Angle and windlight

Today I will show you almost twice the same picture but I was not happy with the first one I had taken (the one here under) and I will explain why.

At first I had not really planned on lighting the picture this way but as I was testing and trying in Photoshop, the idea came it was the perfect pose for this kind of light coming from one side. After my usual editing, I have simply used a soft light layer with a basic gradient to do it.

Unfortunately, the windlight settings I had chosen in Second Life were not appropriate as you can see the shadow of my avatar screened on the background, showing the angle used. The colors are more neutral and that is why I had gone with it first. But the more I look at the picture, the more I feel there is something weird with the shadows.

I have then decided to try again in Second Life and use windlight settings with an angle more appropriate. It actualy is an angle for dawn or dusk so the picture has a lot more orange in it.

Next time, I guess I should better plan my picture and what I want to do in the end. In this case, I should have probably used lamps in Second Life rather than playing with windlight setting.

Credits:

Mesh Head: LOGO Alex v3.0
Hair: [elikatira] Fiona
Skin: *YS&YS* Beatrix Tone02 Skin Applier LOGO ALEX Mesh Head @ My Attic
Dress: :Valentina e. Empress Embellished Dress S Cerulean
Leggings:Mimikri – Leather Leggings / Niki gold_XS @ My Attic
Earring: [MANDALA]SHIPPOAH Jewelry set -GOLD&SILVER
Pose: Diesel Works

Mesh head

Hi! I know it has been a long time and to be honest, I did not really miss it. Taking a break is sometimes the best thing to do when you feel like you are running in circles.

Sometimes, I feel like Second Life is running in circle too and is not moving forward anymore. I guess the platform has reached its limits a long time ago and is not attractive anymore to new people. Unfortunately, I still have not heard about a valuable alternative so like a lot of old players, I am back or more exactly, I feel like playing with my avatar look, take snapshots and edit them.

This is not the first time I am taking a break, nor the first time I am coming back. One of the things I like is to see what is new.  This can cause a huge disappointment like the time when the big new thing was those huge boobs. This time though, something that was starting when I have left has known a satisfying degree of evolution: mesh heads.

Do not worry, I will not compare all of them. Though the fact there are a lot of them and also more skin appliers from different stores for sure makes it one of its asset. I feel like now, we have a wide enough choice to avoid the clone effect. So far, I only own one mesh head, the Logo Alex one. This might not be the most popular of them all but I like its long face. Less popular also means a smaller choice with appliers but I hope this will change. On the plus side, this will lead me to go out of my comfort zone and search for stores I was not previously thinking about or which were maybe less friendly to my SL shape. Paired with the Your Skin and Your Shape Noemi skin, the Logo Alex head still weirdly give me the feeling it is my avatar but better.

Speaking about the variety of skins, I was wondering if it were very difficult for designers to adapt some of their older skins to mesh heads. In the last two or three years, I do not have seen much improvement in skins. We have different lips, eyes, noses, shadings but basicly, the quality I see is the same. Of course, mesh heads allow for a higher detail of rendering. So, yeah, please, tell me if I am wrong or if it would be possible to enlarge easily the choice of appliers we have by applying old skins to omega system.

Finally, there are two reasons why I will go on using mesh heads:

A. No more troubles to fit eyelashes. Rez the ones in your folder and done, finished. The designer made it for you.

B. It makes pcitures editing so much easier. Mesh head + mesh body makes you win a lot of time as you have a lot less bad angles to smooth. The higher resolution of the skins also allows to use more filters without loosing too much details.

And now, the credits:

Mesh head: LOGO Infinity Alex Hybrid Mesh Avatar v3.0 – Master Folder
Eyes: IKON Triumph Eyes – Soldier (M)
Skin: *YS&YS* Noemi Tone02 Skin Applier For LOGO Mesh Head Alex but Picture 2: *YS&YS* Beatrix Tone02 Skin Applier LOGO ALEX Mesh Head @ My Attic
Mesh body: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara

Picture 1:
Hair: +elua+ Daria_Blonde @ Kustom9
Fur: Orla – Cardigan earth @ Tres Chic

Picture 2:
Hair: .LeLutka.Cat hair.FIT.A.Swish
Sweater: erratic / ava – sweater / navy (maitreya)

Picture 3:
[elikatira] Becca – Blondes @ Shiny Shabby
Headpiece: LaGyo_Ribbon headpice with HUD @ Tannenbaum
Necklace: LaGyo_Sienna Crystal collier Silver @ Tannenbaum

Picture 4:
Hair: =DeLa*= Mesh Hair “Hayley” Orange Browns
Jacket and tank: Blueberry & Enfant Terrible – Suko Set – Midnight @ Uber

Pleasure Bot Powered Down

Details:
Skin: ffair – Artemis – America – Cyber Princess 02 A @ The Liaison Collaborative
Eyes: IKON Hope Eyes – Wight (M)
Hair: [e] Conclusion – White 05
Eyelashes: MG – Eyelashes – Party – Swallow Wings
Dress: OVH . (Kustom9) – Anna Dress . Pink
Flowers: Glam Affair – Nivy Flowers (1) Bride @ The Liaison Collaborative
Hands: SLink
Boots: Nina Boots Cream by INSOLENCE – M
Pose: . Infiniti . – Powered Down – @ The Liaison Collaborative

Apple Chocolate

Details:

Skin: –Belleza– Ava Med BL 0
Hair: IKON Vanity Eyes – Silverleaf (M)
Hair: Elikatira [e] Conclusion – Blonde 07
Top: Tee*fy Milena Ruffle Blouse Short Apple S at Collabor88
Shorts: Tee*fy Aimee Tailored Ribbon Shorts Chocolate S at Collabor88
Mesh hands: Slink Mesh hands
Jewels: MG – Bracelets and Earrings – Summertime Easy Living at Collabor88
Pose: Diesel Works

Leopard

I know, it is supposed to be spring in the Northern hemisphere and all the designers in Second Life are releasing great springy outfits. But so far, it looks like the change of season has lost itself on the way to Western Europe. If someone finds it somewhere, please remind it to come greet us soon. It will be most than welcome after that long winter.

It is so cold that even in SL, I felt like wearing warmer clothes. Actualy, this mood is perfect as thanks to it, I was able to wear that great tweed jacket from Erratic. By the way, erratic is having a sale with 50% off even on the newest releases so it is time to pay the shop a visit. Beware and update your ladmarks, it is new location.

Details:

Skin: –Belleza– Ava Med Red 3
Eyes: IKON Ardent Eyes – Blossom (S)
Hair: [elikatira] Sound – Red 05
Jacket: erratic / laney – tweed jacket / brown-brown (M)
Top: {So Many Style} Lacy Top Red (old release might not be available in store anymore)
Skirt: Maitreya Mini Skirt * Dark Leather Cedar M
Belt: LaGyo_Fran vinyl bow belt Leo
Tights: Maitreya Allure Tights – Sangria
Scarf: LaGyo_Fran vinyl bow scarf Leo
Nails: [PM]Pixel Mode – Diamond Edt. Mesh Nails : Regular
Boots: ISON – hawkin boot -right- (leopard) (Gacha from The Arcade event)
Poses: Exposeur at Zodiac – Aries

River

Credits:

Shape: Dunes River (work in progress)
Skin: -Belleza- Ava Med 1
Eyes: IKON Eternal Eyes – Pond (S)
Hair: [e] Sound – Brown 04
Top: ISON – detzel leather shirt -M- (tan) at Collabor88
Pants: Color.Me.H.O.F Mesh [Briston Trousers[Khaki]_M at Collabor88
Ring: Zaara : Raga oyster ring *paua* (silver)
Nails: [PM]Pixel Mode – Diamond Edt. Mesh Nails : Regular
Shoes: [Gos] Grace Sandal – Silver Snake – M
Pose: Diesel Works

Racing

To celebrate its second anniversary, The Secret Store is having a 50% off sale. Maylee Oh has also released this sexy racing suit which is made of two pieces, pants and shirt. This way, you should be able to easily use the top with a high waist pants for a more classical look.

Credits:

Skin: *League* Isla Suntan Feline Blonde (Chest D)Hair: Elikatira [e] Thrive – Blonde 06
Pant: The Secret Store – Copacati Highwaist Pants – Bellflower – M
Top: The Secret Store – Copacati tucked shirt
Ring: LaGyo_Bizarre flower ring at Collabor88
Sunglasses: Maitreya Mesh Jackie O Sunglasses
Bracelet: [MANDALA] Pearl rain season 2/ MAPLE Black
Shoes: (Kunglers) Morgana pumps – black python at Vintage Fair Retro Sim
Poses: Cheerno Motion and oOo

Orange Turquoise

When I have seen an advertizing for this new Baiastice tank top, I just had to have it. While I was there, I have taken one of the floppy straw hats to create a holiday look. To complete the outfit, shorts from Molichino to remind the orange of the top were perfect.

League has released a new skin, Jen, which has a fresh and soft face with a little doll touch to it. I am sure you will like it. It feminine and should fit a lot of shapes without any problems.

Yesterday, I forgot to credit the eyelashes I am wearing. Big mistake on my part as they are a great new release from SLink. It is actualy part of a photoprop with closed eyes. The reason why they are that awesome is they are mesh and each lash is a tiny mesh. That means they are easier to fit than sculpted / alpha eyelashes and best of all, they don’t disappear under the alpha of your hair and are always visible.

Credits:

Skin: *League* Jen Medium Peach (Cleavage D)
Eyes: IKON Utopia Eyes – Bahama Green
Eyelashes: Slink Mesh Lashes
Hair: Elikatira [e] Caramel – Red 05
Top: Baiastice_Elade Tank-dark grey
Shorts: MOLiCHiNO *MESH* Kaia Shorts – Orange
Hat: * Baiastice_Spring mesh straw hat-light copper/orange bow
Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_TealPlain
Jewels: ::je::suis::africain::set
Poses: Glitterati

Navy Green

A new mesh store has hit the grid, its name is Nyu. They offer a selection of mesh clothing for men and women. I have chosen those large high-waist pants in blue for their elegancy.

This week, I have paid a visit to store I did not know really good, MOLiCHiNO, where they have a collection of pretty mesh clothes. I am wearing here a summery alter top in green.

Hart Larsson of PXL has finally released his very long awaited new skin, Kate. As always, I am very happy to wear this skin which shows details and a grain lacking in many others brands. Though, this time, where I like almost everything in the skin, I have to say I am not a big fan of the mouth which has too high lip cleft for my taste, though I know a lot are enjoying it as it is in fashion in Second Life lately. It is a matter of personal tastes. I am showing above an unedited picture so you can judge objectively by yourself.

Here is the edited image I am using as profile picture and be warned I have photoshopped the mouth so this should not be taken as an example of the skin. I usualy prefer something more neutral as you can always tweak your shape to make it appear smaller or bigger. I am still struggling in world to have the mouth the way I like but editing the picture in photoshop was way faster as I am running out of time this week-end. I insist on the fact it is a matter of personal tastes. A lot of you will enjoy fat lips. I highly recommand the skin as it is much better than a lot of more popular stores but yeah… I would have prefered other lips.

The eyes are from Ikon and are my new favorite color of the sunrise serie I am wearing all the time: light sand. While the hair are another awesome release from Elikatira.

Credits:

Skin: [PXL] KATE SK NE MEB C2 + [PXL] KATE SK LineBlue Eyes (Tattoo) + [PXL] KATE SK Cherry Lips (Tattoo)
Eyes: IKON ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Light Sand (M)
Hair: Elikatira [e] Daffodil – Blonde 07
Top: MOLiCHiNO *MESH* Linney Halter – Green
Pants: NYU – Debut, Hi-Waist Pants, Midnight
Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_ScarlettPlain
Ring: Paper Couture P.C; Encrusted Emerald Ring
Earrings: (NHA!) – Maelle/ -Earring
Bow: MIEL ELLE UBER bow
Bangle: MONS / Big Bangle dore&green
Bag: MONS Croco Clutch Bag – Sephia
Poses: Glitterati

Casual and Sexy

I have been wearing this outfit for some days now as I really enjoy its comfortable yet sexy look. It is nothing original and seen on many places but definitely a casual set ideal to wander the grid. The jeans and sweater are from Maitreya while the jewels and shoes come from Celoe (known as the place where i cannot stay more than 30 seconds without crashing. As they don’t sell their items on the marketplace, I let you fancy how much I love these accessories and what it took me to get them).

I had to change the advertizing picture for the Dunes Lenore shape as the skin was from Exodi which is unfortunately closing. I have replaced it by the pretty Leah from Glam Affair, a skin which seems to meet a great success lately.

Last but not least, Elikatira has released two new fabulous hairstyles. I am shoowing here my favorite, Caramel.

Credits:

Shape: ** Dunes ** Lenore Shape -S- 3 Dody Sizes (Marketplace)
Skin: –Glam Affair– Leah Natural – 04 Red
Eyes: IKON Utopia Eyes – Pale Gray-Blue (M)
Sweater: Maitreya Mesh Athena Sweater * Grey
Jeans: Maitreya Mesh Zipper Skinny Jeans * #1
Hair: Elikatira [e] Caramel – Blonde 06
Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_NudeManicure
Bracelet: [celoe.dara.bracelet.life]
Necklace: [celoe.clement.necklace.life]
Shoes: [celoe.xylia.pumps.asparagus]
Poses: Torridwear (no longer available)

(Sorry for double post, I had hit publish instead of preview)