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Let’s Talk About Proportions

proportions

Recently someone made a comment about the shapes I sell in my marketplace store and I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss realistic proportions and perhaps help those that are looking to create more proportionate shapes in Second Life.

The comment basically said that my shapes were “gorilla” like with “too long arms.” I thought this would be a great teaching moment and even though I have talked about proportions quite a few times before, in my Proportions post from 2013 and then in my Digits Challenge from 2013, I realized it’s been a while and perhaps a refresher is necessary.

I know in Second Life we can be whatever we want to be so I am in no way saying that if you don’t have a proportionate avatar then there is something wrong with that, you do you! However, if you are trying to create a more realistically proportioned avatar, let’s take a look at this image of the human body:

As you can see, the arms on all the different bodies reach about mid-thigh. If they didn’t reach about mid-thigh, then after we went to the restroom, it would be very difficult for us to clean ourselves properly. If we can’t clean ourselves properly, we’re basically just walking around with a dirty vagina. The reason the arms on my shapes are all mid-thigh is because I want to look realistically proportionate and I don’t want to walk around with a dirty vagina.

Now, I’m not saying that my shapes are absolutely proportionate. I have made my legs longer than they proportionately should be, but I did that because I preferred the way clothing fit on longer legs. So if you prefer to have shorter arms, like I said, you do you! Maybe you want to walk around with a dirty vagina, who am I to judge?

The bodies on my bento shapes are all exactly the same, I never change those because I like the way my body looks and I feel comfortable in it. The only thing I change is the face to go with whichever bento head I am making the shape for. My shapes are only L$99 because I never planned to ever sell them. I just ended up selling them because people kept asking me for them. I make the shapes for myself, and I just put them up on marketplace so people can buy them if they want to look like me. I am actually quite surprised at the amount of shapes that I sell so I do want to thank all of those that purchase my shapes and support my work. Thank you, you are feeding my Second Life shopping addiction!

On a final quick note, to the person that gave this ‘constructive criticism’ to me, you may not know but using an ape insult, especially towards a black avatar, is incredibly racist. Please read this so you don’t look racist or ignorant again in the future: The ape insult: a short history of a racist idea

Thank you for reading and for your continued support of my work. Don’t forget to share this post on your social media so perhaps in the future we can see more proportionate avatars in Second Life.

UPDATE: I was asked to also include a full body shot of my male shape, so here it is, credits listed below:
proportions

My Style Credits for Female Avatar:
Shape: StrawberrySingh.com Catwa-Ciara Shape by Strawberry Singh
*Mesh Body: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V4.1 by Onyx LeShelle
*Mesh Head: CATWA HEAD Ciara v3.1 by Catwa Clip
*Skin Applier: League Sadie by Nena Janus
*Eyes Applier: Avi-Glam Reverie Eyes by Kendra Parfort
Hair: booN Lab.053 hair by boo Nakamura
*Bikini: erratic / leffe – bikini / black by erratic rain

My Style Credits for Male Avatar:
Shape: StrawberrySingh.com Daniel Shape by Strawberry Singh
*Mesh Body: [Signature] Gianni  BODY v4.4 by Mona Delpiaz & Raph Dirval
*Mesh Head: CATWA HEAD Daniel v3.0 by Catwa Clip
*Mesh Ears: [MANDALA]SIMPLE_EARS_HUTUU by kikunosuke Eel
*Skin Applier: STRAY DOG – JASON – TONE 06 by Gac Akina
*Eyes Applier: Avi-Glam Enchanted Eyes – Catwa Applier – Pack 2 by Kendra Parfort
*Bento Beard: [MF] Daniel Bento Hipster Stache & Beard Medium – Night by ElleEtGance
*Hair: Stealthic – Haunting by Stealthic
*Boxers: [Signature] Gianni Boxer – Halloween gift by Mona Delpiaz
*Tattoo: Letis Tattoo :: KING by Leti Hax

Strawberry

Strawberry has been a Second Life Resident since 2007 and a Linden Lab employee since 2019.

65 thoughts on “Let’s Talk About Proportions

  • I saw that comment and found it quite ignorant.
    Your shapes are lovely and you don’t need to justify them for some persons ignorance.
    There are many shapes in SL we can choose from so this persons comment was uncalled for.
    X

  • Actually didn’t bother me Isabelle (aside from the racist slur) as it gave me this opportunity to teach with this post. Hopefully it will inspire others to also make more realistically proportionate shapes.

  • DreamsDesire Starfall

    How did fingertip length coats get their name? The fingertips of your hand reaches the hem of the coat, which is mid-thigh or ‘about’ two inches below your buttocks. I Also purchased one of your shapes from the marketplace for the head proportions and kept the body as i enjoy my own shape. Thank you for sharing with us!

  • I took the liberty of sharing your post on my blog ♥
    Still snorting about your on point remarks about dirty vags… no judging of course!!

  • Absolutely satisfied with your shapes i bought on marketplace over time. Always interested in how to create a more realistic shape and your blogposts gave me good notes. Buying a bento-head presented me with some “problems” in terms of a fitting shape, getting the matching shape on the marketplace gave me an excellent starting point and fixed that problem. From that point on i could easily alter the shape after my liking. Good luck Berry and thanks!

  • JulyTalks

    Perhaps they didn’t realize your avi is supposed to be black. It doesn’t look it.

  • chryblnd

    oh those little T-Rex arms drive me barmy, thank you Berry!

  • Also I follow the canon of human proportions for my avatar, I studied drawing and painting and I have never been able to see my disproportionate avatar haha, phenomenal the article in terms of proportions, I think it will help many people to have a more realistic avatar, respecting always how other users want to see your avatar.

  • Lexi Mensing

    One of the best and worst things about SL is the sheer volume and diversity of the people involved. I learned a long time ago that in that mass of people, there are some that don’t think or behave in a way that I would consider reasonable, rational or mature. While your explanation makes perfect sense, I doubt that the ignorant individual that made comment will read it, or care. They only wanted to hurt or upset you. Please allow me to apologize on their behalf, and join my voice to the hundreds…probably thousands raised in your support and defense. Screw that…here’s a hug!

  • Laura Blues

    Most negative comments on shapes are from people who don’t realize that, unless they wear that specific head with that specific skin, it won’t look like the picture. Your shapes rock!

  • Completely agree with you, Berry, although I’ve had a long struggle with mine (it ain’t over yet). Proportionate is much more appealing though!

    *goes rummaging for Berry’s ‘digits’ challenge post….*

  • Oh my god! You KILLED me with the dirty vagina description! Your shapes are lovely and this was the absolute perfectly diplomatic response. <3

  • Shame on You

    Do amputees and those born without limbs have dirty vaginas, as your post suggests?

    Pot, meet Kettle. I found your remarks incredibly offensive.

  • Coral Forcella

    Kudos to you for always keeping your cool and not stooping to the cruel level of others while turning those moments into teaching moments! I have a couple of your shapes I used as a starting point when I was first figuring out mesh bodies and heads. They worked fine for me and over time, I have modified them some to create my own look which is one of the great things about mesh.

  • Lauren

    The rule is simple, it must be long enough to touch yourself. 😛

  • i see nothing wrong with your shapes…the issue with some people in SL is that the love the big butts, big boobs, long legs, and large hips it seems…they seem to get more of attention then people who strive to have better proportions…i recently got a mesh head and mixed the proportions from 2 shapes i got from heads i tried and tweaked my custom shape…seriously refused to give up a custom shape someone made me…i like to look like real life person but a hybrid of course…i guess people love to criticize in this world

  • Pingback: Proportional Shapes in Second Life | Nalates' Things & StuffNalates’ Things & Stuff

  • Ever since SL’s most infamous bovine, Penny Patton, enlightened us about the nonsense habit of T-Rex arms, back in 09 I guess it was (and let’s be honest here, didn’t we all look like little T-Rexes back then?), it’s hard to imagine that some ppl are still claiming that today’s much more realistic shapes are gorilla-like.
    Some ppl are ignorant and proud of it. 🙁

  • Animating for t-rex arms is quite the challenge as well 🙂 “Why is hand in my bosom?” they ask…

    If your arms were proportionate you should be scratching your head, not your tit 😀

    The hilarity really begins with couples anims!

  • Lahaina Jonstone

    You know Berry, when you start getting personal insults you have made it to the top! ***wink***

  • I’m all about proportional for me and I’ve purchased several of your shapes. The changes I make to them are small because you know what you’re doing! The changes I make are specific to ME, shorter height, less body fat/thickness, changes to the eyes and mouth, but the proportions are correct.

  • Rebecca Lynn Troyer

    As always this article was very helpful! Also thanks for the cool charts. I am a high school art teacher and I am going to show my students the chart tomorrow.
    Here is my question. I like my avatar short. Like 5’8″. How do I get the right proportions for that? I also kind of like some curve. 🙂

  • caramia Mizin

    You are the best Strawberry, love your work, love your views on SL/RL and love the humour in this post.

    I really must try to introduce myself to you in SL soon.

  • Noemi

    Hm all good and fine, but when it comes to proportiosn why not using anatomical correct bodies Like Belleza ?
    Everyone can see on the signature, this is not how a human body looks and the Maitreya also doesn’t look like a human being.

  • Bobbie Faulds

    People are so used to the default avi with the shorter arms, the longer look weird to them.It’s the same thing we saw when mesh feet first came out. I reminded people to grab one of their shoes in RL and hold it up to their forearm. The average person’s foot is the same length as their forearm and that when you look down you are only seeing about half of your foot.

    Shoes in SL were made to a 0 on the sliders for builders. I took a class on making prim shoes back in the day. You made it big then shrunk it down as far as you could, which for the 0 slider. Mesh feet are more proportional to RL but look huge at first because they are larger than the 0 slider setting.

  • Sweecahcahche Ah

    Strawberry i agree completely with you on this and the proportional shape issue. I am a builder and sim designer in SL and only build to 1:1 scale (for those who wonder what 1:1 scale is its 1m real Life = 1m prim size). This often brings up comments from people that my builds are too small or the 8ft tall avatar they are using cant sit properly in one of my vehicles or get through my doorway, as if it is my fault they are a giant.

    My avatar itself is 5’9″ thats 5 inches taller than me in RL and at times i do feel like a kid in height walking around, but that is my choice and I am happy to be my realistic size, even if it does mean at times i need a box to stand on to reach some buildings door handles.

    I studied Art at college and specialized in portraits and the human form and It really surprises me the amount of shapes in SL that claim to be realistically proportioned that really have no true proportional features at all.

    I do sometimes wonder if monitor screen display effects how people see an avatar in SL, especially when i see the avatars with gaping wide hips that look like they should still be seated on a horse when standing.

    Anyway I have purchased one of your shapes before and found it very close to proportional except for the legs being slightly longer than I would consider realistic to the average person, but none of us are truly average we all have parts of our bodies that are not true to exact proportion and you only have to look at many catwalk models to see that longer legs sell clothes. All in all your shapes are perfectly proportioned within the realistic range of human forms so keep up the good work and please keep sharing your shapes to hopefully help builders like me who would love a realistic uniform scale of size in SL to one day be the norm across the grid !! yes I know thats a long shot but i can dream. 🙂

  • Some people like to walk around with dirty vjays.. who are we to judge? Love your post x

  • Rebecca, you should be able to make a short avatar and get the right proportions. I always cam out when making the shape and just eyeball it, I don’t necessarily measure with prims, etc… but you can try doing that. Nalates has a model shape tool on marketplace that might help too:
    https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Model-Shape-Tool/3518033

    Noemi, I disagree with your assessment.

  • TabbithaJane

    Oh my goodness Berry! You crack me up. And so happy you manage to keep clean. I am not really sure what someone’s deal is negatively commenting on your shapes. I mean, really? If you don’t like it then don’t buy it and move along. Make your own! Why bash anyone? Berry? I am glad you do you. Keep it up!

  • Soda Sullivan

    “dirty vagina” Hee, can’t believe you went there! So hard to clean the diet pepsi off my monitor now.

    Thanks for taking the time to do this Berry. A good, not even perfect, but just good proportion makes SL such a better experience for multiple reason. Pictures look better, animations work better and mesh builders are largely creating for smaller avis now. This also greatly reduces your use of “space”, something you pay a lot for in SL. The shorter arms are the biggest mistake I see in SL, second only to smaller heads. The human head is friggen huuuge! This is followed closely by the tiny 0 size feet, especially on the TMP avi. (Not a criticism of TMP, they make them to be adjusted, people just don’t do it.) Stand up at home and look at your body in the mirror. Look how big your head is and look how far your arms hang to your sides. With motion capture animation, this is what the base is. I do think that once you get a good proportion, you have to then cheat a bit so that the clothes you like fit. Thanks Berry for taking the time to share. (Also, I hear Massengill has contacted you about a possible endorsement deal,good luck!)

  • Tarani Tempest

    “I don’t want to walk around with a dirty vagina.” This is a Tshirt waiting to happen 😛

    Great post btw. Someday we will be rid of the Trex phenomenon..the sooner the better 🙂

  • Debi Baskerville

    Love the article Berry. I’ve been passing out my Baskerville Human Proportion Toolkit through the Maitreya Lara Friends Group for the past couple of years. Most of the time people message me saying thank you and how much happier they are with their more proportionate avatar shape after using my tool kit, but there are times when I get flamed for my efforts.

    Like you I believe everyone should make their avatar as they like; however, if they want a humanoid looking avatar it helps to have limbs that are proportionate to the body.

  • I’m going to be a critic here. It seems like you’re a bit biased. First, you admit that your legs are longer than what would be proportionally correct, then you say “If you prefer to have shorter arms, maybe you want to walk around with a dirty vagina, who am I to judge?” Yet, you ARE judging.

    Then you make it an issue about race, which was never actually implied, you ASSUMED that they were implying that due to your avatar’s skin tone. You should have included the comment so that I have could have judged for myself, but hey, this is your blog.

    I make shapes, and I do think I’m a very good shape creator. I will sometimes make shapes for friends, but I’m not ready for the responsibility involved in selling them. The important thing to remember is that we have different aesthetics.

    Yes, I think your arms do look a little long. I won’t insult your avatar/shape, but I won’t purchase your shapes either. My avatar does have shorter arms, but they are certainly long enough to clean her vagina, as you referenced so crudely. I thought you were a liberal feminist; maybe I’m wrong about that?

    In life we need to learn how to accept criticism, yes, sometimes it hurts. It doesn’t give someone the excuse for being a jerk, but we are only talking about avatars here, right?

  • Trem, what does my post have anything to do with me being biased? That makes zero sense, biased about what? A comment was made about my shapes, it did not hurt me because they were talking about an avatar in a virtual world and I naturally assumed they had a disproportionate body since they did not know WHY my arms were that length. I actually felt bad for them and that’s when I decided it was important for me to do this post because I saw it as a teaching opportunity and I hope it resulted in people becoming more aware of their avatar proportions.

    I used crude, offensive humor on purpose because I knew that it would help people remember why it was important to have longer arms and they would then remember to fix their avatar arms if need be. Perhaps that was wrong on my part and I did apologize about that already, although I don’t regret doing it.

    If you read my blog more often, you would know that I can absolutely accept criticism and learn from it and improve myself at every opportunity. You would also learn that I am a teacher and I often do posts where I share my knowledge.

    Do I judge? Sure I do, we all do. But like I said, this is Second Life and we can be whatever we want to be. So if you believe you are a very good shape creator and don’t need to listen to constructive criticism because your arms are the perfect length, don’t worry about my post and go on with your Second Life.

  • “Trem, what does my post have anything to do with me being biased? That makes zero sense, biased about what? ”

    I made that very easy for you to understand. You admit that your legs do not fit what you consider a realistic proportion. But your arms are? So if someone has slightly shorter arms that’s not okay? Why would disproportionately long legs be any better? Maybe that’s not exactly what you were trying to say, but you did come off that way, at least to me. Also, making it seem like the reviewer made a racial slur is a bit of a stretch. We all know that “gorilla arms” is just the opposite of “T-Rex” arms in SL; both look bad.

    I used crude, offensive humor on purpose because I knew that it would help people.” No, sometimes it doesn’t, obviously.

    “I actually felt bad for them” I doubt that, or you wouldn’t have included a crude insult.

    “Do I judge? Sure I do, we all do. But like I said, this is Second Life and we can be whatever we want to be. So if you believe you are a very good shape creator and don’t need to listen to constructive criticism because your arms are the perfect length, don’t worry about my post and go on with your Second Life.”

    Well, I doubt that you would have made that comment to me, as I know that you have never seen my avatar in-world. Yes, I understand that your “tutorials” are not for people like me; especially when it comes to shapes. I guess I just didn’t like your tone; you do come off as offended by the review.

    People are entitled to give a review to their marketplace purchase. Sometimes the review is inaccurate, for various reasons, but what bothers me more, is when the creator has to justify themselves. I have even seen creators argue with the person that gave the review, which is not okay.

  • Jaxynn

    Shame on Shame for being a jackwad by suggesting that this blog post had anything to do with amputees and people born without arms in the first place.

    THIS BLOG POST IS ABOUT SECOND LIFE AVATAR PROPORTIONS.

    Anyone that gets sand in their vagina, or man-gina, (all about gender equality here) over someone’s RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR SELF ON THEIR OWN DAMN BLOG should just not read the f*cking blog to begin with.

    I’m going to borrow a quote from Berry. “You do you” Berry. I enjoy your blog. I appreciate your perspectives regardless of whether or not they mirror or differ from my own. I admire that you are an individual, with your own thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

    Please don’t ever become the product of cookie cutter ass hats that want to shove you into a mold of their design and choosing.

    There’s always going to be someone that will take offense to something you write, say or do. With how often people get offended these days, I am starting to think that its less about being offended and more about wanting attention. For attention whores, where better to get it than by posting shitty comments on a popular person’s blog?

    If Haters would put half as much effort into their own blogs or creative pursuits, as they put into throwing shade at you, maybe their own blogs/projects would be popular enough that they wouldn’t need to come to yours to get the spotlight they crave.

    #RiverDancingOnMySoapBox

  • Trem, I don’t think you understand what the word biased means.

    Of course if this was a paying customer that had left a review on my marketplace or had approached me directly then I would assist them personally and even offer a refund if they did not like the shape. However, it wasn’t a paying customer and it wasn’t a review on marketplace nor was it said directly to me. It also had more than just the long arms comment so without context I can see why you think it’s not a racial slur, but it was. I did not need to share the rest of the comment because it was not important for this post. I also provided a link so they and others can educate themselves on why an ape comment like that is a racial slur, especially if they used that slur without knowing how it can be offensive. I was educating them. I used their comment as a teaching moment so everything I said in this post was to inform and educate.

    But I understand that my post has hurt your feelings and you want to tear apart everything I’ve said, so feel free to be a racist apologist if it makes you feel better.

  • Shimmer Stryker

    I love your shapes Berry! For me , I just prefer my shape to be a little more curvy. Please feel free to do a curvy body shape and put it out there on marketplace, even if you don’t prefer curves I bet it will sell hundreds.. lol
    I have learned so much from you..and this post was very helpful.. *runs to sl to check out my arm length*

  • Shimmer Stryker

    and now that I have caught up on comments.. Trem just move along. It looks like you are just looking for ways to carry on an argument. Perhaps you were the one that made the comment regarding the “gorilla arms” to begin with and maybe that would explain why you are so offended at the response. Understand that others are offended by the reference as it can be considered a racial slur regardless of how it was intended.

  • Stop being condescending, Strawberry. Do you know what that word means? It doesn’t mean kind or helpful like you feel that you are. I really WASN’T trying to hurt your feelings, but clearly are offended. This is why you are trying to insult me.

    Your avatars shape is abnormal; you even admitted this when you said that your legs longer than what would be realistically proportioned. You must be comparing them to your abnormally long legs. I’m sorry if this offends you.

    I’m sorry Shimmer, I know that you may be a fangirl, but I would never buy her shapes, thus I could not make that comment. I already said that I did not buy one of her shapes. You cannot make a comment unless you purchase their shape through the MP. I wouldn’t refrain from saying that it was I who made the review.

    Strawberry knows who made the review, btw. She would have said that I made the review as it would have used my SL name to write the review, duh!

    As I always said, it fruitless getting into an argument on someone’s else’s turf. This is was NOT my intent to being with, but I am surprised by your attitude.

    Biased: Unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something. Example: She’s clearly biased against what she perceives to be little “T-Rex” arms. As she wants all of SL to increase the length of their arms!

    Yes, biased may have been a strong word to use, but I do know what it means. However, I don’t think it was any worse than assuming that she was making a racial slur.

  • Edit: It’s fruitless getting into an argument on someone else’s turf. This is a lesson that I must learn!

    Remember to assume the best, unless proven otherwise. We are both sitting behind our computers and arguments happen this way because people assume that the person is being mean-spirited. Initially, was just being objective, that’s all.

  • Okay Trem, if you feel that I’m biased because I shared the fact that normal human proportions have mid-thigh arm lenths with photographic proof, then so be it. Bias is a preconceived opinion about something or someone. It’s not my opinion that arms are normally mid-thigh length though, it is a fact.

    Also, if you re-read my previous comment, you will notice I wrote a whole paragraph on how the initial comment was not a marketplace review and how there was more said than just the long arms comment. Try re-reading my comment, it might help you understand the situation better. Or who knows, perhaps not, as there seem to be a comprehension issue going on with you in regards to my post. You claim you were trying to be objective in your comments and all I was trying to do was educate with my post.

    Anyhow, I’m done arguing with you. Have a nice day.

  • Seaskye Ember

    I love your shapes and my friends really notice when I switched shapes. People can actually have short arms IRL my daughter did a Body study project and her arms are a few inches shorter then most people so their is an exception to every measurement. When my sister was a pre-teen she had the longest legs I ever saw she was 3/4 leg!
    We all come in various shapes and sized be it SL or RL. As long as we love the shape we have all is good.
    Seaskye

  • FuzzyBlueman

    Thankyou for such an interesting post, enjoyable reading even for people like me with a VERY odd shape.

    To be fair I’ve been in SL since 2012 and have NEVER had a dirty vagina, so I guess I’m doing something right. 😉

  • Because people can “hide” behind their computer personas, they think that gives them the ok to act in such a way that would embarrass their parent(s). Most people were raised to have manners, but then again, it seems a lot of things are turning into dying art these days. Being rude or obnoxious does not make you cool. Most people will see right thru that nonsense and you will look like you are jealous, bitchy, or just ignorant. Strawberry makes nice shapes and to be perfectly honest, I’ve seen some peoples avatars that would be wise to go on MP and buy hers because whatever it was they were attempting to accomplish was just scary. I had to laugh at the whole vagina reference Strawberry, I would have never gone there, but I tend to be a little more on the conservative side myself. I’m sure it’s probably a difference in our ages, but I’ll just leave that right there. LOL All kidding aside. There are some really “charming” people out there that have some boundary issues. I appreciate what you do to try to educate new users and new tricks to some of us who’ve been around for a while 😉 Let the naysayers buy themselves some duct tape and take an etiquette class or two.

  • Storie's

    persoanlly I think the arm length you have done is perfect and really I see to many avatars with arms to short and hands to little ..sooo… to me look as uhm “Fish fins”…my own arm length RL is like my avatar… sooo long arms win**

  • Chuchi Hema

    My very own personal opinion; your shapes are perfect! they are very realistic. I been buying them for a while now and I got very good feed back on them. the problem is that many ppl here in second life wants to have they avatar very imvu looking ( small hands, big hips w small feet and heads too ) you do you hun, your creations are just perfect <3

  • You continue doing you, Berry and let the haters play on with their jealous comments. <3

  • Dazza Vlogs

    To be honest, if they don’t like it, they just shouldn’t consider buying it. I don’t understand some people. Love what you do Strawberry!

  • Apes are cool 😉 Dont be a bs SJW. With your last Comment you just wanted to make the critic seem a racist, without considering where the one is from and if the critic maybe… simple… ment… ape shape? Btw: a Marvel superhero, a dark skinned one, named himself Man-Ape 😉 and is freaking cool. So… chill, Darling 😉

  • Amelia Freund

    The best way to measure for leg proportion is to do a default sit on a plywood cube, look at your av from the side and envision where your knees would be if your av brought them up to its chest. If they would come higher than your shoulders your legs are too long. For hands/arms I usually like my wrists to be in line with my crotch when my arms are down. At least that’s my advice. Don’t agonize over your sliders for hours to achieve a shape that meets other people’s standards, make one that that meets your own. If you prefer slightly longer legs and a shorter torso go for it. It’s not like we all have fixed proportions in RL either. I have long RL legs but the woman sitting next to me has short dumpy legs… Variety is the spice of life, people.

  • Your arms are perfect. I like proportioned shapes, I make my own ones and that’s exactly what I do, although I use the wrist and the bottom of the crotch as reference (as Amelia) rather than the mid tight. The fist thing I noticed, as I saw the picture here, was the impression that your legs were a bit too long (as for realistic proportions). But I read that you are aware of that and you said that honestly. Your point, however, isn’t that your shapes are 100% realistic and better than others, but that those arms aren’t gorilla arms, and that’s right.
    The fun thing of a creative platform like SL is that you can make almost anything. I know some people like T-Rex arms, shelf butts, “A” shaped avatars or the generic caricatural look. Everyone can make their avatar as funny as they like. But I’m surprised if someone believes that’s the actual human shape, while they perceive the realistic one as gorilla-like. I wonder if they ever look at themselves in the mirror, rather than their computer screen.

  • This is a great post, I must say that I always try to make shapes as proportionate as possible even though I am kind of a giant 😉

    Everyone is free to look like they want, I don’t really like the shape of guys who want to have huge shoulders, to achieve that narrow waist, small head and huge shoulders. I aslo noticed the opposite of what you said … some of my friends called it the T-rex syndrome … people with arms that I way too short. In the end of course it is your choice to look that way.

  • SariyaLyn Resident

    This is in no way meant to challenge or disagree with your findings Strawberry but after attending four years of art classes I can only say that not everyone, in fact few have the same shapes. As for mine, my arms are shorter than what you have listed above, and thats just the way it is. I personally find that in SL most ladies shapes have too long of arms and their butts look more like seats you can sit on. But that is what they like and so be it. Its their bodies. My butt shape no matter how many I have tried tend to end up 0 when I get through with them and my arms are about one hand shorter than yours, but that is the closest I can come to my real life shape. I never get criticised for the outcome, in fact I get a lot of compliments on it. Normally what I do is buy your shapes, especially for the heads which are awesome and then change the body to my own liking. To criticize yours is totally ridiculous. You look great, but it is what you like and that is all that matters. So, I never tell someone they look like a gorilla or have too large a butt. Its their business. I like my shape and thats all that matters to me. Get real people, everyone in sl and rl is different and viva la difference.

  • Hellpop Spitteler

    I straight up steal your Manberry looks all the time, including your shapes. Has always worked well for me!

  • I like my avie to look more rl human looking. I may be a little taller, but everything is pretty much proportional. I was at Maitreya the other day and a begger IM’d me, I said no to her before she asked me for linden, she started telling me my avie was ugly and noobish. I told her, well, if you mean Im not 2 meters tall with the leg, butt and boob sliders all the way up and the corners of my mouth all the way down, then yes, I am noob looking. They look as silly as the pin head guys with all muscle sliders all the way up and arms ending at the top of the hips. I’ve bought 2 of your shapes (I had never bought a shape in the 9 years I have been in SL til mesh head came out)and tweaked both the face and the body a little to make me. Oh, and if I say someone looks like an ape, I’m thinking chimps, and gorillas or the pin head guys.

  • SariyaLyn Resident

    Again, I never criticize someone else’s shape in sl. Each to their own. Personally I have used your shapes and like them except on my body I shorten the length of my arms because after looking at pictures of my rl body I find my arms are shorter than yours. I also make my butt smaller and my hips narrower. It just looks more like me that way. But you look stunning and it is the look you like so I would never criticize you for that. Your heads I never change because they are beautiful. So, I will just say, each to their own and no one should criticize someone else’s shape. I like being short as I am in rl so that explains the changes I make to the shape I purchase from you in sl. Viva la difference. And thank you for your shapes and all the hard work you do for all of us in your videos. I never miss a one. I think you are gorgeous Strawberry. But, smiles, I think I am too….

  • So well answers and nice slap on the face of ppl who can just criticize. If you dont like it move on try something else then putting someone down. Ppl like them dont know the base of anything but easy with judging. Im glad that you bought up the details up. ♥

  • I was googling “how to make my arms longer in Second Life” (somehow I missed the Appearance slider), and this illuminating post came up. Yep, I remember from a comic-book illustration how-to, and later on from reading the great Burne Hogarth, that fingertips should extend nearly to mid-thigh.

    I think setting arms to the “correct” length in the Appearance editor feels weird because the slider’s own value set is “off,” and you end up sliding waaaay to the right…! For a few minutes I felt like I must have cartoon noodle arms, but when I started interacting with the world around me I realized what a major improvement I’d made to my shape.

    Anyway, thanks for this post! I think you make a good point: although I doubt this person intended their remark in a racist way, they DID unfortunately use the same type of lazy language racists do use, and it’s best to avoid that sort of thing altogether. So thank you for using their remark as TWO teachable moments! I’m not a regular reader, but I can see why you have such a following!

  • Queen Herouin

    I’ve been in SL since 2006 and you’ve been a point of reference for me for like a decade lol. I do wish you still sold your shapes!! I’ve been working on my Reborn body and am totally lost now. You know how you edit and edit until nothing looks normal anymore? Yeah that point lmao. I’m trying to get realistic proportions and struggling. Would you do an update maybe? A curvier shape with realistic proportions?

  • Pingback: New World Notes: SL Flickr Always Showing You the Same Tired Tropes? Play Cliché Bingo!

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