New World Notes

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Doddy Delivers Striking Virtual Landscapes & Still Lifes

Doddy’s photostream is extraordinary, rich in striking landscapes and still lifes. “Simplicity and a Quiet Mind” struck me as particularly beautiful. She shot it at Kindred Spirits sim for a photo contest. I love its quiet simplicity even though I am practically repeating the title. I love how the metal spokes and the handles are about the same size. I like the repeating round shapes, the wheels, the urn, and the bottom of the vase.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Asahi Kanzaki's Amazingly Posed Images

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

Asahi Kanzaki’s photostream is a joy from beginning to end, not just because of his imaginative pictures, but because of the stories in his descriptions. In “To Hell with the Name” Anashi depicts a popular Japanese romance meme called kabedon. I love the humor in this photo. It reminds me a bit of Fred Astaire’s Ceiling Dance or perhaps some extreme planking, whatever his reference, he suspends the avatar horizontally across the hallway with several witnesses to his declaration of romantic affection.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Anu Papp's Powerful, Deceptively Simple Photos

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

I love Anu Papp’s photostream. “Out Beyond” (above) is emblematic of her style. Unadorned simplicity with emotionally evocative power achieved through both the avatar positioning, the angle, and the use of light and shadow. This picture is shot from above over her shoulder. Their faces and bodies are closely held, dancing. He holds her hand delicately and appears to be listening as she speaks in his ear. The intimacy of their positions is amplified by the shadows that close in around them.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Paola Trizomu Shoots Fashion With Breathtaking Style

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

I love “Feeling Good”, Paola Trizomu’s wonderful duotone with the light yellow. It’s such a fresh color and unusual approach. I also like the vintage look that suits the black and white avatar. The composite is done well, a third and two-thirds.

Cajsa's Choices: Tatum Parisi Turns SL Screenshots Into Optimistic Paintings

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

I don’t know Tatum Parisi, but I am certain if we met, I would like her. I know that from her photostream. For one, she likes Pippi Longstocking enough to have a favorite quote, the title of this adventurous photo: “I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.” Astrid Lindgren’s books are the sort that makes us adventuresome and confident. You see that in this photo and throughout her photostream. 

Dolly Parton Challenge Inevitably Invaded by Second Life Avatars

That the #DollyPartonChallenge is called the #DollyPartonChallenge is probably the most random meme on the Internet today because among anyone in the world, Dolly Parton is not only pre-social media, she is too gigantic a force to be contained by it.

That said, as you might expect, Second Life's social media mavens have recently invaded the meme with their avatars -- as with this one above by Caitlin Tobias. Indeed, check the #DollyPartonChallenge tag on Flickr, and you'll see avatars have swarmed it.

Whoever would have started such a meme within the SL community? Here's the culprit:

Cajsa's SL Flick Pick: Lotus' Lovely, Avedon-esque Avatar Images

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

I was struck by how beautifully the avatars in Lotus’ photostream are posed. There is a natural grace to the poses. Of course the photos artfully display the poses to their best effect possible. It all becomes clear when I noticed vendor ads for Boo’d Up.oses where she is the model for most of the poses. Boo’d Up.oses is Fred Hamilton's, pose store. He was recently featured under his Flickr name Mr. Nobody. Getting back to the picture, I like how she uses her body as the frame of the shot. Bokeh is often used when the background is blurred and the illumination comes from the direction the camera is pointing. She put a bokeh layer over her image to create the effect.

Casja's Choices: How Sunset Theas Turns SL Screenshots Into Amazing Images

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

Sunset Theas’ spectacular images provoked some wondering of the “How did he do that?” kind, so after the article last week, I thought I would ask him about a few of his pictures. The first I asked about was “Rolling on Caramelized Sugar” (above). He had a hard time explaining, because when he started editing the photo, he didn’t have a clear finished product in mind: “I just start adding some light effects and then playing with filters, contrast, blur, and stuff like that.” Once he liked what he saw, he used the free online editor Pixlr to add texture. “After four years on Flickr everything is quite natural, I just start and then I stop when I see something I like and somehow I feel it has a sense.”

It was easier for him to explain how he did this untitled picture below, which used more Second Life-based features, to create the final effect:

Cajsa's Flickr Pick: Belba Creates Amazing Images from Second Life

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

Belba’s “Last Dance” is an extraordinary picture. I love the perfect symmetry. Usually, it is recommended that people avoid symmetry to make their images more dynamic, but in this case the near-perfect symmetry emphasizes the forms, the shape of the light and the tutu. I also love the richly saturated colors.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Alma Berta Creates Pics of Epic Kawaii Cuteness

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

Alma Berta’s “Clear Blue” is a great example of Second Life anime avatars and the Kawaii aesthetic. The pose is cute and the clothing, hair, and accessories exude the femininity and amplified romanticism of Kawaii culture. I also love the blue color story, a useful reminder to the kawaii world that blue is not just for boys.