Aura gets a new face up and I really need to work on naming.

Let me start by saying I did nothing from my previous to-do post.

Sometimes when life gets into the sub-optimal range, I focus more intently on my 'productive hobbies' as I'll call them. Things like drawing, writing, sewing, customizing bjds, etc. Creative endeavors with lasting results.

Sometimes I dive into fluff hobbies, like MMORPGs or regular RPGs or other games.

And then sometimes I just do nothing even remotely worth talking about for ages on end.

That last one has been me for the better part of the last few months.

The seemingly neverending hunt for a job that is both long-term and pays well keeps me semi-permanently in this annoying mental state where it feels like something is just ever-so-slightly off. Even when things are going well, I can't quite feel settled.

There are lots of things I feel like I should be doing that it just feels so impossible to actually get around to. We're getting to the part where this is relevant to this blog. Bear with me. Or skip ahead. I'll start the relevant stuff with a picture.

Actually, I'll save the other stuff for my personal blog. Let's move along.

After the stuff that didn't get mentioned happened, I decided to shut down my computer for a while and do something productive because it's just way too hot in my room and I thought some time away from the computer would cool things down.

I decided to start by giving Aura a new face up. After drawing a picture of him (or starting to) that I was relatively happy with, I felt like his face up was just a little too subtle. It made him look a bit washed out. I usually avoid redoing anyone with facial mods because color-matching can be a pain and sometimes the paint doesn't dry evenly and I have to start over a zillion times. Fun stuff like that.

But I decided to do it anyway.

I mixed up a color that was just completely wrong at first. It looked purpley and weird. So I started mixing another color and this one came out too yellow. And then another came out way too dark. And so finally I decided to throw down some vague contours with the too-dark color and then do a very transparent layer of light pink over it. A questionable choice for resin-matching but I think it makes him look much more 'alive'.

Anyway did the regular stuff from there. Very out of practice so there were a few places where I went in the wrong direction color-wise, but I was being very subtle with my starting shades while I got back in the swing of things, so it was nothing I couldn't cover up or tone down with a different color.

He now does not match his body at all. But he never really did anyway. Luckily the only part of his body that shows is his hands. Well, feet too but only until I get him proper shoes or make some.

I photoshopped his eyes so they would be visible and then decided "what the heck? I'll just make them glowy too." I had some nice natural lighting and the stupid preview pics on the camera made everything look good and then I get them on the computer and the whole thing is bright orange and ridiculous. And color correcting is murder on eyes that are already barely visible anyway.

This picture gives a vague idea of how his face has changed. Tragically my camera was not cooperating well enough for details so yay grainy mess.

I also made pants for another one of my dudes. Who needs a name. I feel like I have something on the tip of my ... brain(?) but it just won't quite get out there. Sometimes I think I just like creating new characters more than I like fleshing them out...

Conveniently, none of the pictures showing his pants came out! But it's all just black, black, and more black anyway. So you aren't missing much. But I'm happier now. Because before he was wearing the rest of this ensemble with no pants. And it looked completely ridiculous.

I should really go through and sell more things. But I might wait until this WoW kick settles itself out. I'm not even playing the game or anything but all I want to do lately is work on characters from it. Don't want to sell off everything not WoW-related and regret it horribly later.