Genesis 8 Amanda - Reveal (Patreon)

It's been a few weeks of working on this, but now I finally settled on something I was able to post.  This is very high resolution so please make sure you zoom in, download, check out the details...

First thing I need to say is that Genesis 8 has been a co-production every step of the way with PerilsOfDawn.  He's far more technically advanced on Daz Studio 4 than me, and I could never have produced this result alone.  G8 Amanda has been made on PoD's computer and we worked on her through lengthy all-night screenshare sessions.  I hope I am not giving too much away by saying that PoD may be starting his own Patreon soon, and that I fully hope that Genesis 8 Amanda will appear in his roster of characters.

Second thing is to underline that Genesis 8 Amanda is still at very early stages.  Her appearance is more or less settled on, in that her base character, hair, face morphs, textures, body morphs and proportions are largely finalized, however there is still scope for change because only by using a character over a long period can you start to spot and iron out their flaws.  Sometimes characters look good from one angle and bad from another, good with one expression, bad with another.  It becomes a process where you have to identify and iron out the bad without losing the good, until you end with something like Amanda version 2 (of Victoria 4) where she simply, effortlessly, looks great in all situations.

Third, I need to update on my current position.  I will make this brief:

- I am really getting computer headaches badly again.  Some days I simply cannot work at all.  Ten minutes on the iPad or PC straining my eyes on some emails can be enough to trigger a headache that leaves me needing to lie in a darkened room for 4-6 hours.  Other days I can sort of soldier on through it.  I am really not sure about the long-term prognosis for this.  It seems to have reached another low point, an extended low point.  After speaking to my GP I have just about come round to starting a course of Amytripyline 10mg which is used as a blanket cure-all for migraines.  I have really held off from doing this as such tricyclic antidepressants have a whole host of unwanted side effects, may not provide any benefits, and can be very difficult to come off.  This said, I am now becoming desperate and ready to consider this option.  I need to be able to work.  I can't just spend my life lying around in the dark listening to Radio 4.

- When EVER possible (as allowed by the above, which is not often) I have been trying to continue writing the CYOA.  This has taken priority over doing new artwork.  After already sinking countless hours into this story there is no way I am going to leave it unfinished.  Not least because you patrons have been funding my work on it for 3 months and getting very little art as a consequence.   As a mark of progress, the word count is now 58,333.  I guess perhaps, it's something around 70%-80% finished?

- I need to stress that Genesis 8 Amanda currently doesn't exist on my computer.  This is because I still don't have Daz Studio 4 installed.  I need to fix my headaches and finish the CYOA before I embark on this.  Any further pics generated for now, will need to be co-productions with PerilsOfDawn.  Please DO NOT contact him asking for 1) The recipe to make her yourself 2) Your requests/commissions for her as the answer will be no to either question, and I'd rather spare him the attention.  Thanks.

Finally, I hope you all appreciate (with the above) how difficult this is for me now on my third major revision of 3D Amanda (and sadly no real life actress or model has yet been found).

In terms of 'what happens to the current one' and 'I preferred the old one' or 'I like the new one best' I just cannot comment at the moment.  We made the transition from Classic Amanda to New Amanda a few years ago and it was painful and filled with doubt.  Ultimately it was the right move.  However I really am not ready to just step away from 'New Amanda' as I really got her look just right, however it should be clear that using Genesis 8 (who has a far superior body, DForce clothes and iRay shaders) plus Iray lighting and a whole host of props and environments - well, I have held off this long but it's not an opportunity I can ignore forever.  Feel free to express opinions on all of this below...

Thanks as always for your invaluable support, through thick and thin!