I went through my store today and did a bit of redecorating! The furniture that was out had to be from two years ago, and I had been playing with my own Rococo inspired furniture for my sim build. For the past few months it's just been sitting in my hobbit house, so I figured what the hell, might as well put it out in the store.

I haven't even touched my sim model in four months or more, I haven't felt that I could devote the time. As a result, it's very likely that the Mardi Gras masque will not have been the last party to be thrown in the current hall, but no promises. I might just tear it down anyway, build the full scale version of the model's event hall and just let it be a stand alone piece for now.

I've added a little bargain wall that has items priced at 50L or lower. I've lowered the price of my Sweetheart Cloche to 50L, and put a few items that have been floating around wherever I could stick them over there. I also pulled out a very old piece from my inventory that I never really formally set out: the Smokey veil.

Actually, I can't remember, did I ever put this out? No idea... but anyway, it's languishing, and its original form in normal prims was incredibly popular. The reason it's been sitting for so long is that there are some minor texture problems that were driving me batty, and what are the chances of no alpha conflict with bangs?

But you know, it's darn pretty, and that's what a bargain wall is for. It might give me a chance to release a few other things that have little bothers like this one. It's 50L tucked around the corner where the moustaches are.

I took down the old pirate head sign, it was cheeky but it didn't say what I wanted to say. I know that the unscrupulous sorts who would steal are going to find a way to anyway... but it's the people who can be led to believe it's alright that worry me. It's a slippery slope and I want to remind folks who've been tempted that the items you clearly love enough to purchase are worth purchasing again. Circumventing permissions in any way is a slap in the face to the original artist. Content creators like myself honestly need every cent. None of us are Anshe Chung, and even the people who are part of the big fashion houses have bills to pay.

As my new sign says, ripping content in SL is like stealing a kid's macaroni picture. It may have no real value to you, and it may be easy for you, but it can break a person's heart. The time and effort and creativity that goes into something we put out for a pittance is all born out of love for what we're doing. And I know that I for one thank the powers that be every day that I can do this for a job, but I wouldn't be able to do it without every person who trades me a few lindens for a piece of my soul. I'd hope that that's a bargain. I'm also quite happy that my soul seems to be big enough to go around :)

Masque of the Dead

Halloween is coming up once again. And of course, as well all know, the spirit world is closer than ever to meeting with the real world on that night. Does that count for the virtual world as well?

On Friday, October 30th, the barrier between the worlds of life and death will waver, and the spirits of those departed will venture into mortal halls, to caper and dance like they once did.

Come back from the ether of the afterlife to be "lively" again. Be you a ghost or ghast, a wraith or revenant, you will be welcome to dance your feet off!

And then you can pick them up, put them back on and dance some more.

But please, no vampires. Vampires have never shuffled off the mortal coil, and still enjoy the luxury that so many spirits are denied. Do not rub your good fortune in the faces of those who don't get to enjoy the mortal world on a daily basis! Zombies are more than welcome, as long as you promise to pick up your pieces should you shed them.


When assembling your costume, please keep these rules in mind. These rules have worked exceedingly well for former events, even with the sim at capacity! So please, do respect them. For the sake of all of us, if each party-goer abides by them we should all be able to dance and camera around without molasses.

Please keep your prim attachments in total to 200 or less.

You can double check how close you are to the limit by using build, and holding down shift to click each item you're wearing. The build window will display the collected total of those prims.

Streamline your AO, or leave it at home

Nobody likes looking like a noob while being a wallflower. However, if you don't plan to dance, fill a veritably lag free, low prim ZHAOII with your two or three favorite stands. You don't need a walk or any other anim if you're not moving. Otherwise, just go without.

No particles, and no listening scripts
Turn that bling off, and make sure you don't have any items on you that respond to chat commands. Try to avoid scripted items at all if possible.

As always, there will be a costume contest, determined by vote, to vie for the title of King and Queen of the Dead. Two previously unreleased, themed masks will be awarded as the prizes, along with 1500L each.

Make sure you join the group early, do not put it off because you don't have a group slot. Spots will go surprisingly fast, and I will refuse to add a single soul more than 50. I will, however, have a waiting list just in case anyone leaves the group, which has happened before. There will still be hope to get in even if you hear about it too late.

Masks are required, but a freebie mask will be included, which is the mask shown in the invite. I know the costume rules are tough to follow, especially when it's so tempting to go for the excess, but I have the utmost faith in your creativity to be able to work around the limitations, and flourish. I can't wait to see you there.

Illusions Masque of the Dead
Friday, October 30th, 6PM SLT
Illusions Event Hall, Carnivale
(Join the "Illusions Masque of the Dead 2009" Group)
Formal Dress and Mask Required

Jewelry Fair Releases 2009

Both RL and my obligations to the Jewelry Fair itself have been interfering incredibly with my production, and so I'm very sorry to say I didn't get everything done that I had hoped. I really thought and hoped that I would be able to get my roses done and out and completed but there's just too far to go with them for me to be able to get them out tonight. I'm going away for the weekend, but when I get back I am going to do my best to get them out during the fair.

Despite my delays, I have some other treats I'm incredibly excited to share. Everything is currently only available there, but it will all be out in the main store come the 27th, with the exception of the freebie (which you don't want to miss).

First off: something simple, which Vasean Talamasca suggested to me and I realized was a fantastic idea. He wanted a simple cord, no more than a string, wrapped around his neck. After torturing an oblong sculpt for a few hours, I had the absolute perfect piece of casual jewelry! Just one prim, you can wear it with absolutely any outfit. Grunge, goth, punk, trendy, couture, I couldn't think of a single outfit that it couldn't go with. Which is why, of course, I had to make bracelets and arm cuffs!

At one prim, this is the sort of thing you actually could wear to the fair, if your skin just seems too bare without your baubles. They're not available separately, you get all in one for 175L. They're texture change, even though I love the black, so you can add a bit of color in my usual range of 12. They're unisex too, obviously, since they were made from a guy's suggestion, and come in small and large sizes.


That's relatively simple though... and after everything I've learned in just a year from my middle eastern jewelry I wanted to take another crack at something incredibly delicate and ornate. A year ago, I didn't have oblongs, and most of my metal textures were the same across everything. Well.. I went nuts, and have created something that is both intricately detailed and dramatic.

Orinthia truly needs a closer look to see everything that has gone into it. Delicate leaves encircle a luminous stone, with chains trailing from elegant filigree. In keeping with the Secret Garden theme of the jewelry fair, leaves hang from the center and the sides, framing and accenting the pendant. Instead of simple earrings, which didn't seem quite enough for a pendant like this, I opted for full ear cuffs. Paired with an updo, the effect is unique yet timeless.

I'm not done yet though.

This has to be one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I've ever made, if not the favorite. One of the problems with bracelets in SL is that they can just disappear on the wrist. A simple tennis bracelet can be so perfect while you're setting up an outfit, but as soon as you zoom out, you can forget it's ever there. Well, I dare you to miss this on your wrist! This one really makes a statement. And I think it goes along the lines of "hot damn I love jewelry".

Rings have a similar problem to bracelets, if not much worse, in that the hands are so far from a focus that rings, unless they have sentimental value, are an easy accessory to forget in SL. That's when sometimes bigger really is better. This isn't enormous or unwieldy (why would I do that?) but I have to say it's eye catching, especially when paired with the bracelet.

Lastly, a simple chain arm band, which I think is a nice accent when you have statement pieces everywhere else. Delicate and feminine, it dangles down the arm and adds a sense of unity to the set.


Currently only available at the fair, if you miss out don't worry, it'll be in the store on the 27th. However, this won't.
Available for free at my booth! It's a simple reverse teardrop necklace called Aurelie, and it's scripted with the same stones and metals as Orinthia and should serve as a perfect test drive to my new textures. Plus, its a darn flexible and nifty bit of casual jewelry. I found myself wearing this one around almost as often as the cord necklace (damn it they're both so versatile!). SO HEAD OVER TO MY BOOTH ALREADY!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/JewelryFair%202/211/183/28

Jewelry Fair Opens!

Jewelry Fair officially opens today! So everyone can see my hard work, on both the build and my jewelry. I'm going to be spammy and do two posts though.

I built the damn thing, so I'm rather proud of how I've managed to keep everything as simple as possible, yet as pretty as I could. No sculpts were used throughout, everything is the most primitive shapes, and the same 10 textures were used absolutely everywhere I could. The design is basically a labyrinth with one contiguous path that will lead you through all of the stalls, as well as event areas such as one of a kind auctions, the dunk tank, and the kissing booth. The auctions, dunk tank, select items, and everything that isn't going to a jeweler is all going to benefit Oxfam International.

To help people get around a bit easier, we divvied the maze into four seasons to help you find your favorite jewelers easier. There's a map and a list of who's where at the Jeweler's of SL blog.

My booth is Winter 15, which is pretty easy to find since I stuck it right by one of the Slurls. Hey, I'm not getting paid for this, so I deserve a perk :)~

So head on over, grab the freebie (which I should have described in the post above this one), and have fun!

So many busy things that can't be talked about lest I jinx them! If you're wondering when you're going to see the gorgeousness I teased at in my last post, you're going to have to wait until Jewelry Fair :)

As I always do, I'm working on completely new jewelry for the fair, and the roses are part of it. I'm also working on a few other things, all within the theme of the Secret Garden.

But since its been so darn long since I just worked on something and then put it out (curse you, monstrously huge projects!) I wanted to get something relatively simple done. And then of course, the simple things are never that simple. But, I've finished a festive bit of fun, (which I'm very happy with), called the Diamonte.

Omgosh it has proper eye holes! This is a rather evolved experiment (from many other scrapped ones) in creating a mask with two torii for eyes (yeah yeah technical talk blah blah). As a result, it fits many more faces and has crisper edges around the eyes, as well as more flexibility for eye shapes. For the next masks I do, you can sort of expect me playing around with how to make three or more prims all look like one solid mask.

The eyes, forehead and trim are all changeable on touch independantly, so that if you'd like to have a solid red mask you most certainly can, but you can also play with combinations. I've added a nice new metal to the trims as well, a warm bronze texture (from a Zbrush matcap... gawjuss!). That's another thing you might see more of soon :)~

I hope to get a few other, smaller projects out before Jewelry Fair (opening the 18th!) but if not, I'm not dead, I'm just pining for the fjords.

I've volunteered to do the build for the upcoming jewelry fair, which has me a bit preoccupied and sadly distracted from making a few things I had in the works. If anyone is wondering, I'm doing my best to keep things simple and minimalist while still as pretty as possible with as few textures as possible. It's a challenge but its sort of fun to be working with normal prims again!

I have a few things up in the air, I feel a bit bad about being so vague for so long but when I've been open about what I had in the works I've felt pressured. I still remember my teasing riddles for my antlers ending up being about six months early. That was embarrassing...


But I'd like to think it's pretty safe to offer a teaser when I've reached the point where a release is inevitable, even if it takes some time to get the pieces together. And I think I've just about reached that point with one of my projects that's been a while in the making:

Coming soon, my roses will be back :) Hopefully just barely in time to still be in summer! They're better than ever, and I am very proud of them so far. I just have to figure out creative ways for you to stick them all over your body now.


Another piece of news is that I'll be somewhat kidnapped for about three weeks. I've been called upon for federal jury duty starting later this month and that will definitely curtail my creating time and motivation. It's not like the releases have been pouring out of me lately or anything, but its just a heads up.

Hedera

Omfg.

Okay, it's finally done.


This project, which started out with something as innocent as a bracelet, has become a voracious vortex of vegetation, demanding I make piece after piece after piece until it has finally had its way with me. I've been working on this pretty much straight through the month, without really being able to focus on anything else until this was done. That's one of the reasons I've been so silent.



You may now adorn yourself with ivy. As my friend Selos joked, I've been out of world so much that my avatar has become overgrown.

This set is a big landmark for me, because it includes something I've never before done in an accessories set.... clothing.

The clothing textures took me more time than the rest of the sculpting and texturing combined. It's a huge jump for me to take, seeing as how textures have never been my strong suit, nor a very enjoyable task for me. My meager skills in that department needed some serious exercise and butt kickery to get them anywhere near the quality I demand from everything in my store. After more lindens spent in upload fees than I can count, as well as draft upon draft that never even were good enough to make it in world, I was finally able to rest and say "those seams are good enough, damnit".

Each prim piece is painstakingly made especially to the avatar mesh, so that they should be super easy to fit. Even the chest vines that curl around the breasts should be able to handle even the biggest girls with only minimal clipping. I also made sure to keep my prim sizes relatively large, so that every piece is able to be modded down to fit even my pixie shapes. The individual pieces vary in price based on complexity from 45L to 175L, with the complete set being a quite reasonable 950L.

The panties that go on under the loin cloth are only available in the complete set. There are other perks exclusive to buying it all in one, like multiple clothing layers for the bra and panties, a "bare foot" size for the foot vines, and multiple attachment points for the ear cuffs (yes there are ear cuffs) so that you can wear them with the earrings and get a multi layered effect :)


If you're more of a minimalist, or on a budget, the necklace and earrings will give you at least the impression of that dryad look without needing to be weeded. The necklace comes with delicately trailing vines which hang off your shoulder, and are completely optional (they have a separate attachment)

(By the way, the stunning black skin in that picture is from Blowpop's new skin series, called Maya. I love it to pieces and you'll probably be seeing a lot more of it from me)

You'll also just have to see the enormous wall of all of your options... happy shopping :)

My work ethic is like soap. The harder I grab on to it, to try to make things, the faster it goes *squip!* out of my hands. However! I have some good news. As I have relaxed (through copious procrastination) I have made great progress on two projects which have been my sole focus for the past month, one of which is very close to being completed.

I might be too close to it to see it neutrally by now, but as much as I'd like to say it is epic and huge, it is probably not that epic, nor huge. I have managed to accomplish something that a majority of content creators do easily, and quickly, and it took me more time than the rest of my project put together. Hopefully, in the long run it will prove to be a learning experience, and what it adds to the project will be worth the time.

Now, I don't normally post teasers, but I also don't normally go silent for almost a month at a time!
Coming soon to a purple mask store near you...

Today I received my first notice of copyright infringement from the DMCA department, which is something I was never expecting to see. After I swallowed that "wtf!?" moment, it actually wasn't so bad. Apparently even Frank Sinatra's name is licensed, and so my naming a fedora after him was in violation of Warner Music's copyright. So from now on the "Sinatra" fedora is going to be the "Corleone" fedora, something I'm updating even as I type this.

It's no biggie, so I won't bother making a fuss. What's in a name, after all? But I wanted to make a notice here so that there was no confusion, and also satisfy curiosities (maybe serve as a little warning to anyone else wanting to dedicate anything to the Chairman of the Board).


Also, update on current projects... I'm working on a few things that are ending up bigger than I initially thought, which makes me think I should release another smaller project while I'm working on these. Unfortunately, that's exactly how a few of these started, so I don't want to place myself in the way of temptation and end up with even more enormous projects O.o

Blinders

I have had some big projects in the works lately, the ears took me forever with so many delays... my sim build has been in the works for six months, and I have a secret project which is taking longer than I was hoping too. So I felt the need to just finish something simple and interesting which I could just release without any complications.

I've been wanting to really make a blindfold for a while now, the one I have for sale for 20L was just something I made very quickly. I think they have a beautiful mystique about them though, and I've always wanted to do it more justice.

With the coaxing of Selos I managed to get the silk texture just perfect. It doesn't go all the way around the head, only to the ears, in order to make sure that its compatible with all hairs. This way it fits a wide variety of heads and is unisex. I'd like to do one that works with hair someday soon, but that certainly doesn't qualify as a quick and simple project!

It's scripted to change texture to twelve different jewel tones, so that you can match whatever outfit you like. It really seems to lend an ethereal and mystical air to your avatar, or maybe just a kinky one.

Along with that one though, I wanted to try a different kind of blindfold.

It could be one of those little masks you wear over your eyes when you go to sleep, or it could be used in the bedroom for "other purposes". Whatever you like you're welcome to try, personally I like this one because I made the trim able to be changed to a different color than the rest of the mask. I know some people have asked that I make a lack of eyes an option with some of my masks, and if you wanted to you could wear this one underneath in order to get that effect.


I won't be retiring my old satin blindfold, I think it still has its place as a bargain piece, but I'm lowering the price now to 10L :) These two new ones are now for sale in the main store for 95L each ^.^