Skell Dagger

I had a feeling you'd say the darker ones! I'm really torn, because I love both sets equally. Gah! I guess I could post one set today and the other edits tomorrow. (Also, that lighter set needed a lot of post-processing in Photoshop, because the massive combination of filters left it covered in dark lined squares, all of which I had to remove.)

Hrrr. I'm going to take the rare step here of asking all of you for your opinion, because I can't make up my bloody mind. I've done two sets of edits of these images, using different Windlights. I adore them both equally, but I'm wary of spamming my Flickr followers with two full sets (although I guess it would only be seven images in total, so... eh). Anyway, forum darlings, which one? The lighter version, or the darker version?

They're the only hair store where I'll willingly buy without demoing. Every single style is amazing. Heh. Teal and red are probably the only colours I do tend to wear. Occasionally I'll venture into more autumnal browns, but that's about it. The occasional aberration into neon yellow notwithstanding.

Spectacular! Spectacular! No words in the vernacular Can describe this great event You'll be dumb with wonderment! (AKA: God, I effin' LOVE this hair! ) Credits Hotdog for Equal 10, plus VoltHair for Man Cave and Zibska for Gloss Event. Shirt & Vest: Hotdog - Ringmaster Waistcoat (Slink, Jake) Hair: VoltHair - Marvin Hair (B&W) Makeup: Zibska - Sofija Eyemakeup (Catwa, LAQ, Lelutka, Omega, system) Ears: L'Etre - Taper Mesh Ears Skin applier: Birth - Bruce (Catwa - Tone 01) Eye appliers: Avi-Glam - Elysian Eyes (Fjord - Omega, own brand, system) Brow appliers: Identity Body Shop - Thick Eyebrows (Catwa, Omega, system) Piercings: Catwa - Bento Face Piercing* Head: Catwa - Skell* (Bento) *review copy

The 10 Year Challenge is everywhere on social media right now, so I thought it might be fun to do in SL. (That leather coat - from Sinistyle - was my first major clothing purchase in SL. As I recall, it cost L$600, and I dithered for days before I bought it. Ah... hindsight... )

In short, no. Second life avatars are not real people whose information can be sold to marketers, which is Facebook's entire business model. Many Second Life users have seen their SL-related Facebook accounts terminated for that reason. (Pages are fine; it's actual accounts in avatar names that FB regards as an issue.) The user is the commodity on FB, which is why - unless you specifically use a plugin such as Ghostery to block FB like/share buttons all over the web - you will be tracked. Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you will be tracked unless you specifically block those buttons, as well as the invisible 'Facebook pixel'. Facebook have actually admitted that. That tracking is why people who have multiple accounts, both for real life and Second Life, will sometimes see SL-relevant advertising on their real life FB account, and vice versa.

Exactly. I archived all of my hundreds of old system skins, so when the inital BoM viewer went into Beta (with the Omega workaround) I unboxed them all and tried them out. Out of all those hundreds of skins I found precisely ONE designer (Tableau Vivant) that mapped perfectly on the Catwa head I was using. All of the others were slightly 'off' in some way.

I'll do my best, although I'm not familiar with the Adam head. (I own it; I've just never used it!) I've had a look at the listing for the Adam (Absolut Creations) Omega HUD and it appears to be a relay, so in order to apply Omega skins to your current Adam/Slink combination: Wear the Slink Omega HUD and click it to install Omega into the Slink body. (You can remove the HUD after that, but if you ever make a copy of the body, or redeliver it you'll need to reinstall Omega, so keep the HUD for it.) Wear the Adam Omega HUD and keep it on while you try on the skins. The Adam HUD is a relay, so it must be worn each time you try on Omega items. It can be removed once everything is applied. Now onto your neck-matching issues. As I mentioned, I'm unfamiliar with the Adam head (I'm a CSR for Catwa, so that's my speciality), but some basic troubleshooting tips would be as follows: Make sure you're demoing both head and body skin from the same skin designer and in the same skin tone. Turn off any neck fixes (also known as neck sheaths) on both head and body. (In your case, the Slink body doesn't have a neck fix, but the Adam head might.) Check the HUDs for both body and head to ensure that you don't have any glossiness/shine enabled. This can cause what look like colour-mismatches if you have Advanced Lighting enabled in your graphics preferences, and you only have gloss/shine enabled on either body OR head. Reset both body and head base colour to white. Often when someone first gets a mesh head they try to tint the default skintone to match their mesh or system body (and vice versa with a mesh body). And then, when they come to trying on applier skins they forget that they'd previously tinted. Look for a 'skin RGB' option and input 255,255,255 if you find one. Use a mesh body friendly Windlight setting, such as [NB] Alpine Skinlight RGB, or Nam's Optimal Skin & Prim (both found in Firestorm viewer). I know some people don't like having a brightly-lit always-day setting, but the default lighting can be very harsh and highlights neck join issues. In Catwa group we recommend a bright Windlight at least for checking that your skin matches. Omega head appliers are a bit of a minefield, since many mesh head creators map their heads differently. An Omega applier that was created to work best on a Lelutka head might look slightly odd on a Catwa head, for example. Off the top of my head I can only think of the 7 Deadly Skins store, which offers all-in-one Omega appliers for men. (There will be more out there, but because of that head-mapping issue, they're fairly rare, outside the realms of those who create fantasy skins). Be aware that 7 Deadly Skins doesn't offer browless versions of their male skins (unlike their female ones) so you won't be able to use your own brows, if you find some that you prefer.

I'm not sure about the Adam Omega relay, but the Slink one needs to be installed before use. Add the Slink Omega Installer (it will appear in a HUD slot on your screen) and click it. You should see some text in local chat, to the tune of "thank you for installing Omega" (or something like that). Next, add the Adam Omega HUD. If it says 'installer' you'll need to do the same thing as with the Slink one, but if it says 'relay' then you just need to be wearing that HUD whenever you apply Omega items onto the Adam head. Just to clarify, when you say you have "the Omega applier for Slink and Adam/Eve" you mean this (Slink) and this (Adam), yes?

If I recall correctly, Shawna is one of the default starter avatars, and she is what we call a classic (or sometimes a 'system' avatar). Until you make the switch to a mesh avatar, you'll need to look for shoes that are made for classic/system avatars. No doubt you've noticed by now that many clothing and footwear adverts have lots of different logos on them, like this: Those tell you which bodies that item of clothing or footwear will work with. Pay attention to the black and white one in the middle, with the two heads facing away from each other. It looks like this: That logo tells you that the item of clothing or footwear will work on the avatar you currently have: a system/classic avatar. Until you buy a mesh body, look for that logo. Once you have a mesh body, you need to look for the other logos and find the one that's relevant to the mesh body you have.

Yep, this really helps me to see what the product looks like on me... Addendum: I ditched that necklace demo, because, well... I couldn't bloody SEE it. But my next shopping session more than made up for it with two unexpected 'male fit' options in things that I'd bought just for Syd. This video shows them both: the amazing coat (which has a male rig which is based on Slink - perfect for me - and a massive texture HUD) and the boots, which I'd only bought for the Maitreya fit, but they also had Gianni and Jake fits (the latter of which worked perfectly on this Slink look). And yeah, I often dance when I'm demoing. No better way to see how something moves with your avatar's body

Or you could just go to the Catwa store and pick up this free group gift that saves and re-applies all appliers complete with tint, blend, and layering info in one click

Oh, come on. At least give us a clue!

Wear the animation HUD from your Daniel folder (the icon looks like an old movie camera). Click it to open it, then click the arrowed icon below: That will stop all of the Full Face AO animations. You can then click each of the icons above it, in turn, to find out which ones you do want enabled. The four that I have outlined with black circles (the bottom row, above the arrow) are all much more subtle facial expressions - a slight lift of the eyebrow or a faint smirk - all of which are far more natural for everyday use. Incidentally, the 'broken neck' icon (to the left of the STOP button there) will allow your head to move more naturally when it animates, rather than your neck remaining stiff.

Oh lord, of course you can! It's not 'my' thread! @FinnSereen - I have to leave for work in about 5 minutes, but I had a quick thought about your issue this morning. Stray Dog's head appliers each contain two huds: one for a skin with brows and one for a skin without. Have you tried them both? Does the issue occur on both?

I'm used to bits of me being frozen in my viewer during the logout process (usually just appliers and hair), but tonight it looked rather cool, so I grabbed a quick print screen: Addendum: Now that I think of it, I have a full-body anatomy tattoo. I wonder what that looks like during logout? Must try that sometime. (I may have discovered a new art form - lol!)

If it's causing issues with the hair itself there's not a lot you can do, except for setting the lashes to Mask mode (which usually makes them look spidery and Not Nice). Sadly, that's the good old SL alpha glitch. If the hair is straight and fairly sleek (and editable) - which that one is not - then you can edit the alpha blend/mask settings on the hair, as per this video. It doesn't work well with feathery hair like the one Neph is wearing, though. Addendum: also, if the hair has a materials setting option that can often clear the issue (in your viewer anyway; anyone not using Advanced Lighting will still see the alpha glitch). But then, materials can make the hair look over-shiny, depending on how subtle a hand the creator has wielded with it.

Taking the weight off my feet at Catwa, together with a fellow CSR. Each in our own... unique way

It sounds like it could be an issue with that applier, yes. Normally that fix should always work.

Starting with a clear face, here's the video. Let me know if you need any further help, @kaiyovi ETA: Forgot to put this in the video, but when you apply the eyeshadow, make sure that the LOWER box is checked in the Eyes Makeup section - surrounded in red in the below image:

No problem. I've just logged in, so give me a few minutes to get that sorted out for you (I'll be using a male head, but the HUD and everything else is exactly the same to look at.)

In addition to the above advice, if - when you click the applier - you see some text in local chat, to the tune of "Attempting to apply [etc]" then what you have is an Omega applier. To wear that on your Maitreya body you'll need the Maitreya Omega Relay. First, though, check the applier itself. Some of them have multiple options on the same applier (eg: Maitreya, Slink, Belleza, Omega) so ensure that you're clicking the correct one.

CSR for Catwa here I just want to check a couple of things first: Where is this Stray Dog icon? Is it an object hovering to the side of your body, or is it a 'sticker'-like texture on your skin? If it's the former (hovering to one side of your avatar) then you've managed to add the HUD to your body as an attachment rather than as a HUD. If you right-click the applier in your inventory and choose 'detach' does it then disappear? If it's the latter (a sticker on your skin), then some further clarification is needed: Does the Stray Dog 'demo' icon only appear on your head AFTER you apply the full-priced 'Uriel' applier? Or did it appear when you tried the demo and you now can't get it off? If it's No.1 then wear your Catwa Master HUD M (from the Daniel folder). Go to the 2nd tab, and look for the red 'RESET' word on the right of the HUD, as shown here: Click 'ALL' and your Daniel head should reset to out-of-the-box default, and hopefully you shouldn't be seeing that demo logo anymore. Now right-click the Stray Dog Uriel applier and select 'Add' to wear it. Click to apply the skin. If it applies just fine, then you're golden! If not, and you see the demo logo appear again, the creator may have put the wrong texture into the applier, and you need to contact him or his CSR/Store Manager to ask for help. However, if your answer to my earlier question is No.2 (the logo appeared after you tried the demo and it's stayed there when you apply the full-priced applier) the fix for that is simple: Go back to the Catwa Master HUD M, and this time into the 4th tab (Blush-Lipstick). Under the 'Blush' section, check the UPPER box, then the small CLEAR button on that right of that section. Then check the LOWER box and click CLEAR again. If that removes the logo, then the reason is that the creator added the demo logo as a blush applier (they don't normally do this, as it leads to people coming to us in the Catwa support group, upset that - after trying one demo skin - all of their old skins are now demo skins!). Clearing the blush areas will remove the logo in that case. Hopefully that fixes the issue, but if not then you can either send me an IM if I'm online (check my inworld profile) or join the Catwa Head Friends group and ask for further help there. Lastly, I do have a blog post detailing the basics of working with a Catwa Bento head, aimed specifically at male avatars. It's rather long, but grab a beer and settle down for a read. Hopefully it'll help answer some questions

Thought so. I figured it was Catwa because I recognised the ears However, if it had been a non-Bento Catwa head then the solution would have been different. Here are your steps to fix it: Use the Catwa Master HUD F to clear your face of all eye makeup and brow appliers. Apply the brows. Go to the 3rd tab (Eyes. Brows. Neck-Tattoo) of your Catwa Master HUD F. In the top section (Brows) make sure that the LOWER box is checked, next to 'Apply Changes to' Click a black 'Save' button under one of the 'Empty' boxes in that section. You might see an icon appear there, or the word 'empty' might vanish. Clear the brows again. Apply the eyeshadow. Go back to the Catwa Master HUD F, and the Brows section. This time, make sure the UPPER box is checked, and click the box above the save button that you just used for the brows. You should now be layered correctly. If you need me to upload a gif or video showing you exactly what to do then I can get on that when I log in

Unfortunately, the "masculine man wearing makeup and skirts" is one of the most difficult to achieve in Second Life, since it's a very niche form of expression. There are a few stores that will cater to your needs, but they mostly rig their clothing for one of two male mesh bodies: Belleza Jake (more commonly) or Signature Gianni (less commonly). This mean you can't wear that specific clothing with the basic system avatar, as it's created to work with an additional mesh body purchase. The stores that - off the top of my head - I can think of who have some items that may work for you are: Cubura Violetility (link goes to their clothing section only) Riot (Flickr link here) has some items at their inworld store only that work on male bodies, including mesh corsets, as well as some socks that allow male avatars to wear female-rigged heels, and thigh-high boots rigged to include male sizes You could also check out the current 'Something Extra' event, which runs inworld until 30th January. Info and images of items on sale, together with a SLurl to access the location can be found here (Warning for some NSFW images at those links. You may need to enable all maturity ratings at the top of the Marketplace pages in order to see all the listings.) The more common version that is better catered for is for men to wear the female Maitreya 'Lara' mesh body, together with the Valentine Technologies (V-Tech) 'Boi' flat chest mod, which removes the breasts on the Lara body. Together with a female bento mesh head, and a lot of shape customisation, it's possible to achieve a (less-masculine, admittedly) male look that way. Most guys who opt for this go the prettier 'femboi' route, but some of us who work it go darker and more punky. It's an option, anyway. As to makeup: if you have a system avatar head (ie: you've not purchased a specific mesh head) then you need to look for tattoo layer makeup. If you have (or decide to buy) a mesh head, you will need appliers created for that head (eg: Catwa lipstick applier for a Catwa head). There are many men, like me, who wear some traditionally-female items on male mesh bodies. Skell almost always wears some kind of makeup and often wears heels, but I don't put him into overtly feminine clothing, as that's not his style. I can give you a few visual examples if you'd like to see them, but the above is all I can really help you with if your wish is for a more "masculine man wearing skirts and lipstick" kind of look. Addendum: If you're looking more for a 'sissy' look then there are Adult groups in SL who cater to that need. You may find better advice and clothing ideas by asking around in those.