Messed around with skins and shape

[James Aichi]

[IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/v7v5e0.png[/IMG]  This is what I got so far, any input would be great :matte-motes-big-grin:

[Ariel Vuissent]

Any input you get will be personal preference. With that in mind, however -

I give you props on having proportional hands and arms of a decent length, rather than ending at your hips as many do.

Keeping in mind that male hips are supposed to be narrow, I think yours may still be a touch TOO narrow. Or play with love-handles - balancing the two might give you an avi that looks more proportional in the waist-hip area.

Play with neck width. It looks just a touch wide to me, but again that's personal preference, and probably lighting as well.

Have you thought about a body hair tattoo? It can add depth to a male avatar, as the skin looks a little flat to me. (Again, this may be partially a lighting issue.) You can find body hair that's very sparse, or heavier, depending on personal preference.

Fingernails? Sounds girly, I know, but your fingertips look VERY light compared to the rest of your skin, and I'm sure you can find fingernails to fit your hand size. That might help. (I know [MANDALA] sells unisex fingernails, at the very least.)

And a thought to keep in mind, although right now you look proportional - keep in mind that your leg length should be approximately equal to your torso length - sole of your feet to bottom of pelvis should equal bottom of pelvis to top of head.

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

Niii-iiice!!!  It looks great!  The hands might be a bit too big, but it could be the angle the pic was taken at.  Someone made a great info source on avatar proportions.  If I can find the link, I will come back and post it (or maybe that person will pop in here herself).  You should post a 'before' pic, too.  The comparison might be fun.

Cinn

I will be looking for you in the Vanity thread also...

[Jacki Silverfall]

I love it! But I too think the hips are to skinny. I don't like the whole triangle look a lot of the men wear. It just looks awkward to me and unreal. 

[James Aichi]

Thanks for the replies so far gals will fix a few things you guys suggested and try them out

[Pussycat Catnap]

A good launching off there.

I've got a guide on proportion that will help you refine it more:

http://catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/getting-good-body-proportions-in-second-life/

But you are definately almost there if not there - and you'll soon find that will make you stand out. Half the folks in SL look like they were drawn by 5-year olds.

 

Oh and did you check Lyrical Oh? If you join his group, there's also a free African skin (one for men and one for women) of very high quality - one he used to sell for 1000L, and justifiably so.

The skin you have right now is ok - but looks kind of faded. Well, only slightly.

This is a common issue when folks take skins designed for one ethnicity and just reshade them to another.

That said much as I like Lyrical Oh's work, I have seen this effect on some of his lighter toned skins - the ones he lists as milky for example. Which shows that you can't take an African skin and 'pale it out' anymore than you can take a Caucasian one and 'darken it up'.

 

 

[Raven1 Short]

The eyes are very nice.

[Bree Giffen]

Looks great! One of the few males I've seen without short arms! I can't tell with the arms akimbo like that but maybe the arms are a little long (I can't believe I'd ever say that). Also, try playing with the body thickness and body fat sliders. I know, they sound like sliders you don't ever want to use but they can help. The body thickness really helps with the narrow torso that everyone in SL seems to have.

[VRprofessor]

Are you happy with it?  That's all that really matters.

I have a shape/skin that a friend picked out that I like very much. 

I have one that I picked out that is sort of meh for me.  It is a perfectly good shape/skin and my wife, who does not play but watches over my shoulder sometimes, rather likes it.   If I posted the look I would expect a number of people would think it looks good.

But to me it just doesn't feel right for me. 

FWIW I like your look. 

[Sidnella Riler]

smaller torso, face looks good would look awesome with a quality skin, visit some quality skin shops, skin is very important, would be beneficial to start with a shape maybe from Noon or Kmadd and you have style cards to look as the models look

[Hunter Stern]

The lips. What is up with guys and 'Lips'? It's ok to make them a little more prevelant and not such a coordinate line.

The skin itself is fine imo and doesn't reflect any ethnicity really. If it looks faded, that's simply a viewer graphics setting issue when the picture was  taken and mabey minus a VERY subtle face light ( and the light point in the scene). I'd say this could be any skin and is a quality skin all the same. It just  needs a bit more contrast in lighting if you're  trying to make it pop in any photos, but most skins will do this depending on your  graphics preferences too.

Also, alot of faces come out looking exactly the same or what came out of the box, play with the eyebrows too to give them a little character, nothing dramatic, but only slight.

I think the hip proportions are fine and I see (atleast on my end) that you've played with the love handles slider a bit so that  there is a more natural divide above the hips and below the ribcage.

Overall your look is pleasing to the eye and not drastic or cartoonish either but could use a little more 'Animated'  ( not the AOs either) punch to it