Before I get into the two pose huds and why you may need them, I just want to share a few things about what I’m wearing.

The poncho and jeans are both mesh. The poncho is from DECOmpose. There’s also a mens version of this poncho which you can see the sexy Carthalis wearing in his post here.

EDIT: Adding a quick note about the poncho because of Indigo Alecto’s comment below: I didn’t realize there was no demo to the poncho (which is unfortunate, all mesh clothing should have demos available), therefore here is a raw shot of the poncho and also these are the sizes it comes in: regular and large (no standard sizing availble). I am wearing the regular.

The jeans are from Maitreya and these particular ones in this color are only available to Maitreya VIP group members for 50% off. Details in this post and here’s a link to the Maitreya VIP group which is free to join.

Now on to the Pose HUDs.

Pose Anywhere 2.5
The first one I want to talk about is one I’ve blogged last year and use quite often. Pose Anywhere is one of my favorite pose huds that I use very often. You can check out my blog post about it last year, Pose Anywhere 2, which has a video tutorial and some more instructions. For this post I am going to focus on the upgrade for those who already own the 2.0, can go to the Pose Fair right now and get a FREE update to 2.5. You’ll find the updater there right now and after Pose Fair it will be available in the E2 Designs store by DavidThomas Scorbal.

Here’s what you can expect in the update: (totally stealing this off a notecard in the folder)
HUD now has an Organize button that leads to a convenient pose organization page where you can:
– Delete pose packs
– Rename pose packs
– Make backup copies of pose packs
– Delete individual poses from pose packs
The Pose Installer will allow either “install/replace” of an entire pose pack, OR an “Add” mode, where you can easily add poses to an existing pose pack already in the HUD.

It’s also easy to transfer all your current poses from your old hud into your new hud. Took me just a minute and I’m all setup with my new hud now.

If you don’t already own the hud from before, I suggest you pick it up from Pose Fair soon because it’s on special for L$549 at the fair, retail price is L$649.

Animare
The next hud I want to talk about is Animare. I don’t have much experience with Animare, but I did use it for this post and I have to tell you, it’s a lifesaver. Sometimes there are just some really fantastic poses I would love to use for my blog posts but I can’t because they don’t suit my body shape. Either my hand or another part of my body is misbehaving itself. This is where Animare comes in handy. You can use it to adjust any poses you have inworld, easily and within minutes. I got my hands out of my body in both these images very quickly and easily.

But that’s not all you can do with this hud, there’s so much more.
- Check out the Animare website for all the details.
- Buy the hud on marketplace
- and check out the detailed video

I hope you find both these HUDs as useful as I do. Don’t forget to check out Pose Fair soon. <3

Credits:
Skin: *League* Jen Dark Feline (Cleavage C) by Nena Janus
Face tattoo: -tres blah- Face Paint (Slash & Dot) by Julliette Westerburg
Hair: [Shag] – Pussy Galore (roots) – bittersweet by Sebastien Aries
*Top: DECOmpose – MESH Her Bandito Poncho by GutterBlood Spoonhammer (MESH)
*Jeans: Maitreya Zipper-Skinny Jeans * S Dirty by Onyx LeShelle (MESH)
*Necklace & Earrings: je suis africain by Julia Merosi
*1st Pose: flowey. by Flutter Memel (Available at Pose Fair)
*1st Pose Hud: Pose Anywhere 2.5 by DavidThomas Scorbal (Available at Pose Fair)
2nd Pose Hud: Animare Pose & Animation System by YT Recreant
Location: Pink Flamingo (Found on Koinup Places)

So when I blogged my present from Mr. Jefferson a few days back, never did I imagine that it would encourage others to send me strawberry-themed items as well! :O

A big thank you to Tori Heart and June Dion of Barerose for sending me this berrylicious outfit! I kinda like it a lot…it’s adorably kawaii and you can never go wrong with strawberries and whipped cream all over your nipples! Also, Ms. Celebrity Trollop said I look oddly compelling (I hope that’s a good thing LOL).

I think I’m gonna start a whole section on my blog for strawberry-themed items and call it Berrylicious! :D

Thank you once again! <3

Credits:
Skin: -tres blah- {Dark} Jejune Cherry – Dark Thick Brows by Julliette Westerburg
*Hair: * RezIpsa Loc * ~ Mary ~ 7pm by RezIpsa Luckstone
*Outfit: ::: B@R ::: Very Berry by June Dion
*Headdress: B@R ::: Tochiotome Headdress by June Dion
*Pose: Gesticulate
*Promotional copies
Picture is raw from SL. I’m using Beta 2.2 for the shadows.

So ummm…I guess this is my high fashion Paper Couture post? :P LOL
As you can see, I don’t really do high fashion, but I do love the new release from Paper Couture. Check it out! I went on a shopping spree earlier, so be expecting more posts soon! :D

Raw shot from SL

I was having fun with shadows earlier so I thought I would share another raw shot with you guys. The second picture is raw from SL, all I did was crop it.

Credits:
*Skin: :: DUTCH TOUCH ::AmbeR:: Ebony – Eagle by Iki Ikarus
Hair: Analog Dog – kia brunette by Queue Marlowe
Face Tattoo: -tres blah- Face Paint (War Paint) by Julliette Westerburg
*Body Tattoo: [HUZ TATS] Bloom by Hunain Bellic
Dress: :bijou: prayer by Kotobuki Jewell
Necklace: Paper Couture; Cheetah’s Pride Necklace (Cheetah’s Pride Set) by Cora Lu
Earrings: Paper Couture; Fabric Tassle Earrings (Cheetah’s Pride Set) by Cora Lu
Bracelet: ::je::suis::africain::bracelet dark by Julia Merosi
*Poses: Just A Pose by Glamouramama Boa
Location: Chakryn Forest

*Promotional copies

Before I begin the tutorial, I’d like to add that the lovely printed lingerie (which is all hand drawn) is a little sneak peek. Zaara will be releasing this set in many different options and colors this weekend.

After

Please note that I have never received any sort of professional photoshop training. I am just sharing tips and tricks I have picked up along the way.

Before

As you can see from the above two shots, dodging and burning can add a lot of depth and personality to your image. Dodge and burn allow you to add light exposure to areas of your snapshot. Dodge is great for making certain areas of your image lighter, whereas burn will darken. Burn is great for making shadows. I often use it to create subtle shadows on different parts of the face and body.

These are the steps I took to achieve my end result that is visible in the first image in this post.

1. Snapped a high-res snapshot of my avatar.
2. Cleaned up the image using photoshop by utilizing the liquify filter and other adjustment tools.
3. Created a new layer above the last layer in the layers palette. If you do not see the layers palette on your screen, press F7 and it should appear. Once I created that new layer, I made sure it was selected.
4. In the Edit menu, I selected fill and then filled that layer with 50% gray.
5. At the top of the layers palette, I set that gray layer to overlay.
6. After selecting the dodge and burn tools in the sidebar, I made sure the range was set to mid-tones and the exposure was set to 20%. Then I increased and decreased the brush sizes, as I saw fit, while painting over my avatar to create shadows and highlights.
7. Using the dodge tool I highlighted the top areas of my avatar’s arms and body along with different areas of the background of this image. With the burn tool, I followed along the edge of my avatar’s body to create a shadow effect.

Here is a great video tutorial showing the procedure that I used: http://vimeo.com/6189101

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.

» You can view all of my current tutorials on my tutorials page.

Credits for what I’m wearing in the picture:
Skin: -tres blah- {Dark} Jejune Cherry – Dark Winged Brows by Julliette Westerburg
*Hair: Maitreya Nimue – Caramel by Onyx LeShelle
*Necklace: [Whippet & Buck] Memory Collector Necklace (Unisex) by Dakota Buck
*Lingerie: Zaara : Sumana *crimson* by Zaara Kohime (releasing this weekend)
*Pose: oOo Studio by Olaenka Chesnokov

*Promotional Copies