Long ago, in the days before mesh—probably around 2012—I was riding in a gondola through the Desire of the Heart Garden, dressed in the latest styles. I was wearing a dress by ALB, who also made the jewelry. My golden curls were by Boon. My skin came from Mother Goose, with makeup by Mock. On my head was an art piece by Four Yip called the Bird Whisper Hat. ALB is the only one still inworld.
I took a photo and immediately loved how it turned out. The expression felt vulnerable, and the styling gave it an Art Nouveau quality. I’ve used it as my icon ever since, system head and all.
A few days ago, in 2026, I needed a photo for a blogger profile and realized my old standby—while still dear to me—felt dated. Then I had an idea: could an AI program like ChatGPT enhance it? I uploaded the image and asked it to make the picture look more realistic.
This is the result. I absolutely love it! So I had another idea. I've seen avatars with backlit hair and have wondered how they did it. I asked Chatgpt to backlight her and bring out the hair.
