[Do you make a shopping list for Black Friday sale?]

The only things I have ever bought at Black Friday sales in SL are name-brand mesh bodies like Maitreya Lara and Meshbody Legacy, which are usually 50% off the regular price throughout the Black Friday weekend. They rarely/never have sales at other times of the year, so I usually wait and buy then. 

[Second Life Wishes for the 2023 Holiday Season]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Like it or not, the "Holidays" are just around the corner!

What are your "Holiday Wishes" for this year?

Here's a few to get started:

- Sufficient new Bellisseria homes, for anyone who wants one, for all themes

- An update to the new Senra body with many improvements

- The official Mobile viewer

(Bonus: You don't even have to sit on a jolly man's lap to tell us your wishes!)

 

Yes to all of these, and I want to throw in:

A lot of stores participating in another round of the LeLutka Holiday Special, including (of course!) two new free mesh heads from LeLutka.

I'm also hoping that a few other Bento mesh head makers will toss a freebie our way (hint, hint).

EDITED TO ADD: Oh, and a lot of stores offering gift cards (or store credit) at the December Shop and Hop event! I noticed far fewer gift cards than usual at the Halloween Shop and Hop, which was a bit of a disappointment.

[Introducing Senra Avatars... what do you think?]

Yes, I am eagerly awaiting an opportunity to compare the "beta" Senra bodies and heads with the new, updated ones. I think the bodies are great for new users, but my biggest problem with the heads is their permanently surprised, sky-high eyebrows, and the fact that older SLUV skins won't work with the blinking animation in the Blake and Jamie Senra heads (although you can remove the blinking animation, since they are modify). I really hope LL fixes this. I guess we'll see...

[Kalhene ERIKA Mesh Body]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:13 PM, Sparkle Bunny said:

heads up that the group is now L$99, so the price of Erika Zero X is double that of Erika Zero Plus.

(No, I don't know why they're still calling it Zero either, but their branding in general has been all over the place, so yeah.)

Even at that price, it's still a good deal, I think.

[Kalhene ERIKA Mesh Body]

22 hours ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

Rebirth heads are EvoX skin compatible too, or at least some are from what I have seen. Less than $1k last time I checked.

Doesn't Rebirth also have a free Bento mesh head, called Kyra?

EDIT: Oh, wow, I didn't know Reborn doesn't have permission to use the EvoX mapping. I am assuming that Akeruka and LOGO do have permission, then? They both now offer heads with EvoX compatibility.

[Kalhene ERIKA Mesh Body]

12 minutes ago, Trinity Blakewell said:

For the last couple of years, Lelutka has given out free heads (mail and female) for Christmas. It is a major multi-store event with primarily skin and makeup vendors also giving out freebees. You typically have to join all the groups but they tend to be all free, or free for a limited time.

Yes, all the stores that participated in the LeLutka Christmas event set their group join fee to free for the duration of the event, so it's easily the best time of year to join (and then stay joined). For example, the Avi-Glam group is usually L$10 to join, but you can join for free during the LeLutka Christmas event, and also pick up all the group gifts in-store for free as well.

Even though LeLutka is clearly the leading brand of mesh heads in SL, I will be very surprised if LeLutka does not have a similar male and female head giveaway like they did the last three Christmases! And more and more stores selling skins, cosmetics, hair, etc. for LeLutka are jumping on the bandwagon with their own giveaways every year, to tie in with the event.

[Senior Product Manager - How Might They Steer Second Life?]

From the position description: "Immerse yourself in Second Life to attain a deep understanding of the feature set and use cases and learn the culture by getting to know the user community." Obviously, experienced SL users would have a strong advantage here.

But I am wondering whether it would be better/smarter, given the impending launch of the mobile version of SL, to find somebody who *is* from outside Linden Lab, but experienced in mobile app tech/development, give them a crash course in SL, and bring a fresh and different perspective to the job.

Then again, I see this: "Promotion of the value of the core experience of Second Life to other parts of Linden Lab, and help ensure the Product leverages the ideas and resources of the larger organization." Again, someone who is already steeped in Second Life would have a strong advantage here, since they seem to be looking for an advocate. Somebody from outside would face a steep learning curve, an obvious challenge.

"Migration from JIRA to Github" - Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. That's gonna be a whole job in itself!

"Cultivate collaborative and productive working relationships with a diverse group of internal stakeholders and embrace healthy conflict rooted in mutual respect and trust" - shrinking violets need not apply! 😜

"Remote roles based outside of our office can sit in any of the following 15 states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MA, MN, MT, NH, NC, PA, TX, VA, and WA. We invite you to apply if you are able to live and work full-time in one of the states listed above." - cries in Canadian

[How does your Senra look?]

8 hours ago, animats said:

Where's a good in-world store with Senra clothing?

 

I don't think there is one yet. It's still too early!

I'd love to be proven wrong on this, though.

[How does your Senra look?]

12 hours ago, Frigga Freidman said:

PS- And she's now blinking! Without any pulling of her eyebrow. I've done nothing to the script. Is it possible that the Senra Jamie head had been updated?

I doubt it. Perhaps you were just lucky enough to find an old system skin where the eyebrows were already high enough?

I tested both the male and female Senra heads with a variety of old system skins, and I couldn't find anything that didn't deform around the eyebrow area in some way when the avatar blinked. Your mileage may vary, though! I'd love to hear about other people's experiences.

[How does your Senra look?]

Okay, I have updated my original blogpost about my problems with the eyebrow and upper eyelid area while using older SLUV skins on the Senra Blake and Jamie heads, giving credit to @Theresa Tennyson who first suggested deleting the blinking script from the heads—thank you!

So now there are two solutions: using Izzie's Eyebrow Remover and the supplied Jamie/Blake brows, OR deleting the blinking script in the heads (which are modify/no transfer). Personally, I will be using the latter, at least until we get more skins created specifically for the Senra line. But for us oldbies who might want to reuse older skins from our inventory, it works great! Best of all, it's free.

(You can find my blog address in my signature line; if you can't see any signature lines, it's because you have them turned off; you can turn them on here: https://community.secondlife.com/settings/signature/)

[How does your Senra look?]

26 minutes ago, Frigga Freidman said:

Yes, the eyebrows lower, at least in the interior corners when the eyes blink. But, because of the hair I'm using that doesn't bother me much. The nails, on the other hand (pun intended). This is the fix I saw mentioned in the forums: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Sweets-Free-Bake-on-Mesh-Quick-Nail-Cover-Fix/18140945

Yes, I use the Sweet's Quick Nail Cover Fix, too, although you do have to fiddle around with the RGB settings to get the best match for the rest of your skin. It's an iterative process, takes me about half an hour, but then once it's done, I never have to fuss with it again!

The best way to get the RGB color which matches your skin is to turn on Developer mode in Firestorm, then select "Show Color under Cursor" under "Show Info" on the Developer menu (see image below). I use a pose stand, and then aim my cursor at a part of the hand near the part that needs to be tinted, then use that as a starting point to tint a copy of the Sweet's Nail Cover Fix. It usually takes me 4-6 tries to get something a good match. It's a fussy process, not really suitable for newbies, but it works.

[How does your Senra look?]

Okay, I went and bought the new Alaskmetro skin (L$50) and shape (L$10) for Senra Jamie, and I used that as my starting point. I noticed that, even then, using the default Alaskmetro shape and the Alaskametro skin, when my avatar blinks, the eyebrows do deform every so slightly (but it is noticeable to me), so I gave up, made a copy of the Jamie head, and went and deleted the blinking script on a copy of my test avatar's Senra Jamie mesh head, and wore the nonblinking version instead.

This stops the blinking, but (surprisingly) keeps the subtle eye movements (the eye movement animations are included in the Contents tab), and I think it's quite acceptable! I used the Alaskametro shape as my starting point, with some tweaks, and I think this is my best look yet for Jamie!

I've just decided that the built-in blinking on both the Blake and Jamie heads just bugs the hell out of me (there's something about the way the skin above the eyes moves that just looks WRONG to me, even on this skin), so I *BANISH* it! Begone! 😜

And this also means that just about any older SLUV skin would then work with these heads—as long as you don't mind the not blinking thing... 😉

I mean, for only L$60 total, I would call this a pretty damn good look that would blend in seamlessly with any club packed with pricer brand-name mesh heads and bodies!

[How does your Senra look?]

32 minutes ago, Emma Krokus said:

Oh I'm an idiot!!!

I mean the head!!

No problem!

I just did a quick check, and YES, it works! You just have to rez the Senra head, right click on it and select edit, then go to the Contents tab and delete the script. Then be sure to rename the head so you can find it again easily, take it back into your inventory, wear it, and it works just fine, WITHOUT blinking! And yet, the eyes still move around like before, which is nice.

[How does your Senra look?]

1 minute ago, Emma Krokus said:

Rez the body. Go into EDIT mode on the body. Look in contents tab - the script is there. Delete it. Rename the body to show you this is the unscripte done and take back into inventory.

(not sure if it's necessary to set the script to "not running" first... - its been a few weeks since I did it)

Thanks! Follow-up question: Because the head is separate, wouldn’t you just have to do this for the head, and not the body? 

[How does your Senra look?]

5 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Strip the blink script out of the head. Think of it - when was the last time you actually noticed someone blinking in real life? The blink animation in the head is unrealistically slow, and I'm not sure it's even possible to have a realistic instant blink by animating bones anyway.

Okay, I need someone to explain like I’m five (ELI5), step by step, how to strip out the blink script from a Senra head. I would do it for the Blake head in an instant, just to get an old Belleza male skin which I loved and used a lot back in the day, to work on that head. Please and thank you! 🙏

[How does your Senra look?]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:12 AM, Frigga Freidman said:

Brows aren’t Trixie’s, they’re part of the Bitsy skin. The fingernails and toenails are AWFUL, no matter what I’ve tried (including the free fix on the MP). Personally, not being a clothes horse, I don’t see any real benefit to using a mesh avatar. I think a good skin and judicious use of sliders will continue to suit me just fine. (And leave me with more L$ to spend on furniture 😉)

Do you have a link to this "free fix on the MP" for the fingernails and toenails? Thanks.

I've seen a lot of good-looking skins applied to Senra Jamie bodies/heads in this thread, but what I want to know is, do the eyebrows glitch when they blink? Every SLUV-based skin I tried had this problem. You can read my latest blogpost for details, and a video which demonstrates the problem. (Blog address is in my signature line.)

[LaraX?]

16 hours ago, steeljane42 said:

2nd is Avalon, and it never was free. It's just that generic and thus become most popular. It's still good, very good, but after it got as popular as it is I'd never really suggest it to anyone, because as versatile heads Lelutka makes and as much difference skins and addons add you can still always look around and say "Yep, that's Avalon, and there's 15 more of them nearby right now".

Yep, I can't remember where i saw it (perhaps Virtual Secrets, the National Enquirer of SL?), someone said that the LeLutka Avalon is the new Catwa Catya, LOL!

Seriously, it has been fascinating to watch LeLutka slowly replace Catwa as THE mesh head brand on the grid. Giving away free mesh heads these past three Christmases has been a savvy marketing move.

[LaraX?]

I have Maitreya Lara for my main avatar (Vanity), although I did purchase on impulse an Inithium Khara body during one of their recent one-hour flash sales for L$1,000 (mainly because it was on sale, and I am a freebie fashionista a.k.a. a cheap ***** who couldn't resist a bargain LOL!). I love the Khara body, but there still aren't a lot of designers creating for it yet, so I will likely just keep it in storage and wait patiently. If it flops, I'm only out a thousand Linden dollars, no big deal.

I had originally bought the Kalhene Analexa for a few female alts, but then the creator dropped that body entirely, so I updated some of them to Maitreya Lara during last year's 50%-off Black Friday sales. Also, I discovered that the Analexa bodies were not as Maitreya Lara-compatible as the LucyBody Atenea, which you can get for free and only requires a L$250 HUD to make them Bakes on Mesh compatible. Almost all of my female alts use Atenea now. Kalhene chose to gamble on Erika, and while I see more designers creating for Erika, it's still a bit of a gamble (the recent L$50 Erika Zero was a smart move, though).

Some thoughts from my freebie fashionista/cheap ***** perspective:

1. Maitreya is very smart to give LaraX to existing Lara 5.3 users has a giveaway upgrade. Whether or not you use it is up to you, but I would be very surprised if content creators are going to rig for both Lara 5.3 and LaraX bodies. Once LaraX is launched, you can expect that clothing for Lara 5.3 will start to dwindle, just as it's now harder to find new clothing for Belleza Freya since GenX launched. HOWEVER, the LucyBody Atenea is still nearly free (only L$250 for a Maitreya Lara-compatible body with the Bakes on Mesh HUD LucyBody sells), and still relatively popular according to Lucia Nightfire's statistics, so that might keep some designers creating clothing for Lara 5.3. Maybe.

2. Keep in mind that, from here onward, there's going to be a growing number of people whose first mesh head and body are Senra. Whatever company makes it easy/easier for Senra Jamie mesh head and body users to upgrade to *their* brand is going to reap the rewards. I'm not sure yet what this would look like, but we'll know it when we see it. The emphasis needs to be on an EASY upgrade, something with lots of help for newer users.

3. Never underestimate the power of good-quality freebies! The Genus Strong gift head is the number one head on Lucia's list, followed closely by the three free LeLutka female heads which LeLutka has given out as free gifts in 3 successive years. All LeLutka would have to do is include some Senra-compatible body skin to sweeten the deal this coming Christmas. Just sayin'...

4. The SL mesh head and body wars are entering a new phase. Because clothing designers are NOT going to rig for more than 5 or 6 bodies, TOPS, there will be both winners and losers in this marketplace. Marketing and good PR is going to be key in this new round of battles. No sense having a great mesh body if nobody knows about it and next-to-nobody designs for it!!

So I'm just gonna stock up on popcorn and grab a front-row seat to this particular three-ring circus! 🍿

[How does your Senra look?]

On 8/5/2023 at 5:27 PM, Istelathis said:

I'm not sure if this will work for you, but I gave an eyebrow concealer a try on Jaime and here were the results

First I applied the concealer 

Then I put on eyebrow tattoos 

There is still slight distortion, but I only notice it when really up close.  The distortion is not nearly as bad on Jamie, but I do see a little bit of stretching with the skin I am currently using when there is no concealer.

The demo I used was here:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Izzies-DEMO-BOM-Eyebrow-Concealer/20393879

 

I bought and tried the Izzie's eyebrow concealer and, unfortunately, it did not cover all the eyebrow area on the male Belleza Ewan skin I tried it on. It did, however, work with the female IC Skins Bella Snow skin I tried it on.

At this point, it is very clear to me that entire eyebrow/eyelid area area on the Blake AND the Jamie mesh heads is VERY different from the SLUV used on most older male skins, and it is unlikely that they will work with the Blake and Jamie heads, unless you do workarounds like the eyebrow concealer and use the included brows, which sit a lot higher on the forehead!

I consider this a MAJOR problem with the Blake and Jamie heads, and frankly, I'd rather just use one of the free LeLutka heads I picked up at previous Christmases than try to find an old SLUV skin that will work with it. It's extremely disappointing.

Hopefully, some designers will create new skins specifically for Blake and Jamie, which work with the peculiarities of these heads.

I have added two pictures showing the Bella Snow skin (where the eyebrows do move when the avatar blinks), with the same head and skin, using the Izzie's eyebrow concealer and the Jamie brows. You can see just how much higher up the Jamie brows sit! I set the eyebrow height to its LOWEST level, and they are still sky-high!

[How does your Senra look?]

I have been spending my Sunday afternoon trying on various old skins from my oldest female avatar, Ledba Loon (get it? lead balloon? Thank you, I'll see myself out...), and I found one old skin from IC Skins, which used to specialize in "photorealistic" skins for classic, system avatars. Most of them were horrible, but this Bella Swan skin is a keeper! I'm quite happy with this look.

Unfortunately, I cannot find IC skins on the SL Marketplace, so unless you bought this years ago, you're out of luck.

[How does your Senra look?]

23 hours ago, Istelathis said:

I'm not sure if this will work for you, but I gave an eyebrow concealer a try on Jaime and here were the results

First I applied the concealer 

Then I put on eyebrow tattoos 

There is still slight distortion, but I only notice it when really up close.  The distortion is not nearly as bad on Jamie, but I do see a little bit of stretching with the skin I am currently using when there is no concealer.

The demo I used was here:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Izzies-DEMO-BOM-Eyebrow-Concealer/20393879

 

Oh, thank you! I will have to try this.

[How does your Senra look?]

14 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

Wear the Senra avatar the way it's explained in Boston Blaisdale's video about them. Then just try on other skins that are not EvoX and see how they look.

Most skins in SL that are not EvoX skins are basically SLUV skins. There are small difference between skins for different bodies - mostly at the fingers, toes, nipples, butt, crotch and knees. There are small difference between skins for different heads - mostly at the lips & eyes. Genus mesh heads seem to be pretty close to the original standard heads, and look ok on Lelutka heads too, imo.

Because the Senra heads are new, there's no strong concensus yet as to which skins work best with them, but the skins that come with them are too flat and unnatural-looking, imo.

Yes, that's the word I was looking for, "flat". I don't like the included skins for Blake at all.

I spent the afternoon trying on free/dollarbie skins from Belleza, BROX, and Sweet's on the Senra Blake mesh body, and the biggest problem I have discovered is that the eyebrows move on them when the avatar blinks (I fiddled with the eye and eyebrow sliders, and nothing fixed this). There's something about the way the Senra body is designed that is just different enough from the SLUV to cause a problem.

I wrote up yet another blogpost about my skin testing for Blake this afternoon, including a short video so that you can see the problem with the eyebrows yourself. I'm starting to think that this is a serious emough problem that it might not allow users to use any older skins with Blake.

My blog address is in my signature line.

[How does your Senra look?]

Okay, I have been spending the evening trying out old SLUV skins on Senra Blake, and one thing I can tell you is that the old Belleza male skins are the BOMB! There are only two problems: one, the fingertips will be a different colour (see image one), so you will need to use something like Sweet's free tintable Quick Nail Cover Fix on the SL Marketplace (see image two).

The final three images are the final look for my avatar. *chef's kiss*

Oh, and the second problem? When he blinks, the eyebrows get deeper LOL! Something you can't tell from a still photo...

[How does your Senra look?]

3 hours ago, Sean Heavy said:

 

You can also find clothing for Ruth 2.0 (version RC 3 or just v.3) by searching the marketplace for RuthToo, (my version of Ruth 2.0). I'll be releasing some additional clothes for RuthToo and RothToo in the next few months, which will also fit Ruth 2.0.

I also have a free FP pack of various alpha masks in my shop in Blumfield to be used for the BoM version. And if you find some free clothes that could really use an alpha mask, let me know and I'll create some and add them to the free FP pack.

I may also expand to Senra outfits if they approve my request for the SDK.

Okay, now that I know that some creators are specifically making clothing to fit Ruth 2.0, I will add a column to my spreadsheet! Thank you, @Sean Heavy! 

UPDATE: Done! You can now see version 1.1 of my comparison chart on my blog (please see my signature for the address). Thank you to everyone who made suggestions.

 

[How does your Senra look?]

4 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I wanted to find how to get there, so I did!

 

I also just realized that I had turned signatures OFF, so I couldn't see ANYBODY'S signature lines! D'oh! No wonder I was so confused. Fixed now, thank you, @Rowan Amore and @Love Zhaoying ❤️!!!