Argh. Free or 1$ Skins + Shapes?

I fell into a skin + shape trap, by buying a "shape" worth 1000 linden dollars [my first ever money]. . . then putting it on and realizing it looked nothing like what the demo showed me because I didn't have the "skin" that was 500$. =( I just started playing today [my account shows 2007, because my computer -attempted- to play it then. New computer!], and now I completely felt like I just wasted that cash entirely. Sigh.

But anyways, are there any freebie shops that have skins + shapes? I feel like I've checked most of the freebie places already. =(

Thanks so much for any help at all. =(

There are plenty of freebie skins and shapes. The thing is, you may be able to make your own shape by just tweaking one of the standard ones using the Appearance sliders. That's all they are, really. L$1000 is an awful lot for a shape. Are you sure a skin didn't come with it?

Skins are a big investment and it's best to try lots and lots of demos before settling on buying one. Meanwhile, the freebie skins aren't too bad. You should be able to find a few decent ones at Sarah Nerd's or other freebie places. Try looking at regular skin stores too. Sometimes they have promotional gifts that are much better quality than the usual freebies.

Came with eyebrows + the shape.. that's it. =( It was a really bad mistake, I thought a "shape" contained, well, everything. Oh well. Newbie has to learn somehow!

I checked Sarah Nerd's, they have a huge skin selection, and they are all amazing. . . but none of them are free. They all cost over 700. =(

Keep your eye on the freebie fashion blogs like http://slfreestyle.blogspot.com/ and you'll find plenty.

Else, look around, I'm sure Sarah has freebie/cheapie skins. You may be looking at one of the shops outside.

Also, search for Eloh Eliot's Another Skin versions (SE, FE & RE I think). They were released as full perms and are quite good. Drop me an IM in-world -- I may still have at least one of the sets bundled and can give it to you.

Else, you definitely wandered into one of the shops, it is a confusing setup. Also, search for Lapointe and Bastchild, they have a really great freebie section with the free Eloh skins (aside from the whole bunch of great clothes for free). Free Dove is also a good starter, that's what outfitted me back when, and they have a whole bunch of starter shapes & skins to play around with.

I sell my shapes at very reasonable prices since as said, their not that difficult to make. I’m now learning how to make skins also(got GIMP+Picaso a week ago). Just contact me in world and I'll give you a shape for free that you can modify to your hearts content. I started making shapes after I wasted 1000's of lindens on miss-proportioned ones that were "no-mod". Sorry you got taken... been there and have had that experience too.

Ouch, sorry that happened to you. The upshot is, if you liked the shape well enough to spend 1000 on it, half your work is done. By all means try out promotional skins and keep an eye out for demos that could end up being the perfect skin for your shape. Beautiful skins can look dreadful on the wrong shape and vice versa as you have discovered.

I picked up a few of these skins recently at the red diamond hunt. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jersey/194/32/23 Each skin is 1L and the red diamonds are very easy to spot. Good luck.

As for shape costs I'm not going to comment since my shape and my 3 main alts have KMadd shapes which costs 1k each; as for skins go to LeLutka they have a good free skin; Lara skins is giving away another good skin; Tuli has another free skin (just add their place to your picks)

Do you know which skin it is that your shape was created with it in mind? I would contact the shape creator too. I hope it is at least a mod shape.

I have picked up some really good skins from "Grid Hunts"; arranged "treasure hunts" where several merchants each hide an item somewhere in their shop, and send people looking all over.
They are typically not "freebies" as such, but often from the main line, just available for the given hunt.

I also remember that Evian and L'Oreal did promotions which included fairly nice skins, and at least the Evian ones are freely copy/trans. I can't remember the permissions for the L'Oreal ones. I'm not inworld currently, but if you want, I can drop you the Evian skins later today.

That said, the skin is one of the really important pieces of how you look, and one you probably can't do yourself. Shapes are manageable, but skins take a *major* level of outworld skill and Photoshop-fu. (And still, getting all the proportions in a shape right is not entirely trivial either, as lots of weirdly-shaped people with tiny arms attest to, so paying for a shape can certainly get you kickstarted. How much that is worth to you is a matter of how much you like fiddling with the sliders yourself.)

But I'd really recommend just using the freebie skin to tide you over while trying out *bunches* of demo skins and finding one which really suits you, and then pay up the comparatively large investment. (Which still isn't all that much in RL money). Knowing that it's "just you", and not whatever you happened to find free really is worth it
-Personally, I like Insolence for their somewhat stylized look, which I find suits SL well, but that's just an opinion.

If you totally liked the "look" of the shape and skin together on the store ad, then why not shell out the extra L$500 and buy the skin? You will have the look you thought you were getting. L$500 is only a couple USD, if you think about it. Your shape and skin really define you in SL, they are the most important things you can have as a base for your "look." If you really liked the one you thought you were getting, spend the extra money to get it, and consider it a lesson learned for the future. If you start out with a good shape and skin, you shouldn't need to buy anymore, and can spend your money on fun things like clothing!

The L'Oreal skins are no copy/no mod. There are three of them, Perfectly Pastel, Plum Perfect, and Vintage Glamour. Shapes are included with each one. The shapes are also no copy/no mod.

I don't use them, so if you are interested in them, I can transfer them to you. Just let me know if you want them.

IM me in-world....I'll hook ya up with some free goodies.

I make both, and I don't have a lot of time these days to really properly market my stuff.....but I'm more then happy to give things away to help folks out~!!

Lunacy has some beautiful skins on "clearance" right now for only L$50. Not free but an excellent deal.

Found a free skin for one of my alts and paid the 100 for the shape. Love the face but the chest department and the hands are huge Of course the shape is no mod. So will have to play with sliders on a different shape.

How come they make shapes no mod? And no I am not trying to start anything. Just wondered?

Bec

I am part of a group that is called Fabulously Free In SL. I get tons of notices about freebie/dollarbie this, freebie/dollarbie that. Some are for skins and shapes, furniture poseballs you name it! Join that group and you will get tons of free items or for very cheap.

*Warning*, you WILL get alot of notices.

Also, join groups of skin stores. Some send out group freebies now and then. My female alt is a member of free Speerit if I recall correctly (ladies?) and has gotten a few skins from there.

If your expensive shape is modify, maybe it can be "salvaged" by tweaking.

Because of the ways shapes work, a mod shape is essentially full-perm.

Yah I figured something like that. Been tweaking and cant make the face like the one she has so hmmm guess she will be big chested lol.

Thanks for the answer.

Bec

I was about to respond to the OP that you had donated freebie shapes and skins for my freebie shelves on my sim, but here you are, so carry on!

Xtreme Reality has some highquality skins for free - French for the female, and NYC for men, each with 4 shades of tan to them.

As far as shapes..the only shapes Ive ever bought were part of avs. I find making your own shape makes you more..unique.

Fire and Ice (Look up Meaghan Astonia, it sin her picks) has some good skins cheap now.

Because a good shape is disgustingly easy to make... if they showed you the dials, you'd sigh at having spent anything on it.

There are plenty of good free shakes and skins out there - you just have to look for them. There are also plenty of sold skins that are worth paying for, and plenty that are ripoffs. I'm not sure there are -any- shapes worth paying for though.

Paying a 1000L for a shape as one of your first experiences in SL is pretty rough.

But consider it a lesson learned. Hit some freebie spots for a little while, and then ease into buying things.

Look here:
http://olilas-secondlife.com/2008/03/second-life-starting-guide-tips-new-residents-newbies/newbie-tutorial-4-freebie-hunting/

And here:
http://www.mermaiddiaries.com/2006/11/natalias-newbie-getting-started-guide.html

When you start paying, consider these low-cost shops:

::: BareRose ::: HQ, Bare Rose (145, 11, 30)
Deviant Kitties Designs, Deviant Kitties (111, 109, 40)

- Shopping in those two places has warped my perception of what makes for a reasonable price...

This place had a geat free skin:
Your Skin & Your Shape (look it up in search)
and
This is a Note Card I send to new ppl in world:

Thank you for your interest in my work!

My name is Sezmra Svarog and I spent several years owning and operating Nora BodySkins & Fashions. I have since retired as a businesswoman, but still offer skins and skin resources - for free!

You can find out more about my skin resources at http://www.sezmra.com

This package contains a new line of skins called SPLENDOR. This skin, which is available in three colors, is my best work to date (200 and includes:

- tintable skin using the SL skin color slider
- tintable pubic hair layers
- shape
- 11 makeup options in total

- Sezmra Svarog

There are also five or six lucky boards and a lucky chair at Rockberry Skins. There are usually a variety of skin tones available so if you have a little patience, you should be able to get one there.