A2NZ : When creativity goes global

A2NZ Blog feed has moved

2009-04-07T12:26:00.003+01:00

to http://blog.a2nz.org/rss.xml

In the process of moving over to our own blog, rather than a hosted one on Blogger, the feed address has changed. The blog is still available at the same address (http://blog.a2nz.org/) as before, and I will put a 301 Redirect on the old feed address in a few days time. Why not now? I tried and a few feed readers that I double checked with did not follow the redirect.

If you find this on the blogspot subdomain, please click on one of the above links (one of the a2nz.org links) to either visit the blog, or to add the correct feed.

Abyssin Otoro

Yarrrr! Pirate Wench at the SLRFL Clothing Fair 2009

2009-03-15T09:04:00.003+01:00

After a loooong hibernation (I must have been a bear in a former life), I'm waking up with the spring.

I'm very happy to be a part of the SL Clothing Fair for the RFL this year. I have made a pretty piratey lady. Ragged, torn, and stranded, and cute. :D
The benefits of the sale go to the RFL. The minimum donation for this outfit is 250 L$.

I'm on SIM 7: The Aegan Sea. This sim is sponsored by DeLa.
The event starts on the 16th (that's tomorrow) and will end on the 22nd. The sims look gorgeous, and, although I haven't visited everything yet, the layout seems to be logical enough that you shouldn't need a GPS to know if you've missed something or not. :-D

Read the Relay's blog for the list of designers and other info:
SL Clothing Fair 2009 Benefiting Relay for Life

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T17:17:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year :)

After a short and unexpected break from SL (eh, the Christmas season was busier than I had planned), I'll be back in a couple of days. So in the meantime, I hope you had a nice Christmas and New Year's Eve, and that 2009 will be good to you. <3

We have a TV :D

2008-12-13T11:02:00.003+01:00

I wanted to watch my ice-skating video in world, and now I can! So can you, by the way, as the TV is in the store. By the couch, like all good TV should be.

Would you believe that I had never set up a TV on my land before this morning?
Yeah, your little Raindrop is finally getting around learning basic survival skills in SL. :p

I have also made a scrapbook: it is a retrospective / art book about the Around the world in 80 days fashion show. It's free to copy, so please pass it around. I'd be grateful for that, as it would spread the name of the store around -- and that can't hurt, can it?

It's not just a publicity device, though. I find it rather pretty to look at, and it reveals a bit of my creative process - by which I mean that I try to create moods and stories, not just clothes. In fact I have to picture myself wearing the outfit, and I imagine what it would be like -- what I would do, what I would say, if it reminds me of a painting, of my past, of a friend... and so on.

Virtual World Starter: Your choice of Avatar, Grid and Viewer

2008-12-12T17:00:00.003+01:00

I have just finished a lot of work on the new start program the replaces the old SL Starter. This new version fully supports Windows Vista and makes it much easier to use different grids, even with the same avatar name (you can have different passwords for each set of grids).
It has the biggest grids already typed in (links to join, the correct parameters to launch a viewer to that grid, etc), including how to launch the viewer into your own local OpenSim (assuming you have set it up using the defaults).

With Virtual World Starter, one software shortcut will load any of the virtual world viewers, starting with any of your avatars. On top of un-cluttering your desktop, it gives you the ability to have a variety of configurations of the viewers at your fingertips, and can launch multiple viewers at the same time.

For a simple two avatars, one main, one testing, on three grids, Second Life/SL beta/OpenSim grid, with two settings, Windlight on/off, with two viewers, main and RC, that requires twenty four different shortcuts, just for this simple set up. With Virtual World Starter all that is taken care of with one shortcut (well two, if you want to be exact, there is an option to run it in a mini version as well, that takes up a lot less of the screen, should you desire).

All the information about it is here: Virtual World Starter

A2NZ Symbiosis Rubber Cloak

2008-12-08T16:16:00.007+01:00

I love cloaks. I think they give a lot of composure to one's appearance. I especially love flying, and landing, and watch as the robe slowly falls back into place.

The Symbiosis Rubber Cloak is wide and heavy. Its hood is sculpted. There are two default sizes in the pack, one for women, one for men -- that I hope will be a good starting point for you to adjust it for a perfect fit.

Now the extra mega cool thing about it is that the Rainbow version is scripted to allow you to switch between the 9 colours. Well, what's so special about that? You won't believe it: I wrote that script! Abyssin usually writes all the scripts for me, but I wrote this one! As it has to change multiple textures at once (for example, the hood and the robe don't use the same texture), it was quite a challenge for me.

I reused Abyssin's menu he has written for me, so that's something I didn't write. Still I'm proud like a peacock, and in the interest of general safety, you should be warned that I'm learning the lsl language! :D

I've put up a demo version that you can get for free in the main store. :)

Frozen Night in Ufeus

2008-12-06T17:45:00.003+01:00

I've made my first video :) It shows the relaxation area by the main store. I'm happily ice-skating through the place. I hope you'll like the visit!

The music is Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and comes fromKevin McLeod resource site.

I am wearing Zorena Deckard's Frou Frou Wine ensemble. My ice-skates are Moopf Murray's special audio edition.

Free Rubber Christmas Tree & Snowcrash sculpture

2008-11-26T15:56:00.005+01:00

I mentioned it in a previous post yesterday, but as I have since taken a proper photo and made a poster for it, I might as well write a nice little post for it. :)
I decorated a pretty rubber christmas tree, and I've made it a freebie. It is a great tree to use if you like latex, or if you want a fantasy or cartoony looking tree.

With baked textures and a nice shape, you can be sure that in spite of its price tag, the rubber christmas tree is not a cheap product.

And now for something completely silly...

It's a sculpture. Sit on it to complete it! IT started as just mucking around with snow to make a simple snowman, but I got carried away, lol. I had so much fun doing this one and inviting my friends to sit on it that I just couldn't keep it to myself! :D

Click here for a SLURL to the main store.
You need to cross the road to the ice-skate rink. The area has changed quite a bit since yesterday. There's a campfire, the rink, Ordinal's free snowball game. There's also a path to the seashore, and you can fish through a hole in the ice with the 7Seas system.
I'm rather happy with the look of it; I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Free Christmas Tree Earrings

2008-11-24T09:18:00.005+01:00

Just as I was adding the last touches to the new version of the store, it started snowing in my SL backyard! (It's snowing a little in my RL backyard too, though not as much!).

It's silly, because there's this old swimming pool there that is usually filled with murky water... and now it's all frozen. What a pity.
So well, we now have an ice-skating rink in lieu and place of the swimming pool. :)

Oh, see the rubber christmas tree? I had so much fun making it last night! I'm giving it away for free. It's a bit primmy (44, I think) and won't lose its needles.

And now for something different from my usual products: a pair of earrings! It's simply a cute Christmas gift; I hope you'll like it. :)

You can get it at A2NZ main store -- or even better: once there, you can cross the road and go ice-skating or throw snowballs in my backyard! (There's a snowball giver in case you don't have one hundred of these already, lol).

Just... wear a scarf. It's getting cold. o.O

A2NZ Catsuit Front Zip

2008-11-20T15:12:00.007+01:00

I released the first version of this catsuit last year. With its long zip, it has always been among my favourites; I was increasingly unhappy with the shading, though -- as I've learned a few tricks since then!

After long hours spent in my lab (that is to say: Blender and Photoshop), I have finally updated the Front Zip to the latest and greatest version of my latex. I used the same system as on the Orb Weaver Web Suit; it's a reflective, liquid latex but the highlights are subdued so as to fit most lighting environments.

People who like stronger highlights might prefer the Basic Catsuit or the Easy Access one, or latex from other designers. There are many types of latex on the grid, and in the end, it is a matter of personal preference.

So, yes, the shading is a lot more to my liking. And everybody will love the seams (or lack thereof). Apart from the annoying thin "skin" line that shows between the underpants and the undershirt (I can't do anything about it, it's a SL bug), the shading from bottom to top is seamless, and so are the shoulders. The zip is a bit wider on the pants of the male version, but that's it!

I love how the golden and lavender colours turned out. I knew lavender had potential; it has more depth now than in the previous versions. So, hmm, if that isn't obvious, I'm very happy with this catsuit. I'll shut up now, buy it if you want!

A2NZ Main Store

Ghost!

2008-11-13T08:54:00.003+01:00

You may have heard rumors about my demise. They are simply not true.

I'm not dead. I am the INVISIBLE AVATAR!!!

(yes, that's my eyes over the couch; no, I don't have a brain. Why would I need one? :p )

Trick or Treat Costume Fair: Final Notes

2008-11-08T10:51:00.001+01:00

Woo hoo great job, Reasonable Desires!
Austie wrote a conclusion message to the fair. It's a lovely post. She's also included the receipt of her donation to Unicef. 800$ is an impressive amount, wouldn't you say?

I really invite anybody who's been to the fair, or who'd like to go next year (as a vendor or as a visitor) to read that message. It will give you a feel of how sweet Austie and Martini are. :)

http://reasonabledesires.com/costumefair.html

Trick or Treat: final words

2008-11-03T11:16:00.004+01:00

The Trick or Treat fair is over. It was a lot of fun; I found some designers I had never heard of (I'm never going out of my cave, so it's not surprising!), and I really enjoyed dressing up for Halloween.

Reasonable Desires managed to raise over 800$ for the Unicef. That's great news, and a lot of pumpkins!

I had told you I would show you more pumpkin goodies. I had trouble accessing my Snapzilla account until this morning. I could see the thumbnails, but trying to load an image sent me to a server error page cryptic message. It is fixed now! Yippeee!

Batwing Witch Hat by Curio Obscura
Orphan Mouse by Grim Orphanage

I couldn't resist buying the Spider Weave Wears by AlleyCat Studio. I'm wearing the spider skirt, the spider bra, the cloak and the stockings. The base is white and is tintable. Yay for mod perms! The bodysuit is from my "Decisive Moment" set, because I'm a prude and the spiders weren't enough to protect my modesty.

Leather band, sculpted top and feather by Orch Oasis (in three pumpkins, for a total of 15L$). I'm *so* checking that store for the complete look! The quality is gorgeous.

Loverly voodoo doll by (unknown creator). o.O It didn't come with a landmark or a store name, and the doll is affected by the unknown creator bug. :(

Hmm, now how am I going to eat all these pumpkins?

Trick or Treat Pumpkin goodies (2)

2008-10-28T20:03:00.004+01:00

I took a few pics of some new outfits I picked up at the Trick or Treat fair. Only one of them has made it to Snapzilla so far -- it seems to be a bit slow today.

I'll check for the rest of them tomorrow, if they're still not there I'll take new pictures.

So, for now:

That's the cute "blue uniform" I found in Kiki n°18 's pumpkin. Kiki n°18 is a Japanese store, it sells manga outfits and doll avatars. Cute, cute cute. So cute I even felt compelled to make a new shape for it!

I like the posters at the store, they look a bit like small cereal boxes. I was tempted to grab one and find a check-out!

I had to resize the skirt; it's on the "petite" side, which is not surprising for that style. The skirt is copy/mod, so it's not a big issue.

Trick or Treat Costume Fair

Trick or Treat Pumpkin goodies

2008-10-25T11:31:00.004+01:00

I went pumpkin-shopping at the trick or treat costume fair! (I think that's a direct link to my booth; I don't have a landmark to the main point, but the set-up is such that it doesn't matter where you start from) :D

Outfit: Josephine Baker by Lemania Indigo Designs (5L$ Unicef Pumpkin)
Hair: Maitreya, Yasmin in White
Skin: an Another Shop mod skin I got from somewhere. It might have been in the freebie section at Barerose.

The effect of this dress is striking. I've worn it with a pale skin, but I much prefer it with a drow skin because of the added contrast.

Outfit: Nocturne by LVS &Co (5L$ Unicef Pumpkin)

I love the volume of the dress. The outfit comes with a fun mask with fantastic glowy eyes, and two small horns. Although I prefer Illusion's masks (by Siyu Suen, look at my profile pic), this mask looks good and is a very nice addition to the dress.

Eh, pimping out some of my wares.
Cloak: "Remains of the Day" by Zorena Deckard. It's stunning. I love it! It also exists in black, I've seen it and it's just as gorgeous.
But white is the new black! :p
Catsuit and skin: Orb Weaver Web suit (the opaque version) and a modded Another Shop skin, by me. It's in my 5L$ Unicef Pumpkin.

I'm happy with the skin, by the way. The shadows are a complimentary colour. It doesn't show on the pic, but when seen up close, it looks very soft and warm. Well, as warm as bright green can be.

Trick or Treat Costume Fair

2008-10-18T22:15:00.002+01:00

(Way to go, I clicked "post" before writing anything. I'm the best at blogging. Not.)

Austie sent me a mock-up of my booth for the Trick or Treat Costume Fair. After having sent a couple of boxes 3000 kilometers up in the sky, I think I've finally managed to get it ready.

I only need to set up the landmark giver and the "join our group" box.

Even though I set up boxes all the time in the main store or in my satellite stores, I felt like a newbie all over again, setting up her first few products. It is the first time I'm taking part into a Fair. To be completely honest, I am intimidated.

What a year it will have been! A fashion show, and now a fair! I hope it will all go well. :-)

Trick or Treat Costume Fair: my Unicef outfit

2008-10-14T11:11:00.002+01:00

Reasonable Desires is planning a great event: the Trick or Treat Costume Fair, which will take place from the 24th to the 30th of October on the Platinum Sim. More info here.

We at A2NZ are happy to be one of the sponsors of this event. I've made two outfits for it. One is the Hevea Bee, which you've seen in a previous post: it's my entry for the fashion show and the costume contest.

The other one is my Unicef outfit. That means you can buy it for... 5 L$ ! All the proceeds go to the Unicef.

That's the first costume made of my new rubber! Ah, what a shame: it's covered with cobwebs. This comes in two versions. One with "solid" cobwebs (shown on the dude), one with cut-outs (shown on me).

And, yes, the skin is included. It's greeeeeeeeeen, yikes!

The pumpkin contains both male and female versions.

Austie and Martini from RD have given us the all clear to set up the pumpkins in our store, so: it's in the main store already! You can buy it now, but keep in mind that there will be many, many more 5 L$ outfits at the fair. ^.^ See you there!

Latex "Hevea Bee" @A2NZ Naughty

2008-10-13T16:54:00.003+01:00

October is one of the most perfect months of the year to wear crazy costumes.
It is also the end of summer. Bees are going to sleep, and how I miss them!

So, you guessed it: I've made a bee costume! It's cuuuuuute. Completely inappropriate for Halloween... ^.^

I've made two headbands for it: one with antennas, and one without.

Fly to A2NZ main store.

New rubber! OMG!

2008-10-11T10:56:00.004+01:00

OMG! That's the new shading for my rubber, shown in its midgrey (test) version. And I haven't even worked on the seams yet! I think it's getting there, right?

And the best bit: I'm working on an outfit based on this shading system, and it will cost 5L$. Yup. More in a next post, once I can give you a preview or a live pic of the not-quite-free outfit!

Can you tell I'm excited? :D

Working on... a flower

2008-09-30T17:19:00.001+01:00

I made a cute little something in Blender, just for fun. I like it, so I think I'm going to include it in my next outfit.

It's a one-prim sculpted flower. I'll see what I can do with it. :)

A2NZ Latex Wrestler

2008-09-18T09:02:00.005+01:00

I finished my wrestling outfit!
I've even made a free wrestling ring to go with it. I made it in Blender, and baked the textures of the mat and of the platform. What an interesting experience!

I suppose you could just leave the wrestling ring in your inventory and go for a mud-wrestling session instead, of course. :p

200 L$ for one colour, 900 L$ for the Rainbow Pack. Copy/Mod.
There's only one hood in the Rainbow Pack. It's colour-scripted.
The wrestling ring is 32 prims, and is also modifiable. It's included for free with the outfit and is otherwise not for sale. :)

A2NZ Main Store in Ufeus

Away for a week

2008-09-07T17:14:00.001+01:00

Just a quick note:
I'll be away for a week. Please contact Abyssin Otoro for customer requests. :)

Working on...

2008-09-05T10:56:00.002+01:00

Advancement of the wrestling outfit:

I still have a lot of work to do on this outfit. I decided to add a sculpted hood, without which a wrestling outfit wouldn't feel quite complete, so obviously I haven't finished yesterday, and I won't even finish it today. For a start, I need to texture the hood, and well oh, I don't have an exact idea of what I want yet.

Still, I'm happy where this is going. Go figure, I had tried making a wrestling outfit one year ago, and had failed because of the male torso! So this one has been nagging me for quite some time :)

I'll release it (in its rubber version -- I'll also do a lycra one later) as soon as I'm back on the internet, so, a couple of weeks from now.

Working on...

2008-09-04T11:10:00.002+01:00

A wrestling outfit.

I've had to re-start from scratch a few times, as I was not satisfied at all. It now looks like it's getting somewhere!

So, well, I'm roughly two weeks late with this release, and I won't have any access to internet next week at all. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it today -- I'm not sure.

A2NZ Socks (funky ones)

2008-08-24T09:21:00.003+01:00

I delayed posting about my socks a little bit, as Phoenix' party was a lot more important. :)

I like socks! They're fun. They can spice up a serious business outfit, or add some class to casual jeans.

I remember enjoying making the socks for the Wimbledon tennis outfit. I wear them often, but I wanted something a bit more colourful. So I played with the dreaded ankle area of the mesh, again.

It wasn't easy, because we're talking about a very distorted, squashed area of our avatar. I've worked hard on minimizing the distortions. Even though I haven't managed to get rid of all of them (especially on the striped ones), I'm quite satisfied with the outcome! I like my socks! ^.^

These funny socks are 10L$ a pair. You'll get two sizes: long and extra-long, and two cuts: leggings and socks.

More will come in the future.