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Organizing my digital content according to how I think

Organizing my digital content according to how I think published on No Comments on Organizing my digital content according to how I think

The organization of digital content has always been a challenge for me. Lots of content creators organize their stuff by the broad categories defined by Poser’s old runtime directory structure, but then they stick, say, all their characters under their name. I do this too; with my freebie shaders, for example, I stuck them all in a folder named ModernWizard, which then subdivided into the various shader sets I issued. I dislike having my own runtime organized in this manner, though, because that’s not how I think.

I tend to think more thematically, as illustrated by the following subfolders into which I’ve divided my collection of digital clothing:

  • AccessoriesInclMasks: ruffs, glasses, hats and an inordinate number of masks
  • BasicWearCorsetryUndies: self-explanatory
  • BondageGagsGasmasks: likewise
  • Dresses&SkirtsEveryday: in contrast to the next category
  • FetishSkimpUniforms: metal bikinis, French maid outfits, impossibly short skirts and such
  • GothPunkRomantic: Goth, punk, pseudo-medieval and pseudo-Renaissance wear
  • PantsOutfits: more everyday stuff, from tuxes to overalls to crop tops and bellbottoms
  • Shoes&Socks: footwear that’s not associated with whole outfits
  • ShortsOutfits: self-explanatory
  • Winter&Coats: things to keep warm in

Just in case you had any doubts about where my digital fashion interests lie, the most populous category is, of course, FetishSkimpUniforms, followed by GothPunkRomantic, then PantsOutfits.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1673039.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

New Orleans-like cemetery for $10.40!!!

New Orleans-like cemetery for $10.40!!! published on No Comments on New Orleans-like cemetery for $10.40!!!

As all two of my regular readers know, I really like cemeteries, but have trouble finding realistic representations thereof among digital models. Over at the Daz store, for example, Spooky Plots by LaurieS and Lisa’s Botanicals looks more like a digital rendering of Halloween decorations than an actual graveyard, as does Pretty3D’s Lost Cemetery. Sure, you can find some nice individual tombs, but most digital cemetery sets seem to have been created by people who have never even seen a tombstone in their lives.

Imagine, then, my ecstasy when Danie and Marforno’s Tranquility Lane appeared on sale at Renderosity for 60% off! Danie and Marforno specialize in timeworn, vaguely fantastical sets in which one can dramatically pose one’s scantily clad female models. Let’s call them the masters of the Gothic lite pinup.

Occasionally, though, Danie and marforno deviate from Ye Olde Phantaisie Weirdnesse [seriously — why does Cult Diaries have tusks everywhere?] and do something more realistic and evocative. Enter Tranquility Lane, a cemetery set obviously modeled after those in New Orleans — hell, there’s even French on the crypts and signs. Of course, I have no personal experience with crypts clustered as tightly as urban apartment buildings — we don’t stack dead people up here in New England; instead we tend to spread them out. However, even though Tranquility Lane does not reflect my personal schema of a cemetery, I can repurpose elements of the set, such as the monoliths, fences and certain mausoleums, in my ongoing quest to represent digitally the type of graveyard with which I am familiar.

Oh yeah — and I got this for $10.40, 60% off its usual $26.00 price! Whoo hoo!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1672947.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Front Porch Forum is fascinating.

Front Porch Forum is fascinating. published on No Comments on Front Porch Forum is fascinating.

Around these parts, we have Front Porch Forum, a uniquely Vermont Internet development, which provides E-mail lists for every town in the state [sometimes for several neighborhoods within towns, if the towns are large enough]. Like most E-mail lists, it contains classifieds, notices from town government and local services, requests to borrow things, thank you notes and loads of rants. I belong to the Winooski one and one for the neighborhood in Burlington where I work.

A few days ago, someone posted on the Winooski FPF that she didn’t like a sign that Sneakers [restaurant] put up in a little garden in an island near our horrible traffic rotary. It said "Sneakers — Yield to Bacon," which she, as a member of a Muslim household, found insensitive. She added that it was a safety hazard, impeding visibility for drivers and pedestrians, and wished that it was removed.

As Seven Days, our local newsweekly reports, poo flinging ensued. An inevitable backlash of posters castigated the original poster as a coward, a terrorist and the epitome of what was wrong with today’s "politically correct" society. Soon a representative from Sneakers posted, apologizing for upsetting people, explaining the joke behind the sign and adding that the sign would be taken down. The inevitable backlash then apparently subsumed the restaurant in its bitter wash; Seven Days reports that Sneakers has received so much bile on its Facebook page that it took said page down.

For the record, I recognize that the sign was offensive to the original poster, even though it wasn’t intended to be. I disagree with her particular targeting of the Sneakers sign as a danger, however, since other local businesses put up little signs in the sponsored gardens on the rotary islands, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with them. I thought that her original complaint was a reasonable statement and justification of her opinion, and I also appreciate the restaurant’s respectful response. They did include the "Well, we didn’t mean it!" line in their apology for offense, but they did apologize sincerely, and they took down the sign as a gesture of good faith. If only more institutions acted with such sincerity and sensitivity…

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1672507.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

From The Book of Three [1965] to The Arkadians [1995]…

From The Book of Three [1965] to The Arkadians [1995]… published on No Comments on From The Book of Three [1965] to The Arkadians [1995]…

…Lloyd Alexander tells only one story: inexperienced and obtuse male hero + trickster-like storyteller/bardic character + unaccountably crabby female love interest + unfunny comic relief non-human animal-like character + irritating verbal tics for practically everyone + epic quests + secret royal heritage + Destiny = profit. I’m reading [or trying to read] The Book of Three right now, and it’s driving me up the wall. All the characters come across as grating and annoying, with the exception of Gwydion, who’s sensible and low-key and who just seems to belong to a different, less slapstick story.

Of Alexander’s extensive YA oeuvre, I remember most fondly the Vesper Holly series.  Impossibly smart and improbably gifted, teenage orphan and heiress Vesper bounces from adventure to adventure in 1875 in various fictional countries, death and daring at her heels. She’s a charismatic and indefatigable Mary Sue, but the stories work, in large part because they are told by Brinnie, her comparatively useless guardian. As an old straight white dude, he gets on my nerves to no end, but his combination of befuddlement, admiration and ultimately love for Vesper allows the reader a more accessible peg upon which to hang their sympathies. I really enjoyed these books growing up, and now I’d like to seek them out again…

 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1672218.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Chittenden County Vermont Doll Club meetup: 08/23/2014

Chittenden County Vermont Doll Club meetup: 08/23/2014 published on No Comments on Chittenden County Vermont Doll Club meetup: 08/23/2014

Yesterday CCDC welcomed its largest complement of attendees ever! A whole dozen of us attended, including newcomers Pink and their husband [from Maine] and Pink’s friend from Quebec [who doesn’t have any dolls…yet]. We spent the entire extended duration [noon to 4:00 PM] talking dolls, posing and photoing them, in between side conversations about mutual interests such as Monster High, Internet-based cartoons and fursuits. As far as I can tell, everyone enjoyed themselves. 😀
Continue reading Chittenden County Vermont Doll Club meetup: 08/23/2014

Scorpion therianthrope problems

Scorpion therianthrope problems published on No Comments on Scorpion therianthrope problems

I never gave a detailed description of Hattie, the scorpion therianthrope who attended the mini universe’s Xmas party last year. I’m not sure if she’s mostly human, but with a scorpion tail, like Soom Vesuvia, or if she’s half-human, half-scorpion, like Impldoll Colin. If they’re like Impldoll Colin, do they have claws and pincers?

EDIT: Okay, I just checked. Apparently the scorpion therianthropes are more along the lines of Impldoll Colin, although I didn’t specify whether they had pincers and/or claws. If I want to make a digital version of Hattie [which I do], I’ll have to purchase a scorpion and modify it to be a lower body for a therianthrope.

As an aside, I notice that Impldoll’s sculpting has become more refined over the years, but I think their sculptors still struggle to find a signature style. The sculpts and concepts, especially of the Star and Idol lines, smack strongly of Iplehouse to me.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1670934.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Lana Wachowski has hair like Anneka’s!

Lana Wachowski has hair like Anneka’s! published on No Comments on Lana Wachowski has hair like Anneka’s!

Her vibrant pink, knotty hair looks like the 1:1 equivalent of my 1:6 scale action figure Anneka’s. As cool as I find the color of Wachowski’s hair, I seriously query her white woman’s appropriation of dreadlocks. >_>

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1670820.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Possibilities of skyboxes

Possibilities of skyboxes published on No Comments on Possibilities of skyboxes

Flipmode just came out with a nifty digital product, Easy Environments: Autumn. It contains a road, bordered by a stone wall, a fence and some turning deciduous trees, surrounded by a 360-degree skybox that makes the set “[gleam] and [gloom] / ‘Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass.” [Thank you, Dante Rossetti, for Silent Noon, which contains the best description ever of such dramatic clouds.] Quick-rendering light sets were also included, promising to duplicate the type of light pictured in the skybox.

When I saw this set, I felt an involuntary pang, as the dappling of shadows across the landscape epitomized for me the melancholy of fall. I bought the set for the lovely panorama, but then couldn’t get over the fact that the mountains contain no trees whatsoever. There should be some fall colors on the distant hills too, right?

I tried to rectify the barrenness of the background with the help of a Wikimedia Commons panoramic photo from the top of Mount Mansfield. I spent hours dividing up the panorama into four pieces [one for each side of the sky box] and blending it with Flipmode’s sky. I even made a texture for the bottom of the skybox, which originally showed more parched, treeless ground. After all that, the result looked like a bad overlay, despite all my hard work. I thus concluded that I could not get a forested skybox out of Easy Environments: Autumn, so I returned it.

Not all is lost, however. I still have the Mount Mansfield overlay panels. I have another idea. I got a great discount on Dreamland Models’ Movie Sets: 81 Blocks last night. Regularly $24.95, it was down to $7.48, so I picked it up. It’s marketed as a huge city environment, but I snagged it because it contains a skydome, low-res forest props and low-res deciduous tree props with several materials. I’m thinking of rendering some panoramic shots in this set and making my own forested skybox.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1670550.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

3-D printed 1:6 scale crutches: no longer being 3-D printed

3-D printed 1:6 scale crutches: no longer being 3-D printed published on 1 Comment on 3-D printed 1:6 scale crutches: no longer being 3-D printed

While I was lying in bed earlier this week, I hit on a possible way to construct 1:6 scale forearm crutches without the exorbitant expense of printing something so long. I can bend plastic drinking straws to the appropriate 15-degree angle and then fill them with Aves Apoxie Sculpt so that they stay in that position!!!! I have also recently acquired some dowels that I can cut down to make hand rests for the crutches. I haven’t decided how to make the forearm cuffs, but that’s easy compared to the engineering challenge of making the crutch shafts. Diagram below.

Continue reading 3-D printed 1:6 scale crutches: no longer being 3-D printed

Stuff I ordered from the Daz store, but then forgot about, but which I’d like to use.

Stuff I ordered from the Daz store, but then forgot about, but which I’d like to use. published on No Comments on Stuff I ordered from the Daz store, but then forgot about, but which I’d like to use.
  • 3 Piece Suit for D3. Part of my ongoing quest to find a decent suit for everyone…
  • Air Bike. Probably illegal, but prevalent, in Intellectum.
  • Alien Plants. Big plans for these never materialized…
  • Basic Hair. A short, clean style, more attractive than it looks on the product page.
  • Bus Maxis and Bus Pegasus. I’m beginning to think that everyone in Intellectum gets around on petipet machines.
  • BWC Runway. Jareth wants to have a fashion show.
  • Classic Deco. I’ve used the chairs, but that’s it.
  • Daz Squirrel. Will eat any French fries my runtime has to offer.
  • Daz Water Pump and Grain Silo. Plop a stove-in barn next to the silo, and it’ll look just like Vermont! …Anyone know where I can get a collapsing barn?
  • Disconsolation. A waterfront set that demands atmospheric fog and low lighting.
  • DM Time Shadows. Ye Olde Genericke Machines by Danie and Marforno, who do great moody environments. Good background for the Wrathful Scientists, now that I think of it.
  • Epic Wings. Amazingly enough, almost properly scaled for actual use by human beings.
  • Fly Girl. Another thing for which I had big plans that never materialized.
  • Generic Sci Fi Corridor. Another possible location for the Wrathful Scientists.
  • Hilly Surround. Showed up in my renders of Intellectum’s Fink, but dropped back into obscurity.
  • Home One Bathroom. Whoops, I forgot I had that…and I explicitly bought it to easily add a fully stocked w.c. to my runtime.
  • If You Build It Picket Fence. In case I need to render a representation of the American Dream Lie.
  • Newport Outfit. How did I forget that I bought a modern, realistic, pretty generic outfit? Ah I see…I got it as a bundle and only paid attention to certain items in the bundle.
  • Interiors The Model Agency. Purchased as an inexpensive, fully stocked office interior and then…summarily forgotten.
  • Lune Portail. This could work as a cemetery gate.
  • Maple Tree Pack 1. Big plans for these were only half executed.
  • Mediterranean Patio. For al fresco dining. I have a lot of these Nouschka Design sets that I got as freebies the first time I was in Platinum Club; they don’t get out much.
  • Neo Stop. A regular fixture in Intellectum.
  • Noggin’s Duck Mallard. Purchased when I wanted to reproduce in 3D the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in Boston Public Garden. The duckling poses are hilarious.
  • Ranaki. Now that I’ve finally figured out how to convert those frog legs to G2F, I can redo Grenk.
  • Regenerator. I bet the Wrathful Scientists have one of these in their shack lab.
  • Sculptural Genesis Ultra Fun Kit. Time to put lampshades on people’s heads!
  • Shackled! The more I stare at this set, the more I realize that I would only use pieces as background props in a stereotypical medieval dungeon. I could never put people in chains; it reminds me too much of the Middle Passage.
  • Shelter. Wait a minute — this comes with snow? How did I miss that?
  • Space Base. You know, just in case anyone needs to go to the moon.
  • Skulduggery. Really cool bodysuit and makeup effects!
  • Technopolis. A whole neighborhood of Intellectum! Swanky, new, rich…
  • The Conservatory. I dunno — looks like a greenhouse to me…
  • Time Traveler. Exposed wires — coooooool.
  • Tubo Hotel. Probably not a hotel, but a makeshift community near Intellectum’s dump, constructed with abandoned sewer construction materials.
  • Versailles Tail. The less gravity-defying cousin of the pompadour.
  • Unicycle Bob. What the hell is this? Who knows? But it’s by petipet, which means that it probably belongs in Intellectum.
  • Waste Container. Probably a part of the Intellectan shanty town next to the dump.
  • Wynter Hair. That built-in headgear probably picks up radio signals or something.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1669853.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Marty McFly in 1:6 scale!!!!

Marty McFly in 1:6 scale!!!! published on No Comments on Marty McFly in 1:6 scale!!!!

Hot Toys is making him! I wonder if he’ll be appropriately short… Because Back to the Future was one of the formative movies of my youth and because I used to have a huge crush on Michael J. Fox, I might pick this one up…or at least the head. Probably just the head.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1669516.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

ThreeZero 1:6 scale Tyrion Lannister preorders open now!

ThreeZero 1:6 scale Tyrion Lannister preorders open now! published on No Comments on ThreeZero 1:6 scale Tyrion Lannister preorders open now!

Estimated to arrive at the end of this year or beginning of next, it’s a little Peter Dinklage with bad hair! I really want him to be Guillaume Doucette, Béatrice and Delphine’s dad.

As one of the closest things to an antagonist that Zombieville has, Guillaume has an unduly grandiose opinion of himself and a VERY LOUD VOICE with which to broadcast this opinion. Back when he was a disability rights activist, he was pompous, sure, but much less irritating. He used his pushy manner and VERY LOUD VOICE to good effect, for example, when heading the campaign to replace the quaint cobblestones on Church Street with even pavement that people wouldn’t trip over. In fact, Béatrice and Delphine have fond memories of helping their dad unleash a can of institutional whup-ass on the UVM campus group that offered "midget bowling" as an event in their spring carnival. That, however, was over a decade ago…

Nowadays, Guillaume has become much more bitter. He hijacks public forums with his jeremiads about how the quality of life in Burlington has declined since he was a boy. He intensely dislikes PWS, who he calls "zombies" for shock value. According to him, PWS are "hogging media attention" and "draining state coffers," thus diverting coverage and funds from people with "legitimate" disabilities. [He actually says "legitimate." No one is quite sure why.] His argle-bargle about "cleaning up this town" eventually coalesces into a campaign for local public office, which, much to the PWS community’s consternation and his daughters’ embarrassment, he wins.

Of course, I could just heavily mod a body from my stash to make him, but no! I wanna little Peter Dinklage in my life!!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1669244.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

3D freebies: Aliza Hair for Genesis 2 Female

3D freebies: Aliza Hair for Genesis 2 Female published on No Comments on 3D freebies: Aliza Hair for Genesis 2 Female

Aliza Hair for Genesis 2 Female

Daz Studio only

Tested only in Daz Studio Pro 4.6 64 bit.

Created with PhilC’s Hair Designer, this is my first

freebie hairstyle, Aliza, a spiky, layered, morphing

hair prop straight out of the 1980s for Genesis 2

Female. Perfect for when G2F wants to cosplay Jareth

the Goblin King from Labyrinth [the inspiration for

this ‘do]! :p

Aliza, which autoparents to G2F’s head, is based on the

default figure, so you may need to translate and scale

to fit morphed figures. Aliza has a length morph for

the back, plus a simple movement morph for each side,

as well as a single texture. There are a few material

zones for greater customization.

After installation, you will find Aliza in My Library >

People > Genesis 2 Female > Hair > ModernWizard >

Aliza.

Just so you know, this was a fun experiment, my first

with Hair Designer, not a professional-grade endeavor.

It’s somewhat messy, geometry-wise [especially where I

cruedly deleted all those excess polys], but I hope you

can have some fun playing with it nonetheless.

Use for whatever purposes you like, commercial or non-

commercial. Just don’t repackage and call your own.

Have fun!

You can see my digital artwork, as well as my other

creative pursuits, at my blog:

http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org

If you do use any of my freebies in your work, drop me

a line [ModernWizard at the Daz boards and ShareCG,

ModernWiz on Renderosity], as I’d love to see what you

make. Thank you.

Continue reading 3D freebies: Aliza Hair for Genesis 2 Female

Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: hood ornaments and headlights!

Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: hood ornaments and headlights! published on No Comments on Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: hood ornaments and headlights!

Oh yeah, and some cars too… :p Continue reading Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: hood ornaments and headlights!

I used to think that modding BJDs worked on different principles than modding action figures.

I used to think that modding BJDs worked on different principles than modding action figures. published on No Comments on I used to think that modding BJDs worked on different principles than modding action figures.

This is probably because the BJD community places such a high value on aesthetics, which means that laboriously sanded and delicately layered works receive more approbation than messy, experimental, jerry-rigged ones. I have learned, however, that, in the end, resin BJDs are no different than plastic action figures. Both types of dolls mod very well with an application of hacksaw, rotary tool, Aves Apoxie Sculpt and hot glue. Continue reading I used to think that modding BJDs worked on different principles than modding action figures.

Tonsil Hockey Deux returns!!!

Tonsil Hockey Deux returns!!! published on No Comments on Tonsil Hockey Deux returns!!!

I forgot to mention that I E-mailed IOS recently to ask if they would rerelease Infernale. They said yes — this November. Whoo hoo! Tonsil Hockey come home! 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1668133.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Walker 3.0 completed; millions rejoice

Walker 3.0 completed; millions rejoice published on No Comments on Walker 3.0 completed; millions rejoice

I finally got the wheels for Peter’s walker in the mail today, ordered from a supplier of remote-control vehicles and supplies, RC Planet. I mounted one wheel on each foot of the walker with a piece of plastic-coated wire hot glued in a hole that I drilled through the side of each leg.

Continue reading Walker 3.0 completed; millions rejoice

Collecting materials for Xandy’s clothes

Collecting materials for Xandy’s clothes published on No Comments on Collecting materials for Xandy’s clothes

Xandy, having been derooted of her face-obscuring bob, shows off her purple bra, from an unknown source in my collection, and tailcoat from a Phicen Lady Magician figure. No stuffing of cleavage was necessary to make this fit, much to my relief. Continue reading Collecting materials for Xandy’s clothes

Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: flea market items

Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: flea market items published on No Comments on Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: flea market items

We went to the Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show today, held in, of all places, Nichols Fields in Stowe, VT. This is its 57th year, and it’s the largest car show in the state.

Continue reading Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, 08/09/2014: flea market items

Prepping Xandy for her pompadour

Prepping Xandy for her pompadour published on No Comments on Prepping Xandy for her pompadour

I ripped out enough of Xandy’s original purple bob so that the cropped remains would not show from under her lofty new wig. Since I had such fun designing my digital pompadour, Zabby, I decided to give Xandy an actual manifestation of the same style, with a few differences.
Continue reading Prepping Xandy for her pompadour

Andrea scanned a tutorial about making a pompadour wig from faux fur.

Andrea scanned a tutorial about making a pompadour wig from faux fur. published on No Comments on Andrea scanned a tutorial about making a pompadour wig from faux fur.

Right here! I could do this! Lord knows I have enough fur. Maybe I could decorate her hair with little spiderwebs and bats…and a bird skull, if I can find one. 😀

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1666433.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Xandy has concerns about structural stability.

Xandy has concerns about structural stability. published on No Comments on Xandy has concerns about structural stability.

She thinks the stand upon which she is currently suspended may not be rigid enough to support her. I’m inclined to agree, especially as it’s made for a doll with legs that touch the ground, which Xandy obviously does not have. I should probably just have a hemispherical crinoline out of wire, open in the front, to serve as her stand and carousel surround, but I’m not there yet.Continue reading Xandy has concerns about structural stability.

Doll and toy museum in Bennington!

Doll and toy museum in Bennington! published on No Comments on Doll and toy museum in Bennington!

Definitely worth a trip! Contains dolls, dollhouses, trains, planes, cars, trucks, games, etc.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1665793.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Xandy updates

Xandy updates published on No Comments on Xandy updates

Well, Phicen just recently released a Lady Magician figure with a tailcoat, so I went to my preferred retailer for such things, SMcG Customs, and snapped up the parted-out tailcoat, as well as a set of white gloved hands. The Lady Magician figure has large, globular breasts, so I may have to pad Xandy’s bra or something…

I have also discovered a cheap wooden merry-go-round music box. It’s so cheap that I feel no qualms whatsoever about purchasing it and customizing it. I would repaint it black, white and purple and remove those crude wooden horses. I wonder if some horse skeletons from gaming miniatures would be the correct size for ride-ons instead?

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1665714.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Xandy the ringmaster of the creepy carnival

Xandy the ringmaster of the creepy carnival published on No Comments on Xandy the ringmaster of the creepy carnival

Poor Xandy. I was so excited about getting her, but she has just lain around in pieces since arriving in January. I decided back then to make her into a merry-go-round mecha mannequin, but I never got farther than removing her legs, setting aside her purple cape for part of her outfit and purchasing some stars to attach chain clasps to.

However, now that I have pretty much finished up Polly and need to wait for cooler weather to hack up Yamarrah’s torso, my thoughts now turn to the neglected Xandy. At first, I thought she would be a magician/ringmaster merry-go-round mecha mannequin with a circus theme. Then I wandered off into thoughts of automatons, brass winding keys and top hats. I now entertain the idea of Xandy as the ringmaster of a creepy carnival, probably because my last creepy doll, the dead version of Isabel, came out so well.

As ringmaster of the creepy carnival, Xandy now veers more in the direction of Halloween. I still like the idea of her having a tailcoat, white gloves and a wand to represent her magicianship, but I also want to make dark, voluminous, sparkly skirts out of my purple sequined fabric and black velvet. I can make her a pointy hat and give her a bit of a repaint for a stitched-up Glasgow smile.

The greatest challenge would be the procurement of a Halloweeny carousel for underneath her skirts. Department 56, manufacturers of miniature themed villages, used to make a Ghostly Carousel that would be perfect, but it’s out of print and probably ridiculously expensive. As an alternative, Lemax makes a Scary-Go-Round [har!] for its Spooky Town line, and that item is new this year, so sure to be in print. Unfortunately, it just appears to be a regular carousel with costumed kids on it. Boooo. I want Halloweeny animals to ride!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1665455.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Awesome hair with integrated cornrows and bows [made of hair]!

Awesome hair with integrated cornrows and bows [made of hair]! published on No Comments on Awesome hair with integrated cornrows and bows [made of hair]!

Coooooooooooooooooooooooooooool! 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1665190.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Don’t run over your tail, Polly!

Don’t run over your tail, Polly! published on No Comments on Don’t run over your tail, Polly!

Polly tests out one of my Barbie wheelchairs, for which her tail is too long. I still haven’t decided how I want to customize her chair. Polly has stated, however, that she would rather have this green checked shirt than the I BELIEVE IN CHAMP shirt. Well, one less thing I have to make. :pContinue reading Don’t run over your tail, Polly!

Digital hair: from Aliza to Zabby [and everything in between]!

Digital hair: from Aliza to Zabby [and everything in between]! published on No Comments on Digital hair: from Aliza to Zabby [and everything in between]!

I worked more on both of my digital hairstyles in progress: Aliza and Zabby. Aliza is inspired by the Goblin King’s ‘do in Labyrinth, while Zabby is inspired by the stuoendous hair sculptures of late eighteenth century western Europe.

I improved Aliza by crudely deleting unnecessary polygons in an attempt to make a smaller, less unwieldy mesh. I also redid the movement morphs. Here’s the updated hairstyle demonstrating the effects of LeftSideXTranslate and RightSideXTranslate morphs.

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Finally I’m resenting the walker less.

Finally I’m resenting the walker less. published on No Comments on Finally I’m resenting the walker less.

I decorated Walker 3.0 with lots of black electrical tape and some black craft foam for the seat cushion. Besides breaking up the glaring expanses of fluoro orange, the electrical tape suggests joints or sockets, adding to the impression of a piece of equipment constructed from various bars. The black also stands out vividly on the orange field, attracting the eye and thus drawing attention away from the uneven texture.

To make the walker even more useful, I added a basket and a purse-like bag so that Peter can hold stuff. Now that it looks less like a horrible failure and more like a mobility aid customized by one of my favorite Zville denizens, I feel more well disposed toward the walker. Still needs wheels though…
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Walker 3.0: now we’re finally getting somewhere!

Walker 3.0: now we’re finally getting somewhere! published on No Comments on Walker 3.0: now we’re finally getting somewhere!

Five months ago, I received the 1:6 scale walker pieces that Batchix printed out for me. However, I was so bitter about my earlier failures that I just glared resentfully at the pieces for the next five months. I did not look forward to the assembly — what with removing flash, drilling, pinning and gluing, I anticipated another messy failure and even greater bitterness.

I overcame my grudge last night to begin work on Walker 3.0. Batchix helpfully provided blueprints, some of which are shown below, to aid me in assembly:
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