Ayashe Ninetails

🤣 Omg I know, right? It's soooo expensive to get the good stuff shipped, let alone bought! It's insane. But once you've tasted it, it's just so hard to go back to the cheaper alternatives. At least, for me it is. I make do with whatever imported chocolate I can find for a decent price in grocery stores, but mannnn I was craving some fresh truffles so hard for the holidays, but alas. I just couldn't pay that shipping. And working near a Lindt store? Aaah...I would've eaten nothing but, lol.

Sir! Hershey's is anything but! Have you tasted champagne truffles? You realllllyyyy need to taste champagne truffles - preferably fresh from a chocolate shop. That...THAT...is chocolate heaven. Oops. Guess I found a second hill to die on. 😂

Candy bars 👏 cookie bits (crust excluded - I'll allow it) 👏 confetti sprinkles 👏 marshmallows 👏 Hershey's anything 👏 moist layers of vanilla birthday cake 👏 brownie chunks 👏 or any other random trail mix restaurants insist on stuffing into a cheesecake DOES NOT ever belong in a cheesecake! I'm not going to name names, but these restaurants know who they are. Cheesecake texture ruiners all of em!!

Thanks so much!

Lol, it certainly couldn't hurt! Things definitely get frustrating sometimes (I have days where noooothing I do looks right!).

Yes! The makeup is so so pretty.

I like a mix of both. I'm always experimenting with my style. I don't know of any stylized skins like that, but I do know that you can work wonders with makeup and tattoos. Dotty's Secret, for example, has a Pop Art cell-shaded group gift. CREATiCA has some animated cell-shader body outline auras, but I've not tried those myself. Search around the marketplace and see what you can find! Ugh, the dreaded alpha halo. I usually deal with it by playing with my depth of field settings, camera angles, background, windlight/lighting, and if all else fails - scream into the void and change hairstyles. 100% raw and I leave it there. My entire motivation for doing photography in SL, aside from having something to do with all the characters I create of course, is to see just how far I can get using only in-world tools. I went to design school, so Photoshopping my photos to death would be fairly simple, but honestly, I just find it more fun doing it this way. I like the challenge. As for tips - if you can run Black Dragon on decent settings without your computer bursting into flames, go for it. It's so fun to work with. Experiment. Poke every slider. Tweak blur and shadows and glow and haze and lighting. Play with camera angles. Create your own custom windlights and poses. Mess with clouds. Learn to make rainbows (or be like me and do it entirely by accident). Learn to edit super super basic particle scripts and play with the effects. Tinker with all the graphic preferences to find the settings that work for your setup. Scream into the void and keep practicing. My own settings - couldn't tell you. I change them ALL the time. Some things stay the same, like umm...anything to do with sky/terrain quality/etc. generally stays at high or ultra. Maybe medium if I don't need something for a photo (like trees).

I love this thread. Everyone's photos are fantastic. ❤️ I decided to stop slacking and finally get to work updating all of my older looks with new skins, heads, shapes, hair, clothes, etc. My orc's done, so one down and...many more to go.

Yup, usually changing every single thing. I really do need to update everything before I go adding more outfits to the list! Ack it's official - I'm slacking! I need more outfits immediately. Actually, I still need to build some looks around the two Logo heads, Logan, the BeSpoke elf, and the two AK heads, so there's that. I finally worked on Lel Kaya last night and got her sorted. Same! Yes! I'm so down for this! We could find a good hangout spot so we can drop in when we've put something new together and do fashion shows or something. 🤣

OMG we need to go shopping!!! Or maybe we don't, LOL. 🤣 And wow yeah I know that feel, 100%! I've started adding what version of my head/body I'm wearing to my outfit titles because I'll just leave them there for months and later switch to it to use as a starter for another outfit/avie and suddenly shoes don't fit and I'm realizing I'm wearing Maitreya 5.1 and not 5.3 and forget it, LOL. I should really clean these out and start updating them, but no time. Too many new heads to try on!

I knowwwwww, I'm ridiculous! 🤣 Aww, thank you so much!! ❤️ Avatar styling is a huge hobby of mine. I had to take up SL photography to justify it - I was spending so much time on it, lol. One of these days, I'll post some finished photos in the photo threads when I get these new ones up and running - using some of these free gifts, for sure!

Lol, all but one of mine are on this same account. It's just easier for me that way. My original avie rarely ever changes her look (used to run a shop with her 100 years ago, so she's my neglected business alt these days). Now, checking my Outfits tab on this account, I currently have 191 saved outfits. Eep. Some really are just outfits, but many are completely different looks with different skins, shapes, heads, bodies, accessories, etc. I uhhh, may need an intervention.

Yup, the back clipping is definitely the worst problem I've encountered. I've had some pretty decent luck with interactive styles and style huds (from stores like Foxy, Kuni, and the former Little Bones) - being able to toss it into a ponytail or bun or swap the style around a bit helps alleviate that issue most of the time. Couple of other stores that I've had some decent success with - .Shi, Adoness, and sometimes Moon. .Shi and Adoness lean more into avant-garde and punk, though, so they may or may not work for the OP.

No.Match and Wasabi have some longer styles, too, but I typically just wear womens hair on my men. Much more variety. Gotta experiment with that a bit, though. Demo thoroughly.

You guyyyyyyyssss! I said I wasn't going to make more avatarrrrrrs *whine* I've got 3 in progress (okay wait...4) and now look at all these cute things hereeeeee. Btw, thanks for the heads up (heh heh heh) about BeSpoke. I just picked up their Merfolk head last weekend for 50L and now a free elf? Yippie! Oh, since we're sharing - Akeruka (AK) is also giving out a male and female head to group members. 150L group join fee, though, but the heads can wear Evo classic skins/makeup/etc., so there's that. Giveaway ends Jan 3rd. Oh and if you do join the group for it, it's worth it to stay. They run 50% off sales and things pretty frequently.

Any particular style you're most interested in? In general, I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the fantasy-specific events like We Love Roleplay and the new Roleplay Fashion Addicts weekend sale event. For cyberpunk, there's Val'More, Stop, Wicca's Originals, Gild, Gabriel. CerberusXing, Contraption, Valkyr, Madame Noir, and Azoury for cyberpunk & steampunk accessories like headpieces, jaws, hats, various limbs, glasses, rings, claws, etc. Cyber Fair, Access, and Mainframe are some other big events worth a peek. SeraphimSL and Access would be the best place to keep up with those. For full costumes - irrISIStible Shop. Goth - L'Emporio&PL I could maybe offer more suggestions depending on what exactly you're after. I mix and match from a lot of random places.

Hmmm... I helped someone achieve this look using Lelutka Skyler + a Stray Dog I completely forgot the name of (I'm so helpful!). We liked that combo as some of the Stray Dog skins have some very nice shading and slight crow's feet around the eyes. It looked very natural. Plus, if a tad bit more is needed, he could try playing around with some Izzie's skin addons like eyebags, wrinkles, age spots, forehead and frown lines, etc. They should all have demos and Izzie has done a fantastic job of updating for Evo X. Last thing - if he wears beards, mixing in a slight touch of gray could also help. Okara has a pretty nice selection and they're tintable. Layering beards and playing with tints worked pretty well. With all that, I'd say we pretty much nailed a late 30s to late 40s look. For the head - Skyler is only one option. I'd also suggest trying Connor, Paxton, Alain, Devon is a good one yup, and Eon. Edit: Oh yeah, since Logan is free at the moment, have him give that a try, too.

LOL thank you! That is so good to know.

Funny enough, I was told about it after doing Undeform! I saw it, did a quick undeform, refresh attachments, rebake routine, etc. and looked fine on my end. A friend who was standing right next to me while I swapped still said...uhhh..ummmm errrr ahhhh I see your face is a bit.. uhhh ummm... Bwahahaha. Did it again. It didn't fix itself on his end until I relogged. It's such a funny glitch that I don't mind it, but I got in the habit of doing a quick relog before leaving my place if I've been shapeshifting a bit too much, lmao.

You can pretty much do it any way you want. All of my avatar styles are on this single account (humans, aliens, mermaids, a vampire, demons, a rather fashionable orc who loves her evening gowns, fairies, a siren, elves, a rusalka, a stone statue with animated waterfall and birds perched on my head, ball-jointed dolls, used to have a marionette with custom animations I made for myself but it's ancient so I may have to revisit that to update everything, zombies, some bony-clawed nightmare with a missing torso and visible skeleton wearing the cutest dress with pretty roses (I'm fun at parties), got some reptile skins somewhere I need to dig out one of these days, a creepy Queen of Hearts in progress, a fox, and a deer with delicious food or wilderness survival gear stuck in my antlers - depending on how hungry I am at the time). I just put a note in my profile that I'm pretty fluid and entirely ridiculous and not always human, not that it really matters. People who know me know to expect shenanigans. People who don't know me that well - welp, they learn really fast. I just find it easier shopping with one single account for all my skins, bodies, heads, hair, accessories, etc. Though, my inventory probably doesn't like it. The only real somewhat negative experience I have is when I swap between furry and human heads using Outfits. Terrible, vile things can happen to mesh when you do that too much and I look like something out of a horror movie (unintentionally, for once). A quick relog fixes it, but sometimes I forget and run around with my jaw 8 feet in front of me (that's one of those fun glitches that I don't always see, but other people tell me they do!). Though if we're being honest here, I've worn that glitch with pride on purpose, too. Other than that, some of those avatars just aren't ideal for wandering around. My mermaid AO has me soaring through the air, and forget trying to walk around as a large stone fountain with flowing water. It looks even more ridiculous than I'd like it to when outside of a staged environment (like for photos). I just sort of...glide, as one does...

Even easier. That shape is more doable with Jake or Legacy. Gianni's got some arms on em, LOL. You could demo all three bodies, though, and play around with the body shape sliders. See which one you like best. And grab clothing demos to see how it all looks put together. As for clothing availability, Gianni and Jake are about equal, from what I've seen. Legacy lags behind a teensy tiny bit in some stores. I wear Legacy and have very little trouble (some, but not much). But for a slimmer shape, Jake is probably the best option. I'm EST, too! I'm on quite a bit, myself. Usually decorating (or shopping, lol).

We can get that look! Might cost a slight bit between the body, body skin (if it turns out you don't already have one) and hair. The clothes...not too expensive whatsoever. My quick breakdown just looking at that - Jake for the body (cheapest right now at 1500L) or Legacy (about 5000L). Dura for hair (380L-ish). Duk for clothes (maybe around 50L for the top, 50L for shorts - can get it down to about 47L each if you join their free group). Sneakers...I know I've seen those somewhere - possibly a weekend sale. We can find something close. Skin - could get that look with Not Found or Stray Dog (you've got the head skins already, so you're looking at about 400L-ish for the body skin). Shape - we'll make it ourselves. No need to buy that. I'll show you how or I'll make one for you once we get your body all set up. And yup, Stray Dog and Not Found will be absolutely packed for a bit. Duk is empty, Dura's empty, Belleza's empty, Legacy probably not too busy - so you could go run and grab demos from those stores that you like and start playing around with those. In the meantime, you can friend me in SL whenever you're ready and I can help you put things together. Today, tomorrow, next week, no rush! Just poke me whenever and I'll help you out.

Hey Chris! I know what you're going through. I took a looooooong break from SL myself back when Lolas were just gaining popularity (if you don't know, don't even ask, lol) and came back in late 2019 to mesh faces and bodies and had absolutely zero idea what any of it was even for. That is, until my long-time friend from way back in 2006 told me I could make silly faces if I meshed my head (she knows me wayyyy too well) - AND insulted my "dishpan system hands" (how dare she!). I was immediately sold and spent days and days and days learning about mesh, appliers, BOM, etc. I'm ridiculous like that. Anyhoo!!! How about this - let's go shopping! I'll give you a (sorta?) quick mesh overview and we can run around the grid grabbing demos so you can see how it all works. For freebie bodies, though...honestly, mens bodies are hard to do that with. There's so little clothing support that you really are better off getting set up with a proper version. Jake is the cheapest, but don't worry about all that. We can just run your demo-fabulous bod around the grid and I'll show you how it all works and what to look for. Then when you're ready, you can decide what kind of look you want to put together for real. I also shop so much, I know the weekend sales by heart and which stores participate on a regular basis. For reference, I have male avatars myself, so I'm familiar with several HUDs and features. Let me know if you're interested.

That's a great point! I like how you think. I guess we would be kind of lucky after all.

Lucky! You'll probably get saved in no time. Meanwhile, I'll be stuck waiting for Gordon to stop yelling at my kidnapper about his terrible cooking skills. 🤣