Skell Dagger

Just wanted to say thank you to @Pixie Kobichenko for sending me to United Colors. While I didn't use the skirt that you showed, I found another absolutely perfect one there (you can all laugh; it's from a black wedding dress! ) for tonight's gala:

Thank you! Billy Porter got there first; I just took him as my role model for that look

The menswear stipulation for The Bloggies Gala was 'black tie'. That's rather boring for me, so I took Billy Porter's amazing Oscars tuxedo gown as my inspiration. Congratulations to all the winners!

Attending The Bloggies. Since menswear was 'black tie' I took Billy Porter's tuxedo dress from the Oscars as my inspiration:

You're very welcome.

That's looking much closer! I'd just recommend reducing the lip ratio for a bit less lower lip (the mesh lower lip is quite deep and rounded, whereas your system lower lip is thinner and smoother). You can also edit your system hairbase, go into the eyebrows tab, and play around with the settings in there to see if you can lift up the downward curve of the outer brow just a little and bring the inner corner down a tad. Certain brow sliders in the system hairbase will also change the eyes on a mesh head ever so slightly, so those are an additional way to change your eyes. All you need to do after that - assuming the system look always had the same makeup - is to find a darker lip applier and some eye makeup with a strong under-eye shadow, and you'll be as close as you can get to your old system look. (Oh, and yes, reduce the neck length a bit more ) Great job!

I've never worked with Genus, so I have no idea how responsive it is to the sliders, but my suggestions would be as follows: increase the lip cleft depth, then reduce the lip width a bit (to get the deeper, narrower cupid's bow) increase the mouth corner a little (although the slight smile should also be achievable by using the head's built-in animations) Your system eyes are much wider than the Genus eyes. You can try tweaking Eye Size and Eye Opening just a little, but - as before - I'm not sure how Genus responds to those settings. You may also be seeing differences that are not there - especially around the nose - due to the fact that in your system head image you're wearing a bright facelight, which will change how the shadows around your nose work. When taking your reference snapshot and working on the mesh head shape it's preferable to use a neutral, bright Windlight setting so that shadows don't affect how you perceive each look. If you're using Firestorm, scroll down the Windlight list in the Quick Prefs menu, look for the [TOR] presets near the bottom, then scroll up a bit to find [NB] Alpine Skinlight RGB (quick video of where it is). That's the one I always use, and it's great for shape-making and skin-matching. Assuming that Genus is now Bakes on Mesh compatible (most major brands now are) then you could use that option to put your old system skin onto the mesh head. It might look good or it might not (skins mapped to the system head won't always map perfectly to the 3D shape of a mesh head, so things like lipline and eye creases may not sit correctly on the mesh) but it might help you feel more like yourself with a mesh head. I would also shorten your neck considerably, as it's incredibly long with the mesh head look. Quite often with mesh heads you need to make what seem like very odd adjustments in order for them to look right (and if you take off the head and alpha once your shape is finalised you'll probably laugh at what your system head looks like underneath it!) Lastly, one thing I always say about updating to a mesh head while trying to keep as much of your old system look as possible is this:

Deadwool's new Hart Suit.

I'd offer some arch supports, because going tippytoe without 'em is gonna cause no end of problems.

A small note on this: check out Izzie's for subtle age lines and other wrinkles/blemishes (link to an MP search of her store just for 'age' is here). She has a fantastic selection, everything from tattoo layers (for system head; would probably work with Bakes on Mesh, too) to appliers. I used her older wrinkles applier set (which has multiple options so you can choose exactly which ones you want to wear) for the below pic, but she has some newer 'age yourself' variants, too:

That one is probably down to your shape, especially your shoulder width and arm length. I frequently see pose sets that include a notecard detailing the ideal shape settings for them so that the poses work perfectly, and I can only assume that animations have the same issue. A classic example would be a Bento 'naughty lollipop' created for female avatars to use. Try using it on a male avatar and - no matter what you do - when the animations run you're left sucking on something that you're holding about a foot away from your mouth. Sliders matter!

Agreed. Crediting only your sponsors' items is lazy, and it can be annoying for many readers. Anyone who has blogged will know how time-consuming putting together the credits list can be (I typically set my Flickr uploads going, then tab back into SL with a sigh as I fire up Notepad and get ready to remember/search) but you're doing a disservice to your readers if you only credit the items you've been sent free of charge. Case in point: I saw a fantastic shot on Flickr the other day. The outfit didn't interest me too much, but I really wanted the hair. It was a "click here for credits on my blog" kind of post, so I clicked, and the credits were only for the outfit, which was a sponsor item. Nothing at all about: hair, skin, eyes, accessories, makeup, backdrop/location, props, poses (and it was a busy shot with a lot of stuff in it). Some bloggers never change their underlying look (skin/hair/eyes etc) and those few will often have a separate page on which they list their one or two "base looks" but most do change, viewing those things as much part of the look as the outfit is. I wish more bloggers would do what I do, and that's to include body rigs and head mapping options. This is a typical credits list from me: The only reason why I didn't credit the skin there was because I'd post-processed the images with filters so that the skin texture was nigh on pure white with the only detail being deep shadows caused by the Windlight setting I was using, so I figured nobody would be asking me for that! There's also no backdrop info because that was just pure white. Credits like the above help people to see at a glance if it's worth getting the item, or if it's only rigged for a body (or mapped to a head) that they don't own. I even try to include the hair colour pack that I used, if I can (not possible with some fatpacks, unless all the HUDs are included separately) as well as poses. I also note which things are review copies, because I don't maintain a sponsor list on my blog (honestly, my list is so small as to be almost non-existent; I'm a one-man shopping machine!) but I believe in transparency. It can take me up to half an hour to put together a full credits list (or several hours if I'm distracted by helping in Catwa support). I usually note down which appliers I've used, as I'd invariably forget otherwise - especially the eyes and makeup - but it's vanishingly rare for anyone to need to ask me where I got something.

Slink has updated the Redux bodies so you can now use materials appliers (both Slink and Omega) on them. More info here: https://slinkstyle.com/2019/10/23/a-little-update-of-redux/

Over the years I've done a lot of internal work regarding gracious acceptance of compliments. As Maddy said, when someone gives you a compliment they are giving you a gift. To brush it off in any way is to tell them "I don't want your gift" and... well, that's a bit rude. So a simple "Thank you" (even if I'm squirming with discomfort because I feel like I must be big-headed if I'm accepting [and therefore agreeing with] the compliment) is always - in my eyes - the right option. For me, receiving compliments from people who are grateful for the help I have given them is by far the most rewarding part of what I do. Whether it's a tutorial post that I've written on my blog or personal help given to people who need either advice regarding Catwa heads (as part of my job) or general avatar customisation, I do my damndest to give back as a kind of thank you to all the people who have helped me inworld over the last 12 years. And it's wonderful to know that links to my tutorials are being given to other people, or that I've helped someone to fix a problem or to feel good about their avatar's looks. Occasionally - alongside the written thanks - I'll be sent money or a gift. That does tend to make me feel a bit uncomfortable (money especially so) but - since it's a compliment in a non-verbal format - I keep it, and just proffer gentle protestations that it was honestly not necessary, but thank the person anyway.

@Pixie Kobichenko That might work, if I can cover the very low dip on the belly. Thank you!

Tilted stage.

LOL, Josephine! I wouldn't dream of Chippendale-ing it to a formal event I'm checking to see if I can take Billy Porter as my inspiration - - but the combination of a tuxedo jacket and the right kind of long skirt (either modifiable for a male body, or a flat-chested jacket that would fit Skell's Syd persona) is proving nigh-on impossible to find. I'll see what I can do, but am not holding out much hope.

Apparently the dress code for the Bloggies Gala is black tie. For the ladies that means any number of gorgeous long gowns, but for the gents it means only one thing: tuxedo. And that means I won't be attending, because I refuse to be limited like that.

Before we get off the subject of expensive shapes, I'd just like to raise the spectre of certain male shape makers who charge L$800 and don't offer a demo.

Dance the ghost with me... A rare three-image post from me, because I love all of them and couldn't decide. I went high-key with Syd again, and yes the double hairstyle was a happy little accident (in true Bob Ross style) that I only noticed halfway through the photoshoot, but that looked so good I decided to keep it in!

The flipside of this - mentioned by Jace - is one of the reasons why I so rarely initiate any IM conversation with female avatars outside of what might be required for my job in SL (for those that dont know, I'm a CSR for a major mesh head brand and often dealing with queries in IM is easier than doing so in open chat where other conversations can add to someone's confusion). That flipside is that - despite not even being interested in women - because I see so many women complaining about men only sending IMs as an expectant precursor for a roll in the hay, I feel obliged every time to offer an upfront disclaimer before the actual text of my IM if said IM is merely conversational or complimentary rather than work-related: "Absolutely not coming on to you, but I just wanted to tell you that I think your avatar looks incredibly unique. Just thought you'd like to know that someone appreciated the work that you put into it. Have a great day!" etc.

If you buy a (non full-permission) mesh head then there will usually be a HUD that comes with it. This HUD will usually contain a set of default skintones for the head. For the major mesh head brands these skintones often match to mesh body applier skintones from a specific store. Two examples from major mesh head brands: a male mesh head from Catwa will contain head applier skintones in its HUD that match body applier skintones from Clef de Peau (although those specific Clef de Peau body skintones are now only available from a vendor in the Catwa store) a male mesh head from Lelutka will contain head applier skintones in its HUD that match body applier skintones from Tableau Vivant However, before you purchase any mesh head based on the above you need to check which mesh bodies those body appliers will go onto. For the vast majority of male body appliers those will be the following brands: Signature Belleza Slink They may also have Omega body appliers that will apply to any mesh body, as long as you have the relevant Omega body relay or installer HUD. (Relay HUD must be worn any time you apply an Omega applier, installer must be worn once and clicked to install Omega compatibility, then can be removed). For example: an Omega body skin will apply to the Belleza 'Jake' body as long as you've used the Omega installer kit for Belleza to install Omega compatiblity into that body. For an Omega applier to work on the Slink 'Physique' body you'll need the Omega installer kit for Slink, etc. You can also, of course, buy any other body and head skin appliers from third party skin creators. There are hundreds of them out there, so you're not limited to the skins that come with your mesh body and head. For the purpose of giving a quick reply here I won't go into too much detail about this, but there is also the new Bakes on Mesh [BOM] ability, which allows you to 'bake' your underlying system skin onto your mesh body and head. For that you will need a mesh body/head combination that either has native BOM support, or you'll need to use a relay of some kind to apply the special 'bake' textures to the mesh. This could be either one issued specifically by that body/head's creator(s), or an Omega BOM relay (for which you will need the relevant Omega installers or relays for the head/body brands that you want to apply it to). You will not find any skin creators who make skin appliers for the full permission mesh avatar that you've shown in this thread. The vast majority of them create only for the major mesh brands listed above.

Yes, Arthur could fondle otters. G K E P M

"Silas, would you stop being such a bloody drama queen?!"

Valentine Technologies have just issued a 2.6 update to the V-Tech 'Boi' Flat Chest Mod for Maitreya which includes (alongside an update to the non-BOM version) a free BOM update. Looks to be an automatic delivery, since I wasn't wearing my V-Tech when the update just came through. Info notecard: