[Is Avastar-2 still good?]

G'day fellow Citizens! I'm wanting to learn Blender to steer away from other creators Full perm  Mesh stuff and use addons for SL like Avastar & Sparkle, as I read they're useful for creating stuff for SL. Is that right? or are there any other great addons to use? I read somewhere that there'll be a new Avastar soon, so I think I'd hold off in buying it til then. I haven't seen any updates about this, anyone know anything? Also, do texture artists use Adobe Illustrator to make textures? I have Photoshop CS5.1 only. Thanks for reading & any feedback would be welcomed

[What is this Mesh head & Skin??]

Hello fellow Residents....Would anyone know what Mesh head and Skin that Volt Hair uses in their advertisements? Could it be a Catwa Head? and what about the skin?........any ideas? TIA