Becoming Mer
So, You Want to Be a Mermaid?
NB: This guide is not at all comprehensive of the scores of merfolk items out on the grid. If you feel that this list is missing something that should be here, contact me in-world. Looking to dive into the seas of SL as one of its own? Many mysteries and fantastic creatures lurk in the digital depths, and what better way to explore than as one of them? To be a mermaid there are a few things you must have:
- A Tail
Obviously!
- An Animation Overrider (AO)
To be a mermaid, you have to move and swim like one. You’ll need an AO for this. Some tails come with AO’s (such as my own! shameless plug!), but many do not. Make sure to read the packaging carefully so you know what you’re getting.
You also might want (but don’t need):
- A Swim Assist
There is no true way to “swim” in SL, you just basically have to fly underwater. This can get frustrating pretty quickly, especially the task of keeping yourself in the water to begin with. Swim assists are widgets that take care of that for you.
Where to go for a tail
In the early days of SL mermaiding, one didn’t have much choice for a tail. That’s changed quite a bit. There’s a deluge of choices now, which can be daunting for a new mer. For your first tail, expect to spend between 150-400 L$. You might want to spend closer to the $150-300 range if you know that you’ll need to get an AO too.
Sirens Mermaid Mall
Sirens is, essentially one of the two SL mermaid superstores. You’ll find nearly every major tail maker here. The shop was redone in late 2008 and is much more open now, making it easy to walk in and quickly find a design that you like.
Mermaid Temple
Another large mermaid mall where you’ll find a spectrum of choices for your first mermaid form. Mermaid temple is larger than sirens, but is also a bit tricker to get around.
Mertopia
EmeraldEver’s gorgeous mer-friendly sim. This is also where her shop resides, where you’ll find her tails and AO. My first tail back in 2005 was an Emerald Ever tail (when mers were much harder to find)! They’re very affordable tails, in the 100-150L$ range, and a good choice for beginners.
Sevens Selections
Jen Shikami is known for her excellent wings, but has also created some fantastic (and very customizable) mermaid tails! Look for them on the far west wall after the teleport in.
Grendel’s Children
Grendels is known for making fantastic avatars or all shapes and sizes in the 50-200L range. The quality is decent, but the best part is that all of their items are fully mod, so you can play with your outfit, move parts around, and recolor them easily. Their Siren avatar is great if you want to be a mercreature on the more dark and mysterious side.
Animation Overrides
One can’t just look like a mermaid, you have to move like one too! Thus, you’ll need to override your avatar’s default animations for walking, flying, sitting, etc. AO’s cost anywhere from free to 500L$. Choose what fits you best!
(now printing)
I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but I have been thinking of becoming mer. and have been deterred by the appearance of the tails I have seen so far.
To me a mermaid must have an undivided tail with an oval section, like a fish. Every one I have seen has the leg shape, indeed the TWO leg shape clearly visible. They look like people with their ankles tight together wearing coloured tights and with big fin boot attachments on their feet.
This ruins the illusion for me. I want absolutely no groove between the legs.
Presumably this is a technical problem? Can we not cover the legs entirely with a set of jointed sculptie prims? Has anyone tried this approach?
Can anyone advise me ?
Yes, it’s a building/avatar problem, and designers do the best they can to work with the SL body. Some employ the use of the system skirt to cover up the legs, but this is gangly; others may use the invisi-prim to cover up limbs entirely, but this plays awkwardly with the environment and alpha-prims. Just as there are difficulties when using prim cuffs about the elbow area, prim tails can look awkward in bending at the joints, especially with normally fluid mermaid AOs.
Personally, I love my Nixie tail because of the slight two-legs, as it implies an answer to the ‘mermaid problem’. But that’s my taste.
I have made a Mer shape to use w/ my tails. I went into appearance & brought my knees in to around 15 (adjust to your body type) and thinned the muscles out a bit. I find this helps w/ the silhouette quite a bit & works with a number of different tails.