Holy wow, I can't believe January is over already!
Yes, I know today's date (February 7th!) but for me, I'm still trying to catch up. I always plan to blog, I do, and for every post I write there are easily ten that I never had time to churn out due to RL obligations and this ridiculous biological imperative to eat and sleep. And, too, the last month in SL has been busy. Insanely busy but it's been one heck of a ride.
My last post here was an introduction to the Mr. & Miss Model International (MMI) competition and, go figure, that's what has occupied much of my non-sleeping/eating/working time! What I'd like to do with these next few posts is summarize my experiences in the competition and talk a little bit about the outfits I put together for each challenge (I hope to share the outfits I wore to rehearsals and feedback meetings in the next series but .. one thing at a time), explain the challenge itself, and where I struggled, succeeded, and intend to improve moving forward.
Challenge #1 - The Pose-Off
This was one of the most interesting challenges I've seen in Second Life! Despite early hiccups in the challenge, each of about 40 contestants was paired randomly and called into a BOXING RING to show the judges their best pose combinations. Based on points awarded in poses, prims, and styling, the winner of each round advanced to the next round, and the next, and the next until there were enough contestants for a final showdown! We were only scored on the first rounds but the rest of the challenge was nothing but fun, fun, FUN!
Pose-Off Styling
Yes, I know today's date (February 7th!) but for me, I'm still trying to catch up. I always plan to blog, I do, and for every post I write there are easily ten that I never had time to churn out due to RL obligations and this ridiculous biological imperative to eat and sleep. And, too, the last month in SL has been busy. Insanely busy but it's been one heck of a ride.
My last post here was an introduction to the Mr. & Miss Model International (MMI) competition and, go figure, that's what has occupied much of my non-sleeping/eating/working time! What I'd like to do with these next few posts is summarize my experiences in the competition and talk a little bit about the outfits I put together for each challenge (I hope to share the outfits I wore to rehearsals and feedback meetings in the next series but .. one thing at a time), explain the challenge itself, and where I struggled, succeeded, and intend to improve moving forward.
Challenge #1 - The Pose-Off
This was one of the most interesting challenges I've seen in Second Life! Despite early hiccups in the challenge, each of about 40 contestants was paired randomly and called into a BOXING RING to show the judges their best pose combinations. Based on points awarded in poses, prims, and styling, the winner of each round advanced to the next round, and the next, and the next until there were enough contestants for a final showdown! We were only scored on the first rounds but the rest of the challenge was nothing but fun, fun, FUN!
Pose-Off Styling
I approached this challenge in typical nerd fashion, figuring the boxing ring was an easy substitute for any number of console fighter game arenas. You know the type of game I'm talking about - a straight-up duel between iconic characters from different franchises (Chun Li from Streetfighter fights Wolverine (Marvel) fights Sonic the Hedgehog or something). I'd have liked to replicate my old superhero costume from when I played City of Heroes (yes, I'm THAT much of a nerd) but a week just wasn't enough time to pull that off. Instead, I went with my interpretation of Emma Frost (Marvel's X-Men) and, since none of the existing costumes in SL were really working for me I assembled this piece by piece.
My love of the new Maitreya Lara mesh body made this a little more difficult than it might have been because it's still a relatively new release but this is also where my tenacity paid off BIG TIME. Look at all those curves!
My love of the new Maitreya Lara mesh body made this a little more difficult than it might have been because it's still a relatively new release but this is also where my tenacity paid off BIG TIME. Look at all those curves!
Pose-Off Execution
Since the outfit I put together didn't really have many pieces, I knew that most of my marks in prims were going to hinge on my homemade X-Men belt. Every other wardrobe piece was rigged or came with an applier for my Maitreya bod so that meant my lines in each pose would be clear .. and that I really, REALLY needed to focus my attention on choosing dynamic poses that showed arms, legs, and most importantly each and every curve to advantage!
Since the outfit I put together didn't really have many pieces, I knew that most of my marks in prims were going to hinge on my homemade X-Men belt. Every other wardrobe piece was rigged or came with an applier for my Maitreya bod so that meant my lines in each pose would be clear .. and that I really, REALLY needed to focus my attention on choosing dynamic poses that showed arms, legs, and most importantly each and every curve to advantage!
Commentary and Feedback
All in all, the judges' comments were good. Some found my styling and poses a little on the safe side which, granted, was a good point; the outfit might have been dead-on in my mind but the poses still needed work. I made it past the first round with high marks but was defeated in the second, reminding me that however competitive I may be, I needed to treat each round like a final showdown (instead of saving my best pose sets for later rounds). Lesson learned. ;)
All in all, the judges' comments were good. Some found my styling and poses a little on the safe side which, granted, was a good point; the outfit might have been dead-on in my mind but the poses still needed work. I made it past the first round with high marks but was defeated in the second, reminding me that however competitive I may be, I needed to treat each round like a final showdown (instead of saving my best pose sets for later rounds). Lesson learned. ;)
Credits:
Skin: Lara Hurley-Fae natural/Milky ~ Lara Hurley
Eyes: IKON Promise Eyes - Quicksilver ~ Ikon Innovia
Makeup 1: DeeTaleZ Makeup NATURAL Lip Shades ~ Steffi Villota
Makeup 2: .Pekka. Vintage Cat Eyeliner ~ Kathya Szczepanski
Lashes: *MC* Falsies Eyelash ~ Freya Olivieri
Mesh Bod & Hands: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V2.1 ~ Onyx LeShelle
Hair: little bones. Sea Foam ~ Nova Faerye
Corset: :[P]:- Adelyn Tank :// Stark ~ MW Boa
Shorts Applier: (AMD) Tigress Hot Pants Phat Azz* ~ Apple May
Belt: Portia's Homemade X-Men Belt
Boots: BAX Regency Boots White Leather ~ Bax Coen
Neck Corset: *Perception* Neck Corset ~ Maggiedoll Alter
Gloves Applier: *CNZ* Long Gloves Maitreya White ~ Tempesta Arun
Pose: *PosESioN* Crystal 1 ~ Dahriel Resident
* Phat Azz appliers work through the Omega system and, therefore, with the Maitreya Lara body. Thank goodness!
Skin: Lara Hurley-Fae natural/Milky ~ Lara Hurley
Eyes: IKON Promise Eyes - Quicksilver ~ Ikon Innovia
Makeup 1: DeeTaleZ Makeup NATURAL Lip Shades ~ Steffi Villota
Makeup 2: .Pekka. Vintage Cat Eyeliner ~ Kathya Szczepanski
Lashes: *MC* Falsies Eyelash ~ Freya Olivieri
Mesh Bod & Hands: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V2.1 ~ Onyx LeShelle
Hair: little bones. Sea Foam ~ Nova Faerye
Corset: :[P]:- Adelyn Tank :// Stark ~ MW Boa
Shorts Applier: (AMD) Tigress Hot Pants Phat Azz* ~ Apple May
Belt: Portia's Homemade X-Men Belt
Boots: BAX Regency Boots White Leather ~ Bax Coen
Neck Corset: *Perception* Neck Corset ~ Maggiedoll Alter
Gloves Applier: *CNZ* Long Gloves Maitreya White ~ Tempesta Arun
Pose: *PosESioN* Crystal 1 ~ Dahriel Resident
* Phat Azz appliers work through the Omega system and, therefore, with the Maitreya Lara body. Thank goodness!