New World Notes

SL's Latest Mesh-Based Style Craze: Petite Fairy Avatars!

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

While giant avatars may very well be the next big thing in Second Life (pun totally intended), right now there'sa different kind of mesh avatar that's all the rage among fantasy fashionistas: Petites. These diminutive elves and fairies were originally released at Yabusaka, but the creator quite wisely offered creator packs as well so that other designers could not only design clothing for them, but also release their own versions of the avatars themselves. This has led to an explosion of itty bitty outfits, accessories, and even home and garden decor to target the rapidly growing (or should I say shrinking?) community.

Petites aren't SL's first miniature avatars; the Tiny avatar community has been going strong now for longer than I've even been in SL. What makes Petites different is that they have the same basic proportions as a full sized human avatar, scaled-down to the size of a doll. So how should you get started assembling your own petite self?

Linden Lab Needs Mesh Samples to Test Qarl's Mesh Deformer -- Or May Not Incorporate It Into SL Viewers At All

Click here if you're a mesh content creator in SL who wants to incorporate Karl "Qarl Fizz" Stiefvater's crowdfunded mesh deformer, which greatly improves mesh-bashed clothing (see above.) According to Linden Lab's Director of Open Development Scott "Oz Linden" Lawrence, the company needs samples of mesh clothing to evaluate this feature, but hasn't received enough since putting out that call last week. In fact, the lack of samples from content creators has inspired Oz to wonder if the mesh deformer is worth integrating into the SL viewer code at all. For as he put it:

Meet SLer Ceri Quixote, Whose Avatar Stands at 200 Feet

I heard whisperings that Ms. Ceri Quixote had a tall SL avatar, but I didn't quite get how tall she was, until she stopped by my office in Waterhead. Or maybe stepped on my office is the better thing to say. For look, Ms. Quixote is frigging tall:

"About 62 meters or 200 feet," she tells me, from way the hell up. (In the photo above, that dot on the horizon is me.) And yes, this is her actual avatar, not some kind of non-interactive mega-prim statue -- an avatar that can walk around and interact more or less like any other SL avatar: "At this scale there are a couple of technical issues, but pretty much yes," she says. So I'll just go ahead and call it now: Ceri Quixote is the tallest avatar in SL or any other online world, ever.

How'd she come to be that big? Well, let her explain:

Make Your SL Avatar Magnifique With Collabor88's French New Wave-Themed Fashion Line

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Collabor88 is one of my favourite regular fashion events in SL, and just about the only one that I absolutely never miss-- with quite a few of my favourite designers all releasing unique and limited items in one place, I'd be crazy to miss out. This month's Collabor88 releases, largely based on vintage French iconography, might even be some of the best items to date. There are skins, hairstyles, clothes, accessories, and even a few incredibly charming pieces of decor. Here are just a few of the things that caught my eye this month:

New Second Life Mesh Eyelids from SLink are a Must-Have for Photographers (Though They Aren't Yet Perfect)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Soulful and emotive virtual photography often requires a level of control we don't readily have over Second Life avatars, especially when it comes to the eyes. If you want to catch your avatar with their eyes closed it usually takes exceptional timing, remarkable patience, or the exploitation of very specific glitches. The latest release from Siddean Munro's brand SLink aims to take a lot of fuss out of these kinds of snapshots. Her new mesh eyelids are a clean, simple, and a fairly cost effective solution to the problem.

But, as much as I like these straightforward lids, they're not without some shortcomings...

Blaze Borgin Builds Mesh-Based Terrain in Second Life

A humanoid lizard named Blaze Borgin has been building physics-enabled mesh-based terrain, to make the ground under his scaly feet seem much more realistic, and the results look like this:

"Adding physics to the mesh allows the use of functional terrain surfaces made from mesh objects," he explains. "This eliminates the need for invisible prims placed under phantom sculpties. Proper texture painting can give the illusion that you are actually walking on terrain." Because when you're a six foot bipedal reptile who likes to chill on a floating tire, the last thing you want is unrealistic terrain.

SL's Spirit Art Installation's Free Fantasy Mesh Avatar are Stunning (If You Can See Them)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

A few days ago, Airedine Poe (creator of this rad Lichtensteinian makeup) plurked a picture of herself wearing an incredibly unique and eye-catching mesh avatar, and of course the av leapt right to the top of my "to buy" list. Never mind buying it though, because it's actually a freebie available at an immersive art installation called spirit, by claudia222 Jewell,on the Art Screamer sim [Click here to teleport to spirit in ART SCREAMER].

The exhibit itself is a surreal landscape of alien anatomy and organic oddness, spread out across rolling hills and swamps filled with stalks of insect wings in the place of reeds. It's a great place to take pictures, or just roam around. Check out this video to see what I mean:

SL Men, Want More Mesh Fashion? Share Your Avatar Sizes (Update: Broken Link Fixed)

Click here if you want more mesh-based fashion for your male avatar, and share your avatar proportions. It's a survey being conducted by ENTENTE, a well-known SL brand, to create a new line of mesh clothing. "We are currently working on a lot of mesh items and we realised, just as with women, mesh is not 'one size fits all' for men either," as the site explains. This poll has been pushed by mesh master creator Damien Fate, who said on Plurk, "The goal has almost been met but needs a final push to get the total number of avatars required to make a nice average set of shapes." NWN style columnist Iris Ophelia in turn pointed it out to me, noting how valuable this could be, "especially given how many guys whine a me in the comments about mesh availability." And yes, this means you also have to share your "Package" size. But at least it's anonymous. And I'm sure all your packages are leviathan anyway. So click here to take it already.

Iris Rants: Linden Lab's New Third Party Viewer Policy Could Help Bring the SL Fashion Industry Up to Date

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

I'm not going to pretend that I completely understand the implications of Linden Lab's new third-party viewer regulations, which prohibit TPVs from altering the shared experience of Second Life. A lot of TPV users and developers are complaining about how it might exclude or hold back new features, but few are talking about how it could also be a good thing, by forcing third-party viewers to keep up with the features already offered by the official SL viewer. This would be especially good for SL's fashion industry, which is often held back by popular but outdated TPVs which haven't kept up with the times. Here's why:

Start this Month in the Latest Second Life Mesh Fashions at March Mesh Madness

 

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Second Life's first major Mesh-only fashion fair, March Mesh Madness 2012, opens to the public today, and is undoubtedly worth a visit for both fashion-forward fashionistas and the mesh-savvy home decorators. Womenswear, menswear, jewelry, hair, furniture and even weaponry are all represented. It's the perfect kind of shopping fair in my eyes-- not too big and not too small, with a build that's uncluttered and easy to navigate.

Keep reading for the details on the marvellous mesh items pictured above, all available at MMM12!