Reema is the first release from the new CATWA EVOX line (with approval given by Lelutka to use the EVOX UV map). This post is a very brief quick-start guide to using this new head range.
CATWA EVOX heads are the same price as the HDPRO heads – L$3,950 (or L$3,960 on Marketplace). Demos are free and contain strips of ‘missing pixels’ which the full versions don’t have. As with any purchase in SL, always try a demo first.
The basics of the HUD are the same as the HDPRO head range from Catwa, so if you want a tutorial for that, this post will help you out: Go Pro! – Catwa HDPRO Quick Start Guide.
These are the contents of the folder:
To begin, detach any head alpha layers that you might be wearing, and add the following:
- CATWA HEAD EVOX Reema BentoEar v1.0
- CATWA EVOX HUD Anim v1.0
- CATWA EVOX HUD Style F v1.0
- CATWA EVOX Shape Reema
- CATWA EVOX Shape Brows
It’s highly recommended to begin with the starting shape, which you can then edit. If you don’t like what the starting shape does to your body, read this post: Mesh Head & Body Basics – How to transfer your preferred body shape onto your head shape.
Yikes, Skell! What happened to my face?!
If you look like the below image when you add the head, then you’re wearing non-EvoX BoM layers. This could be an old system skin, or a BoM skin that uses another UV map, such as Catwa or HDPRO:
You may also see other odd markings, which might be on the the lower part of your face. Again, this tells you that you’re wearing non-EvoX BoM layers. To find these and remove them, in your viewer’s menus go to Avatar > Now Wearing and look for anything which has an icon that looks like a ‘pink dragon tattoo’ – which is the icon for a tattoo layer. Detach anything you see like that.
What will work on the CATWA EVOX heads:
EvoX BoM layers
Any BoM layers used on these heads must be EvoX. This includes:
- BoM skins (these will almost always be tattoo layers; the ‘pink dragon tattoo’)
- BoM brows (these might be tattoo layers, or BoM Universal Layers – whose icon looks like three overlapping orange rectangles)
- BoM makeup (these might be tattoo layers, or BoM Universal Layers)
- BoM hairbases (these might be tattoo layers, or BoM Universal Layers)
- BoM ears (these will always be BoM Universal Layers, and we’ll get to them shortly)
- BoM ear tattoos
Note: Any BoM layers marked as EvoX will work. They don’t have to be marked as Catwa EvoX. If you have Lelutka EvoX BoM layers, go ahead and use them!
Catwa & Catwa HDPRO Appliers, or Omega Appliers (with the Omega relay for Catwa heads)
Any non-materials appliers used on these heads must be either Catwa or Catwa HDPRO. This includes much older Catwa appliers. You can also use Omega appliers if you’re also wearing the Omega relay for Catwa heads. This includes:
- Applier brows
- Applier eye makeup
- Applier lipstick
- Applier lashes
Note: Applier hairbases and blush will not work, as there is no applier layer on these heads for the hairbase or blush areas (‘blush areas’ on Catwa heads include the main part of the forehead [below where a hairbase might cover], the cheeks, and the chin). And, while you can wear a Catwa skin applier on these heads, you won’t be able to add a hairbase applier on top of it. The Catwa EvoX Style HUD must be worn when applying appliers, but can be removed when you’ve finished customising.
Catwa EvoX Materials Appliers
Any appliers that are intended to apply materials (e.g., pores, sweat, water, shine, etc.) must be Catwa EvoX, as the materials layer on the heads is mapped to the EvoX UV. Since Lelutka EvoX appliers will not work on these heads (they use Lelutka’s own scripts, which do not communicate with Catwa’s scripts) only Catwa EvoX appliers can be used for materials.
Any BoM Eyes, or Catwa Applier Eyes, or Omega Applier Eyes (with the Omega relay for Catwa heads)
You can use any BoM eyes on the Catwa EvoX heads, regardless of whether they’re marked as Lelutka BoM or Catwa BoM, etc. You can also use Catwa Applier eyes, or Omega Applier eyes if you’re also wearing the Omega relay for Catwa heads.
What won’t work on the CATWA EVOX heads:
Catwa and/or any non-EVOX BoM layers
Any BoM layers that don’t use the EvoX UV map. For example: Catwa BoM layers, Catwa HDPRO BoM layers, or any other BoM layers (such as Genus, Genus 4K, Lelutka Origins, LAQ, etc.) will not work correctly on this head. They will display upside down, similarly to the image above.
Lelutka appliers, including appliers marked as Lelutka EvoX or Lelutka HD
Because these appliers use Lelutka’s own scripts, they will not communicate with the Catwa scripts in the Catwa EvoX heads.
Lelutka Applier Eyes
As before, these use Lelutka’s own scripts, which will not communicate with the Catwa scripts in the Catwa EvoX heads.
Lelutka Materials Appliers
As above, because these appliers use Lelutka’s own scripts, they will not communicate with the Catwa scripts in the Catwa EvoX heads.
So let’s put this all together. I’m going to use only BoM for this quick guide, and we need to begin with a skin as the base for everything.
You’ll find a lot of EvoX skins in the weekend sales. I picked up this one from Traditional Face this weekend for L$60, and it matches to Velour’s body skins. Since I like using the ‘Dracula’ skintone from Velour’s Fantasy range, that’s the one I’ve chosen. Note that this skin includes a light lipgloss baked onto it.
You’ll notice that the ears on the head are still a blank grey colour. The EvoX UV map splits the ear textures out onto a separate ‘AUX1’ layer, so we need to add the included Universal Layer for the ears.
Because the skintone is a little greyish anyway, with more colour on the face, they don’t have exactly the same colour, but that’s how this skin is. You can still see that the texture is now there.
If you’re new to working with BoM, ensure that you right-click each layer and select ADD when you want to wear them. Next up, some BoM brows:
A reminder: we’re fully BoM here, so these all need to be EvoX layers.
If you have a favourite set of brow appliers – they can be Catwa, Catwa HDPRO, or Omega – you can use these on the Catwa EvoX heads. However, because the ‘eye mask’ layer they use is a single layer, if you also want to wear eyeshadow or any other eye makeup, you will need to use BoM layers for the makeup (which, I remind again, should be EvoX).
Next up, a BoM hairbase. Note that the individual item here doesn’t contain ‘EvoX’ in its name, but the folder name does state ‘EvoX’. To help you remember which folders contain which items, it’s a good idea to rename your folders. (Although, in this case, the hairbases are all modifiable, since the permissions on each only states ‘no transfer’, so you could rename the items themselves.)
Lastly, we’re going to add some BoM makeup. This particular creator (Alaskametro) lists their EvoX layers as ‘Fit X’ so that’s the one we’ll choose. Also note: since BoM layers cannot (currently) be adjusted for opacity in the same way that appliers can, many makeup creators will offer multiple opacities for things like makeup. Here we have 100% and 60% opacity, so we’ll add the 100% for full coverage:
As before, if you have some favourite applier makeup – it can be Catwa, Catwa HDPRO, or Omega – they can be used on the Catwa EvoX heads. However, again as before, because the ‘eye mask’ layer is a single layer, you won’t be able to use applier brows at the same time, so BoM brows (in the EvoX UV map) will need to be used.
To summarise:
I recommend going ‘full BoM’ if you can. It’s much easier to manage, since you only need to remember to use EvoX layers. However, you can still use favourite old Catwa, Catwa HDPRO, and Omega appliers for some sections of the face, although around the eye area you’ll probably need to adopt a ‘hybrid’ option that’s part Catwa/Catwa HDPRO/Omega applier and part EvoX BoM layer.
More heads will be coming in this new CATWA EVOX range, including male heads, so keep an eye out for those :-)
A note from me: Apologies that this post is only a very brief guide and not my usual highly in-depth tutorial style. As my previous post on this blog states, I’ve been taking a break from SL since April, and I’m only now starting to come back to it, but I did want to get something out there for those who are new to these heads.
A raw, untouched (cropped only) shot to finish up:
