Some thoughts on mesh avatars

Sassy Romano was wondering (in the Second Life Forums) why the enthusiasm for mesh bodies and also thinking that, with applier outfits, we've gone back full circle to system clothing which everyone has tried so hard to escape from. They're good questions so here's my take:

1. The mesh bodies I have (Maitreya, TMP and even Ohana) are much more realistic in shape than the system mesh. The breasts are much more natural (don't get me started on Lola's Tangos) and the hands & feet are just much better done. No more cankles either. You also get the option of wearing insanely high feet like Slink's for ridonkulous heels. Realistic, colorable and resizable nails & toenails too!

2. Paint-on clothing for mesh (aka system type) ends up looking more realistic because the layers are actually physically separated from each other. So clothing layer sits a bit further out than underwear which sits a bit further out than tattoo which is on the same physical level as skin. This actually gives 2D clothing some depth that it wouldn't have otherwise. I'm often surprised at how much more realistic an applier outfit looks on mesh than the same outfit looks when it's on a standard avatar.

3. All this goodness aside, mesh bodies are a royal PITA. I have to save each outfit wearing all the right body parts PLUS the appliers themselves AND if it's an OMEGA applier outfit, it also has to have the OMEGA relay attached too. Then you have to apply the clothing to the right layers. Oy.

4. Mesh bodies don't always work correctly with mesh clothing. Usually something is popping through and turning on the appropriate alphas for a mesh outfit is, again, a chore. Much easier to simply wear a mesh outfit with the standard avatar provided your shape is in-range and the designer has included a properly made alpha (many don't make good alphas).

Now for YEARS I've been screaming at LL to improve the base avatar. Seriously we have so much better hardware now that doubling the vertices and tweaking the sliders should be pretty straightforward. Make the layers do exactly what the mesh body layers do -- set the physical distance away from the avatar.

Another idea I've thought is that LL could provide a true ADULT avatar. One with more realistic bits. I'll bet a lot of people would check the appropriate over 18 boxes and pay extra for one.

Right now the load on the servers has GOT to be heavier with all these unoptimized and scripted monster mesh avatars running around. Wouldn't SL be better off with a much improved standardized avatar?

As usual, all comments and thoughts are welcome.

Cheap Mesh Applier Clothing (Part 1)

Since I bought my Maitreya Lara mesh body (which I love), my wardrobe has contracted a bit. All those system outfits with prim attachments don't work on mesh bodies and mesh clothing may or may not work depending on the shape, alpha matching and other factors.

Which means an excuse to go shopping all over again!

Now I've bought some very nice applier-based outfits but they've all been in the $300 - 500L range. This time out, I thought I'd see what I could do for under $100L.

Second Life Marketplace (The Horror)

The first thing I did was head to SLM. Now if you don't know how to shop SLM through it's very limited search function, SLM can be daunting. There is soo much JUNK there it makes browsing unpleasant.  Like 30 color-ways of some stupid system bikini selling for $1L. Or endless retextured halter tops. And don't get me started on DEMOs. 

The key to wading through it is to use the keywords NOT, AND, and OR when searching. Note the ALL CAPS. So I started with:

omega NOT demo

This immediately narrowed down my universe to (mostly) clothing that including "Omega" appliers and were not demo products. Next I further narrowed down the selection by picking prices under $100L and with 4 star & up reviews. Yes you may miss a few things this way but the sheer volume of SLM listings makes it a chore otherwise.

Next step was to browse through the results picking and choosing things I might like to wear or that I thought others might like.

My personal tastes

Please note that while I am no prude and occasionally like to wear something a bit frisky, I don't do Lola's Tangos or wear outsized shapes (butts or boobs). I'm also not big into outfits that put your bits on full display either. So my picks from SLM were things that looked good to me from the pictures and had decent reviews (at least 3). This led me to about 15 items that ranged in price from $99L to $1L and I'm happy to say, that I will gladly wear any of them. Uh well except one that I'd only wear for a special male someone lol. And so on to the outfits! I'll feature maybe 3 per article so let's see how things go.

!DC! Autumn Love

Except where noted ALL outfits are shown on the Maitreya Lara body with my standard SL ava head and SLink high feet. All the links in the titles go to the items on SLM as of this writing. You can also click on any of the photos to see them in full size detail.

!DC! Autumn Love ($10L)

This knit dress is deceptively simple. What makes it are the textures. They all line up correctly, it LOOKS like real knitting (or crocheting) and it will also work as a top by itself.

Even the one feature I don't like, a mesh panel to bridge the crotch and legs, works well enough and is barely noticeable when worn.

Autumn Love comes with a multi-applier that works with just about any mesh body system you can think of including Maitrey, Omega, SLink, TMP, Lola, etc.

Click on the picture to view in full size. 

Carie's Closet - Stacy Plum Kissed Top ($2L)

Carie's Closet - Stacy Plum Kissed Top

OK this is just a system top updated for Omega & Maitreya appliers but it works pretty well and it's only $2L. When I was making clothing, this sort of top was  typical of my own work so I can relate. :) It's cute and wearing it on the clothing layer of Lara makes it sit OFF the body slightly giving it a bit more realism than if it was worn on a system avatar. This is the sort of clothing that's almost impossible to do well in mesh.

B.D.R. (Beautiful Dirty Rich) - I'm Your Only Wish ($1L)

Now I actually have a number of BDR outfits lurking in inventory. Some undies, lingerie, tops as well as a few normal outfits. So when I saw this cute little lace babydoll I was like MUST OWN!

BDR - I'm Your Only Wish

And I was not disappointed. While it's an adapted system style outfit with one of those prim bridges across the crotch (that I hate), it works well and the lace details really come to life on mesh bodies. Sorry peeps, I blurred the bits on this one in Photoshop but trust me, you can see everything through it.

It is supplied in four different colors (pink, purple (shown), black and white) along with appliers for just about every mesh body and add-on under the sun except Maitreya but it including Omega.

Alma's Gift Lace Top ($1L)

Alma's Gift Lace Top

Finally, our last venture was a top that I thought was cute from the photos but didn't have any reviews. For $1L, I'll take a chance!

And the verdict is....winner! It's very cute, well detailed and while it's an applier only top, the illusion of going across the breast rather than being painted on the skin is very good when applied to clothing layer. I'd wear this with jeans shorts in a heartbeat! Yes, it shows a little peek-a-boo bottom boob but on SL, that's pretty tame. Comes with appliers for, Belezzo, Slink Physique & Omega. So who is Alma and what else does she make? As it turns out, mostly lingerie with quite a few 5 star ratings including some black lace panties for $1L with Omega appliers. Off to buy.

Do you like this article / series?

If this sort of thing is something you're interested in, please let me know in the comments or by retweeting the link. These things are a lot of work and I'd hate to be writing just for an audience of one. Tanx!

InWorldz goes open source

From the InWorldz blog...

InWorldz and Halcyon

Over the past year, InWorldz has released source code to the greater 3d simulation and virtual world community in an attempt to make quality solutions for common problems available to the masses. This has been done deliberately to raise the bar of expectations for users coming from larger more well funded companies to smaller grids like ours. 

Last week we released the core of the InWorldz simulator source code on GitHub. 

As well as being a community oriented virtual world, this release makes InWorldz an open source software company specializing in performance and stability oriented 3d simulation.

 I don't pretend to know what impact this will have on anything. That's for my techie followers and friends to tell me. :)

Link to complete article here: http://blog.inworldz.com/techblog/2015/09/19/inworldz-halcyon-3d-virtual-world-simulator/

New skin from PixyStix - Odine

Skins are really hard to for me to comment on because they are sooo tied into your shape. A skin that looks awesome on one avatar can look like a mess on another. So I'm always pleased when I see a skin that can be worn on different shapes without losing the intended feel. Such is the case with Odine from PixyStix -- a skin made for the Mesh Body Fair in Second Life.

Odine is not to my personal taste but there are a lot of avas in SL who love this look. Waifish. Slightly pouty mouth. Smooth skin, no blems. Innocent with a touch of naughty. If you wear the included shapes with Odine, you see what the designer was going for immediately. On my shape, I look a bit vacuous and lost lol (I'm tweaked for Asian facial characteristics) but still the look comes across.

PixyStix offers Odine with appliers for just about every mesh body you can think of as well as regular SL avatars. You'll need add-on eyelashes though if you choose to use Odine with an SL body. They aren't painted on the skin.

Pricing varies with packs and skin tones (5 available).

SLURL to PixyStix main store: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cola/134/79/1699

Viewer Managed Marketplace comes to my Second LIfe

Oh goodie. VMM. Just what I was waiting for .... not. So today my SL Marketplace items got auto-migrated over to my viewer -- which in my case is Cool VL Viewer (thanks Henri for all you do). Seems to have gone painlessly -- nothing got flagged, all my items showed up. But uggh, My Inventory is really not where I want to see all that junk.

Sigh, but I suppose it makes sense. Now I just have to figure out how it all works. :P

$1L Hybrid Mesh Formal with Appliers

Chiaro di Luna by Lamu Fashion (front view)

So I've been on a mesh tear lately since I bought the Maitreya mesh body "Lara" last week. Mostly it's been a huge learning curve trying to figure out how appliers work and what types of outfits work with mesh bodies and what don't. More on that in another article.

For now, I'm presenting Chiaro di Luna, a really nice formal from Lamu Fashion that's only $1L on the Second Life Marketplace. The amazing thing is that it comes with separate appliers for Belleza, Body TMP, Omega/Lolas, Maitreya and Slink Physique mesh bodies. That's some work!

In addition to the top & pants applied to the clothing layer, there is a mesh dress panel and two conventional flexi prims that make up the foot's lower lace ruffles.

The total effect is quite realistic inworld and movement of the flexis is what you would expect from quality work.

Chiaro di Luna by Lamu Fashion (back view)

I'm sure the designer (Lamu Freidman) is giving this away so you'll look at her other work. Although I tried to visit her inworld store, I crashed twice. Anyway here's the SLURL to Lamu:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Fortuna/200/178/3001

And here's a link to the dress on SLM:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Lamu-Fashion-Gown-Chiaro-di-Luna-Gift-Included-Appliers-forTMPOMEGASLINK-PHYSIQUEMAITREYABELLEZALOLAS-TANGO/7408960

There's a bit of keyword spamming going on with the item title but I suppose we can forgive that since it's only $1L and well done.

Hair Fair 2015 in Second Life - The Horror of Mesh - UPDATED

I really feel bad making a post like this since I know how hard creators work at their craft. However, I have to say that this year's Hair Fair just left me feeling underwhelmed. Everyone's doing rigged mesh, which is cool in that the hair contours to your head and body. And it moves with you. However, it just looks, uh, plastic.

For reference, let's start with a blast from the past. Here we have Philip Linden aka Philip Rosedale rocking an early prim hair plus spikey system hair look on the left. Philip 2.0 is to the right, again with the basic prim hair deal.

So now let's see what we get from the hair fair. I don't mean to pick on Exile because in general, they make good stuff. But here's their Hair Fair 2015 gift. It really doesn't look like we've progressed all that much in terms of realism,

So Jill seems OK (sorry but Jack is just too, uh, precious and contrived for me). But let's look at the hair as actually worn in Second Life (and without Photoshopping or other stuff). It just looks flat. And as someone commented to me in SL today, that's the problem with most straight mesh hairs! They don't have any shine (maybe some coconut oil??). Still, to Exile's credit, this is one of the better freebies at the Fair.

Jill by Exile

Does it get better? No not really. I intended to pay $L for at least a few hairs just to make sure I was donating to the cause (Wigs for Kids) and it wouldn't be just a gripe about the freebies. 

So honestly, here's the BEST mesh hair I could find out of all the Hair Fair sims. It's Grace by MINA. It actually looks lots better in the photo than it does in-world. Here's the package photo. Note how spikey the pieces look -- and while the part that goes across the face LOOKS wispy and natural in the photo, it doesn't look nearly as good in-world.

Grace by MINA (blonde)

And here's Grace being worn on me -- not that I'm any great fashion model but I just want to show how most mesh hairs end up looking. No detail. Stiff. Stringy. Primmy. 

I think this is not so much a designer issue so much as it is a mesh issue. In the rush to rigged mesh, we end up with hair that looks like old school fixed prim hair with the ONLY advantage being that the wisps and strands don't intrude on your body.

Grace by MINA (chocolate)

For comparison, here is a typical prim & flexi Damselfly hair from 2012. This one's called Pya and it's been my go-to casual hair for years. Yes, the hair strands fly into your body but, it seems to me that the detail and subtleties of the textures and flexi wisps more than makes up for any "advantages" that rigged mesh offers (at least in the way most are implemented).

Pya by Damselfly

I also bought hair from Calico, Tameless and Blueberry.

First here's Hila by Blueberry -- again, rigged mesh. Note that we really haven't advanced THAT much with rigged mesh because the hair strands still go through the prim collar on my shirt. And again, we have that ropey, strandy look of mesh that just looks like someone used Play-Doh.

Hila by Blueberry

Next up is Piper by Calico. I really, really, really wanted to like Piper because some of my very first hairs were by Calico and at the time, they were very good. But, here's what rigged mesh does. Again big huge clumps and no real detail in the strands. Sigh. Seriously? But OK Calico, you got my $L because of memories. :)

Piper by Calico

My one surprise was Despina by Tameless. It's a gift hair with all colors included plus a colorable hairband (via HUD). But look at the detail! The wisps don't occlude your face and because it's an old school flexi hair, it moves naturally. So WTG Tameless. (And yes, I have a few of their hairs and goodies in my inventory from a few years ago. They still rock.)

Despina by Tameless

Now please creators, don't think I'm picking on you. I think it's just a limitation of mesh that you're dealing with. And really, these are examples of some of the BETTER mesh efforts. There were so many god-awful ones at the fair, I was actually wondering why a designer would even bother with mesh.

But don't let this stop you from donating to the cause Wigs for Kids. You can do so by clicking boxes throughout the Hair Fair or by going directly to the organization at the link above.

SLURL to Hair Fair 2015: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Iridium/135/33/23

UPDATE: Added inworld photo of Jill hair by Exile with commentary.