Testing and packaging clothing?

Hello,

I've been having heaps of fun designing my first clothes (and arguing with Photoshop <grin>.

Before I throw my new things out for public consumption, I'd like to make sure I've checked everything that needs to be checked, and I have a lot of questions... Apologies if I've missed answers to these in other threads.

- I think my new suit looks good on my av, but I'm a bit tall and flat-chested. Any advice on what body types I should test on? I've made a few shapes set to minimum and maximum settings, but they're pretty silly.

- Are there specific different poses/animations I should check on? I've noticed wonkiness walking in a skirt that's too tight, and there's an arm movement that buggers up my right shoulder strap,

- I have a set of items that all go together, but you wouldn't wear them all at the same time (a shirt, trousers, two different skirts, and two different jackets). Now if I put all the items together in a folder, and drag them onto myself, I end up wearing the shirt, trousers, and the top skirt and jacket alphabetically. Which just looks really silly.

- making things modifiable, does this mean I should avoid detailing around the collars and cuffs, because if people make the sleeves shorter they'll lose the detail?

Oh, and while I'm asking questions, when you put on or take off an item of clothing, is there a better way to force a refresh than opening the Appearance window? Trousers take ages to refresh on their own.

I'll be very grateful for advice on avoiding the obvious blunders. I'd like to escape the laughing. Well, I can handle the laughing, but not the laughing AND the pointing!

Thanks a million,
Fairge

Welcome to the addictive world of making SL clothing, Fairge!

Most people, I think, use a model for their clothes that either is, or is based upon, their own avatar shape. I think that most people who have avatars which are, um, enhanced in certain areas know what clothing is going to look like on their avatars when they buy it, since they have experience with the way clothing fits them. Make an avatar that you think looks nice modeling your clothing. The same goes for the animations; some animations make your av's clothing look weird for a bit, that's just the way it is and people deal with it. If you're using a prim skirt or other attachments to simulate clothing, it's a good idea to warn the buyer of that on the product information. If people buy the clothes and really don't like the way they look, you can always offer a refund.

I think selling things out of a box is the most efficient way to do it. The buyer can rearrange the clothing items however she wants, after he/she has bought them. Regarding modify items and attention to areas of a garment that can be modified... I say, make the clothing item to look nice the way you want it, and then let the buyer decide if he/she wants to change it. You can't anticipate every single change a buyer will want to make in a garment, so honestly I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any better way to force fuzzy clothing to rez than to go into Appearance mode; sorry.

Thanks Beryl, for the encouraging answer - so you can't please everyone all the time! <grin>

Hi, Fairge

You can try changing groups too. I find that helps sometimes but especially when other ppl's avs don't rez around me.

As a consumer, I second what Beryl said...let us know if there's prims or not. Usually, it's pretty obvious, but sometimes not. Another tip I have is to save the artist creativeness for any artwork you want to create, not the photos of your clothing. I see so many designers post pictures that don't really show the clothing well because of a funky pose or weird lighting, etc.

Good luck with your designing