Merry Solstice and Happy Yule, my wonderful friends! It’s a season of joy and light, and magic surrounding all of us. Kerryth at Spyralle has the most wonderful gown for the season, CoelisNorth Pole at the Mieville North Pole Event!
Another happy little treasure: I fell in love with EarthStones’ Poinsetta ‘n Bells necklace and earrings. They’re just right for the season, and fit the Coelis gown perfectly. Can you hear the soft tinkling of the bells as you dance?
There truly is magic all around, at Mieville North Pole Event and everywhere else. Peace and joy to you all, my wonderful friends! I wish you the very happiest of the season. Hau`oli Lā Hānau!
It’s that time of year! Time for warm sweaters and hot cocoa and chestnuts roasting and all that! So let’s do some sweaters, shall we?
Speaking of cold outside… brrrr! That igloo was chilly on the bum! But inside it looks nice and warm. My top here is the Annie Ugly Sweater by Pink Cream Pie, which is available in 12 color/silly saying patterns, as well as a fatpack, for all the major mesh bodies. Both individual color/patterns and the fatback also have 24 colors for the collar and cuffs.
Sometimes you have to really get into the Christmas spirit and just get lit! So I did! Hopefully there is a wall socket nearby, ’cause I really got a charge out of this get up. My sweater is the Mesh Hipster Turtleneck by Addams, available in 21 colors (26 when purchased as a fat pack), along with 18 colors for the neck and 18 for the wrists. It is available for all the major mesh bodies.
Accessories: Santa’s lil’Ho Ho Ho Antlers w/Lights by Danika; *NJoy* Christmas string; Christmas Lights String Necklace; Rhosyn Pink and White Wreath by Hatpins (Marketplace link)
And how about some pink floof ball? Gotta have floof balls in wintertime! Don’t you think this will keep me warm? For a little bum-warming in your snow tent, the Snowball Bodysuit and Leggings from V-Tech / Valentine Technologies has you covered… er, uncovered? They are available in five separate colors, and six color fat pack. The bodysuit is available in Maitreya and boi chest size, and the leggings for Maitreya as well.
Lately I have taken an interest in doing clothes texturing, using purchased full perm models that allow one to selectively edit texture faces. While I have pondered selling some of these, which is what most people do who work with the full perm models, so far I have just been tinkering for myself, in order to get unique looks and/or make outfits that reflect ‘me.’ The full perm models are not inexpensive, being in the range of 500L to 1500L typically, as the expectation is that one is selling your new creations and thus eventually recoup your expenditure. However, if the cost does not deter you… follow me on a little path to see what you can do 🙂
For this first installment I will focus on something simple (and very small!). The common component in all of these outfits below is the Angel skirt by Gunshot, which is also a very reasonable 250L. This is a teeny-tiny skirt that really doesn’t cover much at all (which… frankly, was my goal). 😀 Now most people would supplement this with a pair of panties but I chose not to.
The skirt contains three material faces that can each be textured in different ways. They can also be different between front and back but the design of the skirt tends more toward it being the same all the way around front to back. The Gunshot package for the skirt contains models for all of the major mesh bodies as well as four sample textures, a shadow map, and a UV map. All of these latter items can be used in an external graphics program to create your own textures, which can then be uploaded to SL and applied to the mesh model.
In this first outfit, I textured the skirt with an opaque white band around the top, and the two main layers all in lace, to match the lace top and the lace cuffs on the sleeves. This is an example of where I mixed and matched a ton of things, along with the custom pieces, to get just the look I was after, an innocent snowflake faerie (okay, maybe just snowflake faerie…)
For this one I wanted to match the skirt to the top, which is also a full perm model. Before I found the original model, I had purchased a version of it from a vendor who had made her own texture for it. As I liked that shade of blue I wanted to match everything to it, which I did with the Angel skirt and the full perm sleeves from another full perm creator. In this case the top two bands of the skirt are solid, and the small band along the bottom is a lace pattern that matches the lace along the bottom hem of the top.
Top: Kara Top by Vaxer (the full perm model is CBB106 by Cool Big Bird )
Accessories: Good Kitty Collar by The Sugar Garden/tsg; Heart Charm Necklace by Bowtique (Marketplace link); Endear Ladies Key Necklace by EarthStones; Giftwrap Garter and Cuffs by Sweet Thing; Armour Waist Chain and Seacrest Waist Chain by La Sirena (Marketplace store); BoHo Style Hand Jewelry Butterfly by SilveryK
Another vendor who took the Gunshot Baude top and created a nice texture for it is ArisArisB&W, who applied a pretty denim pattern. I created a matching version for the skirt across all three texture bands.
Top: Nicety top by ArisArisB&W (the model is the same Gunshot Baude top as I used in the Snowflake image above)
Accessories: Dragonfly necklace by Pixel Box; Elaine Belt and Garter by Nanika; Armour Waist Chain and Seacrest Waist Chain by La Sirena (Marketplace store);
Arm Harness by L’Emporio
And finally, back to lace, this time with a rose tint and a slightly Victorian look (is not sure the Queen would approve). Here I used the actual Gunshot Baude top with the Angel skirt, modifying the lace pattern from Snowflake to be a little softer in color (as well as a bit more see through… blushes!).
Accessories: Jabot collar by Cog & Fleur; Lolita Lace Cuffs by Sweet Thing; Armour Waist Chain and Seacrest Waist Chain by La Sirena (Marketplace store)
Pose: The Irie Series – Four (m) by an lar (closed)
While these examples of re-texturing have been pretty simple, they’ve been fun in allowing me to make things that are just right for what I want. 🙂 In future installments of Do It Yourself I hope to show you some more complex examples.
Back to Photoshop! More lacy and frilly things await! Cheers!
Solas and Bee at Silvan Moon Designs have created a lovely new gown for you, exclusive at We Love Role Play . Selenia of Galacia comes in four different icy colours, each just perfect for the Yule Ball!
Selenia has a lovely Icy Pearls accent add-on (available separately) that adds a lovely touch to the gown. I’m just a little bit disappointed in the pearls, however: while the Selenia gown comes in Maitreya, Physique, Hourglass and Classic fitmesh sizes, the pearls are available only in the five rigged mesh sizes, and as such are un-resizable. I am wearing the smallest (xs) in the image below, and as you can see, they ‘hover’ a bit outside the fabric of the gown. That’s not terrible, though, it gives some lovely three-dimensional magic to the outfit, which I actually rather like a lot.
Aloha, my fine friends! I like to do something a bit risqué or otherwise fun on the weekends, so let me show you one of my favourites for special occasions. R2 Fashion A/D/E is the place to go to for your transparent latex fashion needs! I know Jaz has shown some to you, and I have shown some in the past as well. This is Baika, and it comes in three separate pieces (jacket, bra & panty set, and boots). There are six different colours, so you can mix and match if you like, or go thematic. I really loved the gold!
R2 Fashion A/D/E — Baika Jacket, Bra & Panty set, and boots (sold as three separate pieces) (Maitreya only) (6 colours
Evelock — Celtic Sheaf Fire Opal Necklace & Earings
I don’t know how R2 does it, but they have gotten the materials down to a science. The gloss on the transparent bits as well as the shine on the metallic ones are exquisite. It’s hard to imagine how they could be improved upon.
The one drawback, perhaps, is that R2 works in Maitreya fitmesh only. If you’re a Maitreya user, then you’re in luck! If not… I fear not so much. As most of R2’s items have significant transparent features, use of alpha zones is not really an option.
Sometimes you see an item over here, and then later you see see another item over there, and you say, “Oooo I wonder if those would work together… and more importantly, actually fit together without mesh pokies.” Fortunately such was the case here, where I had originally seen the high-waisted leather legging appliers from Indyra and thought “Those are just begging for some sort of short-waist coat…” And lo and behold a few days later I find the perfect candidate in the Eclipse Design Nemo jacket!
The coat is nicely detailed with mesh bits, coming in five colors, along with six interior shirt colors and an option to turn the coat tails on or off. It is available for the major mesh bodies.
The Aziza high waist appliers include an edgy retro inspired top along with a pair of glossy high-waisted leggings. It was the leggings that caught my eye, both for the high waist part (very hard to find!) and the great fold detail, particularly at the knees. Aziza is available in a fatpack & in single colors and appliers are included for Belleza, Maitreya, Omega, Slink & TMP.
This is an ensemble that will really show you mean business!
I really enjoy wandering about a snowy outdoor market, and the Okinawa Winter Festival 2018 is off to a beautiful start! I got to wander around the market, and fell in love with the beautiful Rachel coat from EXiA!
Rachel comes in five lovely colours and each has red and white options for the bow, holly (or not), and solid or plaid at the coat bottom. Rachel feels so very fun and warm and festive — it’s the perfect thing to wander about in the falling snow!
One of my favorite gown vendors is Arwen’s; I must have a couple dozen of her flexi gowns. I’ve not acquired as many of her later mesh offerings, mostly because I like to wear my outfits to dance in and mesh gowns… well they often don’t move so nice when dancing. However now and then something really catches my eye, as this one did.
Arwen’s is always top notch in the texturing department, and the Jaina gown does not disappoint on this score. The colors are vivid and the detailing superb. The outfit includes Mesh Crown, Mesh Collar, Mesh Pauldrons, Mesh Veil, Mesh Bento Gloves, and an Omega applier for partlet, undershirt & glitch pants. There are 15 colors available.
The only thing I changed was the applier; while the included one (which basically covers the shoulders and upper chest) is not bad, Arwen’s actually has what I think is a better one for this color combination, which is from the Aethereal gowns.
Jaina is available for all major mesh bodies.
Outfit: Jaina Fantasy Fitted Mesh Gown; Aethereal Clothing Omega Appliers StarShine Yellow; both by Arwen’s
Among the fun things I get to do in Second Life is be a DJ for Sisters of Eden, a wonderful women’s club. On my weekly gigs I like to always have a theme and build a set decoration, as well as dress appropriately. Today I did a Sands of Egypt theme, and so of course had to do another mix and match (maxing out my attachments *again*).
I’m standing just inside the entrance to a grand pyramid, with steps leading down into the inner depths, where the dance floor awaits!
Skirt/arms: Ayanna Silks by RaMp; Persian Dancer by Belle Epoque
Jewelry: Kary Pasties and Bridget Belly Chain by Avaway; Your Inner Gooddess Arm Bracelet and Choker by Belle Epoque; Vipera armlets by Bliensen + MaiTai; Nipple Chain by Granada; Nubian Divinity Snake Headdress by Soedara
Wings: Scarab by Amethyst’s Accessories (Marketplace link)
Hair: Cleopatra by DieselDeluxe (Marketplace link)
Pose: The Finnley Series – One by an lar (now closed)
Is that the bell I hear tolling? Is it tolling for me? Eeeeeek!
November is drawing to a close, but We Love Role Play yet has nearly a week left. Silvan Moon Designs offers A Murder of Crows this month, a beautiful bustled gown that might be just as at home in Victorian England or in a frontier town in the American Wild West.
