20-May 26-May
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So, you want to learn more about how materials – that’s normal maps and specularity maps in addition to the regular textures, which will now be called “diffuse,” will work when Second Life enables the new features. Well, they’re a way to add eye-popping detail, if you do it right. When the shiny part happens, it’s pretty spectacular. The tutorial from TheGameCreators.com was my original starting point for a Second Life-specific tut on how to create the extra textures using GIMP that can be used to add depth and shine to objects inworld once the new Materials Project viewer is…
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UPDATE: I’ve found slightly less opaque instructions and gotten the InsaneBump plugin working for GIMP (and also the fully InsaneBump program working, but it’s really old). I’ll start a new post because I’ve since found yet another tool for quickly generating different kinds of maps for texturing, Knald. This might be worth installing the Materials Viewer to test in a SSB-enabled region. I’m usually well behind the curve on changes with Second Life updates and enhancements – see recent posts about trying to learn Blender years after sculpts (and later mesh) were introduced. But the Materials project, which I’ve been…
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(cross posted from my WordPress.com blog*, creatively titled “Chameleonic Possession) Here I am, on my standalone grid Haleakaloha, which isn’t very interesting and isn’t open for visitors, and up until yesterday, it wasn’t working very well because of a texture-reloading bug. Also, I’ve been struggling with Blender again, trying to learn it and not get discouraged. Yesterday, SUCCESS, after getting some help, I installed an update that fixed my Open Sim grid. Today, SUCCESS, I made a blob. You may not think this is a big deal, and it’s a badly textured blob, but I made it, and I figured…
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13-May 19-May
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It’s been a tough month or two for the typist; currently she’s on her fourth “ergonomic” office chair seeking a more comfortable balance of chair height, monitor height, keyboard height, mouse distance. Her RL job now involves MUCH heavier keyboarding, and she’s got 2 “offices,” one for work in an otherwise uselessly small little room (euphemistically called a “nursery” but she scoffs at such useage). Her mousing arm has been getting pretty painful and she’s duly been working through the ergo guides provided by her company and trying to avoid seeing a doctor, because BOTHERATION. The RL work office has…
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I haven’t been following the recent controversy over Linden Lab’s decision to change the terms of service (ToS) to prevent third-party virtual currency excnanges from selling (and more importantly, buying) Linden dollars (that’s $L to those of us inworld). I do know that this change has caused a lot of agita for those fortunate or hard-working enough to have a successful inworld business; people who are great content creators can make a small trickle of real world cash, and people who are REALLLY great content creators (like several people recently profiled in the Drax Files videos) actually make their real-world…
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I’ve been using this Aesthete theme for years without much tweaking, but now one of the features I’d sort of been using to highlight products isn’t working. Maybe it’s a good time for a change; this theme doesn’t support post formats, and I could certainly use that for what I need to do. time to go theme shopping, maybe. Hey.
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Animated folding MESH room divider screen adds classic style and modern flair to any room. Touch to fold screen to the side, touch again to open. The screen panels are one retexturable face, as are the wood frames and the hinges. Keep a backup copy if you retexture (remember to retexture the folded screen too). Here’s the way it looks folded: The screen is available here:
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I’ve been absent lately from my shop and my group events, owing to a pesky problem with arm and shoulder pain (stupid Real World Problems(tm) anyway). But today I came back with a purpose – my friend Mistletoe opened the Festival of King Richard in Lionheart Ahadi – here’s the SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//181/229/28 There’s storytelling and (I think) some music events planned – here’s Mist enjoying a tale: I managed to get my little booth set up with a few minutes to spare – fortunately most of my products currently can go in various eras. But I managed to quickly put…