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TJD Skins

Amyana Jewell
Registered User
Join date: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 19
09-13-2007 19:15
I'm just wondering what people think of our Eve skin. (It is interesting how many "Eve" skins there are out there! We must all like that name lol)

I'm attaching a censored picture. It's the light version of the Eve skin tone. We currently have a pale and a dark version available as well. If you need demos to make better suggestions, they are free in our store, Twilight Jewell Designs, on the second floor. Any tips/suggestions/comments you can offer, would be great. Thankies!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20FirstLand/191/229/23/
Chosen Few
Alpha Channel Slave
Join date: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 7,496
09-14-2007 00:38
I'll take your word for it that this is a genuine request for a critique and not just an excuse to advertise your product on this forum. :)

From what's shown in the picture, I'd say the skin shows promise, but there are several areas you'll probably want to improve before calling it finished. I hope you'll take the following constructive criticism for what it is, and put the feedback to good use. Please understand that while some of the comments will be directed at flaws, none of them are meant to be insulting in any way.

These are in no particular order:

1. The breasts have dark rings around them. Those have got to go. Their presence makes the breasts look like they're not really part of the body, almost as if they came from a different body and were glued onto this one.

2. The collar bones are way too high. On a real person, the collar bones frame the upper chest, running from the crest of the shoulders to the top of the sternum. This person though has her collar bones up in her throat, giving the appearance that she's being choked by them.

3. Partly stemming from the collar bone issue, and partly due to strange highlighting on the chest, the weight of the breasts seems to be pulling on the the throat instead of pulling on the shoulders like it's supposed to.

4. She seems almost to have two sternums, side by side, instead of one in the center of her chest.

5. The shoulder blades are well shaped, but the color of the shading that defines them really doesn't match the color of the skin. It's got a reddish tint to it, which suggests improper use of the burn tool. To avoid that kind of reddening, either burn onto an overlay layer instead of on the actual skin, or else set the tool to burn midtones instead of shadows. Either way, keep the exposure very low and use a very soft brush. You want to gradually build up the shadows over dozens, or even hundreds, of brush strokes, not draw them as lines.

6. There's some conspicuous inconsistency in skin tone. While the lighting around the navel area looks pretty good, the same cannot be said for the breasts, chest, and shoulder blades. If you examine the navel area, the highlights there appear to blend into the surrounding skin tone very naturally. There's an apparent translucency and shine to the skin there, which is great. The other areas look extremely unreal by comparison. Do what you did for the navel in those other areas and you'll have a winner.

7. The pit of the stomach looks a little weird. You've got what could be the beginnings of a nice shadow under the rib cage, but it doesn't work in its present state for two reasons. First, you've got a strange butterfly-shaped highlight right underneath it, which doesn't seem to make any sense being there. Second, the shadow should gently trace the shape of the lower ribs, from the center almost all the way out to the sides, but you've got it only in the center. As such, it makes her look like her stomach has been pushed in somehow.


That's what I see off hand. I hope it's helpful for you.
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Cat Fratica
Miaow...
Join date: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 153
As Chosen said... plus
09-14-2007 11:00
Can't really add anything to the exhaustive critique by Chosen - the hollow down the centre of the trunk looked particularly odd to my eyes - but I could never judge a skin without seeing the nipples and crutch anyway.

If you are looking for a serious critique why on earth would you hide parts of it? Is anyone going to be offended by seeing these 'bits'? Really?

It's funny isn't it, when you see the old photos of bathers in costumes that hid as much as their everyday clothes did, then there were one piece swimming costumes that showed bare arms and legs, then daring bikinis, thongs, micro thongs... now it OK as long as the nipple, areolae and vaginal lips are covered. In some places, just the actual vaginal crease/slit are all that need be covered? Obviously nudist beaches too...

As for censoring pictorial representations of the human form!?!? OMG

Cat

PS - Something that REALLY made me laugh out loud was seeing film of that fake Roswell alien on American TV. This PRETEND, ALIEN body with NO sexual organs of any kind (I have seen the original, first generation video) had it's groinal area pixelated!!!! I kid you not! Does American TV do that if they show a naked Barbie doll - or would such a thing never happen anyway? ;) When I am on a beach in the Mediterranean I don't wear a top - it's normal, some people look but only as much as people look at a pretty girl/fit bloke anyway... it's no big deal :) Even the small boys and first time abroad holidaymakers get over it pretty quickly!
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Chosen Few
Alpha Channel Slave
Join date: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 7,496
09-14-2007 11:18
From: Cat Fratica
PS - What REALLY made me laugh out loud was seeing film of that fake Roswell alien on American TV. This PRETEND, ALIEN body with NO sexual organs of any kind (I have seen the original, first generation film) had it's groinal area pixelated!!!! I kid you not! Does American TV do that if they show a naked Barbie doll - or would such a thing never happen anyway? ;)

Hahaha. Right on, Cat. That weirded me out too.

What's that you say though? The alien autopsy was fake? Come on, the show was hosted by Commander Riker. It had to be real. I WANT TO BELIEVE! :D

Anyway, silly as it might seem to you and me, the forums are supposed to be PG. So Amyana did right to cover the "bits". Rules are rules.

Personally, I'm with you though. As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever understand why anyone might be offended by cartoon nudity, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. If it were up to me, I'd say let them close their eyes if they can't handle it, but unfortunately I haven't been elected king of Earth yet. For the time being we all have to keep on respecting these kinds of fears and sensitivities, even if they seem silly to us. (And that's before we even get into how ridiculous it is that real nudity is "obscene" but somehow violence is "good family entertainment", but that's a topic for a different forum.)

Remember, we're living in a time when our dictators - I mean "elected officials" - won't even stand in front of the statue of justice to give speeches on TV unless her breasts are covered. Yeah...


Anyway, end of rant. Back to your regularly scheduled texturing discussion.
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Amyana Jewell
Registered User
Join date: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 19
09-14-2007 15:19
Yes, I really do honestly want constructive critism. I did censor it because I remembered reading that it was a PG forum, and I'm a bit of a goody-goody and never seem to break the rules lol.

I love her belly button lol. The rest of it.... I wasn't able to put my finger on certain things before, I really appreciate your comments, I totally see what you meant, especially about the breasts. It was meant to be a tan, but I definately see where I made it too dark. I'll play some more with photoshop to see if I can fix some of these things hehe. If it's alright with everyone, I'll post my progress for comments.

Back to work! Thank you so much!
Amyana Jewell
Registered User
Join date: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 19
Updated
09-18-2007 19:48
I changed the skin a bit here and there.... here are new pictures, I didn't spend very much time taking the pictures lol, so they aren't posed well and what-not, but I wanted to see if it was better!