Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Blog the Beat: Week One - Mirrors by Justin Timberlake

2013-05-29 Blog the Beat_002

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake

Aren’t you somethin’ to admire?
Cause your shine is somethin’ like a mirror
And I can’t help but notice
You reflect in this heart of mine
If you ever feel alone and
The glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I’m always
Parallel on the other side

Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there’s no place we couldn’t go
Just put your hand on the glass
I’ll be tryin’ to pull you through
You just gotta be strong

We often discover who we are through the reflections of other people - how they react to us tells us who we are in the world, that space where we meet the worlds of everyone else. I don't have a single mirror, and sometimes I regret that; I would like to feel most important to someone, and to have someone who was most important to me, but it has not been the case for a while. Even with that, though, I have my friends and loved ones to keep me from every being lonely.

( More pictures here. )

SL Disney Bound – Week Eleven: Zazu

Ugly Tourist

In order to bring Zazu to life for Disneybound this time, I ended up seeking out the wild savannah of Noweeta, complete with wild animals to take tourist-style pictures with.The quintessential ugly American, posing by wildlife that would rather my absence than my presence - though I suppose the fact it is all virtual helps a bit, doesn't it? I ended up with a sunny, summery look this time, in marked contrast to my rather gloomy looks of the last few days. My hat is a very new release from Eclectica, complete with four color options for the hat and color changing flowers and gems - and hair. The hat can also be worn without the hair, but it is an adorable bob hairstyle I quite liked. I cut holes in the hat so my ears could fit, and they very kindly kept it on my head throughout all of the windy time on the savannah. I doubled up on my cosmetics to mimic the markings on Zazu's face, combining Virtual Insanity on the eyes and Mock on the lips to good effect. The Tucan jewelry was a recent release from LaGyo and when I saw it at the The Dressing Room - Fusion I simply couldn't resist adding it to my birdlike look.

Bird Legs

My amazing dress was an old purchase from one of the Collobor88s, a rigged mesh dress from Cynful. I really love the combination of the belt and the dress, and how they fit together. It fits a bit oddly around the bosom - I was either too big or two small - but that's barely noticeable, especially since I doubled up, layering the medium over the small to get a slightly thicker edge along my skin. Using a HUD, you can actually tint the belt black of white, or make it vanish altogether. I added in the recent group gift from Adore & Abhor, these monarch nails which don't match in style so much, but match perfectly in color. I really love the wing effect, and hope more colors are in the offing soon (hint hint ;) ). Finally, these amazing boots which make my legs look so much like Zazu's that I bounced in my seat laughing are a very old purchase from Aleida and have been mouldering in my inventory for who knows how long, but I am so very glad I opened them for this look. I think they add the perfect wrinkled and beakish effect to my feet, really adding a lot (though they do make me glad I don't actually have to wear them - look at those heels). The fit was near perfect - I just had to move them upward and over slightly for a perfect fit. I couldn't find an Aleida store but the creator of these boots, coincidentally named Aleida, does have a store called Elysium to explore.

Coy

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace - Creamer
Hair: Eclectica, 'Flora' Sunhat (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow 1: Virtual Insanity, Post - BLUE
Eyeshadow 2: Virtual Insanity, SPRING - Sodalite
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick 1: Mock, Glasside Lip - Trinidad
Lipstick 2: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor Dandy Lion
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: LaGyo, Tucano Set
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails:  Adore & Abhor, Monarch Nails (Group Gift)
Dress: Cynful, First Date - SteelBlue
Stockings: Vextra Messing, Opaque Stockings
Boots: Aleida, Anais boots - orange

Poses: Glitterati


Location: Noweeta
Light Settings: Incongruent Truths
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday, May 27, 2013

Monday Meme: Communications

A Light Step

Strawberry has an easier meme for us this week, for Meme Monday, though she threatens that she has a much more difficult one next week, so we probably should be resting in preparation. It's a few questions about how we communicate and live in Second Life, how we get information and how we spend our time. It got me thinking about how my communities have change over time, how I began first one place then moved to another. Sometimes I miss being part of several active communities, but they have faded as the populations changed, become more or less fun as friendships waxed and waned... much like offline, in Second Life people come and go.
  1. Who did you speak to last inworld today? Lerochelle Destiny (Charlie)

  2. Who has taught you most about SL? Rowan got me started, so I have to give her the most credits; otherwise, I think I learn mostly from reading blogs - I certainly follow a whole ton of them. 

  3. Who do you turn to for help? Different groups at different times, from the Falln Angel Creations group chat, to now my friends who help run Isle of Amras.

  4. Who is the most entertaining person on your friend list? Keaniez, he of the many names.

  5. Do you speak to your SL friends outside of SL? I have several cell phone numbers, we talk via a Mumble server, through Plurk (where I've made better friends with some people which has translated inworld) and sometimes through email.

  6. Are you part of a community or family inworld? Yup, I'm one of the "mentals" in Isle of Amras, specializing in newbies and getting people set up who have a limited knowledge base. I'm good at figuring out what people understand,t hen explaining things to them using language familiar to them.

  7. Are you usually around a lot of people or do you spend most of your time alone inworld? It depends on what you consider alone. I'm usually IMing at least one of my friends when I'm in world, though less so these days simply because some of  my longer friends have only rarely been around.Physically, though, I'm often not with people. Now and then we'll get together and play tag, or play a game, or go exploring together, but I tend to be physically (avatarily?) alone while communicating through IMs and group chats.

Floating Lights


( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace - Creamer
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Cosmetics: Mock, Lae's Feather Misfit
Hair: Lupoaica, Adorna with Roses
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Bewildebeest, Madiera Tsavorite
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails:  Adore & Abhor, Monarch Nails (Group Gift)
Dress: Wishbox, Thumbelina
Shoes: SLink, Ilena Sandals (with SLink feet)

Pose: Glitterati

Location: Flocke
Light Settings: EUPORIA Smokey Blue
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 22 - Autumn in Soho

Unusual Trees

Charlie recently redid his woods to include more mesh and more densely placed trees, so I ended up going down to Amras to explore and take some pictures for Autumn in Soho, a really fun color combination more in keeping with my recent November Rain post that the balmy and warm weather I'm enjoying offline. I went for a theatrical, over the top look this time, because the brownish-yellow shade was perfectly rendered my Blue Blood in an enormous number of her outfits, though it took a while to find one which was overwhelmingly ocher instead of mostly black. This is one of my favorite styles of her dresses - poofy side skirts and tenderly rendered, tactile textures. Since it is prim and texture, it works wonderfully under this World Goth Faire Exclusive corset set from Perception, which brought in the dull orange which matched the other color in Autumn in Soho.I had already had the hairstyle from Analog Dog on, an old favorite with some heavy buckles and a sort of industrial feel to it, and I thought it suited the overall look and feel rather well - Soho is an industrial sort of place in New York City, a place full of artists and visionaries, most of them living hand to mouth.

Tall Oaks

I went of a family vacation to New York one time, my mom and brother and I, and we spent a day in Soho exploring. I vividly remember finding a tiny Conceptual Art Museum along one of the dank streets, an enormous window in the front with chairs arranged inside of it and a sign to the side describing this "Conceptual Art Project" of humanity watching humanity. Once inside, my brother and I wrote out dramatic notes about how we were trapped and couldn't get out, trying to lure people in to play with us; I still laugh remembering it. I wanted to add a hint of that wildness and unpredictability, so I pulled out these amazing butterflies from Boom and tinted them slightly grayer to match the ocher of my dress. The way they fly up and out still enchants me, and I hope you can see why I picked up so many colors of them. For cosmetics, I wanted something completely over the top and amazing, and I immediately thought of these cosmetics I had picked up from MiaSnow during her attempt to raise the Linden for her rent. I'm very happy to report she succeeded, and is back in world free and clear. This eyeshadow combination is astonishing, thickly laid layers of black, yellow, orange, and red, gleaming and theatrical. I added in the final piece of orange with these shoes from Lassitude & Ennui, which so perfectly matched that I didn't need to adjust them in tone at all. The final effect is gothic, theatrical, creepy, and yet still somehow doll-like; I love the combination of poofy skirt and narrow waist, of enormous sleeves and narrow wrists.

Arising from Underhill

More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace - Creamer
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Miasnow, XP eyeshadow
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick 1: Adore & Abhor, Lips Mono
Hair: Analog Dog, bound gold
Butterflies: Boom, Metamorphisis
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Corsets: Perception, Black Leather Flame (World Goth Faire)
Dress: Blue Blood, Shiver
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully pumps

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Isle of Amras
Light Settings: Bristol
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Cold November Rain

Hard to Keep an Open Heart

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darling, when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same?

'Cause nothing lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long, long time
Just trying to kill the pain, ooh yeah
But lovers always come and lovers always go
And no one's really sure who's letting go today, walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head just knowing that you were mine, all mine

So if you want to love me
Then darling, don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walking
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time on your own?
Do you need some time all alone?
Ooh, everybody needs some time on their own
Ooh, don't you know you need some time all alone?

Nothing Lasts Forever

I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you?
Oh!

Sometimes I need some time on my own
Sometimes I need some time all alone
Everybody needs some time on their own
Don't you know you need some time all alone?

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame

So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothing lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Don't you think that you need somebody?
Don't you think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one

Never Mind the Darkness

Lyrics: November Rain by Guns n Roses

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace - Creamer
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyeshadow: Mock, Liz Shadow in Smoked Lavender
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick 1: Adore & Abhor, Lips Mono
Lipstick 2: Mock, Dark Kiss
Hair: Truth, Maggie
Flower: World's End Garden, Primavera A
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Lassitude & Ennui, Macabre (World Goth Faire)
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Goth Gloss (World Goth Faire)
Umbrella: Schadenfreude, Cloud into the Woods Pagoda Parasol
Dress: Senzafine, Miette Lolita Dress (World Goth Faire)
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully pumps

Poses: Glitterati


Location: Grey November Gallery
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Friday, May 24, 2013

Inventory Organization Tutorial - Day to Day Maintenance


Several people mentioned struggling with Day-to-Day organization after my last tutorial on how to set up folder organization, so I thought I'd say a few words on how I do it, and they get back to the incredibly important fact that exclamation points (!) make folders go up, and tilde's (~) make them go down. You can stack exclamation marks and tildes in order to impose order beyond the alphabet as well, and for my really top level folders I tend to use five or six to try to outsmart stores that use two or three. I'm also going to add a few notes for bloggers or people who pick up a lot of fatpacks about how I limit the effect on my inventory, while keeping my options open by not deleting too much. I'm a bit of a packrat because I'm never sure when something good but not usually my style will come in handy for an idea or challenge, which is part of why my inventory is so enormous.

The basis of my day to day organization is in the objects folder, where most things go except for landmarks and notecards, and how I keep things organized is through a combination of folders-with-purpose and five minutes here and there to move things out of the main folder and into the appropriate sub folder. Your sub-folders will most likely be very different from mine, but I tend to separate out by the different tasks I do in Second Life so that when I want to do something I can find what I need fairly easily. You'll see what I mean as I go.

Objects

My objects folder has a few different exclamation point folders, two important tilde folders, and a few in the middle showing what I'm up to now (or recently); some of these I'll go into more depth below, but now I'll just give a brief overview of each of them and why I have them.

At the top is my main working folder, marked out to show so by the sheer number of exclamation points and showing what I spend most of my time on - To Be Blogged. This includes not only promotional items from different stores, but also projects that I think of and things I'd like to blog, as opposed to filing away safely in my bodyparts and clothing folders for later use.

Below that is "Building Projects", which is the folder for anything I make for my own use, like props for pictures or the fountains I made early on in Second Life.

Below that is "Games," which includes anything HUD driven, records of past games, and the prizes form recent games where that has happened.

The final exclamation point folder is "Transfer Ok" which includes any extras from Gatchas I play, as well as lucky chair items or clothing items I no longer want on this account. Sometimes I'll transfer them to an alt account which is a holding space for transfer-ok items, and sometimes I'll pass them to friends on holidays or when they're a little sad, but it's essentially a pile of gifts waiting to be moved on.

Next are three normal folders, two of them events I am currently doing or recently finished, and one a standard hand-out for new players. "MadPea Inca Hunt" is just what it sounds like - the HUD and props for the current MadPea game (which I may not finish; the creepy/scary ones are never my favorites). "Fantasy Faire" is all of my things around the fantasy faire, both stores I officially blogged, stores that just passed me things, and things I bought. I just haven't gotten around to cleaning it up yet, so it hangs there.

"New Resident Kit" is a special folder of gifts and information for new residents when I run across them on the grid. It includes links to different tutorial areas, my Newbie and Introductory stuff on this blog, and ways to get some cool stuff in your first thirty days. It's always quasi out of date, since I check it maybe twice a year, but it's sometimes enough to give someone a foothold in Second Life.

The crux of how I organize myself is in the two tilde folders, though - "New" and "To Open". Anything new and already opened goes into "New" if it doesn't go into one of the other folders. Anything new and in a box goes into "To Open". Sometimes I mix things up between the folders - in fact "New" has a smaller "To Open" folder at the top of it for just this event - but it works well to keep things out of my main folders so I can keep track of what I have and what I'm doing.

I'm going to give you some more details on how I organize some of the main folders below, and then describe exactly how I keep organized toward the end.

! ! ! ! ! ! To Be Blogged

"To Be Blogged" is probably my longest folder in terms of organization simply because it's the only place where I break things down by store instead of any other criteria. I may end up subdividing into "Body Parts", "Clothing," and "Jewelry" soon, but right now this is how it stands. Oddly, this folder says a lot about my relationships with creators and who I was very close with before I started getting releases from them - i.e. my "Charlie and Aydryan Like Me" folder, which appeared early in the genesis of this folder organization and still makes me smile, so I keep it. Both of them own stores, and when they branched out into clothing they started handing me stuff to blog; I have simply piles and piles since I'm so horrid at timely releases, but they still like me, and that is my balm. Below, I have items I'd like to blog, and you can also see the folder "Neat Packaging" where I keep one project I'm still working on, where I photograph myself with interesting packaging from different stores. This is a way to plan for things long term and keep the different stores organized so everything can be found quickly.

! Building Projects

Next down is the building projects, which except for PhotoProjects and Photography Supplies is pretty much archives. I also keep other things I need handy, like a newbie box. You can see I use a tilde to knock "Old Projects" down to the bottom. I also keep boxed extra mesh items and my archives of different things like extra fish from fishing and that sort of thing under "archives". This way I can find everything, but it's not in my face all the time.

! Games

The Games folder is again, pretty straightforward. Each game gets a folder, and when I accumulate enough of one thing - like breedable animals - I make a "Breedable" folder and put everything under it. Again, I use a tilde to knock my "Solved/Finished/On Hold" games down to the bottom where they don't get in the way. You can see this folder is a bit less maintained because I just don't go into it often, and there's not much here.

That's the end of the organizational folders - the next section is all about using two folders to keep yourself from drowning in things while still being able to find what's new.

~ New ~ To Open

Tucked at the bottom of my "Objects" folder are the nerve center of how I keep myself organized - "New" and "To Open", both of them dropped to the bottom using a tilde. Like I said above, "New" is where things go when I think they're open, and "To Open" goes boxes and folders of boxes. This means that when I'm in the mood to open a whole bunch of boxes, I know where to go, and when I feel like putting things on, fitting, and trashing things I also know where to go. On the top of "New" are several folders of things which are harder to try on than clothing - like "Body Parts" (skins and eyes, for example) or "Petites" for when I'm trying on a petite avatar. I can't easily switch between these and clothing, so I separate them out to fit my mood. I use double exclamation points to keep them at the top of the folder even as I add in anything new.

The "To Open" folder is even simpler - I just put everything unopened into it. There's actually a second, smaller folder of the same name is at the top of my "New" folder, because it's a lot easier to move things up than to move them down. Any time I feel like opening a bunch of boxes, I just let loose on that folder, but when I feel like trying things on, I don't have to dig through a bunch of unopened boxes to find things. It really works wonderfully for me, letting me put things into separate folders and do what I want when I want to. It also keeps my Objects folder mostly cleared out, so it's easier to find new things and identify what I just received.

Every day or so, I move things into these three main folders and out of my objects folder, so that they're very clear and not at all cluttered. That's how I stay on top of things - I just keep things tucked into specially designed folders for me to dig through later.

Deviance Clothing Folder

A final note on keeping my inventory under control, having to do with extra pieces - like for mesh or the clothing parts of a color changing item. What I do is keep the master box which has everything in it, and pull things out as I need them. This only works if something is copy-ok, but it actually works a real treat. The box stays inside of my inventory, and all I have to do is wear or rez it to pull out what I need, without having to keep everything in my inventory.

I hope this helps you with keeping your inventory organized and wonderful; use any of my ideas with my blessing.

Monochromatic

Rising Rage

Monochromatic - literally one color - is when the shades of black and white are used in conjunction with a single color to create a rich field of view. These images aren't actually monochromatic, though - the Salamander eyes I chose from Rue's group gifts are of many colors, and that's perhaps why I'm not as happy with these as I might be (I'm already considering alternatives). One funny thing about how I do photoshoots, several pictures in a single location over space and time in a single outfit, is that while I have some artistic pretensions, I don't think about what I'm trying to convey as much as I might. It's more about the look and me, and how we both interact with the landscape; it's less about trying to capture a mood, or share a deeply held emotion, and I think sometimes that's a weakness to what I do. I am terrifically fond of this look, though; I think it's striking, almost overpowering, with subtle implications on oil and wildlife in the combination of Fallen Gods' dripping Coalborn with a much older Feathers skin of his, which I seem to return to now and then when I'm looking for white. My only wish is that he had adapters for the SLink hand system, as I would have loved to have superior hands, but in the end it's a minor point in an amazing look. I did augment the skin with a little cosmetics - lips from Rue and eyes from White Widow - but it was the blotchy dripping of the skin with the silkiness of the feathers which really dictated this black-on-white look.

Salamander Eyes

The hair I all but backed into; a new, spiky, single sided hairstyle from Wasabi Pills. I didn't use the included texture for the skull - it doesn't work around my ears at all - and I think I like it better for being cleanly shaven. One of my favorite mandalas from my college years has a woman curving over the top, the long hair from one side of her head flowing around the circle of the mandala while the shaved other side mutely protests that extravagance. I was aiming for slightly unnerving, and I think the hair helps; it was pure luck there was a streaks addition to it, which enabled me to continue miking black and white as I went. From there, the outfit was obvious; I had picked up this new Moon Priestess silks from Deviance months ago, but never hit on a look which really called for it's opulent spareness. Since I had picked up the fatpack, I had a pick of the litter, and I settled on white, dark silver, and an opal gem texture available only in the fatpack. Something was missing on the ear, though, so I ended up copying and ripping apart one of the necklaces to make this dual-earring - I'm somewhat, but not entirely, pleased with it, but I wasn't in the temper to try to get the curving bands over the ear to work; perhaps another time. I really love the fit around the hips of the silks, though, and since the whole set is color-change on touch, I only had to fit it once. For the final touch of "priestess will cut u", I added this bindi from Souzou Eien after trying a few different options on. I think it well continued the trend of aggressive jewelry, for all that it is very simple.

Deadpan

All of these pictures were taken in world, in a sim with very muted textures which I further muted with the greying windlight I chose - you can see hints of green on the ground here and there, and a bit of other colors, but in general I aimed and cropped carefully. What I didn't do is apply any filters after taking the pictures - these are all possible in Second Life without anything more than cropping. Winter Moon is a fantastic place to try your hand at unedited black-and-white photography, as all of the buildings and such cooperate with a very monochromatic pallet with some nicely patterned trees. The only hitch is the waterfalls, which are plentiful and full bright, so when picking your windlight aim yourself at the waterfalls and make sure they work (or vanish). One thing I'm increasingly annoyed with, though, is the static nature of my expression in all of my pictures - that sort of calm, slightly smiley look which anyone who sees my photostream is well aware of. The actual facial animations available to us often distort and disfigure the face, being very extreme, but subtler effects can be gained by editing the shape, and now that I've adjusted my facial profile, I may start playing around with subtler emotions in the eyes, brow, and mouth to see how I can more subtly convey emotion. Yes, sometimes the snarling face above is fun - and even appropriate - but more often than not our anger and our sadness are concealed and quiet, not loud and distorted.

Against the Rising Tide

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Fallen Gods, Feathers (promotional item)
Tattoo: Fallen Gods, Coalborn (promotional item)
Eyes: Rue, Pluto - Salamander (group gift)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: White Widow, Pisces
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick: Rue, Lip Service - Gothier Than Thou
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Morgan (promotional item)
Bindi: Souzou Eien, Precious Bindi
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit: Deviance, Drown Moon Priestess
Shoes: Schadenfreude, Ivody Cygnette Shoes

Pose: !bang

Location: Winter Moon
Light Settings: Phototools - Mia Light
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 21 - Bathroom Tile

Gleam

This twisted challenge is named, rather depressingly, Bathroom Tile, but the color combination itself is absolutely gorgeous. I love the sea green and warm brown - very impressive, and incredibly difficult to find. Tinting the sky of the gorgeous sim Kick was a whole lot easier, making it a gorgeous shade of sea green with brown clouds that I promptly ignored for most of my pictures... opps. The sim is gorgeous, though - very watery with lots of interesting lights and plants all over the place, with a photography display in the middle up a few levels. My sea green bits are fairly straightforward - a gorgeous jewelry set from A&Ana is actually the only thing in this look that hasn't been tinted to match. It was a deal at The Dressing Room Fusion that at first I hadn't picked up, but when I saw the shades for this week I simply couldn't resist. It's in several pieces, but all of them are pretty inexpensive, so go ahead and splurge. The other sea green piece is most of this gorgeous dress from The Muses, a store I discovered during the fantasy faire and that I sought out hoping for this peculiar shade of greyish green. No luck on that front, but I did end up picking up this sweet dress in every color, including ivory, the ivory part turning out to be very helpful in this challenge. The shoulder flowers, skirtband, and dress are all separate pieces, making it simplicity to mix and match tint. One other thing I really liked was how thick the mesh was, both in terms of covering under the skirt and in terms of how it hit the skin; there's a substantialness to how it was made which really helped in a wide variety of poses, even relatively difficult ones like arms-over-head. A lot of mesh releases are very thin, a single face and invisible inside, but how this mesh was formed it looks and moves like a heavy sort of worked silk.

Look at the Reflection

The brown pieces begin with The Muses dress, since i tinted the flower trim around the hem to match the sort of muddy brown; I had tried tinting the shoulder flowers as well, but next to this exquisite collar from Plastik it was simply too much brown at the neck. The collar was also tinted, from gold to this shade of brown, is also mesh, and is actually rigged, which means it frames my face beautifully as I change poses. I actually have hunted for this collar multiple times, having resisted it once on the feeds, wanted it for a look, bought it and lost where I put it, and now finally using it for an entirely different purpose. It also has a substantial feel - not a single thin layer, but a smooth, weighty curve of fabric. Finally my boots - the only other untinted part of this look - which are from my go-to boot store, G Field. The cool thing is, the teal feather is actually part of the shoe - it's darker than the sea green of the look, but it is still freaking awesome looking. Overall, I'm really pleased with this look, somewhat pleased with the pictures, and dreading going back into my blog to try to get my labels working so they are actually useful, instead of a mess. Wish me luck.

Jesus in Three Inch Heels

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow (promotional item)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Turquoise (iced) Liz
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Sunny (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Collar: Plastik, Devastation Collar
Dress: The Muses, Memory
Jewelry: A&Ana's Fashion, Emeraude (The Dressing Room Fusion)
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Frenchie Floral
Shoes: G Field, Open Boots "Vilda"

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Kick
Light Settings: Nacon's Day Mood2
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

SL DisneyBound – Week Ten: Flotsam & Jetsam

What Are You Looking At?

This is another couples Disneybound Challenge - of two villainous side kicks Flotsam and Jetsam instead of someone closer to the center stage. They are actually two moray eels, drawn to be green instead of the more usual brown of actual moray eels. I'm incredibly fond of the actual animal, having met one I really liked, but I was never as fond of the characters from The Little Mermaid - they seemed mostly to be around to snicker and be not from the fairytale; since I'm part Dane and greatly attached to Hans Christian Andersen, the Disney version of A Little Mermaid is probably one of the ones which annoys me most (Pocahontas beats her out because RACISM). I had a lot of fun setting myself up in all green, and I ended up deciding at the last minute to set up one of my alts - Deoridhe Resident - as a petite in all green, which brought up a few issues. Posing with two individuals is hard enough, but with a person and a petite it would be nearly impossible, so I decided to do a two-part photoshoot, taking pictures of Deoridhe Quandry in the wild and adding in Deoridhe Resident from her safe photography bubble above my platform.

New Home?

I tried to match lighting and color as much as I could, but it was surprisingly complicated. Not only did I need to get the lighting right, I also needed to tint the background so I could fit her into the frame without too much of a halo around her. I'm thinking next time I might make her glow a little bit - fairy like - in order to cover for some of these deficits. I think I needed to light her up with some sources in addition to the windlight, though; the main issue seems to be how less pink petite Deoridhe is compared to big Deoridhe. I totally had a ball with my foray into photoshop and selecting, though, and I hope you like my specialized version of Flotsam and Jetsam, who are here.

Sly Glances

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Quandry:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow (promotional item)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Dk Green (smoked)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick 1: Rue, Lip Service ~ Gother Than Thou
Lipstick 2: Mock, Vitrail Lip Glass - Black Licorice
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Alicia (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Blue Blood, Isabella
Jewelry: Lassitude & Ennui, Macabre (promotional item)
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, frenchies flower
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes

Resident:

Body: The Sugar Garden, Petite BJD: Nariko "BabyDoll Blue"
Hair: Exile, Eva
Dress: Bare Rose, Maidress C2

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Beltane
Light Settings: Phototools - Breakwave Building Light
Water Settings: Nacon's Lake Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday, May 20, 2013

Monday Meme: Teach Me Something - Inventory Organization Tutorial

A lot of people talk about how difficult it is to organize your inventory, but once you get a few basic folders in place it becomes much easier. From there, it's a matter of picking up a few basic habits, which this system will help you with.

One basic fact is that putting an exclamation point (!) in front of something moves it to the top, and putting a tilde (~) in front of something moves it to the bottom. Stores know this, which is why some will put several exclamation points in front of their names - earning my ire. I default to about four of five in my organizational folders to try to correct for this tendency, but in my organized folders I don't; you'll see how I use exclamation points below.

The first important thing you need to figure out is how you decide what to wear. I start - in my clothing at least - with color, so I organize most of my clothing by color. For hair, I am most concerned with style, so I have them organized by length and style both. You'll see how I organize each type of file as I go, and hopefully these will give you some ideas for yourself - remember the purpose of organization is to be able to find the item again, so think about how you look for things.

Animations>

I begin with "Animations"

I differentiate between different types of poses, keeping the PoseAnywhere HUDs I use for my pictures in the main folder.

Static Keepers>

My only sub-organization is in the Static Keepers folder, where I separate some by store, and put the no-copy ones in another folder. This is because the PoseAnywhere system requires copy-ok poses, so all of my no-copy are saved for no-script sims.

See what I mean about the organization being in service to finding things? This is part of it - identify how you look for things, then organized by that thing.

Body Parts> Normal Kit>

Second is "Body Parts"

At top I put what I call my "Normal Kit" where I keep the basics of my avatar. Under that is my "Basic Reset" which is literally just all the things I normally wear in a single folder, which makes it very handy. Under that is the folders where I put Avatar Extras, like horns and hoofed feet and tails, and entire Avatars. The sole exception is the petites; because I have so much clothing for them, I store them and their shapes in my clothing folder.

Clothing>

Third, and most complicated, is "Clothing"

At the top, I have the bulk of my clothing - "Outfits and Shoes by Colors" - and I'll focus on that with the understanding that other folders are organized similarly. I subdivide by colors, linking together similar shades. The metallics folder I'm slowly emptying into Orange (Copper), Yellow (Gold), and White (Silver), but it's taking a long while. My "Patterned / Multicolor" folder is similarly in a state of flux right now, half organized by similar shades and half by holidays. The other folder of note is the "Color Changing" one, which I also use for items that are color change via a HUD.

Outfits and Shoes by Color>Yellow>

The rest follow a pretty strict hierarchy, though, and even the complicated ones follow something similar, so I'll share it below for the color "Yellow" which is the most complete, as one of the last. "Yellow" itself is broken into five folders: Accessories, Bikinis and Lingerie, Clothes, Separates, and Shoes.

"Accessories" is the most complicated folder. I broke it into nine categories: Bags / Back and Handworn Items, Belts / Shawls / Cloaks, Gloves, Head / Face Items, Humorous / Joke Items, Jewelry, Socks / Stockings, Toys / Pets, and W / Effects. The last includes particle effects and footprints. I filled these in gradually as I organized and found new things which didn't fit in existing categories.

Head / Face Items> Jewelry>

"Head / Face Items" is the first of two categories within Accessories> that has sub-categories, which include jewelry that is not part of a Set (see below). I have it broken into: Animals / Dolls, Bands / Wreaths, Barrettes / Pins, Flowers, Food, Glasses, Hair Sticks, Hats / Crowns / Veils, and Masks.

"Jewelry" is the second of two categories within Accessories> that has sub-categories, and I have it broken up into: Sets, Anklets / Thigh, Armlets / Bracelets, Bondage, Broaches, Earrings, Necklaces / Collars, Piercings, and Rings.

Bikinis and Lingerie>

"Bikinis and Lingerie" is simply where the most revealing of my clothing goes. Someone with a more extensive collection might want to diversify, but I just have main folders of the following: Bathing Suits, Lingerie, PJs, and Silks.

Clothes>

"Clothes" is slightly more complicated, and I ended up going by length (which often implies style). I organized it into "Dresses / Skirts Outfits" and "Pants Outfits" then further subdivided the "Dresses" since I have so many. "Dresses" is divided into: Ankle, Calf, Knee, Multiple, Revealing, and Thigh Lengths. I have considered breaking "Thigh Length Skirts" into top and bottom categories, but I haven't yet.

Separates>

"Separates" is simply broken into: Bottoms, Middles, and Tops. I keep my corsets in the "Middle" folder, for example, and when I want to mix and match I can go here.

Shoes>

"Shoes" is broken first into four categories: Boots, Flats, Heels, and With Fake Feet (the last to guard against putting on fake feet when I am wearing stockings for an outfit). "Heels" has three subsets: Chucky, Stiletto, and Wedge. I think the different types have different styles, so that's how I divide them. Boots could also be further subdivided into height if someone had a lot of them.

Butterfly Beams

Hopefully this has given you some ideas on how to set up an organizational structure for your inventory. You certainly don't have to copy my categories, but using folders to separate things out so they can be easily found can really help when putting together a look. I'd love to hear about your categories, and how you break things down in different folders. So long as it works, it works - so go forth and organize.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 20 - Simply Cider

Something at the Gate

Simply Cider is a fun Twisted Color combination. I actually had the outfit set up, but ended up spending most of Saturday in a meeting and then the rest of the night as an awesome alpaca dancing in a row. One of the things I continue to love about Second Life is how untethered we are with out appearance - how in a moment's notice I can become something entirely transformed. Evens light changes can be unnerving, like adding these new eyes from Rue in, giving me dark, catlike eyes. She has a whole slew of releases, all of them the eyeballs which means that you can mix and match, but I stuck with a single set - the closest to rainbow. Aren't they gorgeous? Along with unnerving - the inclusion of black instead of the usual white really catches me off guard, looking at myself. I'm used to a much more innocent, less alien Deoridhe. My hair is from Wasabi Pills, a short, almost birdlike affair which adds to the disquiet; I think of myself as having long hair, so whenever I don a short hairstyle it's always an enormous change. My dress is an incredible release from Valentina E Couture, who has really come into her own with mesh clothing. I love the ribbon around the waist, and the dual-colored hem. My one complaint is how far down the invisible layer goes - far enough that I took it off for the picture below so that my upper legs are visible.

Walk into Glory

My shoes are a very old set from Alice Project, and I still simply adore them. They have so many options they still blow me away - you can change between the stiletto above to a wedge, in an enormous variety of colors; I pull them out every now and then simply because I love them, and the band over the toe of the shoe is perfect for dual color outfits. My jewelry, which is amazing, is another color changing marvel, this time from Virtual Impressions which has quickly become a favorite. It's also dual colorable, with a delicate winding pattern to it which is really enchanting. The store has some wonderful group gifts, which also allow you to pick up some fantastic sets with a lot of options for much less than expected. My nails are from Nine Inch Nails, a very new store with some amazing options for your nails. I particularly liked these divided nails, with the lace across the divide, and couldn't resist picking up several other similar styles. As time goes on, the additions for SLink nails are becoming more ornate and beautiful, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what creators come up with next.


( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: Rue, Pluto: Radium
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Brown & Purple
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick : Mock, Lucir Lipcolor
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Skye
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Valentina E Couture, Berries Dress Grape (Liason Collaborative)
Jewelry: Virtual Impressions, Cindy
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Deco
Stockings: Vextra Messing, Sheer Stockings
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps

Poses: Glitterati


Location: .XVIMCI
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Friday, May 17, 2013

Sunshine Girl

Ponds

It's almost summer, so it's time to break out the bright colors and find a pretty sim for some pictures. I started at Whiskey Monday's new landscape show at the Kelly Yap Art Gallery, which is lovely even if it does make me ache with envy - her landscapes are amazing and I want to take pictures with them. After yearning there, I followed the thread to her art gallery at Edloe, under the Listening Room, and the under is important, because after I spent a while spending time in her props pretending I was awesome, I found my way out and across a bridge to Catgirl's Harbour, which was absolutely gorgeous. I found bridges, cute little ponds, lovely living electronics, and a small nest of meeroos, all in a small section of sim with a beautiful coastline and in view of Edloe. I was already dressed to the nines, so an impromptu photoshoot was simply called for. I'm mostly wearing things I picked up at Collobor88, though I have mixed feelings about attending after learning that bloggers and users associated with the Liaison Collaboration were banned from the sim (some info here). It's always hard to know how to react when people do things you're not sure you agree too - but since at least one of the banned women specifically said she still blogs the event, and because so much of the details are unknown, I ended up deciding to swing by and see many of my favorite creators at work.

I'm So Hawt I'm Kewl

D!va has been my favorite store for loose, flyaway hair for a long while, and I love the flirty updo released, the back held up by color-changing hairclips. This is a prim hairstyle, which meant I was able to move a couple of bits of hair which cut through my ears - just admire that fit. The wisps and flares are just really fun, like I put up my hair in a rush and ran out the door to worship the sun. I added on these amazing sunglasses from Contraption which are just so fun, and which inspired me to use teal heels from Felicity to match the blue in these awesome glasses - like sunlight captured in ice. My lips are layered Mock lip gloss for a soft, bright, summery orange - best glosses on the grid, I swear. My jewelry is a color changing set from Maxi Gossamer, which is so becoming my jewelry of choice - give me options, people! The kind of cool thing about it is that while the names for each color type is a single color (in this case yellow), it's actually a spectrum of colors around yellow so that it looks like a funky, pulled together set instead of strings and strings of all the same beads. Really, it's a ton of fun - make rainbow next, please! My dress is from Schadenfreude, and I am SO GLAD she is making mesh. It's an adorable, strapless gown, like so many adorable strapless gowns, but the hem is simply divine - look at that lace - and the pattern is fantastic. Also, she has earned my eternal love by actually having the dress filled in across the bottom so that it looks like layers and layers of crinolines are holding the dress out. Amazing, simply amazing! My poses, by the way, are from Adorkable Poses and they are simply dreamy. Sadly, Adorkable is closing her store; luckily, she's putting things on sale so go, go, go! Finally, to return to my other touch of teal, these amazing heels from Felicity are part of her latest release and are really fun; the color was simply perfect for my look - like an icy drink on a hot summer day.

Meeeeeroos

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow (promotional item)
Sunglasses: Contraption, Meltdown - shine (Collabor88)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick 1: Mock, Glasside Lip Sorbo
Lipstick 2: Mock, Glasside Lip Trinidad
Hair: D!va, Sayaka3 (Collabor88)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Schadenfreude, Into the Woods (Collabor88)
Jewelry: Maxi Gossamer, Summertime Easy Living (Collabor88)
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Shoes: Felicity, Nadine Shoes (promotional item)

Poses: Adorkable Poses

Location: Catgirl's Harbour
Light Settings: Annan Adored Light Explosion II
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Silver with a Smile

A Rose

I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what it going on - both factually and narratively - in the lives of people other than me. It is literally my job; I work as a therapist and a certain percentage of my clientele has delusions, hallucinations, and severe cognitive deficits. This means that I simultaneously have to reassure my clients that I trust and believe in them, while trying to ferret out what really happened. Through this, I have become sensitive to the idea of truth, and the idea of there being many types of truths; there is the emotional truths of missing people, fearing for them, of having desires and jealousies that are difficult to reconcile with our views of ourselves. There is the factual truth of things which have been studied or recorded. There is the subjective truth of our reasonable assessment given our lives and experiences. The world, and live itself, is made up of these many competing, overlapping truths, along with the emotional demands of  feeling comfortable within our skin, of feeling safe, of feeling nurtured, and of meeting our basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, and love. These overlapping truths are rendered even more disparate by the sheer variety on the internet, the mores of a hundred different cultures intersecting, bouncing off each other, and causing polarizations and patterns within everyone's experiences of the truth.

Lost in Mists

I was thinking of this recently in the context of Plurk, where - like on Twitter and Facebook - people are encouraged to place their truths out for everyone to see, and have a variety of reactions to having those truths reacted to. From more serious things, like the experiences of prejudice or pain, to more casual stuff, like what is and is not attractive in an avatar, these truths cross over each other, causing changes and polarizations in their wakes. I used to be a big discusser. I used to be ready and willing to wade into a deep, emotionally fraught discussion of sexism, or racism, or any of a hundred social justice things I value. Over time, though, I've grown tired of wrangling back and forth, and watching people come in and characterize the discussion in varying levels of accuracy; having spilled in so much energy, I felt an ever-increasing desire to be read and read accurately, which amped up my emotional experience and often negatively effected my life. My focus has changed recently; where I come into a discussion early enough, I will often drop my truth in a neat, hopefully supported bundle and then... I leave. My truth is no longer my truth, it is now the property of those who read it and react to it, to read and react to as they wish. I don't know if this is actually superior to the wranglers - I suspect we need a lot of different kinds of people doing different kinds of things - but right now it is how I approach the truth. Here is my truth; what you do with it, is your business.

Stretch

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow (promotional item)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Cosmetics: Mock, Less of a Blues Girl
Hair: Magika, Forget
Flower: World's End Garden, Hair Accessory Gatcha
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit: r2, SHeer Shirt and Skinny Pants
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Bracelet: Erratic, Owl Bracelet
Shoes: G Field, Rose Bootie

Poses: Glitterati

Location: It all starts with a smile
Light Settings: Orac - fog
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only