Saturday, May 19, 2012

Sprightly Summer in Amras

Magical Well

This is a combo outfit which I thought of almost as soon as I saw the second piece, this awesome top from Apple May Designs. It comes in three colors (cream - shown, pink, and black), and when I picked it up a few days ago it was 25$L, though the price may have gone up since then. The shorts are a special release for Culture Shock by G Field, and I love them to bits (I'm also wearing her shoes)! There is also a limited edition blue, plus the entire fatpack - which I totally splurged on. The large, which I'm wearing, is wide enough to accommodate my round belly, and I love how the ruffles move with my legs. The entire outfit seems loose and springy, which is what I was aiming for - I even like how things aren't an exact fit, so that it looks like real clothing over the surface of my skin. Both items are rigged mesh, which means no resizing, so make sure to try a demo before buying them. I'm a pile of rigged mesh, too, since my hair is rigged mesh from Wasabi Pills. I love the curve of the pony tail over the shoulder - these are some of the reasons I'm becoming increasingly addicted to mesh, even with it's downsides, lie how rigged mesh is only linked to a few skeletal dimensions and not all of my curves.

Sassy Falls

My ears are also mesh, but not rigged, new from Illusions. It took me a while to fit them; if you do it right, and use the included alpha to remove your ears, they can look absolutely seamless into your skull. There is a mesh shadow which is included, but I ended up moving it into my head and going for the seamless look instead, because I couldn't make it work with the curve of my skull (I have a rounder head than many). The ears are double-layered, meaning the shadows are on separate mesh right above the mesh of the skin tone. This means your choices for skin tone are infinite, and can be put in through the standard Second Life editor, but that the shadows won't ever become muddy. My lipstick is from Mock, one of a fatpack I picked up ages ago and have been steadily using since. You can see I'm smiling in most of these pictures; I ended up modifying my Flugeln Brise and *X*plosion eyelashes for a smile, narrowing them down. It was a pretty quick job, but I think it gets the effect across! I think I love Tomoyuki forever for convincing me to try on lashes. I layer alpha lashes under a set of prim, and it really brings out my eyes. My jewelry is a new release from Elemental which will be on sale for 60$L over the weekend, so hurry by for some amazing pieces!

Blowing a Kiss

I've been thinking a lot about who we support and are friends with recently, both in the context of blogging and outside of that. I have a lot of dear friends, and a lot of creators I like, and sometimes those two groups collide. Sometimes also, designers can believe that I don't really like their work, I'm showing it because we're friends. Speaking with a dear friend recently, he claimed my addiction to one of his creations was as a result of bias; it took some work to convince him that yes, I liked him, but no liking is enough for me to wear things I don't like! On the other hand, some of the stuff I love is created by people who my friends don't always like, and I've had to wrestle with the issues of whether one should pass money to people who behave badly, or if the bar is set way too low for avoiding or boycotting people because everything in Second Life feels so immediate and critical (even though it really isn't). It's easy to have strong emotional reactions to people and things in a walled garden like Second Life, where there is no real effective power for anyone on the grid except for Lindens, and the Lindens are virtually absent. These sorts of oddly closed systems, where social influence is the only means of gaining influence (and by extension power) lead to some predictable results which aren't always showing people in their best lights. Maybe if we all extend a little compassion and understanding, things might ease a little.

Into Town

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Blush
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Shiki Mesh Hair (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Elemental, Butterfly Kisses (promotional item, 60$L weekend deal)
Undies: katat0nik, Gift Wrapped
Top: Apple May Designs, Hazel Mesh Top - Cream
Skirt: G Field, Mesh Shorts - yellow
Heels: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes - mustard

Poses: Adorkable

Location: Isle of Amras
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Oyster Bay
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

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