SL's Latest Mesh-Based Style Craze: Petite Fairy Avatars!

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

While giant avatars may very well be the next big thing in Second Life (pun totally intended), right now there'sa different kind of mesh avatar that's all the rage among fantasy fashionistas: Petites. These diminutive elves and fairies were originally released at Yabusaka, but the creator quite wisely offered creator packs as well so that other designers could not only design clothing for them, but also release their own versions of the avatars themselves. This has led to an explosion of itty bitty outfits, accessories, and even home and garden decor to target the rapidly growing (or should I say shrinking?) community.

Petites aren't SL's first miniature avatars; the Tiny avatar community has been going strong now for longer than I've even been in SL. What makes Petites different is that they have the same basic proportions as a full sized human avatar, scaled-down to the size of a doll. So how should you get started assembling your own petite self?

First thing's first, you have to pick out the Petite you like best. There are plenty to choose from, but my current favourite is the Royale petite by Alia Baroque of Fallen Gods [Marketplace store], one of the most popular fantasy skin and avatar stores. Royale is a good starting set because it comes with a few different skin tones, makeups, options like freckles, and several dresses, all while keeping around the same price point as other Petites. They even offer male Petites, which few other shops do.

Some of your normal hair styles may be able to be scaled down small enough to fit your Petite's head, but not all of them. Thankfully one of my favourite mesh hair shops, Wasabi Pills, has released Petite versions of some of their styles including the two that I'm wearing, Amandine and Monique respectively. Although most of their styles are on the Marketplace their Petite ones are conspicuously absent, so you'll have to visit their in-world location to get them.

It's important to remember that because Petites have mesh bodies, your normal clothing probably won't fit them. Plenty of designers are hopping on the Petite bandwagon and scaling down many of their most popular creations or designing new fairy outfits altogether. My favourite find so far is this scaled down version of one of my favourite fantasy gowns from Evie's Closet, Tuala. [Click here to teleport to Evie's Closet in OUBLIETTE]

These are just my recommendations, but there's plenty more out there! Peruse the marketplace with search terms like "Petite Fairy", or browse the selection at Yabusaka's Petite mall area in-world for loads more!

Tweet

Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.

Comments

[Ann Otoole InSL]

Petites amplify your land. you can size your mesh builds down and even a 1024 parcel is nice and large.

[Cube Republic]

Of course they could just keep us larger sims at a cheaper price XD

[Cube Republic]

keep = give ><

[foneco zuzu]

For once i have to say i found a useful use for mesh!
And only seeing them Inworld one can gives fully attention and enjoy:)
So if only for the beauty of this lil avatars, mesh is worth already!

[Pussycat Catnap]

The first image in this is very discouraging for petites.

The bend at the hips has the same distortion as the default SL body. The feet and hands might be oversized.

Been thinking of getting one of these. Less certain now.

Petites give yet one more reason to REFUSE TO BUY any mesh rezzed items that are no-mod.

Why? well, if you have a petite, and then buy an amazing mesh chair or house... you're going to want to scale it down for your avatar...

- Not only will this likely cut its prim cost in half, as mesh prim cost is based on size-rezzed... but it will also just plain be needed to use those items with a petite (unless you want them oversized for the look of living in a human's house).

The avatars look ok overall, but there are issues. Its a good concept that needs more. I particularly want to see a head with African features. Not just a color slider like the have now - but actual features.

[Roger]

@ Pussycat
The Petite AV basically is an open-source project for creators ... so don't complain but do it yourself.

[Ke]

Pussycat:

Re: Mesh scaling and sizing: That is not always true, especially if it is a piece made up of multiple ones. On it's on, a mesh (while rated at .5) can never be less than 1 prim, and even when linked it can never be less than .5 each, so if an item is 1 PE at full size, it wont magically be half at quarter size, it will still be 1 PE.

There are several merchants out there that I have heard of that do NOT make their furniture mod for good reasons, but also most offer resizing for free.

[foneco zuzu]

Open-source project for creators, that is the magic word to make it more then worth trying!
Not only on mesh but in all that we can build, some really want to see its product improving by community efforts!
These creators are the ones that makes SL community proud (or should be!).

[Aliasi Stonebender]

I can't think of THAT many good reasons to disallow modify that really matter, in the end, unless they're specifically trying to make it 'okay' for the secondary market. (Stopping copybots is pretty much the silliest one, since, well... you don't need modify permissions.)

[foneco zuzu]

To be clear, i refuse nowadays to buy non mod products at all!
Full perm, non copy but mod, copy and mod but no more non mod with scipts on it!
Reason, i will not wear any scripted prim if i cant remove the scripts after!
Last buy i made non mod was a bare feet prim set!
When i realized i coould not remove the scripts on it i just did my one, using a modifiable lovely high heels as base and made it attach to lower leg and i can say im very happy with the results.
(And not only me;))

[Pussycat Catnap]

"Re: Mesh scaling and sizing: That is not always true"

No, pretty much, it is always true.

You're just taking an extreme end of the scale, and saying you can't go below the extreme - and largely that's an extreme that more applies to convex hull than mesh. A Mesh as a single object will have its prim cost set by its size rezzed.

So ALWAYS avoid anybody who sells no-mod.

There is NO GOOD REASON to sell no-mod, only reasons based on negative attitudes of control-freakism.

[Pussycat Catnap]

"@ Pussycat
The Petite AV basically is an open-source project for creators ... so don't complain but do it yourself."

I'm that rare creature - your customer.

Yeah I make a few things in SL, but largely I'm part of that vast majority of people in SL who actually play SL, use SL, and enjoy SL - rather than try to make money off people as quick as I can via SL.

I'm your customer.

Saying its open source so do it yourself means nothing to me. Where can I get it? Who's making it?

Who's filling the needs of me, the paying customer?

Give me ethnic variety, or I'll shop somewhere that does.

Its taken YEARS... but the skin making community of SL finally realized this isn't a game for white supremacists, and in the last year has started putting out skins actually made for others, and not just re-tinted...
- But that has also raised the bar for the customer expectations of folks like me.

I see no need to 'put up with' having to be a 'tinted brown' white anymore...

You want my money, for your get rich quick plan, you need to make product I will care to use.

[Ferd Frederix]

I think templates are good. They raise the bar for good designers to make them into better designers, and the customers benefit.

I hate no mod items too, but there is a reason for some of them. Anyone can drop a script into a modifiable object, and it can hear all the link messages and perhaps break, alter, or modify the scripts behavior by adding their own link messages with new scripts.

For example, you could feed a breedable pet if you can fake out the correct link messages in the pet. This is why most breedable pets are no mod. It could be possible to get valuable UUIDs that are not intended to be public, by using added on scripts.

The only way to stop this is with encryption, which is a pain to deal with and wastes CPU cycles.