Vitruvian Shapes Now FREE!

 That's right, I've made all of my Vitruvian shapes completely free, making it that much easier for everyone in SL to have a great looking, properly proportioned shape.

 I'm also working on some new additions to the line, which I hope to have ready soon. These will also be free upon release.

 You can find these shapes on the SL Marketplace, or one of my inworld shop locations.

 Since a lot of people seem to be having trouble with the new "Direct Delivery" setup on the Marketplace I didn't want to mess with the actual items, so the shapes on the marketplace are still no-transfer. The ones in-world are full perm. I'll make the marketplace shapes full-perm just as soon as it seems like doing so will be relatively headache-free.

 I've attempted, twice now, to donate the shapes to LL. Still waiting on them to get back to me.

Linden Lab Introduces New Starter Avatars

 I saw today that the August Update from Linden Lab included the introduction of new starter avatars. Given how impressed I've been with the progress LL has been making lately, you can imagine my disappointment upon taking a closer look at these new starters.

"In a world of  microcephalic thalidomide victims who also suffer gigantism..."

 If I seem harsh, it's only because I care and the mistakes made with these avatars just would not fly in a professional design environment. If Linden Lab wants SL to be taken seriously they need to put a better face forward in presenting it, yet that is precisely what they refuse to do time and again.

 Please keep in mind that I am only addressing the shapes of these avatars. The scale and, more specifically, the proportions. The mistakes made with these shapes are prevalent throughout SL, the reason I single out the starters is because the starter avatars are the face of SL to the public at large and a vital part of the new user experience.

 I took a close look at the female pirate avatar.

 A petite 6'3 / 191cm barefoot, this poor girl has arms that are each more than 5 inches too short for her body. Simple tasks you and I take for granted, like tying our shoes, would be exceptionally difficult for her.

 Her legs are more than half a foot too long for her body, nearly 7 inches longer than her upper body. Forget difficulty tying her shoes, she's going to need a caretaker to do that for her.

 In addition, the poor girl's head is far too small for her body. She is nearly 9 heads tall.

 Linden Lab has been making a lot of improvements lately, but this is a giant leap backwards and just doesn't cut it for a product currently being marketed as a "creativity tool" by Linden Lab's CEO. It's exceptionally depressing to write this so soon after my article on creating good body shapes in SL.

Cowprint & Straps

I actually did manage to get this up into my in-world shops and listed on the Marketplace  before midnight, keeping with my "1 new item a day" goal for this week, but after listing it on the Marketplace I was sidetracked by Linden Lab's special brand of stupidity.

 Anyways, Wednesday's shop update was this Cowprint & Straps outfit that I've had practically finished in my inventory for over a year now. The collar, straps and shoes for this outfit were one of my very first attempts at making sculpts in Maya.

The shoes were originally made for a pair of boots for an outfit I never finished.

I think it holds up well and I've been getting a lot of requests for more cowprint clothing and accessories, so hopefully people will enjoy this new addition!

 On a side note, the vendor art for this is also a sneak peak at an upcoming addition to my Vitruvian Shapes line.

I have a blog.

Not entirely sure what I'll do with it, but expect it to mostly be about the horribly named, horrendously marketed, yet surprisingly fun virtual sandbox known as Second Life.

"Eww, Second Life? More like "No Life" am i rite? Isn't that that ugly videogame where people go for pixel sex?"

Yes, that's the one! But, despite the hideous starter avatars and awful environments new users get tossed into, Second Life is actually capable of some pretty impressive graphics. Here's some screenshots from around the grid;

An underground bunker in the post-apocalyptic themed continent known as "The Wastelands".

 An actual, drivable tank I've been working on that controls just like the Metal Slug from the games of the same name. Also in The Wastelands.

A video showcasing the sci-fi city of INSILICO. 

"But I've seen the avatars, they're hideous!"

  Unfortunately, Linden Lab, the company that runs Second Life, is a bit of an oddball in the virtual world market. Where videogame companies pretty much universally prize their in-house art talent and seek to showcase it at every turn, Linden Lab instead uses the 3D equivalent of MS Paint to showcase their product.

 So while LL feels it's ok to start everybody 7' tall with tiny heads, stork legs, and stubby "t-rex" arms (for the ladies, because it's so attractive) like this;

 It's actually quite possible for avatars to look like this instead;

 Thankfully, there seems to be a lot of changes going on at LL since they hired on their new CEO at the start of 2011. They recently introduced a bunch of new starter avatars, although all of the new starters are robots, "cartoon animals" and vehicles. Currently new residents are still forced to use ugly mutant starters. Hopefully they'll replace those in the near future, too.

 Although LL has let me down pretty consistently since I joined SL in 2005, I can't help but hope we're seeing a big turn around at LL. Hopefully the changes will begin to show in the way they present and market SL. All it would take is just a bit of design sense to be brought into the lab to change people's impressions of SL from this;

 To this;

  And yes, unless otherwise specified, the screenshots I'm posting are all untouched, exactly how they look in SL. It's amazing what good lighting/atmosphere settings, competently made avatars and professionally designed environments can do for SL.

 And no, I'm not saying LL needs to drop user created content, I'm just saying they should put a better face forward for their marketing and the new user perspective to drive up new user retention and create a better public perception.

 Making a strong first impression draws people in, it will always be the sheer variety of user created content and communities that convince them to stay.

- Penny Patton