Rene's Third Faceup

I gave Rene a new faceup this week. I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do, except that I wanted him to have face tattoos, and for him to have a happier, less broody look. Jinas are naturally brooding or at least serious, so I was going to have a bit of a struggle combating that. Things actually turned out quite well, and I was very pleased with the results. Here are some photos from before glossing:

I had a lot of fun with the small details and the design. I actually modded/carved his mouth to curve up. It was a bit of an amateur job and it's not he best paint job because I had a hard time getting the old lip color out, but it turned out pretty good despite those things.

I still have a lot to learn when it comes to taking photographs though. The above photo was edited in photoshop a lot. I really like photos that minimize contrast without losing detail, or have a lot of bright spots without seeming overexposed, so that was what I was aiming for. I also only use a limited point and shoot, but it has a decent close-up setting and focuses pretty easily. I wish it had more options for blurring the background, but that's beyond its abilities so I have to do that in PS.

I wasn't going to bring him to Germany with me, but I will now that he is so adorable. As for Alain, I'm not sure whether he'll be going. I would like to sell his body before I go, but I have to finish modding the other arm first so they match. I was thinking of the new feeple60 body for him due to his first body being delf, but when I went back and looked at pictures of him on that body, the neck is so small that I don't think i want to. Maybe I will still plan on eventually getting an sdgr body, but in that case, maybe I shouldn't sell his current one yet. I wish Volks didn't have such huge hands though. Maybe I could find some matching ones that are smaller and fit on the wrist. I wonder if SD13 girl hands fit?

 He's changed a bit over the two years I've had him. I've had a really hard time getting him to the point where I actually loved the way he looked. When I look back now, his first faceup is better than the second, but he seems very tired. The second was artistically superior, but I had so many moments of hating his expression most likely due to his skinny arched eyebrows. I am in love with his current faceup though. While there are a few things I wish were different (his eyebrows are too reddish for the wig, which is fixed in the photos), I have to say that I'm extremely pleased and he finally looks a way that I love looking at. I think before I leave, I will finish cleaning his body and will blush at least his hands. 

Making a Planet Map

If your world is the size of a whole planet, you've probably tried at least a few times to draw a permanently accurate map of your planet. It's almost impossible to make something 2D that's both accurate and easy to read and understand. Even if you manage to make something nice looking, the size is distorted by the expansion of the polar regions. Really, you have to have a 3D model.

I've thought of buying a large white bouncy ball, a large wooden ball, or a large styrofoam ball.. or the mother of them all, a yoga ball, in order to make a globe map. But I don't have the money for the ball or the right materials to color them with (paint or sharpies, etc). Then today, I came up with the idea of making a globe out of paper, and of course the wonderful people on the internet have already done this for me.

Here is the best of what I found for making a paper globe.

The PDF comes with a pattern for three sizes: small, medium, and large. I haven't done it yet, but I will very soon.