Marianne Little

If you like to read instead of watching videos (I think written tutorials are best) Virtual Bloke has some really good BoM tutorials. They are a few years old, but still good. The only thing that's really changed is that the HUD's are a bit different. And the Lelutka heads are now 100% BoM, you can't activate skin appliers on them no matter what. (Well, it may be some really old discount heads in the store yet, I am talking about current heads) It is still makeup appliers for the heads, and special effects for stuff like body glitter. So appliers is not all gone, they are just not popular for skin anymore. For skin, it is either BoM or appliers. If you use an applier for the skin, you cover everything on the body under. You must also use an alpha layer for the mesh body, it render everything under the mesh invisible. When you use BoM skin instead, it is no alpha layer to turn everything under invisible, so the layer clothes, layer tattoos, layer freckles etc etc show up on your mesh body. The benefit of layers is that you can add a lot of them. I think it is 60 layers that is the limit. I never use so many layers. You can use body hair layers, skin adjustment layers, like freckles, birthmarks, stretchmarks, red skin from spanking, dirty soles, sun burn, bikini tan lines, modesty covers (skin tinted patches for naughty bits), tattoos, blood drips, wounds, band aids, bandages, stickers, underwear on layers, stockings, leggings, all sorts of tight clothes to wear under mesh clothes....

If I had 1 linden every time I hear "wear BoM under", I would have... 74 linden? 😆 Just kidding. It is that difference between 3D mesh top and flat paint that I do not like so much. I have lots of layer tops. They are still painted on, no matter how well textured. They are modify too, so I can tweak the color. That Tetra top is easier to use with BoM under than those who are showing the whole belly. A small strip with BoM is not noticeable. Maybe I go and buy it. To encourage Tetra to make more stuff. It is really good.

Tetra was one of the stores I had on my "shop Black Friday" list, but I dropped them since they had no LaraX out yet. So far they have only one for X: I like ut and have demo'ed it, but it suffer from the usual "must -show -a -part -of-the -tummy" syndrome. It is almost tucked in, so close.... Tetra has so fine clothes for old Maitreya, both classy and also sexy. But it is not 'kawaii' sexy, instead sensual for the ladies. Sigh, I can hope their older styles get an update, but I am not holding my breath. They do not release new stuff often. 5 releases last year, and 2 updates to Reborn Waifu.

From Toksik flickr: "Regarding the new Maitreya mesh body update: - I will be rigging for Lara X/Petite X from now on, the old Lara mesh bodies will not be supported anymore - Old items may or may not be updated, please do not message me about it - Flat will not be supported until it is updated officially (Flat users can try the petite fit and lower the chest slider for a flat chest look)" I'm not gonna bother her with a message, but I keep looking up her Flickr to see if the Descent dress get updated. That dress is 🔥🔥🔥 😍

Oooo, can I steal that line?? 😁

I have an alt with one of the last names we could get. LL removed last names in its official website in November 2010, but some register portals like the Virtual Library of Birmingham had last names in November 2011. I think LL put an end to last names in third party registration portals just after that date. It was a NameWatch page where we could find out how many that shared the same last name, but I think it is broken.

Maybe the brow demo is on one of those new layers. You know, those EvoX is using for ears. I have found some makeup using those layers, and it took some time for me before I found it was not a tattoo layer. Because I sort of ignored all that did not have a tattoo layer symbol.

I should cut down smoking...

My thought is that Reborn is the body for the 'popular' models and bloggers in SL. It also has a lot of addons like juicy and squishy parts, that many seem to love. Your Hourglass is totally perfect for you, unless you are in the model, blogger or Flickr community and will model a curvy shape. Then you meet the people who always have the latest apparel and accessories, and look down on people who don't. If they can not buy things in the events for it, it is not 'good'. And since Slink has left SL and Reborn is the hot body for curves now, creators has dropped Hourglass.

I do not know if the official viewer has this, but in Firestorm there is a setting for the inventory: Add clothes on double click Add objects on double click You can double click anything in your inventory, and it is added, not worn. You find this under the 'gear' icon when you open your inventory. This is very practical. I do not have to worry about clicking wrong and use 'wear' by accident anymore.

Your new look is great. I love your face.😍

Still using PhotoScapeX. This can be a favorite tool. It even has liquify and text in the free version. Not a big amount of fonts, but it's free. Maybe the pro has more fonts. If it had a clone tool for free, I could do better with the thumb. It was a quick edit. I have not needed to look for tutorials, the icons and text is telling me what to do. I need to find out how to make the eyes clearer, they became a bit blurry. It's not very different. The top has a more visible knit pattern and the skin and hair looks brighter.

That PhotoScape X that was mentioned a few pages back has a lot of options. So much that it is hard to pick. Original image the small one in right corner.

I hope the designers keep the Senra clothes as a freebie in their stores when the event is over. That is an obstacle new people struggle with, things that are not available longer. Like all the good system skins and clothes. System clothes from COCO, Maitreya, LeLutka, Zaara... gone, while god-dawg awful system clothes are left on the Marketplace. (LeLutka and Maitreya sold clothes many years before mesh bodies and heads.)

I have made some looks with my old stuff on a new mesh body. This is Maitreya set to BoM, with older clothing on system layers. And the jodhpur pants have sculpted leg parts. The jodhpur that we can buy today have a better look since it is all in one part, not having to mix a flat 2D layer with 3D sculpt/mesh. (I had lost the beret. It must have been an inventory clean-up that got out of hand. What a shame. It was really pretty.)

This was the first I noticed in the demo region, and it drove me bonkers. Some of the houses have the most amazing views in the back. And even without a lake there, why would I want to look at the mailbox? The back is the natural place for a private spot to hang out with friends or relax alone.. I also support the suggestion of smaller homes. So my wish would be for 4 houses with the big windows facing the backyard, and another entrance facing the road. This could include both small and big houses. The update to the Houseboats had some really neat boats, one with open ceiling and big windows. This structure, open ceiling, could be used in a smaller single-story loghouse too. It would be perfect, both big windows and smaller size. I think the two smaller Houseboats that was made like 'houses on ground' have very good interior design too. When I lived in the Adams, I used an add-on that gave Adams a livingroom in the back, with big windows and an open ceiling in that room. https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Teegle-Bellisseria-Adams-Home-Addon/19669885 This too, show how a small single-story house can have big windows and enjoy the landcaping to the fullest. The Log homes have some very good landscaping. Almost as good as the Camper landscaping.

Take a look at the suggestions you already got. Have you tried them already and found out it is too hard? If you think working on your own with a stylecard and videos is too difficult, try to hire somebody by posting here: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/forum/312-inworld-employment/ I think you can find somebody to help faster there. I am not one that is good at inworld teaching, and besides, I have so little time to spend in SL that I can't help anybody now.

I honestly belive that Linden Lab do not want us to use these avatars longer than 1-2 weeks. They do not want to encourage creators to make a wardrobe for them. Not only is it hard to find clothes, but he topology of the Senra avatars faces are really hard to match to SL UV skins. My 'big box' of saved skins was almost useless unless I accepted weird fit around nose/mouth/eye corners. I can dive in my inventory and find old skins, but new people can not buy these skins anymore. I think I found only one skin creator with original SL UV skins that is still for sale. That was Pink Fuel. And one skin creator has made a new skin for Senra Jaime. Male SL UV skins that I tried on the Blake avatar was even uglier (in my eyes). I found a male skin from The Body Shop, but that was of course old and could not be purchased today.

I am going to talk a bit about using your old wardrobe with a new mesh body, and your old skins/makeup with a new mesh head. If you have mesh clothes, I assume you have what we called 'standard sizes'. You can use them with mesh bodies. The fit will not be as good as with mesh made for a certain mesh body. The more of the body that's covered, the better. I still use COCO clothes like coats, sweaters and pants from when they were made in only 2 sizes, with an alpha layer under. Gowns and tops with straps will be a problem. Straps will either float over the shoulders, or dig in them. Mesh bikinis will be impossible to use. You can use system clothes when you set the body to BOM (Bakes on mesh). This let the layers you are wearing, show on the mesh body. You can layer freely with all sort of layers, tattoo layer, pants layer, jacket layer, gloves etc etc. Sculpted details like cuffs, can you wear and edit like on your classic body. Sandals and pumps made for the system avatar will not fit at all. You can wear boots, and use an alpha layer for the feet. SL UV skin that you own, can you use on mesh heads. You will have to set the head to 'SL UV' instead of 'EvoX UV'. EvoX is the dominant layer today. But some stores sell SL UV. You will have to look for 'SL UV' and demo before you buy. It is not sure that the old system skins will look good on the head. You will see this when you try on the new Senra avatar from your library. I was very exited when we got BOM, I had packed and saved a box with a lot of skins, League, Deetalez, Wow, Glam affair, and many more. They look slightly 'off' on mesh heads. The topology of the heads does not match the SL UV perfectly. Here is an example that is some years old, but you run into the same problems now. You can try the free Genus head and see how it works for you. That head is a free gift in store, just join the group and the group is also free. It is a good start. You can NOT mix SL UV and EvoX UV. So if you wear one of your old skins, makeup and hairbases that is made for EvoX will not fit at all. Always use demos. That is the only way to find out if things will fit. Since I have been in SL almost as long as you, I had a lot of makeup and hairbases, and thought I would never use EvoX UV. I changed my mind because I found out that 10 years make a difference, the old skins and makeups was not my style now. It is so many freebies and things for sale in the weekend sales. I have gone full EvoX UV now.

When I run into a body or head issue, I unpack a new, fresh one, and replace all the parts. If you have deleted the original pack the body came in, you can get a redelivery in the store. In my opinion, it is faster than trying to fix it. Have you been wearing body shine? I think it looks like the upper and lower part of the body has different shine/specularity. I do not know how Legacy work when you apply and take off materials.

I have been thinking about Lara and LaraX a while.... And I have come to wish the updates were only for the neck/shoulders. I am totally wild about them, now that I see the difference. The rest of the changes, tummy and upper thighs, is so small that they are annoying. It is a bit smoother, but is additional work with alpha layers and the HUD, since all autohide scripts wrecks alpha cuts. This 'work to make it fit' should not be necessary, since it is really just minimal change. If Maitreya had only updated the shoulders/neck and released Lara as 6.0, it would have been better for me. The only things I had to replace would be tops/dresses, not thigh high boots and pants. LaraX could have been released as its own body and made appealing to curvy body users.

Thank you for posting replies to questions asked to me, I have been distracted with RL a couple days. 😃

'Fantasseria' is bad enough on its own, I dislike to see people slap on -seria here and there. Fantasseria is related to Disney 'Fantasia' and has a natural connection to RL. But 'Sakusseria'? Pretentious. And 'Bellisseria Alps' and 'Bellisseria Forest'? Pretentious that too. Saying Chalets and Logland sound more down-to-earth. Several names for the Victorian part? Is that really necessary? But what can one expect of some who make up ostentatious names as 'The Bellisserian Bureau of Bureaucracy (BBB), Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS) and Continental Passport Control Board (CPCB)'. Delighted by showing off themselves, 'LL approves of us'. They simply has to clutter up the map, because they think some names sound better and more posh.

Meshbody classic is updated to the Universal neck. It has the same neck as the 5500L Legacy meshbody.The problem here would be that free heads you try to wear with it do not use the Universal neck. It is only free mesh heads of good quality around Christmas, when both LOGO and Lelutka gave away a free male head of top quality. I suspect that free heads you find now are either very old, from before Universal Neck became the standard, or uploaded from some other game and not optimized for SL mesh bodies. I second the DNA avatars already mentioned. I think they cost 2L, one linden for the avatar and one linden for a skin for it.

https://virtualbloke.com/archives/4436 This blog post is about Jake, and you can see what I mean about the neck seam. Before you upgrade to 3.0, you will have problems with a seam, no matter what skins you use. You can see the blogger writes: It is minimal changes in the HUD, so you do not need to learn all over again. What is the new, is that creators make BOM skins now, what you know about appliers is outdated. Things always change in SL. You can read the tutorials about BOM in this Virtual Bloke blog.