Real Life Portraits of Second Life Avatars Are Paradoxically More Lifelike

For the last four years, longtime RL/SL artist Nylon Pinkney (aka "Elleinadart") has run a unique side business -- hand-drawn portraits of Second Life avatars, commissioned by their owner,  paid in real cash for US$, or the market equivalent of Linden Dollars. By her estimate, she's drawn over 100 portraits in all.

"I love to draw stylized people so it felt like a good fit," Nylon tells me. You can see some of her portraits here, side by side with a screenshot of the avatar.

"I always give them a little smile because its friendlier to look at, most avatars look real serious."

I think she gives them more life than just a smile -- by bringing her unique style and flair for caricature to these portraits, they ironically seem more human and lifelike than the 3D photorealistic avatars they're based on. See several more after the break:

Here's her commissioning page if you're interested in a portrait of your own.

Comments

[B612 app]

Nice portraits, it will be good some option in the b612 or retrica apps to make the same styles in our photos!