Evolution of an Avatar

 

It's been almost two years since I posted here and so much has happened ... to Lludmila and Annthrasite. I resisted the mesh thing for so long because my internet was so slow and unreliable and then suddenly we were offered a chance at fresh, new fiber optic cable! Our neighborhood went for it and then it seemed that upgrading would be worth the Ls. 

I polled all my meshie friends over what they bought and started testing things out. Lludmila was a problem. Fairly early on I discovered a look that I liked. I had given up trying to make me look like myself (fat and middle-aged) and went for just "unusual." Jupiter Vale at Absentia had a skin freebie that I fell in love with. It was a zombie skin. Lludmila was now and forever a zombie. But a nice one. Not one of those modern zombies that transmit their condition and eat brainz. Oh no. She was a well brought up zombie: polite, unslutty, undead. Then one day Jupiter asked her customers for feedback on something they wanted. As much as I loved the green skin, I thought the dark red lipstick was a bit much for daytime wear. No, seriously. And she recreated the skin in three liptones: light, daytime, and evening. And she named it after Lludmila.

That was ten years ago and Lludmila didn't change. I loved her even more. The problem with a new mesh body or head was that this old skin wouldn't work. Having used the color picking on mesh feet, I felt more or less confident that I could tint skin to match and so I tried some mesh bodies to see if that would work. Maitreya was most obliging. It was also a name I was seeing on a lot of clothing ... and a body my friends were using. 

Both Lludmila and Annthrasite got their mesh bodies but kept their heads. With Annthrasite it wouldn't matter so much. She could wear any skin. Her whole purpose in SL was to model clothes and so she could look like anything at all. Lludmila had to stay as much her self as I could manage. Was there a head that I could tint to match the Maitreya body? Lludmila tried on a lot of heads. 

Yes, there was. The LAQ head. The neck needed a bit of work. but I was pretty good at eyeballing and matching a tint. Hmmm, I would need to work on the shape a bit. Lludmila's face was longer and she had a sort of Sally Kellerman look. But I wanted my old skin. I even got the LAQ development thing and tried to recreate it through Gimp. 

Then a miracle happened. BOM came to save the day. Lludmila was able to wear her old skin again, but there were just one or two little problems. Well, one or twenty.

The neck again!

The nails.

Stargazer fixed the nails right away with a tintable tattoo layer. Izzie's eventually provided a neck fix (and on Fifty Linden Friday as well!). For some reason the nail and toenail fixes worked best on non-fleshy tones. They didn't work as well on Annthrasite's peachiness. But she had several more recent skins and it wasn't as much of a problem with her. 

Now Lludmila is prettier than ever, yet just the same.

February 2007 photo of Lludmila - I'd finally gone with the white hair. 

Somewhere there's another earlier one with light brown hair. Somewhere...

The Vast Array at the Women Only Hunt

Nails, nails, nails!

At least five kinds of nails! This hunt is huge! Hints and slurls here.

Altamura has a full body mesh for women with HUDs and AOs, very nice although not compatible with Omega or other appliers.

Note how well she slid into a dress made for Maitreya.

More photos from this free hunt here on Flickr. Most of the outfits are in the photos. Annthrasite still has her original head, so no make-ups or other adornments for mesh heads shown. There were plenty of poses in the hunt, but honestly the list of shops is so long I could only do so much.

Trying Not To Mess Up This Time

Men's gift: Bard

We're taking it slow this time so we don't screw things up like Last Time.

The Medieval Fantasy Hunt is green! Hop in your Superthunderstingcar and head over to Blue Moon where two gifts await to please the gentles of both sexes. Hark ye and list while the men's gift looks for his lost lute. The Bard has a mesh shirt and boots. The boots are fair gigunda, but can be modded down for Kathy's size 0 feet (which are apparently no longer in fashion* - tough nuts).

Women's gift: dark gown.

Look elsewhere to find the gift for the distaff side, but don't talk like that to Annthrasite or she will have off of you the testicles, and not in a nice way. She is pictured here in the lovely mesh dark gown. She saw it on Kathy earlier and braved six kinds of lag to get it - relogging at least that many times and rebooting the router. It was fain worth it, forsooth. There's even a necklace in there - but someone's hand is in the way.

There is also a group gift of an enormous watermill. Holy moly! Too bad Llludmila has maxed out her groups!

Blue Moon Enterprizes

*The social media chat reveals to the author the size 0 foot is now obsolete with the advent of mesh feet. Avs are now free to have pedal extremities that are colossal. Now, if only they would also make their mesh hands in proportion to the mesh feet. I look at many fashion blogs and fashion ads and keep seeing these itsy-tiny hands with feeble wrists attached to bulky arms.
And, while I'm at it, I'd like to complain about the "average" av sizes that have huge bottoms and no bellies. In order to fit mesh pants on my avs I have to wear larger and larger sizes, making the back of the pants stick out enough to hide a laptop. Women have bellies. And if they have an ass that big, they also have thighs that rub together. What's with that croquet wicket look? Let's not even get into the cartoon breasts. But at least people know those are just for laughs.
Okay - sorry. Rant over.
Wear the baby hands with the comedy breasts and the wicket legs if you want. It's your virtual life.

On Our Toes

We roll back the carpet and move the sofa for some dance.

Lludmila's mesh ballet shoes in the special birthday color (Canada Mint Pink?) arrived today as a group gift from Isis!  She's just thrilled.  They came with a HUD so she could match her skin tone (hee!) and this weekend all items (including the ballet shoes) will be only 31L for the birthday sale!  Must collect all colors!  (Calm down, girl!)

Don't forget! Isis also has some ballet poses (although Lludmila is caught in mid-arabesque here from a dance animation from Moonworks) for you "Black Swan" fans.

Still loving the [ba] barnesworth anubis New Orleans skybox.

Paris Meshtro

Art by Olympes Rhode

The Paris Metro Gallery has another great exhibit and gowns to go with it.  The exhibits are great enough without the gowns, but it's worth going to see them anyway.  I particularly enjoyed this exhibit.

If you are like Lludmila, with an odd shape, mesh doesn't always work no matter what size and we refuse to reshape ourselves.  Although the Paris Metro exhibit gift gowns contain some mesh items, if the mesh doesn't work for you, you can wear the outfit without it.  I don't know how many free outfits we've discarded because the mesh just wasn't working out.  I find this annoying, even though we're talking about free clothes.  Is this bad of me?

Anyway, Paris Metro has solved this problem for me.  Lludmila's torso is just too short for the mesh corset in this homage to the art by Olympes Rhode ... but it's just as great without the mesh piece!

With and without mesh corset

On the main floor is art by Kylie Sabra, who uses some interesting techniques ... and a lot of red.

Art by Kylie Sabra

The dress that goes with this collection has a mesh skirt and jacket.  The mesh worked really well in this outfit, but still can be worn without the mesh jacket.  The sheer skirt doesn't require an invisibility layer.   Many thanks to Paris Metro for the exhibits and for all the free gowns we've scored off them in the past!

With and without mesh jacket

Mesh Done Right

Group gift from G Field

Mesh rompers in action.

Lludmila has gotten a few mesh outfits, but they haven't all been unqualified successes.  This halter bow romper, though, has stood up to everything she's given it.  Now if we can just get her to take it off.  That and those sparklers!

G Field main store
Sparklers sold separately.
Hair by Clawtooth.
Jeweled flats an oldie from 50 Flats (can't find it anymore).
Thriller-ish dance the March group gift from MyAnimation.  Y'all are just lucky we aren't doing machinima.

Signs of Spring

Saint Paddy's mesh boots from G. Field (group gift) - See how they bend?
"Ponies 2012" t-shirt from Four Kittens of the Apocalypse (subscribo) Oh, do go by and visit! What fun stuff!
Wheel barrow and shovel from *KGS* (freebie) Many more fun freebies there.