I love arty people. The brave and motivated people who create something the best they can. They risk rejection by setting up shop one day, and hoping someone will like their work. I guess that includes builders, designers and bloggers.
Not all of us are equally talented, it's true, but there's nothing I like better than watching someone gradually learn skills. Imagine me sitting on the bleachers, cheering them on and waving a pair of pompoms madly. That is why I don't like the idea of "exclusive" fashion feeds. (That, and I'm not on any yet :D) That is why I don't mind designers who manage to make something original out of clothing templates or full-perm mesh kits. That is why I love to see creative reworks of open-use skin templates like Eloh Eliot's.
Conversely, I can't stand lazy people who rip real creatives off just to get a few bucks. Go buy some full-perm templates and make your own, will you please?
I have more respect for the marginal creators who slowly work their way up to some skills, so I decided to feature a couple of them today. For a while now I have been receiving and dutifully opening review copies from Alli and Ali Hair and from Graffitiwear. Now I'll be honest, most of the products popping out of these boxes are not my style and also not up to the skill level that I would like, but I decided to review these.
Please take what I say as constructive, because I don't bother to critique people that I feel have no talent.
Graffitiwear is a shop that mostly makes clothes of a low-rent urban design, let's say from a neighborhood that is rapidly becoming a red-light district. The clothing is template-based (not necessarily a bad thing), brightly colored but mostly lacking in original details or shading. I still open some of their review boxes to keep an eye on any style or skill changes and was surprised to see this southwest-style turqouise necklace pop out of the box. (Not the round beads, those are from Aura.) Not bad right? A nice accessory that goes well with this summer's popular bright colors. Good job.
Alli and Ali is an example of a Hair brand that is trying hard but needs some work. Most of their hair uses very "old-school" construction using a base of sculpted prims covered with a ring of identical repeating flexiprims. The flexis on the long hairs poke into your shoulders. The textures are very high-contrast and uncomfortably shiny-looking. And annoyingly, the hairs all come set to full-bright. (But it is modifiable so feel free to turn that off.) ... On the positive side, I am beginning to see hairs that are less shiny, more creative in construction, and showing signs of growth. I tried on this hair and said, "Hmm." (Imagine the pleasantly surprised tone.) I turned off the full-bright and scowled at the long bits that were cutting into my shoulders. The hair is editable so I shortened the wisps in front and then sat back to look at the results. "This one is actually kind of cute." There are still a few repeating flexiprims, but do-able. Don't you think?
Hair: Alli and Ali "Dakota" (slightly modified)
Necklace: Graffitiwear "Native American Pendant" (earrings available)
Skin: Curio ":GP: Bean Frex [Light] Elf-Snug 1"
Vest: TokiDoki "Sango" (group gift)
Shirt: Whippet and Buck "Cole Boatneck"
Pants: Tableau Vivant "Shindig Pants" (fitted for men)
Necklace: Aura "Beaded Boho" (mesh)
Shoes: Surf Couture "Shoelace Sandals" (unavailable I think)
Eyes: Ikon "Horizon"
Lashes: Hebenon Vial "Dramatique" (unavailable)
Facelight: Nlight Free 2.0 (free on SL Marketplace)
Poses: by Marukin
Love,
Serene
