There's a hair in our cake

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

That Pandora Wrigglesworth has struck again. I'm still chuckling, even as I type.

The annual Hair Fair 2009 in Second Life® is a massive (hairy?) affair that just about everyone loves, despite that fact that it lags us nearly to death (attendance is sky-high), but we like it especially because it benefits Locks of Love, the charitable organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy and other medical reasons.

Now, Pandora is known for her utterly surreal, over-the-top and laughter-inducing creations and her exclusive coiffs for the fair do not disappoint.

She writes:

"None of these styles will be available until the fair opens and, for the duration of the fair, will only be available at the fair."


The "Lampshade Hairstyle"

"Why choose between glamour and frivolity? You can have both and be the life of every party! When you walk in with Lampshade hairstyle, you are sure to light up the room!

Lights up just like a Real Lamp! Just tug on the single spring curl beside your right ear.

Hide in plain sight from Stupid People!"


The Let Them Eat Cake Off Of Your Head! style

"The people may be revolting but don't hold it against them. Let them eat cake with the Let The Eat Cake Off Of Your Head hairstyle! Treat your guests to six delicious varieties of cake, artfully arranged within a tower of lavish curls and garnished with delicate flowers.

People can help themselves to any of the three cakes you are currently wearing simply by touching the cake they want. Forks and plates are complimentary."

Hostess and Buffet in One!

The most SCRUMPTIOUS hairstyle ever!

Infinite Cake!

The Cake Menu includes:
- Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Carrot Cake
- Cherry Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Birthday Cake

It seems we can expect three hairstyles from Pandora, and we haven't seen the third yet. I am all anticipation!


Photographs by Pandora Wrigglesworth.

Mobilize your personal static electricity for a hands-free 3D gestural interface

Posted by a totally wowed Bettina Tizzy

Students at Northeastern University in Boston have created an interactive interface that harnesses electrostatics to give you 3D control just by waving your hand in front of a computer. No camera, no markers, no physical controllers: it recognizes xyz coordinates, and even works with modeling and music programs. As you move your hand in three-dimensional space, the information is transmitted to the computer.

3D Computer Interface from Free Flow on Vimeo.

Peter Kirn of Create Digital Motion contacted a member of the student team, Justin Schunick, to learn more. Per Justin: "The interface uses an array of copper electrodes to sense a certain change in the electric field created by the device. The black material covering the electrodes shows how the interface can be hidden beneath surfaces to create a completely invisible interface. It is simple black felt you can buy at any fabric store. The total cost of this prototype was around $60.00 USD."

Speaking for myself, and considering my fitness level after nearly 2 1/2 years of participating in virtual worlds, I would welcome any technology that encourages whole body movement while working in 3D environments.

You can read the original story about this exciting development here.

Thinking differently, right down to your tippy toes

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

While I maintain that no other platform can rival virtual worlds for thinking differently about design - and specifically Second Life® and OpenSim where user-created content is not only possible but encouraged - my pulse still quickens when I come across innovations by Real Life mavericks.

One such designer is Netherlands-born, London-based and award-winning artist Marloes ten Bhömer. Her brainchildren actually belong on our feet, and offer an alternative to existing design languages.





Marloes' shoes, which are more architectural than fashionable, afford women the incredibly rare chance of freedom from conventional style clichés and codes. Everything about her approach is different, including the materials she works with: carbon fiber and stainless steel, among others.




Many thanks to artist AM Radio for the toes up on Marloes' shoes.

Feisty, radical and rich with culture: Eshi Otawara's upcoming Collection

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

If Akira Kurosawa were alive today, I do believe he'd hire Eshi Otawara to costume his next film. I am also quite certain that Yves Saint Laurent would have swooned at the sight of her next Collection. At least Lagerfeld is still around but he'd better hurry up or maybe Galanos will snatch her up.

One year ago, Eshi’s much celebrated fishhook dress caused such a prodigious pandemonium on the grid that a cult following sprung from it. Seven months later, that same dress - in a black Limited Edition - sold at auction for $460,000L.

This Saturday at 1pm SLT, Eshi will present her Winter/Spring Collection, featuring the first Limited Edition dress under her new Eshi Otawara label, but like everything that has to do with Eshi, that’s not half of the story. It just seems to me that everything she does… even the most mundane things, are standouts.

Allow me to illustrate what I mean… Early last month, I TP’ed Eshi into the shop of a well-known and successful clothing designer to show her a hat I’d been chatting about in IM. We were both quite surprised to find ourselves alone in the mega emporium, which is usually swarming with shoppers.

Right then and there and much to my utter thrill and horror, Eshi donned the KABUKI dress she’d been working on... This is THE dress that will have a limited release: five copies only and each will be sold for $50,000L.

Well, she could have knocked me over with a feather; I’d have thrown a sheet over her if it had been physically possible. I was simply horrified with the possibility that someone might teleport in and see it before its proper unveiling. I was thrilled because the dress was unlike anything I’d ever seen in my real or virtual life, and it was so very appealing. I mean, it can be done in Real Life, but I don’t think it has. And the accessories! It is the sort of garment you’d expect of one of the fashion greats: super inventive and beautifully realized… and smart! And sensual.

Of course, I did the only thing any reasonable woman would do under similar circumstances. I promptly begged her to allow me to be a model at the show where this thing of beauty would be released in the wild.

Lucky for me and unfortunately for her, she accepted, so there I’ll be this Saturday, most assuredly making a fool of myself, but the reward will be as rich as a chocolate mousse, hehe. Wild horses will not be able to tear her Collection from my avatar body.

Oh… Eshi did give me a photograph of this dress, but I’ve elected not to publish it. It’s a great pic, but it still doesn’t do the outfit justice. You’ll simply have to be there to see this and the other extraordinary fashions – even for Eshi! - for yourself. I'll give you a couple of hints though. Think Japanese. Think punk.

BOSL Theatre - Saturday, December 13, 2008; 1pm SLT
Teleport to the East Entrance from here; teleport to the West Entrance from here.

A most extraordinary building in Second Life

Among other things, you might say that Scope Cleaver's newest building looks like a rainbow colored Chambered Nautilus, or a prized Wurlitzer jukebox. You might remark on its open roof, or how it throws off light beams. But it is a foregone conclusion that you will not say that you have ever seen any other building like it before. In any life. Fact is, if you want to acquaint yourself with typical architecture in Second Life®, do not teleport here.


Princeton commissioned the creation of this pixelated building, which it subsequently named Diversity

I met with Scope in March to see how the building was progressing, and then followed that up with an interview this weekend.

This is so very different for you!
Scope Cleaver: Yes, the materials are pretty different... lots of adobe, woods and brass. A combination I haven't used before in Second Life. The goal was to create a building that would be environmentally friendly in Real Life, so I introduced wind turbines and the use of energy-conscious materials.

Well, we can set examples in-world for off-world construction. Have you ever seen a structure that combines these materials?
Scope Cleaver: Not in the same mix, no. I've seen wood and adobe together before, of course, but not with brass and colored glass. Maybe this has been done in the steampunk sims, though I don't know. First time I dare use so much color.



Tell me about the evolution of your thought process regarding design.
Scope Cleaver: I started designing in Second Life as a way to see where the tools would bring me and learn about its limitations, and more importantly how those limitations and constraints could help me find a new perspective and ways of expression.

I think a defining trait in my thinking about design in Second Life is to take it seriously as an object of study and research. There is a complex web of variables that inspires design in the study of culture, how avatars interact, the economy, people's sense of space and privacy, language (because yes, that too is evolving in it's own way), technology, meaning and values. I believe (that) trying to be sensitive to it all - on a global scale - helps shape how I would like to evolve with architecture in Second Life.


Hmmm, though the terraforming by Poid Mahovlich is overrated

Your work is becoming more NPIRL (Not Possible in Real Life) all the time. Did NPIRL have any influence on you in this regard?
Scope Cleaver: I don't really have imperatives before making a design on whether it should be possible or translate in Real Life or not. I am not sure it's the right way to compare things for many reasons, one of which is, it isn't clear in our still incomplete physics what is and isn't possible in Real Life.

What if we find in 20 years that X is indeed possible in Real Life after all? Should it change the value of a piece in Second Life? Also, in Second Life, I may have seen buildings that defy the law of gravity, but I have yet to see any that defy the laws of logic. So what does it mean exactly to be impossible IRL? And what does it teach us about RL/SL? If we really put our minds to it, could we come up with something we thought was impossible, yet manage to make it in Real Life? Where there is no doubt, is that Second Life does reveal to me new possibilities on a daily basis. In this sense, many inspiring creators in the group have left me in constant amazement.


Artist and architect Santiago Calatrava's planned "Obelisco" for Madrid would certainly add strength to Scope's argument

What were your biggest challenges in creating this building and how did you go about tackling them?
Scope Cleaver: Well, I'll attempt to gracefully avoid talking about prim management... But one interesting challenge was to figure out how I would bring together elements which are usually seen together in a different aesthetic repertoire. I am talking here about materials, colors and the general tone of the building. I used simple trial and error methods and experimented with many different iterations, until I was happy with it. There was a bit of wrestling with myself, and some exploring and learning was in order, since this departs from my usual style. It's never easy to face the unknown.

What are your plans for the future?
Scope Cleaver: I have a few smaller artistic projects along with a custom residence on my plate for the immediate future. For the long term, I plan to live long enough to witness a revolution in how we think about designs as sentient entities; more on that in a few years...

What would you like to be doing that you have not had the opportunity to do yet?
Scope Cleaver: I have been very lucky to get plenty of opportunities from clients to realize things with very few constraints. I guess one thing I would like is design a space for a think tank or research center focused on the future of virtual worlds and artificial intelligence.



What are a couple of the biggest differences between designing for Real Life and Second Life...
Scope Cleaver: There is the obvious, like deterioration, the likelihood of a civil lawsuit and the order of magnitude involved in the program and timetables, and plenty of details about manufacturing processes and the cost involved in items that are designed for mass production. If you strip to the essentials though, I tend to notice there are more similarities than differences.

Which creators in Second Life inspire you and why?
Scope Cleaver: There are way too many to list. I have the utmost admiration and get inspiration from Seifert Surface for his expertise and wise words: "sometimes magic doesn't work." We share a passion for mathematics and art. Keystone Bouchard, for his constantly evolving insights about architecture, interactivity and collaboration.

Lately, from AldoManutio Abruzzo whose music inspires elegance and expanses of space. Lem Skall, for his amazing photography and sense of composition... a true Second Life explorer. DB Bailey, for his ability to carve space and make abstractions tangible. Patch Thibaud for his efficiency and the ease in implementing a design. The people who come to see me build, for their gems of comments and quirks, and many others...



One of the differences between Real Life architecture and Second Life architecture is that it is so much easier to sell virtual duplicates of a work, much like lithographs or prints. This places Second Life architecture in a saleabilty category that is similar to commercial art in Real Life. Do you agree?
Scope Cleaver: I see this as a fact so it's difficult to disagree with it. I do both. I have some of my buildings for sale and others I do custom, although my work is mostly custom. I think there is a future for both. Putting aside the philosophical issue of the value of the many versus the unique, there certainly is a demand for both. The reason I prefer custom is because it feels much more personal, and you get to interact on the creative level with the client throughout the project. That said, it would make more business sense to focus entirely on selling duplicates, which in Second Life we call "prefabs".

See also: Scope Cleaver's winged superstructure

Syncretia revisited - Exhuberant elegance

Is it possible to get to know a person only via email and the rare IMs and even rarer conversations? Historically, people who were geographically distanced from each other only had letters to go by and none of the social cues communicated through voice, facial expressions and body language. Somehow they muddled through, many of them admirably, as can be appreciated by reading old corresondence between the likes of Virginia Woolf, Rainer Maria Rilke and Jorge Luis Borjes.

Today, and even though I live 6,861 miles or 11,042 kilometers or a non-stop 14 hour flight away from Istanbul-based artist and designer and educator Alpha Auer (aka Elif Ayiter) - and thanks to virtual worlds - I can "inhabit" her space - Syncretia - and watch it progress in a very direct and personal way, almost as if I had an extra key to her Real Life studio, but was only allowed in when she was not there.

Syncretia continues to evolve and grow richer with each passing week. It is certainly quite different since I blogged about it three months ago. In the five months that I have known her - ever so virtually - I have rarely communicated with Alpha about Syncretia, but she knows I watch over it. Instead, we talk about everything else! Just this week she was a guest blogger here, reviewing the three new Konica Minolta sims.



I mostly learn what Alpha has on her mind via her Flickr journal, where she has written: "Please note that the north shore of Syncretia is subject to highly inclement weather conditions, due to the personal proclivities of Alpha Auer, who has a marked preference for rain, storm and snow over sunlight."





Syncretia is an intensely elegant manifestation of Alpha's investigations in the new media wedding of the year, where her research in virtual worlds is coupled with art and design. Importantly, Second Life® is central to Alpha's PhD coursework.


"Above water, suspended in the air are three huge spheres which are home to an endless army of lizards and other strange and inexplicable creatures"


"The basin has also been the scene to a plane crash, the debris of which can still be seen and heard clearly throughout the southern shore"




While it is one of the handsomest islands on the grid, like everything that Alpha does, Syncretia is playful. Trees and bushes are gently swaddled in ghostly wrappings. In the botanical garden, plants are suspended upside-down and sideways. Here and there, surprises: a stingray encircles a conference table in the company of a small school of tropical fish; a nuclear bomb to reminds us that everything can disappear at any moment... No music is streamed at Syncretia. Rather, a piano offers the Goldberg Variations (Johann Sebastian Bach), Mozart's Sonata in C Major, and Debussy's Clair de Lune.


"The Angry Monkey Tent, Alpha’s island retreat, (is) a tribute to her own nomadic heritage as a Turk. However, interspersed with the nomadic element are also Hobo and Steampunk interests, such as a tripod camera, a cast iron stove for those chilly island nights, a copper samovar, a Hobo bicycle and backpack. The tent further houses a big field of steaming snake plants as well as a tiny sculpty rabbit"



Is this the future of virtual meeting rooms? Where conference tables, fish, bathtubs and crashed planes share a space underwater? Bathtubs under water?! Yes, Alpha believes that "cleanliness is next to godliness" and clarifies that "the fact that they are already underwater should please, not deter avatars from taking advantage of the considerable power of the additional cleansing properties."

The ecosystem at Syncretia is oddly logical. Here, no organism or thing is an autonomous entity isolated from its surroundings.



In a notecard offered there, Alpha explains: "Citrinitas, or sometimes referred to as xanthosis is a term given by 15th and 16th century alchemists to "yellowness." It was one of the four major stages of the alchemical opus, and literally referred to "transmutation of silver into gold" or "yellowing of the lunar conscientiousness." In alchemical philosophy, citrinitas stood for the dawning of the "solar light" inherent in one's being, and that the reflective "lunar or soul light" was no longer necessary. The other three alchemical stages were nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), and rubedo (redness)."





"Syncretia/Citrinitas is an alchemical power plant which utilizes the water pumped from the Black Mountain for alchemical purposes. This water is cycled through the fairy chimneys at Syncretia/Cappadocia, after which it begins its long journey across the plains of the northern shore. The acquisition of alchemical properties is initiated during this phase: As it progresses the water gains in density. In the plant proper the water is further treated to the point where it can actually turn dross to gold! The two Hobo trucks inside the huge containers are currently undergoing treatment. One unexpected byproduct is a rejuvenating elixir! Sitting inside the two spheres below the purification tanks can create wonders, not only in terms of appearance but also of state of mind!"




She goes on to explain: "Psychologist Carl Jung is credited with interpreting the pseudo-scientific alchemical process as analogous to modern-day psychoanalysis. In the Jungian archetypal schema the nigredo is the Shadow; albedo refers to the anima/animus (contrasexual soul images); citrinitas is the Wise old man (or woman) archetype; and rubedo is the Self archetype, which has achieved wholeness.


Here, Light Waves' ghostly horse and lion munch placidly on giant grape leaves

While there are seemingly unlimited new places to acquaint oneself with on the grid, and never enough time, I intend to keep using that spare key I have to visit Syncretia for as long as it is there.

Teleport to Syncretia directly from here.

All photographs taken in Blue Midday Windlight settings. No Photoshop.

Dizzy Banjo's designs on music for (virtual) environments

Not three months ago, the Czar of Second Life blogging, Hamlet Au, and his New World Notes introduced the world to a fellow by the name of Dizzy Banjo - together with his partners Eshi Otawara and Chase Marellan - when they launched Parsec, the application that enables you to move objects with your voice. This happened within days of Dizzy's putting the finishing touches on the music and sound for the artful and complex DynaFleur installation... (teleport directly from here).

Even after all that, as well as the titanic follow-up that ensued after the introduction of Parsec, Dizzy just keeps knocking out new and lofty projects.



When you visit the freshly debuted in-world Mexican "Ruta Maya" regions (teleport directly from here) and turn on your stream, you hear music. Nothing unusual about that. But what you may not realize is that this rich and enveloping music was composed for no other purpose and for no other place, and that those native sounds you are hearing are hardly incidental. All were specifically created and positioned here and there intentionally to boost the narrative of your experience by that same soundscape artist, Dizzy Banjo (rez: 1/30/2005).

Composing music for an immersive 3D environment is not unlike scoring a feature film. In both instances, you strive to elicit an emotional response that varies and grows with each encounter. Perhaps the greatest difference between the two is that rather than create music as a backdrop for one scene or another, the composer in Second Life works within small areas of a region to orchestrate the experience for those micro-zones. Very few people realize what an undertaking this is! For this reason, I thought it was time to get with Dizzy and learn more.

What are the steps you take to create a custom soundtrack, and what do you need to know from the client?

Dizzy Banjo: For me, defining what the project directors want to achieve - emotionally - is the key factor, even surpassing the actual ‘subject’ itself.

From an early stage with Ruta Maya, it was clear that we wanted to achieve a score which immersed you in the emotions of the landscape, as well as containing cultural references. To do this, we expanded the instrumentation beyond purely authentic Mayan instruments (although the score does contain many) to a full orchestra, with a large contingent of tuned percussion. With this palette, I was able to tap into a much richer, cinematic sound.


The lush rainforest at Ruta Maya was created by Kriss Lehmann, probably best known for his beloved Straylight/Botanical

I often ask many questions which the client hasn’t thought about yet, and can’t answer. But generally I find the only thing I need to do is establish a trusting open discussion – and then I can get all the information I need.

Technically, I write in a mixture of various applications, depending on the needs of the project. These days I generally compose and program directly into Nuendo. If the project budget/timescale allows for live musicians, I export out MIDI parts into Sibelius, but often the projects stay in Nuendo right up until mastering stage, which I do in Wavelab.

I use a huge range of virtual instrument and effects. Ruta Maya required a lot of South American percussion and wind instrumentation. My current core orchestral template runs across 4 PC slave machines linked with FX Teleport and consists of a mix from the Vienna Symphonic Library, the East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra, Project SAM, and bits of older libraries like Miroslav Philharmonik.

However I play violin, viola, piano, guitar, bass and banjo (hehe) myself, so I try to use as many live instruments as possible.

How much did you have to "alter as you go," between the initial plan and the final outcome?

Dizzy Banjo: Luckily, prior to working on Ruta Maya, I scored the music for the Machinima for the first Visit Mexico – Chichen Itza sim.



A lot of the musical direction and general approach to Visit Mexico inSL was developed at that stage. Ruta Maya was a development of that sound, so the process of developing the soundtrack actually went really smoothly. Also Valiant Strangelove and Lester Nefarious from Advanced Virtual really placed all their trust in me with it, which I’m very grateful for.

On all my projects, I have listening sessions with the client. We do these in Second Life ‘on location’ to test the audio visual immersion and mix. These went very well, apart from one session where one of the clients accidentally tuned into a random Internet radio station instead of the score stream – which made for some uncomfortable moments like :

Client: “I’m not sure if there should be rock drums…”
Dizzy: “WHAT?! There aren’t!”

I tend to work through the night a lot. I wanted to wait until the build was almost complete before commencing the main body of work. However I did have a number of concepts in mind prior to that. Throughout the compositional process I was often logged in to Second Life with environmental sound playing so I could soak up both the visuals and sounds as I wrote.



What does "environmental sound design" mean, and how does this apply to Ruta Maya?

Dizzy Banjo: On this project, I think environmental sound design meant exploring a way of vastly increasing immersion through Gestalt effect principles. This involved creating a highly detailed soundscape of many of the sounds of the actual environment of the Real Life Ruta Maya (these were created various sources – some recorded, some from sound design libraries and some from my environmental sound design consultant on the project, Hastur Pieterson). In this way, when you are on the beach and hear the seagulls on the cliffs – you believe there really are seagulls nesting there, even though none are present as prims.

In many ways Ruta Maya is a kind of "beyond reality," or "concentrated reality." It’s audibly very dense - the rainforest alone consists of over 40 sound sources - and so rich that you can close your eyes and still feel you are there. I’ve even navigated around the sims with my eyes closed.

What are some of the biggest challenges that Second Life presents for this type of undertaking?

Dizzy Banjo: The 10-sound upload limit is a challenge, but this has been overcome by some clever scripters. One other constraint here is that the client can only play up to 40(ish) sounds simultaneously. This can actually be nice as it reveals more sounds as you move around the islands.

Scoring for the metaverse is very different to scoring for a video game or film (which are generally single person/linear experiences). The challenge is to try to find ways of tailoring the soundtrack to individual and group experiences, which are non linear in nature. Eventually I hope to develop ways of achieving this in Second Life, but Ruta Maya makes some initial steps by splitting up the soundtrack into zones corresponding to particular environments. I’m developing various other techniques for controlling the delivery of sound at the moment, which I hope will bring a finer granularity to that experience in future projects.


Mayan instruments - all of the Pre-Columbian era - included drums and maracas made of wood, clay and sometimes the tortoise shell. Ceremonial flutes and ocarinas made of fired ceramic, bone, wood, or reeds have also been found at archeological sites. Dizzy performed all of these instruments for the Ruta Maya score.

Ruta Maya (meaning Mayan Route) in Second Life features a few (not all, by any means) of the highlights from five of Mexico's southern states: Quintana Roo (there's more to it than Cancun!), Chiapas (I love some areas of this state better than I do Paris or Venice, to give you an idea of how_much, but do try to set your base camp at San Cristobal de las Casas), Campeche and Tabasco, as well as Yucatan, where Chichen Itza is located.

Syncretia - A fictional world in subtle hues that throbs with the narrative

I am tired of constraints imposed by time zones. I crave hours with the creator of a microcosm that exists only in Second Life.

Alpha Auer's (aka Elif Ayiter) stand-out world at Syncretia (teleport directly from here) is ghostly and architectural. Seeping through its monochromatic palette are moments of tension or humor or serenity, but the predominant take-away is that this is a place where many layers of civilization co-exist, making room for or overlapping each other in an orderly way, until (sh*t)/Life happens... disrupting the harmony... and all those carefully laid-out designs and plans are faced with discordant elements. Nothing is as it would be in Real Life, but this space and its existence feel tangible.





Alpha's range of colors is purposefully narrow, but not bleak. It is a temptation in Windlight, which I succumbed to.





Alpha's human, Elif Ayiter, is a Turkish artist, designer and educator specialising in the development of hybrid educational methodologies between art & design and computer science. Her Flickr stream further explains the evolution of this quiet masterpiece.

Thierry Mugler's sim hits a cool groove, but the clothes, the skins! o.O

The opening splash page of Thierry Mugler's United States website asks: "Will you dare the metamorphosis?" (sic) That's correct. I checked it three times. That's how it is worded.

It's that same this-could-be-cool but out-of-sync feeling I get from his debut in virtual worlds, now manifested by his own sim in Second Life, which is slated to open to the public in March of this year (teleport directly from here).



Fact is, I revel in the playfulness of his Real Life fashions - for the most part - and wish I could be typing at this very moment, fully outfitted in one of those little silver numbers he's so well known for.

Wikipedia describes him as: "Thierry Mugler, born 1948 in Strasbourg, France is a fashion designer, photographer, and creator of a fashion design company of the same name."

His sim, featuring "Dr. Muglerstein," was created by the company Balistik Builders, and is in Mugler's signature colors of silver and soft blues and shades of violet, taking full advantage of Second Life's Windlight and the glow feature. It's offbeat and spacey, and the terrain texture - a silvery sand that's been stained here and there in purple and blue - is worth a visit alone.

But shouldn't the real draw... the reason the sim exists, be his designs for skins and clothes offered there?

Last night, a friend who asked not to be identified because she'd rather not be remembered looking like this, modeled a couple of Dr. Muglerstein's skins and outfits for me. What's your opinion?



This skin was presented at a press party yesterday...



Um... what was Mr. Mugler thinking?

Afterwards, my friend and I did a little wandering and discovered a hidden crypt underwater at the lake.



Inside, some freebies. Being a SecondLife Hobo, I rarely turn down a chance to check out a freebie - my poor disheveled inventory - so I decided to try on the "electric hair." Here's the before shot...



...and after! We lol'ed and lol'ed.



Actually, I thought the electric hair was sorta fun in a for-a-little-while kind of way. And that's pretty much how I feel about Thierry Mugler's hip new presence in Second Life. Let's hope he takes heed and listens to what is surely going to be an outcry from Second Life's demanding fashion community. He would do well to sign up some good clothing and skin makers who undoubtedly would do a far better job of translating his Real Life designs into pixelated threads.

Many thanks to Aenea Nori, blogger extraordinarie, for sharing her find with us.

A color trend index and tool box: COLOURlovers

Colors are a form of currency in this digital world. If you work with them - and what content creator doesn't - then I believe you may appreciate this site that AM Radio shared with me.






COLOURlovers is intuitive, gorgeous to look at, and a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration. You can search, sort, filter, share, create your own color palettes, compare them with those created by others, and learn about trends. It is based on open sourcing and common licensing.

For easy future reference, I am adding a link to it to the lower right column of this blog as a permanent feature. Thank you, AM!

Flea Bussy's empire: Grendel's Children, one wacky avatar at a time...

Once upon a time, there was a troll who started a business in Second Life... Fourteen months, 800 different avatars and four sims later, Flea Bussy is regarded as one of the most prolific and best-loved content creators in the metaverse.

FAST FACTS ABOUT FLEA BUSSY
* Rez day: 6/29/2006
* Flea is only 22 years old!
* Works an average of 20 hours a day, 7 days a week
* Was kicked out of art class
* First store opened on September 1, 2006
* Grendel's Children has produced more than 800 avatars
* Average price per avatar: $150L to $250L, with many freebies available
* Ten full time employees; 23 employees all told
* Grendel's Children now covers four sims. Teleport directly from here

Odds are, if you have even one non-human avatar in your inventory, it is from a store called Grendel's Children. I spent one of the most enjoyable evenings in recent memory with its founder and creator, Flea Bussy, and had several surprises, not to mention lots of belly laughs, along the way.

Flea Bussy: I live up in Canada, and am in Quebec! I am, indeed, able to speak French and act as the French translator for staff!
Bettina Tizzy: There is the matter of... is Flea a man or a woman? Or do you care?
Flea Bussy: You can be anything in Second Life, which is what we're devoted to do. It happens that Flea is an old character from early on who's stuck with me as the most fun to 'be,' so I tend to wear (her) as the best representation of myself. I don't really care if people think I'm a he, a she... an it. I answer to all three, and even expletives!


The sort of "official" Flea Bussy avatar

Bettina Tizzy: What were your first days in Second Life like?
Flea Bussy: The first day was like anyone's! You're alone, lost and dumbfounded by the whole world, heehee. Then I figured SL was just a pile of cube homes 'n weird stuff and was preparing to give up on it... and accidentally warped - as my last stop - into a sandbox. And thus, my adventure began.

I saw somebody's massive 3000 prim mech avatar, detailed to the brink. That's when I realized SL is only as bland as you make it to be, and started learning how to build, link, attach... all by reading what resources we have in-game, too! Within 2 days I had the (now free) Viperbug avatar, and by the next day, my (longtime) 'official' avatar "Spikey Armor."

I was just as clumsy as anyone else who tries building: the ol' box to the head, bad prims all over, terrible attempts to animate... but never ever did give up and so, just by always treating any mistake as a learning experience, it has taught me also how to improve my own outlook on RL, too. Nothing like a mistake to teach you something valuable!


Flea's "Spring Treant" is also available in Summer, Fall and Winter avatars. It has a very comprehensive HUD that enables you to emit particles, open and close eyes and mouth, and stomp around rather impressively and *loudly* - The AO is a hoot

Bettina Tizzy: You weren't doing graphic arts or anything of the kind in real life?
Flea Bussy: Naaaahhh, I failed my high school art class and never really learned 'official' ways to do things. (I'm) very much self taught. Hee, 'n you know why I got booted? Well, we're all supposed to draw, say, the bowl of fruit 'n whatnot...so I did, and then added alot of things...and was always told 'you're only supposed to draw what's there!' I think it was some butterfly-like creatures. Very pretty, too. Shame, he ripped it up. Point being, that's when I decided 'art schools aren't for me.' (Today) I paint all our textures by mouse, and that is one skill I would think is very useful to know! Everything is more original since you can always adjust as you draw. It gives something more life, more zip...


This photo by Luna Zolnir

Bettina Tizzy: How soon after those early days in the sandbox did you realize that this could become a full time endeavor?
Flea Bussy: August (was) the learning period, and after one month my friend Shay loaned me and my buddy Lasair a plot of land. She knew we might be able to make it, so she helped set up the space. Grendel's was born on a 2046 sq. m plot. We had a massive tree, and the original Shansu guarding the store.


The first Grendel's Children store opened on September 1, 2006

Bettina Tizzy: Were we ever at risk that you might become a house builder or clothing maker? Sounds like you knew from the getgo that avatars were what interested you.
Flea Bussy: My favorite thing is 'monsters' but, given the fact (that) I'm a 'troll' so to speak (and not from Warcraft - thanks! - I was one before they knew what a troll was!) I always liked making what felt right about 'em.
Bettina Tizzy: So you are a unique troll and not representative of your species? Not a typical ambassador?
Flea Bussy: The joke is I'm the least representative of the species, probably, and far from the most dangerous one.


Nowadays, the store section of Grendel's Children is in the sky above the Avaria sims, which provide a natural habitat for avatars of every sort to explore

Bettina Tizzy: Now you have a four sim business... and how many employees?
Flea Bussy: The count is... 23 or so, and roughly 10 do actual building and are here everyday. Many of the other staff aren't active (life has stolen them away!) but out of honor to them, they stay part of the group. They are free to do as they please, as all are staff! I don't shackle them to the build box, if anyone's shackled it's me! lol The main staffers (who are) on everyday 'n hammering out the delicious things you all enjoy, are numerous and all loveable! Piper Zuhal, Barney Boomslang, Ryan Snook, Rris Greenfield, RaptonX Zorger, Heiko Decatur, Chroma kolache, Psyra Extrodinaire, Memnoch Matzerath, Max Hatfield, Risa Mosuke, Constantine Riel, Sililos Backbite, Lasair Griffis... The others on staff are generally on/off 'n mostly support, hee...


The Snow Leopard, photographed here by Luna Zolnir, was co-created by Flea Bussy and Memnoch Matzerath

Bettina Tizzy: Do you have some sort of group ritual before you make an avatar, or does everyone just go and make something and come back and say "look!"
Flea Bussy: If you count throwing insults and ideas around a ritual... We're extremely close knit. Say I start doodling an idea (and) we're all on voice chattering. Soon we're throwing ideas off each other and often, one avatar grows into many, many things. For example, I did a Shadowcrawler, and it's AO (animation overider) inspired a good dozen other avs both done and being meddled with still. Hee, well, Shadowcrawlers were good, and the AO was then edited to form Kobolds, and added flight to the ao, and it caused gargoyles, fused scavengers, etc...


This photo by Jaid Marsi

Bettina Tizzy: How do you share your doodles, via email?
Flea Bussy: Doodle? Nahh, we build in SL, straight away, and being so used to how we speak, ideas (tend to) flow very fluidly in designs. Our build box is just nuts to be in. Stuff gets painted, thrown together... we do nothing but build n' work, often forgetting to eat/sleep.


This photo by Stephen Venkman

Bettina Tizzy: So, 17 months of very little sleep... were you always like this? Even before SL? Is this your nature, or did SL bring it out?
Flea Bussy: I'm one of those people who's bread and butter is imagination. I always wanted to make, say, 'stuff for video games,' a very common dream of teens 'n such, 'n then you grow up realizing it's not easy, and not like you'll just get scooped up by some game company 'n be all hailed. And, over a bit of time, I realized I'd hate (it) if all the things I invented existed as they do in 90%of games: 'just kill it.'



Flea Bussy: Always was heavily interested in interactions, ecologies, biology, all that sorta 'ecological/sociological' thing going on. When we do things, we also try to make them as...hmm, whats the word... 'not typical' for one... Like the Sirens! Everybody loves em, and they're a play on mermaids.
Bettina Tizzy: ...so unusual even if it is a known species or something we think we know? I adore your sirens, btw...
Flea Bussy: ...and I adore deep sea fish, and thought 'why can't we make one like that?' and hoo boy, did that one ever explode.



Flea Bussy: Hee, well, when it's something we know folks will go nuts (over) for realism, we will bust our chops trying to make it right. Real animals tend to fit into that category, but it's saddening... because even when you do the best SL allows, there's always a horde willing to complain it's 'not right'... the same horde that refuses to take the time to learn to build to see what difficulties they face trying to make something 'real.'


One of many types of goldfish by Flea, shown here in front of Douglas Story's new and soon-to-be-unveiled art installation. Photo by Douglas Story

Bettina Tizzy: I know people who must easily own over 100 avatars of yours. How many people do you know of like that?
Flea Bussy: Uhh well, we do know the Grendel's Wanderer group (for updates/notices) is over 950 people, and a good...maybe..three quarters of 'em probably own more then a dozen avs of ours (a piece).


Flea's Ankylosaurus roams the grid looking quite realistic. This photo by Mylena Aquitane

Flea Bussy: People like when we do real animals, but all Grendel staff's best stuff is probably when we let our minds run free on a form...from Psyra's pheonixes to Rapton's dragons, Mem's mammals or Ryan's beasties...when you stop thinking why you 'have' to do things when the more demanding customers complain, har har - we just like making something up. Like dragons. Nobody can tell you what's right or wrong about em, and it's amusing to see folks try to fit in sometimes what we do into 'what they've thought was the only way to do it.'


This photo by Luna Zolnir

Bettina Tizzy: What programs are you guys working with for your sculpties?
Flea Bussy: Sculpties are fun! Anyone who doesn't like them is missing out, because they can really give something a look you really wanted
Bettina Tizzy: That is the first time I have ever heard them referred to as "fun"!
Flea Bussy: Well, how can't a sculpty be fun? Sure, anyone's first sculpts look like rhino turds or something, but take time 'n patience, and you'll learn what you like best to do.



Flea Bussy: We use Maya, Blender, and I forget the other program... We're very basic program users (or I am anyway), barring Maya.
Bettina Tizzy: Flea, people are going to school these days for three years to learn these tools... you just picked them up ... boom, like that?
Flea Bussy: ....to be honest it's not exactly rocket science.



Bettina Tizzy: Care to hint at your age?
Flea Bussy: I'm only 22!
Bettina Tizzy: 22???? You are so articulate. Big reader in the past?
Flea Bussy: What, there's this misconception I'm some 46 year old creepy guy who has a PhD? No way.


This photo by Luna Zolnir

Flea Bussy: Yeah, before SL I used to read tons. Sl's a bit time consuming though now. I get my books read to me over voice! ;) The best thing in life is a story, a good one. Some folks like to rock out 'n build, some like to listen to movies or stuff, but possibly best times, I've found, is when we staffers trade stories, 'n conversations, often deep ones. and out of it come feelings often grafted into avatars... perhaps (it is the) secret of why the things we do have such vibrancy. We do what we do not for money, but for the joy of building.



Flea Bussy: I do my best to try and make those tired brains get up and want to be here, to do things, to start seeing things differently. Why does anyone give up, I always wonder, when there's so much you can do. Even if SL, tommorrow, became land owned by some corporation and we (were) all just stuck in wee sandboxes to build, I'd be there, building. No platform I have ever seen before allows a person to do whatever they dream. You just cannot let your imagination rot.



Bettina Tizzy: Your family... are they fascinated?
Flea Bussy: Hee, mostly I tell folks I just stay at home n do "stuff." "What kinda stuff?" "Oh, you know, 3D 'n all that." They snicker 'n say I'm wasting my time. Heh, I don't argue. Maybe when I'm old I can point 'n laugh! 'Who wasted their time? Whassat? I can't hear you over my GazTank's Engine!'



Flea Bussy: Something every content creator should remember, what also drives us to fits of rage... I've had some waltz in here, drag me down from helping customers or working on something very delicate (you know when you've got that prim inside something juuuust right), and proceed to tell me a.) how I should run Grendels and b.) Why I need them badly to be on staff to put their overpriced stuff up on the walls because otherwise I will c.) go out of business, being a cheapy factory... It makes me very sad to see content creators all over let their 'success' go to their heads. I can go on for hours (with) the horror stories customers have told me about the terrible things other content creators have done to them: snobism, elitism, overpricing, you name it... It should never be for money, it should be for the joy.


The lights really are on 24/7 at Grendel's. Here you can see which employees are online and IM them directly

Bettina Tizzy: How much of your day is devoted to customer service?
Flea Bussy: All the time? Been doing it while we talked. Folks like to talk to us... we actually answer. If we don't, we're either afk or your IM got capped. Like 3 seconds ago a person was asking for an update. We do those free. Why charge for an update? People know all staff here work 24/7. Grendel's never sleeps... always some staff on, passing the torch 'n working.



Bettina Tizzy: Your prices are very low compared to most.
Flea Bussy: Ayup, because if you figure it out...aside from anything you upload...SL is free. The prims don't cost anything, the scripts are written in here. The L they pay us goes to fuel the sims tier and upload fees.
Bettina Tizzy: You are making a living this way, are you not?
Flea Bussy: Ayup, but I'm very very very low cost. Ask staff, I eat stuff that isn't really consumeable!
Flea Bussy: Ryan, do we EVER waste ANYTHING?
Ryan Snook: Yeah, Flea eats the moths attracted to the light or something.

I spoke with at least a dozen people who avidly collect avatars from Grendel's, and all wanted to show me their latest ones and send their best wishes to Flea and the staff. It is easy to engage a Grendel's avatar collector in conversation!
Bettina Tizzy: So, how long have you been collecting?
Trip Messmer: Probably about 6 months
Bettina Tizzy: Have you ever had occasion to contact Flea or the team for customer service?
Trip Messmer: Sure, they are there all the time. Flea often gives out free avatars when she brings out a new one. For the record, the crew at Grendel's are some of the most creative builders in SL barr none. The imagination and hard work, and also the attention to detail, are probably what makes them so popular.

In spite of the fact that this has turned into the longest blog post ever here, I didn't even touch on Grendel's Children's amazing Draklets eggs, the Avaria sims below the store where you can roam, or all the awesome freebies you can pick up. Need a lampshade to wear on your head? Grendel's. A particle Christmas tree? Grendel's. Fact is, even if you aren't looking for an avatar, there is so much to see and do at Grendel's. We will have to do another story sometime soon on the Draklets, which have hundreds of people in a perfect tizzy (hah!)

Finally, dear Reader, forgive me the vanity, but I must share with you that I am completely gaga over three Grendel avatars. Dunno if I will ever take on a human shape again! There's the Canyon Cactus Dryad for those prickly days...




and the Hybridized Reptile



I like her a lot!



A LOT a lot!!


She will be on the market soon, and there will be a "he," too. Flea tells me they are still going to add wings. Personally, I subscribe to Coco Chanel’s timeless maxim “Always take off one accessory before leaving the house,” so I'm happy to do without the wings :P

But this Paralegal Imp is just too sublime to ignore. Her legal briefs portfolio! Her firey words as she types!


That's me and Douglas Story in the background... heh, another sneak peek at his upcoming show

A special shout-out to Flickr NPIRLers Luna Zolnir, Stephen Venkman, Mylena Aquitane and Jaid Marsi, for allowing us to illustrate our story with their extraordinary photographs. It seems we are all fans of Grendel's Children.

P.S. I had so much fun taking the pics for this post, that I created a NEW NPIRL Flickr group called "Avatars - Not Possible in Real Life." Please join in the fun!