Decorator Spiralda Reveals Her YoVille Secrets: ” Night lamps no doubt. I use them everywhere!”

This post is part of a series of interviews with creative YoVille players to be posted on YoVille Lounge.

Spiralda, Administrator YoVille Lounge, Officer WYID, and design extraordinaire. She is known by WYID members as the Queen of ‘Minutia’. What are Spiralda’s thoughts of the new ‘Enchanted’ theme? What tips and tricks does she have to share with us? Enjoy this short interview with her after the link.

Jil WYID: Spiralda, How would you describe your style in decorating and designing? And where do you gather inspiration?

YVL Spiralda WYID: I’d like to think I create mini-worlds inside the YoVille-world, I love to make towns and buildings and shape the rooms again from the scratch. Inspiration comes from everywhere: movies, games, houses I’d like to see in YoVille, and the themes that Zynga provides to us. First I sit down and think of the things that comes in mind from the subject: cabin – logs. Irish – pub, Castle – stairs and knights, Pirates – boat, etc. Google is also a friend here, for example the Chinese Gate at my apartment or the wall-size windows at my ocean-house came from there. =)

Jil WYID: In reviewing your numerous homes I have noticed your amazing use of ‘ordinary’ items used in inventive ways to create extraordinary rooms. What are your favorite items to work with?

YVL Spiralda WYID: Night-lamps no doubt, I use them everywhere! :D I’m also very fond of safari vases, round lamps and bright green plants. I usually need dozens of the same items to complete the room, so price plays a big part on what I like to use.

Jil WYID: Your intricate, immaculate, and architectural designs are truly inspiring. Created from ‘ordinary’, ‘rare’, and ‘collectable’ items, they always have a 3-dimensional quality. How would you elaborate on that?

YVL Spiralda WYID: Besides pretty to look at, I want my rooms and houses to be places that you can actually visit and play in YoVille, maybe throw a party at. I also always aim at covering the whole screen, and levels are very useful way to do that.

Jil WYID: The term ‘pictograph’ has been coined to refer to artwork created with many small items or free gifts as ‘pixels’ of a complete picture, which have a 2-dimensional quality, like a cartoon. And ‘room design’ refers to interior or exterior images with a 3-dimensional sense of space. What are your thoughts and views of ‘pictograph’ vs. ‘room design’?

YVL Spiralda WYID: I bow to pictographic artists, they find aspects of items that I would have never thought of and some pictures that I’ve seen are simply amazing! But recently I think pictographs have taken over especially contests in YoVille.com. Since pictographs stand out as thumbnails, they often get higher votes than the room-designs even if they are not actually that good. I hope that some day we would have separate contests for them both.

Jil WYID: Please explain to our readers your use and the importance of color and contrast when creating a room.

YVL Spiralda WYID: For 3-dimensional effect, the contrast should be close to reality. For example ocean, water is in different shades of color in different depths, and if it’s night-time, then it’s really dark (almost black) unless you make it reflect light. City skyline by night, you can hardly see the shapes of the buildings but you can clearly see the lights in the windows. Aquarium, the highlight is in colorful fish and corals, etc. Think how it would look in real life.

Jil WYID: From all your many creations, which of them stands out in your mind as your favorite? And why?

YVL Spiralda WYID: This must be the entrance of Emerald Bay. It was my very first town and I will always remember the Eureka-moment I had with the paintings. :D Had to rush to stock up on those, since the medieval theme was just about to leave the store. I got loads of good feedback from that project as well, and it has influenced almost all the rooms I’ve done since.

Jil WYID: Spiralda, please share with our readers a few of your tips & tricks. How do you align those miniscule items?

YVL Spiralda WYID: For straight lines, use windows or rugs as temporary help when aligning small objects. For symmetrical shapes (big circle or heart for example), step away from the computer screen every once in a while and look at it from different distances, its easier to spot the flaws in the shape.

Jil WYID: What are your thoughts about the new ‘Enchanted’ theme?

YVL Spiralda WYID: I love it, especially both of the houses! They are so different in what we are used to, with the looks, layout, doorways… And as a fan of medieval times and fantasy, the Castle is truly my dream house. =)
Items are great in all kinds or rooms and themes, and enchanted is a good continuance of last months whimsical items, mix-matches very well. This is my favorite theme of all that they have launched so far. And still loads more to look for!

What do you think guys? Share your thoughts in comments.