Custom – Recommended
To use a custom view, Alt-left-click-hold-drag the avatar face on the Guide and move your camera to look at the face from a distance. Maybe 5 to 10m away. See the video for an example.
Press Ctrl-0 at least five times, more is better. See the image above for the difference between 5 and 10 presses. Experiment to find how many presses work for you. Fill the screen with the avatar face and Guide. Make fine adjustments using your mouse wheel.
Looking at the face, notice the red cylinder in the middle passing through the head. Adjust the camera so that cylinder end is seen as a green circle ringed by red. This indicates the camera, head, and Face Tool are aligned.
Make sure the green part stays centered within the red as you work.
Watch the video to see how I use the guide.
Remember. None of this is exact or precise. Everything is approximate and personal preference.
Using the Controls
There are controls for; Scale, Position, RESET, INCREMENT, and Color.
Scale makes the guide larger or smaller. The Increment control sets how much bigger or smaller per click.
Position moves the guide up, down, left, and right. Again, how much is controlled by the Increment control. There is only one ‘Increment’ setting and it is used for Scale and Position.
Color is controlled by the buttons labeled Black and White. This gives you a dark guide and a light guide. Use whichever works best for your skin and lighting.
When the Increment Control reaches its minimum setting a bell will ring if you try to go lower. There is no point to having a zero-setting change. So, I have made a minimum, 0.0002m.
There is a RESET control. In case of disaster, use this to return the Guide to the default settings, size, and position I have built in. It does NOT reset Transparency nor Full Bright. Nor does it work well if you have changed the attachment point.
Use the controls to fit the guide to the face. Then use the viewer’s Edit Shape (right-click avatar) settings to adjust the face.
You want the Guide’s outline to fit the face. Position it so the eyes of the face and Guide are vertically aligned. The viewer controls move things in relation to the eyes. So, this is the basic starting point.
Advanced Control
The Guide is Mod-OK. It may show as No-Mod because the included script is No-Mod.
You can use the viewer’s Build Tools to change aspects of the Guide. You can change Transparency and Bright, which can be handy. Of course, you can rotate and scale the Guide too. I don’t recommend changing rotation, position, or size. But the Guide should still work if you do.
You can use the RESET button to recover if you make a mistake. I have a default set of values built in for the Skull attachment point. It only resets scale/size, position, and rotation. It can’t change attachment point and it doesn’t reset Bright nor Transparency.
Backup
I suggest you make a copy of the Guide before you ever attach it and use the new copy for your shape work. Save the original as a backup copy. Also, you can get a new tool delivered by visiting the SL Marketplace.
Summary
Thank you for your purchase. Now go forth and be beautiful. Nalates Urriah – July 2020
You can find the Face Shape Guide Tool in the Second Life Marketplace with my other stuff. Or go direct…