Does anyone here in Second Life still uses the classic avatar even after 4 years or more?

[Zenrei]

I feel like I want to let this out ;w;

Lately I feel left out because I don't have a mesh body, but many others do.

There are good reasons why I probably will never buy a mesh body... ;w; I don't mean to detest mesh bodies. I tried a demo of Maitreya and I actually like it but ...it's expensive ;w;

Besides that, I'm going to SL not just for the fashion, but for the experience

 

 

 

 

 

[Pamela Galli]

I only have mesh feet. But then since I am working, no one ever sees my avi, or I theirs. If I was out and about I would certainly pay whatever it costs to look up to date.

[Tari Landar]

No mesh body here, and I plan to stay that way. My av looks just the way I want her to look  

[Talligurl]

I have a classic avi, people tell me I.am gorgeous, I put lots of effort into the look and I am not to sure about doing that again in mesh. That being said I am looking into mesh, not yet convinced I will make the switch yet. One thing is for sure, you are not alone, mesh is complicated and expensive and from what I can tell a lot of work. I made almost 20 grand as a dancer in November, so I have a little money to experiment with, but then part of me also thinks, this body made 20 grand, why change a thing.

[Marcus Hancroft]

I have had a legacy avatar since I was born in SL in 2008.  There are many reasons.  I have spent literally hundreds of dollars over the years on clothing and accessories for my avatar, and I am loathe to give them all up.  Secondly, I have also looked into the mesh avatars and they are all exceedingly expensive!  TMP avatars are over L$13,000 to get the full package!!  That's over $50,00USD!  Not everybody can afford that or wants to spend that much on their avatar all at once.  I don't want to spend that much.

Thirdly, and since I am in the D/s scene, the alpha layers and mesh attachments are very difficult to discern when looking through a collar or ring menu.  I don't want one of my subs wearing a mesh body.

Fourthly, the male mesh bodies are most times, WAY out of porportion! (this is the reason I chose TMP)  Most of them look like they have "moobs" and I'm not interested in having man boobs.  

So, for now, I will stick with my legacy avatar.  I get told all the time how sexy I look.  I see no reason to start all over again with a new avatar now.  

[eyeye Afterthought]

I am another still in original av and it does fine for me. 

[Teagan Tobias]

I have, out of the blue, been offered Host jobs and Modeling jobs and I have only the classic body. I do put a lot of work into my look.
I have looked at a demo or three but the process of going to the new mesh bodies is laborious and expensive.
What most people don't tell you is, keep your cloths on and you look great. But if your in the adult business then by all means get one of the expensive bodies, you will get better tips and pay. Although your clientele will most likely be in classic bodies.

[Rhys Goode]

Some of my best friends have original SL avatars. And several excell at hostessing and other high visiblitly occupations. None of the avatars in SL are particularly lifelike, in my SL, it depends on how you interact with other people, a lot more than the details of how you look.

But....

I hate to tell you Zenrei. But if you *need* to use the collar to have your sub dress as you wish, and when you wish, they are not really your sub at all.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I say , dress your avatar to please yourself not anybody else.  There is nothing at all wrong with that and don't let any one else tell you or make you feel otherwise.  If someone doesn't want to be your friend or associate with you due to your avatar, they are the one's that are the losers, not you.

People have different spending priorities in SL and prefer to spend what money they have on other things other than mesh bodies. The truth is that many of the people all decked out in mesh bodies and clothes can't afford a home, which is ok and their choice.   On the other hand, I know people still using classic avatars that look great but prefer to spend their money on having a beautiful home on a beautifully landscaped lot or a business where they make no money but enjoy running, such as a club, or enjoy creating things for it, like an in world shop.  Other's are great and interesting people but have very little money to spend in SL due to having RL needs that take priority and are here just for the fun.

A lot of people eschew mesh because the classic avatar is so much easier to dress and they can change clothes in a heartbeat.

In RL we are all subject to pressures to dress and/or look the way society wants us to or to the expectations of our employers.  In SL you have the freedom to not only be who you want to be, but have the avatar that you are most comfortable with!

[HarrisonMcKenzie]

If my classic avatar you mean not a mesh body, it's far more common than you think. If you're wearing mesh clothes, the standard avatar will be alphaed out, which means no one can really tell. I only bought a mesh body because child avatars don't scale down very well, and because aa few items of clothing for kids don't fit the standard body.

 

If it's not a big deal to you, don't worry about it. No one is going to see your lump sides if you're wearing a shirt.

[kathyparnes1]

i still have a classic avatar, but mostly wear mesh clothing on it.

I find that on a dsl connection, mesh avatars just dont rez for me, unless i hang around for about 5 minutes, (seriously).

Maybe if you have cable the rez times are different.

It is totally up to you if you want to have a classic avatar, mesh avatar, or even a furry or whatever, personally i find the japanese furry avatars are cute (i think they are the kemono ones), but i think you will find there are still lots of classic avatars out there on the grid, although they could be more alt acount ones nowdays, i am not sure of that.

 

[Resi Pfeffer]

After 9 years of using the standard avatar I bought a mesh body because i thought, its something i need to have.
After the purchase i realised, that the most of my old clothes dont fit anymore, and to make it worse, my look isnt even enhanced by using a mesh body, because of the way i dress.
Usualy i wear a blouse, covering myself additionally with a wool jacket, using long pants, warm boots or sneakers. And if a skirt is my choice, then i always add black leggings to keep my legs warm. No skin or shape to see at all...

So, all the benefits of having a mesh body are hidden behind my mesh clothes.
Nevertheless i stick to that body, because at least i got some nice hands and fingers

[Monti Messmer]

Classic Avatar and no plans to go mesh because it´s toooo complicated and i´m losing all my old loved clothes.

Monti

[Syo Emerald]

I'm having a mesh body and I never ever want to switch back. I would also like to have a mesh head, but might wait for bento to be released, before I buy one...and I also hate the Catwa heads, so its more difficult to find appliers for other heads, because catwa sadly dominates the market.

[Buttacwup Float]

Mesh bodies excel at one thing. Looking good naked. As soon as you start adding clothing and shoes and everything else on top the benefits start to drop away. One other recent benefit is that many of the "top designers" in Second Life no longer make even standard sized mesh, prefering to only support the top 3 mesh bodies.

At the end of the day though it is really down to what you like and how you want to look. Want to buy the latest and greatest stuff from the big events? You need a mesh body. Want to get online to chat and hang out, not so much. It is all a question of preference.

As to the question of cost. For women, I think that starting from scratch you should be able to get into a high end mesh body, with a mesh head and a top of the line skin for around 8000 L$ including some outfits to get started. It is a lot for sure, but not as expensive as I have heard some people say.

[Marcus Hancroft]

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Rhys Goode wrote:

 

I hate to tell you Zenrei. But if you *need* to use the collar to have your sub dress as you wish, and when you wish, they are not really your sub at all.

---

*laughs*  I just prefer to dress or undress them myself as I want.  Yes, I could order them to put on or take off what I want them to wear or not wear.  But if they have no say in the matter, the Dom aspect is reinforced.  

[ClariceRose]

I have had several mesh bodies, my faves are Maitreya, Tonic Curvy and Slink. However, sometimes I will take off my mesh body to wear clothes that I love and miss wearing. Even if one got mesh feet and hands, you need appliers for them for skins. Using the classic avatar is fine, some may not like it but YOU do what YOU like. Be yourself. I have seen a ton of women without mesh bodies who are gorgeous.

Yes, a mesh body can be a pain in the butt, you have to mess around with huds, appliers etc. Yes, they are much more smooth though.

It depends on what makes YOU happy. Your SL.. enjoy it and run it the way that you desire.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

Expensive? $15.00 US maybe? Thats the cost of a 90 minute movie with a large popcorn and a drink.

When u consider how many hours you will use that mesh body, its hardly worth worrying about how "expensive" it is.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I don't have a mesh body.   I spent ages tweaking my system body to get it how I wanted it, and I don't see any reason to change, particularly since it would mean I couldn't use a lot of my favourite outfits.

[CassieMaia]

This has been an interesting read.  I don't have a mesh body, nor do any in my circle of closest friends.  All of the others in my circle though do have mesh hands and feet, and we all often wear mesh clothing and usually wear mesh hair.  With the exception of one of the group, we don't habitually go to areas or do things where we would be without clothes, so for me at least, I haven't felt like I need to have a mesh body (though I am thinking about upgrading my hands and feet). 

I haven't ran into any issues yet as far as wanting to buy some clothing item that doesn't work on the classic body. I'm not a huge fashionista though, and don't go to a lot of the large events, so that may be why. Like others have mentioned, I have spent time creating my shape and selecting hairs and skins to create a look that I like.   

 

[Conifer Dada]

I'm staying with my 'system' avatar.  I have some mesh clothes, hair, and shoes but I'm not at all convinced that the overall appearance of mesh avatars is an improvement.  Certainly they are smoother from close up but textures look a bit weak on them and also so many mesh avatars have unrealistic proportions, which is fine if that's what you want, but it's not what I want.

[Mirika Drasilova]

I totally agree with you my avie looks like what I want it to, and I was asked where I got my mesh avie from I had to tell the person it is not mesh jsut a lot of careful work.

[Codex Alpha]

I still use the classic avatar shape at least, mostly classic textures as clothing.

Firstly, I don't like the freakish proportions the mesh bodies are at, secondly would have to rely on products made specifically for them (I want standards in SL, not monopolies) and thirdly the appearance of my avatar is least important to me.

The few mesh clothings I have purchased always were a bit off, making me look frumpy or out of proportion as well.

I'm pretty much at the standard height as well, which is still a bit bigger than I would like, but if I go to 6 feet or under, the avatars look like children compared to their entire surroundings and other Minotaur-sized avatars inworld.

[Kelli May]

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entity0x wrote:

I still use the classic avatar shape at least, mostly classic textures as clothing.

Firstly, I don't like the freakish proportions the mesh bodies are at, secondly would have to rely on products made specifically for them (I want standards in SL, not monopolies) and thirdly the appearance of my avatar is least important to me.

The few mesh clothings I have purchased always were a bit off, making me look frumpy or out of proportion as well.

I'm pretty much at the standard height as well, which is still a bit bigger than I would like, but if I go to 6 feet or under, the avatars look like children compared to their entire surroundings and other Minotaur-sized avatars inworld.

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Freakish proportions aren't a result of mesh bodies. I've been seeing crane-legs, invisible pony-rider hips, hulk shoulders, T. rex arms, and all the other crimes against human proportion since my first day in SL. People are perfectly capable of creating oversized, freakish and ugly avs with the default components alone.

[Pussycat Catnap]

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entity0x wrote:

I still use the classic avatar shape at least, mostly classic textures as clothing.

Firstly, I don't like the freakish proportions the mesh bodies are at, secondly would have to rely on products made specifically for them (I want standards in SL, not monopolies) and thirdly the appearance of my avatar is least important to me.

---

This is both brand and shape dial specific.

Some of them are of course designed to have exagerated features. Others like 'mbody' are designed to have LESS curve and less bosom than the 'system avatar'.

Most are in the 'normal' range and then it becomes a question of shape dials.

I do exclusively use a mesh body, and I have adopted a very large bosom look - mostly because it was the only way I could manage to get a good level of 'weight' and 'sag' into the bosom.

 

There are advantages and disadcantages to any choice you make. As you note - I generally have to rely on products made for the body I use, or things that have mod perms and don't cover much like necklaces. Since I became an SL-nudist this has gotten a little easier to do... But yes it is a very legitimate issue. On the other hand I can wear dresses and blouses that "animate" with my 'avatar physics' which is very natural feeling when moving or dancing and such. - Tradeoffs.

 

 

Don't presume a system avatar / clothes will be less (or more) lag - this is going to depend on the whole outfit composition you go in for.

Don't presume it will look better or worse - this is going to be the gestault of your whole look.

Don't presume it will be more or less freakish / disproportionate - this is more in your shape dials unless you buy specific brands that are sold for the purpose of things like a bosom or male parts bigger than the avatar its attached to...

Avoiding 'freakish proportions' is more about knowing what to do with shape dials. See my guide in my sig links - it will help whether you have a system body, mesh body, furry body, and the principles will help even if you're a giant spider avatar.

(Knowing proportions also helps you distort them better for effect rather than looking like "oops" - if you want to be intentionally "freakish" - it helps to know where the human eye expects things to be, so you can move them to cause the right reaction.)

 

The one thing I will say is that I do not like the look of the system avatar when its not clothed. Its got lumpy edges from being low-polygon in the wrong spots, like the bosom and hips, hands and feet. In 2016 though, most people aren't running around nude in SL anymore like they were when I joined (I dunno, maybe my first land was just in a weird spot, I used to see nude avatars more than clothed ones back in 2009, and by the time I finally decide to join them they're all gone from SL).

But when in an outfit - so many other factors come into play that the body itself is not the thing to 'call it' for a look.