Caja's SL Flickr Pick: The Monstrous Beauty of Adra Braeden

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

It is October and suddenly Flicker is full of monsters, but for Adra Braeden, there are monsters all year long. “When the Dead Awake” is one of his more ambitious photos, what with the crowd of walking dead chasing the two. Adra uses depth of field to bring the fleeing humans into sharp focus while those who are chasing them are out of focus. While it is not a black and white, it is desaturated so the colors are barely there. 

“Tick-Tock, Watch My Clock” is something that requires close attention. Again this is desaturated to near black and white, but the “human” elements show color. This helps distinguish the avatar from the background. With the hand so much in the foreground,  we need this assist, but with it, the avatar is obvious.

“Silence...and Look at These” is horrifically demonic and is a great pic to feature because Adra shows his process step by step. There is his green screen on which is adds a backdrop.  Then the picture before gradient color layers were added to create a more powerful lighting effect. Here is a mini tutorial on gradient layers, which can also go to red as well as transparent or white. 

If you want monsters all year round, Adra Braeden’s stream is an excellent choice. There are so many unique and captivating creatures and all are photographed beautiful, with careful attention to composition and context. However, there are a few photos such as “A Flower Among Flowers” that are very different, reflecting a romantic worldview as well.

See all of Cajsa's Choices here. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter or on her blog. 

Comments

[Adra Braeden]

Hello ,
I wanted to drop a comment with a thanks from me , Adra Braeden , for your kind words and love for the work and art I make with Second Life avatars. I've seen that you've mentioned me kindly before in an article but I'm truly flattered by your words and hope that my list of pictures will keep growing bigger , better and stronger.
I love how you mention that it's always Halloween and dark in my stream a whole year because it's very true. Also is it true that I try , at times , to push a more colorful picture in my stream by my love goes strongly for the dark ones , the more sinister ones.
Again , thank you for your support , kind words and this beautiful article for my work and that on my favorite time of the year...Halloween. 🎃 👿 👻
Beautiful writing , love how you share your view on them and how you see the details. Thanks 😊
Best Regards , Adra Braeden