Changing characters to new models is hard. I’ve done it multiple times, and it is always a disaster. Converting from V4.2 to G8.1 was probably the easiest to do. Partly because G8.1 is a really great model, and partly because I’ve made every mistake in the book when it comes to changing models, and know how to avoid the worst… sometimes.

Let me point out past failures. There was converting V3 to V4.2 fiasco. Then there is a the very short lived La Femme conversion. Won’t bore you with the ugly details, but here’s the visual evidence:

What I’ve learned is that you start with models that are close as I pointed out last week, I started with MSO Lacey for Ariane and then tried adjusting until I had as close as I could get, and it looks good. But heavily adjusted can be problems. It is better to keep it simple.

This is why I do step 2. I take the heavily adjusted Ariane from picture 1, and put it next to MSO Lacey with the right hair and eye color and see what I should simplify. Eyes and eyebrows are important to recognition, so I kept them from the reconstruction, then the lower half of the face I kept MCO Lacey, then enlarged the cheek bones because I couldn’t do that with V4.2. And that’s how I got the G8.1 Ariane I am using in the update to Ariane in Paradise.

The original model was designed to look like Audrey Hepburn. Actress-Singer Victoria justice reminds me a lot of Victoria 4.2 Ariane. Working with G8.1 Ariane, I keep having brain flashes of young Anne Hathaway. None of this means anything, it’s not intentional. It just proves that every time I change models there are enough subtle differences to matter. Had to lose the beauty dot because the multi-texture skin of 8.1 makes adding beauty marks difficult.

Rachel was not so easy

Rachel was based on another Daz character DMR Ella for Victoria 4.2, who was a very popular model which is why I got her and made the Tumblr about her model. It is obvious that the model’s popularity was being made to look like a young Angelina Jolie who was still popular at the time the model came out. So finding a close match for G8.1 was to use a Celebrity model page to find one that also looks like Rachel. That’s where I found Sharon.

But attempting to make a duplicate of Rachel with Sharon proved disastrous. Part of it was the hair. Going back to original Sharon with a different hair style:

Now what are the KEY differences? There are really only two. Hair and brow color, and face shape.

Change hair to a strawberry blonde color, blue the eyes, brown eyebrows, and add a “round face” morph and while not perfect, she’s identifiable as Rachel.

This is the first image I made with them both together. Putting Ariane in a pony tail is a bit off model, but I think it distracts from the change. Also the hair was on sale. I also changed Rachel to more supermodel like hair. Good enough for this project, but I have no plans (yet) to remake any other games with these models.

I want to see what the reaction to the new Ariane in Paradise will be first.