The buzz, hype, trend, must-have of the last few months in SL is definately PETITE avs.
Shrinking your "normal" sized SL-self to about a 3rd of the size is strangely fascinating and terribly addictive!
There are some very creative designers out there working hard on avs, skins, clothing, furniture, housing... and there are already several SIMs dedicated to wee ones too.
Here is a pic of the size difference (high traffic area = badly rezzed objects - sorry 'bout that!)
As is tradition in SL, most designers are also very generous with their creations, and it is possible to get it on the newest trend without spending a linden! ;-)
Many Petites are fantasy inspired - fairies, elves, merpeople, demons, fawns and the like, but some people just prefer doing a miniature version of their "biggie" av (like urban petites). For once, the male avs have not been ignored and there are great male versions available - although none for free! :(
Petite avs are mesh-made, so you need a mesh-enabled viewer and prim clothing (hello newbie-me!) is the go. Luckily, we non-creative types only have to sweat tears about clothing, hair and shoes, as AOs and most skins and animations work well with petite avs (although minor adjustments in height may be necessary).
Here's the lowdown to get started in your new exciting Petite (S)Life:
Avatar:
Free "Minikin" av available at
Caverna Obscura in the Petite section. There are 2 sizes, although the 4.0 is closer to the "Petite Av" size. (Petite Mesh Avs were created by Yabusaka Loon and many creators have used this av as the basis for their petite avs. Most clothing for "petites" will not work with the "Minikin" av, but there are boxes with clothing templates/underwear at Caverna Obscura to get you started).
There is also a scripted copy in each box, so that you can "remove" the feet/hands if wished in order to add shoes, gloves etc.etc.
Hair:
Hair with resizer scripts can be shrunk to petite size. I have used
D!va hair in these pics (group gifts that are still available), but
Dura hair works well too and of course there are designers like Wasabi Pills who create petite hair lines too.
Clothing:
I have been using the "underwear" found in the box at Caverna Obscura for the top part of my outfits (Here the "Djinnie" set. As I mentioned, clothing for "petite avs", which is plentiful, just won't work with "Minikins". I also just adjusted prim parts to fit my upper body when necessary - gotta be a bit creative at this stage! :)
The skirt here is a hunt prize (
No Strings Attached Hunt 4) from
Brain Circuit Inc. and is for normal avs. I used the skirt and sleeves items and shrunk them to the appropriate size. The wings were just added as is.
Shoes:
Another headache area! Feet have to be made invisible to accomodate many shoes. As a fairy I can always go barefoot, but I did happen across this stunning pair of strappy heals at
*Prim & Pixel ~ Petites~*, which is a wearable DEMO! *grin*
Assorted freebies for Petites:
A few nice-to-have items which are available free inworld or at
SL-Marketplace are a Petite Flight Feather and Petite Camera HUD from
Thingies & Co. to adjust the camera angle for our wee point of view and there are also some really cute items like eyes, flower gardens, mushrooms with sit animations, and a petite carrier (so that normal sized avs and carry us wee ones around!).
Check out these places for a variety of free things/lucky boards/group offers:
*Deviance*
Petites Village Mall (Itty Bitty Hunt begins 1. June) - Check all the stores as many have freebies out. Evie's Closet has the gorgeous "Nyria Petite Dress" for L0 at present on the wall!!!
There is also currently a hunt going on at
Petite World - a very pretty SIM worth exploring!
And... saving the best till last... my sublime sis Winged Heron and her wonderfully talented friend Grasshopper from
Shrinkydink Petites (check out her amazing Tree Fort for wee things
here) are busy planning/building a new petite world for roleplay and community purposes... soooo excited, so stay tuned! :)))
