Good Advice

Be the vampire. Got carried away, while trying to think my way out of an orbital dynamics problem.

Better not to ask.

Trust me.

Thanksgiving is on the way -- blood transfusions and flightless poultry for all!

P.S. I suppose it's not ladylike to draw attention to it, but you'll note in at least some of these pics the new "disappearing skirt" trick that presently comes with the First Look WindLight viewer. I suppose they were trying to be discrete by placing it at the bottom of the list of acknowledges bugs in this preview version of the viewer?

Don't mind me. I'm sleepy and should be editing more video instead of playing with this addiction on pixels.

Playing in WindLight

Beginning to rebuild and add new bits to reflect the changes that are coming from WindLight in SL. A first step was to take an outfit that has been in development for some time and look at it under several sorts of conditions.

What is going on here? Am I re-enthused by the pretty, shiny things? It would seem so.

Abandon all hope. Yes, all.

Updated pieces

Here is one poster for one of the pieces updated recently.

Time for changes

Following various advice received we'll be reshooting old designs and putting together individual, single prim vendors for outfits and variations of our present roster of designs. We'll also be making a decision to simplify design and ownership/permissions options.

Hopefully a redesign of the store will also create some impetus for new designs. Further updates once decisions have been made. Leaning for now towards mod/copy or maybe mod/transfer.

Getting sidetracked

Well, maybe it's par for the course in SL, but I find myself seriously sidetracked from the two things that mostly appeal to me in the metaverse (and outside the metaverse) -- namely, fashion design and art. That and the intersection of those two things.

I'm in the process of paring down my other distractions from these two. Hopefully, in a matter of a few weeks I might find that I'm doing more of what I love (and paying less in tier fees).

Why am I posting this? Well, maybe because I haven't put much up here lately, haven't designed any new clothes, and have only been obsessed with a kinetic sculpture that (apparently) eats too much for certain sim owners. Anywhere else it might be clever, but in SL, if it moves it risks being killed.

Anyway, I hope to get back to doing more interesting things, at least with this blog, and hopefully, more interesting things in SL as well. Check back in a week or two. Please.

Chinese style

More video goodness, with smiley angels no less. And griefers in black.



The rest of this may be found at snowysweet's YouTube playlist. The translations make it even better -- especially if you know a little Chinese.

Can anyone offer the backstory on this video? And while you're at it, tell my why I'm posting it here?

The Real Second Life

Here it is. Weep with me children...

Serious pinque

A new color, not yet in vendors.

The Torley Torus

I probably shouldn't be drafting this right now. I should be asleep.

But here I am anyway, as it's been a day or two since I put the Torley Torus on display in the atelier. What, you may ask, is a Torley Torus? It's a hat of sorts, named (naturally) for my favorite Linden, and based on a previous scripted chapeau that I designed which I was told might be appreciated by that same Linden.

Making odd headgear is also something of an homage to my great-great-grandmother. Her millinery skills were such that she managed to save herself from becoming a bit player in Big Love: 1850s-style, back in the days when Utah considered itself a sovereign nation, and polygamy was the big new shiny-of-the-day.

In the bargain, she also made me possible, since dodging the dodgy, horndog doctor who wanted her as his fourth or fifth wife, also allowed her to carry through with her previous engagement to he-who-would-become my great-great-grandfather.

Which leads me to ask? Why is polygamy (or polyandry for that matter) not an option in the Linden Nation? Maybe that's a good thing, but I'm sure there are those who feel otherwise. And I also wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for some of them.

No wonder the hat keeps twisting.

P.S.: Interestingly enough, I just discovered that, much like Second Life, the Torley Torus has at least one devious bug. After letting it run uninterrupted for several days, the torus part of the hat -- the bit that keeps moving -- disappeared. I have some theories for why it vanished, having to do with randomly assigning it an impossible set of descriptive parameters, but it will take some digging to find a method to revise the script in such a way that future escapes from second reality are rendered, if not impossible, at least less a bit less likely. In the meanwhile, anyone who purchases the hat can simply rez a new copy from her private stash and go on as though nothing happened. If you wear the hat only for special occasions, you may never encounter the bug. I will be adding an update script to the hat itself, so that when fixes are found you will get the new and (hopefully) improved version. However, I'm guessing that the mutations and transformations of the revised hat may be slightly different from the present version, so purists may want to hold onto copies of all of their updated headgear.

Violet Dreams

Preview: this outfit soon to be available in a range of coordinating colors.

This outfit includes the knife-pleated skirt as well as a custom underskirt that may be lengthened and worn alone. The rainbow cami is color coordinated to each outfit, as are the prim slide heels. A removable short cardigan (maybe it should be called a shrug instead?) completes the look for a more demure presentation.

As always, a color coordinated brief is also included for modesty's sake and those times when Second Life has you a little twisted.

The first release of this item in a range of colors will be offered in a Mod/Trans version.

Our first line is out there

We expect to update the entire line soon. Every item will eventually be offered in Mod/Trans and Mod/Copy versions. We're hoping this decision will satisfy the widest range of customer priorities. Our vendors also allow you to buy items as gifts, to get around the problem of non-transferable items.

At present, all items available at our Huineng location are available mainly in Mod/Trans versions and maintenance is ongoing to confirm that the permissions for all individual items are consistent with those settings. Any items that are not what you expected will gladly be replaced in the meanwhile, with the corrected items.

What? Another designer?

After a surprisingly successful opening for atelier dropdeadcute, we decided that we had better begin to get a little more serious about making our presence known.

Well, we being me.

As so many others seem to do in Second Life, I tend to describe myself as a fairly intentional recluse. Oddly enough, though, there seems to be little trouble running into kindred spirits in a place like this, and I've found myself becoming far more social than in any time I can recall. So, with all that in mind, I hope to begin to make my efforts and those of my growing list of friends, a little less of a secret to the rest of Second Life.

I especially want to thank Kriss Lehmann (and tell you to visit Kriss's wondrous Straylight Island) and partner Shai Delacroix for their encouragement and their patronage. It meant a lot to me. A self-portrait from Straylight is also featured below. It's one of the more incredible places I've visited so far in Second Life; a true inspiration for what this place can be.

Anyway, ff people are going to find the atelier, there might as well be one more dreaded blog in the metaverse or whatever we're calling it these days. I'll try not to make it too boring, and stick to posting mainly about what's new in the shop, or about recent discoveries in the world of Second Life.

- Azu (aka Azadine Umarov)