Josh Sommers: smoke and mirrors will get you... a wide grin

A few days ago I announced that I am creating the Not Possible IRL hit list... yep, it's a campaign of sorts to recruit Real Life artists and interesting folk to Second Life. They will be here at some point anyway, so why not start now and help us to shape the metaverse?

I thought one early response was "impossibly" appropriate and delightful. Thank you, Josh Sommers. Now come on in and get your feet wet. We'll round up a welcoming committee.

Nomasha's Icarus

Our very own Nomasha Syaka just finished this jaw-dropping, handmade sculptie (120 prims) interpretation of Icarus four days ago, using Maya and ZBrush.

I stress that this sculpture is handmade, because - as Nomasha explained it to me - the SL market is becoming flush with sculptures that were created using pre-made models, such as those you can find in Poser. Said Nomasha, "the builder positions them however he/she wants and exports them to SL, with minimal work, through programs like 3DMax, and all the texturing is simplified. You can usually identify such imports by the rough edges and lack of 3D detail."

For those of you who don't remember this Greek mythical character, Icarus was the son of Daedalus and both were imprisoned in the Cretian Labyrinth by King Minos. To escape, Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings from feathers and wax, and warned his son not to fly too close to the sun... advice that Icarus did not observe.

When I asked Nomasha why he had chosen to represent the sun with Second Life's logo, he replied: "that's for you to think about :). I done enough thunking."

I played with Nomasha's Icarus just as he had created it, and have to admit, it is extraordinary...


But I still like it in the moonlight better... without the SL sun. Let's make our own mythology.


Regardless, Nomasha's Icarus now heads the list of favorite things stashed away in my alarmingly bloated inventory. (Note to self: set aside one full day to tidy this up. Heh... yea, right!)

Head on over to Nomasha's sim, and while you are there, don't forget to play with his wicked blender. Follow the trail of apples and "eat" the last one. :P
Slurl: Nomasha Syaka

Not Possible IRL has a logo - and the winner is Seifert Surface

Seifert Surface, a postdoctoral mathematician and a member of NPIRL, created the winning logo for our competition in just a couple of hours the day after the competition was announced. Thank you and congratulations, Seifert!

A thousand thanks to our patient and accomplished Judges who were tasked with selecting the five finalists: Sugar Seville, Random Calliope, Douglas Story and Gary Hazlitt, and thanks, too, to Jopsy Pendragon for creating the fab polling system needed for the final phase of the competition where all NPIRLers voted for the winner. We appreciate and thank every one of the participants in our competition for their time and creativity!

I'm going to fiddle a bit with the background color and the blog layout before I put the logo on our masthead, but wanted to show it to you right away... the Impossible Triangle, and now the symbol of our group, which today is four months old.

The Not Possible IRL group needs a logo - Announcing a contest!

* What we hope to see in our group logo *

Ideally, the logo will be memorable and evoke an emotion or response. It should also be grounded in the concept of virtuality… and especially that which would not be possible IRL (in real life). The logo should be created in both color and black & white.

The logo will be used for many things related to the group, including our blog and our group descriptor.

RULES:

* Timing *
Contest begins October 8, 2007 and ends with the unveiling of the winning logo at the first annual Not Possible IRL Halloween party, October 31, 2007.

All contest entries must be submitted to Bettina Tizzy by October 22, 2007. No late entries will be accepted or considered. No exceptions.

* Awards and Entry Limits *
No more than 30 people may submit a design, so be sure to get your design in soon. Only one design per person. Not only will we accept but we encourage NPIRL members to participate. People outside of the NPIRL group may also participate.

* One Grand Award *
$20,000L and the perpetual visibility and fame worthy of a NPIRL award winner.

In addition, Bettina Tizzy (marketing and PR consultant IRL) will allocate four hours with the winner to develop a marketing strategy and image campaign for both in and off world needs. Bett doesn't want to reveal her RL hourly rates, but let's just say this is worth a pile of Lindens.

Finally, if the winner is not a NPIRL member, membership to the group will automatically be extended to that winner.

* The Jury *
All contacts - other than actual submission of entries - with Bettina Tizzy and the contest jury regarding the logo design will be strictly prohibited during the contest period. This rule is being implemented to avoid having designers attempt to persuade the jury to choose their design.

The Jury:
- Random Calliope
- Gary Hazlitt
- Sugar Seville
- Douglas Story
- Bettina Tizzy

The Jury will select 5 finalists, and then all NPIRL members will have the opportunity to vote for the winner.

* Format *
Please submit 512x512 JPG or targa files, via email, to Bettina Tizzy at bettinatizzy@gmail.com, keeping in mind that the final version for both the color and b&w versions must be in vector EPS.

* Rights *
All rights to the winning logo design will become the property of the Not Possible IRL group, but the designer will be permitted to display the work in his/her portfolio both in and off world.

* Restricted Design Content *
Any logo must be the original work of the submitter. Absolutely no third-party images may be used in the logo design (e.g. Clipart, Stock Photos, Stock Designs). Any consequences that may arise from the discovery, by a third-party, that one or more of their pieces was used illegally, will be assumed by the designer and not by Not Possible IRL.