It's that time of year again! Digits! Actually the accidentally-annual tradition of sharing digits as proposed by Strawberry Singh is happening a couple months early this year. I've actually made surprisingly few changes since my post last year, I've mainly kept the same general proportions. Any alterations I've made are to accommodate the new mesh bodies. Which is the theme of this years thingy! So here we go with the questions!
Do you currently own a mesh body? If so, do you wear it all the time or just once in a while? If not, skip to the fourth question.
Yes. I like to think of myself as somewhat of an enthusiast or something. My first mesh body was the WowMeh, when it was still around, and now I also have the Slink Physique, the Belleza Venus, the Maitreya Lara, and the free version of The Mesh Project body. (I also own the Toddleedoo and Tweeneedoo mesh avatars for kids, but they don't really count for this discussion)
I never take it off. When mesh bodies first came out, there were lots of times when I'd stick with the traditional system avatar, but as time has gone on, there's become a lot more available that I can wear with a mesh body, both in terms of appliers and advances in the amounts and placements of alpha cuts on them. Plus, I'm really kind of lazy, so taking it off and dealing with system layers and alpha layers and all the various lumps of the avatar mesh is like bleh.
What is your preferred mesh body available on the market right now?
Currently I am back in love with the Slink Physique, since version 2 came out a couple of months ago. The twice-as-many alpha cuts is one of the practical reasons that brought me back to it, but also the change in the shape itself, with a lot of the curves being more rounded out. Previously the Slink Physique had been a bit on the lean, athletic side, and sure, you could adapt your shape to bring curve to it, but it didn't tend to look as natural as its competitors. Considering the fact that Slink is what I have most clothing appliers for, and that it has a perfect invisible seam with the new-improved Slink hands and feet, I'm delighted with it.
In terms of pure aesthetics though, I like the Maitreya Lara best, particularly now that there are appliers available for my preferred skins. It's a little softer and perkier than the Physique, has an fantastic alpha system, and also benefits from the (admittedly occasionally clunky, but very handy) Omega applier system.
Have you changed your shape since you started wearing the body?
Only in quite minor ways. A little more or less muscle hear and there, minor tweaks. Compared to last year, my shape looks pretty similar, just smoother, and a lot of the numbers are the same. I feel like I've gotten a tiny bit taller but according to the numbers that's not the case at all. I've mainly made minor changes to my face, more than my body, over the last few months, because I kind of feel like body's taken care of really. I love my proportions, most clothes fit me one way or another, and I'm not horrible and lumpy, so it's all good!
How do you feel about mesh bodies in general?
I adore them. True, they still have their limitations, particularly when it comes to wearing older clothes (I miss the ability of PROPER layering like I used to do in pre-mesh days) and that the alpha systems still aren't perfect but I feel a lot of clothing designers work around these things to an extent now. For me personally, the more "perfect" aspects of the bodies have been quite liberating. I've found myself doing a bit of (tasteful) nude photography lately without feeling weird about it just because, the mesh bodies look so unawkward. One thing that makes me sad as a general thing about them though is that they've made my alts feel almost unplayable, because I don't want to invest the sort of money in them of the body, and the skin appliers, and maybe the skins if they ones they have now don't have appliers, and clothes with appliers, and it's a whole can of investment worms that you can't really casually enter into anymore.
What is one thing you would request from designers when it comes to mesh bodies?
Gosh, I don't know. Like Berry said in her original, some kind of truly universal applier system would be cool. I'd like interfaces to be a little more streamlined. Something I loved about the Belleza Venus body was the HUD and all the various features it contained - such as changing hands/feet, and the different boob options, and also one of the reasons I never got into The Mesh Project body, because the interface and setup was so much more obscure than it needed to be. I think that's going to be one of the major aspects as time goes on, the design and features of the HUDs, because they're in almost constant use when you're dressing, with mesh bodies.
Credits:
Hair: Clawtooth - Audrey H
Lingerie: Luxuria - Temptress Bodysuit
Avatar Ruler: Golden Oriole - [OO] Avatar Ruler
Pose: oOo Studio - Legends Bette Freebie
The Basics:
Lashes: Alaskametro - Prim Lashes Diva
