How to fit your Mer Betta tail

Mer Betta mermaid ensembles, including system clothing pieces, are set to Modify/Copy so that you can customize it to your size, shape and personal taste.

Yes, clothing in Second Life is one-size-fits-all, but attachments are not.  Some mers prefer to be slim and svelte, while others prefer to be curvy and voluptuous.  And although mers are generally thought of as grown women, there are also male mers and child mers.

This tutorial helps you fit the attachments properly to your shape and size.  The three most problematic attachments will be covered in this tutorial:
* the boob fins (breast fins),
* the thigh smoother, and
* the tail fins.

The pictures below feature the Mer Betta Pasithea White Moon, but the prims being discussed have been tinted dark red for better illustration.

For easier adjusting, you can pick up a Mer Betta posing stand from the Mer Betta main store, but final adjustments must be done while in your mer AO because the AO animations vary slightly in how the legs are pulled together.

A note about AOs
The animation override (AO) will affect how your tail looks.  It is the AO that pulls your legs together.  So, it is best to purchase the AO first before attempting to adjust the prims on the tail.  See the "Mer Betta Recommends" page.

Prerequisite
* You must know how to do basic prim editing and adjusting.  If you don't, please take the time to go through the tutorials in the Ivory Tower of Prims.

*** REMEMBER TO MAKE A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES. ***

Fitting the boob fins

 Boob fins (chest fins / breast fins) are one of the features that Mer Betta introduced.  The fins simulate wide straps or off-the-shoulder cap sleeves, thereby helping create the unique Mer Betta silhouette.

Key points

* The visible bottom edge of the fins must be buried inside the breasts, so it would look like the fins are growing out of your breasts.  Simply move the entire attachment closer to your chest if you have smaller breasts, or farther from your chest if you have larger breasts.

* If your breasts are closer together or farther apart, you can adjust the individual prims by checking the "Edit Linked Parts" checkbox in the Edit dialog and clicking on one of the prims (either the left or right fin).  Then you can move it closer to or farther from the other prim.  Then uncheck "Edit Linked Parts" again to move all the prims together.

* If you are wearing the bare-chested version of the undershirt, you do not have to wear the breast fins.

Fitting the thigh smoother

Mer Betta tails are purposely designed to be "skirtless".  That is, they do not have a system skirt as part of the ensemble.  The primary reason for this design decision is that the system skirt covers up the natural curves of the avatar mesh.  In short, the system skirt is not sexy at all.  ;)

Therefore, to compensate for the gap between the legs, Mer Betta tails use prims to smooth out the gap.  It will not be completely smooth, but will be close enough.

Key points

* Be sure that the prim is entirely within the outer edges of your thighs.  Look in the front view, the side view and the back view to make sure that the prim appears only between the thighs.  Resize, move, and (if necessary) rotate the prim to get it small enough.  Note the yellow outline of the prim in these pictures.

* The (wider) top of the prim should be at hip level.

* The (narrower) bottom of the prim should be just above the knee.

* If the smoother prim sticks out at the outer sides of the knees, make the prim narrower and, if necessary, slightly shorter.

Tip: Tint the prim to a different color while editing (as in these pictures) to quickly see where it sticks out of the avatar body.

Fitting the tail fins

The Mer Betta tail fin attachment is comprised of a sculpty prim which attaches to the avatar and the flexy fins.

Key points

* The only adjustment required here is to center the entire attachment.

* The feet and heels could be covered up by moving the tail attachment backwards and/or lower towards the toes.

* It's okay for a bit of the top of the foot to show through.

* The entire object can also be made bigger for better coverage.

* The top of the sculpty prim does not have to reach the knees.

Tips

• You can link certain pieces to free up attachments points; i.e.: link the lower leg fin to the tail, or link the upper leg fin to the leg smoother.  Then adjust each prim using "Edit linked parts".

Still need help?

If you have any questions or if you still have problems adjusting the attachments for your shape, please make an appointment to meet with Opal Lei inworld.