Louise De La Valliere
This is my newest dress. It has slight differences
but is basically the Lady Caroline dress.
The prim collar and sleeves were added,
plus the skirt has detailing. I gave it a
halter top cami with boy shorts to
match underneath.
I designed a diamond broach-like
jewel to act like a clasp for the jacket.
It becomes a necklace when
jacket is removed.
With the diamond texture I made a pattern over the front of camisole, and added it to the dress layer itself for decoration and details.
Of course stretched over our avi bodies the diamonds lose their shape but I needed some form of decoration on the front. Without them, the front looked too plain.
I tried and tried to get the skirt layer and the shirt the same color but never could make the right match. Not sure what went wrong. Finally gave up and it will have to do. oh well....

While designing the skirt I knew I wanted something different, something eye catching. I added subtle shading around skirt layer to give rippled effect as I had on the jacket layer. At first i didn't think the checkerboard look would be right for this style of dress, but then....
Omg! you have to see it in world, on your avi! The checkerboard gives an illusion of depth and curves that i never could have drawn. I added a prim with the same texture to sit in front to tie in the skirt layer and flexi-skirt. The illusion is wonderful. I love making mistakes and having the end product so much more than I could have ever imagined. You gotta see it on, words don't do it justice.

Getting the shading right and matching seams is always hard but practice makes perfect. This is my first "dark" colored dress. I have always done light colored fabrics with cheery patterns. The truth is I just recently discovered how to facilitate the the shading of dark fabrics.
Showing texture, highlights, and shading are new to me. I am learning constantly on photoshop. Everyday something new, by accident or purpose. The drive and passion i feel trying to replicate something seen or imagined keeps me going. Its the creative outlet I needed and never knew about. I am only a little over a yr old in SL and 6mths old in photoshop. Teaching myself photoshop was a bitch, let me tell you. Not for the faint of heart by any means. I was wreck before my buddy and I figured out alpha channels and how they worked. I went thru the sourcing faze, but that stuff never quite looked right in world and I longed for the designs to be my own. Then i discovered DOC at DE Designs and he opened up a new world for me. The shading, the layers, the metal, I am in awe of his work. I aspire to be at that level one day. *sighs*

So everything is finally mine right down to the Elvira collar...
Even backgrounds are becoming solely mine with little sourcing. I still source for ideas and inspiration, but try not to if i can help it. Sometimes my brain needs that bit of information to make the outfit authentic or answer questions about clothing terminology.
Since designing medieval and renaissance styles, I have learned so much about the garments they wore and what time periods they wore them in.