The Art Fish : SL Viewer Shoot

My firestorm viewer seems to have borked for a while now, I have been unable to take any Hi-Res images with shadows and depth of field switched on. Which is a pity because I think FS. has such a great UI and is extremely SLtographer friendly.
So for now I've gone back to using the Official SL viewer to take images as follows :

I was channelling Garden of Gethsemane type stuff in this image.

Close up : You can see that SL shadows have come a long way!

Credit Roll :
New! More Info : www.flickr.com/photos/132942164@N08/30853367192/in/datepo...
From Noble Creations - Dark Guardian Consists of three main components
[NC] - Dark Guardian - Calf Pieces (L+R)
[NC] - Dark Guardian - Thigh Pieces (L+R)
[NC] - Dark Guardian - Gold - M (In standard size Xs, S, M, L)
From Fantasy Gacha Carnival - Muse Set
[NC] - RARE - Muse Golden Bra

New! More Info : www.flickr.com/photos/orsquan/30919076062/in/dateposted/
MINIMAL - Angel Crown

Other Stuff I'm Using:
*PH* disordered hair // 2
*COCO* MyDollKit_Amanda_Peach_Head(ClosedEyes)
+ MyDollKit_Peach Body
IKON Perspective Eyes - Oxidation (S)
Main Prop :
Wicked Thorns (Seriously! This thing is the BOMB)
From MP

The Art Fish : Watercolour FX

One of my favourite movies for its pure visual feast is the Guy Ritchie directed for screen adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I love how steampunk it is visually and draw some inspiration from it at times.
Here's an image I came across on the web of Adler; who is Holme's fatalistic love interest.

I wanted to try and recreate a similar sort of style
And took this image  using the New! SMD Victoria Faun Gown Set:

Worn with :
EarthStones Madison Pearl Earrings
Genesis Nicole 2.0 (Mesh Head)
Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V3.5
PIXEL BOX - Necklace Steampunk Survivor
TRUTH HAIR Xia
IKON Ascension Eyes - Glacier (M)

I also tried PhotoFunia
Which produced this result :

Here's the tutorial I followed :

In general, I'd probably like to finesse and experiment a little more with the technique but it was certainly an interesting and enjoyable exercise!

The Art Fish : Flights of Fantasy & Noble Creations

Together we can bring the storm I

I'm quite eclectic in my image making process and this is constantly influenced by the creations of others in my virtual adventures .

There's a sort of definitive aesthetic to classical fantasy images ala. dungeons and dragons. No doubt this had a large influence in my own approach in staging this shoot.

Together we can bring the storm II

I love that transmutable nature of SL. One day vampire, next day warrior princess! Noble Creations (part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com/) is the main inspiration for my classical Fantasy image today and this gorgeous gorgeous shoulder dragon from Katatonic (Just sized up!) The New Stuff :
From Noble Creations @ Secret Affair - Amazon Warrior Crown (Ends 29th Jan)
In Noble Creations Main Store : Pauldrons and Cape (sized for both M&F) as well as these Thief Boots (They are Unisex not rigged so you can resize them via inbuilt script )
Calico Hair makes some great hair that has this fantastical element to it and this one is 'Febe' from Hairlogy
 I'm using poses from An Lar poses. Both "Simpli III" and  "Honour" Series are from Shiny Shabby.

For Full details of WL, Outfit and Pose - See Screen Capture.

I thought I would also show you how I transform my original takes in SL and give them more drama.

The original screen shot for " Together we can bring the storm I"
I plan to increase the contrast in these pictures so when I take them,
I take them dark but light the models for contrast
This is most illustrated in the model's arm.
You can see I have set up two light sources (front and back)
 in order to create this outline of light.
For light reflections to work well in SL you must have advanced lighting on.

The original screen shot for " Together we can bring the storm II"
I created this set using " Welsh rock and cliffs" set from Fanatik
and surrounding the base with {anc} mist Heavenly Blue
I also set this up at about 1000m from ground in SL to achieve this horizon line effect

My own photograph of storm clouds above my own house ;-)
While it will be too innumerable to discuss what type of techniques I employed exactly in this little blog,
the main technique I use in Photoshop is layering.
To create more drama in my images,
I have layered over the storm clouds onto my images in order to achieve the end results.

Other details of note :

I'm using the corset part from a B@R outfit I also used in my steampunk dolly shoot taken long before I became a Genre designer myself!

The Axe is from an outfit by Poet's Heart called Barbaric. Unfortunately you're not able to see in these shots that it actually has a very ornate bear shaped handle.

The arm wraps are a gacha prize I won from an FGC round by DPD.

As always, I'm happy to help out with any other info you need regarding anything you see in my images and would like to know more about.

The Art Fish : Arctic and Snow Leopard

You can see a lot of the pre-amble test shots I do before creating my final images on my Second Life Profile  feed. I find it quite a useful way to keep track of and test ideas.

From Jinx and available at Fair Play

JINX part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com

(These are in-store at 50% off until the end of Jan and will also be at Fair Play from 9th Jan - 27th Jan with 50% off at L$75 each. Bargain)

and used to create the following images :

Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard Windlight & Outfit Details

Arctic Leopard

Arctic Leopard Windlight Details

Happy to provide more information for anything you see in my images with credits as follows :

The Inspiration 

JINX - AFK Wearables (Resting With The Snow Leopard)

The Fashion

Axix Voodoo Hood - Blue Tropic Green

Zibska Keallach Pauldron (left)

Pure Poison Manna Armor (Full outfit consisting of body, arm and leg straps) 

COCO Suede Boots (Fur) - these are a group gift and available FOC from their store.

The Doll

Lelutka Simone Head with Maitreya Lara Body using Ys&Ys Teresa Applier

The Art Fish : Emergence

You can see a lot of the pre-amble test shots I do before creating my final images on my Second Life Profile  feed. I find it quite a useful way to keep track of and test ideas.

Emergence

Emergence (B)

Some costumes in SL are epic and this is probably one of them. Made by BamPu Legacies who also did the amazing Poe Hat for last year's Art In Hats. This time Bambi has made a glittering jewelled thing.

BamPu Legacies is part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com

Fashion Details :

MORARA MAJESTIC ANGEL

For Fair Play Janaury 2016 Exclusive item and will be sold at  BamPu Legacies after the event.

Fair Play presents: "The Forgotten Game"

Each sale will contribute 10% - 50% of nett price to following

foundations:

- Relay For Life Of Second Life

relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/

 - Team Fox For Parkinson's Research

http://www2.michaeljfox.org/site/TR/TeamFox/TeamFox?px=1148354&pg=personal&fr_id=1720

BamPu Legacies Links & SURLS

BLOG:   http://bampulegacies.com/

FLICKR:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/92130367@N07/

MARKETPLACE:  https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/130576

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/BamPuLegaciesByBambiChicque

BamPu Legacies - Morara Majestic Angel @ upcoming Fair Play

(Wings, Garments, Collar & Headdress)

with parts from Bare Rose Tokyo (B@R) Self Control

(Sleeves, Ankle Bands)

No.7 Vieja Martha Fly Away Lashes 

LODE head gear *Butterfly Rare BIG*

Doll

Lelutka Simone Head & Lara Body using

Glam Affair Lelutka Heads Gift (Artic Aria)

Makeup Ys&Ys Carol Applier for lips 

Own Shape

Manicure - Shakeup Gradient for Maitreya (Fabulous!)

Mina Roosje Hair (Materials)

Argrace Saki Hair (White)

Props

{anc} IronOrb, Forest Lantern (Magic Purple A,B,C), Nebra Beads Heavenly Blue Field, Ephemera A&B

Screen Capture of Studio Setup (Note E&W direction)

Wind light settings for this shoot 1.

Wind light settings for this shoot 2.

Outfit Details (for this model)

Outfit Details (for this model)

The Art Fish : Tempus Regina

Tempus Regina II

Tempus Regina I

Lately I've been helping someone put together a look that they liked from one of my previous shoots. Admittedly, I'm really not very good at documenting my processes for myself. It tends to be a whole session of experimentation and I very seldom save an outfit after I'm done with it. Helping this person has made me think that I should work on documenting my process more carefully perhaps in the following way...

Close crop for blog size : The detail in this crown from DM! is simply amazing.

I do suspect that the time an average person might take to look at an image on flickr or even a blog is possibly less than 5 seconds unless it really grabs them or if they enjoy looking at details. There is just so much to see and only so much time with which to see things. This idea of time has been weighing on my mind what with the new year and all and is the inspiration for the last few images I've been making.

Outfit Details

BMe or Blue Moon enterprises (Part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com) is a designer that is new to me but what an amazing discovery! I really love the rich details in fabric that they have put into this dress. It comes in a few other colours but I have chosen to work with one called " Peace"

More info on this shop :
Store : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rising%20Phoenix/202/226/24
Profile : http://secondlife.com/destination/bme-bluemoon-enterprise
Blog : https://bluemoonenterprise.wordpress.com/
Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/109542875@N04/
MP : https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/92817?id=92817

Other credits as follows :
Fashion :
BlueMoon Enterprises Audrey dress in Peace available at The Alchemy Event

Accesories:
Devious Minds !dM - VictorianGothic - Crystal Crosss Crown (Gacha)
(SH)/Sad Harlekin (now Xansa) - Pearls of Venus Necklace
Pixel Box Earring Steampunk Magical Treasure

Pets:
Culprit UniQrn Nightmare
{anc} long hair dog - mix

Body :
Lelutka Simone Mesh Head & Maitreya Lara body
with Glam Affair Lelutka Heads appliers gift - Leda in Petal (available in Lelutka)
D!va Hair " Giz" from Arcade Gacha
Sparkle Makeup Applier for Lelutka by Ys&Ys from Shiny Shabby (Dec)

Props :
Ruins by Raya Jonson
{anc} city. timelamp /night [little & big hands]
7. Apple Fall Oversized Horloge (From Gacha)
:Fanatik Architecture: Rocks & Cliffs WALES Gate

I've decided to try and document the varying windlight settings I make for my shoots and their variations by taking a screen capture as follows :

Windlight Settings

The Art fish : Portraits

"Nouveau Scissors II"

Of late I have been creating my images based around the idea of a typical studio portraiture set up. Some cliches apply such as the signature abstract all purpose photographer's background; the "spot" light and fall off. What I find interesting about the idea of portraiture from an SL perspective is the shorthand in trying to capture the essence of a character in one frame.

"Surreal Sorbet"

Who are these characters that look back at you from the print frame? What are their stories and what was happening when the camera flashed...

"Theia"

Do we like our SL portraits to look hyper realistic?

Production Notes

"Nouveau Scissors II"

From Shiny Shabby

NOMAD Nouveau Scissors Set (Frame + Chair)

Essenz Missouri Boots (size S - still big on COCO FD)

Everythingelse

Outfit:

COCO RuffleSkirt (Lace-Black) + PDD Black Ballet Tutu (Flexi Prim Part) +

AZUL CHIC (from With <3) Sleeve Parts (L+R) + Zibska - LaVie En Deux Collar

+ DRD Chain Necklace (Mono)

Accessories :

Scrub - Like a nun collar (xxs)

Lark - Rose Veil Black

Swallow - Septum Ring (Copper)

Remarkable Oblivion - Scissorhand

Elua Hollis2 in OmbreA

"Surreal Sorbet"

From Shiny Shabby

Style:

Azoury Kate Cap

Elisa Collar

Coffera Ringset (For Maitreya)

Kibitz Renata Earrings

Claw Fringe Cuff (Metalic)

Body :

Clef de Peau - Astrid (for Lelutka)

White Widow - DeadMan Tattoo (Comes in Layers and Appliers for various mesh bodies including Lara)

Else:

ieQED Octobra

ieQED chanel pearl panties

Lelutka Aria 1.3 + Maitreya Lara (Full)

Genesis Lab Tongue

Dura 3rd Anniversary Hair (Free)

"Theia"

Theia by Calico Hair

together with partial from Lyrical B!zzare Templates (New Releases) Spanish III

The Art Fish : Sparkling lights and champagne seas

Lately I've been summer dreaming with:

Beach Dream I - ビーチの夢 1.

  and

Beach Dream II - ビーチの夢 2.

I often complete my image making in Photoshop. It's essentially play for me and I like to experiment with creating effects on my original screen captures as part of my artistic expression.

I'm on Photoshop CC2014 currently and every version adds to my learning curve.

I've been trying out ways to fix the idea of a view point defining that third space ie. as seen from the narrative point of view; wanting to convey a sense of the frame itself through experiments in depth of field.

Feesh Wallpaper

Kingyo 金魚

Production Notes :

For Beach Dream I & II 

Monso - My Hair - Minju (Brown)

ieQED chanel. pearl. Harness + Panties (Black)

All the above is available at Shiny Shabby's current round.

Additionally

Dead Dolls  - Juliet Bra (Black) fits Maitreya Lara 

Props

{anc} I'm Planet - Fish Puddle + Fish School in Pastel and Blue

{anc} Keybirds Y + R

tres blah - Bon Voyage - Vintage Camera

We're closed - Lounge Pillow Blue Stripe (also for pose)

Body

Genesis Mesh Head (Julia in Milk - Sleep)

+ Maitreya Lara (Full)

For Kingyo and Feesh Wallpaper

From Calico Hair for  Fair Play (Magli)

Also :

The Art Fish : Antony Gormley

Watched a really good documentary the night before on this artist and wanted to write a few things down about it for my own memory's sake. I find his work very compelling and the film quite inspiring as it spans a lifetimes' exploration on the idea of how a body and a body's sentience occupies a space. Gormley has in his latest works, moved into an abstraction of this interpretation from the figurative object; to the figurative translated into a space that makes the occupier the object.

The documentary brought up some really great quotables that have stuck in my mind with regards to context of work and how one informs the other. A segment (≈ 37:30) sees Gormley installing a new work on Lundy island for the Landmark Trust, where he says quite poignantly

" This bit of headlands has been here hundreds of thousands of years and now it's got a foreign object on it..."
" It's got to have that sense of it being, in a way, an irritation - but then at the same time , it's got to own its place" 

and most notably :

"... The test of a well sited work is, during the time that it's there you can't think of the place without the object or the object without the place"

The world of SL is on one level a sculptural landscape in which everything that exists within its "space" is hewn from the mathematics of 1's and 0's and yet its physicality is only "felt" in a visual way. For me, this is where the idea of how this visual space may in theory be ported into tactile reality via printing, is an intriguing and worthy notation for further exploration.

What is virtual also sits in that uncomfortable space of ephemerality. I think as humans we take comfort in constants and mark making that it is hard to grapple with the transient. In this, the world of words, images and digitized information is the strange frontier; yet how human is it to still be asking the same questions today that still echo those questions asked before...

New Scientist (What is reality)

Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)

The Art Fish : Pure Colour

Dreams of a red chamber

I bought this dress from peqe at the april round of We <3 RP . I love it for its daring split though I'd have to say there's a slight problem on the hip for me - where the alpha doesn't quite over. Otherwise - a great dress that I couldn't resist. The wonderful shoes completing the outfit are from Pure Poison - another prolific designer that is always creating! These are wonderful and reminiscent of hot days at the beach with a high cork wedge and patent accents that give your calves definition!

Image making on SL is a process of serendipity.
By pure chance, these gacha prizes from {anc} are the same vibrant red as the rest of this ensemble

There's also this amazing new jewellery release from FINESMITH - Iris is full of the most ornate detailing  and comes with headpiece, corsage, bracelet, earrings, mid-rift adornment and modesty shield. You could wear it all and nothing else!

The Art Fish : Art Named Capering by {anc} aki - Tuner Gacha

Tu'na - Inspired by Tuner Gacha prizes from {anc}

There are very few things that {anc} aki creates that I do not fall in love with almost straight away. Being able to use his items for my image making is just a perfect collaboration as I always find them so inspiring. {anc} aki makes quite a few collections of items for gacha - which is

"Gashapon (ガシャポン gashapon^?) is a Bandai brand trademark (U.S.Registration Number.2864782) widely used throughout the world for their capsule toys. It is also referred to as gachapon (ガチャポン gachapon^?)." Both gashapon and gachapon are Japanese onomatopoeia, made up of two sounds: "gasha" or "gacha" for the turning of a crank on a toy vending machine, and "pon" for the sound of the toy capsule dropping into the receptacle. It is used to describe both the machines themselves, and any toy obtained from them. Tomy, another major player in capsule toy market, uses "Gacha" (ガチャ gacha^?) instead of "Gachapon" for their capsule vending machines and toys." - Wikipedia.

SL does seem to have caught Gacha fever, with many regularly occuring Gacha events being held including the Fantasy Gacha Carnival (re-opening for the May season on 04.05.2014) which is where you will find the Tuner Gacha. I would describe the collection as a hybrid exploration of Baroque sensuality in a steam punk hyperballad - featuring beautiful headphones with scrolled headdresses and mechanical speakers.'Spear eye' masks that accompany and match these with closed eyes, lash and screw details. The plat de résistance in the collection however are the stunning Ultra Rare prizes  - Hermaphroditism Chair  (One and Two)

Chair I

Chair II

Other Credits

For Chair I

Model - Nebraska Oddfish Jones

Skin - Glam Affair Luria + Slink Hands & Feet

Hair - .Shi Blown in Monochrome

Props 

{anc} Hermaphroditism Chair One from Tuner Gacha *New Release*

Half Deer + Flower Head Goldfish [fancy]

For Chair II

Model - Nebraska Oddfish Jones

Skin - Glam Affair Luria + Slink Hands & Feet

Hair - Zibska Troubadour  *New Release*

Shoes - Pure Poison Alexandra Heels (Slink Medium Feet)

Clothing - Egg Pastie (Self Made)

Props 

{anc} Hermaphroditism Chair Two from Tuner Gacha *New Release*

Zenith =Z= Kiosk Birdcage Gacha (Tinted Black)

OmarCypher - Raven

A complete listing of slurls to the above shops can now be found here

The Fashion Fish : LOTD! <- wow rare thing!

Fashion is a dictatorship Part 1

Fashion is a dictatorship Part 2

Creds.

Fashflash :

SORGO Akira /Black (TMD - current)

COCO BandeauBikini (Mesh top/bottom) Group Gift)

Zenith Leather trapper hat (Black)(TMD past)

Azoury - Shiva Heels (Carmin)- just gorgeous

RO - Paragon Sash - Burning Red (TMD - current)

Props  :

[MA] Mp5 Machine gun (Mesh Addiction Free on Marketplace https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/154973)

[NikotiN] Cuba_ Premium (TMD past)

Avatar : 

JD MyFeet

Glam Affair Giselle Cosmetics Face Details (Light)

Glam Affair Luria Skin 03/Eyebrow Shape 04

Dead Apples Striking Eyes - Ice (TMD - current)

Hebenonstache S (Gift)

Boon Hairpiece JOPE57

Animation : 

Grafica Pose (Dita 04) Funnily! <3

Posertry Pose (Couture Crawl)

The Art Fish : Duality

Just an aside, I'm very honoured to have been invited both by {anc} and Pure Poison to blog for them.
This recent partnership has led to the inspiration of a number of new images as follows :

{anc} or art named capering by anc aki, is participating in The Arcade which is the MUST go to event of the Gachaholic calendar . The parasol in this image is one of several prizes to be got from {anc}'s Butterfly's Dream Gacha Coincidentally the dress Dita Doll wears in this image , created by Pure Poison is also another participant in this event!
The mechanical butterflies in this image come from an Arcade edition past gacha by LWL (insect collection)

Also another gacha from {anc} - I love the surreal things that anc's Aki comes up with , such as these chocolate making chairs which I've upsized in world for this image. This and the spoon can be got from {anc} Lapin edition gachas

This image celebrates pure joy and whimsy. Created using the penny farthing I got from the Victorian round of Genre
as well as an Arcade gacha prize from Boogers .  The gorgeous red hat which was an accent must for this image comes from Pure Poison's Misaki Couture Hat and an {anc} Lapin (0) also makes its appearance.

And finally,  just a simple portrait shot for my Chocolate Alice in Lapin Land series of images. The beautiful collar worn by Dita Doll here is from Kreao of Cubic Cherry who is also another power house of designing. They also just get better and better with every new release! Also seen here is Lapin (09) from anc together with spoon from same gacha set. I love the details and texturing! The rabbit ears that Dita Doll wears come from an Arcade past edition gacha by Halogen Magic

The Art Fish : Shape of my heart

Shape of my heart

Details

Sometimes the problem... (or perhaps the word isn't a problem as much as it is sometimes a rather difficult challenge)

Starts again.

Sometimes the challenge I have with blogging and making images in sl is to create an image that does the works of someone-else some justice. Because their work is so amazing, I don't want to make it look horrible with my own efforts - thus it can take some time to come up with an idea.

Shape of my heart is a dress that Finesmith released specially for the Love is in the air event (organised by Gizza) which was set to coincide with Valentines. Whilst messing around with trying to get a good capture on this amazing dress, I found that in certain angles, the wings of this creation actually formed a heart and that is what I set out to attempt to illustrate.

Shape of my heart inspiration.
I noticed that in some angles, you could get the wings to form a <3 shape.
To try to maximise this idea, I created this pose specially for this shoot.

Often times my own real life photography features in my virtual art.
This is an image I took of one of those amazing sky days and used in the end image.

Fashion Notes :
Shape of my heart by FINESMITH for Love is in the air event.
Full ensemble includes dress though for my shot, I styled this differently using
Noir Body Scarf from 22769 - one of my favourite pieces of wardrobe out of TGGS event
Worn alongside shoes from 21 shoe event by Culprit's Koikoi 
NJ wears Glam Affair's Luria Skin.

And meanwhile...