two looks can seem like an improvement.

Many furry avatars have built in random animations to some of the features. Usually at least ears. Eyes these days tend to be prims separate from the head and either scripted to move randomly (Tokushi brand for example), or worn on the eye attachment points so they move just like SL avatar eyes move (most other furry makers).

I'm not sure though if a smile would be the best choice for this. A better thing would be moving the mouth when typing - which most furry avatars do now. Or random chewing motions (like my cow furry does).

I've another furry (Tokushi brand) that gets a sense of life to herself by doing random finger gestures (scripted to specifically -not- raise the middle finger alone, you have to trigger that on purpose. :) Even if it how people in Korea point at everything, that don't go over so well elsewhere.) Capable since she's got prim-claws.

 

Do human avatars blink? I think so, and I have a human and a neko so I should know... but I can swear a lot of people I've met in SL don't blink... and if something is keeping them blinking, if I had that problem, I'd be getting one of these smilers to at least have my face up to something other than zombie-glare.

 

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Pussycat Catnap wrote:

Do human avatars blink? I think so, and I have a human and a neko so I should know... but I can swear a lot of people I've met in SL don't blink... and if something is keeping them blinking, if I had that problem, I'd be getting one of these smilers to at least have my face up to something other than zombie-glare.

 

 

Human avatars do blink. Mine blinks whenever I'm taking a photo of her :(

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I wonder about those who have decided on one of those popular 'pout' skins.  If they use a smiler, kind of defeats the purpose of the pout.  /me laughs

Because I do not want Venus to look unexpressive, I modified her shape long ago to give her a barely perceptible turn up at the corners of her mouth as if she, with just the right encouragement, would break out in a smile or laugh.

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That's actually what I tend to recommend to people making their own shape - give yourself a 5% smile or frown. Enough to hint but not be obvious - draw the eye in but leave them curious about what they're looking at.

That, or dial it up to 11 and go Chesire Cat Grin. Anything else in the middle and you're cheating yourself out of effect.

 

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Ishtara Rothschild wrote:


Human avatars do blink. Mine blinks whenever I'm taking a photo of her 
:(

There's a setting in the Advanced menu for quiet snapshots to disk - it shuts off that blink. You can snapshot like crazy and nobody will know.

And I guess they will blink randomly when not snapshotting right? I was just on my human alt and she was - but I'd thought that was my AO... :)

 

 

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