Tag: Second Life Mesh Heads

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The Free RuthTooRC3 and RothTooRC1 Mesh Bodies by Heavy Industries Now Support Bakes on Mesh

Please note that I am taking the rest of the summer off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and the occasional exception such as this blogpost. See you in September!

The RuthTooRC3 Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible mesh head and body

Another day, another free Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible avatar! This time it’s for female avatars: the RuthTooRC3 full-body (i.e. head and body) avatar. As usual, the head and body are separate components, so you should be able to mix and match with other BoM heads and bodies.

I had blogged about the free RuthTooRC3 mesh body before (here, about halfway down this very long blogpost), but I just found out yesterday that there is a new, Bakes on Mesh-compatible version! So a pretty good free mesh body just got even better. You can now use Bakes on Mesh skins and makeup with this head and body (the skin used in these pictures is the Elvira skin in the maple skin tone, an Advent gift from 7 Deadly S[k]ins from last December).

Here’s the exact SLURL of the Heavy Industries store, located in a retro 1950’s diner. Walk into the diner and and click both of the blue panels on the wall directly in front of you (the first one only includes flat mesh feet for some reason, but the second one includes both medium-height and high-heeled mesh feet as well):

While you’re there, click on the three red panels immediately to the left of the blue ones, and you can pick up three outfits that were designed to fit this body perfectly! (Please note that I did test various mesh clothing designed for Maitreya Lara on this particular body, and there are some fitting problems in the lower back and the rear end area on most garments.)

This body comes with a HUD to tint the fingernails and toenails, which are separate attachments. However, there is no HUD with alpha sections provided, so you will have to make use the alphas that come with the clothing you pick up. If you need a set of alphas to use with clothing that does not come with them, you can pick up a free set from Little Black Dress at this SLURL (just click on the bag on the floor).

Happy freebie shopping! I will add this updated mesh body to my comprehensive list of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars.

UPDATE 9:12 p.m.: I forgot to mention that at the same location, you can also pick up the latest edition of the free RothTooRC1 Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible male mesh head and body, which I had written about previously (at the very end of this rather long blogpost).

Here’s the panel in the Heavy Industries diner; make sure you click on the one that clearly says “Bakes on Mesh Compatible”, not the one to the right of it:

Now, there is good news and bad news about this particular male mesh body.

The good news is that the alphas included with clothing do finally work with this body (they didn’t the last time I tested it out, which made it of limited usefulness, since there is no included alpha sections HUD). However, the bad news is that you are still going to find that most male mesh clothing does not fit this particular mesh body very well at all, even with the alphas.

I tried everything, including standard-size and fitmesh clothing of various kinds on the RothTooRC1 body, and in every case (even on the large and extra-large standard sizes), there were fit problems across the back of the neck and shoulders and the front of the waist. Clothing created for popular male mesh bodies by Belleza, Signature, and Slink doesn’t work, either.

The only things which worked were when I alpha’ed out the entire body except the hands, as I did with the following tuxedo outfit from the men’s freebie store at the Helping Haven Gateway (and there were still problems at the wrists; the skin is a male Bakes on Mesh skin I picked up from a store called DNA, which is now unfortunately closed).

The fingernails and toenails are (as they were for the RuthTooRC3 body above) separate attachments, which you can tint using an included HUD. (You’ll need to remember to remove the toenails when you alpha out the feet, as I did below!)

Given the many problems I encountered trying to find clothing to fit this body, I really cannot recommend it over the many other free and inexpensive male mesh bodies (unless you want to rely exclusively on system layer/Bakes on Mesh clothing).

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The Free G&D Ruth 3.5 Mesh Head and Body

Please note that I am taking the rest of the summer off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and the occasional exception such as this blogpost. See you in September!

There’s a new full-body (i.e. head and body), Bento, Bakes on Mesh compatible mesh avatar for women, an update to the original open-source Ruth mesh body called G&D Ruth 3.5. You can pick one up for free from the SL Marketplace. I decided to take this body out for a test drive, just to see how well it stacks up against other free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars I have blogged about.

Please keep in mind that the head and the body are separate items, so if you wish, you can mix and match them with other Bakes on Mesh heads and bodies.

The creator notes in the Marketplace listing:

The head has been rebuilt from scratch to a more attractive standard and no longer has visible jagged edges. There is more Bento functionally and a full range of shape support. There is a fitmesh neck blender that is also BOM and the old Ruth choker collar, to provide different levels of coverage.

There is a robust nail system that is as easy as wearing a system tattoo. Simply right click and ADD to yourself in your inventory. There is also a pure white modifable tinting option.

Skins are NOT mined freebies from other websites, they have been made specially for the body and head. There are a variety of colours including natural and supernatural tones. There is also all three tints of our Color Wonder ultra customizable skins.

Finally, a compact, low lag mesh body accessible for all SL viewers with no catches and no sacrifices. Look beautiful for the lowest possible price…free!

I spent a fair bit of time tinkering with the head and body sliders on this one, because I was dissatisfied with the default settings, particularly on the head, which I found to be rather long and thinner-faced by default compared to other Bento heads I have used before. (If you have found other Bento mesh heads to be too round, perhaps the head in this package might just be perfect for you!) The body responds well to the sliders.

I also didn’t like the system skins that this body came with (a selection of both regular and fantasy skins), so I used the Elvira skin in the maple skin tone from 7 Deadly S[k]ins, a former Advent calendar gift from last December. Here is what the body looks like, with the alpha sections HUD, wearing a swimsuit I picked up as a group gift from DM:

At first, the alpha sections HUD didn’t work, but a quick logout and relog into SL fixed that problem quickly.

There is a slight, barely noticeable seam at the neck, which the included Bakes on Mesh neck fix addresses fairly well. Here’s a close-up of the head (the Kristen hair was the gift from Ade at the SL17B Shop and Hop, and the eyes are from the Leonard starter avatar already in your SL inventory). As I note later on, you might have better luck using an alpha to remove the system eyes and replace them with mesh eyes on this particular head (here’s a recent blogpost with some good links to free mesh eyes).

The ears are a separate and adjustable attachment, which of course means you can replace them easily. The feet are also a separate attachment, and come in two types: flat and high. The hands come in two versions, too, one with short nails, and one with long nails, which include several tattoo layers to tint them various colours (plus one modifiable tattoo layer which you can tint any shade you wish):

I found in my testing that most clothing and footwear for Maitreya Lara fits this body fairly well. Here my avatar is wearing the Sonnet pumps from Hilly Haalan (unrigged and easily adjustable), along with the black Vibsy minidress by PULSE, a recent gift from the Second Life 17th Birthday Shop and Hop event:

The only problem I encountered with the G&D Ruth 3.5 body is that I could not get the alphas that come bundled with clothing to work with it. However, there are a fairly good selection of alpha sections on the included HUD (after I got it working properly), so that should not be too serious a problem.

UPDATE Aug. 8th, 2020: I have been informed that the G&D Ruth 3.5 body has been updated by its creator, and that the alpha layers that come with clothing will now work properly. Here’s the link to the Marketplace listing. Thanks for the heads up, Dagger Faulkwing!

All in all, this is a pretty nice body at a price that can’t be beat—free! I would recommend that you give this one a spin, testing it out with various system/Bakes on Mesh skins, to see how well you like it.

I’m not the only SL blogger who has noticed this new, free mesh body. Midnyte Childs, of the blog Silent Raindrops, has started an Avatar on a Budget Challenge, and her second post in that category featured this body, too! Here’s her blogpost. She noted something I didn’t mention up top, that there is a barely detectable seam where the hands and feet (which are separate attachments) connect to this mesh body. And I learned from her that G&D stands for Glitter and Doom!

I will be adding the G&D Ruth 3.5 mesh body to my constantly-updated list of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars.

Happy freebie shopping!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: A L$10 Bento, Bakes on Mesh Male Avatar from Altamura

Please note that I am taking the entire month of July off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and the occasional exception such as this post. See you in August!

There’s yet another inexpensive Bento, Bakes on Mesh full-body (i.e. head and body) male mesh avatar, this time from Altamura. If you join the TeleportHub.com group for only L$10, you can pick up the Stay With Me body. The gift panel is located close to the entrance of the Altamura store:

You can also pick up a free male and female Bakes-on-Mesh skins as part of a free Bakes on Mesh package available from a panel near the rear of the rather cavernous Altamura store (here’s the exact SLURL; use the Show on Map feature and follow the red arrow):

Here’s what the Stay With Me body looks like, right out of the box, without any adjustments to any of the head and body sliders. No skin comes with this body, so I used the Delphinus pale male skin which was part of the Altamura Bakes on Mesh package above.

Unfortunately, this body does NOT come with a HUD with alpha sections, so you are going to have to rely on clothing that does come with alpha sections (such as the blue swimsuit, which is part of the Alejandro starter avatar look already in your SL inventory). The Brad hair in rust brown shown here was a recent Father’s Day hunt gift from Alii & Ali Designs.

For some reason, the toenails on this body are a separate attachment, but not the fingernails! Also, the eyebrows on the male Delphinus skin, which comes in the Altamura Bakes on Mesh package above, are so pale that you might want to invest in a pair of system/Bakes on Mesh eyebrows to complete this particular look! (Or use a different BoM male skin.)

All told, it’s a good-looking, fully-adjustable male mesh body that easily takes Bakes on Mesh skins without having to purchase an Omega kit, so you might be quite happy with this bargain.

The lack of an alpha section HUD is the deal-breaker for me, personally; I’d much rather use a mesh body that has that feature, since it would allow me to wear clothing designed for other male mesh bodies. However, I have been pleased to discover that more and more Second Life stores are now creating and selling clothing specifically made to fit male and female Altamura mesh avatars!

The Stay With Me body is only available for a month, so hurry on down to snap this bargain up! I will also be adding this new body to my list of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for male avatars.

UPDATE July 21st, 2020: I wanted to update this blogpost to show you the Stay With Me mesh avatar with one of the skins available from a dollarbie set from Sweet’s on the SL Marketplace, which I think turned out quite well:

Note that if you are looking for a free set of alphas to use with this body (since it does not come with a HUD for alpha sections), you can pick up a free set from Little Black Dress at this SLURL (click on the bag on the floor). Cat Pink SL has also put together a helpful video with other places you can pick up free or L$1 alphas for this body:

The Genus Project, Target of a Second DMCA Complaint, Shuts Down Its Operations Yet Again

Please note that I am taking the entire month of July off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and major breaking news such as this. See you in August!

UPDATE Sept. 3rd, 2020: The Genus Project won! More details here.

As you probably know, mesh avatar head-maker The Genus Project was forced to shut down completely as the result of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint not too long ago. On July 4th, 2020, they announced that they had reopened their store in-world.

Well, it didn’t last very long.

The news was posted to the Second Life Community Forums just three hours ago, and I went to verify it for myself in the notices from the GenusProject group:

I got a complaint again. I need to close everything again. I’m going to court and I want to settle this. I think it will take time.

Shortly thereafter there was a warning not to spread rumours about who was behind the refiling of this complaint:

It’s so important right now that we keep rumor discussion about other creators out of group chat. Catwa, LeLutka, Akeruka and a bunch of other fantastic SL creators have already demonstrated their support. Please do not make them regret doing so.

Understand that any trouble being caused in other group chats will be reported to me. If it is outside of their rules or considered harassment, the CSRs and Mods must act accordingly.

This was followed by a more complete statement later:

Dear friends and customers,

While we had hoped the DMCA business was behind us, we have received another notice from Linden Labs that we must remove our inventory and our store. As we have not been given info regarding who initiated this the first time, we are left to assume it is the same person and that it is someone with no actual claim.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused anyone – your patience, support, and loyalty to our brand is not something we take for granted. It is unfair to ask you to stand by us and stand with us as we fight this, but nothing about this situation has been fair. Please understand that we cannot provide details we don’t know and we ask that you keep rumors and accusations down while we work with our lawyers and with Linden Labs to prevent this from happening again.

…

And if whomever has filed this is reading? Please understand that filing these claims does more than hurt us as creators – it prevents us from giving customers the support they deserve. It stops us from releasing updates and letting customers get redeliveries. That is who you are hurting the most.

For an FAQ of what’s going on? Please join us on Discord here.

It would now appear that The Genus Project is going to be involved in a long and costly court battle before they can sell their products again. A major player has effectively been knocked out of the Bento mesh head market for the foreseeable future, and perhaps permanently. This is going to affect not just the team at The Genus Project, but it is also going to impact all the content creators who created skins and cosmetics for this brand of mesh heads.

Honestly, what an evening. First Linden Lab announces that they are going to be acquired, and now this.