Update on updates, communities, and cc talk

[strangetomato]

I've been away from the computer for a long weekend (not to be confused with THE long weekend - we didn't have one, but I took some overtime hours). I took a trip to visit my parents, who have dial up, and I didn't have any time to spare on the computer anyway. It's a very busy time for me (I'm getting hitched, don't you know), so I'm going to be seen less and less around these parts until late August.

Strangetown, Here We Come will be taking a definite break during this time, but unless something changes, I plan to start it up again in the fall. I hope to get the second half of chapter 26 out before then, if at all possible. I'm sure that nobody will really care all that much if they don't know what sort of haircut Ripp has until the fall (or even notice the delay, really), but I figure that it would be nicer to clue up the chapter before I take that break.

I'm sad to see that I missed the deadline to participate in the Ben Long makeover at sim_mania, and I really had intended to do that. It's not like I expected to be in the running to win, but it would have been fun to try. I guess I could still post it here in my own journal. Someone did something sort of like what I wanted to do anyway: a bookish Benny, with his very own writing collective (well, their Ben didn't had a writers group, but mine would have). A beer commercial version of Ben would have been funny too, complete with a Don Lothario "dickhead" shirt and frosted tips.

So, moving along to another community... after a month of being completely ignored, my founder submission at pixel_trade  is up for the makeover challenge, so maybe she'll get some play with that. I hope so. I love that community, but so far it has left me feeling the same way I did back in gym class when people were picking people to be on their team, and I'd love to get in on the fun too. *jumps up and down* Pick me! Pick MEEE!

I've also started another cc project: making my own default replacement eyes. It's something that I've been thinking about for a while, to give my story a more individual look. I think it would be great to have my very own hand-drawn eyes. I've also never been 100% satisfied with Lyran's eyes, especially the green, which is a little too olive for my tastes. The eyes will be in a comic/cartoon style, and I've been digging through my collection of comics and graphic novels for ideas. I'm not sure if it will work out, but I'm going to attempt it. 

Here's an early look:




There's still plenty of work to be done (this is really rough), but this seems to be close to the right hue for the green eye. I'm going to experiment with the light flecks some more, and the eye texture, but I'm thinking of keeping them pretty solid like that, just like they're usually drawn in comics. I'll see how that looks. If they're too dead looking, I'll add some extra iris detail.

(Johnny's doing some tai chi there, by the way. It seems like something he'd be really into to me.)

My default replacement PTs are on the shelf for now, since I won't need them for a while, and they are mostly for my own use anyway, unless someone really wants them. There are plenty of other replacement PTs available out there already, so mine are pretty redundant at this point. If you're looking for some PTs in the style of the Maxis pollinator, you should check out this lovely set by pixel_and_bean, made into replacements by simgaroop. She has also made a set for ikichi  (found in the same post) that replaces the black-haired PT (Jayne's pollinator) from the fwiffo set with the Maxis PT, which should be useful for some of you.

Comments

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

Not bad, not bad at all. They're already better than half the crap at MTS2, so I'm sure once you have a finished product, plenty of people will love to try them out. If you need someone else to test run them, just lemme know.

I suppose I can wait til the Fall for Ripp's haircut......(thou I'd really prefer not to, no pressure or anything :P) Yay wedding!! I wonder if it'll be anything like your self sim's wedding with Buzz?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

You really think they look okay? I'm mostly just interested in having something unique, and completely to my tastes. It would also give me an opportunity to make some eyes (or contacts) exactly as I want them, like making an albino eye and a really dark (almost black) iris for Nervous Subject. I'm thinking of getting some type of graphics tablet for my home computer (my SO has one, but he keeps it in his office), so I can actually make use of my drawing skills.

Yeah, if I wait until fall I might lose what little suspense I had built up, huh? :P

I really hope my actual wedding is as fun as my simself's wedding to Buzz. That was awesome. With all the Celebration stuff and all that, I just might sim my wedding after the fact, for a laugh.

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

Simming your own wedding would be pretty fun to do. If anything really interesting or funny happens, be sure throw in those details!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Don't worry. I'd never leave out that sort of detail. ;) Those are the best parts.

I see a number of weddings in the future in my story too (and I'll bet they're more fun to plan than a real wedding, and cheaper too). An obvious one would be Charlotte Worthington's marriage to Malcolm Landgraab. That will be a lot of fun, since it's going to be a grand affair. Then there's Jaxy and Zoe, but I don't see them actually getting married for quite some time. They'd go pretty informal, but they'd have a fun party. Popularity sims just love those wedding parties.

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

As long as your happy with the eyes, that's all that really matters. Nervous with almost black eyes would be pretty darn cool looking. And albino? That would be kinda scary. :P

It would be so freakingn cool to sim you wedding. And for guests, you can just use all the self sims you have! :D I call bridesmaid!!!!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I have very dark brown eyes on Nervous now, but I'd love to see them in a dark, cold steel grey. I like the idea of him having these unsettling eyes that hint at who his father is. The albino clone just has pale blue eyes now, but more accurate albino eyes would be better.

I think it would be fun, and maybe I'll let your simself come to the wedding, if she promises to behave. :P I'd have to install her again, though, since I lost all the simself stuff I was doing with my computer crash, and I haven't really have the energy or the interest to set that up again. Oh well... it was fun while it lasted, and maybe I will do something again with it at some point.

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

I hope you have a wonderful time on your break! :D

But still, as much as I can wait to see Ripp's hair and the rest of chapter 26, all I can say is there's a little voice inside my head that keeps saying "Well, I hope she doesn't forget us".

Ooh, I really like that shade of green you're using for the eyes! It's not as green as the Maxis colors, but not as olive as Lyrans. That's great.

Oh, don't worry about your founder. I've had something planned for her for quite a while. And now since I've gotten together all the founder submissions for July (it was REALLY annoying- see my latest journal entry if you want to know why), I can post the makeover!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) How could I forget about you? I'm really hoping to keep going with the story, but if things ever change and I decide to move on, I'd try to at least clue it up before abandoning it. I have a point in the story where I can see leaving it off (not for a while yet), since it surely has to "end" at some point.

I was trying to find the perfect green (for me). The Maxis green is too blue, and I want something with more yellow tones, but not as olive as Lyran's. It seems like many people agree with me, so maybe my set will be useful for people. I considered keeping it to myself (since it's intended to be a signature thing), but I'm sure I'll end up sharing them, if people are interested. Sim storytelling is not the place to hoard resources, in my mind. I like how it's all about sharing our stories, ideas, and content.

Oh, I'm excited to hear that. It didn't seem like anyone was doing any founding with any of the founders in June, and I was hoping to see Ms. Cloud out there, doing her thing. I can't wait to see her makeover.

I can imagine that getting the founder submission together would be a lot of work. You're great for taking that on. :)

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your wedding! :D

The eyes look really nice, I love that color. :)

I suppose I can live without my fix of Strangetown for another... *twitch* couple of *twitch* months. ;P

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) I can't very well let you go through a complete withdrawal, so I'll see what I can do for you.

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

That shade of green is really nice. I like your reasoning behind it too (aside from the "I don't like what's out there"). Eyes as signature. Nice.

HAPPY WEDDING!!!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm so picky about which hues I like for green. Just a little bit off and it's all wrong. That's starting to look decent, I think, and it works well enough for the alien as well as the normal sims, which is very important.

I like the idea of making cc to personalize the story, but I don't mind sharing the eyes too. I'd feel weird if I didn't offer them for download. That's what simmers are all about, right?

Wooo! Wedding! It should be fun.

[saunasims.livejournal.com]

Woooo wedding! Congratulations! :D
I demand that your husband-to-be makes another neat picture for this community to make up for your absence. *marches around with a giant Ripp cartoon head on, wielding a 'LJ Readers For MOAR Strange_Tomato!' sign.*
And those are some seriously prettilicious eyes. :D My only thought would be to add a border around them in a darker colour, both to make them 'pop' and to enhance that cartoony look. That'd also ensure your light spots get nowhere near the whites.
And wait wait wait hold up now. 'Don Lothario "dickhead" shirt'?? Where can I find that?! I want it!

[simantics.livejournal.com]

I like the eyes! Old Lyran green eyes used to be that color, but then Lyran mysteriously made the green more olive. That was a pain in the ass when I went back to reshoot some old Strangetown stuff, but I just went with it, lol.

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

I thought her green used to be more green! Thanks for confirming that it wasn't just my imagination.

I like the olive green too, just not for defaults.

[amasaglajax.livejournal.com]

I wonder if someone could entice her to put those old green ones back up?

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

Is it the same as her Forest color?

Her site drives me nuts since I can't link to the page with the eye color I mean, but http://www.lyran.net/ts2/ anyway :p

[simantics.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yeah, something like! I wonder if that's it, lol.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your wedding! I can see how busy you must be with such an important event so close, so take your time and enjoy the preparations for the big day. The sims can wait until you are in the mood (and have the time!) for that ^^

Those are nice eyes! I have no idea how to draw eyes, even cartoony ones, so kudos for being able to do that!

I also wanted to participate in the Ben Long challenge (well, I had pirate Ben already :P) but I no longer have Photoshop to edit my pics (and the GIMP gave me a headache). Well, there's always next time!

Oh, you submitted a founder for Pixel Trade too? Sweet, I'll have to look at it ^^.

[nessa-seragon.livejournal.com]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

RL before Sims. *pouts* But on the other hand, we'll have something from you to look foward to!

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee! I hope your wedding will be wonderful! Congratulations! Will it be Las Vegas-style wedding with an Elvis Theme? :P

Ooh, I'm pretty sure the eyes will be great. I'm a big fan of Lyran's eyes as well (especially how expressive they are), but I've had about the same issues with green color, as well.

I've been meaning to do something for pixel_trade. I just keep getting sidetracked with something else. I was definitely planning on using Edie, though, I *love* her.

LOL! I can totally see Johnny doing tai-chi. "Come on, Ripp! It helps build muscle while simultaneously helping your SOUL!"

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

I think those eyes look really nice!

You should totally sim your wedding after it happens! How fun would that be? I'd do mine but it would be SO BORING, lol! We basically only had a ceremony to keep all the old aunts and grandparents happy. We'd have been just as thrilled to run off and elope. :P

Just don't forget us!! :)

[mjo5oh.livejournal.com]

it has left me feeling the same way I did back in gym class when people were picking people to be on their team, and I'd love to get in on the fun too. *jumps up and down* Pick me! Pick MEEE!

I was worried people would feel that way! That's why we try to include people who's sims haven't been used yet in challenges. By the way, I was always picked last for gym class. :( I truly suck at athleticism. If I was a sim, anyone who's turn ons included the soccer ball, they would think of me with red x's.

And getting hitched!! Congrats!! I would really, really love to see photos.... :)

[simsbarbie.livejournal.com]

I hope your wedding day will be a blast and not too stressful in getting things ready for it.

Please get the new chapter out before then, i'm sorry for being selfish about this, but I do love your characters and stories.

Johnny's eyes are a pretty green. What kind of comics books do you read?

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the wedding! :D We're getting married, too, this Friday. Just a tiny little wedding, though. I hope you have fun on yours, and it's completely understandable that your presence will be more scarce until then (then again, we all know how effective your previous "break" was :)).

I do hope to see part 2 of the latest chapter soon, not just for Ripp's haircut. ;) I'll wait if I have to though. :)

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the eyes! Sorry. I knew I forgot something.

I think they look nice! They do need some more detail, but it's a good start. :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

This Friday? Wow, that's soon. Congratulations! I hope you have a wonderful day.

A small wedding sounds nice. Ours had the potential to be a big wedding, but many of our relatives are living away, so the guest lists is just a little over 100 right now, which isn't too bad.

Yeah, I'm pretty bad at taking breaks, aren't I? :P This time, though, I'll be physically away from my computer and my sims for about three weeks, so there's no way I can do anything. If I had them on a laptop, I'd be tempted to take them along, but I'll be busy and then honeymooning (Woohoo!), so I wouldn't have much time anyway.

I've been picking away at it, and I do expect to post part two (and three - it outgrew itself yesterday evening) before I leave.

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

100 people is still huge to us. His relatives are all in Australia and I'm only inviting my closest relatives plus a friend, so we're just gonna be 11 people - including ourselves. Told you it was tiny. :)

and then honeymooning (Woohoo!)

This made me giggle, I don't know if you did that intentionally or not. :) Enough of my dirty mind though. I bet that even though you'll be physically away from your sims, you'll be thinking about them during free moments. I know I do. And then you'll return with renewed inspiration!

Looking forward to the updates. :D (And Ripp's new hair.)

[simsbarbie.livejournal.com]

Meetme2theriver...congrats!!!!

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! :)

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

1. I would ditch Lyran's eyes for yours, if you keep going in this direction (and if you make them available). What you have so far is really lovely, keeping the cartoon look but much more refined than the Maxis eyes. They don't look dead at all, by the way. And that is the perfect shade of green. I don't know that they need the iris detail, but it would be worth trying to see how it looks to you.

2. I'll be really interested to see your replacement PTs, too, when you get back to them. The one you posted before looked really nice. I like also that you were making your own faces from scratch. I took the lazy way out with mine. (Thanks for the link, also!)

3. Congrats on your upcoming wedding! I knew you were engaged, but I didn't know if it was one of those long, no-real-plans engagements or if you had a date set. :)

4. I was already planning this, but I'm definitely using your founder for the current makeover challenge. I love her wide-spaced eyes. I haven't contributed a founder yet, partly because I have a feeling mine would get overlooked... :p

5. I think I already know what Ripp's hair is, because I saw an un-censored version of your fiance's art *grin*

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on getting married! :) :) :) Here's a bit of unsolicited advice: Don't forget to breathe. With all the planning and excitement, it's easy to forget to stop and just relax for a few minutes. I wish you the best too.

Regarding the pixel_trade makeovers, I haven't had a chance to do them, but I have downloaded your sims for use. She's really pretty, and I meant to ask if we would see her in your storyline soon. Yeah, I know that many don't use the founders in their own game, but still. I'm bummed, because I missed July's founder submission dates (I was away for the weekend too), so I guess my sims won't come up til August.

Babbling, sorry.

Anyway, have a great summer, and don't forget to breathe. Fall is always a great time to premier new haircuts, so Ripp can step out then. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us. Both your story, and your downloads. You and your work are appreciated.

[duderocks327.livejournal.com]

First of all, congrats on the wedding!

Second, I love those eyes. Love Maxis-style eyes since they don't result in EBIL BLACK BLOBBIES in certain facial expressions. Don't really like Lyran's eye colors as well (green too olive, light blue too light, gray too light), but they are nice. Can't wait for them.

..and I'll wait for the second and third part because I know it will be worth it.

[aledstrange.livejournal.com]

Have to say: big Congrats on the wedding! :D
Best wishes! *cheers*

And btw the eyes look great.

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

Congrats on getting married!!! :D I love that you just slipped that in there. ;)