BBW Shapes and Avatars?

Hi! I've been making shapes since I first started playing SL, and I really love doing it! I'm also opening a new shop and was wondering if I could get some feedback. I love making shapes for BBWs (big beautiful women) and Big guys as well, but I'm not sure if they'd sell well since I so rarely see residents that look like that. I'm also working on some skins specifically shaded for BBW or or pregnancy shapes.

What do you guys think? Should I stick with more traditional fare, go with specialty shapes (like bbw), or split the difference and sell both?

Thanks in advance,

Midori / Griffin

well you don't have to make 50 BBW, just try one and see the reaction.

Great idea! In my experience niche markets are the way to go. SL is a big place, and people can shop everywhere with just the click of a button. So they need a reason to shop with you. Offering something people can't get elsewhere can bring in a lot of business. Even if you cater to a small percentage of SL residents, that is a large number of people buying your stuff. I myself sell dresses for women (one of a gazillion shops) and dresses designed for crossdressers: male avies in dresses (the only shop around). The dresses for crossdressers sell way better than the ones for female avies, even though they are the same quality, even though there aren't many crossdressers who don't just go for a female avie. But those few find their way to me.

Your BBW shapes could very well corner a niche market and sell really well. Hell, I would be interested myself. There is only one catch that I can see: what will they wear? A non-avarage avie cannot wear an average prim skirt. Where will they shop? How can they complete their look? I think a lot of people will think "I like the shape, but I won't have anything to wear, so I won't buy it". Nobody wants to look like a fat noob instead of a big beautiful stylish woman. If you could find a way to sell some basic, affordable but cute well-fitting outfits in your store, your chances of making this a success will dramatically increase. Maybe you can make some yourself, or find a clothing designer willing to do a plus line in exchange for some vendor space in your store? I would offer to help myself, but at the moment I can't even find the time to update my own stores...

I think you can find a niche. Other than Colette, I haven't seen a great deal of "Real" shapes. I saw a girl yesterday in a BBW shape, and I thought it was nice.

What might be classed as a "BBW" shape in Second Life is actually probably more like a normal real life female shape; it's only the proliferation of super-skinny "Barbie Doll" avatars in Second Life that make normal shaped women appear 'fat'.

I say go for it ... it's funny how, amongst all the diversity in Second Life, there aren't more full figured avatars.

Yes, more BBW please! I'm one in RL and had a hard time to make a shape for my avi that looks right....I've settled on one that isn't too big now tho.
I'd be especially interested in skins fitting those shapes-as long as they come in pale freckled varieties preferrably with dark eyeshadow! (Okay, I admit that would be a TINY niche market...)

I actually made myself a realistic feminine shape once that looked remarkably like me irl. Well, except maybe freakishly tall, I hadn't figured out the skewed avie heights back then. I lost it when weeding out a few idle alts, I just forgot to transfer it. I kinda miss that shape.

Id be interested in seeing the skins as well.

For right now I use a RAC skin after an exhaustive search to find one that would look right on me since my AV lacks a Flat tummy.

In answer to the question though - maybe do "All shapes and sizes" instead

Shapes especially are largely something newer players buy - and newer players are a little less likely not to want to look "hawt"

For example, Its very hard to convince many new ladies they dont need length 90 legs, size 90 boobs and a 10 width waist.

As for guys try convincing some of them they dont need to have giant muscles and a dancer's waist

But if you have all shapes and sizes they might remember you when they decide to try a more relaistic shape.

What sl needs in way of shapes for females is shapes that show some boo-tay!! Not overly exaggerated amazonian behinds but nice plump, round, juicy pillow shaped behinds.

As it stands now, large majority of females in sl have no ass. I guess they feel it doesn't look good but most guys want a female with some butt and nice thighs complimenting it. They also need to add some height for females, most have very short legs which aren't equaled to the rest of their bodies.

Another thing you see a lot of is females with large tits (yes, tits, I don't use that ridiculous word "boobs' cause they're tits not boobs.) and no behind. They need to make these shapes better so they compliment every section of their body and not have one section a lot different in size then the other section.

Men with huge shoulders and V shaped shapes that look more like walking hangers. You see alot of this too. Some because they don't know how to adjust their shapes and others because that's the way the shape is when they brought it.

The bootay-shortage in SL can party be explained by the existence of prim skirts. It is far easier to make a skirt for a flat-assed woman than it is to make one for a bootilicious woman.

So most designers make skirts for flat bums, most female avies have flat bums because that is the only way to fit into most prim skirts, so most designers make skirts that fit the majority of the population, who happen to have flat bums etc...

LOL I circumvent that entire problem by almost never wearing a skirt.

Eh ... the female AVs in SL are way, way taller than normal women are, in most cases. It's more the norm to be around 6 feet tall, which is extremely rare, as we know, in the material world.

I dunno. I expect that there would be a niche market for "realistic" shapes, but you have to remember that many people want to be something in SL that is different from what they are in the material world -- so if they have a few extra pounds in the material world, they may want to have a thin avatar who never has to watch what she eats, for example.

My avi has a bit of a booty and I rarely have issues with prim skirts. I do sometimes have to edit the prims to fit, but not to a horrific extent. System skirts, on the other hand... *shudder*

Hey Ricardo, see Post#22 in this thread :
/327/82/206291/1.html

It could be the answer to your dreams, be sure to vote

I know all about the dresses, skirts and gowns and how women have to adjust their behinds when wearing any of these. Many females have 2 shapes, their regular nice butt shape and a smaller one for when wearing one of the above. Well, that's if they're one of the women in sl who actually have an ass as most don't and don't need to worry about adjusting their clothes to begin with.

To say you have a flat butt simply because of the clothes isn't going to work too well. As thats just an excuse. You can still have a nice behind and still wear clothes, you just need to know when and how to adjust.

Take two females, both equally beautiful. One has flat ass, no thighs, slim legs. The other has a really nice behind, nice and shapely with nice thighs. For the most part, which you think most guys will go for from the start? Answer is very simple.

As far as height, I know about the difference in it as 100 in body length is about past 7 ft. The difference is we're going by sl and although it's nowhere the same height as rl you have to adjust to sl cause this is where you at.

There is actually a sim dedicated to BBW but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. There were skins, shapes and clothing shops for the chubby chicks of SL. Maybe try a search for "BBW".

My avi is 5 foot 5 and has a booty....I just have to live with the prim fiddling, you get used to it....
I find the muscular guys with the too short arms highly ridiculous...

dont forget they have dancer waists, stilt legs and pin heads.

The pin heads seem to be a carryover from RL.........

I started my own shape busines because I wanted to see a greater diversity of body aesthetics in SL, so I say "go for it!"

Truth is, most SL businesses don't make a whole lot of money, so if profit is your only goal, you're not likely to find much satisfaction in any SL endeavor. My advice is to follow your heart, make what appeals to you, and not worry whether anyone else shares your vision.

I make just enough from my niche market sales to pay land tier for my store, but not enough to compensate for my time and effort, even at minimum wage. It is entirely a labor of love.

I have to remind myself every time I purchase an outfit that what looks like a mini skirt on models is actually knee length on me... and instead of adjusting out for big butt, I have to adjust everything in because it swallows me at 5'6 and a small butt. There's one designer I just can't buy from because their skirts never adjust down right. I wear a lot of pants.

Chilling out on orientation island really put my height into funky perspective- all the newbies towered over me in their Goliath shapes. Made me feel like a kid although I'm actually much taller than my kid shape is.

I wouldn't design exclusively for BBW until you've established the market a bit. Have some basic "normal" stuff available as well in case folks come by and decide they don't want a larger avatar- but do still like your work. It's a good idea though and certainly a niche market to pursue =)

(edit) And yes, don't expect people to come pouring in. Some people make enough to cover tier. Some people don't even make more than their stipend in a weeks worth of sales. (I fall into the latter category. Ugh.)

This is true

I started the mod shapes biz lol and I dont really make that much money, of course theres plenty of shapes sellers that make far more than I do.

truth is Big muscular men's shapes, and Tall barbie shapes DO sell. So people do want them. So if your trying to make enough to pay your SL tier, etc you probably should offer a selection along those lines.

A couple prims to handle the average shopper's tastes doesnt stop you from having MUCH of your store devoted to things that more apeal to what you want to sell, of course


----

That reminds me I never did do my "Body that looks like it was done by Matel" shape.

I'm way too tall. I grew myself to match better with my honey (who shrank himself a bit as well) while we were dancing and, erm, stuff. However, he had severe SL burnout a few months ago and we mostly meet up in WoW or talk via email now, so I keep thinking about shrinking myself back down to something more managable. Unfortunately, I didn't save a copy of my old shape and now, every time I fiddle with it, I get impatient because I just can't get the proportions to look as good as uber tall Ann's. Not to mention the fact that all of my prim attachments have been edited for the taller shape, so I'd have to tweak most of them as well...

I may just be stuck as Neko Goliath.

I think BBW Shapes and specialty skins is an Excellent Idea. I Know many people come into SL to have their fantasy perfect body (Guilty here too, i gave myself a digital boob Job) but Just as many people Love themselves as they are and would be proud to present an SL Version of their RL Beauty.

Go for it.

Angel.

Once you've been a certain size or shape or anything really for a while, it's difficult to change gears. I've tried to make Capella taller, I've tried to change base skins, it just doesn't look right.... which is what's important. No other skin set makes my face look quite right (to be fair, the shading is somewhat unusual) and being taller just makes my legs look odd.

I admit though- one of my alts has stilts for legs, those big almost cartoonish pouty lips, a longer than natural neck, and is disturbingly thin and buxom for that height.

I like to dress her up in the indecently short skirts that Capella can't wear. Most of the time she looks like a cross between a ballerina in a tutu, a hooker, and a giraffe.... but it's surprisingly fun to have the option to shift into that kind of silliness. *That* alt would never need to ask her husband to reach for the dishes on the top shelf or buy a step stool for her kitchen. I like being very short sometimes- but it'd be great if I could be taller other times. ^_^