Beating the brows....(to death?)

Hey everyone, I know its been forever since I have made an entry, but as I think I have mentioned before, (in my forum thread) I'm not very good at this. I always find it hard to believe that anyone would have any interest in anything I have to say.

Anyway, been a terribly busy few months, lots of things to deal with, family and otherwise, so I have been really struggling to keep up with my normal pace. I think I have managed okay, and am getting back into the swing of things for the most part.

I have a new free set starting the 20th of February, my Kitten hair retexture on that adorable mesh by Marko. (you'll be seeing more of my retextures of his great meshes in the coming months) I'd like to apologize for not keeping on the ball with the free sets, its something that I always intend to do, and in trying not to fall behind with everything else, it gets left on the side. I hope to keep that from becoming a habit, as Its one of my favorite things to do, picking what gets to be free next.


Anyway onto the (main) subject of this mesh. Brows. Just finished uploading a huge set of eyebrows, thirty-six in all, 9 sets. These are always so much fun for me to do. I love eyebrows, I love painting them, I love the way they frame the face, the way they can entirely change the appearance of a sim, and of course, the way they express emotion. I especially like the unkempt sort of brow, with stray hairs, and not perfectly in place. There are SO many of those out there, and I just like the idea of adding something a little more unique to the mix. I'm a little worried I've reached my limit, (hence the title of this entry) so if you would love to see more brows, or would rather me focus on other things, please don't hesitate to let me have it in the comments, or in my forum thread. I may just spend the rest of my life drawing eyebrows otherwise. :p

On the artistic side.... (and a freebie set...woot!)

My pasquale teadress collection is free for the next few weeks, for those of you who are interested. :D

Thats out of the way, so on to the other goodies.

I am about to upload a set of Sim-photography for your games. This set consists of black and white, artistic "photographs" of various Sims for your elegant homes, or boutiques, or salons, or galleries.. or...whatever. The subject matter is mostly just simple shots of guys and gals, together and seperate, and I think they will fit in nicely with the game environment, which is what I think is kind of lacking with alot of Sim art. I plan to do a set of color photography, candid shots of everyday sims, family-like portraits/shots, and actual Sim art, similar to what the game comes with. I think this will feel alot more authentic, and since I have been looking for some time for pictures like this, I am hoping some of you will find that this is just what you have been hoping for, too.

Here is a preview;



These will all be recolors of Maxis meshes, mostly from nightlife, if I recall.

If anyone has any ideas for other Sim-ized art, or subject matter, let me know in the comments, or in my forum thread. :D

http://forums.thesimsresource.com/showthread.php?t=331008

Between the Sheets...

I love bedding..and not just my own. :P I like to create bedding for The Sims because, i think its really one of the only things that can perk up a bedroom. Its a small file too, which is always a plus. I have made some retro bedding in the past, and I find myself using it alot, but I have wanted to do more bedding for a while, so I don't wear out the old ones! At the nudging of a friend, I have finally gotten around to it and created my Spectre Bedding collection. Its inspired by a rainbow, so its very colorful, and almost retro in feel. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Here is a sample of one of the bedding/wallpaper combos.



I intend to always make matching wallpaper for my bedding, because for the most part, I think a wallpaper made especially for a bedding texture can make the difference between a well put together room, and a mismatched hodgepodge of textures. It also simplifies coordination which can be very helpful to some builders out there.

I hope that everyone likes this set, as bold as it is. I would like to make more bedding in the near future, but it would be helpful to know what kind of bedding everyone would like. Please feel free to comment and supply suggestions either here, or in my FA thread.

http://forums.thesimsresource.com/showthread.php?t=331008

Although I can't always fulfill requests, I would like to try and focus on what people find lacking.


Urgh...how do you make a link work in a blog again? *knocks self in head*

For the Boys!

Just completed uploading a set of mens hair retextures. These are a retexture of Raonjena's #7 mesh for men. I have always loved that mesh, but wanted to give it a more unkempt look with some realistic colors for your Sim guys. I'm pretty happy with the way it looks on some of my Rock and Rollers. Hopefully you will be too!

People seem to respond more to some of these hair retextures that I have been doing, so I think I will do a couple more, and then get back to the clothes which I miss quite a bit. Feel free to let me know what kind of clothes you would like to see, or if there is a particular hair mesh you would like to see retextured for a new look.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer!

The Darkness

And I dont mean the band...although they are pretty great, too. What I am referring to is the dark skintones that seem to get left on the wayside when it comes to finding suitable makeup. I dont know about most of you, but when I try to find some lipstick or eyeshadow for one of my lovely dark Sims, It takes me ages to find something that doesnt look fluorescent on their skin. At the nudging of the adorable Dark Delight, I decided to try and remedy this little problem. I am about to release part 1 of three sets of makeup especially for Dark skinned ladies. Part 1 has blush, eyeshadow and lipstick with a more natural appearance, with a few bonus colors of lipsticks in some rich hues, part 2 will have dramatic, jewel toned eyeshadow and glossy lips along with a small set of my own "dark" eyes meant to look more at home when paired with Dark skin. ( the eye white is less bright so it doesnt seem like its glowing ) And part three will be more lips and eyeshadow, this time in some feminine shades. I hope you will all add these to your collection and give your dark skinned Sims some special attention. Here is a preview of some of those makeup items from set 1 and 2....



The eyeshadow and blush are from set 1, and the eyes and lips are from set 2. I hope you will all find them as useful as I already have. Thanks again, Dark Delight!

The Bees Knees!!

Hey everyone! Been a while, so I figured I would update you all on whats going on in my creative world these days. As of this posting, "Borderline" should be just about released, which I am very fond of. Its a bit of a tribute to 80's era Madonna, and my own (top only) take on that popular Tata Young Sim that's going around. I love the idea of a peek-a-boo bra strap, and tons of chains with charms. I think it will be just what some you are looking for, and the rest of you will probably scrunch up your nose, which is perfectly understandable! (its a take it or leave it kind of look, after all)

On the flip side of that sort of idea, I have created the first outfit for my Fifties collection, and I call it Que Sera. (get the reference?) I called it that because, quite simply, it reminds me of the spunky gal who sings that song. The cardigan is actually modeled after a modern sweater, which has been one of my favorites. It has an obvious 50's flavor, and I thought it would look adorable with a tweed-type skirt, and cute little heels. I had a real problem finding the right kind of mesh to use, and I settled on one of Chriko's gorgeous meshes. I say "settled" because, the shoes are not quite perfect on this particular mesh. The shoe is meant to be a kind of flip-flop style, so even though these are full shoes, they separate from the sole during certain parts of the walking animation. I dont think its too noticeable unless you are really looking, so hopefully you gracious folks will overlook it. That's a tough kind of decision for me to make, because I am a real stickler for the details, but there was simply no other mesh that would do, and the adjustments to the design would have had to be extreme in order to make it okay, and by then it would lose its authenticity. Below is a picture of one of the full outfits, and below that is a demonstration of the shoe glitch. (That is an extreme example, just to give you an idea of how it looks at its worst. For the most part, that never happens.)





Oh, and by the way - check out my forum thread for a picture of another sweater update coming soon, this one being quite a bit more modern than these two pieces I have just been talking about.

Disco Fever!!

I've just added my very first clothing item to my decades collection. I have decided to add to it as I go along, and anything that will be included in that collection will be "marked" with a decade specific logo. I'm going to be creating items for the decades between 1920 all the way up to, and maybe including the 1980's. This first piece is from the Sexy Seventies!

Here is a preview;



Comes in seven retro colors!

On another note, I intend to update with some makeup, but its a little complicated to get all the screens in order, so If I dont get that in first, I will be updating with another wall collection that I have been looking forward to release for some time. There are some Art Noveau style walls, amongst other vintage styles that I think will please just about any taste. Until then, enjoy!

River Hair ; retexture #3,426

I know, I know.... that river hair is just another one of the countless recolors of that great XM sims mesh. Well, I had a reason for doing it, and I was banking on the fact that I wouldnt be alone in my postulations. I must have downloaded 5 or 6 retextures of it, and each and every one of them, while truly fine in their own right, was just not quite what I was looking for. I wanted something smooth, somewhat in the middle of Sim-like and Life-like, in realistic colors, and with a realistic "wispiness". Oh, and without bangs, that was a must. I like bangs just fine, but on this particular style, it looks so much prettier without. (to me, anyway)So there you have it. I hope you'll like it!

Somewhere down the tracks on my train of thought, I have been trying to get in an organized mode to work on my upcoming decades project. I am nearly done with one of my seventies evening gowns, but I am at a loss for how to put it all together. Should I release each outfit one by one? Or should I wait until each set is done? Should I add to it randomly, and throw in other projects in between? Still pondering on this one. In the meantime, I think I might get another makeup collection together. I have sooo much of it, and I would really like to share. Maybe this is the time. Any thoughts?

tea time!

Here is a pic of not one, but two upcoming projects! "Pasquale" teadresses, and an elegant hairstyle I am calling "Gracia". The hair will be out on Wednesday, and the teadresses, will probably be out within the first few days of April, just in time for the gorgeous springtime weather!

Barbie world?

If you are reading this blog, there is a chance you many not frequent the forums, but I have a thread there in the FA section called "Xandhers Xanadu". It is sort of a companion to my blog entries, where I will be updating with new information about upcoming sets, and hopefully hearing feedback about some of those sets from you lovely folks.(a luxury we are obviously without in this venue)

Since there are so many people who tend to prefer to stay out of the forums, I thought I would let everyone know, in case you wanted to spill your proverbial beans.

On another note, I have went and "barbie-ised" my whole skintone collection. The higher ups really want to keep this a family friendly place, and so in the interest of retaining the values of this site, I agreed to modify the sets - With one condition - that the original anatomically correct skins would be available to everone as well, in the near future. The HU's thought that was a good idea, as well, So we are trying to come up with a solution to make that happen right here at TSR. One way or another, those of you who were really hoping for those AC skins will have access to them soon. And I can't tell you how pleased I am about that. :)