Someday Summer

Oh look, haven't heard from that Lindsey-Girl for a while...
And now, you have. Hey guys, so I'm somewhat back. Of course, I'm not going to be regular until I get my laptop fixed (or get a new one), so don't expect too much from me. However, that's destined a change this Spring. So our house is almost about ready for move-in (the finale is scheduled for Mid-March, so very soon), and I'll have easier access to technology and whatnot.

Aside from the point, though. As you can see, I've been working on something. I'm sure those who've paid attention to a recent interview of mine, I'm working on a graphic for Stardoll's Appearance. Which, if I'm quite frank, just gave away what the graphic to the right is in context to. I think it's one of my better graphics, especially considering I haven't worked in photoshop for over two months. A mixture of a lack of both photoshop and inspiration is the reasoning behind that. Anyhow, I can't wait for the final product (I'm about 50% done with the graphic as of now), and share it with you guys. I have been working on my technique and refining it a little with this graphic, which I think shows. I would show a little bit more of the graphic, but I want the finishing product to be stunning, and more so a surprise. Along with that, I'm planning on editing the layout for SA (the previous theme had some URL issues, so I had to revert back to something simple), so I should be busy for the rest of the month with that in mind. And moving, too, but you probably already knew that.

So, any opinions on what I've shown you guys so far? I'm glad to be back, and hopefully most are happy for my return. Just a warning though, I'm not going to be nearly as active as I was before, real life's finally starting to have some appeal in it, believe it or not.

Some Unseens

I'm too lazy to write the whole spiel, so here's the two latest and greatest(s):

UNDERNEATH STARDOLL, pretty straight forward in the sense I had to make the Fall '13 banner for USD. I think it's one of my best graphics to date . . . though I'm well aware the leg (one to the right, and model's left). Oh, and a big happy birthday to four years as Stardoll's biggest blog for all things Stardoll-related!

DESTINATION STARDOLL, my and Mia's (SuperMiaStar) latest project. It's filled with modeling and all that stuff. If you're interested in competing in Stardoll's biggest modeling competition yet, click { h e r e }. Hope to see you there.

Any comments on the graphics, leave it in the comments, xo

Wild Doll Chase

If anyone remembers those umpteen years ago (ok, ok, it was two years . . . ) that I created a modeling competition, that ended in going absolutely nowhere?

Yep, all hail Destination Stardoll . . .

But, why would you make a banner for a project-no-more?
Well, my friends, that's what I'd like to talk to you about . . .

It's back! With a little talk with my good friend, SuperMiaStar, we decided it'd be fun to make a stardoll modeling competition of our own - as we're both actively participating in RNTM. When searching for names, we didn't just want to go with the generic "Stardoll's Next Top Model," so I thought back to my abandoned project, and that's how Destination Stardoll was resurrected.

So, if you're interested in becoming a model (or judge), then simply click { h e r e }.

And on an off-note topic, what are your opinions on the banner? I personally think it's one of my best graphics - even I had to stop and stare at (especially) the eyes and lips. My only complaint is that I'm not a huge fan of the ear, but in the reference, it was rather blurred out, so I worked with what I could. I don't think I did too bad, though.

Comment and react, please, xo

Eye See You

Just a little spoiler for your lens to fixate upon . . .
The entire image will be revealed on Wednesday; any guesses for what it's for?

I just HAD to!!

This is for your, my dear Lindsey!! 

Trololololol!!! :D

Isn't she just sexy? And she really seems to LOVE chocolate cake!

xoxo Rafael

A Sad Serenade

Let's bid adios to the only graphic I've made for HAUTE so far (yeah, I know, such a procrastinator, and with only a month to finish the remaining graphics lined up in queue) as it is that ever so notorious reject.

 Model is Elle (rockinellee)..
I hate this one so much,  or at least from the sweater down. And the background sucks too. Not sure why I originally saw the appeal in it...
And why the hell did I not just make the image small, so you don't have to laugh at its hideousness.
Possibly the only thing I'm not hiding in shame of is the hair - I'm rather fond of it, tbh.
Also, you will probably notice the lighter skin shading - I almost feel as if this was too light. I've been practicing, though, so I guess that's all that matters.
The worst part of the graphic is those awful shoes; I'm cringing, literally.

Though, hopefully this will give you a semi-idea of what the theme of the Fall '13 issue of HAUTE will be...
And, just to let you guys in on a little secret, this was the original idea for the Spring '13 issue (which, was of course, never released)... but you didn't hear this from me, m'kay? ;)

The Finale

I have this really odd pronunciation of 'finale' stuck in my head - just thought you should know ;)

Anyhow, I finally finished the final task for RNTM yesterday, and had yet to post it over here at TGV. Thought it was about time, eh?

As you may or may of not seen from my post a few days ago, I hinted you guys with a little spoiler of sorts. Well, now that spoiler has been transformed into a full blown graphic.

That said, I was trying out a new technique since I've gotten quite a few complains regarding my heavy shading technique, and decided to give that a face lift. Though the following seems nothing like my (now) elder technique, I actually quite like the simplicity of the lesser opacity. As they say, less is better.

Well, we'll just have to put that saying to the test...:

 (click image to enlarge)

This has got to be one of my favorite graphics of all time. The skin shading - in my eyes - is near flawless (though I'm sure some of you would beg to differ). And I absolutely adore the dress - even though it's of particularly harsher shading... Couldn't part with that aspect, I must confess.

Anyhow, the task was basically to have your medoll an alien inspired by Katy Perry's E.T., and I wanted to do a mixture of all of her looks in the music video, and above is what I came up with. I love, love, love the background, it's so light and elegant and yet mysterious which makes it all the better. I did make the background (a little help on Deviantart's part, though), and quite happy with the results.

And yeah, I had to redo the upper body twice since the file corrupted the first time about... and four hours were basically for nothing. Just thought I'd vent out, right there :P

But, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new skin shading technique!

Honestly, I'm not a huge, huge fan of this piece, but it's still decent, none the less. The task was to create a Legend of Zelda's Light Spirits-esque (which I've never, if not, once, played) outfit, as will be featured on the RNTM runway. I know Rafi will do my design justice! ;)

I do love the overall flow of the dress, and it seems to maintain the realistic factor that I most certainly incorporate to each and every one of my graphics.


So, that's it for today! Comments, critique? Desperate need to hate on me? Don't hesitate to write up a comment in the you-know-what section. A reaction would be nice, too.

And before I go, I was weighing the possibility of creating another graphic tutorial - which I haven't done in well over a year. That, and my hair tutorial video just reached the 5.000 viewer mark (woohoo! lol, perverted remark on the sims 3 part...  ;D BTW, Anyone else play? We should talk about it some time haha) and I wanted to celebrate the milestone. So, do you have any suggestions on what I should make it about? I could do another hair tutorial, but I've already done one, and my current hair technique isn't too far off from the current one - maybe modified a bit - and I'd like to show you guys other things I can guide you with! That, or if you were just curious on how I did one thing or another. I may even do a background tutorial playing with some PS brushes, since that's fun... yeah...

... lol.

The Graphic Fault

Don't know where that idea came about, but I thought it was kinda clever... lol.
Anyhow, I've been quite busy this week - started a new school, moved to a new house, and had to finish a few graphics for miscellaneous projects. While I'm still no where near done in the graphics department, I somehow found time to make a promo for my ongoing series, A Forbidden Love.

I'm pretty happy with the results - and yes, it does include some elder graphics of mine (too lazy to make new ones... lol) so that's why I thought I'd post it here.

Without further ado:

A Change in Technique

A few snippets of the current graphic I'm working on. I took your guys advice and updated my skin shading technique; first being the base I use for shadowing is using a few shades darker than beige, and lowered the opacity. I know I get a bunch of comments saying my shading is always too dark, so I tried doing something more in between what I like and personally cringe at. For lack of better words, I'm actually really happy with the results so far (and more or less surprised!) - it's not too harsh, yet the definition is still there.

Hopefully you'll see the final products within a few days.

Please let me know what you think :)
And oh! I've been absent on stardoll for a few days, anyone miss me? lol 
also, I know I should go, but did anyone watch Tuesday's PLL? I seriously need to vent out with someone about A... omg *dies*

Stay Strong

A motivational piece.

You Can't Spell Unique without U and I

Ok, so I have this random commercial for Homegoods (I think that's what it's called) - a furniture-esque store in the US - and just had to make their latest "slogan" of sorts the title of this post... yeah.

So I haven't made graphics for a while now, and I'm honestly not sure when I'm going to start picking back up on them. That said, I suppose you guys deserve an explanation (not that you'd care, anyways).

Over these past few days I've been crammed with non-stop packing sessions (I'm moving, again...). Fortunately, our next destination only happens to be fifteen minutes away (filled with an ocean view, heeyyy! lol), so nothing too major. Of course, there's going to be another move in about January, but the complication of the story is just... well... complicated.

On top of a realm of putting items next to the amount of nothing into cardboard boxes, I'm starting a new school next Monday, so with that, I'll have a lot less free time on my hands for graphics. And to be fair, I haven't really felt like making graphics all that much, either.

And just to annoy you, I just wanted to share I've been jam packed with catching up on an old show (anyone watched 24? Like seriously, it's so... amazing - for lack of better words). The action is so suspenseful, I can't describe the obsession. All I can tell you is once an episode finishes, you're on your feet, begging for more. That's how unbelievably addicting it is to me. Of course, if you don't exactly appreciate random terrorists dying every few seconds, then the show obviously isn't for you. Uh, yeah, I sorta feel sadistic, but what can I say? The plot is so deep... its just... ugh. Ok, if I keep up this random rant of sorts up, we'll be here until New Years...

Anyhow, lets just get to what I worked on last, and forgot to show you...

So I was tasked with making four different graphics for Rafael's Next Top Model. Which, in case, is the current modeling competition I've caught myself amongst. I finally feel like I stepped up my game (except for the last creepy graphic I showed you), and actually made stuff that I don't feel like puking up all over.

The first two were for a hair commercial I had to create, in which mine is for a faux hair product that my magazine HAUTE now "sells" ... I honestly don't have any complaints about them.

The third in the batch was a nude photoshoot I had to create. My theory was to create something that wasn't too revealing, yet didn't completely fail in the department of nudity. So, in the spirit of that, I did an inbetween. I don't think I did too much of a fail (maybe the skin could've been better, but whatever). I even made a side view, which if you've seen previous attempts (exhibit A / exhibit B) of mine, you'd know the result is equivalant of a polar bear being discovered in the Sahara. Uh, yeah, that painted an odd picture in my head... I also made my own background, which, if I say so myself, I'm fairly fond of.

And lastly, a piece of revolting leftovers. At first I'm like "yay, this is incredible" but now I really would prefer being one of those unlucky terrorists in 24 to die in a quite unfortunate way... and please do note the sarcasm.

Can't say too much more, so enjoy my graphics. See you soon.

A Hairy Situation

Excuse the extremely lame title...

Anyhow, I've been working away with graphic requests and the likes. The following is something I've just finished, however, you won't be able to see it until possibly later this week. I promise, though, it's worth the wait.

I love the hair, which is the main feature of the graphic. At first I wasn't sure, but the further I worked on it, the more I fell for the overall product. I suppose that's a good thing, considering the hair took at least four hours to make. *Wipes brow*

Comments or critique? Comment please!

Taking a Ride Back in Time

First up in line for a graphic request was Kasey (Martusia_144)! I was more than pleased to make her something as she's one of my close friends on stardoll ;)

(click image to enlarge)

I really like how this came out, to be honest. In previous attempts, I've just used a brush for fur, but this time I tried to draw it. I don't think it came out as too much of a fail, but it kind of reminds me of my hair from late 2012... and I definitely think that was a major setback in the improvement department... I love the hair, and I'm really happy with the idea to add a feather to the headband. This is supposed to be a flapper-esque graphic, fyi.

I do realize that the hand is really small, but there is a good reason for that...

Interestingly, Kasey assigned me to a drawn reference picture. I was really uncertain of how I would take a hand drawn image and transform it into a graphic. I think it came out much better than I'd originally thought, and I'm happy I stuck to it. Now onto the reason the hand is small...: In the drawing, the model's hand was extraordinarily small in comparison to the remaining image, thus I wasn't sure exactly how to make it bigger without making Kasey look like she had a walrus attached to her arm. *chuckles*

Anyhow, please comment and rate the graphic! And please don't forget to check out my last post, as your blogger account may be at risk...

Adios! (and that's practice for when I start taking Spanish this year... lol)

One Down, Who-Knows-How-Many-More to Go

Here's a sneak peek to an up and coming graphic I've been working on:

I really love how the hair turned out, so I can't wait to show you guys the rest. Oh, and sorry for the small image, I didn't want it to come out blurry, so what you see is what you get.

Graphic Overhaul!

Has anyone checked out the surprise of TTT FW? That surprise happens to be the summer '13 issue of HAUTE! If you haven't already read it yet, view it here.

On another note, here are a few of the graphics from the magazine, those of which are my favorite, and I really wanted to share them:

Which pages from HAUTE are your favorite? Comment below!

A Last Minute Thing

So I've neglected photoshop for like... the past month.

If you aren't already aware, I'm a contestant for Rafael's Next Top Model. With that, I decided to pick up where I last started and do the task five using graphics again (why is this coming out so awkward and weird to write, fyi?)

Without the big spiel, here's what I came up with:

Small? Yes, I know.

The task we were struck upon was creating a Japanese line with an outfit of choice. I decided to go for the more modern - yet maintaining elder aspects of the culture - approach. I'm fairly pleased with the results. I'm fully aware that this could be better, but I was in a rush when finishing it up.

Anyways, grace me with your words of pity. I'm wearing ear plugs... lol

Uh-Huh

 The following are graphics I made for the third task of Rafael's Next Top Model:

I honestly really like the second graphic (the headshot one), much better than the other, however I have a paticular fetish for the hair - It's most definitely one of my better ones. Speaking of which, I though I should mention that most always I do not use a reference picture for hair, including the hair above. Aside from my random babbling, I'm crossing my fingers that these graphics help me make it to the next round.

And if you're going to point it out, I was sort of inspired by Luisa's SNTGD entry for the final task (see it here), and wanted to try and make my own version of the face shadowing. Hopefully that's alright - I never did ask her if I could use the technique...

Anyhow, what's your comments on the graphics? Please, please, please (!!!) comment, I've noticed the amount of comments a single post here has been getting is much less than normal. We need to rise the number of comments again!

Like mentioned about five hundred times in the above paragraph, please comment. Vote, rate, or anything else while you're at it, too.

Thanks. *And...Publish*

A Third Year

Seen as today LoveGossip4life has reached three years on stardoll (still not sure if I should be happy about that yet...), I've thrown you guys another spoiler of a different graphic I'm working on:

Its zoomed in 400%, if you're going to complain about the pixel-y-ness. I actually think I like this one so far - as you may or not be able to tell, I've altered my face shading a bit (most prominent in the eye and nose). This is my medoll for anyone who's wondering, fyi.

I've only done the face, so no hair or body has been added yet. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it soon. Wish me luck on that *laughs*

Comment, critique, or whatever floats your boat.

Painting is Worth a Thousand Words in Itself

A pretty big sneak of a new graphic I'm working on. You'll figure what it's for in a few days. I'm pretty sure I like the whole results (which of course you can't see quite yet...oh I'm so mean). As you can tell I really enjoy posting snippets of graphics I've completed - don't ask why, though.

And before I go, I haven't yet posted this from my second entry of RNTM:

I hate it, so...My graphics are deteriorating *cries*
Feel free to give it about a thousand thumbs down.

A Spoiler Gone Unspoiled

A quick-ish graphic I made for the upcoming "The Media Awards" at boutiquestardoll.blogspot.com. At the time of creation, I really hated the dress, but the more I look at it, the more I love it. If you can tell, I've added the train of another dress I've recently created. Can you guess?

I really like the skin shading, the collarbone could have been executed better, but its not too bad I suppose.

For some reason the face is really choppy and pixely, not sure how that happened. The original didn't look like that. Oh well.

Comment, critique, rate.