Arya Laid Bare

The last couple of days have been a real eye-opener for me.  I have had to ask myself some hard questions and decided where I go from here.

I know I have been open in my feelings towards mesh body parts in the past and I was resistant to even hands and feet until that began to affect my ability to keep blogging.  I now have mesh hands and feet and they have just become part of my life. I am especially enjoying the new set where I can control the height of my feet with one easy hud rather than taking feet off and on and having to reapply skin etc etc.  I didn't enjoy, however, having to spend money to purchase them again, but I realise this is a necessity.  I am hoping they will do the same with hands and am steeling myself for having to also pay out for that.

The last few days I have been a part of discussions about mesh heads and bodies.  I have, again, been stalling getting them for one main reason:  I still want to look like me.

I have been in SL a while now and this has been my shape and look for a long time.  I recognise myself when I log on and I have become quite attached to my curves and pixie-like appearance.  I change skins and I alter my shape to fit clothing, but I am Arya at the core.

The last couple of days I have been trying on mesh bodies and heads.  I researched the pros and cons of different brands and used this info to go and demo some.

The bodies I am ok with as I can change them to suit the shape I want.  I am not ok with forking over my hard-earned cash, but I will probably get one in the next couple of days and try to ignore the dent it makes in my account balance!

However, the heads are another story.  I put them on and I do not recognise the avi staring back at me.  The eyes look too big, the face profile too flat and I can do nothing to alter that.

So, you may say, don't get one.  Well, it has been pointed out to me that the non-mesh heads have weird lines around the nose and head and that you have to spend ages in Photo Shop getting rid of them.  In fact someone said non-mesh heads have become the 'system hands and feet' of today.

To be honest I don't use Photo Shop.  I use Picassa and I have hardly ever had to alter the lines around my face and nose.  The only times I had to were due more to the skin I was wearing and the windlight I was using.  I could probably count those times on one mesh hand.

Today I looked at myself close up.  Maybe I can't see it, but I don't think I look bad.  Do I have lines around my nose and mouth.  Yep, but do they make me look hideous?  Do they affect my ability to blog and show off fashion items and makeups?  Now I just don't know.

I decided today to show you an unedited picture of myself.  I am using a windlight so that you can see my face, but that is it.  I am wearing a skin with no lipstick, but I do have my lashes on because they are lovely.

I would love your feedback on this.  Do I need to buy a mesh head?




Comments

  1. No you dont, you look cute :)

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  2. SL is for people to express their individuality and do what interests them. If you are happy with your appearance and can blog just fine with it, no need to change it to try to please others. :)

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    1. You rock. Thank you for your feedback. Hugs.

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  3. I don't think people NEED mesh heads. I do think bloggers need mesh bodies to stay current at this point, and I do think eventually the same will become true of mesh heads. A lot of stores are dropping standard sizing, and I think eventually a lot of skin stores will drop system skins... but probably not for a while yet.

    I personally don't like to look at the lines and weird angles created by the avatar mesh on the faces. And after wearing the same skin on a mesh head and then on the system head, I was able to very, very clearly see the difference in quality. For me, that was that. I couldn't go back to the system head again.

    But everyone is different. I would say if you blog for skin stores that do a lot of appliers, you might run into issues because you won't be able to blog those. Other than that, do what makes you happy. For me, I'm relieved to not have to deal with editing all those lines and jagged edges anymore. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say the system head is today's system hands and feet, but personally for ME it feels a bit out-of-date... but that's just my personal feelings on it. I'm happier to not have to deal with the system head, and I particularly LOVE having so many expressions to choose from, ones that look good and smooth with the mesh faces, rather than ones that distort the system faces (and are really limited in comparison).

    But blogging should be something you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, what's the point? So, if you don't like or enjoy the mesh heads, then it sort of defeats the purpose. I think there are still plenty of bloggers not using mesh heads, for a variety of reasons. I also think, in time, this is going to change... but right now, I don't think a mesh head is a requirement the way I do think a mesh body is.

    If you're happy with your avatar's face the way it is, then keep it. You are the one taking pictures, it's your face. I understand feeling attached to your look. I felt this way with mesh clothing for a long time, though I eventually dove in and started to buy it because of how good it looked. However, I was SO glad when the mesh bodies came out and I could go back to changing my sliders how I wanted, without the limitations of standard sizing.

    The bottom line is, it's your blog, it's your face... I can't say that there won't be designers who view the lack of PSing out the system face issues or not having a mesh head to be problematic, because some probably will. But if you're blogging for yourself, then that shouldn't be something you factor in... you have to be happy and comfortable with what you're doing and how you look!

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    1. Thank you for your awesome reply. It has been interesting to talk to a lot of people and hear both sides of the issue.
      I think I will eventually get a mesh head when I find one that is to my liking.
      Appreciate your feedback!! Hugs.

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