Pose Appreciation Week: Behind Every Good Second Life Blogger is a Good Second Life Pose

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

One of the most important aspects of a good snapshot in Second Life, fashion or otherwise, is the pose. Picking the perfect pose often takes me as long as putting together the perfect outfit. It has to look natural, not wooden, and flattering for the avatar, the outfit, and the environment. But I admit that I very rarely credit them. I always take a bunch of pictures in a bunch of different poses, so by the time I've picked my favourite out of the lot I have no idea which pose it may be featuring, or from where. Mea culpa! So today I plan to make amends.

Recently there was an excellent post on the SL Blogger Support blog about the importance and underappreciation of poses. They called for this week to be Pose Appreciation Week for Second Life fashion bloggers, and it's the perfect excuse for me to feature three of my favorite pose-makers. Keep reading for the details!

 

marukin [SL Marketplace] [SLURL] is a staple at the monthly Collabor88 event, and their poses appear frequently in my SL pictures. This brand by Valencia Southard specializes in very relaxed and neutral standing poses that are ideal if you want something straightforward to showcase and outfit without distracting from it or stretching/folding the avatar or the clothing in an unflattering way. Poses like this are usually my favourites for blogging for just this reason, and marukin's are simple and clean with just enough cuteness and character to keep them from being bland. The pose I'm using is from their Willow set, available at Collabor88 [SLURL] for two more weeks.

I saw D.Luxx [SL Marketplace] [SLURL] for the the first time at the 2012 Pose Fair, and I was immediately charmed. Their poses also have a special quality that is entirely too rare, and it's a quality that is very important to me. So many pose shops that have sprung up in the past couple years have this weird... rigidity to their poses. They make the avatar look more like an assortment of wired limbs or an awkward doll than a virtual human. D.Luxx avoids this issue, releasing pack after pack of distinctive poses with natural postures, and without even a trace of mannequin syndrome. Of course they aren't the only posemakers who manage this, but that combined with their fun themed pose sets and ultra-reasonable prices has earned them a very special place in my inventory. I'm modelling a pose from their Vintage set, Tootsie Roll.

Glitterati [SL Marketplace] [SLURL] has been the place to go for fun pose props for ages now, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Designer Katey Coppola keeps the place stocked with fabulous freebies (like the fence prop pictured) and truly clever and unique posing and photography props for any kind of scene your could imagine. When you're looking for something a little special beyond the usual standing-emotionlessly-in-front-of-a-backdrop style shot, Glitterati really ought to be your first stop.

There are plenty of other bloggers who've been gushing about their posemakers of choice all week, too. Check them out on iHeartSL, and if you're a blogger be sure to show some appreciation for your favourites before (or after!) Pose Appreciation Week ends on November 25th.

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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

[asthe4]

Glad to see you join the pose appreciating!

[Asthenia]

asthe4= Asthenia = me *facepalm*

[Katya Valeska]

Thank you so much for this Iris! Great post!

[Vaki]

I so agree about D.Luxx. I also discovered D.Luxx at Pose Fair, and have been in love with them since -- they put so much motion and energy into their poses. I never want to look like I'm posing for the clothes section of the Sears catalog when I'm blogging.

[Pussycat Catnap]

Fashion bloggers yes. The rest of them maybe not.

Unless Daniel Voyager's hiding a pack of owl poses somewhere on us. :)

I would say this is critical not for the bloggers, but for people who post screenshots on my.secondlife.com and flickr - those being the places you will find the most SL art.

Good poses are vital.

And thankfully: if you lack them, and don't like what you find when shopping... get out Daz3D and make some. Then sell them... :p

One tip: Try buying from people outside your demographic, if you want to look "original."

If you're Japanese, hit up some American or European Makers. If you're American, try some Japanese pose shops. If you're European, well...

"Attention people of France: a good looking depressed guy smoking a cigarette is not a movie..." - Nor a set of poses. :P

- The different aesthetics across borders though, can give you some really cool looks that people in your social circle might not be aware of. Its a good way to stand out, or just look silly. :D