Trippe'n Fantastic

Some days you just want to kick back, get comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, and a nice comfortable pair of shoes.  I mean, we can't run around wearing ballgowns and high fashion every day, now can we?  Well yes, we can!  But I was up for a change and nothing in my closet was calling me, so I went shopping!  Nothing new there right?  Here's what I found...

While out and about, I found a great pair of jeans at Comfort Clothes, and the pretty lavender top, and also picked up a pair of denim flats.  The shirt has lovely shading and cute little buttons in front, and the jeans are nicely textured and come in a long or capri-length style with sculpted cuffs.

Ahh, feeling much better already!  So did that stop me from shopping more?  No, I'm afraid not.  But here's the good part!  I stumbled on a little gem of a shop called Trippe'n and here's where things get all exciting!  Flats, flats, flats, wedges, pumps, boots, clogs, oh so many fun things and all for just pennies!  And there is a good scattering of free and group gifts around the store, just take a look when you're there.

I met the lovely Tia Trippe at the shop, who dropped by to thank me for my purchase and ask if I needed help with anything.  It was then that I spied the stairs to the second level, where the animations are!  I tripped up those stairs so fast I put the road-runner to shame, and oh my, if you've been wearing a tired old AO and you want to update some of your poses, this is the place to be!  For only 10-20 I'z a pop, I grabbed them up so fast it was starting to sound like a casino in there. Be sure to look for the little freebie box of poses from March that's still there.  Shhh I don't think she knows.  Hurry!

Tia graciously informed me that these introductory prices will be going up after May 1st!  So do what you can to rush over there and snag some incredible deals.  And even after May 1st, prices will be higher, but she also told me that nothing in the shop will be over 100 I'z.  Thank you Tia!  She is also able to do custom animations, so tuck that bit of info away if you think you might have need of that, I know I did!  All poses shown today are by Tia.

All in all, it was a Tripp'n fantastic day, and I'm giddy with the infusion of new fun shoes to my closet. Keep an eye out at Trippe'n for more fun deals to come, and if you join her update group, she has a pair of clogs coming out as a free gift tomorrow!  \0/

I hope there's something here you enjoy!

Boudica


Style Credits:
Skin: CMC Model Series
Hair: Damselfly Lavynder/White Pearl
Comfort Clothes: Comfort Rolled Up Jeans, Women's Polo Shirt, Comfort Denim Flats
Trippe'n Flats ShinyBlkBows - group gift
Trippe'n Flats ShinyBlkBows - group gift
Flats, Wedges, Pumps, Boots by Trippe'n
Poses by Trippe'n

All styles and links and locations found in the virtual of InWorldz.

Truly Enchanted - A Concert by Prowess Rayna

I had the incredible pleasure to be whisked away much to my delight and surprise, to an amazing concert by the incredible Pianista, Prowess Rayna. 

I don't mean to get all superfluous with my descriptions, but truly, Prowess' music is beyond description. Hers is an art to be experienced live, and an experience from which you emerge somehow changed, more beautiful.... Truly Enchanted.

If you have the opportunity to listen to her perform live, I highly recommend you do!  Her art and talent with the piano set such a healing and ethereal mood.

 I had been wanting to hear this artist perform at another event, but was unable to go the last time, and I'm so thankful to Leanna and Bradd for teleporting me to enjoy the show.  Thank you my beautiful friends!

It's times like this that put the magic in virtual worlds, and this event, simulcast in both InWorldz and Second Life, was indeed magical.  The concert was held live at Fleure's Enchanted Corner on Falathrim in InWorldz. 

Fleure Homewood has provided a magical and delightful venue for celebrating the arts, and in addition to the concerts, if you explore a bit, you will find a beautiful art gallery. 

Please enjoy your visit, and be sure to catch Prowess Rayna's next show at Fleure's.  She plays every 3rd Monday of the month, and shows are often simulcast in Second Life, as this one was.

I searched around and found a few more interesting links you might enjoy, including Prowess' soundclick link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=841612 , an incredible and recent interview by Music Academy on Treet.tv http://treet.tv/shows/musicacademy/episodes/ep007
and also a recent concert video on YouTube of Prowess Rayna at the Grand Opening of Sinatra Jazz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-zcVcskZk8


Be sure to join Prowess' group .:::::Piano by Prowess::::.. for more details on upcoming shows and events, and if you feel so inclined remember to tip the venue to help keep music and the arts alive in virtual worlds.  We all thank you for it!

Enchanted,
Boudica

Busy Making Mistakes

I do this disappearing act whenever I'm working on a new project.  This time, I was sitting around the fire at Midsomer in InWorldz on Monday with Leanna talking about how I wanted to make a new dress.  We got to talking about flowers, and I was pretty sure the design I wanted to do would be springy and flowery. 

While chatting about fabric options, I came up with the bright idea of just wandering out into my yard and snapping a pic of some flowers and making my own fabric.  I mean, how hard can this be right? So, here we go, flowers.  Now.... how to make a dress from this?  I loaded it into Gimp then went wild with applying filters until I had a springy floral print in a nice blue color.

If you think taking a pic and turning that into digital fabric, and then making a virtual dress out of that is easy, I suppose it could be. being a do-it-yourself dressmaker has its good points, but it's also rife with a mess of mistakes and do-overs and not much to show for yourself during the in-between times. So yeah, that's pretty much what I've been up to.  A whole lot of mistakes and do-overs.

The first attempt at fabric came out pretty decent, untill I messed it up doing the shading for fabric folds.  I was going for this gauzy gathered at the shoulders roman goddess kind of look. 

Hmm... not even close.  In fact, this attempt almost made me completely run for the hills, throw away the keys to my shop and give up on digital fashion design.  Ugh....  not pretty!

So back to the drawing board!  I completely scrapped that top, played around with colors a bit, and started with a new design, this time a midriff baring, long sleeve, gauzy top tied at the front.Getting closer!

I like the overall feel and shape of this top, but it needs a lot more work on the shading to make it look and feel more realistic.  The elbow creases for instance, way too dark, but I'm beginning to really like where this is going. I played with the hem of the skirt fabric, not wanting a boring straight line, but a subtle wavy hemmed edge.

Good so far, except now I've got the dreaded "alpha" issues to deal with.  Hmm, not sure how to fix that so it may be awhile until this dress is finally done.  You can see in the picture below what I mean, where you can see the "edges" of the other skirt panels showing through because of alpha issues (If there's anyone out there that knows how to fix this when using an alpha texture, please let me know!).  I may just end up taking the texture back to a boring flat bottomed line, but ugh, not if I don't have to.

 

Ok, so I thought, why don't I try a sculpted skirt.  I like this idea!  Well at first anyway.  It wipes out the dreaded "butt crack of doom" issue that you get when making a flexi skirt over a pant layer.  Why not use a system skirt you ask?  Because in all the 4 years I've been in virtual worlds, I've always HATED the big butted waist-gaping system skirts common in SL and most other virtual worlds.  I refuse to buy them from vendors, (yeah, that means Nicky Ree, much as I love her designs, please drop the system skirt) and I sure as heck don't want to make one to sell.  Yes I know you can wear a "no butt" shape to help reduce the "too much junk in the trunk" effect, but it still is not enough for me.  I'll just have to keep trying to perfect my skills and make it work another way.  Mesh, now that would be something.  But that is neither here nor there, so here we are.

So here we have my attempt at a sculpted skirt, flirty, frilly, fun, great for a photo, but not for moving around in virtual avatar life. Once you hop off the pose stand and actually move around, walk, lean over, anything at all, it looks horrid. 

Sculpts, as you know do not move at all, it's just like wearing one of those "cone of shame" hard plastic cones that the veterinarian puts on your pet to keep them from messing with their stitches.  Hmm.. maybe I should wear one of those instead.  I'm definitely messing with my stitches and still more stitching to go before this gets to the "I like it" point, if I can be so lucky.


Last Leanna heard from me was Monday morning before I skipped off with my camera.  She probably thinks I'm a bad friend, not even saying hi when I've been online the last few days, but it's just that I get a project going and it's all I can seem to focus on.  Like a dog, chewing a bone.  I get an idea and then I hound it until I can finish it. Well, here we are, days later, and I'm still at it.  Most sane people would have just given up by now, thrown their hands in the air, grabbed the virtual wallet and zoomed over to Snowpaw to buy up the 3 gorgeous new dresses she announced. Hmm... I may still do that! 

But for now I'm still working on the details of making my own creative pixels combine and cooperate in a way that makes me say... "Yeah!  I like that!", and I get that tingly feeling that says I've done a job well. I'll keep you posted on the progress.  For now, it's back to the digital sewing machine with me.

Kisses!
Boudica