I can be pretty hot when I wear a realistic skin, right? Don’t fault me for being the quirky sort that likes hand-drawn skins, though–I’m a painted skin appreciator! I love to collect them. But with this new LOGO mesh head release, I’m leaning towards photo-realism to bring out the product’s best aspects.
This is LOGO Mae, the versatile new mesh head available at Uber right now for about 500L. The product bundle comes with the head itself, several basic skins and makeups, and an animation and customization HUD. The matching body skin is sold separately for about the same price the head bundle goes for. You can basically get a new look for a bit more than 1000L right now.
This is a long and kinda technical review, so let’s dive in!
The Good
It’s hard to go wrong in creating a shape for this head. You can look like everything from a button-nosed Scandinavian model, to an African-American vixen. It covers a lot of ethnicities smoothly with the changing of a few sliders. You’ll need to tweak slowly and play around to find your sweet spot though, as this new head isn’t rigged the same way as LOGO’s past heads have been. A tip from me: the “head shape” slider will change the character of your head drastically. Think of it as the foundation to work from.
The eye highlight system will bring new life to the eyes you already own. In this photo, I’m wearing some eyes I created myself. Just by switching around to different highlights in the customization HUD, I can change the way the eyes look by a little or a lot. I love it! You can pretty much build your custom eyes, right in the HUD itself.
The mesh head comes with a neutral AO so your eyes don’t go popping all over the place every time you move your mouse. You might need to reactive the AO, however, whenever you rise from a pose stand or log in to the game.
Room For Improvement
Having made some skins, I can spot when a skin’s head has been pasted onto an older base without the rest of it being updated. I’ve been guilty of this too, so I can’t really talk. However, even non-dev consumers can see that some of the head tones in this release don’t exactly match LOGO’s standard body skin appliers. I absolutely adore Mae’s default skin, and think it brings out the mesh head’s features wonderfully. I was kind of sad to find a warm rose base on the Bloom tone that graduated down from the face to a yellowish tone towards the neck on the body. That was quite telling, and makes me ask for skin packs that are updated in their shading.
Mae doesn’t obey basic SLUV either, evident in the lip area. You’re going to have to be careful what skins you pick for this one. Omega skins will work on the head, but you’ll be left with a choice. SLUV lips will appear fuller, but you can’t use the lipsticks included on the customization HUD if you choose this. If you go with LOGO’s default skins, you won’t be able to use Omega skins without gaining a set of larger lips (unless you don’t mind, which it doesn’t look too bad honestly).
My gripe about this is a general one. More mesh heads obeying the SLUV means skin designers do less work to fit them all. Why divide the crowd? I want to use my Omega skins wherever. What if BakesonMesh comes out? I know that’s been in development for a while, but it might see release one day. It’s best to stick with the universal SLUV if you can to make it easier for merchants to sell products for your head.
My Mesh Head Dream Team
I want to blend LOGO’s store operation with LAQ’s so badly. Neither store seeks out drama with others concerning perceived IP issues, and they have a good range of heads available for a nice price. LAQ’s HUD is far more intuitive and creator-friendly (I can edit the eyelash length on theirs!), while LOGO’s head meshes are undeniably sexier. LOGO doesn’t obey the SLUV, while LAQ makes sure to stay designer-friendly with its crossover compatibility. LAQ takes quickly to consumer suggestions and its more experimental crowd to try new things. Both designer teams are approachable, and their demo system doesn’t drive me up the wall. Both are welcoming to designers who want to house mini-stores with their own brand designer malls.
The only other store I love this much is Lelutka, who remains a professional and dev kit friendly powerhouse. If LAQ and LOGO ever teamed up to make the ultimate mesh head company, I’d probably lose it and buy every damn head they made.
The Verdict
Mae is great head and at the discounted price it’s at currently, it’s an irresistible buy. Pick it up and thank yourself later.
What I’m Wearing:
LOGO Mae head
[ a.e.meth ] – Deep Eyes
Mossu – Fuzzy Earrings
Rowne – Jai Classic Pumps
TRUTH x L&B – Parker
Cynful – Sweet Cheeks Shorts
Hilly Haalan – Skylar Bra and Vest
Music: Lemon Demon – Redesign Your Logo (Neil Cicierega is the Danny Elfman of millennials, and I will hear no argument on this.)
Leave a Reply