Demo Skins: A modest proposal...

Like some people I have a LOT of skins and I get a couple more every month. I usually get a demo skin before I buy, take it home, put it on and see how I look.

I also take pictures, usually with different sets of hair and sometimes different avatars...

10 minutes and 10 demo skins later, I'm not sure what is what and the pictures show nice (and some not so nice) mug shots of me in a variety of skins emblazened with the word "Demo".

How to tell one from the other?

When you take the pic, you CAN set up your inventory on one side of the screen, the snapshot UI with the include UI checkbox checked ont eh other side, get in the middle, make sure the skin name shows and snap away....

My question: Why can't skin makers write the %^&$#@# name of the skin along with "DEMO" on the skin where it will show up in a face shot? Seems easy enough to me...am I missing something?

~Jenni~

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You can name the screenshots in any way you want, which means they'll always accurately match your personal idea of 'how to name my screenshot so i can tell the easiest what skin it features' ... unlike what skin creator *thnks* may be good way to mark their skin ^^;;

hi jenni!
that's a good suggestion. however, there are some issues that might prevent it being really effective-
there is only so much room on the image map for the face in which to stick text. the more text you add, the smaller it has to be, and the harder it is to read. by the time you take a snapshot of it in game, the chances are really good that the text will be illegible.
also more text could possibly obscure or otherwise compete with the detail in the face.

that's the only reasons i can come up with that it hasnt been done, other than noone's thought of it yet. again, a good suggestion and worth testing out.

Hi Joannah! I did not think you could name pictures after the first one...but you are talking about screenshots not snapshots, so maybe that's the difference?

Nephilaine, that's a reasonable point....but I'd be willing to take pic of me nekkid (LOL) if the name of the skin was just somewhere on the front of the skin!!!

I'd still love to hear from a designer about the pros and cons...

~Jenni~

Nephilaine is a designer, Jennifer. ^^; Skins and clothes.

I think the main assumption is that people try the demo on in store and decide there, in which case they would remember what they were in the process of buying. I don't think anyone has considered that someone might, as you say, take snaps etc first...
Though i can't say it's not done. Oddly I used that method with Celebrity last night to evaluate the cleavage shading on a demon and how it would stand up to her high-res-pectations, though that's the first time I've bothered.

Ohhh that would be really really nice if they put the name on the demo, i try on alot of skins and hair before i make a decision.. and sometimes i get confused on which one i liked :/

My favorite demo skin is by HoseQueen....it says "I'm with stupid" on the forehead!

I've been known to wear the demo just because it makes me laugh.

I'm going to make an alt called "Demo" and then pretend I have custom tattooed skins. Problem solved!

A fast and easy way for you to solve this issue would be to enanble UI visable in your screenshoots, and then use a titler above your head and set the name to the name of the skin. Then every screenshot you take has the name of the skin clearly visable.

In addition to being something you can do now without waiting on someone else, this option is easy and more importantly free. As a skin maker, I honestly can say that making skins is bloody expensive because of the sheer volume of textures you are uploading do sell a complete line of skins...doubled by uploading demos of them all as well. For a skin maker to redo and reupload all their demos for something like this that is simple to do in a free and non-invasive way would be quite costly...not to mention hugely time consuming as well. And then there is the joys of updating all your demo vendors in all your stores throughout SL with the new ones. =/

Thanks for the suggestion, I don't see a problem with it and I'll certainly consider it for our new range of skins when they're ready.

As Zoe said, the thought of changing all our existing skins doesn't thrill me however !

Oops, thanks for pointing that out...

I can certaily appreciate the time and cost involved, and had no expectations for already existing skins! But if for new skins, if a designer wanted to give it a try, I think that would be terrific!

The titler idea is interesting, and I like free and independent...where can I get one?

Thanks to everyone for their ideas and comments!

~Jenni~

Ohh... i think it could be because am used to playing in the window mode... so it's easy for me to have explorer window open and rename each new snapshot as i make one and it's put there... or i simply do ctrl+printscreen and paste that as new layer into composite picture in drawing program, and name it there accordingly ^^;

This isn't to say that's a bad idea, just like Neph said up there, probably a bit difficult to do 'right' ^^;;

Ooh, good idea. I'll put the logo on my demos for SKIN 2.0. Never thought of it before.

Yikes, new skins yes. Old ones maybe, but more important things to do right now. Good idea though. On the forehead too?? Will be tought to fit all of that text though, Hmmm.

This is great!

Thanks to everyone for their response and receptiveness to a new idea!

I think this could really make demo skins easier for everyone, especially for those of us who like to look at several before deciding...

I think adding to new skins makes a whole lot of sense-please send me a demo when you do, OK?


~Jenni~