Twin Spica
July 6th, 2006
[Background Music: "Into the Ether" by The Crüxshadows]
Taking a break from working on my main project, I created some aliens based on a skin by the extremely talented Ephemera Transient (skin not available for download). Well, actually they aren't aliens. They're genetically altered humans—super soldiers, if you will. I started off creating aliens, but the story that I'd made up for them just wasn't working until I realized they weren't aliens but bioengineered humans! At first I thought I was being all original until I realized I'd taken the idea of the altered humans from the book I was reading (The Ghost Brigades)…oops! Oh, well…
This is the alternate header. I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I decided to include them both.
Anyway, meet Astra and Altair Spica. In this photo session, the part of Astra is played by Mae and taking on the role of Altair is Rann. Both Mae and Rann are upcoming characters in "Worlds Apart." Rann will make his first appearance around chapter six or so. Mae, well I'm not sure when she comes into the story—not for quite a while actually. You may not even recognize them when they're not "in makeup."
Ah…I love the stars…
My continuing fascination with the stars…yep, I'm just looking at the stars…*drool*…er…heh.
Grrr, baby! Very grrr!
I'm not sure if she's protecting the world or planning to take it over. Astra looks sweet but she's got a wicked streak.
I love the house where I took all these pictures. It's designed by UK1967. I had a lot of fun adding new windows and interior decorations to make the sets.
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26 Responses to “Twin Spica”
July 6th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Umm… are we even playing the same game? GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY! Wow. Good grief, Charlie Brown.
Your pictures are so beautiful I think I am going to cry.
Wow. Jeeze. *wanders off shaking head in sheer amazement*
*runs back in to announce: Oh yeah, made an official pimping page, you're on it. huggles. wanders off again.*
http://isleofthyme.squarespace.com/pimpage/
–Jade
July 6th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Groovy! You're so talented!
July 6th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Hi Kara…. I've been reading all of your updates and i'm waiting ever so patiently for chapter three (lol, wink wink). These super powered people and they're skins are awesome!!! I love Altair… just gorgeous 🙂 I've always wondered this, are there any tutorials to create blush, skins etc.? Because I always try to start different stories but nothing is ever "just right"… Toodles.
July 6th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
wow! LOL…MY SENTIMENTS EXACKLY jADE!….GEEZ, WHAT GAME ARE YOU PLAYING!!!!!
Woops sorry all caps:D…
July 6th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Well, Astra certainly has a good reason to be jealous of Altair! There's a lot more character in his pictures. Super-Duper work!
July 6th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Umm…not to be rude but uh, NEW GRAPHICS CARD? JEEZ. I would KILL for your graphics card. Even if it was failing. And you get it so easily. Just isn't fair. You see I live with my parents, which makes sense 'cause I'm only 16 haha. But anyway I will grudgingly continue on with my comment..no matter how much it tears me to pieces..
Haha, but on to the cutie uh..what's his face, Altair, wow. I wanna see if I can tell him in the Chapter number 6. I bet I won't be able to. But since you said "He's in chapter 6" I might just remember it when we get there, though I seriously doubt it. But uh, need I comment on your spectacular picture taking? Indeed I must. How did you get that chick to fly? Of course you don't have to answer that because I know you're busy and it wouldnt matter anyway 'cause I wouldn't be able to duplicate it. Darn! I am so speechless and in awe…you and your pictures, not to mention my obssesion with your videocard, has brought me to tears. Now I must go wipe them up and read the new Faq page and About page because I'm sure they are written beautfully and stuff. I can't wait for outtakes..that means more scrumptious pictures of elvish people in showers. And Since I'm such a geek, nerd, whatever you wanna call it. I looked back at the first chapter of Worlds Apart and I think I know who the person who stops Brandee is. Geek, right? Even more, I have thought of being superpowerful, but not like Superman. He disgusts me. Dunno why, probably because he's just too super. Have some weakness. Alright, sorry about superlong comment, I get carried away, especially when I see updates, even when its..entirely too late to be up.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Your killing me! The screen shots alone have blown my mind to bits. I haven't even read the story! Too busy drooling and mumbling something about purty pikturez.
Also I'm all about those sets.
Killing me I tells ya, killing me.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
First of all, wow…thank you so much everyone! Your comments have totally made my day.
I really had a lot of fun with this photo shoot (I'm a huge sci-fi nut, so this was like gorging on chocolate for me…but without the nausea-inducing sugar crash that follows) and I'm so glad you all enjoyed it as well.
Jade: *hugs* You always make me laugh. Your sense of humor is priceless! Thank you! Also, thanks for the pimpage. Hey…does that make you my pimp?! 😉
Amalinaball: Thank you! Of course most of the credit must go to the talented creators who made the content I used in the pictures. I just took screenshots.
Sarah: I'll have to beg your patience for just a while longer as Chapter 3 isn't even close to being ready yet. The script is written though. Yay!
As for tutorials, I suggest starting here. You should find a lot of great and helpful information.
Jenny: hehe Thank you!
VJ: I must admit to having a weak spot for all my guys (Altair/Rann included). My poor girls…I don't pay enough attention to them.
Eva: Oh, believe me…I wouldn't always have been able to replace a graphics card this easily. My husband and I have been married for ten years and it is only within the last couple that we have finally been able to afford things without having to budget for every single item we want. I must say though, it's a relief to be able to replace it. I've been stressing out about it lately worried that it would affect the Sims2 somehow.
I'll give you a hint to recognizing Altair/Rann when he makes his first appearance in "Worlds Apart." Do you see the charm necklace that he is wearing in the above pictures? It's his favorite necklace…so just look for that. 🙂
And guess what? Getting Astra and Altair to fly was very easy—I simply used Squinge's Hula Dance & More mod. It allows you to make your characters "fly away" (amongst many other animations). This is one of my most favorite mods ever!
Don't worry about super-long comments. Personally, I love to read them. Comments and feedback from the people who read these posts is one of my favorite things. So, keep writing the long comments. 😉
Anissa: *chuckles* Well, I hope your not dead! Don't worry, you weren't missing much by only looking at the pictures. The post wasn't really a story so much as me just inanely rambling.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
I have been visiting your site all day looking at these amazing pics. Your very talented & the story is really good. I'm also a sucker for sci-fi!
Usually I'm very shy about posting comments but I decided that since I haven't been able to take my eyes off your site that I'll go ahead and let you know how much I really enjoy these pictures and your story.
Thank you for sharing this with all of us, it really is a treat 😀
-tabbs-
July 7th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Kara, I loved this!! So beautiful.
I adore both your sims & set, and the work you did on the photos is amazing. Wow. 😀
I'd definitely also pick flying for a superpower. I love dreaming of flying, I do it quite often. Although it's funny that once, oh, I think about ten years ago, I dreamt I kept going up & up until I could see the earth from space, panicked, and woke with a start. Ever since then I haven't been able to fly above powerlines and/or treetops in my dreams!! Lol.
I'd also like to have a protective aura. Sort of like those shields they had in the movie/book Dune. I could just zap it on and have complete isolation when I needed it. ;D
This post was so much fun! Thank you. 😀
July 7th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
Kara, the pictures are totally fantastic, and your girl and boy even more so. Altair joins my list of sim crushes — he is just too hot. Thanks for using my skintone and for sharing these pictures! 😀
July 8th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Tabbs: Hey there! Welcome to the site! I'm so glad you decided to comment. I too am VERY shy about commenting on other peoples' sites and usually just default to lurker mode, so I know how it is. And thank you so much for your compliment. I really appreciate it more than you could know.
Christin: Thank you so much! I've had similar flying dreams where I can't seem to get very high or I'm flying really slow. In RL I'm scared of heights and sometimes that translates to my flying dreams where if I get too high, I get nervous (which is silly since I can fly…haha). Sometimes, flying in my dreams only constitutes hovering around the room (kinda like the ghost Sims do). I wonder what all that means?
Eph: You're totally welcome and thank you once again! 😀 Altair too has me going ga-ga over him. I love how he looks in makeup. hehe Wait until you see what he looks like when he is out of the "Altair costume" and in his "Rann" form. *drool* Okay…how embarrassing…obsessing over my own Sims. It must be unhealthy, but then again, I guess I don't really care. 😉
July 8th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Oh neat! I mean – the sims are droolworthy and all – I'm just mopping up now 🙂
But I'm also pleased to find out how you do some of your neat poses – they're quite stunning. You have a great photogenic eye.
I'm still getting into that sort of thing – not quite there yet. But I'm definitely going to go fiddle with Squinge's mod 😀
I love reading your site 🙂
Kiri
July 9th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Kiri: I think you'll really enjoy playing with Squinge's mod. It opens up so many possibilities when taking pictures. As I say on my FAQ page, I'd also recommend Shaklin's Walk Style & Facial Anim Changer. It makes it so you can temporarily overwrite the default facial animation of an action. For example, if your Sim is crying, you can make it look like he's also smiling (while he continues the crying animation). Hmmm…that might make for a disturbing photo. I'll have to remember to try that out. 😉
July 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
WOW, those sims are absolutely gorgeous! How do you make them look so realistic???? Lol, even my best sims still look like cartoons! You are awesome!
July 9th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Hey there! It's my first time reading your blog and I am totally blown away. You are awesome at story writing and picture taking. And I especially liked the shower scene from a few posts back *grin*. I hope you don't mind if I add you to my links list on my new blog. It's my very first blog and I'm trying my hand at the Prosperity Challenge, to see if I have what it takes to keep a blog going! I'm having fun with it so far, so we'll see! Anyways, keep up the great work! I can't wait till your next update.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Paige: *blushes* Thank you!
Mandie: Thank you and welcome! Good luck with your Prosperity Challenge. 🙂
July 11th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I love the sims you make. But my question is, what kind of graphics card do you use?
July 11th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Dani: Thank you! When I took the pictures in this post (as well as all posts during 2006), my graphics card was the NVidia GeForce 6800 GT. However, that card crapped out recently and I had to get a new one. My current specs can be found here.
July 13th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Wow!!! Your graphics are to die for!!! Oh… my… goodness! Those pics are AMAZING… I couldn't help but drool over them. This are the best graphics I have ever seen on sims. I love the skins for your characters. I mean, listen to me, rambling on… Oh man, I LOVE your graphics… :"> Okay… I'll stop. But just one thing. Where on earth did you get that? Not that I can afford it, but just wondering. Wow… Okay, let me leave before I drool over this site.
July 13th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Hi Kara! I can't believe you're actually back! I thought you'd never get back to your blog. I'm glad to see you finally did come back. I was in love with your families before, but I'm already in love with your new story. I can't wait to see more. It's really enjoyable! I went on a long break also, and I've finally decided to come back, so I can relate. =) Anyways…I love your stories and I can't wait to see where you take them.
July 15th, 2006 at 7:52 am
Noelledd: hehe Thank you so much! And don't worry…this site is droolproof. 😉 As to where I got my graphics card: I (and by "I" I mean my husband) get most of the hardware for my computer from NewEgg.
Jessica: Thank you! I wasn't sure I'd ever get back to this blog either. But, I'm glad I came back. I've really been enjoying writing "Worlds Apart" and working on my little side projects. I'm glad you're back as well. It's a lot of work getting a site back into working order, but it'll be worth it in the end.
July 26th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Oh my gosh! So cool! Very awesome pictures and sims! I have two questions for you. Where'd you get the floating earth thingy? And where'd you get the cool rocking computer? Very cool pictures, they made me giddy becuase they look like one of those secret files type screens.
July 27th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Katie: Thank you! I got the hologram of the earth from TSR. It's made by the uber-talented ToddFX (look halfway down the page). And the awesome futuristic computer I got from MTS2 by WaywardPixie.
October 25th, 2006 at 2:44 am
Love the sims, and love the house. So cool.
October 12th, 2007 at 1:29 am
I think Altair is the only sim I have ever seen that hair look good on. He is a darling, Astra ain't half bad either. I would love to see a continuance of this =)