No rest for the aspiring dressmaker

Hi friends, hunters, and budding fashionistas! If you've been wondering where your pal V has disappeared to as of late, you need look no further than the following picture:

That's right dolls, I've been learning the fashion trade of SL from the ground up. The battle is being fought on to fronts. Firstly, I've been intensely studying fashion blogs so I can see what's new and what sells.  Secondly, I've been learning the art of design on Photoshop. As one might imagine it is taking up quite a bit of my time.

On the subject of fashion blogs, the group at Premiere Modeling Management has officially launched their publication, dubbed simply: MODEL Magazine.  One might expect to find pages and pages of clothes that the average humble avi could ill afford...and to a point you'd be right. But far more intriguing are the articles on carving an elite model out of your current avatar. Yes you will have to drop some lindens for the honor (after all don't lindens make this Second world go round?), but for every line recommending you to go out and purchase a super prices skin or shape, there is more down-to-earth advice such as "make sure all shapes are modifiable" or "make your own skirt shape". 

My favorite tip concerns Atmospheric Shading. If you've ever noticed that on Windlight your avatar always seems to have oil slicked T-zones, meet the culprit. The magazine recommends turning them off and here is why.

With atmospheric shaders on, even my beloved Gaussian Blur can't hide the lines and shadows.

With atmospheric shaders OFF my avatar doesn't looks as nearly as harsh.

The trade off is that the backgrounds don't look quit as pretty. It occurs to me that this situation could be solved by taking two pictures and combining them.

Even better than the fabulous magazine is the free skin that I'm wearing. It comes free with the first issue of Model Magazine.  Both make the new publication worth looking at.

Skin: QS Skin Cream Mat Additional for Model (free)
Shirt: Nyte'N'Day Camer Cami (free)
Hair: ETD Trinity (not free)

See you on the hunt!