Is Shape purchase a necessity?

Hi everyone, I finally decided to purchase the Naughty by Designs Gabriel skin for my avatar. And I noticed that the shape(s) (you can't just buy 1) is sold separately for 1500L$.

Whereas the skin looks much, much better than what Linden provides, do you feel I'm doing my avatar injustice by not getting him the "Gabriel" shape as well? Do you need both to make the ensemble complete?

Also ... I noticed the free male organ provided can't be worn beneath my clothes. So instead, I try to remind my avatar that although he can't wear it with clothes, his masculinity is in his inventory. Is there a way to attach to pelvis, but have it under the clothes?

Last question. Does anyone know where I can get a short, short prim haircut (military style) for my avatar? I don't care for the long hair, which is all I can find. And Lindens mechanisms are horrible at making short hair. The choice is too long hair or bald spots. So currently my avatar is bald.

Thank you,

1Time Daehlie

You can make an avatar shape yourself in appearance mode. Obvious advantages: it costs 0L$ and will be uniquely your own. You might have to tweak it a bit to get the most out of the skin features. I know that with female skins, one often has to adjust lips or eyes to get the makeup to look best, I imagine it could be the same with male skins if one wants the abs or pecs to look just perfect. So while buying the shape together with the skin will surely give you the optimal intended look, you'll still have to modify at least the face so as not to run into your twins all over SL



Usually, those attachments come with chat commands to hide & show (or a HUD or such). Was there an instruction notecard provided with it? It's not quite possible to hide the attachment under clothes, unless you make some *really* baggy pants.



If I remember correctly, the shop where you got that skin has some very short hairstyles too.

I sell female shapes for $500
and my brother sells male for $600

Shapes are not necessary but can be a long process to make on you like. I am constantly tweaking my look just a bit, however I caution you to save your shape before saving any modifications, it may be nice to return to your old shape.

The one advantage of purchasing a shape that has been paired with a skin for sale is that the shape is almost certainly fine-tuned to make the skin look its best, and the skin is painted in such a way as to take full advantage of the shape. So, for example, the face might have full, pouty lips, and the skin texture matches that perfectly. The same skin on a default shape might look like she put on too much lipstick. Similar issues may arise around breasts and buttocks.

For the most part, yes, you can just buy the skin and make your own shape. You'll still look far better than the default skin. Your success with shape making will depend a lot on your patience and skill with the sliders.

As for the 'male package', there is no fully automatic solution there. Much as with women's prim shoes in SL, you have to adjust the avatar to really do it right.

On women's prim shoes, most of them don't look right unless you shrink your feet to size 0. But if you're barefoot or wearing other styles, your feet look strangely small, unless you up them to size 20 or so.

With the male package, there is, in fact, a slider setting in the legs for "Package", ranked from "Coin Purse" to "Duffle Bag". I was most amused when I first noticed that, and saw the labels. It pushes the mesh out in the groin area, so that when clothing is worn, it looks like the man is normally equipped. But when nude, you will almost certainly find that you need to reduce that setting to zero, or else it looks strangely 'puffy' there.

One solution is to make two shapes - a clothed shape and a nude shape. Or a prim shoes shape and a barefoot shape. Or a 'bikini shape' and a 'skirt and no bustle' shape (smaller than normal butt). Change just the shape when you change outfits.

Finally, be aware that while many scripted male parts do have a "Hide" option, they are still visible if someone has "Highlight Transparent" turned on. Some sims don't want you to wear such parts even if you are clothed and the parts are hidden.