Evolution

Change happens. We can't stop it, and even if we could I'm not sure we would.

My Second Life is full of characters. I have Edith, an old lady diva, who those reading this page probably know pretty well. I also have Wilmur, Edith's diminutive nephew, who has also graced this scroll and is a primary character in my more recent flickrs. I also have Hiver, a fantasy character who is... well, I'm not sure what she is. She's ever-evolving. I also have a dog, a drag queen (doesn't everyone?), and a kid avatar.

I also have a 'normal' avatar - the Me in the mix, and the weaver of all the rest.

I'm a story teller. Everywhere I look, I see stories. Scientists ask, "How?" Philosophers ask, "Why?" Storytellers propose, "What if...."

I saw some varicose veins and an old lady skin and wondered, "What if...."

Second Life is a gorgeous world to have characters in. Edith was first, and I cannot tell you how much fun it was to dress her and prance her around. I know she made lots of people smile, which just made it more fun. Wilmur came along, and he proved to be just as fun.

Fun, but a lot of work. It's not quite as easy to squeeze an older, sagging  body with a big belly and no butt into that gold sequin ballgown and work it. Or take a scrawny, pale twig of a man and make him look dashing (because that's what he is, isn't he?).

Wilmur proved to be an easy translation to that mesh clothes, but Edith... not so much. Then came mesh bodies and then mesh heads, and well...

Change happens. In SL, some have resisted it completely and still rock their original bodies, and some have resisted partially, choosing to just use a mesh body, or just a mesh head, and that's great! One of the best things about SL is the freedom to do what you want. All are welcome.

But sometimes its fun to see where change takes you.

These ramblings is prelude to showing Wilmur's evolution. Where he started, and where he is now.


The beginning!

Wilmur in one word: diminutive

Wilmur in five words: diminutive, eccentric, genius, absent-minded, calm

He was always a foil to Edith, who is the exact opposite of him. Their separate eccentricities play off each other well. She dressed to kill, and he believed powder blue had to be irresistible to the ladies. As time went on, his personality started to become more defined, and he separated and became a strong character independent of Edith.

I always got a lot of "OMG You look just like Woody Allen..." comments when I took him places. It always made me cringe. I can't stand Woody Allen, for all the reasons that everyone who hates him has. I know that's who Wrigglesworth had in mind when they made the skin, though, and accepting that, I tried to change his hair and his shape enough so that he became more Wilmur than.. well, than someone else. Adding a beard helped.

I started experimenting recently with first a mesh body, and then a mesh head. It has changed Wilmur's look greatly. Where before he was a cartoon, now he's more real. I'm not completely used to it, but I still feel like he is Wilmur. He still feels the same, for the most part. His home helps with that. In his clocktower, all the textures are very realistic, so having a realistic character to move around the space feels more 'right'. I'm still wrapping my brain around it, so we'll see where it leads. It has been a lot of fun, though! Redoing all of his outfits has been very entertaining.

The Belleza Jake body works well for Wilmur. I've tried the others, but none could get the level of scrawny that I needed with Wilmur. I love it. I know it looks good as a less thin male too. Belleza just did an amazing job on the Jake body and putting it on Wilmur felt so perfect.

He isn't as old as I'd like, though. I've messed around with quite a few appliers, but none have done as much for him as I think he needs to go. Wilmur was intended to be in his mid 40s, and I'd definitely say his face here is more early 30s. I'm hoping more skins become available for older male avatars, and hopefully one will 'fit' Wilmur.

Yeah, he probably needs his brows recolored a bit. I'll do it when I'm not quite as lazy.

Edith is proving super hard. I have been trying, though. I have her body - Belleza's Freya is lovely for Edith's body, but her head... well, it just looks kinda rediculous having Edith's old head on a mesh body. I've been trying mesh heads, and some are doable, but... a skin simply doesn't exist for her yet. I think I will have to find someone willing to accept the challenge to make me a custom skin for her (anyone know someone brave enough?).

Anyway, here's where she is. Ignore the demo stuff and weird brows. I know it's messy, but I'm not committing to anything yet that doesn't fit her. The new LAQ head is nice, and I love that they added wrinkles as an option. They just don't age her as much as she needs. The whole idea of Edith came from some varicose veins with support socks that Missy Eriksen made. Edith would never get work done on her face, the same way she'd never get a tummy tuck. We are how we are, darlings~

Ideally, she'd look more like the Queen, Iris Apfel, but I'm not holding my breath.

I mean... come on....

That face! Those hands!

Oh well. I'm willing to wait. I miss Edith a lot, and I worry she just doesn't translate into mesh, but I'll keep trying. As I said, I think I'll have to find an angel willing to make something. Anything less, and she wouldn't really be Edith.

Anyway. Change happens.