Billy Beaverhausen
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A Signature Look VII
A little less than a month ago we took a look at Signature Geralt. You could say I had a dabble with him and the results were interesting and kinda cute. Now it is time to turn our attention to his older brother Gianni. There is a Signature Event running till September 21st, so this is the perfect time for it. You can even purchase the Gianni body at the reduced price of L$2750 until September 17th. Sadly there is no discount on the Signature head and you’ll be paying the full L$4000, which I find a tad bit overboard.
Of course you can pop pretty much any male mesh head on the Gianni body, but the point about this particular series within my blog is to show different looks with the Gianni mesh head. I think many people will agree that there are more sophisticated heads available, but as I said the other day: vive la difference! Some people will like the “quirkiness” of this head and others are just lazy shoppers and simply bought their head and body from the same place before they realised you can get a head elsewhere. Go figure! So if you’re quirky or lazy, I’m here to show you some options within your mostly self-imposed limits. This time it’s extra convenient for the aforementioned lazy asses, because the skin I’m using is also from Signature.
The Davis skin was launched at some fair probably about a century ago. I’d hate to turn this into a Covid19 rant, but between our little corona friend and the constant elevated state of drama caused by He Who Must Not Be Named (Voldetrump!), time for me has become an increasingly blurry concept. Anyhoo, this skin was made for the Signature body and Lelutka Skyler head, but it’s not doing too badly with the Signature Gianni head either. I might do a follow-up blog post with a Lelutka mesh head on the Gianni body, if I can muster the strength. The Davis skin is L$900 and for that you get a head and body skin in 5 skin tones, each coming in a very athletic version (what I am using) and a more average version (still fit as f*ck). The Gianni head needs a bit of tender love and care to make the best of it, but I find that a beard, strong eyebrows, nice eyes and replacement mesh ears go a long way. Then there’s all the tinkering with the shape of course. I’ll put the shape for this look in my Marketplace store in case you like what you’re seeing but you haven’t got the strength to try and recreate it.
As for the event, now that Signature is trying to create some traction for their female body, naturally the Signature Event has become more mixed. It doesn’t mean that there would have been more male items if the female avatar stuff hadn’t been there though, it just means you need to do a bit more walking or panning your camera around. Personally I just didn’t feel like putting on any clothes today, so I’ll leave it at this for now.
Oh and before I forget, THE BLOGGIES have opened up their site for this year’s nominations. I’m not really all that bovvered, but the way the economy is going these days, it might be a good idea to try and build my brand anyway even if I’m not making any money of this blog right now. So if you think I should be nominated in any of the categories, go ahead and show me some love on The Bloggies nominations page.
Credits
- Signature Gianni mesh body and mesh head
- Signature Davin BOM skin
- Billy Beaverhausen Signature Gianni Shape Magnus
- IDTTY Real Brows
- Avi-Glam Solstice Mesh Eyes
- L’etrê Basic Mesh Ears
- Stealthic Hysteria hair and Stealthic hair base (using the thick version)
- Volkstone Simon facial hair and mesh beard
- Modulus body hair set 1
- Noche mesh nipples
- Noche Halloween Jockstrap
- Jian Kitten Pillow
A Look at Akeruka Advanced – Episode 4
It may seem like I can’t get enough of this Akeruka Advanced male mesh head and in case you were wondering if I’m being sponsored, I can assure you that I am not. Believe me. Believe me! *plays imaginary accordion*
I really like Catwa mesh heads and more than approve of the success Lelutka is having with their male mesh heads, but I have always had a soft spot for the less popular options. Leaving that soft spot out of the equation, the Akeruka Advanced mesh head is objectively more sophisticated than its predecessors. The fact that you can find some BOM skins that will work with it even though they have been made for Catwa mesh heads is a big plus.
This time I dug up the Vendetta Amir skin I got as a gift a little while ago. At least I think I got it as a gift, or was it a hunt? Or did I just buy it? It’s not as if I’m keeping careful track of my purchases. You haven’t lived Second Life™ if you never accidentally bought something you already owned. Anyhoo, this Amir skin is another great example of something that was made for Catwa heads but fits on the Akeruka Advanced head quite well.
For all the previous looks with this head I have been using the Belleza Jake mesh body, but for this one I switched to Legacy Meshbody and of course the head fits on it beautifully. What I like about the Vendetta body skin is that the abs are less defined compared to many other skins. I’m not saying this is better, I’m simply appreciation that it’s different. Vive la difference!
Credits
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head, including an HD beard with some options (don’t worry you can have a clean shave if you want).
- Legacy body by “Meshbody” (they appropriated the generic term “mesh body” as their brand, I don’t like it either, but I really like the body).
- Vendetta Amir skin tone #3 for Catwa (using the BOM layer obviously, not the applier)
+ body skin for Legacy. Note that I was using rather bright lights for this photo shoot. #3 is a rather pale skin tone, but it will look a bit darker in most situations. - Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Rickard.
- The brows on the Amir skin look a bit faded, so I’m using the no-brow skin and added Mister Razzor Kanye brows (includes 4 different version, even one without shaved bits).
- Noche mesh nipples
- Modulus Cole hair (free gift fat pack).
- Avi Glam Solstice eye, applied to the rigged eyes that come with the head (you will need the Omega System Kit for Akeruka, which you can get at the Akeruka store.
- Noche Angel Open Shirt and Hayden Jeans, both rigged for Belleza Jake and Legacy. The shirt is also rigged for Signature Gianni and the jeans include a size for the female Legacy body, in case any ladies have stumbled onto this blog.
Clearing Out The Wardrobe – Episode 6
It was time to take another look at some of my older outfits and decide what needed to go and what could be used as the base for an update. Many of my old outfits are with the TMP Deluxe mesh body and head. Pretty as they are, that body and head are from the pre-bento era so there definitely is room for improvement there. As for t-shirt and jeans, obviously we all have those in are wardrobe, but there’s always space for new ones.
What I definitely appreciate is that there are more options for tucked-in shirts. Some, like for example the new Berry T-shirt by Noche, include a loose and tucked version, giving you the option to look very casual or a little sharper. Of course there’s no guarantee that this will work with any pair of jeans, but luckily Noche had enough common sense to make sure that the tucked in t-shirt works with their own Hayden Jeans. I’m sure there are other brands that do this and in some cases you’ll be able to tuck a shirt from one maker in the trousers of another. It takes some patience and plenty of demos to track those down, but what else are you going to do in SL?
That’s another look successfully updated, now I should be cold-hearted and give at least ten other outfits the axe.
Credits
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Stray Dog Drake for Catwa heads (using the BOM layer obviously, not the applier)
+ body skin for Belleza Jake - Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Rickard
- Modulus Adrian hair
- Noche Berry T-shirt (fat pack) at Equal10 until and at the Noche main store after the event. Rigged for Belleza Jake and Legacy (m)
- Noche Hayden Jeans (fat pack). Rigged for Belleza Jake and Legacy (m)
- Versov Kurtov low sneakers (fat pack)
- Location: Souls Of Dreams
A LOOK AT AKERUKA ADVANCED – EPISODE 3
As the title of this blog post suggests, this is my third look with the Akeruka Advanced male mesh head. I am happy to report that I found another BOM skin that wasn’t made for this head, but nevertheless is looking pretty good on it.
This time I’m using the Birth Dagger BOM skin for Catwa in skin tone #7. There is a slight lack of definition at the mouth corners, but there are no other noticeable flaws. That’s pretty amazing, considering this skin wasn’t made for this head at all. I wonder if the people at Catwa are going to have (another) bee in their precious bonnet over this. Don’t assume that every Birth skin that comes with a BOM version will look good on the Akeruka Advanced head. You always need to DEMO before you actually purchase. The Dagger skin comes with a hair base and beard options, so you won’t have to go look for those elsewhere.
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Birth Dagger for Catwa heads (using the BOM layer obviously, not the applier)
+ body skin for Belleza Jake - Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Joshua
- Camo Blaze Dreads at Cyber Fair until September 23, then at Camo main store
- Avi Glam Solstice eye, applied to the rigged eyes that come with the head (you will need the Omega System Kit for Akeruka, which you can get at the Akeruka store
- Noche Jourdan Hoodie and Carter underwear on both avatars (colours used are fat pack)
- The second avi is using Clef De Peau skin
Thong Song 2
Let’s be honest, the vast majority of the fashion items that look like someone stitched together a tiny flimsy bit of fabric and some dental floss, are being worn by women. However, women weren’t the first to wear thongs. Go back about 44,000 years and you’ll see thongs being worn by men in Africa. I imagine historians figured that out from carvings, because if they made those thongs in a fabric that has stood the test of time till know, they must have been chafing like hell. In Minoan and Mycean culture thongs pop up around 1570 BCE. I think it was on a Tuesday, that someone gave their arch nemesis a serious wedgie and then thought: “hey, there’s a product development idea in this…” Anyhoo, let’s return to the here and now and our virtual culture.
Noche has just released a new metallic version of their James Thong and it’s pleasantly shiny. Treat yourself to the fat pack and you get a whopping 27 colours which you can apply to the main fabric and trim individually. Oh just think of all the colour combinations! The thong is rigged for the Belleza Jake and Legacy mesh body and comes with three bulge sizes, cause some of us are a bit more modest than others. That’s all I’ve got to say about it. So go sparkle and be gay… Or straight. Maybe the missus would enjoy seeing you do the shimmy for once.
Credits (left)
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Stray Dog Erwin for Catwa heads (using the BOM layer) + body skin for Belleza Jake
- Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Rickard
- Stealthic Narcotic hair and Stealthic hair base
Credits (Right)
- Lelutka Guy head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Clef De Peau Allan skin + Tight body applier for Belleza Jake
- Billy Beaverhausen Gus shape for Lelutka Guy & Belleza
A Look at Akeruka Advanced – episode 2
As mentioned in my previous post about the Akeruka Advanced male mesh head, I was going to take a look at some other skin options. I told you not to dilly dally, because I didn’t know how much longer the head will be on sale for just L$2000, so I thought I’d take my own advice there and quickly follow up with a second look.
Interestingly, some of the Stray Dog skins made for Catwa Heads seem to go quite well on the Akeruka Advanced mesh head. You need to get a skin that includes BOM layers of course, because you could be clicking that Catwa applier till the cows come home, the skin wouldn’t apply to the head and you’d just end up with a herd of cattle looking at you curiously. The lips on the Stray Dog Erwin skin I’m using are going slightly over the lip contours of the mesh head, but it’s not really obvious and apart from that I can’t immediately notice any other faults. I guess someone else will look at it closer and make a serious effort to find fault. You know the kind of people I’m talking about. The ones that evoke the c-word… Conservative.
Credits
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Stray Dog Erwin for Catwa heads (using the BOM layer obviously, not the applier) + body skin for Belleza Jake
- Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Rickard
- Stealthic Narcotic hair and Stealthic hair base
- Noche nipples
- Avi Glam Solstice eye, applied to the rigged eyes that come with the head (you will need the Omega System Kit for Akeruka, which you can get at the Akeruka store.
- Noche Miguell Joggers on both avatars (colours used are only in the fat pack)
- Rezz Room European Cat Adult Animesh
A look at Akeruka Advanced
On a whim I picked up the Akeruka Advanced mesh head and I like it. That’s all. Bye for now. what? What? WHAT? How do you mean, “I need to write stuff about it.” (mutters: greedy sods) “All right, all right, all right”, he says in his worst McConaughey impression.
Advanced is the newest range of mesh heads from Akeruka and with it they have taken another strong step towards sophistication. The Advanced mesh head is very suitable to be used with BOM layers, but you can still use Omega appliers or dedicated Akeruka appliers, if you can find them. Keep in mind that if you want to use Omega appliers you will need the Omega System Kit, which you can pick up at the Akeruka store. I wont be going to deeply into the whole BOM thing here, because there’s plenty of tutorial material about it available if you search for it. A basic rule is, if you you’re using BOM don’t where an alpha that hides the system head because it will turn your head bright red, though I suppose that could be a look. If you want to use an omega applier, you do put on that alpha layer like you did in the pre-BOM days. If you want to go back to BOM, you remove the alpha layer again and click the “BAKES ON MESH” button in the head’s hud (it’s on the first tab) and hey presto, your system skin will be baked on your mesh head. Slack Girl, who supports the Akeruka brand, has several tutorials for the Advanced heads on her YouTube channel. She works with the female head, but the principle is the same.
The Akeruka Advanced head comes with:
- a skin made by Stray Dog in skin tones #1 to #4, matching up with Stray Dog body skins
- some cool options in the main hud to make the skin look older and/or wet
- HD beard with 8 optionsYou also get an HD beard ad-on with 8 options
- a pack of tattoo layers containing a hair base, freckles, blush and alternative eyebrows
- mesh eyes that can be changed using the main hud (9 options) or with a 3rd party omega applier
- an animation hud with 9 moods and 18 expressions
- a shape and brow shape (but I made my own)
- there’s more stuff in the box which probably won’t use (oh, how mysterious)
The neck seam on the combination of the Akeruka Advanced mesh head with the Belleza Jake mesh body is probably a little less polished than on the combination of the Lelutka Skyler head with the Legacy Meshbody. You will notice the neck seam from time to time depending on the windlight™ (I used the [Analu] AvatarOpt (Caliah) whiter windlight for these shots). The necksheath option that comes with the Belleza body only adds insult to your neck injury.
Upon publishing of this post, this head was priced at L$2000, which is a bloody good price. I think this eventually will go up, so if I have peaked your interest, don’t dilly dally too long and head over to Akeruka.
I think I’ll be playing with some more looks with this head in the days to come. Keep your eyes peeled.
Credits
- Akeruka Advanced mesh head, using the Stray Dog skin that comes with this head
- Belleza Jake mesh body
- Stray Dog body skin for Belleza Jake
- Billy Beaverhausen Akeruka Advanced and Belleza Jake Shape Rickard
- Modulus Sadik hair
- Noche nipples
- Avi Glam Solstice eye, applied to the rigged eyes that come with the head (you will need the Omega System Kit for Akeruka, which you can get at the Akeruka store.
Shopping for David August 2020 – Part 2
Because I noticed that there are some Legal Insanity items I had not tried yet, I thought I’d squeeze in a second round of shopping for the NX-Nardcotix David mesh avatar. Legal Insanity do not include the David size in their items, but he often does well with the Aesthetic (Enzo) size for trousers, so it’s always worth a try.
As you can see the Legal Insanity Steve denims work a treat wit David. Imagine the colour coordinating fun you can have by changing the colour of the side stripes and belt while you’re putting together an outfit. Hours of fun! I tend to reduce my leg muscles when I’m wearing jeans in this size, as they make the thighs look just a tad too swole. The L&B Swear Ranger boots are a good option in this case, because the Steve denims include a boots version which tucks in nicely without glitching. You may have to try on several pairs of boots before you achieve that level of perfection. Speaking of perfection, I tested the NX-Nardcotix Darrel tank top and it tucks in without glitching also, leaving just a tiny gap at the back, which I found rather enticing.
There were no suitable tops at Legal Insanity for David, so I decided to quit while I was ahead and go for a Swim. The Horr Positano Deuce Swimwear isn’t exactly “original mesh”. You’ll find this same speedo with different texturing from plenty of creators on the grid. Seeing how poor David has very limited options in the swimwear department, this will have to do. I draped a towel by ::K:: over my shoulder just to give the shot that little extra something. That’s an item I got from a hunt in 2018 and it doesn’t appear to be at their store, but they do have another smaller and more folded towel you can drape over your shoulder that probably works better, as you’re arm won’t go through it while you’re moving.
That’s it for David again. I’ll pick him up for another shopping trip some time in September.
Credits
Men Only Hunt August 2020
The current Men Only Hunt has passed me by for most of its run. In general I have been slightly less active in Second Life™, as a combination of the real life job and my temporary enthusiasm for reaching 500,000 steps on my counter this month, has taken up much of my time. I got a couple of nice items from this particular hunt in the past though, so I quickly worked my way through the list of participating stores. My first impression was that there are an awful lot of poses and tattoos in this hunt and not that many wearable items. I also noticed that this no longer is a free hunt. Items are priced between 0 and 10 L$ and you don’t always know what you’re going to get. You can find the full list of landmarks and hints on the Men Only Hunt site and you have time until August 30th to finish the hunt, though in my experience it’s not unheard of to still find the hunt item at stores past the finishing date.
In this shot the Men Only Hunt items are:
- Marlon Punch Bag by L’Meshe (not animated)
- Loose Half-P shorts (with and without jock) by Gild (for Jake, Gianni and Legacy),
- Amahau tattoo by Letis (only seeing a small part of it here on the back and arms)
- Mister Razzor Felipe Facial Hair
- Vegas tattoo Society
- XTC Kovac boxers (for Jake, Gianni, Geralt, Legacy and slink)
- IDK pose pack 129, including the pizza and other accessories
I’m not going to list al other credits this time. I can say that as pizza guy, I’m wearing the same shape, body, head and skin as for my latest episode of Dabbling With Geralt. The other mesh body used in this shot is of course Belleza Jake. The image was shot at a Skye Warehouse Loft and the cat is by Rezz Room. That’s all I’m going to say. That’s it. Go away! Get hunting!
Dabbling with Geralt – Episode XVI
Why do I keep feeling the need to futz with less popular male mesh heads and bodies? It’s not like there aren’t a lot of sophisticated options out there. Looking at mesh heads, it is easy to see that Catwa, and Lelutka are going strong. Akeruka’s latest “Advanced” male mesh head looks pretty promising on the poster too. When it comes to bodies, Belleza Jake, Legacy Meshbody and Signature Gianni are very well represented on the grid. And with that we come to at least one reason why I still tinker with the Signature Geralt mesh body and head every now and again. Some people prefer “interesting” over simply handsome. One person’s ugly is another person’s weirdly attractive. Overall you stand a better chance at having a slightly more unique looking avatar if you veer away from the massively over represented popular ones. The second reason is that I like an achievable challenge in Second Life. I know it takes a bit more effort to find a working skin for this head, but when I finally have pulled together a look I find acceptable, there’s a vague rather misplaced sense of achievement. One has to take every opportunity one can get to give oneself a pat on the back, while one is still flexible enough to do so. Now let’s look at what I did with Geralt. Slapped him on the ass, probably, but that’s beside the point.
I decided to give Avenge a go. They have several skins for Signature, but these have been on the market since before the launch of Geralt and have been made for Gianni. Not all of Avenge’s skins work equally well, but with the Devon skin in the bronze skin tone, Geralt has a certain level of boy-next-door cuteness about him. The freckles I added to the head and body are also available from Avenge and the beard is one of the standard options that come with this head. The body hair is by Modulus and I think that if would try to use both the freckles and the body hair as an applier, the two would cancel each other out. As it is, I’m using the BOM version of the Avenge skin for the body, with the body hair as a BOM tattoo layer on top of that. That leaves applier layers free for the freckles, showing that combining BOM and appliers not only is perfectly possible, but even gives you more options. Popping on a pair of mesh nipples by Noche is a good idea for a sharper look. While you’re at Noche, take a look at the Alexander leggings. This is one of a few of their items that are rigged for Geralt. The JOCKD January 2019 Panelled Bikini Brief by Thirst is a nice option if you’re looking for swimwear. Both the leggings and brief go well with a pair of Signature Geralt flip flops.
Alas Geralt hasn’t got much in the way of underwear. Thirst’s JOCKD January 2019 Peekabooty brief is among the better naughty options for this body. Pop on a pair of Noche Ultimate socks and home boy’s got himself a lazy Sunday outfit. Netflix and chill anyone?
The Geralt body has less support then his older brother Gianni among clothing designers but there definitely are some cool items available in his size from several big brands. Wear the new Draven shirt with the not so new Diego shorts both by Legal Insanity and what you have yourself there, is an easy outfit to see you through the last couple of weeks of summer, or just through the year if you live somewhere that doesn’t have proper seasons, you poor sods. Also, yes those ARE the Deadwool Chase sneakers you’re seeing again. I can’t help it! They’re well made, include the Geralt size and I’ve got the fatpack. At least I’m not one of those people who purchase fatpacks and then end up always using the same colour. You know who you are.
Credits
- Signature Geralt mesh body and mesh head
- Avenge Devon skin for Signature heads in Bronze tone (applier only) + their skin for the Signature body in the matching tone (I’m using the BOM skin, but an applier is included as well)
- Avenge Freckles Palette for Signature mesh heads and Freckles for Signature body (you may need to look around a bit to find these at Avenge), both used as appliers (no BOM included)
- Billy Beaverhausen Signature Geralt shape Kendji
- Noche Mesh Nipples
- Stealthic Like Lust hair (comes with sides, not wearing these)
- Avi-Glam Solstice mesh eyes
- L’etrê Basic Mesh Ears
- Rebellion Savant Specs
- Thirst JOCKD January 2019 set, containing Peekabooty Brief and Panelled Bikini Brief (only a few items at Thirst come in the Geralt size)
- Noche Alexander Leggings and Ultimate Shawn socks (only a few items at Noche come in the Geralt size)
- Signature Geralt Sandals
- Rezz Room Europen Cat Adult Animesh
- Jian Corgi Sleepy Boi (group gift)
- Floorplan Pile of Books (with some animations)
- Apple Fall Coffee & Muffin
