>> The reason that I don't want to use a strobe is because I don't want to make the photos look harsh, and uneven. <<

i'm sorry i don't understand why the light will be harsh if strobe is used, use a softbox with more diffusion, tracing paper/butter paper or vellum is great, heck you could use a clean white cloth, use it really close to the subject in question, get clean highlights, flag it off to drop the highlight or whatever. if you don't have a softbox, make one. or simply use difffused flash, with the diffuser close to subject.

correct me someone if i'm wrong.