Category Archives: Content Creation

OpenSim News: Hypergrid Market 2014-12

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You probably know that in the Open source world of OpenSim they have a thing called Hypergrid. The basic idea is one can live in a grid and visit other OpenSim grids. The really neat thing is your avatar and it’s stuff go with you. So, if I put on my red dress in OSGrid and go to Kitely I look the same in both grids. My dress, skin, etc. came with me to the other grid.

OpenSim - OSGrid - By: Linux-Screenshots, Flickr

OpenSim – OSGrid – By: Linux-Screenshots, Flickr

IBM and Linden Lab were cooperating on building the Hypergrid. The problem was they could not find a way to protect Intellectual Property Rights. So, they gave up. As much as novices think: there must be a way, there isn’t. After 25+ years the movie and music industry have not been able to find a way to protect digital content from theft. They have spen millions trying to figure out a protection scheme. They have failed.  Continue reading →

Adobe Creative Cloud 2013-25

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Some news is coming in on Adobe’s change to a monthly release plan. It seems it is being well accepted. Adobe’s published earning is beating the street’s estimates. See Tech Crunch for details: Adobe’s Q2 Earnings Beat Street With $1.011B In Revenue, $0.36 EPS, 700K Paying Creative Cloud Subscribers or 92% of their users.

New features are rolling out in the CC version of the software. Below is a Photoshop change in how it works with 3D painting.

A longer and more detailed Q&A about the new CC is here: Adobe MAX: What’s New in Photoshop CC. This is mostly and audio with slides. And while it uses Photoshop in the title, this is more about how CC works.

I plan to sign up this month.

Adobe in the Cloud

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In Second Life we tend to use open source products. But, some people use the professional products from Adobe, Photoshop being the best known. I think it has no equal. There are other image editors. But, Photoshop (PS) is the industry standard. If you plan to work for a gaming or other company that works with images, you have to know PS. But, Adobe is making big changes that will radically affect casual users.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe is changing how they deliver their software. Until now they have sold their software in a package with a perpetual license. I can still use an old copy of CS3, CS4, CS5.5, and CS6. (CS = Creative Suite) It isn’t cheap. A new version of PS costs US$800. Updates can be $300 to $400 per version come every 12 to 24 months. People can find PS on Amazon and in stores for $650. But, quite often that is the ‘basic’ version not the ‘Extended’ version.

Continue reading →

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Free Textures

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When modeling I am often looking for just the right texture. I skip looking for textures in Second Life™ simply because it is too hard to look at what is there. Some Third Party Viewers have better tools for managing textures and there are texture managers for sell in SL and the Market Place. But, I find them slow and awkward.

I usually browse over to CG Textures. They have an easy to browse collection of textures. Some are great and some are crap. Most require some serious work before they can be used and many lack the supporting files; normal, specular, occlusion, etc. But, they are free, with a daily download limit.

RenderTexture.com

RenderTexture.com

A new site I came across is RenderTextures.com. They also have free textures and Terms of Use I can live with.  Continue reading →

More on 123D

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I just found 123D Catch and wrote about it in: New 3D Modeling Tool – 123D Catch Review. 123D Catch is a program that runs on iPhones, iPads, and desktops. It allows you to turn photos of an object into 3D models that can then be ‘printed’ as real physical models. Of course Second Life™ users would use the result as 3D models with textures for import to SL.

However, 123D Catch is only part of a suite of 123D programs being created by AutoDesk to capture the consumer design market. We have new technology like Cubify 3D Systems that can turn 3D models into real life objects.

The suite of programs is free and consists of:

  • Catch – Uses photos of real objects to generate a 3D model.
  • Design – Create 3D models on your Mac, PC, or iPad
  • Sculpt – 3D sculpting
  • Make – unique projects using incredible slice or fold techniques.
  • Creature – Used to create… well… creatures.

 

The Catch Video:

Available for iPhone, iPad, and Desktops.  Continue reading →

RedPoly and Mesh Upload

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Redpoly has a new tutorial video out. It is for the people buying mesh clothing kits that plan to sell the clothes made from the kit. Check it out and then I’ll explain why the kits are sold in such a complex way.

Creators making mesh clothes and uploading their model are shown as the creator in the objects’ properties in-world. But, if you buy a mesh kit, usually a mesh object and template files, the creator that uploaded the mesh object shows as the creator. This kit misnaming creates problems for everyone.

Continue reading →

Whiskey Monday’s Art iRL

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Several blogs have covered the art of Whiskey Monday. See the following articles for information on who Whiskey Monday is and some of her art.

Obviously I like Whiskey’s art. You can see it on her web: WhiskeyMonday.com, and Flickr.

Whiskey Monday

The notable change is Whiskey is now selling RL prints, giclee, of her Second Life™ art. Giclee is a high end printing process used for fine art. It is expensive, but it lasts. When one cannot afford original art, a giclee is the next best thing.

You can find the art for sale at Fine Art America. Getting the source for giclee printing is a bit of work. So, not all of Whiskey’s art is on Fine Art America. If you find something on Flickr, you can ask that it be uploaded.

Good luck Whiskey.