I’ve been so excited about the latest SLink Avatar Enhancement Updates! Sasy wrote a detailed and amazing post about them, you should really read it! I’ll just write about the hands (cos Pink Fuel didn’t release feet appliers yet *pokes Mochi*), and the fabulous third-party Nails HUDs!
As you can see from the picture above, default SL hands are terrible and lumpy. There’s nothing elegant about those default fingers! I actually didn’t mind them too much, since I the hands were usually seen from afar in my pics. I was just too lazy to Photoshop the seams in my SLink hands (previous version), so I wore them occasionally but not daily.
My biggest gripe with the SLink hands (previous version) was that sometimes when I got a close match from the front, the backside didn’t match “perfectly” due to lighting or something else. I also wasn’t a big fan of the alpha sheath, cos there’s something glitchy about it in SL, they often end up being slightly brighter than the rest of the hand. I’ve noticed this alpha sheath problem with some shoes too — have you??
Anyway, this Avatar Enhancement Update eliminates the need to have the extra wrist attachment/sheath and now it matches perfect under every lighting condition, and from any angle! The only thing that didn’t really work for me, was a slight invisible gap, noticeable in some angles but not always. Mochi said she noticed it too, so we’re not sure how to fix it, but hopefully Siddean will come up with a solution for this. I’ve also noticed that the appliers have slightly lower texture resolution than the original SLink hands, but I can live with that since it’s an improvement over SL hands!
I’ve never worn mesh breasts, so I’ve never played with appliers until now. I didn’t realize that it’s really just ONE CLICK! The Pink Fuel HUD has just one button — click to apply, done! SLink also includes a HUD to change nails style and turn it off (when would anyone use this?) and a few basic nail options. If those are not enough for you, check out these third-party nails HUDs from Orc Inc. by Nicole Twigvald and Flair by Sasy Scarborough:
I had so much fun playing with the nails HUDs, I definitely think this will become a new addiction. Lots of people have already released appliers and nails, check out the full list here.
Have you tried these hands? I waited for Pink Fuel to release the appliers before I wore ’em. Are you waiting for “your” skin to be released? If your favorite skin doesn’t have appliers, ask the designer to release some, or you can just do it the other way (via tinting) but it’s not as fun, or easy!
My biggest tip for wearing these hands, is to increase your hand size a few points! My default hand size is 20, but I chose to increase it to 23 cos these hands are a slimmer than SL hands, so if you increase your hand size, it’ll fit better with your SL body size.
Note* I did not touch up the wrist area in this post. If you see that it doesn’t fit perfectly, that’s just the way it is. I’m wearing the Small size. Try a demo before purchasing, of course!
What I’m Wearing:
Pink Fuel – Sora (Peach)
flowey – eternal love (tattoo)
Exile – Stay the Night (Fairytale)
SLink – Mesh Hands (av)
Hucci – Taiz Tube Top (S) Moonglow
Mon Tissu – Bloomsbury Trousers (S) Teal
Ok, you’ve convinced me. I must have them now! 🙂
Ok, so….are these an update to the previous SLink mesh hands that we get if we already owned them? Or are these a new version of SLink mesh hands that we have to buy even if we already owned some? Either way, I love the way they look with the applier, and I am ok if the texture isn’t as detailed, as I found that the hands almost stood out because they were so detailed against skins that were not nearly so. If this is just an update to the SLink mesh hands I already have, I am so rushing out to pick up the PF applier.
Oh, nm on my question about whether it is an update or a new release…I went to the SLink website and found out it is an update if you already owned the mesh feet or hands. Yayyyy!!!! I have yet to experiment with this kind of skinning hud as I have not tried out the mesh breasts at all, so I am excited to play with this 🙂
I was bitten by the mesh boobs craze when I started to wear the Nea hybrid mesh avatar head. This face is so young, that adding a bit of a bosom makes it clear that my avatar is not a teenager, but a young female. The default SL breasts does not look good at all when you increase them a bit. I have tried both Lolas Tangos and a small brand called Puffy! and it is amazing what the appliers can do. Mesh boobs without appliers just can’t match good enough. Pink Fuels appliers for Puffy! was hard to find, they are at Big Boobie Show atm. The Puffy boobs can be sized much better than the Lolas, but I admit they are more of a hassle. (Well, to be honest, I have been using really huge boobies, because they are soooo smooth compared to the awful default ones… lol. Boob overdose!)
But anyways, Pink Fuel appliers rock! I am going mesh hands all the time now.
You look very rawrr-ish (new word?) in that picture! I love it!
Great post Gogo, thanks for mentioning mine 🙂 and for featuring Flair nails ♥
xoxSasyxox
it’s a very cool option ! I have asked my own kit developper for nails last week, i hope to receive it one day lol …
As for who’d use the no-nails option. . .me, heh. I don’t have a girly-girl av, but I appreciate quality. I’m sad because the PF skin attachment doesn’t include a flat-textured nail; I want something that looks completely untouched, and even the pale options that come with the hands look. . .well, a heck of a lot more polished than what I’m looking for. Still; I love that at least the wrists match now.
But the “no nails” has a hole in it
The nails-off option on the hands HUD is designed so that people who have a favourite pair of (moddable) nails of their own can edit a copy into place on the Slink hands with ease, with no chance of the mesh nails showing through 🙂
I also love the new hands and feet with the enhancement feature. While I think both PF and Tuli appliers for the handa are seamless, the same doesn’t happen with Tuli’s feet appliers. It’s the only one I tried so far, so I can’t tell about other brands. There’s this huge seam and I can’t make them look good anywhere, with any environment settings… 🙁 There are a few angles that look seamless, but with most of the poses I use for pictures, the seams are very visible. Still trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Just to update my own comment, Tuli has updated her hud! Seems like there was a problem with her feet textures, but now it’s fixed! I’ll log on later to try it 🙂
Anyone knows how to fix the space between the mesh and my hand made by the alpha? its frustrating 🙁
Go to the store, and buy a new demo! Siddean has recently added another one that minimizes (or eliminates) the gap better than the old one. I hope this helps!
Can anyone tell me if there actually is a hand demo for sale at Slink? I am looking for the longer alpha for the enhanced hands. I don’t think my purchase came with one??? I’m trying to get rid of that gap between the wrist and arm. Thanks!