I’ve been working on some pieces for this spring season (and, as usual, am hopelessly behind!) I wanted to go with more feminine fabrics and colours; something softer than the dark jewel-toned clothing I’ve been making in the past.
Above: Sketchbook showing some rough ideas. Also in the background, the all-important tools!
My process
- I usually start sketching with a black fine-liner. Though I’ve been trained at an art school, I’m not much of a figurative illustrator, so I tend to sketch the rough shape and let the on-computer process dictate the final look and feel.
- Then I work on the computer – in my case, I’m doing everything on an old black MacBook (shown above) using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and a Bamboo Wacom tablet (also shown.) To preview stuff, I use the SL Clothing Previewer – vital for saving L$ on upload fees if you don’t own high-end 3d software (which I don’t.)
- Even after uploading to Second Life, there’s adjustments to be made! The flat shading in SLCP isn’t what we generally see inSL, and the colour definitely shifts from what I see in Photoshop.
Preview: “Trish” underwired dress
Above: “Trish” dress, the top left illustration shown on the sketchbook page above. It’ll be available soon!
Also worn: “Persephone” mirror-sole platform shoes in midnight, “Kadence” hair by Truth
For this underwired corset-style lingerie dress (named “Trish” after an acquaintance in RL,) I ended up adding a lace panel option once I got working on the computer. Often stuff evolves as I’m working on it; the crossed straps were added based on the separate corset top design.
Spring colours
I always try to work within a unified colour palette, even if I don’t release much from season to season. The above colours combine some of my favourite soft neutrals and feminine tones with the saturated hot primaries that I secretly love… even if I’d never wear them in RL.
A note on mesh
I wasn’t sure if I should write a separate blog post detailing my feelings on using rigged mesh clothing for my Spring 2013 line. Based on talking to newer Second Life avatars and some of my oldbie friends (sorry I called you that!) it seems it’s a very polarizing topic. For any Second Life creator whose strength lies in texturing, not 3d modelling, it’s a technology for which we must weight the pros and cons.
