New World Notes

See in SL This Month: "“Transcend Struggle”, a Powerful Art Gallery Show

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

There is an exhibit at Dido Haas’ Nitroglobus Gallery that might intrigue and fascinate many of you. It’s called “Transcend Struggle”. You want to go soon as it is only for the month of March. [To teleport to the gallery, click here] 

The show features the work of Yann Gyro, who does most of his work for in-world exhibitions rather than Flickr. The exhibition is about illness, struggle, and transcendence. The artist wrote a poem, which you can read by clicking through to the picture on his Flickr. 

Here is the first verse for the above image: 

You faced the fear, when you heard the news

But I was here, and I saw you rise and choose

To find your power, and stand tall with grace

And embrace the challenge, with courage in your face

For more by Yann Gyro, click here:

Friday Fashion Blog: Class & Sass, Kilolo Jenkins’ Slice of Second Life

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Kilolo Jenkins’ blog Class & Sass has always been a true slice of SLife blog. In a recent couple of posts she’s included her sister Pookie. The above picture is from Plate Training, a post recounting what happened to the Thanksgiving Dinner stuffing. I am so tickled by the food stains and mess. That’s what every Second Life needs, a little mess. 

• Food Mess on Pookie’s Face & Hands: ~:DudaDreams: Smash The Cake
• Food Stains: .:LBM:. Diner Cooking Prank Kit
• Food – Junk Food, 
• Served Sides: Food Fight Throwers
• Pookie’s Plate: Buffet Trays

For more of her hijinks, click here:

Today's SL Flickr Pick: Rwah Yeetly Turns Screenshots Into Striking Pop Art

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Rwah Yeatly seems to have captured my desperate difficulty in trying to choose just three pictures. “Calling 1962” is a perfect pop art expression of the Sixties. Her description is also a delightful bit of self-deprecation:

I am absolutely top notch when it comes to using carefully created original items, with absolutely epic animations, for something completely different as was intended by the creator. Or simply mess an item up beyond recognition. I am proud to announce that I did both for this picture.

Service announcements from our exchange:

A chair was resized and a telephone was maimed beyond anything. The rest of the stuff was only abused a wee bit.

Now do your duty, all 3 of you who actually read this, and follow the trail.

For more absolutely original avatar pics, click here:

Here's How Custom Environment Filters (EEPs) Can Beautifully Transform Second Life Screenshots

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Pooka’s picture “Ghost” left me awestruck. It has this ghostly feeling as though it is a place out of time. It reminds me of the old Chinese painting masters. [To teleport, click here.] It may seem very different because she uses an EEP -- for Environmental Enhancement Project -- to create the environment. Helpfully, Pooka tells us what EEP she uses. I love that! 

She wrote a little about herself on her Flickr About page:

I love exploring all the beautiful places in SL and taking pictures, usually landscapes. I cannot claim any real skill or artistry but I do try to do justice to the spaces I am privileged to wander. Every picture is a memory, a moment of joy and I love that I am able to share these with you.

Well, if the person who created “Ghost" cannot claim artistry, the word has no meaning. 

For more extraordinary EEP landscapes, click here:

Beautifully Lit Second Life Home Decor Images by Svelte Blessed, Who Shares Details of Her Technique

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Svelte Blessed takes the most amazing landscape and decor pics. She also lists her credits. I love “The Tom Cat” who is sleeping on that battered, old nailhead chair. I love it. 

I asked her how she got such intense color and detail:

“I start with a clear large image using Black Dragon and adjust the WindLight for every picture to create the angle of light and shadows I desire,” she told me. “I use Photoshop for post-processing and often spend a long time on each image, starting first with composite work, then tones, and finally refining details. My key piece of advice is to not be afraid to change things as you go. If something isn't working or [not] ‘popping,’ try something new, go back a few steps and try something new.”

For more fantastic pics, click here:

Here's How Thanksgiving is Celebrated in the Virtual World of Second Life

Today's post sponsored by Bad Unicorn, creator of hilarious holdables & creative chaos for SL friends

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

It’s that time of year again, time for us to eat our way through multiple courses of delicious food with friends and family. Or, as it happens, to pose artfully with pixel food in anticipation of eating those pixels with friends and family. Here, Nikki Heron, shares her Thanksgiving preparations including a turkey the size of a small child. Are there pixel ovens big enough to hold that bird? 

For more giving thanks, click here:

Stunning Second Life-Based Avatar Fashion Tributes to Legendary Vogue Photographer Guy Bourdin

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Dalia’s “Mirror” is a collaborative homage to the acclaimed French art/fashion photographer Guy Bourdin, who had an obsession with mirrors.She worked with Peuxswau, who also created an homage to Bourdin. It is always fun to see how different people shoot the same scene, especially when they have an inspiration as iconic as Bourdin. 

Could there be more Bourdin homages around Second Life? Indeed, click on!

SL Fashion Friday: Beautifully Tasteful Styles from ByteDreams

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

#058 of 2023 is just a single example of the gorgeous style brought to us by ByteDreams Slade, who excels at showing us classic, tasteful fashion. She’s one of the fashion bloggers who realize clothing is far more interesting when people wear it, as opposed to bearing as much digital skin as possible. But there is nothing prudish about Byte Dreams, but she does wear a lot more clothes than the average blogger and I love her for that.

The color on this dress is gorgeous, one of those colors that look good on everyone, but set off by her dark skin, the dress looks like a jewel. Here’s what she’s wearing:

• QUEENZ "Fae" dress @ The Grand Event (main store)
• Marmaladny Girls (#MG) "Gentle Dawn" earrings and "3D Hearts" BOM Tattoo (main store)
• KUNGLERS "Leigh" rings (texture hud incl'd) (marketplace) (main store)

For more ByteDreams elegance, click here:

Today's Second Life Flickr Pick: The Intriguing & Beautiful Conceptual Images of Celestial Demon

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

My first glance at Celestial Demon’s untitled picture of a man laying on the ground, I thought he was a boulder. But of course, a closer, slower look revealed a far more interesting picture. I love how he uses the body as landscape. It is his lighting that makes the body look so much more a part of the landscape, making the body more abstract. It’s reminiscent of Carl Warner’s Bodyscapes, an amazing exploration of the geography of the human body and Celestial Demon’s is as well. 

For more of Celestial Demon’s conceptual art, click here.

There's a Large Flickr Group Devoted to Photographing the Virtual Cats of Second Life. It's Purrfect and Unfurgettable.

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Just Cats SL is a lovely group with just over 350 people who have shared over 4,000 pics of cat: their cats, neighbor cats, sweet cats, demonic cats, stray cats, house cats, big cats, small cats, and even bipedal cats. Romuśka shared “Almost…” featuring a curious cat. This made me smile because without fail, my cat expects that this time the shower won’t get her wet. Like the definition of insanity, she keeps doing the same thing expecting a different result. 

For more cats, click here:

 

This Artist Heavily Post-Processes Second Life Screenshots to Look Like Striking Pop Art. Her Name is Flo.

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Flo’s “catch up” is a good exemplar of her work - modern, minimalist, and oh-so-graphic. She creates half-tones that seem fresh off the printing press, negative images, duotones, and so much more. With layers and filters, she takes a screenshot and turns it into neo-pop art. 

For more great art, click here: