Hello, FabFree! I hope this weekend is finding you healthy and happy! And speaking of happy. Happy Lunar New Year to all celebrating it! The RL hubby and I got to go downtown and see the Lion dancers for a bit of extra good luck today. All the drums and the firecrackers, it was a great time.
Annnd speaking of time… Time is almost up over at Sugar Riott to grab the two freeshapes that are the January group gifts. There is the one for Raven that Ms Kerydwyn showed us and now we have Alistar showing off the gift, 014, for the Quinn head.
As with the Raven shape, you’ll need to join the freeSugar Riott group to get your gift. The men’s shape is also a full body shape so there’s a version for Belleza Jake, Legacy, SLink and Signature. Plus, as with the ladies shape, the comes with a fully detailed style card.
This guy is at the gym ALOT…
Both shapes are the advertised January Group gifts so time may be running out on them with the last day in January coming up fast. So don’t delay!
Hello again, FabFree Readers. As the title of my missive here indicates, it is indeed, a happy weekend. As many of you know, one long running Grid wide sale is the 60L Happy Weekend Sale. And as such, there are several very nice offerings for the gentlemen of Second Life.
One of the nicest deals is from Chuck Size’s Calvin Turtleneck. Extremely well designed and built it is quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces. There are 5 colors in the 60L sale and even more in the regularly priced fatpack. One other note, the Calvin comes in two versions of each size. One with a higher waist one with a lower for various styles of trousers.
The 60L Happy Weekend Sale, of course, runs through the weekend however many venders leave the sale up for a few days. But don’t count on it, sales can be fleeting things so don’t let this one slip away.
Hello and Happy New Year, FabFree. ‘Tis the Season for new things. Fresh ideas and new paths. And a perfect time to add to your “cool clothes”. Byrne is the very epitome of new and cool. So let’s start there.
Right now, you can pick up this very cool open shirt from Byrne for free when you wear your equally freeByrne Group tag. There is a matching look for the ladies as well. The “Chenille Tartan” comes in two variations: one with a teal collar and one with the red plaid. I did, however have trouble getting the teal version to work for ‘Jake’. Your mileage may vary.
The “Chenille Tartan” is the current group gift and you are surely aware that gifts can come and go quickly so don’t delay getting this one for the cool side of your wardrobe.
Yay! Friday is here! Autumn is falling upon us down here in the southern U.S. The gods of weather have decided to send some arctic winds & cold swooping down upon us. I guess that means bikini beach days are over. I am so happy I can keep beaching it in SL, I also found this group of goats. I wonder if they know yoga?
A Walk in the Orchard
After doing a bit of hunting I needed a break. I donned my warm comfy outfit and and headed out to find an apple orchard. Luckily Max Magic has this great casual ensemble you can pick up on the FabFree Fallen Leaves & Frost Hunt for a total of $10L ($5L each for top and jeans). There is a matching outfit for the guys also. Drag your man along with you.
The patchwork on the jeans makes me think of colder days. And the cropped hoodie is too cute with a texture of a cauldron and the words “Leaky Cauldron” on the front. There are huds for the top & jeans.
Good afternoon, FabFree Readers. Though it may be afternoon at least in my part of the Grid… I am getting ready for the weekend nights. And the 50L Fridays sale is setting me up just perfectly. If you are unaware of this every Friday sale, you can see all the details here.
Let’s start at the top with the top. This is the ‘Tobias’ tank from Butterscotch and it’s the 50L special today. It only comes in the black but, if you wait till tomorrow you can pick one up in blue for the Saturday Sale. I prefer the darker colors so I don’t need to wait around.
Sizes Included
Belleza Jake
Signature Gianni
Legacy
My new slacks are also just 50L today from one of my favorite designers: AsteroidBox. These are the ‘Jordan’ pants and they come in a Unisex pack to include ladies sizes. Each leg can be colored separately to make your own style stand out. The metal zippers color can also be changed.
Good evening, Fab Readers. If you ever wonder what the bloggers here on ‘the Fab’ go through for you… wonder no more. I have braved the Valentines Day Shop & Hop for you. I may be seeing pink and my ears ringing with love songs for days. But there was men’s wear to be had… so I prevailed. 😉
I found a very unusual shirt as the free giftfor Reinvent and ended up rather liking it. This is the “Black Heart long sleeve” and yes… it’s sheer. Good thing I was at the gym earlier. The heart shape on the chest reads “Black Black Heart” and it may accurately describe how a lot of people feel about this holiday. The shirt is very well made and the details are spot on. Be sure to stick around and check out the Reinvent booth… there are some very nice things for sale.
HeyHey Fab Free! It’s Monday so that means it’s more of “The Big Make Over”. Today I’m focusing on Alistar and our Fabulous Guys. I do want to note that all of these pictures are totally untouched and unedited. This is goning to be a looong post so let’s not dither about and jump right in.
So, I I first said I was going to do a male make over avatar I had NO idea how much different it would be from doing the female. But dang, it’s so much more difficult and frustrating. With the girls, I had loads of choices of heads and bodies but the guys really don’t have that much in free choices. I almost threw in the towel and said I’d have to do a limited Lindens make over for the guys. And granted…. using Lindens would be much easier. But I wanted to do free.
So, let’s remember where we started. This is the Second Life starter, “Greg” in his birthday suit. Not all together awful but certainly more ‘human-like’ than human. Why the designers for LL didn’t spend more time and care and artistry for the male population is beyond me.
And Greg close up.
I added this next pic because I wanted to show that the Greg skin is not horrible. In fact it’s not bad at all. It’s just the clunky shape that makes it bad.
The first and only free body I could find was the “Robert” body from Altamura located at the London City Freebie Center. The good and frankly, bad thing about Altamura is that the head comes attached to the body. While this means you don’t have to track down a mesh head. It also means you can’t use a different head if you already have one or find one you like better. Altamura does offer headless bodies and bodiless heads but only as paid items. The other quirk for the free Altamura bodies is they are not Omega or BoM friendly. With the return of BoM I find this rather frustrating. I can only assume that this is because these are all older versions.
This is the Robert right out of the box. Not my favorite look. He looks angry… like axe murderer angry.
“But me back in the box”
So knowing I couldn’t change the head I focused on the shape. A note here, I did change the shape of the body and head using the System sliders to suit my own taste, your mileage may vary. However, I couldn’t get it just right. So I took to the MarketPlace for shapes. Where I found Sweet’s. Several free shapes for Robert and others. Loads of 1Ls skins, some free hair, and even their own Bento Bom mesh body for just one Linden. I would have likely picked this based on the quality of their other products but I was set on absolutely free. There are several other Mesh Bento and BoM ready bodies on the Marketplace and the Grid that are under 10L each. And the minimum amount of Lindens you can buy is 2.50$ USD which will net you about 600L. So it’s not like you’d break the bank.
At any rate, I picked “Sweet’s Free! Shape for ROBERT by Altamura” and ran with it. I was able to adjust with the System sliders and got it pretty close to exactly what I wanted. The Sweet’s shape even came with mesh eyes. Alistar is getting closer!
Look’it them cheek bones!
One note, none of the free or 1L male bodies I found came with genitalia. Another drawback for the guys. You can find free male genitals on the Marketplace. However I can’t review them here as we are ‘family friendly’.
So, let’s talk briefly about AOs (Animation Overrides) for both the new kids. There are some basic AOs on the Marketplace for free and one, Bright’s Spunky Girl was the one I used for Julianna for a loong time. It’s basic but really all you need starting out. The female walk cycle is a bit exaggerated in the hip sway but not horrible. And at least the idle poses aren’t like a cat in heat. It’s not on their MarketPlace, you can only grab it in world -> Here.
There are also two basic AOs (Among others) at Free Dove Listed as “AX oo2 Basically a Boy and Basically a Girl” that I tried. I found them… ok. I liked a lot of the stand animations and they worked well. I found the idles to be too restless and hyper. In fact, that was my issue with a ton of AOs free and paid. You can find all types for free and just need to try them to find one you like. Just pay attention… lots of free AOs are NOT bento rigged. Which means they work… but your hands are going to stick out stiffly and not move well.
Ultimately, I chose the AOs “Daily sLife Free Male Bento” and “Lucky Girl” from Tuty’s for both of our new kids. It’s got Bento right there in the name, the hands move well, the walks are not overly ‘cartoony’ and best the idles are smoothly animated and move from one stand to the next very realistically. This choice didn’t surprise me as I use Tuty AOs for both Juli and Gabe.
SO there we have it for the new kids. We have Mesh Bento rigged bodies and Mesh heads, good skins and they walk less like ducks and more like Egyptians. (2 internet point for you if you get the reference )
Next week… HAIR! Maybe some clothes and we’ll talk about how to set up your Inventory so it doesn’t catch fire.
Also… if you have questions or comments, please let me hear ’em! There was a great question last week about making Lindens in world and I am still checking out my research on that and hope to have something to say about it next week.
Good Morning, Fabulously Free Readers. As you must know, today is Tuesday and that means that the 25L Tuesday sale is in effect. I do look forward to this sale because there is usually something there for the men. And today is no exception.
Munereia has supplied us with a stellar bargain today with their ‘Devon” set. You will receive both the shirt and the jeans for one 25L price tag. The shirt comes with twenty colors to choose from in both the plain color or the western pattern I’m wearing. Juli has a thing for cowboys, so one does what one must. The jeans also come with a HUD to pick one of fifteen colors in both a ripped up version and a plain.
Good evening, FabFree Readers. This is a good tie to be a ‘Man about The Grid’. There are plenty of hunts, Gachas and events going on right now to make one feel almost spoiled by choice. In fact, the Men Only Hunt is so large this round that I’m still unpacking all of the gifts! While there are still quite a few items I personally don’t… appreciate… (Juli insists I be nice) I cast no judgment on the tastes of others. As Juli says, “You do you, boo.” Which is an eccentric way of saying this hunt has something for everyone. That said, my complete outfit including the new hair style is all 100% free and up for grabs on The Men Only Hunt.
First is the “Reed” cardigan and shirt set from Ascend. The thick comfortable sweater comes in the shown shades of blue but a HUD will give you six colors of shirts and ties to choose from. The shirt and tie themselves can be turned off if you prefer to wear just the cardigan. They, however are not wearable by themselves.
Sizes Included
Belleza Jake
Legacy – Athletic, Legacy
Siganature – Gianni
The jeans are from Cheerno and are also a hunt gift. The ‘S21 Jeans’ are waiting for you to find. They are well made and are a solid addition to my wardrobe.
Sizes Included
Aesthetic – Enzo
Belleza Jake
Legancy
Signature Gianni
Last but not least is my new hair style from Volt Hair. This is a New-to-Me designer that I am happy to have ‘discovered’. Volt does both men’s and ladies hair and has an extensive collection of both. I found the hair to be very well designed and easy to wear. The hair is unrigged and comes with a resizer. Plus, you will receive the entire fatpack in this prize.
A quick note on the Hunt. While you are not required to get the HUD with all of the SLurls loaded, I did find it makes the hunt much easier. There isn’t a page with the hints or the SLurls available online. You will need to join the Hunt’s group but that is free as well. The pick up for the HUD is here.
Lions sit in solemn lines
Drinking gin and dropping lines
Wasting beats in this heart of mine
Until the morning comes around
~ “Sinners” by Barns Courtney
Good afternoon, FabFree readers. Today I am happy to wish the amazing L’Homme eMagazine a very happy 7th anniversary. If you haven’t become aware of this publication, I urge you to discover it. The photography is beyond compare and always inspires. If you want to keep up with the cutting edge men’s designers… this is the place for you.
Each issue includes new completely free gifts for the members of the freereaders group. In fact, over the next few days, I will be showing a few of the best gifts here on our blog. The first and certainly one of the best gifts available is the “Theo Suit” from AsteroidBox. I can’t thank this designer enough for the spectacular gift. The suit is marvelously styled with a modern edge. The faint print of the skeleton bones on the fabric gives it an almost menacing look while being so sleek. Yes, I guess you can say I like this suit!
To join the L’Homme group simply click the sign above any of the gifts and join up for free. Then help yourself to an array of gifts fit for the discerning gentleman.
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