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Category: Bento (Page 1 of 2)

Elle as a Fashionista Elf

Thoughtful-Elf
Thoughtful Elf

Elle the Elf – has a nice ring to it, eh? I used to Role Play quite a bit of Second Life before my long hiatus. As of late, I have thought about dipping my toe back into the Role Play pool. But this time I want it to be ultra fantasy – high fantasy even. I want to immerse myself in a world of elves, faes, magical beings, etc, and so on. You might wonder, where did all this elven inspiration come from? Well, my friends, it came in the form of the somewhat off-beat Lelutka release knowns as “Prim”.

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I <3 SL Skins – Elle's Noob Days continue….

Through-a-Screen-Door
Just an Irrelevant Pretty Picture

My return to Second Life has been, overall, uncomplicated. I logged in, got addicted to Linden Homes, and of course, I shopped. I have to say that I am a bit disappointed in the fashion choices in Second Life: So-Many-Outfits-Look-Exactly-The-Same. I spent many an hour visiting the latest events attempting to find that perfect new outfit. Alas, 75% of the time, my event shopping resulted in disappointment. I don’t know if it’s the demos the designers decide to use or if the efforts are just – bad. The pattern continues – I teleport to the current “Event Du Jour,” and an advert catches my eye. With the flick of my mouse, I would click that demo prim faster than you could say “Lindens.” Then, excitedly I would port home to one of my, err, seven Linden Homes and gleefully try the demo, and more often than not, the demo unveiling would reveal a horrible plastic-looking shirt with no depth or a skirt that was just..sad. But…not the Skin featured in the plethora of events: Oh My…Not the Skin.

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Bakes on Mesh / BoM, part 2

Bakes on Mesh is live on the main grid! Before you read my post, I recommend reading Aems Bakes on Mesh post to learn about BoM and what products you can buy to make your mesh body parts BoM-ready.

I only started using BoM yesterday, when I updated my viewer to the latest SL Viewer. I’m not dying to wear system skin or system makeup, cos I think the newer skins are much prettier and more high-res. Old skins and makeups typically used 512 size textures, cos SL limited the size of uploaded textures. It’s still fun to try out this new feature while waiting for brands to update and deliver me better quality textures to wear.

Bakes on Mesh Genus
Genus Mesh Head + System skins

What am I wearing here?
Left: Genus Baby mesh head + system Pink Fuel skin + default Genus lashes (with applier added)
Right: Everything above + system Blush + System Eyeshadow + Applier lipstick

The reason I can mix system skin and system makeup with my mesh head appliers right now is cos Genus has NOT updated their head to be BoM-ready. With a BoM-ready product, you should not be able to use applier makeup, cos all those extra layers will be removed. All of your makeup needs will be done through wearing layers inside your inventory. You can re-arrange your system tattoo layers by going to the Appearance tab, clicking on the Edit this outfit button, then use up/down arrows to re-arrange layers.

Bakes on Mesh Genus
What it looks like when I’m wearing all of my layers plus mesh head

Did you know that you cannot use BoM with an applier skin? You must use system skin. I will wait for my applier skin to have an accompanying system layer, to truly enjoy BoM. I’m not sure why SLers want to wear OLD system skins, but they seem to want to, LOL.

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Dragon

LAQ Lulu

Isn’t this new head by LAQ cute? This is the Lulu mesh head, which is great for users who want a more doe-eyed look out of their avatar. If you want to see how Gogo looks with this mesh head, just scroll back one entry or click here.

This head is going to be very kind to hand-drawn skin makers! Lulu is expressive and perfect for painted textures. It’s also wonderful for dollish skins and youthful brands. In fact, this head is so nice that I want to make more skins for it!

A note for skin devs: the creator’s package at LAQ’s store contains a lot of helpful UVs to help you make custom looks for this head, including eyelashes and teeth. There’s also a texture map that shows where the lipstick area begins and ends, so you can simply select the section and texture away.

Dragon

Friend me on my new Flickr account! I made a new one because I forgot the password to my old one, lol.

What I’m Wearing:

LAQ Lulu Bento Head
[ a.e.meth ] – Eris Skin
Exile – Cold Sky
konpeitou – Rose Moon (black lady top, ball choker, jewel tears, and tiara set)
Velvet Whip – Soul Collector Dress (skirt only)
Aii Creations – Single Dragon (RARE/Arcade)

LAQ BENTO MOTION CAPTURE MESH HEAD, Lulu

Laq - Lulu

Meet Lulu, the newest mesh head from LAQ. On my last review of Gaia, the first bento mesh head from LAQ, I did not mention my thoughts on the shape tweaking process for the head cos it was still in the beta stage. The sliders are on Lulu are improved, so editing it is a breeze compared to Gaia. Some people said that the eyes looked sad on my shape, but I have yet to figure out how to fix that. I don’t even mind the sad eyes, it gives Lulu a sweet appearance. If you’re a fan of cute youthful faces, check out Lulu!

I am wearing the default skin included with the HUD, and the Fresh Lip Tint gloss from Pink Fuel.

What I’m Wearing:

LAQ Bento – Lulu
Exile – Tether
Teefy – Emily Sweater Onepiece (Lavender)
Pink Fuel – Fresh Lip Tint

LAQ Bento Motion Capture Mesh Head, Gaia 1.0

Laq - Gaia 1.0

It’s raining mesh heads! I’m wearing Gaia 1.0, the newest Bento Mesh Head from Laq. I’m excited by bento editing capabilities and motion capture animations. I spent hours obsessively tweaking this head to look like me, but lately I’ve been more flexible with my looks. I wore the skin and makeups included in the Laq HUD, so this look is completely achievable right out of the box!

Laq - Gaia 1.0

The Laq HUD is comparable to other mesh heads on the market – full of features and customization options. I particularly liked the Moods tab, which includes 4 default animated moods that you can play continuously, and 12 animated expressions (includes the option to play continuously or as poses).

My favorite feature on this HUD, is the Looks tab to save different skins & makeup options. With one click, the HUD saved my entire look, and even created a preview pic. The preview pic feature is amazing, cos I tend to forget what I have saved.

Laq - Gaia 1.0

Watch Mallory’s video showing the motion captured  animations, and tell me those are not the best animations you have ever seen! I like that each expression includes a few poses and plays in a continuous loop.

Now comes the critiques, which surprisingly isn’t much. What I want added to the HUD is a CLEAR ALL button, for when all of my makeup layers are wonky and I want to start over. This head is new, so there are not a lot of skins available for it yet. I would probably like it even more if I could try different skins. Thankfully, it is OMEGA-enabled, so there are some things that will work with it, but OMEGA is terribly slow.

Try the Laq bento mesh head and let me know what you think! How does this mesh head compare with your favorite? What feature do you want to see in future updates?

What I’m Wearing:

LAQ Bento – Motion Capture – Gaia 1.0
Truth Hair – Lisette
Teefy – Sophia Top Lacey (Bloom)
Empire – Jean Shorts

Remember Me

Remember Me

Just when I think Second Life content can’t possibly get any better, it does get better, and that is the most exciting thing about being a consumer. This is the first time that I’ve seen bento animated hair, and I’m already craving more! I’ve seen animated hair from other brands, but I don’t know if they were bento or some other scripted method. Exile just released a few bento hairstyles, add them to your must have list! Watch the videos (Palace & Over the Edge) to see the animations! The hairstyles are even more stunning in-world cos the animations are so smooth.

Remember Me

How darling is this Vintage Blouse from ANE? I love the front of this blouse, it’s pleated and very pretty. Then I turned around, and I love the back even more! Vintage with a twist!

What I’m Wearing:

Exile – Palace (Bento)
ANE – Vintage Blouse @ The Vintage Fair
The Secret Store – Yulia Flare Skirt (Navy)
Ingenue – Lisbet Heels (Navy) @ Collabor88

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