Fractals and watercolours Second Life

Timamoon Arts
Timamoon Arts

Timamoon  Arts offers a peaceful and carefree environment in which to enjoy art, spend time relaxing and perhaps enjoy a dance or two. There are a number of gallery paces spread across the region, together with ruins to be explored, a coffee-house, aviary, woodlands, a hilltop house and more.

The galleries offer works by a number of artists, notably those belonging to the Gualdo Group, which encompasses some very well-known names: Kylie Sabra, Nino Vichan, Kaly Iali, La Baroque… all of whom make Timamoon an ideal destination for those with a passion for art, be it created digitally (and within Second Life), or in the physical world, or a combination of both.

I was particularly drawn back to Timamoon to view the work of two artists who are featured as a part of the current FIAT (FIne Art Tour): Milly Sharple (who also holds the region) and Sisse Singh.

Milly Sharple - Fractal Insanity
Milly Sharple – Fractal Insanity

Milly’s exhibit is entitled Fractal Insanity, and the title will likely have regular readers here know why I am drawn to it, featuring as it does more of her stunning fractal art, presented in an ultra-modern gallery space utilising a design by Steven Devoid (Devoid Aeon).

Milly Sharple - Fractal Insanity
Milly Sharple – Fractal Insanity

The pieces on display, both static and animated, are stunning in complexity, texture and colour. Given that several are animated, images simply do not do them justice and they need to be seen first-hand to be fully appreciated.

As well as the fractal pieces, Milly offers a number of other digital works, all of which are equally intricate and quite marvellous to behold. Some of these are ideal as both individual pieces or as part of large grouping  – such as her “Petal” series, which I found myself particularly drawn towards.

Milly Sharple - Fractal Insanity
Milly Sharple – Fractal Insanity

With abstract pieces vying with more “traditional” mandelbrot inspired pieces, animated pieces offered alongside static works and an amazing display of digital pieces, Fractal Insanity is a captivating visit; one which is liable to have you admiring and dallying for longer than you might have planned.

However, when you have completed a tour through the floors of Milly’s exhibit space, do make sure you pop across to the rotunda next door, where Sisse Singh is currently exhibiting a range of her watercolour and ink art.

Sise Sigh - Timamoon Arts
Sisse Singh – Timamoon Arts

A self-taught artist, Sisse finds her inspiration from a range of sources including her local physical world environment, Danish landscapes and her own imagination. The display of her work at the rotunda reflects this admirably, offering a broad and captivating cross-section of her physical world art uploaded for display in world.

Sise Sigh - Timamoon Arts
Sisse Singh – Timamoon Arts

The lower floor of the exhibit space presents a number of Sisse’s studies of flowers, while upstairs is a mix of abstract piece, landscapes and portraits. All of them catch and hold the attention, but I confess to finding myself particularly drawn to her portraiture during my visits. The three pieces – Awaken, Joy, and Naked Sunset, each tell a little story of their own, and really draw one into them.

I confess that prior to making my way through the FIAT exhibits, Sisse’s work had somehow escaped my attention. As such, I’m glad I have now belatedly discovered it in-world. This is a beautiful simple display of her work, more of which  – along with that of other artists in the group – can be enjoyed at the Gualdo galleries, also in the Timamoon region. So be sure to pay the galleries a visit as well.

Sise Sigh - Timamoon Arts
Sisse Singh – Timamoon Arts

SLurl Details

Black Dragon 2.4.4.3: going Chromium

Blackdragon logoOn Saturday 17th October, Niran V Dean released Black Dragon 2.4.4.3, which sees his viewer merged with the latest release from Linden Lab, gain the Lab’s Chromium Embedded Framework code for media, and which  includes some updates from Niran himself.

The latter most notably take the form of a re-working of the Display tab in the Preferences floater. Here, Niran has replaced the older scrolling tab layout with a more compact version, with expandable sub-tabs allowing feature sets to be viewed and expanded whilst also offering quick and easy on / off check boxes for functions users may wish to enable / disable, but where they don’t necessarily wish to change the associated settings.

The new Display tab in Preferences offers a series of function defined expandable sub-tabs, some of which had default on / off check boxes.
The new Display tab in Preferences offers a series of function defined expandable sub-tabs, some of which had default on / off check boxes.

The sub-tabs can be individually opened / closed by checking on the + to the right of each tab’s title bar, and those opened will remain so until either closed, or the viewer session is closed and re-started. Opening multiple sub-tabs will add a scroll bar to the right of the Preferences floater when displaying the contents of the Display tab, allowing for smooth navigation between sub-tabs.

Clicking on the + on any od the Display sub-tabs will expand it to reveal all the associated options and settings. Sub-tabs will remain open until either manually closed or the viewer is shut-down
Clicking on the + on any of the Display sub-tabs will expand it to reveal all the associated options and settings. Sub-tabs will remain open until either manually closed or the viewer is shut-down

The inclusion of the CEF code from the Lab sees Black Dragon move a little ahead of the curve feature-wise, given the code still is only at project status when the Lab prefers TPVs not to adopt it until it has reached RC status.  That said, the code appears to work well within the viewer, allowing media to be easily viewed and well as allowing the expected manipulation of webGL elements either through the viewer’s MOAP capabilities or through the built-in web browser, as the very simple video below demonstrates.

Overall, a tidy update for the viewer, with the new Display tab layout present an interesting approach to encapsulating the myriad from display options available in the viewer in a format that allows for ease of use and viewing. While scrolling and expanding options aren’t to everyone’s liking, it does offer a tidy way of presenting things, with the quick on / off check boxes on some of the sub-tabs providing a good alternative to the growl factor of otherwise having to scroll and / or open / close sub-tabs to in order to disable or enable the functions.

Those on Black Dragon who produce media products in SL, or who wish to test their MOAP applications can, with this release, get to test their items without having to necessarily fall back on the Lab’s project viewer, but with the potential for updates to be pushed out by the Lab slightly ahead of them reaching any TPV, it might still be an idea to watch the Lab’s own viewer channels, just in case things get slightly adrift.

Note the video included in this article is only a very simple demonstration of WebGL manipulation in a CEF viewer. It is not intended as an in-depth demonstration or as a significant commentary on CEF use within the viewer, where it is intended to replace the use of llqtwebkit for media support (including within in-world televisions, etc.). WebGL demos via David Walsh and with thanks to Whirly Fizzle for the link.

Additional Links

2015 viewer release summaries: week 42

Updates for the week ending Sunday, October 18th

This summary is published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.

Official LL Viewers

  • Current Release version: 3.8.5.305531, October 13 – formerly the Maintenance RC viewer download page, release notes
  • Release channel cohorts (See my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Notifications RC viewer updated to version 3.8.6.305981 on October 14 – new Notifications floater separates incoming notifications into System, Transactions, Invitations, and Group. It provides a better way to view, interact with, prioritize and manage incoming notices for busy residents (download and release notes)
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V3-style

  • Black Dragon updated to version 2.4.4.3 on October 17th – core updates: CEF integration, merge with current LL release viewer.
  • UKanDo updated to version  3.8.5.28153 on October 14 – core updates: merge to latest LL viewer release.

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No Updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

A Lick of Indian summer in Second Life

Belleck House; Inara Pey, Oct 2015, on FlickrBelleck House, Oct 2015 (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The seasons change, and in the northern hemisphere winter draws closer, while in the southern, summer beckons. In Second Life, and almost bridging the two, Sera Bellic offers us a new design for her Lick Sim Designs demonstration region of Oyster Bay.

Belleck House present those of us in the northern hemisphere with a period of Indian Summer in the midst of late autumn, while for those south of the equator, it offers a taste of the summer to come. What’s more, in contrast to recent builds on the region, such a The McFly Project, which I wrote about in July, and the apocalyptic End of the World before it,  it offers a much simpler canvas in which to immerse oneself – although “simpler” should not be taken to mean lacking in detail. Far from it.

Belleck House; Inara Pey, Oct 2015, on FlickrBelleck House, Oct 2015 (Flickr)

This is a wonderfully rural scene, the simplicity of which is in the very light touch of buildings and balance of open spaces and wooded surrounds. For me, it had a ring of England’s Cotswolds in part, whilst also being far removed from them, but the feeling was enough to help me feel a comfortable level of familiarity as I stepped out of the high stone tower of the landing point and wandered over the hill and into the region proper.

Belleck House is another design which amply demonstrates Sera’s eye for placement and design. The houses, church and folly are all carefully placed while remaining entirely natural within the surrounding landscape, the tracks and long, undulating stone wall serving to add a sense of being dee within the countryside, where sheep calmly gaze, and the church might just serve a small hamlet, perhaps just over the slopes behind it.

Belleck House; Inara Pey, Oct 2015, on FlickrBelleck House, Oct 2015 (Flickr)

This is both a serene place and one that is highly photogenic. In fact, such is the overall natural beauty of the setting, that I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to have wandered down into the fields and through the gap in the dry stone wall to find a painter sat behind easel, capturing the view in watercolours or oils. In fact, a peep inside the main house suggests there is an artist living or staying there, although they may well be a little sidetracked with the decorating at the moment. Whoever they are, they do appear to be taking care to compose a letter, and also to enjoy Lewis Carroll. Perhaps the latter is why a little afternoon tea has been set out on the garden table…

At a time when most of us are focused on Halloween, spooky comings and goings and the promise of tricks or treats, Belleck House offers a pleasing side step into those long, lazy summer afternoons just ripe for a wander along tracks and between fields, simply seeing where your feet take you and what may lie around the next corner or over the next brow.

Belleck House; Inara Pey, Oct 2015, on FlickrBelleck House, Oct 2015 (Flickr)

SLurl Details

Of ghosts and ghouls and October tales

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, October 18th 13:30: Tea-time with Neil and Friend

Caledonia and John play a little game of “what if” as a short break is taken in the saga of Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear. What if Neil Gaiman decided to offer Rad Bradbury a little afternoon tea? And what if Mr. Bradbury had accepted? Which of their own stories might they have shared with one another and the October afternoon outside drew close and the night slowly fell, the fire burning brightly in the hearth before them?

Neil Gaiman (via Deviant Art) and Rad Bradubry via "CE",
Neil Gaiman (via jeffzachowski on Deviant Art) and Rad Bradbury via “CE”, on The Poets’ Graves Workshop)

Perhaps Rad Bradbury might have chosen The October Game and Heavy Set, while Neil Gaiman settled for October in the Chair, and if time allowed, perhaps even Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire. And what if you were there to listen to these stories as well?

Monday October 19th, 19:00: A Night in the Lonesome October

The Seanchai staff are marking the arrival and passage of the Halloween month with readings of Roger Zelazy’s A Night in the Lonesome October. The latter is the last of Zelazy’s published works, and 31 of its 32 chapters (the first being an introductory chapter) each take place on a night in October.

Lonesome OctoberThe book is satirical in nature, and is written in the first person – the narrator being Snuff the dog, the companion to none other than Jack the Ripper.

Once every few decades, when the moon is full on the night of Halloween, the fabric of reality thins, and doors may be opened between this world and the realm of the Great Old Ones.

At this time, men and women with occult knowledge gather at a certain location to engage in The Game – an attempt by some to open the doors, and others to hold them closed. Should the Openers ever win the game, the Great Old Ones will come to Earth, remake it in their own images and enslave or slaughter the human race in the process.

Thus, through the month of October, the Players in The Game – all archetypal characters from Victorian Era Gothic fiction – form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even resort to murder in their attempts to make sure the doors are ready to be opened or can be held fast when, on the night of October 31st, the final ritual takes place and the fate of the world is decided.

Tuesday October 20th,19:00 The Upper Berth

“It is a very singular thing,” said Brisbane. “that thing about ghosts. People are always asking whether anybody has seen a ghost. I have…

“I am an old sailor, and as I have to cross the Atlantic pretty often, I have my favourites … The Kamtschatka was one of my favourite ships. I say was, because she emphatically no longer is. I cannot conceive of any inducement which could entice me to make another voyage in her.

“I got on board. I hailed a steward … ‘One hundred and five, lower berth,’ said I, in the businesslike tone peculiar to men who think no more of crossing the Atlantic than taking a whisky cocktail at down-town Delmonico’s. The steward took my portmanteau, greatcoat, and rug. I shall never forget the expression on his face … ‘Well, I’m d——d!’ said he in a low voice, and led the way.”

So opens  F. Marion Crawford’s 19th century ghost story, The Upper Berth, in which Brisbane and the Captain of the  Kamtschatka confront the mystery of the titular berth within cabin 105 aboard the ship. A berth that had caused a number of passengers to run screaming through the ship to throw themselves over the stern. Join Trolley Trollop to discover more!

Wednesday October 21st 19:00: Serafina and the Black Cloak

serafinaCaledonia Skytower continues reading of Robert Beatty’s spooky mystery thriller.

Serafina lives a life of total secrecy. While her father may be the maintenance man for the great house of the Biltmore Estate, the wealthy owners of the estate have no idea that he lives in the basement of the house – and much less that his daughter lives there with him.

Not that this is a problem for Serafina; she is quite at home exploring the great house and its grounds whilst avoiding being seen. There’s certainly no need for her to venture into the great forest beyond the estate, and with which, he father has said, lie many dangers.

But when the children on the estate start vanishing, Serafina is forced to join forces with the young nephew of the Biltmore’s owners, and discover the identity of the one they believe to be behind the disappearances: the Man in the Black Cloak. But in order to do so, Serafina must enter the forest her father has warned her against; and within that forest lies a deeper secret Serafina must confront – that of her own identity.

Thursday, October 22nd

19:00: Ghost Stories

With Shandon Loring.

21:00 Seanchai Late Night Special

Caledonia at the SL Goth Festival with a selection from “The Graveyard Book”.

Also This Month

  • Seanchai Library is participating in the Good Reads Hunt. To get started, visit the Good Reads starting point at Literature Alive!/Desi’s Gifts and Prints
  • Don’t forget to visit the Five Irish Haunts panels at Seanchai Library to discover something about ghosts and hauntings!

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for October – December is Reach Out and Read, one of the most highly rated literacy charities in the USA which reaches 4.4 million children annually and distributes 1.6 million books.

Additional Links

Landing pages: marketing Second Life

secondlifeDuring the SL12B “Meet the Lindens” presentations, mention was made a number of times about the new user on-boarding process, and steps the Lab are and would be taking to try to improve the overall experience for those signing-up to Second Life.

In particular, two of the talks touched on the Lab making use of new Second Life “landing pages” on the web, and the upcoming new community-focused Gateway Programme. The comments made were enough to pique my curiosity, so I approached Peter Gray, the Lab’s Director of Global communications to find out more about both of these activities. As I covered the upcoming Gateway Programme  in September, this piece looks at the new “landing pages” on the web.

These are dedicated web pages for Second Life which operate alongside the generic landing page at secondlife.com, but which are used for focused marketing of the platform, by highlighting a specific activity or market vertical, such as education, VR, the global music community, business (affiliate programme), etc., as well as social activities, fashion and content creation, together with pages devoted to familiar topics such as vampires, breedables, zombies, etc.

A part of the education landing page, which includes links to details on the education discount, the SL education wiki,
A part of the education landing page, which includes links to details on the education discount, the SL education wiki and forum and two use case studies (Texas A&M and Nova Southeastern University, as provided by the Drax Files World Makers Series – click for larger view or follow the link

“We run ad campaigns, targeted with our ad partners, that point back to some of these pages,” Peter told me. “But not all of them at the same time. We also use ad networks to target people who share interests similar to those offered in the landing pages we bring them to.”

So, for example, the education landing page can be used specifically with a campaign focused directly on the education sector, and  also to promote Second Life more broadly to those who may have an interest in using virtual environments for educational purposes.

And were they yielding positive results?

“For the pages that we are running ads against, we’ve seen improvements in conversion rates compared to the old versions, Peter confirmed, without being drawn into discussing figures.

In exploring the pages, I did notice that while they were very content specific in their presentation, all of them nevertheless linked back to the generic sign-up page and it broad choice of avatars. I wondered if this might be off-putting to some potential market sectors. Those looking at the platform fora business or education use, for example might prefer not to have the vampire / zombie options displayed to their clients / students. So I asked if any thought had been given to narrowing the choice of initial avatar to more closely match the possible expectations generated by some of these tailored landing pages?

“We currently default to generic avatars to offer the widest choice,” Peter told me. “But if a user comes in from a vampire page, we try to direct them to those avatars. In the future, we would ultimately like to customize the new user experience all the way through the flow, based on interests.”

Former CEO Rod Humble once indicated he’d love to see more of the millions of users who signed-up to and then departed from SL make a return. Given these pages allow for targeted campaigns to be run, I asked Peter if they were playing a part in any such attempts to recapture former users, if indeed they were still being targeted.

“We do continue to re-target lapsed and former users to encourage them to return to SL,” he confirmed. “For users that leave SL because they didn’t find the thing that interests them, these pages and ads may also help surface that area of interest and better funnel them back towards  SL.”

Overall, this is an interesting approach which tends to show that the Lab is trying different strategies and approaches in their attempts to encourage people into second Life, although It would be interesting to know more on the figures in terms of the retention (conversion) upswing mentioned when compared to the  older pages.

For those working with the Lab on the new (and still to be officially announced) trail gateway programme, the Lab’s targeted pages such as those for education, community and content creation might offer hints on how they might approach their own landing pages.