What i really miss about SL

[Briana Dawson]

I miss staring at a person, being drawn in by their face, their shape, the nuances and details they have added and knowing that who i was looking at, was unique.

Now-a-days, you see some person, get totally hot for them, and 3 weeks later, you see a twin of them, and later on, you see yet, another clone.

So much for that heart thumping blood rush of knowing the person i was looking at, whose face had attracted me was special in SL, like we all are in RL, unique.

People come to SL and buy their shape, and then don't even mod it to bring about some semblance of inner-self. They just put on that husk, that mask, and walk out into the wilds of SL decorating them.

No different than driving a car that everyone else drives, only yours is red, and hers is yellow.

For me in SL, attraction is a package: Mind & Body, i don't care if they dress like Green Lantern, if they have a nice skin and an original shape - or a weird skin with an original look, all that is left is a beautiful mind.

I love to see self-expression through ones avatar. Originality and uniqueness in SL is easy to achieve without ever building, and only modifying if one were so inclined.

What i do not understand is this acceptance of avatar shapes as things to purchase instead of (a) making your own, or (b) buying one and then modifying it.

I miss when everyone made their own shape, or had one made for them that was unique.

[3Ring Binder]

my dollie's shape is 100% created by me from the SL noob shape she came with. she needs a little tweaking, but i've made her look as close to the RL me as is possible. now if only i had her ass.... :cool2:

[Phoenix Psaltery]

Sans made my shape. I think it's what she wishes I looked like in RL. :p

P2

[Amaranthim Talon]

I see where you are coming from Bri- I am a little more toleratn of bought as opposed to made shapes, because a lot of folks want to look 'right' and simply don't have the skills to achieve that. Many do go for the whole Style Card thing, and talking to a shapemaker friend the other day, she said it was a major selling point. To me, a Style Card would be a waste other than as a suggestion. I have bought shapes though am getting better at making - but all me 'me's' with bought shapes have been changed to suit me- my inner me -

My stamp of originality though comes from what i put on that me once the basics are there.

As for what the av looks like- yes conversation and who the person is is obviously the keeping point but I will admit to wanting that person to look good - besides the obvious eye candy aspect, it shows me they took the time and were interested enough to invest the time to look good - for me or for someone else. Frankly, I am the sort that is horrified to walk down RL streets and see women with their hair up in curlers and fuzzy slippers! This weekend there was a guy in his pj's at Publix!!!!

[jackalennui]

What I miss is attention to detail. I don't care if they bought their shape or had it made by a friend or prayed to M Linden until he whispered the magic numbers right into their minds - I care about the necklace floating at chin height, the fullbright accessories, the badly photosourced dress that clashes with their hand-drawn skin, all those little things that could be avoided by a few minutes adjusting or fixing attachments or carefully coordinating.

As for the stick-figure "fashionistas" with their waistlength arms and Michael Jackson noses, they can all go to Ruthed hell.

[Briana Dawson]

What I miss is attention to detail.



Come see me.

[Lexxi]

I change too often. The inner me is a cat, since I am a cat. And I am always a cat. That doesn't translate well in SL currently, as I am cat, not neko, and most shapes that go that direction, neko shapes, are not me. They never look like me.

Even so, the shape I inhabit was made by me. It is not me though. I'm probably a foot taller in real life. Which is strange, considering how most others are, compared with their height here and there.

[Briana Dawson]

I just don't want to see the same hot bod - specifically their FACE - on someone else.

[Love]

My avatar is a slow process of refinement. Occasional small changes over a long period of time.

The most significant change came from your post and the box you put into the hangout with Vaelissa Cortes (http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/member.php?u=76)'s proportion guide and tools, IIRC. (So thank you both). Which I looked into when encouraged. Things really snapped into focus thanks to that.

You won't find a clone of me.

[Briana Dawson]

You won't find a clone of me.

No, we won't. And i do not meant simply Your shape.

[Briana Dawson]

Oh, i did a capital Y.

:notworthy:

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

Some of us noobs still do all that. I made my own shape and "customized" my own skin (Thanks Eloh!) (^_^)

And... I have fun with eyes. =^-^=

http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/437027.jpg

(@_@)

[Charlemagne Allen]

I see too many people who pick one style-- neko, vampire-- or one store-- Armidi, Redgrave-- and create the most limited av. It's boring enough that I can go somewhere and do a profile of the whole room..

:(

[Lexxi]

Apparently you will find a clone of me out there then.

[Love]

Apparently you will find a clone of me out there then.

Not a chance.

[Charlemagne Allen]

Apparently you will find a clone of me out there then.

If there is , please make an amateur make-out video and put it up on Youtube...

:whistling:

[Bea]

My shape is my own. I started with an old library shape, and messed with it. (One of these days I will re-do it from scratch, just so it says "Creator Beathag McMahon.)

I am not a classic beauty - my jaw is a little strong for that. I didn't realize it until after several months, and by then I was not going to change it.

I won't try to mess with skins - I don't have the graphic skill (or talent) for that. The skin is very important to me. I looked along time before I finally found the blowpop skin I am wearing now.

I really try to work on the details - making sure the necklace is positioned properly, the bracelet is where it should be on my arm, my partnership ring properly aligned on my finger. My best friend teases me about taking so long to get dressed. The other day we were IM'ing while I was getting ready,and I told her all I had left was hair and accessories. She said that she would see me in an hour or so. :fist: (It only took me about 15 minutes.)

Lord knows, if nothing else,my combination of red hair, fair skin & freckles, sexy preppy outfits- and being short! - make me close to unique, I hope. (I'm still the only Beathag in SL.)

[Lilyana Muircastle]

I agree, there are so many cookie cutter barbie dolls out there. Club's are filled with girls and boys who all look alike.

A few days into SL I realized I could move my shape around (from the one they give you originally) I changed her look and made her super tall..(cuz I'm a freak yo). I only changed her a little bit in the first 3 months and since then, same shape! ..I get a lot of free skins from the blogs (cuz I'm cheap yo) and many work well with the shape I made.

[Morgaine Alter]

hmm
My shape is me I made it, I also shared it with another with hopes they used it as a base and changed it up.
I just remember starting SL and it took time an art to get your avatar to be decent. Now it seems so cookie cutter and all to easy.
Little Boxes song from Weeds is poking in my mind now.

[Sarah Nerd]

I get attached to the shapes of people I become to close to and care about. When they change it weirds me out.

[Briana Dawson]

I get attached to the shapes of people I become to close to and care about. When they change it weirds me out.

Exactly. I keep names off. So i identify people by 'recognition' of their face/shape & style.

When i see people with the same face due to the skin and or shape, it makes me feel like SL is becoming occupied by zombies. Night of the Living Base Heads. People who just don't care as much as i do i guess. Or at least not in the same way. Therefore we can't really connect. They tell me they love my shape and my look, and then i say they have a beautiful shape too, and a week later i watch that same shape go by on someone else. Creepy.

[Morgaine Alter]

I do get attached to what an avatar is on someone including there AO is when I spend time with them.
Funny isn't it.

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Betcha can't find another one of me!

Solution to the originality problem - make a kid av!

[Kokoro Fasching]

There is no clone of me. My shape is 100% mine. Well, if you visit a combat sim you might see me, but that is just my combat alt :)

Only one vendor has a copy of my shape, and that was so she could make a custom skin for me.

[Elora Lunasea]

I am me too. I created my shape as well. And, play around with so many skins that it's doubtful you'll find anyone that looks similar to me. Only one out there is the exact twin I created, my Alt Loire.

[Amaranthim Talon]

I get attached to the shapes of people I become to close to and care about. When they change it weirds me out.

OMG- in spades! Sometimes the change is subtle, just like in RL we may get thinner or heavier or tanned or a hairstyle- no biggie- But omg when they go to extremes!! I guess, hit me with it slowly :) - shape one day skin a few months down the line- dont scare me!! :D

[Lourdes]

I never understood the idea behind buying a shape either. Part of the fun is in playing with the slider. Especially on the face to make your avatar look unique.

It seems as the whole idea of Massively Multiplayer worlds become more mainstream the idea of having an unique representation in the virtual world is going down the tubes.

Hell in SL it looks like all the male fashion models use the exact same shape.

A custom shape is not hard to make. You can't expect to make it and it be perfect the first time. A good shape evolves with the user. Small adjustments made over time.

[Troy Vogel]

THe problem Bri is talking about is mostly created by fashion houses / stores that make EVERYTHING.

They make the skin, the hair, the make up, the clothes, etc and as a result lazy shoppers buy it all and wear it all creating the clone effect.

I buy most of my every avatar thing but I never am head to toe one brand. I am wearing up to 10-15 different creator's works at any given time and that makes all the difference...

Anyone can drag a folder to their avatar and be all fab but being unique is a whole other story and one that has been really overlooked lately....

[YOUR MOM]

Leck is basically the same shape from when I started on Orientation Island and was startled by Jeff Linden in his Matrix av. About a year in Zyrra and Hosie finally revealed to me that I had tiny head so that has been tweaked a bit. :D

[Kokoro Fasching]

Leck is basically the same shape from when I started on Orientation Island and was startled by Jeff Linden in his Matrix av. About a year in Zyrra and Hosie finally revealed to me that I had tiny head so that has been tweaked a bit. :D

So it was Jeff Linden's fault!

http://engrishfunny.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/engrish-funny-white-men.jpg

:thinking:

[GradyE]

I have a lot of sympathy for new players when you consider what it actually takes to define/shape/clothe and accessorize an av. I have always looked for and appreciated avs who have been able to make a distinctive, immediately recognizble identity/look. To learn how to use the sliders, find stores that sell products that suit, learn how to modify and attach hair, clothing parts, belts etc. AND make an esthetically pleasing av is a pretty steep learning curve.

[Briana Dawson]

I don't know if it is the learning curve that is so steep as it is the patience required at the sliders.

[GradyE]

I don't know if it is the learning curve that is so steep as it is the patience required at the sliders.

I would say both. The sliders are deceptively simple to operate, but can be very subtle in effect. Particularly when dealing with the face. The other skills can take weeks or months to learn. However the pleasure in having an av that is distinctively your own, makes it worthwhile.

[clio]

my shape is pretty much all me, several peoples ave made suggestions over time, some i adopted..others i tried and changed back, but over all i am in teh shape i made the 1st night in SL..with a lotta tweaking as i go.....

as for clothes..i..nm..i got nutting to say about fashion or other peoples style!

other than i once one a contest at a club for Best ( worst) mismatched outfit..only thing was..i hadn't dressed for the contest..it was my normal outfit

[23rdDjin]

i have my "standard" me these days, a shape that i accidentally made non-transferable as i discovered awhile back when i created a new, less lagged account. so i sat there and wrote down every single slider number so i could recreate "me" the hard way. but i also like to play around with shapes (plus sometimes you can buy a skin that just plain won't work with the shape you've got for one reason or another) and have palyed around with many, entirely different looks. for instance, four out of the seven inset photos here are made using the same skin yet are nowhere alike, but none of them could ever be confused with what i consider "the real me" either.
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showpost.php?p=141113&postcount=833
(neither could the larger photo, but that's obvious...)

[Lexxi]

my shape is pretty much all me, several peoples ave made suggestions over time, some i adopted..others i tried and changed back, but over all i am in teh shape i made the 1st night in SL..with a lotta tweaking as i go.....

as for clothes..i..nm..i got nutting to say about fashion or other peoples style!

other than i once one a contest at a club for Best ( worst) mismatched outfit..only thing was..i hadn't dressed for the contest..it was my normal outfit

I once won a contest, the only one I've won, wearing a costume I made. I do not recall the costume theme, probably angels and devils or best in white. I made a pair of pants and shirt. And gloves, socks. And shoes. All through that "create new" option. Textured . . . white (as in the default white). Oh, and a halo. Which was the basic prim, whichever one is a circle with a hole in it, torus or whatever. Also textured white. Set to bright. I think this was preglow.

[Forest]

I remember spending hours over weeks tweeking my shape. I worked hard to make it match my RL body (without the wheelchair)

[Bard Jameson]

Atia is going into business as a shape-maker, on the premise that creating a good shape/skin combination is not that easy. She has two dozen ready now and more in the works, all modifiable. I know selling shapes is not popular here, but I'd be interested to hear opinions on a sampling.

Yah, I be stumpin' for my lady, :o but srsly - critiques welcome! :notworthy:

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/Ges_Tuesday_02_A_512.png

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/GeS_Aiden_02_A_512.png

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/GeS_Aldrich_01_A_512.png

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/Ges_Megan_03_A_512.png

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/GeS_Kendall_01_A_512.png

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk245/bardjameson/GeS_Shen_01_A_512.png

:whistling:

[Briana Dawson]

At a glance, it looks like Kendall and Tuesday are extremely out of proportion.

There are very basic rules that should be adhered to some extent. Especially with the size of the head and length of the body.

The human body should equal 7.5 to 7.75 lengths of your head stacked atop one another. My avatar is about 7.75 to 8 heads, which is slightly big, but i consider that part of my personal avatar differences flaws.

Shape makers have destroyed the grid, no slight at Atia. But many have put themselves forward as artist and instead produce these mutants, 12 heads tall, short arms, real world dimensions like 50 / 20 / 45, while standing 7'4" to 7'8".

There *is* a market for "normal sized" avatars.

[Briana Dawson]

Here is one of a billion posts i made on the SL Forums about Avatar Proportions:

A head on avatar should divide into the length of body 7-8 times if stacked up next to the avatar.

So this is how you may wish to shape your avatar as a basis for starting and then adding imperfections and physical character traits.

If you divide your body into 7-8 head lengths, this is how the measuring should be (roughly) going from the head to your feet.

1. First head length: head
2. Second head length: chest line at nipples.
3. Third head length: waistline, at bellybutton.
4. Forth head length: groin area.
5. Fifth head length: a bit above the knee.
6. Sixth head length: just below knee.
7. Seventh head length: above ankle (or mid-calf, if the person is 8 heads).
8. Seven & 3/4 (or eighth) head length: at bottom of feet.

Other measurements that should be noted:

*
When the arms are at the side, the wrist bone aligns with the groin area.
*
The elbow aligns with the waistline—around or above the bellybutton.
*
Shoulder width, side-to-side is about 2 to 2 1/3 heads wide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are rules for 'proper proportions'. Following these steps will start you off with an avatar shape that is properly proportioned - afterward you can shape in any imperfections you like.

My head is a size 8 for SL references, meaning my body equates to 8 of my heads, my butt is kinda big and my chest rather flat - all just like RL for me.

Remember, these are not laws you have to follow. Only suggestions. The proportions listed above are common rules that artists, sculptors, etc.. all follow or at least recognize.

Have fun!

p.s. all this info can be grabbed from google by searching "human proportions", or variants of the sort.

[Lexxi]

Atia is going into business as a shape-maker, on the premise that creating a good shape/skin combination is not that easy. She has two dozen ready now and more in the works, all modifiable. I know selling shapes is not popular here, but I'd be interested to hear opinions on a sampling.

Yah, I be stumpin' for my lady, :o but srsly - critiques welcome! :notworthy:

:whistling:

I like Tuesday and Aldrich the best. Though Briana dislikes Tuesday. All in the eye of the beholder.

[Lexxi]

Personally I hate this stupid bloody "proper proportion" thing. This is bloody SL, not RL. Artists routinely stretch certain things here and there. Creating mutants, sure, if you must call them that. Mutants they be.

Also, it forced me to shrink (since I need to keep up with the Mistress). I don't actually like being two bloody feet tall (ok, maybe I'm 5'1" in SL, but it feels like 2 feet tall; I'm no where close to 5'1" in real life).

And one of the distinctive things about humans, one of the marks of true beauty involves some creature that isn't perfectly set, proportioned, aligned. Perfect features cause a certain . . .negative reaction that festers. "Too perfect to be true" etc.

[Bard Jameson]

At a glance, it looks like Kendall and Tuesday are extremely out of proportion.



Thanks, Brianna - some of the distortion might be due to my photography - which still isn't an excuse as I should make them look their best and not distort them. But while Atia knows the basic proportion rules and certainly doesn't try to make monsters, she is working from her own tastes within the limits of the tools.

But, aside from the body and life drawing rules, any thoughts about the faces?

[Lexxi]

That's one of the things I like about Tuesday and Aldrich are the faces.

I like Shen's eyes.

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

My take on the whole 'proportionate' thing is this:

Some people want to be very tall. Some people want to be very curvy. But, if everyone has their sliders maxed out, it's impossible to be taller or curvier than anyone else. At the same time, it's a matter of ideals. Just like plastic surgery in RL, different people have different ideals. (^_^)

Someone who honestly supports the idea of proportionate and to-scale avatars should be considerate that there are people that desire to be a being of fantasy and art. At the same time, people who have chosen their appearance based on a relative visual should be considerate that they are the odd ones out in regards to the established inworld measurements available. (and, no, I'm not talking about scripted height gauges) (^_^)

I will never 'force' anyone to be short and I will never allow anyone else to 'force' me to be tall. But, I will express myself within the boundaries of the ideal I have established for myself. Yes, it's selfish and vain... But, that's SL. (^_^)y

[Atra Lupis]

My Human/Hybrid shape is damn close to the way I look in real life, down to the height of about 5'2". The skin is a freebie photorealistic skin that I picked up and tried on. I've stayed with it at the preferewnce of my mate - she likes it far more than the 4k tanned, near hairless skin I bought at one point or another.

Bri would, in fact, probably wave me off if she met me as my HumanAHybrid ... She seems to hate the freebie skin.

All that said, my own trademark in SL is the pure and simple fact that my appearance changes to suit my mood. One minute I might be a Human, the next I might be a Kitsune. An hour later? A Dragon, Wolf, Dire Tiger or one of a dozen or more Anthromorphic avatars I've bought.

In that manner, even if I'm using a "stock" Anthro from Realmscapes, it's still me. Hell, one has to pay attention to how my AV is dressed sometimes to catch a subtle change in my mood.

To me, it's more or less how you customize and use your AV to show how you're feeling than the shape, skin and such.

[Lexxi]

I will never 'force' anyone to be short and I will never allow anyone else to 'force' me to be tall. But, I will express myself within the boundaries of the ideal I have established for myself. Yes, it's selfish and vain... But, that's SL. (^_^)y

I was going to say something in my post, but I was in rant mode. I said forced not because anyone forced me. I forced myself. I have this need to be shorter than Mistress. Mistress shrank, I shrank. I've gotten used to my shortness, now, for the most part.

[Ned]

I have to confess I have never messed with my shape. I use a default library shape that is well proportioned, and a decent skin (Nomine). My appearance is very low key, deliberately. I'm a little tall, but if I shrank any I would be shorter than my partner when she wears heels. :D

A friend once said that I looked like the kid of guy who would have written a slim volume of poetry or two, the kind that she might have for bedside reading. That's really the whole point to my appearance - a sorta academic/Sixties-bohemian kinda thing. I dress in SL the way I would in RL if I didn't have to worry about cost, etc., etc.

[Gabriele Graves]

My shape has been refined by time and the blood of a thousand noblemen.

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

I was going to say something in my post, but I was in rant mode. I said forced not because anyone forced me. I forced myself. I have this need to be shorter than Mistress. Mistress shrank, I shrank. I've gotten used to my shortness, now, for the most part.I gotta find a picture of the time I mistressed over someone. I was hip-high to my dollie. We were quite a sight. =^-^=

[Briana Dawson]

But, aside from the body and life drawing rules, any thoughts about the faces?

The faces are all great.

[Lexxi]

I gotta find a picture of the time I mistressed over someone. I was hip-high to my dollie. We were quite a sight. =^-^=

When Mistress changed, shrank, and before I shrank . . well . .

[Briana Dawson]

My Human/Hybrid shape is damn close to the way I look in real life, down to the height of about 5'2". The skin is a freebie photorealistic skin that I picked up and tried on. I've stayed with it at the preferewnce of my mate - she likes it far more than the 4k tanned, near hairless skin I bought at one point or another.

Bri would, in fact, probably wave me off if she met me as my HumanAHybrid ... She seems to hate the freebie skin.

All that said, my own trademark in SL is the pure and simple fact that my appearance changes to suit my mood. One minute I might be a Human, the next I might be a Kitsune. An hour later? A Dragon, Wolf, Dire Tiger or one of a dozen or more Anthromorphic avatars I've bought.

In that manner, even if I'm using a "stock" Anthro from Realmscapes, it's still me. Hell, one has to pay attention to how my AV is dressed sometimes to catch a subtle change in my mood.

To me, it's more or less how you customize and use your AV to show how you're feeling than the shape, skin and such.

I actually find hybrids to be hot, and is rather a matter of what they represent, the feral side, and not the skin.

I am pretty feral looking in SL at times, and have both a hybrid werewolf and a quad feral wolf that i switch between these days.

[Lourdes]

Atia is going into business as a shape-maker, on the premise that creating a good shape/skin combination is not that easy. She has two dozen ready now and more in the works, all modifiable. I know selling shapes is not popular here, but I'd be interested to hear opinions on a sampling.

Yah, I be stumpin' for my lady, :o but srsly - critiques welcome! :notworthy:



:whistling:

The faces look fine.

The females with the exception of Megan look rather leggy, but thats seems to be popular. Kendall reminds me of a stripper I saw on tv a while back and she was that leggy.

She shouldn't have a problem selling the female shapes, at least. I think they appeal to the current market of folks buying shapes.

[Bard Jameson]

I think they appeal to the current market of folks buying shapes.

Thanks...I think ;)

ETA: Didn't mean to pirate Brianna's thread into a commercial for us. I was intrigued by what Brianna said about being drawn to an avie by face and shape, unique qualities, and wondered if she or anyone saw some of that quality in a sampling of Atia's stuff. The answer seems to be that it's pretty standard fare.

Good for business. I'll pour Atia a glass of wine before I tell her the other :D

[Atra Lupis]

I actually find hybrids to be hot, and is rather a matter of what they represent, the feral side, and not the skin.

I am pretty feral looking in SL at times, and have both a hybrid werewolf and a quad feral wolf that i switch between these days.

Heh, the skin in question is Michael, though for my neko Hybrid, I use a set of tiger stripe tats.

Usually if I'm feeling feral, I use either a Dire Wolf or Dire Tiger quad and alter the color scheme to suit the deminant emotion.

I have only used the Dire Wolf with a jet black color scheme and red eyes once ... when some jackass decided to pick on my mate's weight in her first life tab pic.

[Briana Dawson]

Michael......


I know that skin well. With some people, who they are comes through regardless. I can see that happening with you.

[Briana Dawson]

I use the TWI Timber Wolf, modified with all the girl bits, and of course some pierced wolf nipples cos that's how i prowl.

[Atra Lupis]

I use the TWI Timber Wolf, modified with all the girl bits, and of course some pierced wolf nipples cos that's how i prowl.

Hmm, I'll have to look that one up sometime.

Most of my furry AVs - quads and Anthros - came from Realmscapes, Luskwood, Mekan (a werewolf), and Lost Furest. I like the attention to detail on Realmscapes AVs (better known as the Werehouse) but their rabbits and mice look fugly to me.

Pretty much all of my Hybrids are just that - Hybrid brand parts. About the only set of parts they make that I don't have is the Panda - I think they discontinued it at one point.

Been trying to save up the 3.5k I need to get a set of black Valkyrie wings - they'd go quite well with my Black Wolf anthro.

Heh, if you know any good, low cost or free skins, please PM me - it's the high cost that keeps me from skin shopping. The last skin I ever bought was a Planeswalker style Drow/Dark Elf skin.

[Briana Dawson]

rrxKQ_k1fTc

[Briana Dawson]

Uhm ignore the weird wolves wearing hats...

It is also a pretty big avatar. Not Dire Wolf size at all, but bigger than all those dog avatars.

[Briana Dawson]

Most importantly, unlike Lost Ferals, it is FULLY MODIFIABLE.

[Fmeh]

My avatar is definitely a one-of-a-kind. I was really careful on my face as well--I wanted a realistic nose, not a "perfect" one, I wanted my eyes to be slightly off (one eye a skosh higher than the other, one eye just ever-so-slightly bigger than the other)--so many people try to create a "perfect" face all around--I wanted one that was realistic.

The only thing that could be better is my skin--I did a lot of serious modding on a free template--it looks a little bit cartoonish, not quite enough shading (but how do you correctly shade an obese avatar?)--but if I changed that part of my skin, I'd have to modify my prim belly as well, which would be quite a challenge, so I'm satisfied with my skin still being a little bit cartooney.

If there's a clone of me somewhere, it could only be out of a copybotter.

[Sansarya]

I made my own shape in SL because there weren't that many shape-sellers when I started SL and I didn't even know you could buy them until after I'd been in my shape a long time.

My shape was copybotted a couple years ago, so I'm less attached to it than I was. I change her incrementally all the time, depending on clothes, skins, hair, mood, if P2 is around (he's about 8 feet tall), etc.

I like the freedom to change constantly, even if it makes her not have much of an identity. I own about 5-7,000 skins, so she changes regardless of her shape.

I buy shapes sometimes to see how others do certain things, but I never really follow up on doing what other shape makers do. I'm still wearing the original shape I started with, tweaked about 50,000 times. She's really not proportional, and when I tried to make her proportional she looked like an Oompa Loompa to my non-artistic eyes :D

[Forest]

Bard, if she's selling them as a set of shapes to skins no problem. If not, tell her to try the shape with several skins. I was constantly amazed while working with Beebo once on my shape how much a skin can change the look of a shape or how a shape changed the look of a skin.

[Briana Dawson]

I was constantly amazed while working with Beebo once on my shape how much a skin can change the look of a shape or how a shape changed the look of a skin.


I avoid and detest skins that alter the look of my shapes face. The skin is supposed to accent and compliment the face, not usurp the shape for its own mask.

[Pussycat Catnap]

I purchased the shape for my Na'vi and my furry. But all my other accounts use a shape I made.

With the two purchased ones, I immediately went into looking at how to modify them and make them look unique.

Even with the Na'vi, with all of those things basically being rail thin blue giants, I stand out and get comments (if anything at all). Though it is my most 'group like' avatar in the collection (and that's with the furry have a sculpty head that I can't reshape at all).

I do see the clones pretty much everywhere... but it works. In a lot of places if you're not a clone you don't get talked to. Kind of like RL to be honest.

Being multi-racial I stand out, and having stood out all of my life, I notice that single-race people tend to come in very repeated types. There are maybe 10-20 different faces per ethnic region among humanity, with each person have minor variations. When you're within a group those variations stand out, and likewise among people from very close ethnic groups, but the further an ethnic group gets from yours, the more you see just the basic faces being repeated.

People tend to cluster with others who are similar, and buying a cloned avatar in SL gives the kinds of people who feel the need to do that a sense of security.

There really aren't as many individuals in the world as we like to pretend. We are not all special unique snowflakes - and its not good to be a unique snowflake for those of us who actually are. You get ostracized a lot and have to 'push' your way in everywhere.

So I'm not surprised this happens in SL at all.

Yes a lot of it is because of the whole over-promotion of things like xstreet and merchants these days... but a lot of it is also just human nature.

[Pussycat Catnap]

I get attached to the shapes of people I become to close to and care about. When they change it weirds me out.

The fact that I have so many alts I suspect gets to some of my friends. Especially as I make them friend all of my regular alts. And they all look very different. And its not unknown for me to log out and back in on a different one in mid conversation. :)

[Sophiaanne Heartsdale]

I made my own shape, which I tweaked over time to get the look I wanted. I gave this shape to a couple of friends which they modified to get the look they wanted. I recently modified the shape again when I bought a new skin tweaking facial features to best suit that new skin, although I kept the old shape as it suits the old skin.

[Bard Jameson]

Bard, if she's selling them as a set of shapes to skins no problem. If not, tell her to try the shape with several skins. I was constantly amazed while working with Beebo once on my shape how much a skin can change the look of a shape or how a shape changed the look of a skin.

It's been our experience that the shape is subservient to the skin. So Atia includes a styling card with each shape that identifies everything seen in the pic - shape, skin, hair, etc. She makes it clear that this shape with any other skin will not appear as in the pic. But by making the shapes modifiable, we feel we are givig the buyer a good start, with something they can copy and mod all they want to tweak and achieve the look they want with the skin they choose

That is our hope, anyway, and integral to our business plan. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Pussycat Catnap]

Something nagging at me from the early part of this thread.

Style Card?

[Lilyana Muircastle]

The Style Card are the lm's to what the avatar is wearing on a box of say a shape or skin from a store. So you can get the same items that the av is wearing, like hair or shoes etc.

Might even be stuff from their own store

[jackalennui]

Personally I hate this stupid bloody "proper proportion" thing. This is bloody SL, not RL. Artists routinely stretch certain things here and there. Creating mutants, sure, if you must call them that. Mutants they be.

Also, it forced me to shrink (since I need to keep up with the Mistress). I don't actually like being two bloody feet tall (ok, maybe I'm 5'1" in SL, but it feels like 2 feet tall; I'm no where close to 5'1" in real life).

And one of the distinctive things about humans, one of the marks of true beauty involves some creature that isn't perfectly set, proportioned, aligned. Perfect features cause a certain . . .negative reaction that festers. "Too perfect to be true" etc.

It's not about creating the perfect toon - it's about creating a toon where the proportions mesh correctly and register as something, not as plain WTF. Faces where the mouth is wide enough that it would reach to the middle of the cheek? Sorry, looks like a plastic surgery accident, not like artistic exageration to me. Guys with trex arms? Sure, maybe the typist behind it intended his shape to be an ironic statement on today's society fixation with the fit and buff - I'll just snicker because hey, how is he gonna wipe his ass with arms so short he can't even reach his fly.

There's a lot of people around this forum with shapes that wouldn't register as classically beautiful - Mourna's nose, Fmeh's big guy - but the overall shape they achieved meshes as something well-proportioned and viable, hence I can appreciate the individuality of their shape without the nagging feeling that something is "wrong". And lest you think I can only find beauty in real-human-like shapes - no, not at all. I admire the anime-ish shapes that have cropped up in 2009, it's a style I can't pull off but on some people it looks admirable - but large eyes alone don't make an anime shape, too large eyes just make me go *squick* because how are they going to fit that in the skull.

[Fmeh]

One of the things that I see a lot in SL (I won't say the stereotype of what kind of places or I'm sure I'll get read the riot act over it) are avatars with ridiculously huge shoulders, huge but short arms, outrageously tiny waists, and a Janet Jackson nose--and when I didn't have my fat avatar (but I still had realistic proportions), people at these places would come up to me and tell me that I *need* to put on this shape that they'd give me that would turn me into the same thing. I think I was given that same ridiculous shape at least 10 times. It's like "Hey, come be a clone with us!" no thanks LOL

[3Ring Binder]

I remember spending hours over weeks tweeking my shape. I worked hard to make it match my RL body (without the wheelchair)
*huggles*

[Amaranthim Talon]

Proportionate or not to RL - my 7 foot plus self is very much in proportion to my home, furniture and people around me. Yes, I do tower over some, doesn't bother me - I like me just fine - same tweaked me I have been al these years. My other me's most look like me - although Hera is rather small and somewhat less curvy. And none of these me look like RL me as why wd I want to be the same when I don't have to? If I cuold slider-tweak my self in RL I would be about a foot taller which would make me 6'3".

[3Ring Binder]

i do NOT want to be taller in RL. but i would gladly spend the $20k to have 3's hard body! and i just might!

[Cocoanut Koala]

See, this is where never having bought a skin finally comes in handy. I get to be unique, cause everywhere I go, I'm the only one with a default skin.

I made my shape in about an hour on orientation island (while Shaggy waited patiently for me to ever get off the island), and I've kept it ever since. Just shrinking the butt for skirts, then pumping it back up again for pants.

I, too, laboriously copied down all the slider numbers, ages ago. They're still in a notebook on the shelf right behind me!

I don't have to worry about copybotting, as no one would want my shape.

I did finally buy hair, way past when I wanted it. And finally, FINALLY got a walk, after clomping around for a couple of years.

It bothers me, too, sometimes, when people make sudden alterations in their appearance. A few years ago Shaggy went from dark hair to blond hair, and I like to never got over it. Now, though, it would seem weird if he went back to dark!

coco

[Wendy Bouchard]

My iconic beauty is well known to most of you and your never-ending adoration is a comfort to me :rolleye:

and yes shape is of my own doing.

[Envoy Costagravas]

and yes shape is of my own doing.
As in, "How you doing?"

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb204/EnvoyC/emotes/danceman_l.gif

[Charlemagne Allen]

My iconic beauty is well known to most of you and your never-ending adoration is a comfort to me :rolleye:

and yes shape is of my own doing.

:hi:

[Brigid]

When I first joined SL I bought a shape that was no mod. It came in three sizes so, depending on the outfit, one of the shapes always fit. I tried to make my own shape, and did fine on the body, but I couldn't get the face the way I liked it. The shape I bought had a face I really liked.

When I had time, I worked on a shape of my own. I kept tweaking until I was able to make a face I liked, then started wearing my own shape full time. I like the one I created because it's not perfect. The eyes are a little too wide, one of them is open more than the other and my mouth quirks up a little on one side. I love little imperfections like that.

One of my pet peeves are when people make an interesting face, but when you look at them from the side their profile looks flat. When I made my shape I actually created it looking at the side view first to make sure it had a decent profile. Then I adjusted the rest of the features.

My skin and hair aren't terribly unique, but I love that my shape is.

[Atra Lupis]

That's another aspect of my AV that is always changing, depending on my mood - the hair.

All of my prim hair sets are Calico Engram sets, some long as hell, others short and cropped.

My usual styles are Jason/Jason II and Nathan/Nathan II - even when using an anthromorphic AV.

Hell, I spent about 250-300 just to get a True Blue color schemed Jason/II & Nathan/II (doubling the quoted amout at the minimum) to match my Blue Wolf from the Werehouse!

[Monna]

My iconic beauty is well known to most of you and your never-ending adoration is a comfort to me :rolleye:

and yes shape is of my own doing.

It is your mouth I love .. What comes threw it makes me swoon.

[Morgaine Alter]

getting hawt in here

[YOUR MOM]

take off all yer clothes

[Morgaine Alter]

What you tapped into my web cam?

[YOUR MOM]

ya dunno do ya?

[YOUR MOM]

After all, I DO have yer IP :hahaha:

[Briana Dawson]

What you tapped into my web cam?

we know what you rub to get the Genie...you lucky lady.

we've watched.

[Morgaine Alter]

:shrug:

:facepalm:

:omfg:

:whistling:

:vibrator:

[Gabriele Graves]

After all, I DO have yer IP :hahaha:Fat lot of good that would do you where I live. Unless I am at work, You would get one of about 150 residents here in the sticks who are all sharing a so called last mile internet solution. All our IP addresses are the same. I wonder whose web cam you would get though :thinking:

[Sophiaanne Heartsdale]

Fat lot of good that would do you where I live. Unless I am at work, You would get one of about 150 residents here in the sticks who are all sharing a so called last mile internet solution. All our IP addresses are the same. I wonder whose web cam you would get though :thinking:

Ditto, as Gabs and I live near each other, I too would be very interested in whose web cam you would get :wave:

[23rdDjin]

Ditto, as Gabs and I live near each other, I too would be very interested in whose web cam you would get :wave:


i'd say you both need to put up real pictures of yourselves so that we'll know when we activate the cam... you know. a little public service for SC to lessen the confusion. we hates confusion.

10 minutes good for you?

[23rdDjin]

laughs ain't gettin' us anywhere...

6 minutes left.

[Gabriele Graves]

i'd say you both need to put up real pictures of yourselves so that we'll know when we activate the cam... you know. a little public service for SC to lessen the confusion. we hates confusion.

10 minutes good for you?You want pictures? Have to hack my cam first :p

[23rdDjin]

You want pictures? Have to hack my cam first :p

last weeks news...

[Imagin Illyar]

I've always bought my skins and hair but I still have the original modifiable shape I started with. I consider myself a constant work in progress and very much enjoy tweaking my shape and my style. I've even kept this record of my changes.

http://www.imagin.sl/lotpics/Imagin-Evolution-sm.jpg

I've always been a redheaded elf and haven't worried over much about the "humaness" of my proportions because elves tend to be tall and slender, at least in my mind. Still, I've seen models in SL that are far stickier.

I get a lot of compliments on my shape and take pride in it being my own. I'm also proud of my ability to edit my clothing and accessories so they fit me precisely. If I can't I won't wear them. I've spent hours just moving around separate hair prims so they suit my face and work with my prim ears. I think that most people in SL would benefit from spending some time getting comfortable with the basic edit tools.

[Persephone Milk]

I created my own shape, and my own skin - which I think gives me a unique look. Over time I improved the skin, adding more detail and subtle shading. For the most part my shape has not changed in five years. Recently I started wearing a Rockberry skin that very closely approximates the skin I made for myself. I was getting a little bit bored with my own work, but didn't want to change very much. I have had the same look for most of my time in Second Life ... well there was a short while when I completely lost my mind ... but we won't talk about that :).