When A Skin Isnt.

Nomine. Raw Skin.


[LAP] Caught


Some things you just HAVE to have.

And it's perfect for my response to Achariya's Posemaker Blogger Challenge.

I have a confession to make. I never remember to credit my poses. Sometimes this is because I've bought them months ago from obscure little Japanese stores that also sell robocat avatars and urinals, and I only find them in my inventory by the little running man icon. Other times it's because I've only remembered all the disparate pieces of my outfit by using the "(worn)" trick, and of course the pose I'm using doesn't show up. Probably because IT'S wearing ME. But the general truth is I'm a barely contained sack of forgetfulness, and when you combine lazy with easily distract - ooohhh...... something shiny! Where was I? Oh yes. I suck. It's true.



[LAP] Male Blogger 3

So Achariya's rather pointed stick to the gonads of the blogworld stirred me into action as well. Male poses are hard to find done really well in SL, and whenever I come cross any that don't put my "freakishly long arms and slender shoulders" - as a friend described them recently - into my hips then I buy up big. And no one does this better than Dove Swanson of Long Awkward Pose. Ok, yeah - I guess a disclaimer is necessary here. She's one of my best friends, but if I didn't respect what she was doing then I would KICK HER TO THE KERB AND STEP OVER HER FACE LAUGHING AS I LET THE RATS GNAW HER CARCASS. It's not a paean to her as a person, this post is about the technical expertise, research and humour that goes into every pose in the [LAP] portfolio.



[LAP] Boiling Over

The male avatar mesh is unforgiving, but she still manages to manipulate it into natural contours and expressive positions. And avoids the breaks in the shoulder joints even whilst reaching the arms up above the head, and that takes a buttload of skill and care to do. I have her earliest poses "Dude I" all the way up through "Dude VIII" to her brand new "Boy Bloggers" set - yes, there's over 150 male poses - and the progression is amazing. You can see how much she has learnt over a year and she's poured all that into all these static poses. When she finally moves into animations and AO's she's going to take over the world.



[LAP] Fall Away

Dove and her companion Lawless McBride spend hours researching pictures in magazines, television and the internet always trying to find something interesting and innovative that will translate into SL. This doesn't end at individual poses, her couples and group sets are also meticulously made and hours are spent testing them. And I know it's hours as I often get dragged along to donate my pixels so she can reposition and tweak. If you were one of the twenty people who were at the final adjustments for the epic "Takin' Over The World" set at Christmas time then you know what I mean. A simple fifteen minute ad shoot turned into a two visit three hour marathon until Dove got all the positions exactly right. She won't release anything that's less than perfect, and this dedication that shows in all her finished works.

[LAP] Flipped

But my favourite thing about Long Awkward Poses is that they are interesting and filled with emotion. From handstands to emo sulks to diva style to the spectacular buttshot one that Dove made just to gross people out, you won't find any other poses that allow your avatar to express itself with more playfulness and joy. Or attitude. Or despair. There are a lot of general modelling animations on the grid that display the av perfectly for runway or catalogue work, but if I want to take a picture with meaning, interest and passion then I go straight to my overstuffed [LAP] folder.

[LAP] The Winter - yes, of course this one is my favourite!

Lastly, I also need to veer just a little towards personal mush by reminding everyone how generous Dove is as a business owner. She donates her profits and her time to vital causes. She created an AO which is free to all newcomers (and legions of freshly created alts.) And she's just launched a "Blogger's Appreciation Program" with a purpose created set of poses for both men and women which she's giving away. So all this is why I'd be a fan of [LAP] even if I'd never met Ms Swanson. Okay, so I wouldn't know just how hard she works, but I'd still be all over the end product like Mike Tyson at a beauty pageant. And if you look at the feeds recently you'll see that I'm certainly not the only one that thinks this way.


So if you see me do another post without crediting the poses ever again, feel free to hit me. Odds are though, that you'll find each and every one of them at Long Awkward Pose.


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