Semirans

I have a UV map (like the type that you get when you buy a full perm mesh blank that you can texture.) I am not sure if forum rules allow for posting those things here since they are part of something I buy with a specific license from the marketplace. I want to texture something like a dress. The UV map is a png file that is black with white lines on it showing all the triangles that make up the garment in SL. I want to alter the texture that I am making (out of the game) so that the areas that are stretched by the breasts don't have the distortion. As you can see from my example, the letters across the breasts are distorted and stretched since the corresponding triangles on the UV map are larger in area than the ones in the other areas.

Thank you for your reply. I get that part, but I was given to understand that there is some way to select the portions and rescale them in your graphics program. Most of my issue is that I am unfamiliar with the terms used and I get flustered if the instructions don't follow exactly what I am "seeing". Can you link me a tutorial that shows the process?

I tried looking for this since I know someone has to have asked, but since I don't know the terms, I can't seem to find it. I have blender and PS. I always get stuck on the "unwrap the object part" I have FP mesh that I bought. I have the AO, UV , not the DAE files. I know how to make a texture in PS, but the fabric "stretches" across the breasts like it was a knit fabric IRL. I have looked at a few tutorials that imply the steps fix the issue, but they almost always include the step "unwrap the mesh" I have a vague idea that it involves changing the textures using the uv map. Do I need to have the DAE files to accomplish this? Can I do it in PS. Can you explain it or link me a tutorial? Bless you!

Wow, What a comprehensive and helpful response about the neck fix and breaking the mesh head. I used the term "break and broken" because that is what I keep seeing mesh head designers warning will happen if you don't start with the default shape they provide.

Marianne, it was PERFECT. There were some glitches that because it didn't understand some of the instructions made the set up take much longer. I expect that when I try new things. I'm hoping the Maker will put out some more bento huds to go with their heads or maybe some skins with freckles, but if they don't I am really happy with the way the head was able to be shaped almost perfectly. As a side note, what is the thing about needed to use the default shape with the head or that you might "break the head" if the shape you load to start with is too odd? Can you really "break" the mesh head?

Thank you very much! I now have a mesh head that looks the way I wanted it to. Still have that fricken neck seam and I've tried about a dozen different skins (including the skinpack from the head maker. Very very happy with the mesh head though.

Ok, so 7 hours later I have a Genesis Lena head that looks very close to my system shaped head. The hardest part was trying to get the skins working. Genesis didn't have skins with freckles so I had to use the BOM feature which had its own set of issues (like why are the ears set so far back on the BOM version? So the head is bento. Do I need to load a HUD for the face animations or do you activate it once and it works after that?

Always try the demos first if you can, that way you will know how much alpha cuts on your body HUD you will have to use. I have a bit of a tummy on my Lara body and some clothing is impossible to alpha without half my belly being transparent (HUD cuts aren't small enough). I just founf out that many designers install a script into the clothes that activates the alpha cuts for your body when you put the clothes on.

Thank you!!! I'm gonna go demo shopping today and see what I can find that will work with my face.

I've been using a system head with my Maitreya body because I can't find a Mesh head with a prominent nose. I've tried adjusting the sliders on demos and heads that I've gotten (gifts or bought) but I just can't get the look I want. It might be my inability to envision what the head might look like. Also, none of the mesh head makers have profile shots for their heads so I have to get the demo and try it out. Any suggestions?

Seconding the "organize the inventory" comment. And then there is gacha and events and freebies and hunts. The SL world is overflowing with pretty things. yeah. pervs and jackasses, but it is easy to block them.

Ok, so that raises another question, if the clothing has a script in it, is it still standard to remove scripts to reduce the load? Do I need to worry about it since it seems you would need the script each time you load the clothing, not like hair where you can change the color, copy it and then delete the scripts in the copy.

I forgot to ask something related. Since I might, sometime in the future, go back to making clothing Is this a script they use to make the clothing trigger the alpha cuts or is it some new layer they can add to the product. Does the feature have an official title so I can look up more about it? I know that a few of the blanks I have bought included an alpha layer (not the system thingy) but another texture that is labeled "alpha" but I never knew what it was for EDIT: Jewel just replied about the scripts as i was posting this. Thank you!

Thank you for your reply. When I was referring to the "standard lara shape" I meant the shape that comes with the Maitreya body. I wouldn't be surprised if the feature has been around fr a few years. I haven't bought anything made by other designers in at least that time. I posted last night right as I discovered the issue and wasn't thinking very rationally. The reason I didnt notice the alterations to my shape was because I had selected more baggy clothing (I'm an old woman and prefer less revealing styles) and as you mentioned the designer had selected all the alpha cuts and upon reflection this morning, the amount of distortion of my shape was much smaller than I had first thought. I agree that the inclusion of the alpha cuts is very much a boon as fiddling with save sticks and alpha cuts every time change clothing is a big pain. Thank you for your kind words and advice. I do love the new clothes and it isn't as bad as I first thought.

I encountered an oddity when I began buying some newer mesh clothing. A few years ago I began buying mesh blanks and making my own textures. I had resolved to not buy anything that I didn't "texture" and prim to make me look like the designer. This information is important to understand my question. Recently I noticed that what was available as ready made textures was far superior to what I could make and decided to just enjoy the pretty things that other people were making for my avatar. I have a Maitreya body with a system head. I do not have any other prosthetics such as tango or lolas. I have altered the shape so that I am much more curvy than the standard Lara shape. I ALWAYS get demos prior to purchasing clothing if they are available. So this past week I have been looking at getting some clothing whose textures are beyond my skill level. I wanted some good looking jeans. I spent a considerable amount of time shopping for demos because most jean or pants textures tended to be heavily shaded under and between the buttocks. This is fine on a skinny avatar, but on mine, it makes it appear as if I have 2 large round beach balls in the back of my pants. I was able to find a couple of designers whose textures were superior and did not have the shading I was referring to. The demos worked fine, none of my "shape" leaked thru anywhere, so I bought the jeans. I was very amazed that I didn't need to fuss with my alpha cuts on my HUD at all. I bought a few more things to go with the jeans, some sweaters, shirts etc and was playing around with seeing what layered well. Everything I bought, I tried the demos first. Everything was amazing and I was very excited that mesh had somehow evolved and that I didn't need to struggle with what would layer and if the alpha cuts on the HUD were small enough so that when I used them half of my neck or leg was transparent in order to use the clothing. Here is what I didn't realize and what I came here to ask. While I was making some outfits and preparing "save sticks" I realized that somehow the newer clothing I had bought was automatically activating the alpha cuts on my Maitreya body. While this made the use of the save sticks unnecessary, it also meant that the clothing that I had carefully selected (using the demos) was not actually fitting to my shape. Those wonderful jeans that I bought activate every alpha cut on my legs, making my entire legs transparent in order for them to "fit" and not have my skin bleed thru. Unless I am off my nut, that means the jeans that I demoed, don't actually fit my Maitreya body with my custom shape. I own hundreds of "mesh blanks" from other creators that I have been using over the last few years and none of them do this and if they require extensive alpha cuts, I don't buy/use them. I feel that I have in essence been cheated into buying product that does not fit my shape and alters it automatically (even in the demos) so that I wasn't aware that in order to use them, my body parts would be made transparent because the clothing is not stretching. So is this a new feature that everyone knows about and basically I might as well use the default Lara shape because anything I buy now will just activate the alpha cuts so my actual shape doesn't bleed thru? In case anyone thinks I am a total moron, I will add a few things here, I started in SL before mesh bodies (or clothing) was a thing. I recall the hubub about the 5 standard sizes. As I mentioned in my post above, I own 100's of mesh blanks from various creators and NONE of them requires extensive (more than 2-10) alpha cuts to be activated in order to fit my Maitreya body using my custom shape, so I know that it isn't that my shape is somehow out of bounds and can't be rigged correctly. Advice anyone? I bought demos, tested things out to make sure they fit "correctly" I would not have purchased them if I had know that I had to alpha out everything under the clothing to make them "fit"

What made me upset was that the seller was claiming that I could no longer use the almost 100 items I have bought over the past years. Since I couldn't get an actual statement from LL disputing that, I was concerned by the large investment that I would no longer be able to use. I have since learned that what I bought is mine and i can continue to use it. I carefully read all the descriptions for anything I buy, so it wasn't a matter of me not reading and then complaining.

The big item for me on complexity is Hair. I have some gorgeous flighty styles that I adore, but they are 45k-65k complexity. Other styles that are great, but not as complex run about 2k (these are all mesh hair). On a side not and only somewhat related are the Li of mesh blanks. I have FP items that are 100Li and others that are less than 10. I would love to rez the clothing in my store so people can see it on the actual garment before buying, but at 100Li each it is prohibitive

I wish I could learn to do mesh. It is a skill that I don't have the ability to accomplish. I'm a good seamstress IRL, but doing even the most basic things in PS are agony for me. My intellect is not set up for it or for programming, but if you want me to power up a reactor, I'm your girl!

My review has now been removed. Thank you for the info about the license. I couldn't find anything that spells that out, so I was erring on the side of caution. I take the designer's rights VERY seriously since it is important to protect them as well.

In world support replied within 5 mins of me updating the garment feedback to reflect that I was banned from using their items for posting the review. They confirmed that indeed I was dishonest for leaving the "negative" (3 stars) review that said "seller resolved issue regarding skirt draping" So I am out over 30k lindens in items that I bought over the last 2 years in retaliation for me posting the HONEST review. So remember kiddies never leave anything except a 5 star or maybe better yet don't say anything at all. I am uncertain if updating the review in light of them taking away my license to use the items I bought YEARS ago is allowed, but I think it is important to say that I left honest feedback and was retaliated against for doing so. I think there should be some recourse for buyers of licenses, that do not in any way violate the TOS, to be able to retain the ability to use the items they have paid for. So it seems that the makers should add to their TOS "I may remove your right to use this for any reason or for no reason at all" Mods, if this thread has gone past the standards, please remove it.

So what do I do now? Almost every mesh items I own is from this designer, 1000's of lindens and hours and hours of work making items. I'm in shock. When I said leaving honest feedback might make it so I can't use the items, I was mostly joking. When she refunded me I left 3 stars and the following comment on the item: Limitation of SL Rigging Posted March 12, 2020 by Semirans 3 stars Seller resolved issue regarding skirt draping.

I guess I learned my lesson. I am now banned from using the designer's items. I have been called an idiot and a moron. I guess I can just throw out the 60+ mesh blanks that I bought from this store and remember NEVER to leave anything less than 5 stars. (I removed my negative feedback and replaced it with a neutral 3 star comment about the rigging after getting a reply and refund from the designer) None of you have any reason to believe me. I have the screen shot from the FB messenger program and I am awaiting confirmation from the in gmae support person for the designer since the tone and the wording of the message is not at all professional.

The local textures are in a very small selection window (no navigation is required, except for finding them on your HD first and adding them to the selection window. When you choose to upload them, they go in your textures folder by default and once you have applied them to your item, you can move them and they keep the texture. My blond moment is being satisfied with the local texture, clicking upload and then forgetting to apply the uploaded version back onto the garment.

I got a reply, and the refund. The designer says that all mesh skirts in SL work this way. I will update my feedback to reflect that I did get a reply. Ty Elvina for your suggestion, I've spent days making Demos for the mesh items that I sell when the original maker doesn't provide them and sometimes even when they do so that customers don't have to go hunting for demos. I wonder how useful the feedback is on the MP anyway. As someone that is unable to make mesh blanks, I am at the mercy of people that can. It seems unwise to alienate them and lose access to the ability to sell what I have bought.

In regards to Local textures, this is a godsend. I've made textures and then uploaded the item into SL only to discover I forgot to remove the alpha (making the texture too complex) or that something didn't work on the garment that wasn't obvious in the program until I pasted onto my mesh blank. A good example of this is matching seams on a garment. I don't know why mesh makers do it, but almost every pair of pants I have has to be tweaked to get the patterns to match at the seams. There is also some difference once the texture is on the mesh blank. I make a texture, it looks great in PS with all the shading and such then I upload it and place on the grament and it looks washed out or muddy. (my hubby explained it one day to me, but most of it was lost between OH LOOK new Textures, and aren't my mesh feet gorgeous?)