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Stripping 101
To Strip or Not to Strip...

Stripping 101

The Art of It

A rage has taken over the Ball Jointed Dolls community and like many others, my Giant J found herself succumbing to the lure of temptation; The 100 Themes Challenge. Difficult child that she is, she insisted on making it all the more difficult with two new self-imposed rules to it.

1. At least 50% of the pictures will have (insert subject/slave) tastefully naked.
2. It should look natural while fulfilling the Themes.

For such reasons, I find myself suddenly sprawled in photo shoot sets, as bare as a seasonal tree in autumn. I wonder if this is merely an excuse to remove my attire on a constant basis but it is of no grievous matter to me as I do prefer my clothes off. Let me share with you my experiences as a suddenly often unclothed model and pass on the few tips I have gained in my time before the lens.

Many believe that a 100 Themes Challenge is easy to do, simpler in fact with the nude aspect thrown in. With so much skin bared, it does not matter if the Themes are fulfilled as the audience will be suitably distracted by the nudity of the subject. What a misguided concept and let me disabuse you of this idea.

There are a hundred themes and each theme should be approached with utmost thought and creativity. For what is the point of producing flat, commonplace images for a project that sings of artistry? What is the point of stripping nude if it does not provoke thought, does not fit the theme in a way which stuns the audience?

Firstly, we must approach the idea of nudity. It might not even be for the 100 themes challenge as not all your humans are perverts who want to strip you as often as possible. Before you step into a photo shoot where you are expected to strip, ask yourself, ‘Am I comfortable with everyone looking at my bare naked ass?’ If the answer is ‘yes’, then we are on the same page. If not, then you must seriously reconsider the situation. Never agree to a naked photo shoot just for your human’s satisfaction even when you are not comfortable. It will only make for stiff and awkward pictures, with your pride hurt and shame unbearably strong. Maybe one day, you will be ready to bare it all, but only you will know when that is, not anyone else. Giants are easy to distract so use your charms to get out of the stripping. Worse come to worse…talk to them about your problem. I shudder at the idea, but apparently, it works sometimes.

My second advice would be to encourage the ideas to come naturally to your human or Giant. Do not force the ideas to come forth when you feel like time is ticking. Some of these ideas will just fall into place as naturally as breathing. As the subject of the photos, you should not wait for your human to do all the thinking but instead attempt to help inspire your human companion. Agreeing to everything they want will not provide the necessary stimulation they need to further their talents. When J switched off the lights to take a photo concerning the theme ‘Dark’, I yawned and refused to move. She huffed at me before turning on the lights…and an idea struck her. Minutes later, I am stretched upon a white sheet, surrounded by bright lights with a makeshift blindfold around my eyes (and not a single stitch more on my body). When the photo goes up, it is accompanied by this line, ‘Even surrounded by light...it can still be dark.’ Certainly, I might not have come up with the idea, but I surely helped its birth to reality simply by inspiring her to push her limits.

A trait that all models should have is confidence. For if you are not filled with confidence, then you have nothing as a nude model. Unless you are pulling off a shy, stumbling farmboy look, but even that requires an innate confidence that you can be such a character (something I know I cannot do…farmboys are beyond my understanding). Your Giants might be overbearing sometimes but have confidence in your ability to do whatever it is you are doing, be it to pose naked next to a bottle of rum or curl up in bed in pyjamas under the camera’s eye. Never allow your Giant to harass you with so many photo shoots and ideas that you forget the most important part; you are the star. Believe in yourself and shine!

When you are posing nude before a camera, it is not a disadvantage to be blasé about your nudity. In fact, it is much of a commodity to be able to strip down unabashedly. As J says often enough, I apparently have no shame. However, having no shame is not the same as being ‘bored’ with nudity. There is nothing worse than a model who is bored of being seen naked. It is natural to be nonchalant about your nudity, what is unnatural about our natural state after all? But when you are in front of a camera, boredom is a sin. You are posing for an audience, you are revealing something to the watchful, curious eyes. You can be comfortable in your nudity, you can be unabashed about being bare, but it does not mean you should forget that you are every bit as alluring as you are. Every held pose should be an embodiment of grace and beauty. Every relaxed stance that you shift into should be one that is meant to attract the eye. Standing around randomly or lying around limply is a sign of boredom and merely an eyesore to the poor viewers.

When an idea that has struck your human’s fancy is undeniably idiotic, never be too shy to say so. Holding back to save the feelings of your Giant will only account for her or his feelings being bashed later on Den of Demons when everyone is laughing at the horrible idea. I remember firmly putting my booted foot down on J’s ridiculous idea of holding Tortuga (my dear turtle friend) up while I remain unclothed for one of her nude 100 themes challenge. I am certain I had saved hers and my reputation that day as being freaky sick perverts by refusing to remove my clothes as I held a turtle. You could do the same for your humans by just saying ‘no.’

There is much wisdom I have to impart but there are limited pages the Playdoll magazine will have. I trust that these gems will be enough to carry you forth into the world. Do your humans and myself proud before the camera lens and most importantly, enjoy yourself!

Signing off,
CC

To Strip or Not to Strip...

“The tantalizing glimpse of bare thigh through a teasing silk kimono or the bold flagrant nudity with miles of resin beauty clear for view? Sexy little hints or raunchy expose? Which would it be? That is the question to be addressed today.” The bold beginning to J’s article was all that could be salvaged and the rest have been sent on to a languishing death in the hard disk as the rubbish that they are. This is CC, familiar and companion to one Giant J, here to save her article. Nudity VS Clothed was the basis of her assignment and doomed to failure from the very beginning as she is painfully biased in her opinions. This topic clearly required a second voice, one to counter the backward ideas that she clings on to.

A dry and cut out review of which is better would be scrapped if the editors were half as bright as they should be. If it managed to scrape through editorial, then it would probably earn a yawn from the readers and an expert flip away to another page. This is Playdoll. Let us be honest, no one obtains an edition to read the horoscopes or factual analysis of stripping. What they are looking for is the centerfolds of spread out, stretched out naked doll skin. Although words are a requirement, it has become my duty to make it less of a bore to you for the sake of saving J’s reputation. I stand firmly and speak strongly that when it is time to get the cameras out and snapping, pure nudity is the true refined art.

The gauntlet has been thrown and must now be accepted. My original article lost and hidden among the Megabytes, we will all have to mourn the masterpiece that it was and carry on bravely. If it is a debate he wants, then it is a debate he will have! I am J, tirelessly patient Giant and moolah-supplier to one undersized faerie. To counter his less than neutral thoughts, I will take the stand of clothing being essential as part of a sensual feast to the eyes. This will be a less than ideal debate having a total of only two speakers but one that will hopefully, be enough to settle this issue once and for all.

To begin on my stance of this topic, let me just say that ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ and allow this photograph to speak a lyrical prose for me.

Who is unaware of Calamity, owned by Titterwings. This very picture has won accolades of untold number and has spawned many a stalker. The fine fabric drapes over his skin, covering just enough to leave the rest for imagination. As we all know, the human imagination is the most fertile source of stimulation. What is left unseen can be even more potent than what is blatantly revealed.

This picture of temptation only leaves us wanting more, eternal wonder of what lies beneath the lace and dark fabric. Like many other models before this, the art of revealing just enough to keep the viewer questioning, curious and faithful is a fine one indeed. To deny such an art form would be a blasphemy!

The opposing side speaks with passion and offers a convincing argument for the first point. However, it seems that my kind debater has forgotten that reality often surpasses the imagination. What need is there for illusions when you can capture for yourself the perfection in true resin right before your eyes, as shown by Ilú, companion of Xi-Feng. The imagination might provide fantasies of perfection, but reality could give you solid proof of splendour embodied in resin.

What is an overly large shirt or a high slit on a concealing dress compared to the fine beauty of Nature revealed? Do we have to return to the middle-ages of traditionalist thinking that false chastity is the true sensuality? J is a human Giant plagued still by conservative thinking. If we should want to go back in time, then go further back to the time of the Greek and Romans, who believed less is more and indulged in nudity as they saw fit. The fine body of a doll created with the loving hands of a master sculptor was made to be seen. A piece of flimsy cloth covering the artwork of the bared body here would have been a blasphemy, an insult to the creation of this specimen.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the blood of narcissistic nudist faerie running through them. In the opposing side’s view that has been warped by years of flitting around nude in the woodlands, the body was created to be viewed. What body cannot be viewed with clothes on? A simple crushed velvet cloth draped over a reclining body can only enhance the beauty, not reduce it. Observe the famous Byakuya by Kagami. A work of art that could not be achieved without the clothing provided here. Bare nudity is in itself, simplistic. The naked truth is that clothing provides variety. Pages and pages of exposed skin will begin to blur after a time, but the rich fabric, the stylish cuts, these can only improve such beauty. Note that the uniqueness of Byakuya’s clothes draws our eyes to his bared skin, making a simple picture so much more daring.

One often forgets that it is not only the clothes that make a man, but the man that makes the clothes. By leaving enticing glimpses of the body through the cloth here, the model has not only made the body the form of appreciation, but the clothes as well has been absorbed into the artwork. Comments for this picture is not only directed at the body, but at the clothing itself. How sexy, how revealing, how beautiful… In this case, the nude body has lent beauty to the artful arrangement of the clothing and the artistic nature of the picture has truly shone through. Just as the stretch of naked limbs have enhanced the picture, it could not have been achieved without the clothing either.

A difficult point to reprove, but this I will strive to do. Indeed, while the clothes might add variety, while a naked body might even bring out the elegance in the clothing, it cannot be denied that fanciful clothing can sometimes only distract one from the beauty of the body. We might speak and sing accolades about art, but the bare truth is that what the readers are here to see is the naked resin. Usage of fabrics, rich and beautiful, might even distract the eye from the main focus which is the bared model. What would be the point of losing the chains of modesty and baring the body only to have the viewers distracted by randomly placed clothes? Look upon this following picture of Rache, owned by Eveningcome and understand the true wealth of a bared body with nothing to pull our gaze away from it.

Do not disdain this simplicity when we can all truly see that there is beauty lying in every arched line of the body, every caressing shadow upon the bared resin with no distractions. The lips call to our attention, the graceful curve of an arm holds our eye. There is nothing more beautiful than a bared body that speaks to the viewers.

Beautifully said and the elegance of the picture cannot be disputed. We could speak in circles forever and possibly, not come close to a conclusion. I would suggest a compromise. I see you would deny it, for compromise does not run in your blood. But before you speak, look upon this picture.

As naked as a body can be but not totally unclothed. Could you deny the beauty of this picture? The boldness of remaining naked yet incompletely bare? The impact made is far stronger than a simple naked model. It is not possible to achieve such a look with no accessories, no clothing at all. Can you reject such a picture?

You know I cannot, after all, being the subject of this picture myself. An unworthy trick you have tried to pull but I begin to see a deeper meaning to your underhanded move. A compromise is not impossible after all. A naked body is an art form of nature, an almost nude one an artistic representation of what might be. There is a time and place for both then, for one to bare all and for one to cover wisely. Neither is better than the other...

Well said! When we speak of the beauty of the body, there is no competition to determine which is the higher form of aesthetic pleasure, only the collective want to capture the sculpt in still art be it bared or clothed. In the end, all of you fine readers are here to gaze upon both with appreciation. Therefore, we bid you satisfaction and admiration as you feast your eyes. Proceed on and enjoy yourselves with the rest of the revealed and covered beauties!

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