NEW LAQ Gaia Bento Mesh Head

Considering how long I've been in SL you would think I would be one of the first to jump on the mesh body/mesh head/bento bandwagon.  Here's the thing, I love the way I look and hate change.  Till now I was only on my 3rd skin change in 8 years!  Last week was my new Maitreya Lara mesh body so I decided to go all out and get a mesh head.  If I'm spending the money anyway, might as well jump all the way into Bento!

Yes Catwa and Lelutka are kinds the gold standard in mesh heads, or at least the most popular I decided to be a bit different.  LAQ just released the first Motion Capture bento mesh head.  Makes for more realistic animations.  Plus I really like the sculpt.

First thing on deciding on a mesh head, bento or regular, is you must like the sculpt.  Yes you can change things with sliders, but there is still a basic sculpt that is the base for it.  If there wasn't we wouldn't need so many choices. 

LAQ Gaia came with 5 shapes and they were pretty for the head, but not the body, so I copied the slider info of the one I liked best and just edited my normal shape.  I'm happy, but she still needs a little tweeking.  Hopefully her mouth gets a bit prettier in future posts.  The picture above is without any makeup or lipstick applied, just what came on my skin.  It does not use mesh eyes, just system eyes, which I actually like.

My opinion of the head is a bit mixed.  LOVE the sculpt and love some of the features of the HUD.  Animations are great and some are very fun.  The HUD has some great features and is very easy to learn plus has the OMEGA relay built in so you don't have to buy it seperate.  There are a couple things that I sincerely hope get fixed in an update.  Biggest complaint is that there is no way to clear a layer.  If I add an eyeshadow or lipstick I can't take it off.  Unless the designer added a remove to the applier it's just on till you change it, but can't take it off all together.  That being said, You can save looks so you can just apply a set look or if you are like me, I saved a look that has nothing applied but the skin.  This really does need an update though.  I would like a better way to select animations for when I'm taking pictures, but you can select animations to play or just select the ones to play at random.

Enough talking... here's the info of what I'm wearing :)

BODY:    Maitreya Lara
HEAD:   LAQ Gaia
SKIN:     7 Deadly s[K]ins - HAWAI [ omega ] mesh head applier PINEAPPLE
HAIR:    Magika - 03 - Empty Gold
EYES:    LAQ ~ Bento eyes [Modifiable] (came with the head)
TOP:     Mystic Dragon Designs - Wild Rose (L$10 cart sale)

SIM:    Brand New Colony (adult only)

New Mesh Body

Should you get a mesh body???

In today's SL, everything has gone mesh!  Believe me, if you wern't around in the old days you have no idea what an improvement this is.  For those that are new or just don't want to spend money on the game, it can be a problem.  I moved slowly into changing my body.  First got the slink high feet because it was becoming harder and harder to get system shoes.  For fun I got the bento hands from Vista. LOVE THEM!!!  Last night I went to the SL14 gift event.  60 great gifts from many of SL's talented designers.  Every outfit was for mesh body only, one pair of shoes was Maitreya only and there were some slippers that were flat, so I would have had to remove my slink feet.  While these were a great value to be getting for free, it made it so I couldn't use so many of the gifts.  Since I want to be able to  help newbies, I was torn on the whole mesh body issue.

My Solution

After a night of thought, I decided to go ahead and get my mesh body.  I will keep my system body in tact under it so I can just remove it as needed.  This was I can help both types of readers.  Those with and without mesh bodies will benefit from my finds on the grid.
(System body on Left in white - Mesh body on Right in black)

 Did it make a difference?

As a photographer, there is some big improvements.  With a system body there are some weird things that happen to your body as you pose.  I'll show you a close up of what I mean, though this was not an extreme case and the mesh body close up to show the difference.

 

I also like that I can change my feet from flat to mid to high in the click of a button. The Maitreya includes bento hands with animations so you can use your regular AO and still get the bento advantage.  I hate to spend money where it's not needed. 

The Cost...

Investment in a mesh body is costly.  If you add a mesh head (a post for another day) it can be beyond some peoples budgets.  My Maitreya Lara body set me back L$2750.  If you are looking at slink feet and/or bento hands, it's not much more that the two combined.  If you are like me and had already spent the money on those options, it's just a lot of money.

Based on what I saw in the SL14 gift event and on my hunts, I can tell that within a couple of years you will have very little options, at least in the free gifts stores offer.  Marketplace will always have system clothing available, but I suggest making this upgrade sooner than later.

I hope you all found this helpful.  Drop me, Calista Easterling, a notecard in world or message me on Facebook if you have any questions.

Body: Maitreya Lara

Skin: Glam Affair Roza

Eyes: Mayfly Liquid Light Mesh Eyes (gray shadow w3)

Hair: Tableau Vivant \\ SL14 Gift (free in the SL14 gift event)

White Lingerie was a freebie from 8 years ago

Black Lingerie comes with the Maitreya Lara body and has a hud to apply.