Trinity Blakewell

If I wanted to make mesh clothing in Blender, do you recommend Bento Buddy or Aviator? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each product?

I was just over at Arte for their $L50 Hello Tuesday sale item (a set of blue eyes called "Husky Eyes") and noticed that their group gifts include some nice brown eyes, along with the novelty Kitten Eyes. Group is free to join.

Here is a comparison of several eye brands (in the example I have used blue eyes). You can see that many of them offer hooded and non-hooded eyes. I'm always looking for the realistic and there's a real art to getting that right. The little white highlight needs to be just the right size - too big and you get a deer-in-the-headlights appearance. Too small and the eyes look dull. There needs to be enough contrast between the cornea and iris textures or else the eyes appear flat and lifeless. I would recommend trying the demos but often the demos include just one color - even between different colors in the eye set the style and quality may differ. These eyes are actually on the better side as far as realism. There are plenty of worse examples I could post. 🤣 I suggest if you want a good view of the differences, download this image and view it at a larger size.

I use the Firestorm AO. For cost savings, I tend to look for places that allow you to purchase individual animations,, or those who sell smaller sets (especially those who participate in weekend sales). Inmotion was mentioned earlier - they do sell individual animations @ $L100. Their stands have enough movement to not be stiff but don't move around much. You may have problems with some of their animations if you have a moderately (or more) curvy avatar. OMY has a large variety of animations, from static to breathing to breathing w/some movement. They are sold individually for $L100 and in packs of four for $L300. They are going to be closed for an unknown period of time starting July 27 for renovation, but they do participate in a number of events, so you'll likely find them putting out new poses even while the store is closed. Go&See.features full AO's but you can also buy the individual animations @ $L100. Russkaya offers individual animations (most have a slight amount of movement in addition to breathing) for $L50 and packs of three for $L200. Many of their animations are available in curvy versions. The style of some of them is a little too cute for my taste, but. you can find some nice more mature animations among them.

I'm wondering that too..like maybe it's the non-mesh system head?

Yes, it is sensory overload when you first enter the store, but then you start peeking into the various rooms, and it's like....wow, what a great moving water texture...that fire would be a lot better than most of what's used for the fireplaces in my inventory...etc. There were really cool textures I'd love to apply to clothing too.

So, here's a bit of a different recommendation. Whether it's to add a layer of pep to your pool water, bubbles to your hot tub, a fire that you like better for your fireplace, or are otherwise experimenting with adding to existing objects or going the full-perm route, SANNIA has a huge selection of animated textures

From Crate for G.O.A.T 66, coming in at just 6 LI, is the Barclay Bed, in four color schemes.

Definitely a market for BOM underwear, stockings, leggings, etc.

While this may be a resurrected old thread, I like the topic and think there are things many of us can learn from the discussion. I'm going to take a different approach than many of the recent posts. If you want realistic-appearing screen captures, start with your avatar. Study photos of real life faces and work on your face shape so it appears more realistic. Pay attention to shape, size and position of the eyes, nose and mouth. Eyes may need to be closer together, and mouth may need to be smaller. Make sure your jawline looks realistic. Make sure your body has realistic proportions, and and adjust the shape to reflect that. Pick a skin that has dimension, pores, etc. Use BOM enhancers (from places like Izzie's) to add character to the face skin. Pick realistic eye styles with shading in the whites of the eyes. Avoid flat-looking or overly bright eyes. Choose clothing and accessories as realistic as you can find - texture, detail, rigging.

Beat me to it on the sale at Wrong! Went over there and bought a bunch items ...beds, kitchens, and the small pool. I like that unlike most of the time at the weekend sales, the PG versions are on sale too.

At yesterday's LabGab, the upcoming new SL bodies were discussed. There hasn't been any official info released on the blogs or on the forums, but what we do know, based on what Patch said on the video: Just like their other big projects (Linden Homes, mobile viewer), LL wants to get it right, so it will be released when ready, but they're "very close" There will be a developer's kit, and Patch hopes to get that into developer's hands prior to release, so folks can start working on items for the bodies The bodies will come with a selection of clothing, hair, accessories, etc. so new users will have lots of options to mix and match their first look. So here are some questions that I have: Will there be a separate head and body, for compatibility with existing SL heads and bodies? I Hope so, because that would make the most sense. Maybe you want a different head or body, but you're happy with the other one that is included in the SL mesh version. For example, with the dominance of Lelutka heads and skins/makeup available for them, I can see that being an early purchase for someone who is expanding beyond the default. Will it be BOM-compatible? Will there be a HUD? Will there be included skins? Will they be compatible with body skins from a major skin vendor (like Velour, The Skinnery etc.)?

The official 20th Birthday Guide quotes various Lindens as stating the mobile viewer is on track for (hopefully) beta at the end of the year, and wide release for new users in 2024.

I guess they don't want new users immediately caught up in the complexity of mesh bodies and heads, since there are no clothing, skins, or hair in the shopping area. There are some free gifts, though, so it might be worth going through for home furnishings and accessoroies.

My latest attempt at an older style. Used: Guapa Avril Skin in Porcelain, Izzies Veins, Frown Lines, Smile Lines, Eye Wrinkles, Forehead Wrinkles and Crow's Feet. Nuve Contour on forehead and cheeks.

I think I've had the best results taking obviously adult skin (like 30's up) and adding some of the Izzie's BOM layers. Also, adjusting the following: eyes: smaller, open less wide, a little closer together, a little puffier, a bit of eye bags mouth: less plump and full, less wide, play with the other settings chin: adjust jowls, jaw shape and chin-neck (double chin brows: lower Also body changes like the breasts being less perky (gravity), a bit of a belly and love handles, etc. Right now I'd say she's mid to late 40's with this look. If I used the deeper (greater opacity) wrinkles and more faded hair, she'd be looking fin the 50's to 60's. And this is Raven, hardly one of the most mature-looking Lelutka heads.

Poppet, of all brands, has a mature skin on sale this weekend:

I have never been a fan of Poema's older skins. I am a that age range too, and most women I know in that age range don't look so stern and dour. There are folks that age better than others, of course. One lady that I knew that smoked and drank a lot and was outside a lot without sunscreen looked a lot older than most women her age.

Enough to all of you! I doubt your language at this point is going to convince anyone! I am getting perfectly acceptable performance on my M1 MacBook Air with only 8gb ram. That's all I"m interested in. If some individuals/companies don't want to invest in making their viewer available for Macs, I will use someone else's. If I am completely cut off, I'll ditch SL, even though I don't want to. But given that an iOS version is coming, there may be another way back into MacOS. I am not going to buy a high end Windows gaming machine, especially not now that I have experienced Windows 11 with a forced upgrade at work (I don't dis anyone who prefers Windows, but personally I can't stand how they redo the UI to accomplish the most common tasks with every major upgrade). But let's face it, there are other reasons why I will not put out the money to get a Windows gaming box right now. Not with looking at replacing a car in the near future which, even with looking at small late-model used cars with 60,000 miles is inching towards 20 grand.

When those of us in the US buy just about anything (physical goods) these days, it is more expensive than ever, too!

From Sparrow's Nest...a bunch of lavender planters for $L0 each! The planters range from 3 to 5 LI, with the planter on top of firewood being 7 LI.

The Lelutka HUD allows you to clear any make up that you may have added on via the HUD, or a makeup applier. When shopping, make sure that you buy Lelutka Evo X compatible make up. You can use either an applier HUD or BOM ( bakes on mesh) makeup.

I think the reliance on the external server is related to the HUD? It does a check to make sure you're wearing the Legacy Body, and that's where the external server may be involved. Sometimes one needs to refresh with a newly unpacked body and HUD, it's almost like they stop communicating.

Seconding what @Ayashe Ninetails posted, but I just don't understand why everyone thinks you can only do a slender/thin body with Maitreya. I've done plenty of curvy shapes with it. Just not exaggerated Kupra-style bodies.

Oh, if the past is any indication...if there is a reveal coming, Patch will tease us with a few images...