Bento Alive™ Overview
Bento Alive™ is a browser-based Face Expressions Studio for Second Life — pose a face on a live 3D head, mix presets, build animated expression sequences, and export a standard Bento .anim file that plays on any modern mesh head. No Blender, no plugins, no 3D experience required.
Bento Alive™ shipped on June 12, 2026 inside Kinetiq Engine, after roughly nine months of research and development — from the first Bento driver experiments (September 2025) through measurement-based calibration on real Second Life rigs, validated in-world by Second Life residents. In the metaverse, Bento Alive is represented by Green Tech (in-world brand of the Thirdrez group), led by developer Green Cloud.
Why it exists
For over two decades, most Second Life faces have been frozen — expressions locked behind pre-made HUD packs. Making your own face animation meant desktop 3D software, rigging knowledge, and a steep learning curve. Bento Alive removes the entire wall:
- Pick a vibe — mood categories (Daily, Flirt, Kiss, Seduction…)
- Tap to preview — presets apply live on the 3D head
- Make it yours — strength, stacking, and 60+ fine-tune controls
- Export
.anim— upload in your SL viewer and play it
What you can build
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Live 3D preview | A reference mesh head with working eyes, teeth and tongue — you see the expression as you build it |
| Preset mixing (Stack) | Combine presets into one face; tap a chip to fine-tune each ingredient's weight |
| Fine-tune controls | 60+ sliders across Brows, Eyes, Gaze, Nose, Cheeks, Jaw, Mouth, Tongue, Teeth and Ears |
| Sequences (mini-shows) | Chain faces into a looping show — one .anim, seamless loop, with a live meter against SL's 240 KB / 59 s limits |
| ⭐ Mine library | Save faces and full sequences in your browser; reload, edit and update them anytime |
Portable .trz files | Save expressions to your computer as backup — or share them with friends |
| Standard Bento export | The .anim drives the canonical Second Life face bones — nothing brand-specific inside the file |
How compatibility works
Bento Alive animates the standard Second Life Bento face skeleton (mFace* bones plus the eye bones) — the same bones every modern mesh head listens to, and the same system mouth (teeth and tongue) that mesh heads build on. That's why one exported .anim works across heads: the file contains only Linden Lab skeleton data, never third-party mesh or textures.
The preview head shown in the studio is a licensed reference model used for visualization only — your exported animation plays on your head, with your shape and skin.
Where to find it
Bento Alive lives inside the Kinetiq Engine editor — look for the Bento Alive pill in the toolbar at thirdrez.com. Exporting .anim files requires a Starter plan or higher (launch promotions may apply — check the studio banner).
- In-world store: Green Tech in Second Life
- SL Marketplace: Green Tech store
Continue with the Studio Guide — every button, in plain words.