Skin question

I spent a long time working on my avatar. I and my partner have grown quite attached to the faces. But the skin quality is not (definition, shape) leaves much to be desired. I have tried a few free skins and found that the skin could be kept and the face that I like could be kept.

Our questions are these:

1. Can facial features be altered on all skins?

2. Is there a manditory height/shape inherent in all skins or can they be altered as well?


THX-n-ADV


Aph

As far as I'm aware, not all skins can be altered. I think when you "buy" a skin, you get what you buy, or at least the ones I looked at were like that. However, your facial shape and features are part of your shape, I think. Your shape is your avatar, the skin is just what you "wear" over that shape to give shading and definition....um, nipples, things like that. Height, weight, eye shape, nose shape, etc is all your shape as far as I'm aware. If you buy a skin, what you see on the picture is not exactly how your avatar will look unless you also have the same shape as the avie modelling the skin. You can buy a shape or make your own, and then the skin will just be worn over that shape. I have a couple different shapes i use because I make clothes. My favorite and main shape is kind of curvy, with wider hips than some avies. Unfortunately, if I make clothes with that shape, some people might have to edit the skirts a little to get them to fit right if they have a less curvy bottom half than my shape. (that part was a little off topic, but hope the rest helps)

Hey Aphanteus,

As a shape designer, maybe I can help with your confusion.

When you go into Edit Apperance, the shape values you enter set your body height and the configuration of your face (nose, mouth, chin, head shape, etc.). Selecting a skin does not change the underlying numeric values you used on your shape. It is applied *over* that shape.

That being said, however, a shape can look very different depending on what skin you choose because skin isn't just a flat color. Highlights and shadows are drawn on the skin by the designer, and the way in which a skin combines with your underlying shape is unique. Sometimes the two are compatible, but other times the particular shape you've constructed may work against the skin design and look terrible.

So, it's really important to try on skin demos from a range of designers to find one that best suits your particular avatar.

After creating dozens of shapes, I have a pretty good idea of which skin is going to flatter a particular shape, and I can go right to it. But most people are going to have to experiment. Once you've chosen a skin you really like, you may need to tweak your shape a little to perfect the match.

Good luck!

Most stores selling skins will allow you to get a demo copy, typically a skin identical to the one for sale, but with the word "demo" stamped at a number of places on the skin. When looking for skins, always look for demos. They're typically either free or 1L$. Given the cost of the actual skin, you should always try a demo first.

Most skins I've seen are no-mod. Some that are modifiable are really only designed for you to change the pigment level, i.e. the darkness of the tan or skin. Sometimes the skin will be designed so that other tweaks, like eyebrows, will work ok if you're careful. It's certainly possible to tweak other settings on a modifiable skin, but they usually won't make much improvement. For this reason, many male skins are sold with a variety of options for facial hair; it's simply too difficult to allow people to tweak their own and have it look good.

Often the demo version of a skin won't be modifiable while the regular version will be. Or there are other factors that influence how much you can change things. You'll have to read the seller's instructions carefully to be sure of what you can or cannot do.

(Pet peeve: sellers who put instruction cards into the box, as opposed to giving them away. If something needs instructions, whether a skin, gadget, or anything else, the instructions should be free, just like the huge number of user manuals available for free on the web.)

Just wanted to stress the importance of trying on demos, and viewing them in different lighting (use "Force Sun" and check from different angles).

I find this especially useful for checking skin tones... the real skin's color doesn't always exactly match the vendor's picture.

Thats great! Thank you all who've offered the advise! I guess the misconception by me was do to the exaggerated close-up of the face that accompanies most skins. So thats to show facial hair? Gotcha! Now that makes sense and expalins why I haven't seen two avatars that look identical yet.

Thanks to everyone, again

Aph

Well, facial hair on guys, makeup on women, and skin texture, shading, and highlighting for everyone....just all the things that make one skin differ from another.

okay I dont understand this statement? are you saying they are selling the instructions in a seperate box or something?

Cause I see no other way to charge for "assembly instructions" most instructions usually come with the product (manual etc as in real world)

I have yet to see a vendor charge me extra for instructions actually when i buy whatever it is I am buying I end up getting showered with 20 instruction cards/ads and landmarks etc never have paid for the instructions though?

I get what he's saying; Sometimes, instructions for, say, tweaking or editing a skin are included in the package with the skin itself. Therefore, if you would like to view the instructions before buying and see how you would edit or use that particular skin, you can't because it's packaged up and can only be obtained (and viewed) after buying the skin. I agree, they should have something to click near the skin that's for sale with instructions viewable before sale.

And I agree, skin can *DEFINITELY* change the way you look. I look completely different with the same shape, depending on what skin I'm wearing. And yes, force different lighting too, while trying on a demo, because I've seen some skins that look ok in one light setting, but horrible and fake in another.

No one looks good in noon lighting. No one.

My supermodel alt looks good in noon lighting!

... but only because she wears a set of six invisible lights attached to her body to counteract the otherwise ridiculously sharp shadows. And if the viewer doesn't have local lights turned on in their preferences, she looks like a neanderthal just like the rest of us.

Now if LL told us they were devoting their programmers to eliminating evil ugly noon-time face, that would be a new feature to get excited about!

I Noticed the skin tone changes even just using the two different viewers (Windlight vs Normal).