Tori: December 2007 Archives
I had read an article a while back about how people were snatching up lighthouses up the coast and were turning them into little hostels or bed and breakfasts and thought it was such a neat idea. I'm aware that the selection of lighthouses on the west coast of the United States pales in comparison to the east coast, but I still find myself amused by the beauty of the ones that I do have access to. Especially since one of my favorite places in our town is the one here, I've taken a bit of a fancy to them overall. On Saturday, I'm getting in my car for a solo roadtrip adventure away from my keyboard and up Highway One to Point Reyes, hopefully seeing no less than 5 beautiful guiding beacons to capture in photos, with a chance to see over 10!
Anyway, it got me thinking about Poser lighthouses. Combined with Vue's scene capabilities, I bet there are some pretty awesome coast scenes floating about there. There are actually quite a few choices for Poser lighthouses, so you can pick which style fits your needs! Meshbox definitely corners the market! There is the Haunted Lighthouse, and ones for the Orc, Elven and Halfling Villages! There is even Lighthouse Audio! Do you like lighthouses? Do you have any near where you live or have you visited any before? Do you own any of the Poser lighthouses? Share your images with us!
I guess since I have been jumping from thread to thread discussing this very word, it's appropriate I spend my morning talking about it here. As a Poser community observer I find myself increasingly frustrated with decline of the community spirit and increase in entitlement, as well as the general devaluation of the skills involved in creating content. While I duck into the forums between meetings and tasks to beg for recognition for the exerted effort donated without requirement, I hear from every direction that it isn't just our generosity that is scrutinized but that of every content giver on the web right now. The demand for more free, high quality, high value things or rock bottom garage sale prices seems to outweigh understanding the concept of receiving adequate compensation for creative work. If this is the continued direction of our community, is there a future for content creators to make a living just creating content?
To my understanding after a few policy changes around the community, it is the general belief that the store sites should and have to give away stuff to increase traffic and if they don't give stuff away, they are doomed. Since that is a separate topic, I'll save that for another day and just focus on things that are made by individuals outside the companies and are offered without any monetary compensation.
I work with a lot of artists, some expertly skilled and able to model and texture with their eyes closed by stop watch, and some who meticulously create their masterpieces over weeks and months but none seem to set their pricing on an hourly rate or future sale predictions. I know a lot of artists who throw a dart at the board when setting product pricing, and we are often begged for pricing guidelines and mandatory pricing for certain product lines and types so that artists who tend to undervalue their work don't drive down the market. My personal opinion has always been that the Poser market is self-correcting and will moderate itself and the cream of the crop will rise to the top and everyone will be paid what they deserve. But maybe that isn't so, when increasing complaints are rising up everywhere and rather than shutting people down, people are jumping on the train. I know that there are a lot of traditions grandfathered into the community long before I joined it, but I'm starting to wonder when "the right to free 3D" became part of the Bill of Rights?
I said it in one of my posts on the CP forums, but I think it is such a simple fact that is so easily lost. 3D is an expensive and luxury hobby. If you think about Poserland like a real world situation, not every girl is going to be able to have the nice dress and awesome shoes. The girl in your runtime might want that other girl’s makeup, or her spray on tan. That convertible that drove by your screen last week was precious, and I'd love to own it too, but my scooter is parked next to the house. It doesn't mean we can't hang out together and have a good time. It does mean that you don't get to stand on the corner and scream to all your neighbors that you deserve a convertible too. They work just as hard as you, and their money was just as hard earned. You are electing to live in a neighborhood where you are going to see things that are slightly out of your reach. But you have a roof over your head...isn't that good enough?
This is my biggest frustration. It is the holidays, and people are hungry. It is cold outside and people are snuggling up with their kids in cars and trying to explain that Santa will find them. You have access to a computer if you are reading this. You have electricity if you are using Poser. In fact, I know quite a few people who work damn hard at Poser to have electricity and still find the time to donate to the community. In the spirit of the holidays, and for the sake of all those that have less than you, my holiday wish is that we find a place a little less negative than we have been. Rather than writing yet another complaint into the text box on your screen declaring what you deserve for your investment, think if your investment to that community has been positive itself. Stop reveling in what you don't have, and worship what you do - an amazing community of people around you on every level who are blessed to have the freedom to make art. We are so very lucky to be free. Let's start working together, and not against each other. This Poserland place is pretty awesome.
I guess maybe because I consider myself an artist I get easily enamored with people who seem to master the creative side without any effort at all and one of the people that my affection came quickly for was Syyd Raven. Syyd is the superstar business mind behind RuntimeDNA and so many of the amazing products that have become crucial parts of users Poser runtimes. Long before I was ever a member of the Content Paradise team and working with her on a business level, I was quietly admiring her ambition and edgy art from the dark shadows of the Curious Labs office.
To me, Syyd was a Poser goddess and I remember the first time I met her and her partner Colm Jackson at my very first Siggraph in Los Angeles in 2001. They gave a Poser presentation in our demo theater and I quietly stood in the background in awe. I think Dick Van Dyke also came by the booth that week, but still the woman who could take the application I believed in and make images that were beyond my own imagination as a painter was more of a star to me. My relationship with Syyd grew into a friendship over the course of my time here, working closely with her as a premiere partner of CP and the magician behind many of our figures textures, but my awe of her art still has not subsided.
A year ago at Siggraph in Boston we sat next to each other at dinner and I finally told her of my amazement of her talents and asked what her number one tip was. She said lights. Buy light sets and get started. (I had to laugh because for years of reviewing image submissions, the strongest complaint was the lack of attention to light and shadows in the definition of realism.) It's amazing to me what a difference the dramatic effect is when the attention to shadowing is taken to the next level. Syyd has an amazing talent for portraying the dark side and one of of my favorite images ever is "Mommie Dearest" to the right. I remember the first time I called my mother that and she sat me down to watch the movie and told me to never call her that again and I understood why. While Syyd's depiction is no where near the sweet facade of Joan Crawford, she manages to succeed in taking the pretty side of Poser to a dark and dreary place at times. You can read a really old customer story about Syyd, but still with some great art, or check out her top sellers or all of RuntimeDNA's products at Content Paradise. (Many of RDNA's products are now on sale as part of the Splicing DNA 50% off sale that was extended through December 16, so you can shop now and save.) I definitely think Syyd is a monumental part of the community and if you don't know her name, then you've probably been under a rock, so crawl on out and learn about one of Poser's oldest and dearest artists!
Starting my "adult career" in Poserland has given me a slanted perspective of "star". Brad Pitt is great and all, but can he model me a mansion? Likely not. Although quite a few considered famous people are avid Poser users, I like the Poser users that I consider famous a bit better. Over the years I've worked here, I've found that I'm not alone in finding these people to be a bit "star like" in their presence in the community. Since for me, Poser is just as much about the people that have become my family as it is the job that I do to pay my rent, I thought that talking about them as part of my writing here might be a nice feature. I hope you agree and maybe find some new art to love!
I can't remember the first time I saw an image by Fabrice Delage, but I do remember my jaw dropping reaction. This man has the ability to use Poser in a way that creates a photorealism I have not seen rivaled. One of my many passing tasks in my time with Poser was to work with artists and gallery submissions and I've come across many artists that tickle my fancy, but none that make me double take like Fabrice. Not only could Fabrice produce amazing images, but he could produce them in quantity and I found myself eating them up, wondering what elegant being he would shape next out of the mesh on his screen. I would spam the entire company with emails full of image attachments with soaring praise of his work, and many more became quick fans. He manages to take Miki and make her into a dozen different personalites with the stroke of his mouse. We featured his images in the Poser installation galleries, and even as part of a story on Poser 6 in the San Jose Mercury in 2005. Learn more about Fabrice and see more of his images here. I'm certain if you aren't already, you will be a fan yourself quickly.
Chances are also, that if you aren't already in love with Miki, you will want to see what you can do with her now too. As a special offer, we are lowering the price of Miki 2.0 through the end of the year! Swipe her into the loving arms of your runtime this holiday season for more than 60% off! Members save even more and can now get Miki 2.0 at her lowest price ever - Only $9.99 through December 31! Buy Now!
I can't believe Poser 7 has been out for almost a year. It seems it has just flown by. Next week, we'll be kicking off a one week celebration to honor our beloved Poser 7 Female, G2 Sydney. There will be tons of special deals and featured products from all of our fabulous CP vendors. We're really excited to shine some light on this sexy mama that floats through your runtimes!
One of the coolest parts of the content business is creating the files into a personality. Just as I do with the people I paint on canvas, the artists who use Poser become attached to the people that they use to sculpt their images. The personification of the digital files that run through our systems has been common in Poser forever. When new figures are released, you can find images posed with them dueling against competitors, and discussions about "who" they are, not just "what" they are. Shaping the qualities of the figures that drive the imagination of users can be a fun and creative break from the driving of marketing plans and assembling of zip files. While Poser figures are a varietable blank palette ready for your customization, there also has to be a "default" to start with. What does this person look like when you first meet them and shake their hand? So yes, in between meetings about sales forecasts and trade show booth designs, we get to sit around and speculate the fantasy lives of the digital beings that will become your precious people. And I admit, while my job already rocks, that part can't be beat.
Tired of all the pretty girls in Poser, last year, we decided that Poser was ready for a modern and edgy chick and while we brainstormed the age and birthplace of Sydney, we introduced Sydney vs. Chuck Norris in the CP Forums. I laughed for days. Obviously borrowing from the popular Chuck Norris Facts we had users submit their own facts about Sydney, developing the bad girl that would grace screens all over the world this year. Check out the thread and submit your own ones! It's never too late to share what dark secrets you know!
Sydney has gone from bad girl to clown girl this year, with hundreds of products now available at Content Paradise to make her YOUR dream girl. Do you have any favorite Sydney products you think are must haves? Watch next week's CP Weekly for special offers and exciting deals to kick off the Sydney birthday celebration!
I love my job. With boxes all around us, the Content Paradise team is now settled into our new diggs here at Smith Micro, and I feel as giddy as I was before the first day of school. New people, new pencils and pads of paper and most importantly new energy and ideas flowing all around us. I'm excited. 7 years, 2 months and two offices ago, I walked into a buzzing publishing office for a temp job answering some customer service emails. It was a start up company headed by a team of friends destined to breathe life into their precious baby, and they needed someone to fend off the eager customers emailing desperate to find non-existent boxed copies. Fresh out of college and headed towards a career in education, I entered my "adult" employment at Curious Labs before there was even a Poser 4.0.3 by answering customer service email and doing random odd jobs around the office. Today, as the Product Manager for Content Paradise over 2 years now, it was my job to explain to the head of accounting here what digital content was and why I was selling Viking Clothing in this century. I've watched a lot happen here. Product releases, new products, new offices, new companies. My role in the company and even within CP has changed more times than I can count...but I'm here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And I'm not the only one who feels that way. I look around the office and see the people who have become my family. Who love this company, these products and our customers like they were attached to us. I know a lot of people are nervous or tentative and I've read pages and pages of speculation on the future. I don't think anyone can predict what is going to happen next. 7 years ago, I was ready to enter Teach for America and become a Special Ed teacher in New Orleans. Somewhere along the line I got sucked into this cult of passionate artists and I never looked back. All I see in front of me are more people to "drink the kool-aid" and bring with me into this wondrous fantasy. Change isn't easy, New things take time and adjustment, but I do know that even with all the ups and downs, this has been the best ride ever and you're not getting me off of it anytime soon.
So why another blog? Did we do this because everyone has one and we just want to be like them? Not really. I'm an avid blogger and many of you have seen me around the Poser world for a long time "down in the dirt" talking to people in the forums, at trade shows or etc. (Rendo people may remember "Starlet" from the Poser 5 days, or CP-Starlet from our own forums.) In fact, our whole CP team has been pretty accessible via the forums and we've tried really hard to stay in communication with you guys and this just seemed to naturally be another medium in which we could interact. I'm a big fan of blogging culture, and this is a place for Sarina and I to better share with you the products we throw back and forth to each other all day praising and pushing. It's a place to be more informal and talk about our products and what's going on in the world of CP. Maybe it's just another place to hear ourselves talk, but I personally think her and I are a hilarious comic duo that you will learn to love and appreciate and come heavily addicted to. Come on, you know you want to know what her favorite piece of content is this week, or maybe if you're lucky, tomorrow I'll show you a sneak peek of the promotion we have running for you next week! Who doesn't need another stop in this world of tubes we call the internet, especially one that gives you a little fix on your graphics habit? So talk to us, comment, make suggestions about what you want this place to be. If you don't, well, we'll just talk to ourselves like we already do. ;-)
So welcome to our little corner of the web...pull up a seat and say Hi! Introduce yourselves and let us know what products you are using. What is the one item of content that you desperately wish existed for your application that you can't find anywhere?
Happy Tuesday!
RSS Subscribe
