This is a bit different post for me, I reviewed two products that I am pretty crazy about!
First is LumiPro which I have been using now for a few months. There is a new update coming out that uses the idea of professional photography (and stage) lighting in the form of preset 'gel colors'. It is currently in Beta but will be released very soon! I was impressed with LumiPro from the start but this ads some fun and very useful functionality.
I won't go into a full demo, but just some pics I took that show results of using and not using this great photography tool. To see a more complete demonstration 1 or demonstration 2 of LumiPro's capabilities please go to the website. It is available in world and on the marketplace. (I am a big believer of buying in world.. help creators keep their profits ;) instead of LL hehehe!)
Here is a sampling of pictures at different standard sl settings. As you can see the 9pm setting is dark without added lighting, and shadows are gone. At noon there are shadows but it is very flat, as it is for Nam's skin and prims without any added lighting (this is the one I have used for ads for ages!), shadows are very minimal.
So here is a set of pics taken at 9 pm slt, using both the projector and lights. The projector is a spot light that can have filters or 'go betweens' which are generally shapes. I happen to be in love with the tree pattern (though for this demo i wish i had chosen a few others. I then used a series of gel colors in blues and lilacs to pick up the colors of the skirt and top as well as my store in the background. I toned down the amount of light so as not to overpower or wash out the skin. LumiPro has such precise controls for lighting individual lights (I used a setting that has 3 lights as seen in the first photo). You can change the color of each light, the fall off, intensity (my fav), radius, and size. The same pretty much goes for the projector as well. Every element can be moved, adjusted and then saved into settings.
LumiPro supports multiple avatars as well. Includes poses allowing you to pose other avatars/models anywhere within second life! Not only are the lights wearable but so is the projector! That for me was a big plus. Although I use it primarily for making ads, this opens up new possibilities!
Ok, so I had to add this in... my friend Freya and I were dancing in a garden area on a sim that was totally dark. I gave her the lights from my LumiPro Hud, put on my own set of lights and a projector... we had our own spotlight and special place to dance away from the crowd!
iBoobs!!! Goes Meshie!!
Yes!! Really! Vanessa Langstrumpf of iBoobs has recently released a new Mesh iBoobs! All but the dancing photo above feature the NEW iBoobs Mesh Natural implants. Vanessa was incredibly smart offering us a full voluptuous alternative to other mesh implants. And even smarter for making them Lolas Tango compatible! I tried them out with some of my newer implant items and was happy that most did not require any adjusting. The Tiny Bandeau top (featured below) with Maxi Skirt was an exception so I made a applier just for iBoobs ;). I think the difference was that the clothing layer needed to line up with the clothing layer not only on the top of the breast but on the bottom as well.
Other advantages?
Better seam matching with skins, I use a Tango compatible skin from Spanked Skins, the Tango applier worked perfectly for the iBoobs too!
Nipples in 2 sizes, or chose none (which goes to the skin nipples which I prefer with the Spanked skin). The poly count around the area of the skin nipples is very good. I don't see the stretched out look. Then again, I am only looking at one skin maker ;).
Extras! Vanessa built in a lot of fun extras, such as flashing! Ok, I admit I have had fun flashing friends in places that I probably shouldn't have ;-P. You know who you are! LOL. There is also a milk option with several settings. You can allow or disallow others from having access to your implants.
The price :) only 999L$ and there are demos too ;)
Disadvantages?
As these are new, there may not be a lot of support... however.. there are a ton of designers now supporting Tangos, and that goes a long way! You may have to make adjustments to the implant clothing layer for a perfect fit, but those of us that have been around for a while are not new to that. And these adjustments are small from what I have seen!
At REALLY big sizes you still get an alpha at the sides, but FAR less than the Tangos, Lush and B-Busty implants. Since the size starts so much larger than other mesh implants I think most will be very happy with this new shape!
What I am wearing:
Clothing:
Gatherings Tiny Bandeau and Maxi Skirt- Lilac Watercolor (currently exclusive at
Bewbapalooza) for a very special price ;)
Skin: Spanked Lighter skin with appliers for Tango (used for iBoobs mesh implants) and tons of other implants!
Implants:
iBoobs Mesh Natural Implants
Hair/Ears: Magika Neko Ears & Tendency
