Also from GBustaWORKS is a muscular ursine avatar to further flesh out a rarely covered species in the Second Life avatar market. We cover what the avatar has in terms of features and looks.

Out of the Box:

• Scripted Eyes and Ears
• Full prim avatar (No animations)
• Clothing (Hat, Loincloths, and Shoulder capes)
  • Optional Overalls and tools available for 250L

Build and Skin

This avatar is a full-prim avatar, so there is no skin underneath to discuss. The textures here are relatively simple, but this works for the avatar’s overall look as the textures do not draw too much attention away from an already busy avatar. They generally remain the same over the body, with a few variations here and there in the chest or or around the eyes to represent differences between bear subspecies.

The feet are very bearish with large paw-pads on the underside, though a poorly placed prim on both feet pokes through the bottom of each paw. True to the ursine characteristics, this avatar does not come with digitigrade legs, but with plantigrade ones. Even without using sculpted prims, a somewhat acceptable job was done on the legs here, though the muscles look off and non-symmetrical in some areas. One problem that has been carried over from the Tiger avatar to this one has unfortunately been the poor usage of flexible, semi-transparent prims as fluff in odd places, and in too few amounts to make a difference. These prims use poor textures and are placed in awkward spots around the avatar which provides more distraction than they compliment to the avatar.

Something else that is carried over from the tiger is the furless patch of skin placed inbetween the legs, but here, it extends not only from between the legs, but towards the tail, even enveloping the base of it in some sort of pinkish-type skin. While I would be curious as to why the creator included  it, it could easily be argued that it was an unecessary addition to the avatar. It could be the simulation of an anus, I suppose, but if so, it should simulate an anal sphincter instead of an anal patch. Otherwise, the tail on these avs are as would be expected for a bear; short and stubby.

While there are random pieces of flexiprim coming out of the rear, these are positioned slightly more properly than the tiger avatar, making it clear that this was an attempt to give the perception of a fluffy backside. The Torso prim-work is fair, giving the avatar a more ‘stocky’ than muscular build which suits the species well. The bear has the slightest hint of a muscular beergut behind a pleasure trail of fluff prims. Here, toruses make up the nipples and bellybutton, which means that the center of these body parts will show the fur colour behind them. For example, the centre of the polar bear’s nipples is white instead of the dark pink-grey.

It can’t be stressed how much these flexi prims being used over the body have not served their purpose on the avatar; they are sprinkled all over the torso and base of the head. I digress, though. The arms are not as symmetrical as the torso, but muscled in the same fashion as the legs and capped with large bear-paws that take heavy influence from human hands. However, like the feet, a stray prim is clipping out of the paw-pads.

Finally, we encounter the head. Perched on a relatively short neck, the head rests atop the large body through a smooth transition from shoulders to head. The head is a moniker of the stereotypical male, with the muzzle set into an expression of a beefy, enigmatic smirk. The muzzle is long and thick, capped with a large ursine nose. What is particularly notable about this av’s face, however, would be the lips. They are perhaps the only part of this avatar other than the thin ears and teeth to be sculpted. However, the lips are a touch too large, giving the face a froggish look. However, I can see how the creator used them to accommodate the muzzle-talking function.

The muzzle-talking function has the jaw as a separate attachment, and when the mouth opens, there are a full compliment of sculpted teeth and a tongue inside. Unfortunately, the muzzle is poorly constructed; you can see the fur of the face inside the mouth, and the teeth look as if they are painfully piercing through the gums. The hinge could have been constructed much better. The eyes are scripted; the user can click them to change colour. The bear cries ‘OUCH’ when you poke them, though. Finally, two sculpted disks set atop the head pass as ears, and these twitch of their own accord.

In general, the face is successful at channeling ‘bear’; a difficult feat in and of itself. However, the head lacks a sense of completion and aestheticism, looking very dated and dry in a time where creators are striving to create a head that is organic, full of life and character, and containing minimal levels of prim-creases.

Features and Customisation

The avatar comes with shoulder-armour, cowboy hats, (the polar bear comes with a baseball cap as well), and a bulky harness around the waist. If users wish, they can buy additional outfits sold separately (Shown to the right).  The avatar also comes as both modifiable and copyable for people to modify and change the avatar to their heart’s content.

Conclusion

Compared to the Buff Tiger avatar, this avatar looks a good deal better, but comes with a still huge array of plaguing issues. Also on sale for 1000L, the avatar dissapoints with the poor build quality relative to other established creators’ avatars at a similar price or even less. The avatar looks acceptable from afar, but when one gets closer and examines portions of the avatar… Like the face, for example, they can see that the avatar is not aesthetically pleasing or particularly well constructed. However, it would seem that this avatar has satisfied and pleased the interests of many bear enthusiasts who have yearned for more anthropomorphic ursines. It is hoped that the creator will compare themselves to their competition and take their future avatars to the next level.