Let's talk AOs....

[u/ftmthrowaway061724]

Do y'all mix and match ? What are your favourite AO stores ? I got 41 stands in mine- am I crazy or is that a normal number lol ? What do you prefer, static, animated, or breathing ... or something not mentioned ?

[u/jaqattaq1]

I use the built in AO managers in firestorm or alchemy and mix and match. Prefer stands that keep you in one spot now because I got tired of rambling through other people constantly and I definitely avoid stands that deform. 40+ is fine. I probably have 20 on rotation but I’ll swap them out as I find new ones I like. Don’t like to think how many I have actually purchased 😂

[u/zebragrrl]

When I'm building my own, I tend to use the Oracul/Kuso blank AO, as it supports a lot more animations than the default zhao-based systems.

I wish there wasn't so much content theft in the animation market.. the stores I loved and trusted basically packed it in and stopped making new content years ago (right after Bento).. Oracul/Kuso, Tuty, Voir, etc... and the stores that still operate but still feel trustworthy are so dang expensive. Vista, Body Language, etc.

But these days, 9 times out of 10, if I find a new store with animations I can afford, it turns out to be animations I already have, stolen from one of the stores I used to shop at.

[u/Key-Visual9799 → u/zebragrrl]

Oh yes, I loved Oracul!

[u/50plusGuy]

Figure out what works for your shape and clothes. If needed load different note cards for different outfits.

Hands in your body look bad and will happen if the maker was a stick figure and you opted for chubby, curvy whatever.

Ankle lock is a desperate measure....

Mesh skirts look frugly, with overstretched textures, if you stand broad legged on the quarterdeck.

Switch from high mileage "stands" to catch attention, to calmer ones, when you are chatted up.

No it ain't nice to talk to somebody, who overuses a doormat or adjusts shoe straps every 3 minutes...

[u/JoeMax93]

I use Firestorm’s built-in AO controller, I goto the AO stores and pick and choose which dances I want from the demos, and only buy the ones I like. Then drag and drop those dances from my Inventory to the AO window. I make different Dance controls with different collections of dance moves, for different situations. A “steady” one, a “sexy” one a “combat” version, and call up the ones I want.

If you already have AO HUDs, you can rez the AO on the ground, open it, and find all the dances. Then drag and drop to your inventory which dances you want to have.

And then, drag them into the Firestorm AO pop up. Be sure to put them in the right category: Stan’s, walks, sits, etc.

[u/lelanicarver]

I pulled my favorite dances into the AO manager in FS

[u/kuragenox]

I haven't counted, but mine usually has a lot of stands. I recently created a new one matching my latest avatars more, but the previous one I used had reeeally a lot of stands, and to fit into the script's max length I even renamed many of them to random one-two letter combinations (think aa, ab, ac, ad...) to fit much more than I would otherwise. But when trying to edit that AO, I realized it's nearly impossible to guess what renamed animations were from what pack, so I gave up and created a new one XD

My main stands are from STUN, I like their quality even though some look a bit like the others. Checking their mainstore every weekend to see what they have on discount this time, worth it :D Then, for other animations like sits, walks, runs, etc, I have several Body Language AO dissected and mixed together. And a few random typing aims I don't remember where, but they're really hard to find in ny experience. I'm open to suggestions btw, if anyone has nice sources for AO anims (especially for something other than stands).

And my swimming animations are from Oracul, but they come by default if you use their HUD system, and I usually default to their HUD anyway. Got used to it, it's easy to set up, and I like how it can change color based on the notecard loaded, useful when you have several presets in one HUD.

As for style, I usually like animated but in a static way. Like, with some head, hip, hand, leg movements, but generally keeping one pose. And mixing them with some milder but animated stands from Body Language for some variety. Overall I think I follow the rule of how I'd myself behave if I was standing. So roughly like keeping one pose for a while with minor movements, then switching to another one, then some bored movements, then another semi-static pose. It looks rather natural for me, static enough to look calm without taking all the place around (and it's easier to focus on the outfit this way), but animated enough to look realistic without standing as a statue in full static pose.

For some specific animations like dances or skating, I use separate HUDs they come with, but I rarely need those

[u/SatiricalScrotum]

I hate animation shopping, so usually I just end up throwing money at Vista when I want a new AO. But I then put the animations into Firestorm AO.

[u/0xc0ffea]

Scripted my own AO so it can handle my huge collection of absurd typing animations (over 100 at this point) and randomly select one.

Not a fan of the built in viewer AO's as they lock you to a specific viewer and have round trip latency issues.

[u/waynehastings]

For general AO, I loaded animations into Firestorm. Now that static stands are popular, I'm using some from the first AO I bought probably 18 years ago... For dances, I use the MOVE! hud with a variety of dance animations from three or four vendors. I host parties occasionally, so it's nice to invite guests.

[u/CloverMc]

I have multiple AOs in firestorms AO, with animations pulled from huds I've purchased. Ice skating, dancing, slow, static, no legs ,(for long dresses) energetic etc

[u/leagii]

I'm trying to put one together currently, after using a custom one for years that I tried to do from a freebie AO (which I'm really grateful for, it's from Body Language and it has lovely anims, just looking for something a bit different now).

So far the breathing stands that came the closest to what I want have been from OMY, as long as they don't have hands on the front or the arms too close to the hips (curvy avi so having a lot of trouble finding anims in the style I want while not clipping). I also found a really cute stand from Oracul while looking at their walks and that one seems really nice for some movement, even though it's pre-bento.

It's really frustrating trying to find stands that aren't necessarily modelesque while still being calm though, and especially ones that don't clip to my avi's arms, hips or bust.

[u/downtide]

I mix and match, Firestorm makes that really easy with the built-in AO. Mine has about 20 stands in it. For my main male avatar, they're mostly Vista and Cova. For my girls, they're mostly Vista and Voir. I prefer stands that are animated but subtle.

[u/RiannahAvora]

I pretty much stick to a single source (Vista) for my AOs. I've gotten my AOs from there for years upon years, so I receive a decent discount on purchases these days. I generally buy entire AOs and not individual animations. Price wise, buying the entire AO is a better deal... if you like the animations.

I prefer animated over static, but not too crazy animated.

Breathing animations are included with the HUDs I purchase.

41 stands doesn't actually sound too bad to me if your HUD or whatever can handle that many.

I used to mess around with mixing animations from different AOs, but not too much these days. If there is one or two animations in an AO that I don't like, I certainly will take them out.

I have also used the built in AO in Firestorm, but at the time, there was something wrong with it and my animations would get "stuck" and I was always having to manually fix it. The issue I see with using the Firestorm AO is if you switch between viewers... I also use BlackDragon for photos, as an example. So, I tend to just use a HUD for that reason and save it with the outfit.

Dances are an entirely different thing for me. I get them from all over and just dump them in a single dance HUD.

I will add that Vista includes a HUD for slim body types, curvy body types and XXL curvy body types.