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?

[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!

[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

[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!!!

[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.

[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. :)

[simsbarbie.livejournal.com]

Meetme2theriver...congrats!!!!

[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. ;)