Wagner James Au / New World Notes

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Rileigh Reed’s most recent picture “Watching in the Shadows” epitomizes her aesthetic perfectly. She likes the dark and, as you can see, the dark likes her. 

I have mentioned before how a person who has since left SL long ago inspired my original “What I Like” posts on my own blog that eventually led to this column. She once dinged me for a fashion post, saying “Never wear clothes the same color as the background.” 

Well, they were wrong then and are wrong to this day and you can see how wrong they are in Rileigh’s picture. She seems to be stepping out of the background, emerging if you will. And the details of her clothing are not lost. It’s a wonderful fashion pic. 

For more of Rileigh’s power pics , click here:

Her picture celebrating a million views is also a success despite the very slight difference between her clothing and the background. In fact, doesn’t the similarity in color make you look closer to see the details? I find it draws me in.

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“Winter Nights” is another example of clothes and background being similar in color. It’s not just black on black that looks good, so does white on white, and so would green on green or any other colors you choose. It’s a matter of lighting that reveals your form in front of the background. You don’t disappear and neither does the clothing. If you do disappear, try adding more light and changing the lighting angle. 

Rileigh Reed is watching in the shadows and she does it very well. She is a great example of how certain rules are meant to be broken. I hope she continues to flout the rules with skill and enthusiasm. 

All images copyright Rileigh Reed

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See all Cajsa's Choices here. Want to recommend an artist to feature? Tag Cajsa with your favorite pics on Flickr, on Primfeed, and Facebook.  (Self-promotion welcome!)

Cajsa’s Choices is devoted to unique, artistic, and innovative virtual world-based images and screenshots that showcase the medium as an art form and Second Life as a creative platform. (Generally not images that fit on this Bingo card.)  

Cajsa Lilliehook is a seventeen year resident of Second Life, where she owned a photo studio, spent several years as a DJ at The Velvet, and for her first SL job, cleaned up prim trash. She co-founded and runs the It’s Only Fashion blog with her best friend Gidge Uriza. She also has a book review blog, Tonstant Weader Reviews and a cooking blog, Single Serving Recipes. She spends a lot of time researching and reporting on Republican sexual predators. In her first life, she is a retired grassroots leader who has worked for economic and social justice issues most of her life. She is also the minion of a cat named Nora.

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