NUDE SHOTS, SHOULD I OR SHOULDNT I

I have been asked so many times in SL by new models if they should do nudes.  So many are afraid it will ruin their career to have themselves exposed this way.  There are the right kind of nude shots and the wrong kind, just like RL.  I personally believe that the body is beautiful and it should be shown tastefully.  If you model yes sometimes you have to be nude, if you are working with skins and shapes, full body tattoos, some designers have topless outfits or wide open tops or even see through that you may have to wear modeling in a show or for vendor boards.  Really this is a personal choice and one that I struggled with too at the beginning but I'm not afraid to show my body for art and for something I believe in.  My beautiful sister Shaylah has been the subject of my art at times, trying to learn how to capture that beautiful picture, a shape I have made and want to photograph.  She loves to be nude, has no inhibitions, something I truly wish I did! She has agreed to let me post some of these so that you can see, nude can be and is beautiful.  Shaylah wears a Dream Ink Skin and I made her shape.  It really is a gorgeous skin, she is so lovely you can see how taking these tasteful nudes just add to her repertoire. 

 Tree Fairy

 Asleep in the Hay ( My Favorite!)

Water Nymph

VALENTINES DAY AT AGNES FINNEY & AZUL

AZUL - Coppelia Valentines Red

If you are looking for a cute little romantic dress for a night of dancing with your sweetie, something that will definitely turn some heads!  Head to Azul for Coppelia in Valentines Red.  This stunning strapless mini, hugs your body and shows off your beautiful figure and is luscious satin red with a flared red skirt trimmed with lace and accented with black satin that gives a beautiful burst when you move or spin! Your lovely legs are shown off by the sheer thigh high stockings with lovely satin black trim. The lovely dress comes with a satin black rose choker.  I love the way this dress fits and adds some sexy glamor to your look for Valentines Day!  Head into Azul quickly it is only available until February 14th!  I accessorized with Dante color change shoes from Kalnins, the fun and romantic Plume Amor exclusive to The Dressing Room, Lovely color change rose and pearl earrings from Ashira and Black metal rose bracelets from G Fields.  The sexy skin is from Glam Affair called Nina V-Day 2 also exclusive to The Dressing Room.

Just in time for Valentines day comes some cute little dresses and an incredible formal from My Precious Agnes creator Agnes Finney.  Paired with these beautiful outfits is some incredible hair created by Precious Lyrique for My Precious Agnes.

CHERRY VERSION 1

This lovely pink dress is called cherry and has the color of lovely cherry blossoms. This dress has a lovely pink patterned open bodice top with a high collar closed with a flower and a lovely pink flowing skirt that is gathered and falls to the knee.

I chose Lynn hair in Light Brown to enhance this outfit and give it a classic look.  I accessorized with Pink Pearl Rain Bracelets from Mandala and open toe sandals in Pink from J's.

CHERRY VERSION 2

 Cherry in Version 2 is a sexier version a form fitting pink patterned dress with lovely darker pinks, blacks, greys and whites.  The streamline skirt has a very high slit that shows off the leg for a very seductive look, that really accents the open bodice.

I chose Jenie in Platinum from Lyrique for this look, I love the way it frames the face and has the straight cut bangs, it  is a great style for this lovely dress.  Again I styled with  Pink Pearl Rain Bracelets from Mandala and open toe sandals in Pink from J's.  You really don't need much to accessorize this dress, its perfect for a romantic evening.

VALENTINE

 Just in time for Valentines day comes this cute classic style dress.  Rich red with a lovely wrap that sits on the shoulders, a tight fitting bodice patterned with white flowers and a tight fitting mini skirt with a flared bottom.

 I chose Xandrah for the hair style for this from Lyrique, it gave this cute little dress a vintage look.  You can style with or with out the wrap and I accessorised with Stiletto Moody Twinkle in Ruby and Love from Gems & Kisses, color changeable Eearrings and Necklace.

BUTTERFLY EMPRESS IN PINK

 This is one gorgeous gown from My Precious Agnes. Every element of this gown is incredible starting with the beautiful pinks, luxurious satins and lace and the decedent butterfly bow.  This gown is a beautiful start to the spring!

 The beautiful white lace and pink satin heart shaped bodice, tight fitting pink satin down to the gorgeous pink satin and lace mermaid skirt, flaring perfectly and swaying as you walk. To the absolutely breath taking butterfly bow. 

 Long flowing patten that sit on the back like wings that spread out at the back and falling at the bottom into intricate flowing layers in a long train, that move delicately.

You can see the sheen on the front of the gown that adds to the beauty.  I chose to wear Lyrique hair Arden in Strawberry Blond for this amazing gown, it adds just the right element of glamor.  I accessorized with jewelry from Son!a. 

THE HEAVILY DEBATED ARC!

We have all heard the arguments about ARC, and so much info can be so confusing!  Recently a friend passed me this notecard that she got a an incredible clothing store called Mashooka, the make the most gorgeous Indian clothing and western clothing, the sim is just beautiful too!  Being a model we always have to worry about lag during shows, I try to go to shows with low ARC and to dress that way but I have to say that I love my jewelry and my lovely clothing and wearing them, I just really try not to when I go to shows so that the models have a great chance of having a low lag show.   Anyway, I want to share this with all of you as I think she explains it very well and uses pictures of her jewelry as examples.  I did not write this I am posting it second had for you to see and read, I believe some comes from Wiki and I will include the link and put the entire contents in quotations.

"Avatar Rendering Cost (ARC) shows a point score above each avatar's head which indicates how "laggy" they are on the viewer-side. ARC is found in Advanced Menu > Rendering > Info Displays > Avatar Rendering Cost. The score is a factor of the size and number of textures used, and the number and type of primitives used. Avatars with large textures, lots of flexi-prim parts and high prim count objects, and/or invisible parts will score higher than one that uses fewer/smaller textures, using a few sculpties instead of many basic primitives, etc.

The score are color coded. The center of the Yellow band is about a score of 1,000. The numbers turn fully red at 2,000. It's generally best to be considerate of others when putting together your avatar, and to do what you can to stay under a score of 2,000, especially in crowded areas. Under 1,000 is even better. These are only guidelines, but be aware that the higher your score is, the more lag you generate for other Residents, particularly those with older machines.

ARC is somewhat controversial - there are people who have made a game of creating high ARC avatars that don't produce much lag. However, if you keep in mind that it's an estimate, it can be a useful tool.

Most people can make an avatar which looks similar to their normal avatar, but has a lower ARC. It can be a good idea to keep a low-ARC avatar to take to high-lag or popular events, or to wear to classes that are likely to generate lag (such as building or scripting classes).

   1. Start by bringing the ARC up: Advanced Menu [ctrl-alt-d] > Rendering > Info Displays > Avatar

       Rendering Cost.

   2. Make a note of all the attachments you wear on your regular avatar.

   3. Detach everything. (Right click on yourself, select Detach, then select Detach All.)

   4. Gradually attach each item, making a note of which items increase your ARC most.

   5. If you're a competent builder yourself, look at "How ARC is calculated" and remove unnecessary

       particles, flexi, bumpmapping, texture animation and prims from copy/modify high-ARC objects.
      Some hairstyles, for instance, have more than one style within the same object, with the second style

      being invisible. You can reduce the ARC of that hair just by making a version without the second style

      - and look exactly the same.

   6. Otherwise, you can look for low ARC objects that have a similar look to the high ARC version. Use

      demos to figure out the ARC of an object before purchase.

If you have avatar impostors enabled, mute them. They will be replaced by an imposture, with the effective rendering cost of 1. Their original rendering cost will still be displayed. This is particularly useful on machines that get poor frame rates, you can mute high cost avatars to help increase your frame rate in crowded areas.

    *  An avatar with no attachments has a score of 1.

       You can have the fanciest possible Linden (aka mesh) clothing, hair, and shoes, and still have a score of

       1.

    * 10 points for each prim.

       This is a base cost for the prim, other points add to this cost.

    * 5 points for each unique texture (on prims).

       Coloured but untextured prims don't add ARC for textures. 

       Textures used to make clothing, hair, shoes, etc don't add ARC.
       Each texture counts once, so hair that has fifty prims but only one texture across all the hair adds only 5

       points for textures. (Note that most hair has at least two textures, one with transparency to make the

      'ends', and one without for the main bulk of the hair. So hair like that adds 10 points for textures.)

    * 1 point for each invisiprim.

       This isn't transparency, but the invisiprim texture used for blocking avatar skin. Its most frequent use is

       prim heels, it's also often used for furry or tiny avatars.

    * 1 point for each prim with glow.

    * 1 point for each prim with shininess.

    * 1 point for each face of every prim that's planar-mapped.

       Video Tutorial/Planar texture mapping

    * 1 point per metre, per axis, for each prim.

       This most often affects skirts, capes, long hair, large wings and long tails.

    * 4 points for each prim with bump mapping.

    * 4 points for each prim face with transparency.

       Note that this is per face, not per prim.
       This includes partial transparency, like 'endy' hair.
       It also includes prims which don't seem to have invisibility, but do - if it shows up as red when you turn

       'highlight transparent' on (under the view menu), it counts.

    * 4 points for each prim face with an animated texture.

      Note that this is per face, not per prim.

    * 8 points for each prim that's flexible.

    * 16 points for each prim that emits particles.

       The most common use of particle emitters is bling.
   
    http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Avatar_Rendering_Cost
   
=========================================

      Lag occurs most when

    * Your Draw Distance is too high
    * There are many physical (physics-enabled) objects nearby
    * There is a large group of people nearby
    * You are moving (and therefore loading new geometry, textures, and sounds)
    * You or other people are playing sounds or animations
    * When many objects are moving around nearby
    * You have "fancy" graphics features enabled (Local Lighting, Object Bump, Ripple Water, Shadows, etc)    
   
    http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Lag"
   
=========================================

Thank you Mashooka for this well worded way to understand ARC a little better!

THE INCREDIBLE LILLOU!

Le printemps est dans l'air! Il est si apparente dans les robes magnifiques nouvelles de l'incroyablement talentueux et artistique Merlin Lillou. Je dois avouer que j'ai récemment appris Lillou et sa créativité abondante dans un défilé de mode j'étais dans la semaine de la mode à la mode Eiffel agence. J'ai été immédiatement impressionné par son talent et sa belle personnalité! Elle est l'une des plus gentille personne la plus humble que j'ai rencontrés dans SL! Sans plus tarder je vais vous présenter ses dernières créations et comme vous pouvez le voir je suis en amour avec les roses, bleus et violets qu'elle utilise et la promesse du printemps!

Spring is in the air!  It is so apparent in the gorgeous new gowns from the amazingly talented and artistic Lillou Merlin.  I must confess that I just recently learned of Lillou and her abundant creativity in a fashion show I was in for fashion week at Fashion Eiffel agency.  I was immediately awed by her talent and her beautiful personality!  She is one of the kindest most humble person I have met in SL!  Without further ado I will introduce to you her latest creations and as you can see I am just in love with the pinks, blues and purples that she uses and their promise of spring!



LILLOU - Iceberg Astral in Pink

 This lovely fantasy gown is made of sheer pink organza and lace with wings of shiny baby pink organza floating behind and overhead.  The top gathered with a ruffle, short, lace bodice and sleeves. The ruffled waist and long sheer skirt.

 Cette robe fantaisie belle est faite d'organza rose pure et de la dentelle avec des ailes d'organza rose brillant bébé flottant derrière et les frais généraux. Le sommet se sont réunis avec un volant, à court corsage de dentelle, et les manches. La taille de volants et jupe longue pure.

The look is finished with lit candy pink hair. Such an avant garde fairy!

Le look est fini avec les cheveux roses bonbons allumé. Cette avant-garde de fées!

LILLOU - La Vie en Rose



 This incredible gown called La Vie en Rose is a stunner!  The whole gown is adorned in sparkles from its beautiful wide flipped hat, sheer and sparkled parasol to the bodice and full skirt.  It is so graceful, gorgeous!  Perfect spring dress!

Cette robe incroyable appelée La Vie en Rose est un produit étonnant! La robe de l'ensemble est orné de brillants de sa belle et large chapeau renversé, parasol pure et étincelante au corsage et jupe. Il est si gracieuse, superbe! robe de printemps parfait!

 Just look at the detail in this amazing gown!  The color a beautiful fushia, the bodice sheer and sparkled and the sleeves off the shoulder and adorned with a lovely bow.

 Il suffit de regarder le détail de cette robe incroyable! La couleur d'un beau fushia, la tonture corsage et brillaient et les manches de l'épaule hte et orné d'un arc belle.

I finished my look with Gems & Kisses Mimmi in gold and Fuscia, it just gives enough to pull of an incredible elegant look for this stunning pink gown.

 J'ai terminé mon regard avec le Gems & Kisses Mimmi en or et en Fuscia, il donne juste assez pour tirer d'un look incroyable élégant pour cette robe magnifique rose.

LILLOU - Blue Fairy

 Another gorgeous little avant garde fairy!  This dazzling little shimmering outfit just covers the body with its perfectly placed tiny lilac and silver star pasties and appica's all over the body.  The little sparkle skirt lifts in the back and blends perfectly with the matching wings.

Un autre magnifique petite fée d'avant-garde! Cette éblouissante petite tenue chatoyante couvre tout juste le corps, avec ses petits pâtés parfaitement placé étoiles lilas et argent et appica de tout le corps. Les remontées mécaniques peu jupe éclat dans le dos et se marie parfaitement avec les ailes d'appariement.

The look is finished with Gems & Kisses Haute Satin in Platinum adding just the right mix to impress in this spectacular avant garde fairy creation from Lillou.

 Le look est fini avec Gems & Kisses Haute satin, en platine, en ajoutant juste ce qu'il faut pour impressionner dans cette création de fées d'avant-garde spectaculaire Lillou.

LILLOU - Esmeralda

 Esmeralda so very elegant it reminds me of the starlets of the past, total glamor! It is one of my favorite new gowns of the spring!  The lovely strapless pink satin gown is covered with pink tulle sleeves, hat, skirt and train.  It has an intricate lace pattern adorning the edges.

Esmeralda tellement élégant, il me rappelle les starlettes du passé, le glamour total! Il est un de mes préférés robes de nouvelles du printemps! La belle robe bustier en satin rose est recouverte de tulle rose manches, chapeau, jupe et train. Il a un motif de dentelle ornant les bords complexes.

 The lovely cape finishes off the gown and it is styled with Gems & Kisses Mimmi in Fuscia to bring out the small fushia accents in the gown.

La cape belle achève la robe et il est décoré avec Gems & Kisses Mimmi dans Fuscia à faire ressortir les accents fushia petite en robe.

Ezmeralda is also available in this incredible turquoise blue.  Absolutely breathtaking!

Ezmeralda est également disponible dans cette turquoise bleu incroyable. Absolument magnifique!

I will add more of Lillou's wonderful designs to this post as I keep finding more and more that are so inspiring and incredible!  I have a few more in my wardrobe I want to show off!  Congratulations Lillou, I wish you so much success!

 Je vais ajouter plus de merveilleux dessins Lillou à ce poste que je trouve de plus en plus qui sont très inspirants et incroyable! J'ai un peu plus dans ma garde-robe que je veux montrer! Félicitations Lillou, je vous souhaite autant de succès!