The King and Queen of the Dead

For the past few weeks, I have poured more time and effort than ever before into an event mask. I had a rough idea what I was in for, but even planning ahead and allowing extra time ended with me finishing them a mere four hours before the masquerade began. For the past week I literally woke up, worked on this, (grabbed a snack), and fell asleep.

I had a vision of not only a skull mask, but an entire skull.. and not just a skull but the neck as well. I wanted its beautifully asymmetrical and jagged vertebrae raw and exposed for all to see. This did mean tackling invisiprims, which are a kludgey, glitchy, and sometimes hideous thing to deal with. People tolerate them on their shoes, but would they tolerate them in a more visible spot, like the face? I'd have to make it worth their time.

I've been learning both new sculpting techniques but most especially texturing, which has allowed me to delicately paint and utilize sources in new ways, which allows me a whole new level of realism. I didn't want a perfectly photosourced look (I don't think it works too well in SL), but I adore the detail it brings to my already smooth and stylized textures.
The differences between the male and female masks might not be immediately evident, it's mostly in the collar, the jaw, and the shape of the invisiprims. I wouldn't suggest trading genders in the case of these; the shapes are quite specifically formed to the respective meshes.

Amusingly, you can wear hair with these, which can sometimes work out wonderfully and sometimes disastrously. I suggest you experiment with different styles, if at all, because obviously it works well on its own.

Another option you can try it with is just with the neck piece, which I've been quite enjoying. Sometimes you want a touch of the macabre, but don't want to hide that gorgeous face you spent so long tweaking and finding the perfect skin for.

If these go well I might consider doing other skeletal pieces like hands or an arm. The issue here is where are people willing to tolerate invisiprims? They're not the best solution, but they're currently the only ones.

I'm also so exhausted from this month I think I'm going to go crawl in a hole for a little while.