Friday, July 29, 2011

Truman Capote

From Truman Capote's "A Blue Cove"


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The only scenery that bores me is any that I can't imagine purchasing a part of: usually, if a place provides the slightest uplift, I instantly consider buying or building a house. The hundreds of properties I've constructed mentally!

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Truman, if only you had known Second Life, the hundreds of properties you would have constructed virtually!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

A BIT OF DARKRODIN SLIPS INTO THE SEA





July 27, 2011

Since July 25, there have been big changes around the Darkrodin jut. Large chunks of land leading to the pier sank into the ocean. The 1 1 11 Room along with the the pier supporting it crumble into inventory. In their place, rises the new Medusa Pavilion, still under construction.

Currently, the pavilion is around 160 prims in size. The floors are being fitted for shadow and light effects. To create these shadows, I plot the shadow shapes on the floor by way of bars set at the angle of incoming light. This was an idea offered to me by Derek Michelson, and it works quite well. I then take an aerial screenshot of the floor with the bars delineating the coordinates for the shadow. In Photoshop, the next step is to draw in the shadows, slice into as many textures as I will be needing to cover a given area, and upload the alphas into SL.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

BIBLIOTHEK L. ARTIS July 11, 2011






Today, I placed the shipwrecked Pelican galleon, that had been beached in the sands of the port, into the cliff face of Medusa Locks. It is the front half of the ship which now juts out into the airspace, meshed into the complex of village pathways and stairs. The Parcheesi game table was moved onto the new extended deck, affording an unimpeded view onto the bay. Below deck, I cleaned out the space, and while thinking about how to use the little room, my friend Lilia spontaneously recommended: a hammock and books! Echoing the bookshelves of the nearby Library of Darkrodin, the walls were thus squared off, to highlight the central hammock. Lilia, on seeing this also asked for there to be a beam of light descending onto the hammock. As she was the inspiration for this space, I named the cabin after her in her native language of German. Bibliothek means ‘library’.

MEDUSA LOCKS... retexturing. (Since late June, 2011)


Medusa Locks, which used to be a glare of white marble, has for the past two weeks been undergoing resurfacing mostly with my new texture from a Washington, D.C. trip.

Plâteau of Man Park expands... June 29, 2011


The Plâteau of Man Park was expanded a bit more to the South, causing an overhang above the entry of Paperback Pixels Café. It was a partial import of a park I had made at Hidden Hollow. The centaur statue was tinted darker, and moved from its western point of origin to the east. The space thus opened up, allowing the western portion a clean lawn and improved sight lines.

WATERFALL AT LIBRARY OF DARKRODIN. June 30 2011


The waterfall was added inside the library on June 30th, causing the librarians enormous effort to keep the books dry in the highly humid conditions. The librarians, a mouse and a monkey, await any of your questions at the base of the falls.

WATERFALL AT MAZE GARDENS. July 5, 2011



The transition between the running stream on Plâteau of Man Park, and the white waters of Maze Gardens, has been a long lasting problem spot. On July 5, after seeing the ideal water fall at a friend's sim, I acquired the same landscape feature. Fitting it into place required minor terraforming. The transition between the two streams visually flows better now. The pool at the base of the falls reminds me of the Japanese baths at outdoor springs. It's a tranquil hidden spot.