Thursday 29 December 2016

11. The New House Build and Learning to Reference Second Life Creators

I wanted to do a quick post today because I know it has been awhile since I posted but end of year madness descended upon my family and it still has not ended. However, I am still here and still posting and just wanted to share my building progress. I LOVE building. I rarely spend money on clothes or body parts or hair...but I will happily spend quite a lot of time and Lindens looking at textures and builders kits and house parts and animations. I am not quite at the stage of adequately using and importing items from Blender and Gimp yet, but I have been working through tutorials and will hopefully reach that point sometime in 2017.  For now, I am just thrilled to have set the goal of this project, worked it to the end and learned so damn much along the way.

I will spend some time in the new year with a proper "What I went through to get to this point in building" post...but for the moment, I just wanted to share this with you and credit the designers and creators that are featured in these photos so I can get used to referencing them in this way because they are ALL artists. In real life, if I took a photo of someone's work, and showed it to people, I would definitely not hesitate to credit them, and the artisans of Second Life certainly deserve no less. So...here we go...this is my Second Life Home.

This house is part mesh, part prims. There are a few considerations I had in mind while building it...
1.  I live on an L shaped, 1024sqm land space. It is basically two 16m x 32m pieces of land joined together. In order to fit it on the land, it has to be either "L" shaped, which my first build was, or narrow enough to fit the space. The footprint of this build is 14m x 31m. 

2.  I have a Land Impact (LI) allowance of 351. Which is not really very much. So, any build I do MUST be low LI, so I can still fit furniture and things in it. This build is 37 LI in total. 

3.  It has some really lovely views as I live on a bit of protected riverfront in the Snowlands across from an ONSR rail station. Therefore, it was important that I have lots of big windows in the right spots in order to be able to enjoy that.
Front view

This is the front view of my house. I built it, therefore I am the creator of this one :D BUT I would like to mention these creators...
Stained Glass Window:  *REMEMBERS* 
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/174631?id=174631
Roof: Dachs 
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/roof-dach-mesh-builder-edition/7837571

Front Conservatory Area

Plants:
Simply Shelby Hydrangea (Coral) 
Simply Shelby Fall Hortensia (Purple Plum)
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abbey%20Glen/155/110/758
Storax Tree Vintage Plant Stand
Chair: Storax Tree Royal Heritage Monarch's Armchair
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21
Fireplace:  LAQ Decor Tile Stove
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/LAQ-Decor-Tile-Stove/5487036

Kitchen Area

Kitchen: ~BAZAR~
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21


Loft Bedroom which converts into...

The Loft bedroom is able to be converted for different uses through the use of a fantastic and really easy to use holo rezzer (Yes like in Star Trek). I use the 'Optimus' MultiRezzer v1.3 by Low Industries
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Optimus-Multirezzer/4908598 The idea for which I first got from THIS BLOG POST, in the Blog The Digital Pasture by Penny Patton. Since I read it and it completely changed the way I thought about virtual spaces, I have been playing with the holo rezzer quite a bit. A note here is that all furniture is set with certain permissions for use. This allows a creator to sell unique items, or items that can be completely modified, or ones that can be copied. So, the permissions are Copy (which allows you to make copies of a piece as many times as you like), Modify (which allows you to change a colour, or the size, or whatever you like) and Transfer (which allows you to give away an item). To be used in a holorezzer, an item MUST have the permissions Copy/Modify. Without them, the items get eaten up by the magical world of Second Life. I learned this the hard way....and then read the instructions more closely. so word of warning in both Second Life and First Life...ALWAYS read the manual!!!!

Stockholm Bed, Stockholm Bedroom Lamps, Traveler Writing Desk and Stockholm Typewriter:  ~BAZAR~
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21
Fireplace:  Simply Shelby Wood Stove
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abbey%20Glen/155/110/758


A steampunk themed sitting room/workshop area and...

Old World Terrestrial Globe, Workshop table, Steampunk Computer and Mad Scientist Lab Interrossiter:  Aley at Arcadia Asylum
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Pond/129/57/21
Gyroscope: Simply Shelby Vintage Gyroscope
SLurl 
Chairs: ~Hare Couture~ French Wingback 1-Prim Chair (Navy)
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Hare-Couture-French-Wingback-1-prim-Chair-Navy/2695698
Submarine: Gustav's 1920s Submarine Toy in Silver
I actually have NO idea where I got this one from but if anyone out there does, if you could provide me with the SLurl or URL, I would be very grateful! 
Soapbox Airplane: Gustav's Soapbox Airplane
The same as above goes for the Soapbox Airplane!

Humidor:GothixGrafx Humidor Smoking Stand #4a
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Humidor-Smoking-Stand-4a/2812880

An Art Studio

Art Studio Storage Shelves, Art Studio Paint tubes, Art Studio Brushes in Jar on Wall and Art Studio Easel Medium Canvas by Artisan Fantasy
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Artisan%20Fantasy/191/110/2001
Just as an aside about Artisan Fantasy, I went to the 7 Republic event and played the gacha to get all the pieces from Artisan Fantasy. I managed to get all except for one. The gacha items are given with the permissions Copy/Transfer, however to be able to use them in the holorezzer, I need the items to be Copy/Mod. Artisan Fantasy offered to exchange the Copy/Transfer set to customers provided that they had acquired the full set with each piece being acquired specifically through the gacha (and not bought off another player). As I had not received the full set, I did not qualify, however I contacted the creators anyway, explained the situation and what I was using the items for and they graciously sent me the Copy/Mod items in exchange for the ones I had. My experience with Artisan Fantasy was pleasant and delightful. Art was just the nicest person and I would thoroughly recommend this store not only for the quality of their products, but also the quality of their service. 
Mannequin: :FANATIK HOME: Mannequin (Wood)
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/FANATIK-HOME-Mannequin-mesh-clothing-mannequin-mesh-display-dummy/4444179
Workshop table with grid: R(S)W Workshop Table - Ash- by Robin Sojourner at the Builders Brewery Creators Village
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Resource/168/41/24

There is still a lot of work to do with decorating, but by getting in and building I have learnt SO many things. I have learnt not just about the actual construction of things, but also about placing and fitting textures. I have learnt about Land Impact and how certain things affect it. I have learnt to not only link an object together but to lock it down so I don't accidentally delete bits of it. I had to have conversations with many people in builders groups with regards to HOW to do these things and most of all, I have learned great respect and admiration for the artists and creators of Second Life who are able to do the most incredible, delightful and wondrous things in ways that inspire and amaze me.