Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Lilia's Details

Lilia Artis, my artist friend and collaborator building Fantasy Faire, also puts in a good amount of feedback and suggestions for ACC Alpha, and has contributed in some builds there as well. Just two days ago, she surprised me with a list of ideas, she knows I love her suggestions. You will see below that I not only appreciate her feedback, but usually implement them. Shall we get started?

The back side of the Paper Tower Studio, with fern frond pillars



The back side of the Visitor Center,  with fern frond pillars, 
facing Maze Gardens.




The back sides of the pavilions on Paper Tower Court, that side of the architecture which faces out toward the rest of the city, seemed massive and too sheer to Lilia. She felt they didn't relate to the city surrounding this grand central structure. Her idea was to break it down visually with a bit of detail, such as a row of columns. I agreed, feeling this would allow the walls of glass to take some comfort and fit in better with the style of the land of centaurs. Lilia's idea was to have the wall behind the Visitor Center be flanked directly by the pillars, perhaps touching the walls, or at an immediate proximity to them. However, in contrast, she said to have the pillars lined up outside the Paper Tower Studio be distanced, following the perimeter of the roof top upon which the entire Paper Tower Court is built. Having a little distance in this manner like a little avenue, would give the impression of history - perhaps in a distant time, two rows of pillars circumvented the arena, but behind the Studio, the pillars close to the wall fell, while the opposite would be true behind the Visitor Center. This reference to history is not meant to refer to a false past, rather, a contemporary kind of statement working more on the subconscious, why is it one way here, and another way there? 
Instead of straight columns, I used a kind of plant like structure rising a bit like a fern stem. The organic nature of it ties in with the curly nature of many architectural styles in ACC Alpha. 

Approaching the Ghost Sanctuary


Ghost Sanctuary with towers and balconies


One of the rooms at Ghost Sanctuary giving onto Venice Under Glass


Another room inside the Ghost Sanctuary. The wall textures are the same which
used to decorate the interiors of Paper Village back in 2013. The added ghostly
people I added today from textures I'd made many years ago, they make a come back.

Lilia asked me to rezz 6 of my new balconies. She then positioned them on a couple
of the houses at Paper Village. It made all the difference.

The house in the center of the picture now has the same type of new balcony
as the other buildings mentioned above. The old balcony was a very heavy
cement structure. It was actually at this house where Lilia's suggestions started.
The balcony overlooks Gemusy Market, definitely one of my favorite spots in the 
city of Accentaury. The furnishings and life all around the Market are Lilia's touches.






Lilia’s feedback on some of the paper-like houses along the front base of the Paper Tower Court, was nearly the same. She noted how they seemed blocky, and too similar one to another. She sent me some photos of European details which break up a flat surface, such as embedded towers and turrets. Lilia also thought I should build some balconies. I did this at the Ghost Sanctuary, where added architectural features broke up the predominance on squares. I had all but forgotten how these old buildings were copied off the older builds of Paper Village. The interiors were originally translucent with interesting textures to save me from using prims to furnish the buildings, prims I did not have any spare at the time. While Paper Village has lost all its translucent interior walls in favor of finally being able to be furnished, The Ghost Sanctuary preserves it. I even added additional ghosts for a more thorough play with the effect. How do you get inside these houses? Just walk through the walls of course. One of the houses has direct access to Venice Under Glass, and the views from inside are especially soft and tranquil. I am debating whether to use extra prims to put in a couch or chair for those visitors who want a peaceful, private rest, for no one would see them inside these structures which are opaque from the outside. The wavy pillars I made for the Paper Tower Court area, by the way, are simply taken from the bars of the new balcony, and stretched 10 fold their original size.

Two long, narrow pots which had been a part of the original Paper Tower,
 are preserved, but presently take their new positions upside down.




When the Paper Tower was removed from ACC Alpha in 2014, I’d set up an exhibit showing the history of that structure. 5 years have passed, and I am considering using that particular room in the museum for a new exhibit. But first, I moved two of the ‘jars’ which came directly off the Paper Tower before its return to inventory. Those I have now moved onto the façade of the Paper Tower Studio, turned upside down, and balancing upon the heads of two guardian statues just below the level of the dome. 

The plane flies every which direction, while the pilot dog's ears flap in the wind.




And last but not least, is a gift Lilia surprised me with: a pilot dog who now flies in Maze Gardens, where the playground used to be. This made me especially happy, because the little quilted duck which Lilia got for me many years ago, has been a resident of the museum area ever since, and she is very happy to have company! This dog in a plane comes by way of a humorous inside joke. Lilia knows how deeply involved I am with the transportation systems on the sims, with a comprehensive railway, and always wishing I had the space for an airport. She rolls her eyes when she sees how the train tracks have overtaken every centimeter of the land – and sea. This gift was a perfect expression of the joy I get from working on the sims. To poke a little fun at myself, I made a tiny sign on the lawn next at the area where the pilot dog flies around his duck and cat friends. The sign reads: Accentaury Airport. If you look around the rest of the gardens, tranquility seems to reign. This is odd to say, but were someone to ask me where I like most to relax in peace and quiet on the sim, I’d probably say the airport.




XXX

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