Shapes and Skins: Making You Unique

September 11, 2020February 12, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Note: While the images used are of products from 2017 when the post was originally written, the content has been reviewed to ensure it is relevant for 2020.

Shapes and Skins are a core part of your Second Life avatar. They determine your proportions and how your body looks to you and others. The skin compliments the shape and vice versa. Nowadays many skins come with shapes, but not all of them do! You can also buy shapes on their own. Keep reading to learn just how your shape and skin choices can make you look unique.

Shape Basics

Your shape controls the base shape of your avatar. When using a system avatar every single slider will alter a different part of your head, body, hands, or feet. With mesh avatars these can be altered as well, however some sliders may or may not have much of an impact on what you see. You can purchase shapes, create your own, or edit some that you’ve already obtained (as long as they have modify permissions).

I think of the shape as the foundation of my avatar. Every skin, every piece of clothing, and every accessory is used in conjunction with the shape. As shapes vary greatly it’s not uncommon for some clothing and accessories to require a little alteration to fit perfectly on a custom shape.

Free Dove Friday: February 10, 2017

January 25, 2021February 10, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Since discovering The Free Dove, I’ve decided to showcase one look a week with items from the store. Welcome to the first installment of Free Dove Friday!

This week showcases products by Duh!, Apple May Designs, and KingbalStores.

Fast Facts On The Brands

Duh!
- Shoes and accessories
- Main store has mostly women’s items,
- Marketplace store has more men’s items.
Apple May Designs
- Skins, shapes, clothing, shoes, and accessories
- Main store focuses on women
- Marketplace store has more options for men
KingbalStores
- Shoes and clothing
- Sells products for men and women
- Marketplace store has huge selection

Spotlight on Graffitiwear

January 25, 2021February 7, 2017 by Asia Ristow

If you’re anything like me you love finding diverse, high quality, and unique outfits for your avatar. After all, how you dress is a huge part of how others in Second Life see you. Thankfully Graffitiwear has a wonderful selection of products to make you stand out.

Shopping Graffitiwear

Founded in 2009 by Chalice Piers, Graffitiwear has been offering high quality clothes in world and on the Marketplace for longer than some players have even been around. Visiting the in world store has the added benefits of Lucky Letter Boards, Midnight Mania, Discount Roulette, and Gifts for group members as well as a Lucky Dip available to anyone. Whether you need cute casual wear, sexy lingerie, a dress for the night out, or makeup and accessories to finish your look, you’ll find it here.

Click for full view

Double Sweater Set

This double sweater set may very well be my favorite top right now. It comes in three themes: Dark Love, Playful Love, and Rose Love. The fatpack includes all the themes for a total of 12 tank tops and 9 sweaters to go over them. This makes 108 different tank and sweater combinations! If it’s too warm for the sweater you can totally rock the tank top itself. The value doesn’t stop at variety, check out the quality in the image to the left. I encourage you to view the full image so you can see just how much love and hard work went into the texture of these pieces.

Mix & Match: Clothing and Accessories

July 22, 2020February 5, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Note: While the images in this blog post are from 2017, the content has been reviewed and updated for 2020.

Your Second Life avatar is essentially you. It’s how others see you in world and for many it’s how they see themselves. Today we’ll be talking about how to mix & match clothing and accessories to make your avatar unique. If your avatar needs an entire makeover from the ground up, consider reading my series Making A New You for a guided path from start to final product.

Mix & Match Basics

Generally when making a look you want to have an idea, no matter how small, of what you’d like. Do you want to build your outfit around a certain color? Perhaps you are going to a themed party and need to dress with a topic in mind. Do you have one piece you really love and want to make something special using it? All of these are great starting points.

Whenever I make a new look, I always use what I have first. You’d be surprised how different you can appear with just a change of hair or a different top! Every time I shop I consider how versatile the items are. If I end up purchasing something I try to select a product that can be used in many outfits or even a fatpack that offers various colors and styles. This makes future mix & matching so much easier!

“Ooh la la Paris Love!” at Fashion Dazzle

January 25, 2021February 3, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Every month Fashion Dazzle runs a themed sales event. For February 2017 we get to shop with a flair for Paris! This month’s products range in price from 90L$ to 1500L$, though you can find two tops for 10L$ each! Read on for sneak peeks and a full list of participants.

Sneak Peeks

You’re here for the sneakin’, aren’t you? Well I won’t make you wait! As always, the images can be clicked for full view so you can check out the details on these beautiful outfits. Items available at the event are listed in bold.

The Free Dove’s February 2017 Mini Hunts!

January 25, 2021February 1, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Looking for a free makeover? Look no further! The Free Dove is hosting three mini hunts featuring the works of Cero Style, alaskametro, and Marquesse. Read on for more details!

February Hunts at The Free Dove

Each designer has a small section showing you the item you’re looking for in the store. Each section also shows at least one item you can get from the designer. The object you’re hunting for can be found to the left of the brand’s name. The designers’ products used in the photos will be listed under the images in each section. As always, full photo credits can be found at the bottom of the post and each image can be clicked for full view.

The Basics Of Second Life Hunts

September 11, 2020January 30, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Note: While the images in this blog post are from 2017, the content has been reviewed and updated for 2020.

Hunting in Second Life may conjure up the image of virtual big game shooting experiences. While that probably exists on grid, it’s not what we’re talking about today; we’re focusing on shopping events! Second Life hunts are a fun way to collect items for both your avatar and your home. Here are the very basics of hunting events in Second Life.

What Exactly Is A Second Life Hunt?

Imagine if a scavenger hunt, hide and seek, and some Second Life goodies were all shaken up together. The result? A Second Life hunt! You’re given a place to start looking and then you scour the area for the product. Usually the product is boxed in a themed shape such as a little coin, apple, or animal. Once you find the product you activate it (usually by touching or paying) to receive the gift and a hint about the next item to find. Most hunts only run for a set amount of time, so make sure to check the dates before you start!

Hunts can be free or they may have a charge. They may hide all the items in one sim or in locations all over the grid. Each and every hunt is different and appeals to different people. One person may enjoy a smaller hunt with items that aren’t too hard to find while another may prefer spending hours looking for many tricky items.

The Free Dove

September 11, 2020January 27, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Note: While the images in this blog post are from 2017, the content has been reviewed and updated for 2020.

Since 2005 The Free Dove has been helping players make their Second Life avatars absolutely gorgeous. The store is filled with clothes, shoes, hair, accessories, and more so everyone can look stylish. The cost? Absolutely nothing. That’s right, nearly everything at The Free Dove is completely free of charge.

Shopping At The Free Dove

Located in beautiful Gallii, The Free Dove caters to new players and veterans alike. The store itself has easy to see guides on everything from basic etiquette to unpacking your purchases. While the place is extremely newbie friendly, veteran players don’t want to pass up the chance to visit. Even though there is no cost for the majority of items at the store, the products at The Free Dove are generally good quality. The owner, Palomma Casanova, handpicks all the designers to ensure everything meets her standards. The second floor hosts a few Gacha machines and low cost vendors, though the majority of the products are on the free first floor. Whether you’re just starting your inventory or you’re rounding out your collection, The Free Dove has something for you.

You WILL need to join The Free Dove’s group to get any of the items.

Are Second Life Gacha Games Worth Your Time?

July 28, 2023January 23, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Important Note: Gacha machines are no longer allowed in Second Life. You can still buy and sell things on the Marketplace that were aquired via Gacha, however it is now against the Second Life TOS for creators to sell an item that is completely random. By the new policy buyers must know what they are purchasing at the time of purchase. There are new purchasing systems (such as MiePon) that have come out as an allowed alternative.

I’m keeping this post up as a reference for when Gacha was allowed, however the content in it is outdated and this specific post won’t be updated further.

Based on the Japanese game of the same name, Second Life Gacha machines are a huge hit in world. Gachas offer the chance at multiple items for very cheap, usually less than what each item is worth. The inexpensive shot at high quality products has spawned various Gacha themed events, some of which keeping sims competitively full for days or more. Note: Almost everything my avatar has on in this post is from Gacha events!

How Second Life Gacha Works

The easiest way to sum up Gacha is by imagining those little quarter machines found in supermarkets and other real life stores. An image at the top shows the products contained within. You put in a small amount of money and out pops one of those items. You never know what you’ll get!

In game Gachas are very similar. Gachas will have an image on or near the machine showing you what’s inside. Most will tell you which items are rare, some will even show the percentage chance it has to drop. A script in the machine is used to give you a random item when you pay based on these percentages (whether they are displayed or not.) The odds of winning a specific item depends on what you’re going for and the rarity of the product. Remember, if you have a 1 in 3 (33%) chance to get a specific item, that doesn’t mean you’ll get it in 3 tries. It simply means that each try gives you 1 in 3 chance to get it. And that’s for Gachas with even odds. Some will have rare items that have a smaller chance to drop than the rest. Gachas with Common, Uncommon, and Rare chances are not at all unusual. Make sure to weigh those odds before splurging!

Why It’s Worth Joining Second Life Groups

September 11, 2020January 20, 2017 by Asia Ristow

Note: While the images in this blog post are from 2017, the content has been reviewed and updated for 2020.

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think avatar creation, groups are one of my favorite resources in game. Whether it’s the gifts or the wealth of information contained within, groups are a valuable tool for making your avatar look just the way you want. So what do you get out of joining Second Life groups?

What Exactly Are Groups Anyway?

Second Life groups have many purposes. Some sims require you to be in the group to take full advantage of everything their sim has to offer. Some groups exist just so you can keep up on the latest news pertaining to the people within. Some are just about being social. Still others are just so you can have the group tag (display name shown when group is active) above your head. Since Regeneration is all about character creation and customization, we’re going to mainly focus on groups that benefit your avatar directly.