Briana Dawson

Ever since someone posted about 5 or 6 fashion blogs i have been visiting them and checking them out visiting the places they recommend.

One place in particular was mentioned on more than one occasion as the "Best Skin in SL" a title I am hesitant to bestow upon anyone single designer - as there are so many, but sometimes one does take the title.

This is not the case though.

What i have noticed is this.

Some of these really good skins require that you tweak your shape to better fit the skin shadows and lighting.

How many are you doing this?

It is WRONG. Skins are supposed to enhance your shapes apparent and innate physical beauty. They should, once applied to your shape, bring out a level of beauty that even makes Ruth look attractive.

Why are you people changing your shapes to fit fit the skin? You are making it so that you compliment the skin and the skin does not compliment you. Which is why so many people have that bombshell similar facial bone structure that has come to define what is beauty for many in SL. It is because many people are conforming their shapes to the skin.

When I first came back and i went to a well known skinner, the first thing the person with me said was: "ohhh it looks like you will have to change your shape some for that kind of photorealistic skin, i had to fix my own shape to fit skins over the past couple years". And again when I was at another popular skinner this morning someone mentioned that a shape change would be best to fit into a skin they were trying on and then suggested that i change my mouth area to better suit the skin i was trying on.

I think i'm turning into an SL conservative. What the heck does that mean?

prinţesă nină

so whats your rule?

Cristiano

That you will eventually have an angry blog and perhaps a podcast.

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"At least he died doing what he loved most - blogging on the Huffington Post" - 30 Rock

* slu stuff *

Briana Dawson

Oh yeah, the rule.


- Don't change your shape for skins -

Briana Dawson

Yes i will rail against the fashion blogs and label them cliquish and tendentious (just had to use a Prokofyism to try out the angry part).

Jessyanne

I don't change my shape for skins. Ever.

I don't get the whole blogs on fashion. I don't get the whole...... snobbiness either.

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Michael Bigwig

Hmm...

Personally, I've never found a skin that doesn't fit a standard humanoid shape...

But then again, I don't go around buying crazy amounts of skins. I am a texture artist though, and I can understand how in extreme cases, the UV map of the skin wouldn't fit the mesh of the AV...extreme cases.

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~Michael Bigwig
___________________Lead Designer, Glowbox Designs

Chav Paderborn

I tend to think of the shape as the "person" and the skin as sort of expensive clothing that makes the shape look nicer. Most people do after all make their own shape (actually, do they? There's a lot of shapes shops around.) and buy their skin.

Briana Dawson

Well, after calling them "cliquish" in another thread - I decided to read them and give them a go for a couple or few weeks. We will see how that goes.

So far, I have not changed my mind.

My fashion style is often times punkish, as I look..different and do not always wear dresses well with my facial accessories which i never ever remove.

Lately i have been going to Mischief and they seem to have a lot of things that are simple and in the age range that i would like to project for myself. Nothing too fancy and nothing too over photoshop'd.

Cailyn Miller

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My blog - for new releases, previews and stuff - A small slice of Cailyn!


~ Gisborne ~ XStreetSL ~

Brig McD

I usually try on demo skins before I buy because there are some that look truly horrendous on my shape. Not so much the body, but the way the makeup sits on my face. I've been burned the few times I purchased skin without trying on the demo. It's an expensive mistake to make.

As for fashion blogs...I don't read them. I don't really care what other people consider fashionable. I just wear what I like.

Cindy Claveau

I understand what you're saying Briana, and mostly agree with it. I would much prefer to find a skin that compliments my current shape than change my shape to make the skin look better.

However - having said that, there have been probably 2 times in my almost-3 years in SL when I wanted to drastically revise my shape. I wanted a complete makeover with skin, hair, and the whole bit. In those two cases, I found a skin that was close to what I was visualizing and then tweaked my face slightly so the lips didn't look so big or the cheekbones weren't so prominent, etc.

One of my ongoing issues with most skins vs my shape is the philtrum (that little valley from the nasal septum down to the middle of the lips). I don't like a really prominent philtrum, and if a new skin meets every other criteria I want but I need to adjust the philtrum or the septum, I go for the tweak. My face ends up looking pretty much the way it used to, but now I have new makeup.

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Sometimes, "I hit it with my axe" is the best solution.

Briana Dawson

Well i have always thought your Ala were extremely attractive.

Squeedoo S

Heeeh, I will probably tweak my face a little for some skins, but usually, they look good on the first try (I just can't afford them though ;_. I think my lips give some skins fullness or something. makes em look extra "cute". I dunno. I'll stick with Sin Skins (oh and Raven Ivanova's skins aren't too bad, either).

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"Happiness never killed anyone, but you can die from being too uptight..." -- a song by Wai Lana (Ohgodiwanttohavethiswoman'sbabies... D: )

Mourna Biziou

You have to tweak your skin a little for each different designer. That's just a fact. I don't think you should drastically change your shape unless you personally want to, and not for a skin. But if you switch from one skinner to another, the chances are good that you will have to do a little tweaking to get the desired effect. It's not that big a deal in my mind, and I'm rabidly in favor of individuality.

As an example, Munch just came out with her Windlight skins, and she drastically changed the mouths. They're beautiful, but different. So I had to change a couple of sliders just SLIGHTLY to get the same effect. My avi looks more like it did after the tweak, because the skin changed slightly. So in essence, I altered my sliders so I *wouldn't* change my appearance.

What you should be railing against is people who buy no-mod shapes. Why would anyone in their right mind support shape designers who make their shapes no-mod?

Personally, I have an issue with buying shapes in general. I hate it... the tools to make your own shape are RIGHT THERE at your disposal, it's not like you have to learn Photoshop or something. I have helped some new players design their character before, and more than once, when telling them that they should make their own shape, I've heard them say that they didn't even know they could do that. That they thought shape-makers used a special program outside of SL or something. grrrrrr!

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Ned Easterwood

I've only got the one skin. (Well, I got some freebies I don't use.) It came with a shape that I don't use.
As far as fashion goes - I found the skin through a fashion blog. That's as far as I go on the fashion scene. My dressy clothes - the nicest ones - are from Blaze and Nyte 'n' Day. Otherwise I have a combination of nice freebies plus other things that have appealed to me.

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Ned

Ned Easterwood

Oh - and the shape - I started with Nightclub Female and tweaked it with the sliders.

Beebo Brink

In general, if a skin looks unattractive on my shape (as quite a few "good" skins do), I simply don't buy that skin.

However, as Mourna described so well, almost all skins may require a slight tweak here or there, just a nudge of the sliders up or down a number. I've found that for whatever reason the lips are something I always need to tweak. I like thin lips with a lower lip that is ever so slightly plumper than the top one, and it usually takes a slight number tweak to get every skin to reflect that properly.

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ruby tuesday

I never change my shape for skins, I find skins that look good on my shape. Which is hard.

My ex wifey looked good in pretty much any skin, I have more difficulty finding just the right one.

Right now I'm in love with Launa Fauna's skins and PXL skins.

I'm still a die hard Starley skin girl, but I've learned to branch out.

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Jessyanne

I'm anxiously awaiting Tya's skins.

Wildefire Walcott

Shape-making is an art. Many users are overwhelmed by all the sliders; especially the fact that several sliders affect multiple regions of the body, with frequently undesired effects.

I don't see how buying a shape you like is any different from buying a skin you like. Sure, skins take a lot more work to produce, but it's all art, and all in the eye of the beholder.

What I have a problem with is people who sell no-mod/no-copy shapes. THAT is pure evil.

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Ayu Sura

I'm not sure why this is a big deal... skin designers paint the boundaries somewhat differently on the face, hence the need to tweak your face to make sure your lips, etc, look the way you want it.

The rest of the body - well that's something else. Not a huge deal for me as my av is usually dressed anyway.

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"You broke the rules! Now I pull out all your pubic hair!" - Tenacious D

Wildefire Walcott

Also, I have never tweaked my shape to fit a skin. I have only purchased skins that look good on my shape. LOTS of skins look crap on my shape, unfortunately.

Mourna Biziou

Actually Wilde, you're right.. I went off to think about what I had said earlier, and thought about all the horrible shapes I'd seen that were probably homemade, and I retract my statement about buying shapes. Some ppl *really, really* need to.
There are also some shapes designers who produce creative and unusual shapes that some people, myself included, would never be able to come up with to create such a great, cohesive look.

Also, for clarification, I didn't mean to imply that shape designers weren't immensely talented. I created my own personal shape that I love after much tweaking and revising, but I could never create a whole line of shapes, all looking different, that still looked good. They'd prob all end up looking the same.

I do wish everyone would buy mod shapes, and tweak them into individuality, though. So my ire against no-mod shapes stands. =P

Cindy Claveau

I worked hard on my shape - almost constantly - for the first month in SL. I thought I had it where I wanted it, but at some point I met Marilyn Murphy and Haver Cole, both of whom have a nearly magical way with shapes. They gave me lots of advice and honest criticism, and most of the changes they recommended I still retain in my current shape. I don't think I'd be nearly as happy with my av had I not met them.


That's always pissed me off, too. There's a reason for copy/mod/no-trans.