A little while back I was "tagged" in a meme by a few friends and a few fans (hi Guenevere!) which was deadly contagious, and cast a plague across the Fashion Planet feed. Everyone was doing it, and tagging other people to do it, and it was fun to be remembered and mentioned for it, but I declined, as it was to post "8 random facts about you". Normally I like to keep this blog solely for my actions in Second Life and the things that I create, because I have some delusions (illusions?) of professionalism. Then I realized I was taking it waaaaay too seriously, and then got talked into sharing some of the more fun, interesting facts of my RL :)~

So here goes, the much tagged Plague Meme of Nov. '07, 'cause I can:

1. I was voted "Most Unique" at my highschool, and wore nothing but black every single day from 5th Grade to 12th. I've had black and purple in my wardrobe ever since I was four and a half years old.

2. I absolutely adore beautiful, artistic tattoos and I see them as a way of celebrating your body and decorating it. However, I don't think I could ever get one, not because I'm afraid of needles or pain but because I don't think I could ever live with one design all my life without getting sick of it. So doing henna on myself and my friends is a great alternative!

3. I've been in a relationship with my fiance for almost a third of my life, we're getting married as soon as we have enough money for an appropriately gaudy ceremony.

4. My avatar and I are both very pale. In real life, I absolutely adore my incredibly fair, alabaster skin. In the summer I have to go out with an umbrella or a very wide brimmed hat, and I completely cover my body with a coat or shawl and long sleeves to avoid burning. Also like my avatar I'm tall, but not so tall as to be able to say I'm really tall. I'm a giant among midgets but a midget among models.

5. I have never once worn shorts higher than midcalf out in public since I reached puberty.

6. I've never smoked, gotten drunk, done drugs of any sort, broken any bones, had any stitches, stayed in a hospital or had a prescription medication for more than a month. I still plan on getting drunk one of these days, but I take very meticulous care of my body (even though I should work out more, such is the curse of SL!)

7. I have many extremely geeky Fandoms. To name some of my most extreme ones, I adore Firefly, Peter Jackson's LotR, Pirates of the Carribean, Heroes, and my guiltiest pleasure is America's Next Top Model. I do watch a lot of TV and movies, since my fiance likes constant background noise and I've gotten used to it too as I work. I consider myself extremely culturally geeky, I can recite Holy Grail really well and have you rotflol.

8. I was a professional clown for a good percentage of my life, and would march in the 4th of July parade with my mother and brother and anyone else we could recruit. I was also known to do face painting and balloon animals. (My specialties were giraffes, poodles, and coiling snakes, no joke).

So THERE. Obviously I'm not tagging anyone back, and I hope this didn't give you Vietnam style flashbacks.

I'm still taking downtime, and letting my creative juices replenish. Already I've been coming on more recently and doing some casual work, as well as doing some sketches for new designs. Not sure if I'm going to do anything special for SLXmas, if I do it won't be on the day itself. Happy solstice though!

The Illusions FAQ!

Thanks for taking the time to read through this, hopefully I will have your answer here. If not, feel free to IM me

Do you take commissions?

I'm open to them, but I have limited time right now. I charge a "real world" rate of $25USD an hour, but if the item fits with my brand and I feel I can sell it in my store I'm negotiable on that.  I am always open to suggestions or to new ideas for my next item. I'm willing to do modifications, such as removing or swapping details or doing re-textures. Simple color adjustments or outfit matching are offered free of charge, all you need do is ask.

I'd like to blog/publish/represent your items! What's your policy?

In general I prefer that you purchase my items. I might be willing to provide promotional copies at my discretion, if I feel your aesthetic and exposure are a good fit, but I'll probably approach you. 

Are you interested in renting a store at my sim/land?

No, I'm afraid not. Unless your land has a specific theme that my items perfectly fit, please don't send me any invitations. I currently only have satellite stores at locations that have given me that space for free. 

Would you like to be a part of this shopping event?

 I would love to say yes to every fantasy or historical event on SL but I'm afraid my time is just too limited right now.  It feels sometimes I can barely keep up with the few events that I do, but thanks for thinking of me.


I'm interested in getting into 3D modeling for SL. What do you use to model?

I use a blend of Zbrush and Blender.  My workflow usually consists of doing the base mesh and UV's in Blender, and then taking it into Zbrush for refinement and detail.  Different programs have different vibes though, and some might be easier for you to learn than others. Take a look at the SL Wiki's page on 3d rendering programs for a list.

I love a mask that a character wears in ____. Could you make it for me?

No. I won't recreate anyone's intellectual property without their express permission, and that includes costume designers and concept artists. I prefer to make my own items or be inspired by the concept. 

The item I'm interested in is shown being worn by a member of the opposite sex. Will it fit my avatar?

For almost all items, the answer is yes. There are a select few that were made and fitted for a specific gendered avatar, and they will be labeled as "male", "female", or with an "X" in the unisex box. However, all of my items are moddable, so there's nothing stopping you from giving it a try.

I felt like foodling a bit and changed the header! Didja notice? Ain't it perdy?

I've been popping on a bit more, recently, the new Muse sim owned by the luscious Caliah Lyon opened and I got my butt over there since I remembered that, oh wait, she was going to give me a spot, and wouldn't it be nice if I was actually there. So I set up shop there. I've actually been opening a bunch of new stores... ok, three, but that's a bunch to me. I now have store locations at Muse, Le Zoo, and Glamworld.

I was thinking of doing something a bit fun with my location at Le Zoo, inspired by the hyperactive Ms Haver Cole, who was beyond jumping up and down happy to find out I have so many creature masks in my inventory. I don't actually have most of them out, since almost all of them were special commissions from Vanessa (whom I miss like Disco Stu misses the 70's), and they really don't sell very well. But, what the hell, people who are at Le Zoo surely must love animals, so I figure I'll take some snappies of the better masks, box em up and put them out as Le Zoo exclusives. Just a preview for the future :)

I've also come to a sad realization that I'm going to stop accepting commissions. It seems like everyone does that at some point, when a creator just realizes that with the time they have, they'd rather be making something they truly love that comes from their own brain. I reached that point a while ago, but didn't actually want to officially announce it, since some people give me some seriously awesome ideas in the forms of commissions. The coque feather coat was a random idea thrown at me, and today someone suggested an executioner's cowl. I realized recently that what I really wanted wasn't commissions, it was suggestions, so that I could pick and choose and morph them as I pleased. I hope you guys don't get too sad by this news, if you had hopes of a custom made mask, since I still will definitely be taking suggestions and as always I'll do small alterations and especially different colors on request.

There do come times where I realize that I'm on Second Life a very large percentage of my life, and that I have some weekends to catch up on! So I've been avoiding SL, answering IM's through email and in general taking a bit to clean up the apartment, do some dishes, fill the pantry and decorate for Christmas. Aaaaah the pause that refreshes. I've also been recharging the Siyumachine and taking some time for myself, so that there will/can be some new releases right before the 25th. I've also been toying with a holiday party, but currently my RL plans are too fluid to be able to solidly set a date! Would a New Years Eve party on the 29th or something be too early? Or too late for a holiday party? Oh why am I asking, I know you guys probably just want a party XD Whatever I do throw I hope will be a bit more informal, just festive and full of egg nog.

Leave a comment if you have an opinion about the party idea thinger :)

EFA Design Awards Submission!

There's currently a contest being done by the Ewing Fashion Agency and Onrez.com for us designers! And I was considering not submitting something, since I've been busy IRL, but I found myself inspired the other day and decided to make a hat for the Coque Feather Coat!



It's available in the main store, but since the judgment of the pieces is sales based and tallied on Onrez, it's a special Onrez.com vendor which didn't allow me to offer my usual option of copy or transfer. Don't worry, on January 15th when the voting period ends, I'll release the hat in my normal vendor with more options for colors to match the colored coats that I'm still working on. Just so you know, currently the hold up is that colors and white don't cover the multitude of "seam sins" that black does, so I have to be even more meticulous. I now know why Nicky Ree never does jacket layers! But anyhoo, if you buy them I get a prize XD

Awards!

Gosh! A while ago I was notified by the lovely Tanya Book that I had been nominated for the "Blogger's Choice Awards". It's new this year, with Second Life fashion bloggers choosing their favorite businesses for a set of categories and then opened voting for the public. I had a surprisingly large bunch of nominations, and I actually won a couple!! I have to admit I was a bit of a shoo-in for "Best Masks", but winning "Best Non-Jewelry Accessories" was a pleasant surprise! Not to mention being the first runner up in sculpted prims... (personally I think Fallingwater Cellardoor of Shiny Things deserved to be first) But anyway, see for yourself the results as they pertain to me... I'm very happy and very proud :)

Best Masks

Win: Illusions – Siyu Suen

Best NonJewelry Prim Accessories

Win: Illusions – Siyu Suen

Best Sculpty Prims

Runner Up: (1st) Illusions – Siyu Suen

Best Hats

Runner Up: (1st) Illusions – Siyu Suen

Best Fashion (Retail) Update Group

Runner Up:

(4th) Illusions – Siyu Suen

Most Congenial

Runner Up: (4th) Illusions – Siyu Suen

Best Texturing

Runner Up: (6th) Illusions – Siyu Suen

I actually laughed when I saw the "best update group", because I've consistently said that my update group absolutely kicked major patootie. Not because of the updates in them, but because of the people of course! The people in my update group almost never spam, always are fun to talk to, and love a good pajama or pirate party. I ♥ you guys, so it's fun to see you get an award through me XD

Goodies under the Tree

I've just released some new holiday freebies, including an adorable christmas kitty plushy! Inside the box you can find three holiday gift boxes for your gift giving purposes, a set of copiable, colorful ornaments, a yummy candy cane, and an even more delicious candy cane mask! This is actually the first ever anniversary of a holiday freebie for me, last Christmas I had a candy cane mask out too, but believe me it wasn't as nice as the one in here XD

Inside the stuffed kitty is another stuffed kitty (they're like matrushka dolls in that way), and that one you can wear and snuggle! It has a built in arm pose, so you can cuddle it ☺

Merry Jingly!

The other day I was finally able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, and so I've decked the Carnivale halls with snow and a Christmas tree and I feel I can finally release some holiday items!

Munchflower (of Nomine) is now making it a routine to IM me after she's completed some skins and say "want to make a matching hat?" which spurs me to make a whole darn set of items. (*coughharlequincough*). Her new skins, titled "Merry Jingly" are all holiday themed, and I picked my two favorites, "Candy Jane" and "Snowflake" to make matching hats and furry coats to. First came the hat:

It's non-flexi, but it is soft, and velvety, and sculpted. I tried to give it some real fullness but also make it look floppy, and I think I've succeeded quite well! I've passed this hat around to some friends, and they've all found ways to integrate it into their outfits. Also, even though I'm not Jewish I've always tried to be politically correct and not pretend they don't exist, so that's why the hat is also available in a soft blue. Plus it matched the coat.

It might be a little obvious that it's somewhat similar to my mid-length Coque Feather Coat, just with fur and no feathers. Well I'm taking baby steps as far as clothing design goes. I had all of the shading and work done for a coat, I just made it velvety and furry! It's fitted for a woman, but I avoided breast shading so that men can wear it as well if they fit the pieces to them. Originally this was only going to have the "Russian/20's diva fur hat", but I decided to include both the fur hat and the merry hat in both of the hat and coat sets.
I feel very much like a sexy Santa when I wear the "Candy Jane" makeup (shown) with this outfit, plus some high sleek black boots. You don't need to necessarily bare all in order to have some holiday allure!

Finally, wearing that outfit, I realized I was missing something. Some holiday jewelry I could wear under that sumptuous and fluffy fur collar:

Holly is a rare berry in that it starts to bear fruit in late November, and normally all through even January. It gives a rare chance for wild animals and birds to have berries after other plants have long dropped theirs. Holly is actually the whole reason the traditional colors of Christmas are red and green, and its vivid rich contrast of colors make it a great decoration in your house or on your avatar. The leaves are rather prickly in real life, so I don't suggest you matching your digital self on that one.

I also feel like mentioning that Christmas was banned where I live from 1659 to 1681, just as a fun piece of trivia :D I'm glad that law didn't stick around!