New World Notes

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Reesla Makes Great Use of Lighting & the Golden Ratio

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

Reesla’s photostream is exciting to browse, full of a variety of photos united by good composition and dynamic energy. “Way Back Home” is a beautiful example of using the Golden Ratio to situate the subject. I love the use of light, the sunlight casts the subject in shadow, a silhouette while picking out bright orange flowers in the field. Cropping the picture at an angle makes it seem more dynamic.

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Maerin Tamura's Whimsical Tributes to Virtual Childhood

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

“Urban Jungle” from Maerin Tamura is representative of the cheeky and light-hearted photos that dominate her stream. The pose is poised for action and delightfully teen-appropriate, youthful and non-sexualized. The Big Kids of SL are seen less than the toddlers and the adults, but they are part of the community and have adventures of their own.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Flubs Turns Screenshots Into Digital Paintings

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

“The Old Men and the Sea” is an extraordinary capture because it feels so organic, with a sense of place and time. In terms of composition, the sand meets the ocean at a third from the bottom and the man on the left is a third from the right while the man on the right is a fifth from the right. There is an old-fashioned feeling to the photo, not just from the men but from the desaturated colors.

Cajsa’s Second Life Flickr Pick: Whimsy Winx, Whimsical Storyteller

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

I love Second Life Flickr’s storytellers. One of my favorites is Whimsy Winx. She happens to be among my favorite people, too, for full disclosure. She chronicled her recent move to a Linden home at Belliseria and I got such a kick out of the story. “When Life Gives You Lemons” memorializes when her mailbox deleted her house. She just pulled in a trailer to wait for its return.

Cajsa's Flickr Pick: Horizon Zero Dawn Screen Shots As Artful Portraiture

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

Mandalorian Captures takes excellent screen captures from several different games. Luckily for us, he organizes them into albums such as this album of pictures from Horizon Zero Dawn. This one expresses emotion so well; Mandalorian named it “Dreamer” but I would call it “Askance.”

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Uniquely Delightful Photos of Virtual Romance

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

Once again, I have to thank MangroveJane for highlighting someone on Flickr. In this case, she pointed the way to an album of photos from Angeleyes Roxley, or Angel. She kindly organizes a lot of her photos in albums and this one features two of her friends, June and Jonathan whose romance in chronicled with delightful humor in picture after picture.

I love “You’re the only fish in the sea for me” for its gentle humor and beautiful composition. I love how they form a W that intersects the page upper left to bottom right with sea life in the spaces they divide. The waiting shark, their oblivious kiss, it’s all a delight.

Cajsa's Daily Flickr Pick: Artful Assassin's Creed Screenshots

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

Ethelric’s photostream is small but mighty. With just thirty-five photos it is full of striking photos from several MMO games. “Remembering the ones lost” is dramatic, not just because it is in black and white but thanks to a close crop that is off center and angled to suggest movement. It is pure drama.

Cajsa’s Daily Flickr Pick: Dido Haas Turns SL Screenshots Into Stylish Black & White and Duotone Imagery

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

I enjoy the particular fascination Dido Haas has for color. That may sound curious since at first glance her photostream is full of black and white photos or subdued duotones in sepia or blue. But, “Long Sleeves” is not just black and white. It is, forgive me, black and white and red all over. It’s perhaps more obvious than others in her stream, but she likes to insert one pop of a bold, rich, color in her work. In this case, it highlights the particular shirt she is blogging, but it also highlights how color can be manipulated to bring drama.  

Cajsa’s Flickr Pick: The Second Life-Based Artistry of Nevereux

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

Nevereux is an artist whose work traverses back and forth from first to Second Life so seamlessly I can only be certain it is SL by the groups she uses to share her work. “Pompom Couture” is one that is more clearly Second Life. It is also bold and vibrant. I love that she crops her subject so only half her face is shown. In a way, it makes it more lifelike since in life we are not so symmetrical as we are in Second Life.

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Jo Molinaro's Masterfully Composed Virtual Photos

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

MangroveJane, who I profiled last year, shared “Nocturne” on Plurk, so I rushed to check it out, discovering Jo Molinaro, whose photostream is a delight. Jane said, “This person does the most incredible simple and poignant SL photography. This latest one is just...lovely.” What she said.