Bloomin good fun
First off a reminder that the Annual Hair Fair Flickr Contest starts tomorrow 23rd May, all the info is here
Ok so now that I finally got around to taking some Bloom pics, I feel inferior in contrast to ones such as these by so many talented people. One day in the future I may be able to take prettier pics of them, because they are truly inspirational. See that is the phenomenon that is the Bloom doll in Second Life at the moment, the desire to take a simple yet adorable avatar and run wild with it.
The first thing I thought of when I saw them a few weeks ago with Emma and Turnip, was that this would be an incredible oppurtunity to pull out some older items, especially themed outfits and costumes. They really are a lot of fun and THAT is the reason for it IMO. They are referred to as ‘they’ ‘them’ and so on, where as the usual thing to do in Second Life is to say ‘we’ and ‘I’ or ‘my’. Over the years we have all become so in tune with our personal mesh avatars that ‘dressing up’ became ‘ getting dressed”.
The Bloom Doll avatar by Emma Gilmour has given many people in Second Life that second chance at being whimsical, to want to stop and smell the flowers and explore the inside of a dew drop. I have seen so many incredible images evolve from the Bloom group, would the work be the same if not Bloomified? I don’t think so.
The other thing I have noticed about the Bloom dolls is that it has brought people together, while I know that often friends gather and socialise in SL, the Bloom release had pics surfacing of up to 8 fashionistas in one place at one time – imagine the inventory strain on the servers of that sim – and while I do not profess to know the ins and outs of their usual gatherings, it just struck a lovely cord thinking that it was in fact the dolls that did that, the fun they must have had coming up with different looks, and just the pure girlyness of it all.
But do not despair there is a man in there too. Clark is the male version of the Bloom dolls, and he is very debonair. The one quirky feature he has is the twirly mustache, of course to show him as male from the get go. But I had a thunk on that, and went to check out Discord Designs and some facial hair. A few demos later I was ready for action, because now my guy doesn’t look the same as the other Clarks about town. I also got the version of the mustache in prim as well for a more 3d look.
If you missed being new in Second Life, as in went straight from rezzed to fabulous, then the Bloom doll is also going to give you that Second Chance to explore and be creative in a way unlike you have in years, if ever. It is also another reason to sort through all of your old hair, and be a lot more creative as the Bloom dolls do not come with hair, and the editing of hair is a skill you will need to master.
They also come with their own doll skin and shape, but you can of course use your own shape, or make a new one. Many have said that these avatars would be great for the children in Second Life, but I don’t think they should be the only ones having all the fun…try having your own Bloom Doll experiences and make sure you post your pics in the group, there is a contest going on at the moment also.
Now on another note and speaking of children, one of the stand out stores for me for Shoe Fair was a kids store R(s)W which is owned by Robin Sijourner Wood, who many of you will know is the lady that redid a lot of the templates we create clothing on – from Chip Midnights adaptions – and also has a lot of tutorials around the web. I did not know she was creating at the moment, and I sure didn’t expect shoes, but there they were, and as everyone knows, kids stuff is just cute adult stuff – as in 99% of the time it is wearable by either – I fell in love with the MaryJanes that look like my old Clark school shoes, and the saddle shoes that are just perfect. Both styles are only 150 each and that makes them a steal for sure. So if you didn’t give the booth a proper look last time you were there, you best be going back.
Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.
Poses by :
aDORKable
Equipment Used:
VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck
Skin Worn:
Bloom skin supplied with Avatar
Eyes:
Ellis – LeLutka
Lashes:
Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka
1st Me:
Hair:
Lily 05d (heavily modified ) – Aoharu
Heraldo (mustache), Scott ( Goatie ), Carter – Discord Designs
Clothes:
Toonip Bloom Avatar , Clark Bloom Avatar – Surf Co.
50’s Poodle set – BareRose
Saville Row Suit – 5th & Oxford
Shoes/Boots:
MaryJanes – R(S)W @ Shoe Fair
City Walk – Shiny THings
Accessories: