Inexpensive Festive Frolics!
25 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Freebies Tags: Christmas, reindeer, winter
I wanted to do this post earlier in the week – you know, not on Christmas Day, but my internet was shaped which is what happens in Australia when you use all your allowed traffic for the month. Basically you are dropped from Broadband speeds to 56k and therefore trying to do anything in SL, let alone line up photos, was too headachy to attempt. But on to the festives!
This frankly adorable reindeer costume is part of the Scribble Me A Christmas hunt and is provided as a hunt prize by the lovely and utterly wonderful Evangeline Miles of Evie’s Closet. You can visit her store and hunt around for the prize right here at this SLURL. Be sure and check out her tiny gowns too, deliciousness.
Samantha Smadga has released this caribou for free for the holidays! It’s detailed, very cute, has a glowy nose and an adjustable sit pose. You can grab yours from the SL Marketplace.
Another freebie, this time from Sweetcake, is this Christmas Tree dress. It’s so cute you may melt into a puddle with glee. Marketplace listing.
Last but not least, Marianne McCann has these adorable winter cheek art tattoos loaded into a gatcha in her store. They are 25L each for a random tattoo, or you can just grab a fat pack of all the designs for 150. She also has non festive cheek art, and frankly they are too fun for words, so please wander over to You Know, For Kids and peek.
As always, many many thanks to SL creators who give high quality items away for free or low prices at this and any other time of the year.
Disclaimer: Evangeline and Marianne are friends of mine, but I’d rave about their stuff even if they weren’t.
Review: Juanos Chestnut Appaloosa Pony
08 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in Reviews Tags: horse, Juanos Designs, pony
Every little girl wants a pony, and when I was an actual little girl I had a paddock full of horses at any given time. Go me! So after shopping around in SL I plonked down 950L on the Juanos Chestnut Appaloosa Pony.
At the Juanos main store you can take a demo horse for a ride, and I was impressed with the feel of riding it gave. Rather than a smooth movement, you take on the gentle sway of being on a horse. On the strength of that demo I bought a pony – the full size horses do not size small enough for child avis.
There’s no demo for the ponies (at least not that I could see) which is a shame because I wouldn’t have bought it if I’d been able to try a demo.
The pony itself is very well made. The textures are realistic and the movement when walking is good. There’s an oddness to the rump I can’t quite explain, but overall it’s a fine looking beast.
There are several options available for riding, including walking beside as though leading the pony, rearing and leaning. You can also change the saddle from brown to black or ride bareback.
The pony loses a lot of points in the animation department. The riding pose is awkward and unnatural, and the avatar is not quite seated properly in the saddle. Unlike the full sized horses which have 2 different poses – one for moving and one for standing – the ponies have just the one. It’s unanimated and looks very stiff and uncomfortable. The other thing that lets the pony down is the gentle rise and fall present in the horses is not there. Instead it’s a smooth “movement” which lacks the feeling of riding. You might as well be sitting on a big plywood cube.
If the horses were able to be resized to child size, I would recommend them in a heartbeat – sadly the pony is a poor relation to the horses. Looks good, rides badly. 6 out of 10.
You can get the pony in world at Juanos Main Store or from the SL Marketplace.. There are several colours and two styles of saddle available. If you’re an adult avi, I do recommend the horses, try the SLURL above for a demo.
Cold weather girl
05 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Exploring Tags: pics, skating, snow, winter
In Australia it’s coming into Summer, but I’m well used to SL being the other way around. In fact, I like it. I don’t enjoy hot weather (translation: I whine constantly from November to March about the heat) and therefore I spent a lot more time in the SL snow at this time of year.
I’m working my way through the Showcase – highlighted items listed in search as quality destinations. The above pic was taken on Plum Island where there is seriously the best sledding hill ever. EVER. I look a bit twisted now I look at it, but nevermind.
Most of the places listed in the showcase as Winter Activities are kid friendly and lots of fun. There’s a lot of newbies out there in the Showcased locations, so be kind and welcome them.
Do visit plum island, it’s very simply done and very very beautiful with falling snow, ice skating, ice fishing, horse drawn sleighs, hot chocolate and a cosy chair beside a fire for when you get too cold. Not to mention that awesome sledding hill 
Review: Cartoon Kids Kids AO 2009
29 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Animations, Reviews Tags: animations, AO, Cartoon Kids
I need an AO, always. Not so much for the stands, but for walking – I can’t ever walk in a straight line with the default walk. So once I was dressed, I went AO hunting and purchased the *Cartoon Kids* Kids AO 2009.
The AO itself is in the form of a circle which sits on your HUD. Clicking it turns it off or on (the AO is grey when turned off).
The menu function for reloading/updating the AO is there, but you have to find it (click the bottom of the circle to do so). This is a bit of a pain because the AO is so light on content I would say most people will want to add more animations. The easiest way would be to copy the animations out of this AO and put them in a new one.
There are 4 animations in the AO, three standing and one walk. The advertisement for the AO is misleading. It shows 6 poses and 1 walk, but the poses are all different points of the 3 stands included. At 50L that works out to 12.5L per animation, and you get what you pay for, which is to say – not much.
The Walk: It’s supposed to be Skipping, which I can kind of see. It’s a nice idea to have SL kids skipping around, but this walk really drives me mad. I would possibly use it in a parade or playground environment, but for day to day normal walking it’s a bit.. alarming.
The Stands: Stand one is the most movement based one. It’s decent, but not amazing. The torso and pelvis aren’t animated except to rotate side to side, so it’s a bit floaty. The second stand is subtle and unlooped, so your hand will jump from down to up very suddenly. The third stand is basically still and I think the best of the bunch. It even has a smile (which I missed in the video) when it starts to play, which is a nice touch.
Verdict: Considering the AO menu is hidden and the animations are scratchy, it’s a 4 out of 10 for me. The last stand I might use in another AO, but the rest of the animations will probably not get much time in world with me.
The AO reviewed is by *Cartoon Kids* and is priced at 50L.
Direct SLURL to product in world. Also available on the Second Life Marketplace
“Ewww!”
28 Nov 2010 1 Comment
in Avatars, Reactions Tags: avatars, exploring, Gestures, thoughts
Last night as I took myself around winter themed areas (it’s coming into Summer here in Australia and I felt like getting some snow on my feet) I ended up at the Linden Chalet. As soon as I rezzed I heard a repeated sound gesture “Eww!” “Eww!” “Eww!”. Once everything was clear and loaded, I realised the source of the gesture was standing in front of me, ewwing her heart out.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Eww!” she gestured. “Eww! Eww!”. Once she tired of “eww!” she switched to “Freak!” “Freak!” “Freak!” all of it in sound gestures.
I asked her, sweetly, if she could say anything without a gesture. She replied with a gesture and I wandered off. I wasn’t upset. She was calling me a freak, which is a case of whatever. Her own avatar was weighed down with massive prim breasts, oily skin and hair bigger than most land parcels in SL – but that’s her choice.
Also, it’s not the first time I’ve been called a freak in world – my main Avi spent 2 years with a van dyke moustache and crazy hair. Currently she has a shaved head, Día de los Muertos skin and no legs under her victorian gown. Heck, Dicey is probably the LEAST weird looking avi I have! To those who have come to SL in order to look like pretty princesses, barbies and whatever else, it can be a bit freaky to see someone wander by with a funny skin.
It’s also interesting how quick people are to discount and abuse anyone who is different to them. SL offers the chance to be exactly what you want to be in any shape, size or form. Do you want to be a 7 foot tall amazon? You can. Kids, furries, bats, animals, robots… there’s an avatar and probably a social area for any preference, and that’s just the PG ones.
My avs are generally human, but furries and robots and whatever else don’t trouble me – this is a fun world and people should be allowed to do whatever they think is fun (as long as it’s not disturbing to others). I think it’s worth remembering that no matter how freaky, weird or strange you think someone is, someone else thinks the same of you.
Also I got a free santa hat at a Winter Village – score!
