Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Real Victorian Horsie Walking



More fun with GIF animations :) This is from the 1887 work by Muybridge, the very first (and still a very important) stop motion study of animals in motion. I've used it extensively in my own horse animations, and now through the magic of freebie software bundled with Photoshop, I strung his photographs of a horse walking together into what I modestly consider almost a passable animation.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Grrrr...GIF


Edit: Thanks, Dia! Of course now it seems perfectly obvious. Blogger does not support animation. So, the way to do the animation is to host it on another site (I use Photobucket) and enter a direct link there.



La! One silly animated Seahorse :))

Monday, November 24, 2008

Sleigh Rides

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh


Well, as those of you who experienced the Great Sleigh Infestation in Caledon Eyre might know, the last few days have had me busy as the Dickens (/rimshot) making sleighs for the Holidays. I do apologize to those whose houses were overrun on Friday with the replicating Touring Sleighs!

I've made two types of sleighs. The first is the Victorian, two horse sleigh which uses the same vehicle engine that I made for the Royal Carriages. Most of the animations remain the same, but thanks to Jaeger M. Szondi, it also makes snow :) And instead of a wheel sound, it has the obligatory jingle bells.



The other sleigh is not quite ready for sale yet (mostly, I need to make it more user friendly). It's a Touring Sleigh, which automatically will wend its way about a prearranged course. It can be set to be either permanent or temp-rez, the latter meaning it doesn't take require more prim space than the one prim rezzer! Still, I kept the prims fairly low by using sculpted animation for the horse's legs.



I actually extremely proud of this one, so if you wish to assuage my vanity, please drop by the Carriage House and touch the picture of the sleigh. It will rez a sleigh which will then take you on a guided tour of Eyre and Regency. I hope to expand that and have it range its way from Kittiwick to Penzance with time (I'm trying to provide service in the trainless sections of Caledon). When the snows melt, I plan to turn it back to Hansom cabs.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

In the warmth
Twining about my limbs and soul
The lazy winter wind
Nestles snugly in the core
of
nothing


Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Seahorses are HERE!!!

Care to sport about the Firth a bit? We're absurdly proud of this one. The Vicerine really outdid herself with the engine--this is NOT simply an animated attachment, it propels you forward at astonishing speeds (or can be slowed to a crawl), leaps out of the water in a fully animated dolphin leap, climbs/dives, and will automatically shoot to the surface or bottom on command. Or you can put it in fly mode.

I did my usual foolishness with design--the eyes blink and look around, the tail wiggles, it looks like a seahorse.


With no further ado, onto ad copy ;)

Inworld at Lionsgate or the Carriage House:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Lionsgate/85/10/30
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Eyre/48%20/183/23/

On the XStreet Exchange (formerly the SL Exchange):
http://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=1024229





For Mers and Landlubbers alike!

Explore the World, below and above the waves, with your amazing Seahorse. Not just an animation override, it uses the unique P.I.E. engine which combines vehicle-like maneuverability and speed with the reliability of an attachment vehicle. Swim or fly at speeds ranging from a turtle’s stroll to a dolphin’s sprint. Leap out of the water in a spray of water. See your seahorse climb and dive, or just bob along contentedly while you take in the scenery.

-Worn as an attachment, the seahorse does not count against parcel prims, and will go with you when you teleport.
-HUD controlled for instant and easy access to all functions.
-Includes regular (astride), sidesaddle and mermaid/man riding poses. Poses can be changed via the HUD.
-Climbing, diving and jumping animations.
-Sculpted prim construction, with animated tail and fin (can be turned off).
-Periodically bubbles from the mouth with a bubbly sound (can be turned off).
-Eyes look around and the eyelids smoothly blink together at random times.
-Real life seahorses can change colours, but yours can also individually change eye, harness, tack and saddle colours. Easy to use colour change HUD allows for a near limitless variety of colours to suit your tastes.
-Leaps at the surface in a realistic arc with spray and sound.
-Free swim mode allows the seahorse to ignore the water level and fly wherever you like!
-Water level can be changed to allow for swimming/leaping in non-Linden water (such as swimming pools)
-Variable speed controlled by a slider on the HUD.

Come visit the tropical island of Lionsgate and take a demo for a swim today!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Lionsgate/85/10/30


yrs, etc

Kamilah Hauptmann, Posture Is Everything Animations
Virrginia Tombola, Cheval Verite/La Bicyclette Horses

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Never Forget

Dulce Et Decorum Est



Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.





GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.





If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie:

Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori
.

-Wilfred Owen