Eyebrows

Posted by : tiffani_celestalis Saturday, August 18, 2012

In Second Life we often overlook eyebrow shapes!

How many models have the weirdest eyebrow shapes that don't match their face shape at all!

If I bring up the detail of eyebrows though I am usually met with snickers or the rolling of eyes. I suppose many don't shop or try to shape the detail of eyebrows in their overall avatar design.

An excellent and free source of eyebrow shapes are in skin and shape demos. Most of the time they are included and I make it a habit of keeping the interesting shapes, while throwing out the rest of the demonstration product.

Of course it is easy to create your own eyebrow shape.

It is generally agreed that eyebrows are important! Some eyebrows and thick, some are thin and what is attractive to you depends on personal tastes and on the culture you are in. So while there are no set rules that say you have to have your eyebrows a certain way there are guidelines which I'll elaborate on below:

Heart Shape Face: soft rounded eyebrows
Soft rounded eyebrows that work with the pointy chin. Chin pulls down, brows pull up. The curves accentuate the width created by face shape. Align the peak of the brow with the widest angle of the jaw to balance out the strong jaw line. A thick brow is also good for this shape. Skins with a thick brow painted in (like League skins) are well suited for a heart faced shape.

Round Face: High angled arches
Have high angled arches in your eyebrows, almost like triangles. The high arch of the eyebrow opens up the eyes vertically (no don't overboard with big eyes to achieve the same effect). Avoid arches that are too rounded or they will make your face look even rounder.

Long Face: flat, straight eyebrow
For long faces most experts recommended flat, straight eyebrows. Your face is long enough so you don't need to add tiny arches in your face to make it seem even longer. The straight brow could be thick and neat using the flat line to add width to the face. Try a lower brow too, to see if it opens up the face in a more pleasant look.

Oval Face: Any
As I mention in the styling lesson, an oval face is the symmetrical one that almost anything goes with. They don't have many restrictions on eyebrow shape either.

Square Face: Thick brows
You have a pronounced, defined jawline so you should have pronounced, well-define eyebrows to make it look right. Get skins with thick eyebrows (like League) or play with the settings in Appearance to stretch out the eyebrow texture a bit. Make the arch of the brows a touch high (not too much!) and if you want to make the appearance more feminine add a soft rounded curve. When shopping or creating the brow shape, align the peak of the brow with the widest angle of the jaw to balance out the square jaw line.

Diamond Face:
Diamond faces have wide sharp cheekbones. Round eyebrows with high peaks will make your forehead and chin look wider and give you a more balanced, pleasant appearance.

SL Creating An New Eyebrow
1. Create > New Body Part > New Hair
2. Give it a name
3. Right click and Edit the New Hair
4. Under the Color Tab, set it to whatever colour you want using the sliders
5. Under the Style Tab, set everything to 0.
6. Under the Eyebrow Tab, use the sliders to get the eyebrows the way you like it
Eyebrow Size: Anything
Eyebrow Density: Anything
Eyebrow Height: How high or low the eyebrows are. This also influences the thickness a lot.
Eyebrow Arc: Controlling flat or round eyebrow shapes.
Eyebrow Points: How sharp and smooth the eyebrows are.
7. Under the Facial Tab, leave that alone

That's it for now. Happy styling SL!