How to Turn Your SL Avatar into a Real Life, 3D Printed Doll with Makies: Iris Ophelia's Tips!

  

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Makies, the 10-inch dolls designed by you then created in a 3D printer, was blogged by Hamlet last week, but if anyone on New World Notes should get to play with avatar-based fashion dolls it should be me, right? So, when MakieLab offered me the opportunity to design and review my very own Makie from their site (which is still in early alpha), I leaped at the chance.

For the first post in my Makie review series, I'm going to give you some Makie-making tips and a first look at the Makie-fied version of Iris Ophelia that I'll be reviewing in June!

Have a Character in Mind

I've had a lot of fun making Makies this week, and I've learned a lot about the system in the process. When you're first playing around with it, the options can be just as overwhelming as avatar options in Second Life. The best thing to do when you're making your first is to have some sort of basic idea of "who" you want to make. I made, edited, and even deleted a few Makies before I could settle on any of them, and all of my best ones came when I approached the Makie-making system with a personality in mind; an outdoorsy elf, a geek-chic girl, a preppy boy, and even Iris herself. It's way easier to put together a polished look when you have a little scaffolding set up first.

All that being said, a little flexibility will help too. Makies are still a very alpha product, so there's a chance that the outfit or hairstyle you choose may not be available right away.

Always Look at the Demo

I say this about Second Life shopping all the time: If there's a demo, try before you buy. The Makie-making tool often offers you a similar demo using a little green icon in the upper left-hand corner of an option like hair, clothing, or eyes. Clicking on this icon will show you a picture of what the item looks like in reality so you can get a better idea of what your Makie will look like when you get it. Because Makies are still in alpha this icon isn't available for every option, but it is available for most and it's completely invaluable!

Experiment!

Another thing that Makie-making has in common with Second Life avatars is that it's well worth taking time to play with the sliders, because you may come across some surprisingly appealing variations in the process. For me, the most important tab when editing a Makie's face has been the Shape tab, which allows you to control the cheeks and jawline. It may seem like a relatively minor aspect, but this tab is the difference between making a face like the Incredible Hulk or a profile worthy of a Victorian cameo. And don't forget to explore the Ears tab, where you can design the perfect elven ears for a fantasy-inspired Makie, or even have them pierced.

You can make and share as many different Makies as you want with this minimalistic little editing tool. Look for the next part of my Makie review in June, when I'll be reviewing and customizing the physical doll (with plenty of pics!) to get the perfect little Iris Ophelia replica.

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Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.

Comments

[Harris]

It's either cute, or it's not. Makies? Not cute.

[Jaime]

It's OK to talk about the creations of your friend, and we all appreciate the fact you disclosed the nature of the relationship between you and the creator of the "makies"; but three posts in a few weeks on the very same issue seems a little bit over the top, doesn't it? I expect virtual-reality news on this web site, not ads disguised as news...

And I have to agree with Harry: Makies=not cute. Let's move on please.

[Adeon Writer]

This of course, assumes your avatar is human. :D

[Iris Ophelia]

@Harris Cute is in the eye of the beholder. As a fan of Blythe and Pullip dolls I find Makies very cute, and so do plenty of other people. But just like Blythe and Pullip, they won't be to everyone's tastes. Maybe my Makie will change your mind, maybe it won't. To each their own!

@Jaime This series will be three posts over the span of a month or longer, which isn't unreasonable considering the volume of posts on this site in general. There will probably be 40+ new and unrelated posts on this site before my Makie even arrives.

I should also be clear that while Hamlet is friends with someone involved with Makies, I'm not. The reason I'm reviewing a Makie is because I'm very interested in both virtual avatars and RL dolls, and this is a novel intersection of the two. As it stands now I own 3 resin ball-jointed dolls, 2 Pullips, and a ton of resin and vinyl figures, so I can assure you that my interest in this is very sincere. This is so much in my wheelhouse that I would have to be crazy not to take the chance to review one.

@Adeon It's not impossible, and in the doll community half-animal dolls, usually ball-jointed and cast in resin, are surprisingly popular. Makies are still so alpha that it's hard to know what direction they'll take with that sort of thing, but who knows. I'd say the fact that they offer elf ears is a promising start.

[Hamlet Au]

Also, while Alice is a friend of mine, Makies is hardly an obscure project; it's been covered by lots of big online sites, such as Wired: http://www.wired.com/design/tag/makie/

And Iris is right, there's a lot of interest from NWN readers in Makies -- over the last week, the outgoing traffic to the site is larger than just about any other link, including most SL-related content.