Scylla Rhiadra

I've had homes or stores in a variety of different environments over the years, ranging from boutique-y and aesthetically well-coordinated town sims, to (most recently) tropical islands. But my "home base" for most of my 13 years in SL has been a sort of run-down (but not dystopian) urban-style sim. What I'd like in a home? A rural French or Italian setting (think Provence or Tuscanny), or a really good recreation of modern Paris or Rome. What I don't want? Suburbia, aka Bellisseria, even though it's beautifully done and I admire the community element.

Aww, thanks Bran! What a nice thing to say! Most of the elements of this shot were native to SL, and the viewer I was using (Firestorm). The tools for photographers in SL are actually pretty powerful. The light and shadow, depth of field (the blur), glowy bits, the colour palette, and of course the actual objects and avatar, were all in the basic shot taken in-world. I think I used about 7 or 8 points lights and one projector to get the lighting effects. I enhanced all of these somewhat in Photoshop (and fixed one minor alpha conflict glitch), but the main element added in post-processing was the lens flare. (There is a lens flare effect in the Black Dragon viewer, but it's not very good.) The original pic is recognizably the same as this, but the flare does admittedly add a lot of drama. My point being that the tools to produce a shot like this are available to pretty much anyone whose computer is powerful enough to use the Advanced Lighting Model (i.e., shadows and depth of field). It's mostly just a question of learning how to use them, if you want to. And that last proviso is important: people in this thread are producing wonderful pictures without using all the bells and whistles. It just so happens that playing with this stuff is, for me, a big part of the fun. Thanks Charalyne! As I said above, it's about the fun: I love playing with light in these pics. (And I owe my addiction mostly to @Skell Dagger, who, a few years ago, gave me my first primer on lighting in SL in this very thread!) But you know about the fun part: it's pretty clear you're getting the same kind of enjoyment from your own really imaginative pics!

This is super clever! And perfect.

The 7:15 am cell phone call. That's always good news, right?

This is VERY good, Sandor. Nice use of DoF! Personally, I'd up the brightness and contrast a bit, but I think it's an excellent shot, either way!

I think I was harshing his buzz. He was looking very pretty on the dance floor, and I was interfering with that!

A couple of days ago, I was IMed by a man at a club. He wanted me to move because I was getting in the way of his dancing.

You know, you've managed to make a Christmas sweater look . . . stylish. Wow!

@Cinnamon Mistwood -- Thank you, Cinn. I do sometimes yearn for something a bit wilder. What I am certain of is that there are wonderful "adventures" to be had in more rural settings or in smaller, more tightly-knit communities too. I'm sure you could recount more than a few. @Charalyne Blackwood -- Well, at the moment, with the temperature well under zero, new snow on the ground, and a new surge of Covid underway, "dream" is about all that's available to me! But thank you! @BjorJlen -- Well, at my favourite nearby Japanese place, I usually get some variety of ramen or another and, most importantly, gyoza. The latter is what you see steaming behind me. And yes . . . people, people, people. I come here to watch them too! @BranScanlon -- Aww! Thank you so much! I tend to think I do words better than pictures, but, for me, both are always about the stories they tell, and how we find personal connection in those. @manoji Yachvili -- Yay you!!! It's looking good so far!!! I didn't really tell you to smile more, though, did I? Ugh! That makes me sound like "that dude" on the subway who tells you "You'd be prettier if you smiled more." Ugh ugh! Anyway, looking forward to seeing what you do with the new head! You'll need to post updates here so we can all admire!

One of the things I most love about living in the midst of a large and enormously diverse city is the sense of adventure that an evening walk can bring. A 15 to 20 minute stroll from my house enables me to sample Portuguese, Brazilian, Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Korean, Indian, and Japanese culture and cuisines, mostly offered up in eateries run by immigrants who are eager to share both the everyday dishes and the haute cuisine of their lands of origin. When the weather is warm, the glass shopfronts of many of these restaurants are rolled up, and the tables and chairs spill out onto the sidewalk (and there's actually been more of this since the pandemic). An almost ideal evening for me is a long walk with my partner to a nearby used bookstore, followed by a light dinner outside at a nearby café or restaurant. Then we'll enjoy, over a leisurely coffee and perhaps dessert, the rich and varied stream of people that passes by. Sometimes, when the night is hot, the drone of cicadas in the trees seems almost to vie with the steady hum of the traffic, but above it all will be the sound of voices, chatting, chiding, laughing, and sometimes quarreling, in any number of different languages. The food is often excellent, but it is the people that most give it its flavour.

Particularly interesting, and frightening, is the article linked to in one of the responses that points to the use of cryptocurrencies to conceal illegal activities, such as sex trafficking.

Well, I'm wondering who is actually making skins for Fiore. I haven't seen a lot around -- so it would seem that they are sort of slitting their own throat. Unless they are making the skins themselves, or franchising it off, at some sort of profit, to someone else, in the hopes of making money from both heads and proprietary skins. Not sure that's going to work, though.

This is a really unfortunate new trend. I'm all for better and more detailed skins, but the lack of standardization across makers is just another unneeded complication to an already Byzantine and chaotic avatar customization "system" (if the word "system" isn't too generous a term to apply).

How on earth wouldn't they like you? Clearly they are idiots whom you can discount out of hand.

Thanks Tarina! Yeah, that may be a bit older than he wants, but it's an indication that Logo may be worth a look!

Pretty cute, Solar! The tail is, of course, magnificent.

I'm so sorry about your dog, Evalemonn! It is, of course, true that these SL animals are not "real," but your feelings about the virtual dogs are testimony to how emotionally powerful and immersive the virtual can be. That's not a bug, as they say: it's a feature. We wouldn't be here, at least most of us, if it didn't so often feel "real." And in that sense, your feelings, which are real even if the animals are not, do you credit: you are obviously a caring and empathetic person. So, no, there's nothing to be done, or that needs to be done. But don't let others make you feel embarrassed about your sadness -- they too almost certainly feel real emotions here, even if they are not for abandoned virtual animals. I don't hear anyone laughing at others because they feel actually turned on by sexy avatars or virtual sex. There isn't really a difference, is there? It's ok to feel what you feel, so long as you keep it in perspective. And, as I said, I think it does you credit.

And to you, Jo. It's another weird pandemic Christmas, but that needn't mean it is less joyful. And may the new year bring us better. Finally, and at last.

I'd say you have succeeded! And I'm enjoying your pics a great deal! I'm looking forward to more! Happy Holidays to you too, Aiyumei! 🙂

I think I've said something like this before, but you really do have a lovely avatar. I very much like that you look friendly and approachable. And you also, in the pics I've seen, make nice use of backgrounds and poses! So, all together, really lovely!

She doesn't. I just checked. I think there may be a cultural divide at work here. In any case, Tama, happy whatever it is that you DO celebrate!

"Christmas" is relevant here because it explains why you were given Lindens by a complete stranger. The messages all apparently mention "Moosemas," which is clearly a humorous reference to "Christmas." Whether you are Christian or not (I am not, myself), Christmas is traditionally seen as a time for charity, generosity, and kindness.

Hah! I do often find that men in SL have a rather brutal, grumpy look by default (in much the same way that a lot of women sport a RBF), but I'd not have said that this look was like that! You like quite nice! (Although, yes, a bit Sting-ish!) My ex's mesh look is unbelievably grumpy. I mean, he's built like a brick sh*thouse, with a permanent scowl glued to his face. I took his pic once, and made the mistake of modifying it a bit so he looked a little less like he was about to take me out with a shotgun. It was a mistake. Apparently, he wants to look like a mob hitman.

You don't bother me at all; . And this is a very welcoming community: we are happy to have you here. And I do apologize about my idiomatic English, which can be difficult for a non-native speaker.