New World Notes

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.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Sunset Theas Takes Beautifully Impressionistic Pics

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and style

Sunset Theas’ photostream is an exploratory journey of what you can do with WindLight and depth of field. The title of this shot, “they were on top, standing one in front the other, the moment before they realized there were no more floors to climb” is indicative of the way he works, integrating words with his pictures to create a deeper connection.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Shika Chan Makes SL's Chibi Community Come Alive

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

Shika Chan has had a lot of fun with the Chitbit avatar. This is a fairly simple picture; a backdrop, a ladder, and some balloons are all there is to draw us in. That makes the avatars the focus and these avatars are particularly fun. The Chibit avatar is made by Guaran-Dou and has produced a small market of creators producing hair and accessories based on the Chibi characters first pioneered in Japan. There is a Chibit group in Flickr which is where I found Shika Chan.

Create Amazing SL Images? Share Your Creative Process With Cajsa!

This is an amazing image created in Second Life by a guy called The Friend Otter on Flickr. Was it completely taken "in camera" or does it have heavy post-processing? Is there a specific WindLight setting at play, or maybe an in-world projector? I have no idea but I'd love to know -- and I bet many readers will too!

Starting soon, Cajsa Lilliehook will start featuring more about the creative process behind the many amazing SL image makers she covers in her column. (Just like she did in yesterday's post about avatar smiles.) So if you create these images, or know someone who does, let her know! Post links in Comments or feel free to message her on Flickr.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Luane Meo Makes Lovely Storybook-Worthy Images

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

Luane Meo produces beautifully romantic photos in Second Life that could illustrate contemporary book covers. Take “Cozy Evenings” for example, it could easily be the cover for a book about, I don’t know, a doctor settling in an inclement rural village, maybe to pay off her student loans. The furniture shows its age, but it is cozy inside despite the snow and cold outside. The candle illuminating the scene could be purely for romantic effect or a blizzard could have knocked out the power for the eleventy millionth time this month.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Manis Lane's Utterly Charming Virtual World Images

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

I love reading, so “Hiding Behind” from Manis Lane drew my eye immediately. I get a kick out of how she was inspired by the polaroids hanging on the line to add a filter or texture layer to add the kinds of scratches and abuse a photo that is handled a lot might accrue. The photo is full of good humor and frankly, just looking at it made me smile and lifted my mood. 

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Jarla Capalini’s Fantastic Fashion Photostream

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

Wow! I love “Crimson” by Jarla Capalini. It’s very Richard Avedon. It’s a stunning fashion photo with a perfect pose highlighting the hat and bracelet. 

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: The Friendly Otter Turns Second Life Screenshots Into Beautifully Composed Black & White Imagery

“The Crows Watch” is an amazing image by The Friendly Otter and one that typifies his stream with high contrast black and white imagery that are all about form. I love the leading lines created by the roof and the row of crows. The composition is very much about contrast and empty space and uses the rule of thirds in situating the birds.

Ten Most Popular Flickr 2019 Pics from a Top Second Life Photographer

You saw my favorite 20 pics selected by Cajsa from the Second Life Flickr community last year, now take a look at the 10 most popular photos from renowned SL creator Huckleberry Hax. Amazing composition, lighting, and detail. On his blog, Mr. Hax adds some backstory to each image, such as the arresting one below, inspired by last year's burning of the real life Notre Dame church in Paris:

Cajsa's Choices: Favorite SL Pics from 2019 I Couldn't Feature Last Year

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

Sometimes I come across a photo I love and then I forget it. Asked to come up with my favorite photos of the past year, I thought it might be fun to go through my favorites and find some lost ones that I forgot, misplaced, or otherwise left behind. “Waiting for a rainbow” by Bisou Dexler is such a lovely picture. It’s not just the array of blue on blues, but also the sharp edges of the hydrangeas. There is a simplicity in this picture that shows real confidence. You can see that in Dexler’s entire photostream.